Speed Bumps and Elephant Rides

Speed Bumps...or shall I say "speed beakers"?

I'm not sure if I didn't notice them the first half of the trip or if they just happen to be more intense this last half.  Whatever the case may be, speed bumps are SERIOUS here.  They are either huge (I'm talking a couple feet long) or they place numerous speedbumps in a row leading to a somewhat hilarious outcome.  For example, we were getting dropped off at the airport the other day when we came upon a few of these consecutive speed beakers.  We approached the first one, no biggie.  The second one, a little air.  The third one, RIDICULOUS air.  My friend was sitting cross-legged and she literally hit her head on the top of the bus.

As you can see, they don't mess around with their speed bumps.  In Mother Pious Lady they say that India may not build the best roads but they sure know how to build great speed beakers.  And that they do.   Considering that any of the following may be found on the road at any given time - car, bus, truck, taxi, auto rickshaw, camel, horse, cow, dog, people, monkey, goat - these speed beakers are not such a bad idea. They provide some sort of order to an otherwise chaotic transportation system. Chaotic from an outsiders perspective yet normal for those who live here.

What got me to thinking about these speed bumps, you ask?  Today we rode elephants.  The ride felt like 30 minutes of consecutive speed beakers.  It was one of the coolest experiences ever.  We were able to ride the elephants to the top of Amber Fort in Jaipur complete with stunning views of the mountains that surround and protect the fort.  I felt bad for the elephant gang at the beginning but was reassured by our guide that the elephants are only able to transport people up to the fort for two hours throughout the day and are typically finished around 10:30am before the extreme heat of the day arrives.  I never thought I would have the option of seeing an elephant (other than the zoo), much less riding one...

UPDATE: I realized on the way to dinner tonight that they are actually called "speed breakers" but that doesn't sound nearly as cool so I am going to just stick with speed beakers.