why is 9miles so hard?

June 7, 2007

I am determined to kick this rural Indian bus system’s butt! The past five days had given me a chance to recover from Sunday’s Pune bus debacle, so I decided to get back on that horse. I decided to maybe restart with a small less intimidating step of going to the ATM 10km out of my town and on the main highway. So at least I would know what direction to start walking in if push came to shove, since it is just down the highway.

So after work I was able to catch a scooter ride into my town (Urulikanchan) to catch the bus on the highway. I walked up just as it was pulling out and found the last seat in the ladies section. After the 10 min ride I was even able to successfully identify the nondescript area along the highway known as Theurphata and signal to get off. It looks just like every other populated area along the highway to me, so I was happy not to it. There is apparently a large sugarcane factory off the highway there, so it seems to be quite the hub. Of course everywhere seems to be a hub, with 1 billion people here and all.

Of course just as I was feeling confident and getting the wind back in my sails I attempted, and failed, to catch the bus back to my town. Of course 10 or more went by in the hour I stood there, but none were going my way. Finally, with the monsoon clouds looming, I decided to bite the bullet and catch a shared motor rickshaw. It is only a few rupees more than the bus (which amounts to less than 10 cents) and just a little slower. I should have done that after 10 minutes, but I was determined to not give up so easily. I’ll get ‘em next time.

By the time I got to Urulikanchan it was pouring and thundering and lightening. I wanted to get a couple things before heading home, so I attempted to walk through town to the market area. No one was on the street and I looked pretty ridiculous; with my pants rolled up and completely drenched. Im sure I gave all the people standing under the eves of the stores quite a nice chuckle. I only made it about 20 yards and had to take refuge in a store. I even had my $2 umbrella I bought a few days ago, but it was no match for this downpour. I thought if I bought my umbrella here it was sure to get me through any monsoon rain! I was mistaken. I even started out a second time and only made it 10 more feet. The worst part is the water on the roads—it’s immediately flooded and you have to walk through ankle deep water and mud. But what can you do. The rickshaw drivers wouldn’t even take me home b/c of the weather. So I waited it out standing in a restaurant for 20 minutes or so and then headed back out after it let up. I did some shopping and by that time I was late enough to catch my organization’s van back to my compound at 745. When I got back the electricity was off, so it wasn’t the best homecoming after a soggy outing. And to boot, Mrs. M took a trip with her family tonight, so no one delivered me dinner! Can you believe the nerve of her! I was finally forced to conquer the gas burner attached to the big propane tank in the middle of my kitchen and make myself some boiled instant noodles. While I was eating the power came back on, so that brightened my mood a little. I wasn’t looking forward to another night without my fan. Yesterday the power was off from 2pm to 2am, so it was very hard to sleep. Tonight should be better.

Oh, and for those of you who have been asking for pictures, you’ll just have to hold your horses. Im working with a dial up connection that doubles as a phone line for my organization, so it may be a while. (Don’t ask me how many phone lines they have. Im assuming more than one b/c no one said anything about not getting any phone calls the last three days I was unknowingly surfing the web on the only line. Oops.) And just for reference, its not 3 people sitting in a building, there are hundreds of people that work on this compound. So lets hope there is more than one line. That’s it for now.