Not my favourite road.
It was technically a dual carriageway, for at least some of the distance (about 200km in total), but the sort without much in the way of road markings or anything in the way of a central reservation. And a lot of really really bad road surface.
It's not the narrowness or the unmarkedness or even the bumpyness - it's the fact that despite all the -ness, the drivers of all the modes of transport on the road refuse to make any accommodation for that fact.
Calm, breathe, try not to squeak as we miss another lorry by a few inches.
And no matter how unpleasant the drive, it was humbling as ever to look at the homes by the side of the road.
After we left Fatehpur Sikri (en route to Agra) we went past a road accident. A Jeep had hit a motorbike and I think the rider died. I try not to think of the image of him lying on the road. What was also scary was to consider the option that he wasn't actually dead, but that all the bystanders were just standing there watching, not doing anything to help. The ambulance was en route but the traffic was heavy. These roads are cruel and I wish they weren't.
2 comments:
The guys on my MSc course come from all over the world in order to learn to sort out problems like the ones you've seen in India. In the end, though, it depends on the amount of money that the governments (and the World Bank) are prepared to invest.
By the way the picture of the pretty flower tree is just to counterpoint the horribleness of the roads. Sort of "let's cut to a commercial break now, Jim" with some hotel lift musak.
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