There's so much you could write about India and a lot of other people already have, so I'm not going to bother suffice to say that the experiences you have here, both negative and positive will not leave you unaffected by them. From a motorcycling point of view I personally didn't enjoy riding in India as much as the previous countries and at one stage actually put myself and the bike on a train to save riding 800 kms across the northern plains. This also worked out cheaper than putting fuel in the tank with the relative high cost of petrol in India. Basically there's just too much traffic, humanity and livestock all competing for space on narrow, poor quality roads that you can very rarely sit back and enjoy the ride. The trucks and buses belch out a torrent of black diesel fumes that will have you looking like a chimney sweep come the end of the day, that's if they don't run you off the road first. With the local rule being that he who has the greatest might also has the right of way, you don't carry much clout on a motorcycle and have to be ready to take evasive action at any time. Proficient use of the horn is mandatory. At times you can draw huge mobs around you, eliminating the need for a side stand. This surprised us as westerners are no longer a novelty in India. I think it's more a case of the gathering itself rather than the actual central attraction drawing people over for a look. With us both not being the attention seeking types this did become a little tiring at times and we found ourselves trying to avoid this scenario and the usual round of questions.
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