Tuesday morning we experienced the “automobiles” portion of our “planes, trains, and automobiles” Indian experience as we traveled from Varanasi to Gorakhpur. The following is my rambling stream of consciousness as we journeyed.
- 150 miles in 6 hours = 25 mph average
- Village after village after village
- 20 years ago, there was no church in any of these villages
- Now, about half the villages have a house church
- Lots (and lots) of litter
- Very fertile land – this is the bread basket of India with two harvests per year
- Sooooo many near misses driving. Driving here has been described as a dance floor. Cars, lorries (trucks), bicycles, pedicabs, oxcarts, and pedestrians (and sometimes cows) share the road, weaving in and out to find an open space as on a dance floor.
- Contrasts:
- A very few very nice homes and buildings
- Most homes are quite small; a few are shacks
- Lots of abandoned, partially completed buildings
- Red brick everywhere
- Bad or very bad roads
- The elephant in the middle of the road
- 2, 3 or even 4 on a motorcycle
Below is a picture of the team with Victor John upon our arrival in Gorakhpur.
Enjoying your blog! Yes…that sounds like the India we experienced!