In the past we have always used taxis and the old-fashioned foot for transportation here. For those of you who have travelled you might know why. People drive like maniacs. There are seemingly no rules. In South America it's madness, but here they also drive on the other side of the road, adding to the confusion for us westerners.
In most of Asia you are given the added phenomenon of scooters. We have come to find out that there are laws here for driving, but scooters (and there are thousands) apparently have their own. They drive on either side of the road, any empty portion of the road, and they squeeze in anywhere they want. Scooters are often seen moving not only the occasional single and couple, but entire families (up to 5 so far), workmen with their ladders, tourists with surfboards, and other odd combinations.
Charlie has driven here before, but since we've come together has opted out of the driving responsibility. No longer. We rented a car four days ago and have been enjoying our freedom, and our handicaps, ever since. (We managed to buy some car-seats at a baby store - thank goodness!) We spent most of Sunday night driving to a church we had heard about. We drove one direction and found that we were going the wrong way, we turned around, eventually found the hotel (1.5 hour drive that should have been 45 min) only to find that the service is actually held on Saturdays. Ah well! This seems to be how it goes in other countries.
Some random "rules" Charlie has figured out:
-when passing a scooter, going around a corner, or wishing to pass - just honk
-when two vehicles are barreling toward each other and a scooter is in the way, whoever honks/flashes lights first gets the right-of-way to pass said scooter, this right-of-way does NOT automatically go to who already has the lane.
-the fact that a road is smaller than a one-way road at home does not mean it is a one-way road.
I hope to eventually put more information/pictures/links in these posts, but right now I am using internet cafes with only dial-up, hopefully we'll have something faster soon. We'll see.
2 comments:
Wow! What an exciting adventure(but I'm gald you found car seats for this adventure). At least you can say your life isn't boring. Love you all bunches.
I'm trying to be patient, but in all honesty, I'm not...it's been a long time since your last post. How are you guys doing???? Did ya find a house? I'ts 3 days before Christmas-can you believe it?? What's the atmosphere like over there, I mean about Christmas? I know your time on the internet is limited, but inquiring minds want to know! Hugs and kisses.
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