|
Headline: Forty is a dangerous age for bikers like me. Byline: Paul Simon mounted a 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet to take an unforgettable
tour of By Paul
Simon. Source: The
Observer, Feature article of 3223 words. Excerpts: If you've never experienced an Indian road before, you're in for a bit of a shock. Cast aside any lingering memory of the Highway Code and surrender to the madness. Forget road etiquette, all you need know is that small gives way to big, quiet gives way to loud, and everything gives way to the sacred. The minibus journey
out of Motorbikes and
scooters weaved in and out at speed, making wild changes of direction to avoid
huge potholes or speedbumps, while pedestrians tended to favour the middle of
the road where often there was the least traffic, all motor vehicles having
chosen to make better progress on the verge. Meanwhile, under everybody's feet or wheels careered a menagerie of dogs, goats, pigs, chickens, fish - seemingly oblivious to the danger, fish sellers were laying out their wares on blankets next to spindly children bouncing on discarded tyres within inches of the speeding vehicles. And in between it all, haughtily disregarding the commotion, cows lay down, grazed, wandered or stood immobile, confident in the knowledge that absolutely everything else had to give way to them. �I signalled once to a bunch of boys splashing about in a river that I wanted to take their photo, and as soon as the camera reached my eye they pulled down their swimming trunks to flash me�.
Full text at: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/travel/story/0,6903,1096009,00.html |
