Ok. It's our 13th day in Kolkata and we think we've become somewhat adjusted to the way that they drive here but tonight's ride home from the shelter house proved to be an altogether new level of craziness. Rajah, our driver (who is the nicest and most helpful guy) drove like a race car driver out to set a new record. Our eyes got bigger and our hearts beat faster as he sped up and proceeded to wind his way through the crowded streets as if it was a deserted road.
For example: we zipped around a car then swerved to miss a bus only to find a cow in the middle of the road, nonchalantly looking around. We honked -- of course -- but the cow didn't move an inch (and didn't bat an eyelash) so we did a quick maneuver around it and sped on. At one point we were going 112 km per hour (is that around 60-70 mph?) With so many cars, trucks, busses, motorcycles, animals, bicycles, rickshaw drivers, and pedestrians on the road, it seemed inevitable that we would crash into something or someone, but we didn't. Hooray!
Our guardian angels must have been hard at work 'cause we made it back to the hotel without a scratch, dent, or case of whiplash. I'm not at all sure how or why. One other plus was that it was definitely a cardio workout. I think I'd rather raise my heart rate some other way, though!
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