a traffic memory

I'm not sure that I ever commented on this, but I had a video saved from a few weeks past that is an excellent example of Chengdu traffic at its most aggravating.

We were in a van - the first problem! - leaving the "bulk market." This is a sprawling shopping district where you can buy just about anything in large quantities (as the name suggests). We've gone there a couple times for fabric - to make our curtains and sheets. On this particular trip, it started to rain HARD just a few minutes before we were leaving - the second problem. Our friend Brian, who was driving, was kind enough to get the van and pick us up. As we pulled away, we had to turn around at a major intersection. This intersection was underneath an overpass - the third problem. While cars and trucks are plentiful, the roads are still chocked full of bikes, scooters, and pedicabs that are like cheap taxis. Because of the rain, all these were camped out underneath the overpass to stay dry, even though it meant stopping in the middle of a major intersection.

Now, you have to understand that driving here is slightly different. Drivers work under a different rule book. Traffic lights are suggestions. There is no concept of "right of way." If there is space for you, you go for it. Patience is most definitely NOT a virtue - problem number four.

So Brian pulled into the intersection, turning left on a green light as he was supposed to, and was met head-on by another car from the opposite direction. On our left, a fleet of pedicabs have closed within centimeters as they wait for our van to pass by. Behind us, cars have pulled right up behind us as they try to make the same turn. Then the light changes, and now cross traffic enters the intersection from both directions. We are blocked on all sides. Horns blare. Tempers flare. Nothing changes.

I have no clue how long we were stuck there waiting to move....it felt like forever. It was at least long enough for me to take my camera out. Here's a short video to give you the visual.




THANKFULLY, our drive to and from school is not nearly so eventful. I think I have gone through a metamorphosis - suddenly, I am not so against life in the suburbs.

-alan