"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" Well, maybe Scarlet did but I usually rely on myself. I have always, in my words 'Gone my own way'. I would not eschew advice. I am interested in suggestions, opinions and even assistance but in the end I would make my own decisions, figure out the way that I intended to proceed. Often times it was against advice because I have always enjoyed being a little contrary. I have always tried to make the unlikely possible. You will notice I did not say 'impossible possible', I am not foolish.
India has challenged my preconceived notions of my own independence. India is a very difficult, frustrating and even exhausting place to visit. Take the train station for example. The announcement board is in English but once inside the station, the interior signs are in Hindi, so you are not much further ahead. Highway signs are occasionally in English and they will say the name of the place you may want to go but without the requisite arrow to point the way. Street signs are below eye level and in Hindi anyways even when you do find them.
Rickshaw drivers are a particular bane of mine. Take an apparent or purposeful lack of English and add to that an imponderable business sense and you can begin to understand the mind of a Rickshaw driver. At a rickshaw stand, if one driver turns you down, then all drivers will turn you down. Yes, you heard that correct, they turn down business despite the fact that they can overcharge me because even when they overcharge me, I am still paying less that the cost of one bus ride in NA and immensely less than a taxi cab would charge in NA. I have been able to estimate that Rickshaw trips cost approximately 10Rp (.17Cdn) per kilometer so a short ride is about 20Rp to 30Rp (.34 to .51). When I do venture out by Rickshaw, I can usually get from the hotel to my destination but I am rarely able to get back so I cannot travel somewhere where I to not have alternative transportation options.
On a recent particularly frustrating sojourn, I was unable to find a rickshaw back to the hotel, some drivers said they didn't know where it was, some wouldn't take me at all. Yes, I will repeat that for those for whom it does not make any sense. Rather than make money by taking me to my hotel during the slowest time of the year, the rickshaw drivers choose to sit idle. After walking for about a kilometer, trying several rickshaw stands along the way, I stopped, put my packages down and stood in some shade to cool down, not just my temperature but my temper.
After standing there for a while, contemplating my situation, I was approached from the other side of the road. "Hey Chris, is everything OK?" Hundreds of people work for my employer here and they all know me by name despite my knowing only a handful of them so I assumed that this person works at my company. I explain to him that as usual, I cannot get back to my hotel. He assists me, with effort, in gaining transport back. Just language skills alone is not enough to work your way through the Rickshaw maze.
You might think, 'well. he knows you, of course he would help' and I would agree except that there is more to the story. While we walk to the rickshaw stand, he tells me the rest of the story. His mother was across the street, she is the person who saw me, she told her son, "There is a foreigner over there that has been there for a while and looks like he needs help." He replied, "That is not a foreigner, that is Chris." The humour in that aside, I guess I can rely on the kindness of strangers.
Pardon me?
India has challenged my preconceived notions of my own independence. India is a very difficult, frustrating and even exhausting place to visit. Take the train station for example. The announcement board is in English but once inside the station, the interior signs are in Hindi, so you are not much further ahead. Highway signs are occasionally in English and they will say the name of the place you may want to go but without the requisite arrow to point the way. Street signs are below eye level and in Hindi anyways even when you do find them.Rickshaw drivers are a particular bane of mine. Take an apparent or purposeful lack of English and add to that an imponderable business sense and you can begin to understand the mind of a Rickshaw driver. At a rickshaw stand, if one driver turns you down, then all drivers will turn you down. Yes, you heard that correct, they turn down business despite the fact that they can overcharge me because even when they overcharge me, I am still paying less that the cost of one bus ride in NA and immensely less than a taxi cab would charge in NA. I have been able to estimate that Rickshaw trips cost approximately 10Rp (.17Cdn) per kilometer so a short ride is about 20Rp to 30Rp (.34 to .51). When I do venture out by Rickshaw, I can usually get from the hotel to my destination but I am rarely able to get back so I cannot travel somewhere where I to not have alternative transportation options.
On a recent particularly frustrating sojourn, I was unable to find a rickshaw back to the hotel, some drivers said they didn't know where it was, some wouldn't take me at all. Yes, I will repeat that for those for whom it does not make any sense. Rather than make money by taking me to my hotel during the slowest time of the year, the rickshaw drivers choose to sit idle. After walking for about a kilometer, trying several rickshaw stands along the way, I stopped, put my packages down and stood in some shade to cool down, not just my temperature but my temper. After standing there for a while, contemplating my situation, I was approached from the other side of the road. "Hey Chris, is everything OK?" Hundreds of people work for my employer here and they all know me by name despite my knowing only a handful of them so I assumed that this person works at my company. I explain to him that as usual, I cannot get back to my hotel. He assists me, with effort, in gaining transport back. Just language skills alone is not enough to work your way through the Rickshaw maze.
You might think, 'well. he knows you, of course he would help' and I would agree except that there is more to the story. While we walk to the rickshaw stand, he tells me the rest of the story. His mother was across the street, she is the person who saw me, she told her son, "There is a foreigner over there that has been there for a while and looks like he needs help." He replied, "That is not a foreigner, that is Chris." The humour in that aside, I guess I can rely on the kindness of strangers.
Pardon me?
No comments:
Post a Comment