Beep! Honk! Beep, Beep! Screech! Swerve. Turn. Hoooonk!
Red Sari. Green & Yellow Sari. Motorcycle. Scooter. Orange Sari. Tuk Tuk. Rickshaw. Goat. Cow with a bandana. Cow with Marigolds. Trash pile. Dog digging through the trash pile. The scent of incense. The smell of shit. The enticing scents of curry and masala tea.
Beeeep! Honk! Monkeys! Tuk tuk. Close call with a large truck. Narrow passageways. Chanting. Purple and gold Sari. HONK! Neon lights. Camel-drawn carriage. Horse-drawn carriage. Beep! Beep! Temple. Bazaar. Motorcycle. Fireworks. POW! Bicycle. Chickens being beheaded. Goat on the roof of a car. Rooster roaming freely. Goat eating the seat of a bike. Light brown skin. Dark brown skin. Tourist. Tuk tuk. BEEEEP! Honk! BEEEEP!!!
All of that occurred within a 3km drive through the streets of Jaipur, India in a simple green and yellow motorized tuk tuk. Despite the chaos, Adam and I looked at each other with content smiles on our faces because more than ever, we knew we were far away from home and in the heart of Rajasthan.
We felt the strong pulse of the city and it mirrored the excited beating of our hearts.
The chaos of the streets seemed infinite. Every square inch of the road and surrounding sidewalks seemed to be covered in people, all modes of transportation, unafraid animals and filth. The unceasing and varied sights, sounds and smells blurred passed us as we neared our hostel. If we looked away for just a moment, we were bound to miss something.
Our tuk tuk endlessly bounced and swerved around as our driver, Sameer, carefully navigated the traffic of people and vehicles through the uneven streets. There was no use in being scared because every meter of road offered the chance of an accident occurring, but Sameer expertly dodged every single one of them, sometimes only by a few millimeters. This was his tuk tuk and he knew these streets. We were at his mercy. We had no choice but to sit back, enjoy the ride and trust that the Ganesh statue on his dashboard would bring us luck. And it did.
Beeeeeep! Honk!
many, it didn’t really have a name, just “up the street near the corner”.
West Road Adventures 