The drive to Agra and the Taj Mahal
began at 8:30AM and ended 180 KM (110 miles) and 5 bouncing, lurching,
careening, semi-hot (another A/C that couldn't keep up) hours
later. We were on National Road 8, a mostly 2 lane affair that
had 3 to 4 vehicles abreast for a lot of the way. In a very few
places we got up to 50 MPH, but it was mostly bumper-to-bumper at 10 to
20 miles an hour. Where was everyone going all day? The
road was a bazaar of Indian life, cows, men pulling bike powered
rickshaws loaded to the top, camels pulling loads, water buffalo
pulling loads, donkeys, horses, and huge trucks all honking and moving
forward toward Agra. There also was no shortage of people walking
along and across the road at all points.
Honking is a national pastime. Many vehicles had "Blow
Horn", "Horn Please" or "Honk Loud" painted on the back of their
vehicle. Rear
view mirrors were generally missing and not needed since those
overtaking would lean on their honks for long seconds before passing.
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 |
 |
| This
is a school bus. It had about 8 kids in it. |
Standard
scene all along the road. |
Made
from cow dung and used to store fertilizer. The disks in the
background are dung made for fuel. |
 |
 |
 |
| More
than a few of these out and about |
Oh
good, open road ahead. |
Standard
local transit. |
 |
 |
 |
| Farmers
off to market |
There
is one area where dancing bears are all the rage. |
Not
the Taj, but an entrepreneur facsimile. |
