From Delhi to Roop Niwas by road and by train

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Rajasthan, episode 2

Our road travels took us from Delhi, Agra, Bharatpur and on to Ranthambore by train, back on the road to Jaipur and onto our final destination, Roop Niwas Kothi, Nawalgarh (Shekhawati).

Of all the road trips I have made, either as a driver or passenger, this journey was the most memorable. Never before have I witnessed so many people in so many different modes of transport mixed in with camels, donkeys, horses, ‘sacred cows’, monkeys, dogs and anything else that pops up! Yet, for some reason, the number of accidents are few. However, when you are exposed, for the first time, to rush hour traffic in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, you cannot believe that all these people manage to get to their destinations intact. Road rage does not exist, but everybody sits on their horns.

Let's have a look at some of the more interesting images:

We took the option to visit Old Delhi where our transport was a three-wheeled bicycle resembling a type of Rickshaw.

Yours truly and Memsahib about to depart in the capable hands of our ‘Wagon Master’

Over a twenty minute period we wove and maneuvered through the pedestrians, scooters, motor bikes, bicycles and other forms of wheeled transport.

Old Delhi: Some of the scenes as we passed by

“Another one of the ‘I don’t believe it’ sights to behold was the electricity distribution system!”

The Central Baptist Church ‘bus’ picking up children on their way to school. There looks to be about six children in the ‘bus’ with two more trying to get on.

Travelling between the major cities and out of in the more rural areas, the volume of traffic decreases, but not the intensity of the driving. Roundabouts and central reservations are often the reserve of small family units and their livestock. On more than one occasion, we encountered cows and cattle walking in the middle of the road towards the oncoming traffic. What is amazing, the traffic swerves round the animals, which are totally oblivious to the dangers around them. You have got to see it to believe it.

Street life:

Sacred cow lying in the road at the edge of a roundabout

The village bus off on another journey

A long rest after a busy morning waiting for trade

One of the intersections in Jaipur

A woman collects water from one of the municipal pumps in Jaipur

Rajasthan, episode 1: Rajasthan - a photographer's paradise

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