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As we read in a fellow cyclist’s website on Asia cycling (Mr. Pumpy): “Broadly speaking India is divided into two distinct geographical halves – the top half and the bottom half. :p The top half is crazy, whilst the bottom half is not so crazy. Logically then, the smart cyclist rides the South, whilst the idiot cyclist rides the North. It’s rather simple.”
Considering that to date our route has covered some of the highest mountain ranges in Europe, including the Great Saint Bernard Pass over the Alps, when we could have had a nice easy cycle through Central Europe following the Danube river, you can probably guess which part of India we covered!!!
The impressions below are therefore of the Northern Indian plains (Amritsar – Delhi – Varanasi – Calcutta) where the population is superdense, the roads are bad and the drivers are insane, and the folk are desperate for a dollar. We are told cycling in South India is quite a different experience and a much more leisurely ride – but that one will have to wait!
Roads – There is only one word to describe the roads in India: insane. A staggering 1500 people a day die on the country’s roads every day. The roads are of a mixed quality – excellent dual carriageway with a nice hard shoulder in the popular tourist region spanning Amritsar-Delhi-Agra. However the road leading on from Agra to Calcutta is currently still under construction and a difficult ride that requires a lot of patience and nerves of steel.
We have witnessed a few sobering crash scenes ourselves as we cycled along. Just before Delhi we saw a woman on a motorbike who had been hit by a van minutes before, and was lying dead on the ground in a huge pool of blood. On the same day we came across another crash scene where a speeding coach had plowed into three pedestrians (we read in the paper the next day that they had all died). We have also caused one accident when a motorcyclist distracted by us crashed into the back of another vehicle in front and came off his bike into the path of a coach – thankfully the coach managed to stop in time and the cyclist was unhurt.
The traffic in cities is no less crazy, though much slower thanks to the multitudes of cyclists, pedestrians, bullock carts, and cycle rickshaws. Cycling in cities on a recumbent is frustrating. Stop-starts on a recumbent are harder than on an ordinary bike, and the strangeness of the bikes attracts a big crowd of cyclists swarming all around us – the last thing we want.
Cycling in India takes some time to get used to, and there is no denying that at times you need nerves of steel. However there are many other cyclists on the roads and road-users are more accustomed to them than in Europe. The important thing to remember is not to take any unnecessary chances, but also not to be too timid on the road (or you will not get anywhere!!).
People – We found Indian people very much like Pakistani people, curious, friendly, and wanting to strike up a conversation at every opportunity. However unlike Pakistani people they are more certain of their own status (thus sometimes come across as less respectful of ours). The concept of personal space (very dear to our European upbringing) is virtually unknown here too – it is common for locals to jostle, touch, or even shove as you walk or cycle along.
Though English is spoken widely by the educated folk, they are not always as familiar with conventional ways of saying things, thus opening lines are sometimes abrupt or comically formal: “Excuse me good gentleman, which country do you hail from?”. It is also first in a series of questions that seem to have been learnt from a single book in order to ask western tourists (what is your qualification? or Are you in service?).
The nature of questions are different too from Pakistan. In Pakistan the folks are very interested in your marital and religious status. In India, the primary interests seem to be more material: how much you earn, how much the bikes cost, etc. Not so surprising in a country where everyone appears to be on the make!!
We have also seen some very amusing signs and restaurant menus – overuse of apostrophe is very common, and so are ‘sand witches’ in most restaurants! 🙂
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Being mobbed by a crowd of people was a big pain in the neck at times – particularly since we are tired and our nerves are stretched so tight from the constant vigilance. Even when we stop by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, within a few minutes a small crowd miraculously gathers, gawping at us whilst we are trying to get a few minutes of rest/water/bite to eat! A few times we told them to go away and leave us to have our lunch in peace but our efforts were rudely ignored and our words were often imitated in an ape-like fashion! Grrrrr…. >:(
Magical India – Despite its frustrations, India is a fascinating country. Despite increasing Western influence, the country still retains a huge historical heritage and has some of the world’s most amazing monuments and temples. Is it worth visiting? Definitely yes. On a bike? The northwest definitely yes (to Agra), central and northeast definitely no.
Poverty – Generally speaking India is more prosperous than its neighbours, though poverty is still visible everywhere you look in one form of another. Compared to Pakistan (where almost everyone is poor) there is a bigger contrast between the poor and the rich in India – it is common to see bare-footed beggars in rags scrabbling amidst rubbish tips for food and booty whilst the rich people are riding along in their massive 4x4s, wearing designer gear.
Sadly, along with poverty comes lack of hygiene and civil amenities. We have seen some truly unsavoury sights such as a little child defecating on the high street whilst two wild pigs fought each other behind her trying to eat the fresh faeces (!). Men spitting on the street and urinating openly everywhere without even bothering to shield themselves, dead rotting animal carcasses being eaten by other wild animals, and packs of stray dogs everywhere.
Climate – We have been reading in the papers and hearing from the locals that this year India is in the grip of a vicious spell of cold weather, which has so far claimed 150 lives. We on the other hand, loved the weather, since it was reminiscent of a good English summer!
As a local newspaper states sic: “ICY BREEZE LASHES CITY – The city was in grip of icy breeze on Thursday. For the first time the maximum temperature dipped below the 20 degree mark” !!!!
It was amusing to see the locals shivering in their thick woolen shawls and wooly hats and gloves whilst we were sweating in our t-shirts!! Though the temperature at night does drop to 0-10C, during the day it is positively balmy!
