A Ride Through the Old City

(Julie) Transportation in India is always interesting, chaotic, and somehow oddly fluid. I tasted a new flavor of Indian transportation on a trip through the Old City of Udaipur in search of a pharmacist.

Arriving in Udaipur on 2nd November, I had a tremendous head cold and no cold medicine. Upon checking in to our historic haveli hotel, I asked if someone could show me the way to a pharmacy. A young man at the inn said if I could wait a few minutes he would be happy to take me there. This being an Indian old city and made up of a maze of narrow twisting streets, I thought we would simply walk for a few minutes. But when a I followed him out the door, I found he had jumped on a motorcycle and expected me to get on behind him. Sans helmet.

Streets within the old cities of any town in India are extremely narrow affairs, most too narrow for cars and some just barely wide enough but with open gutters that can quickly entrap an errant wheel. The streets mostly handle foot traffic, auto rickshaws, hand carts, the occassional auto with a driver crazy enough to try getting through, and the ubiquitous motor bike.

With a quick prayer to Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, I climbed on back and we sped off through the twisting maze of streets dodging pedestrians, auto rickshaws, other motor bikes, the odd car and many placid cows. Our route took us past the Jagdish Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, where I was delivered to a pharmacist who spoke English. The pharmacist sat me down and proceeded to practice medicine without a license. We went over my cold symptoms and he showed me his recommendations including a "sort of but not really" antibiotic that all the doctors are currently prescribing. After making my purchases it was back on the motor bike retracing our path through the maze and a safe arrival back at the hotel. I'm much better now.

Epilogue: Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
One night in Udaipur the entire group took auto rickshaws to a very nice restaurant overlooking Lake Picchola, forming a conga line. My rickshaw was in the lead and every twist and turn of the narrow streets brought forth new obstacles to dodge, especially the impassive cows. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Need I say more?