Today, I cycled to the hospital on my rented bicycle. The journey was nothing short of amazing as I find myself falling more and more in love with 'Incredible India'. The lack of orderliness, numerous pot-holes in the road, pedestrians walking like they have a stake in the road's ownership and the unceasing beeping, clinking and honking all culminated in my authentic experience of what it was like to travel like a local.
Throughout my journey, I got responses as varied as weird stares, amused smiles, delightful waving and approving nods from the locals. Many people think I am pretty crazy getting a bicycle (or two-wheeler as they term it here) to travel over here in Vellore but some are quite supportive like Ms Sheela from the Dean's Office. My mother was pretty indifferent, probably due to the numerous things I have done over the years that have numbed her fears, all she said was "be careful".
Cycling here is very enjoyable for me as the traffic flowed like fluid; it moves around you, but never at you. I felt like a fish back in the ocean weaving in and out of traffic, meandering around other two-wheelers and pedestrians; I was in my element.
Another reason why I wanted to travel on the bicycle is so that I can better recognise the roads and places. I always believe that there is no better way to travel and discover a place then walking the ground personally. It is through such first-hand experiences that you connect with the people and become incorporated into their way of life. It is only through such means that one can truly be immersed in culture - you eat, shop, travel and do everything like the locals.
After the ride in the morning, I was even more convinced that I needed to buy a bicycle. Therefore, I rode to the rental shop to meet the boss during lunchtime. He was pleasantly surprised at my offer to buy a bicycle and quoted me 1500 Rupees for a very decent secondhand bicycle. That bicycle looked pretty new compared to the one I rented before and I immediately agreed. I took the bicycle for a spin to make sure that the chain did not keep falling out like what happened on the previous bicycle. It was a smooth criminal; each stroke of the pedal felt as smooth as butter between tongue and palate. I went back, borrowed some tools to true the handlebar to the front wheel as it was pretty off and paid the boss. I was the proud owner of a two-wheeler! Words could not adequately describe how happy I was as I made my way back to the hospital for lunch. I intend to donate the two-wheeler to Modale International Student Hostel when I leave so that if future batches of students ever need a bicycle, it is available! =]
I had the same thing as yesterday, Chicken Briyani, as I wanted to spend some time in the Chapel after lunch.
I found an empty seat in the packed restaurant and asked for permission to occupy it. The man then asked where I was from and we started a lunchtime conversation. His name was Daal and he used to work as a non-medical researcher in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He also shared that he graduated with a degree in English Literature and was currently teaching English. This explains why his English was so fluent and why we managed to even go beyond the superficial formalities of a brief conversation. Daal left after his meal and I went to get another Pepsi and 1L bottle of water as I was seriously dehydrated from the heat. Cool Pepsi never tasted so good! The weather here is so hot that even if you refrigerate drinks, they will never be ice-cold...
Throughout my journey, I got responses as varied as weird stares, amused smiles, delightful waving and approving nods from the locals. Many people think I am pretty crazy getting a bicycle (or two-wheeler as they term it here) to travel over here in Vellore but some are quite supportive like Ms Sheela from the Dean's Office. My mother was pretty indifferent, probably due to the numerous things I have done over the years that have numbed her fears, all she said was "be careful".
Cycling here is very enjoyable for me as the traffic flowed like fluid; it moves around you, but never at you. I felt like a fish back in the ocean weaving in and out of traffic, meandering around other two-wheelers and pedestrians; I was in my element.
Another reason why I wanted to travel on the bicycle is so that I can better recognise the roads and places. I always believe that there is no better way to travel and discover a place then walking the ground personally. It is through such first-hand experiences that you connect with the people and become incorporated into their way of life. It is only through such means that one can truly be immersed in culture - you eat, shop, travel and do everything like the locals.
After the ride in the morning, I was even more convinced that I needed to buy a bicycle. Therefore, I rode to the rental shop to meet the boss during lunchtime. He was pleasantly surprised at my offer to buy a bicycle and quoted me 1500 Rupees for a very decent secondhand bicycle. That bicycle looked pretty new compared to the one I rented before and I immediately agreed. I took the bicycle for a spin to make sure that the chain did not keep falling out like what happened on the previous bicycle. It was a smooth criminal; each stroke of the pedal felt as smooth as butter between tongue and palate. I went back, borrowed some tools to true the handlebar to the front wheel as it was pretty off and paid the boss. I was the proud owner of a two-wheeler! Words could not adequately describe how happy I was as I made my way back to the hospital for lunch. I intend to donate the two-wheeler to Modale International Student Hostel when I leave so that if future batches of students ever need a bicycle, it is available! =]
I had the same thing as yesterday, Chicken Briyani, as I wanted to spend some time in the Chapel after lunch.
I found an empty seat in the packed restaurant and asked for permission to occupy it. The man then asked where I was from and we started a lunchtime conversation. His name was Daal and he used to work as a non-medical researcher in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He also shared that he graduated with a degree in English Literature and was currently teaching English. This explains why his English was so fluent and why we managed to even go beyond the superficial formalities of a brief conversation. Daal left after his meal and I went to get another Pepsi and 1L bottle of water as I was seriously dehydrated from the heat. Cool Pepsi never tasted so good! The weather here is so hot that even if you refrigerate drinks, they will never be ice-cold...
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