Im having a hard time narrowing this down to just 10 but here goes :)
10. Straight in at number 10 we have
Auto Drivers - these guys are a breed apart. Although there are a million trillion of them, very few actually seem to want to pick you up when you most need it ie. in the morning to get to work in the rush hour. Almost all will tail you when your just out for a stroll and in no particular hurry.
4 out 5 of those that do actually stop when hailed, will simply wobble their heads as if to say OK, and then drive off after you tell them where you wish to go.
Santhome? (My work district) No chance. Its not as though its some notoriously dodgy suburb on the wrong side of town. And anyway the whole of Chennai is a notoriously dodgy suburb.
When your finally lucky enough to find one willing to take you and his chances in Santhome, then begins the fare negotiations; This can take some time, depending on how late you are already.
These guys were born to haggle, you were not. And they can sense desperation a mile away.
Either way, and no matter how accomplished your own haggling skills, your paying somewhere between 50-250% over the regular meter fare.
In the main there are 2 distinct kinds of driver, and driving style, and none of them is the Stig. The majority (by far) it would seem attended the Chennai Kamikaze Auto Driver training School. Not all of them passed by the way but that would not seem to be any bar to becoming licenced to kill.
A distinct minority veer the other way (quite literally).These guys take their time (and yours) And are happy to meander along gently driving cross legged whilst singing along to Tamil radio. They will take you a circuitous route through the steamy underbelly of Chennia in order to get you to your destination, but then so do their Kamikaze colleagues. The difference is that this time you can actually see (and smell) the sights en route, and this is not always (ie.never) desirable.
No. 9 tommorow..
10. Straight in at number 10 we have
Auto Drivers - these guys are a breed apart. Although there are a million trillion of them, very few actually seem to want to pick you up when you most need it ie. in the morning to get to work in the rush hour. Almost all will tail you when your just out for a stroll and in no particular hurry.
4 out 5 of those that do actually stop when hailed, will simply wobble their heads as if to say OK, and then drive off after you tell them where you wish to go.
Santhome? (My work district) No chance. Its not as though its some notoriously dodgy suburb on the wrong side of town. And anyway the whole of Chennai is a notoriously dodgy suburb.
When your finally lucky enough to find one willing to take you and his chances in Santhome, then begins the fare negotiations; This can take some time, depending on how late you are already.
These guys were born to haggle, you were not. And they can sense desperation a mile away.
Either way, and no matter how accomplished your own haggling skills, your paying somewhere between 50-250% over the regular meter fare.
In the main there are 2 distinct kinds of driver, and driving style, and none of them is the Stig. The majority (by far) it would seem attended the Chennai Kamikaze Auto Driver training School. Not all of them passed by the way but that would not seem to be any bar to becoming licenced to kill.
A distinct minority veer the other way (quite literally).These guys take their time (and yours) And are happy to meander along gently driving cross legged whilst singing along to Tamil radio. They will take you a circuitous route through the steamy underbelly of Chennia in order to get you to your destination, but then so do their Kamikaze colleagues. The difference is that this time you can actually see (and smell) the sights en route, and this is not always (ie.never) desirable.
No. 9 tommorow..
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