Life and (near) death in Maximum City

All I have to say about today's commute home from the office is Holy. Mother. Of. God. Traffic here is always chaotic and seemingly rule free, but at rush hour it is astonishing. There are no lanes on most streets and people just squeeze in wherever they can. Cars and autorickshaws and trucks and motorcycles and pedestrians pass within millimeters of each other--literally. People wander nonchalantly through traffic to cross major roads. It is absolutely impossible to describe adequately what it is like to be in the midst of it. I thought the driving situation in Lisbon was crazy, but now I understand that its drivers' use of sidewalks as alternative lanes is positively demure.

Here's a photo from amidst the insanity. There are more new shots in my album (see link in sidebar). I love how the passenger has his bare foot sticking out.


In other news, I suggest to my San Francisco friends that they take a moment to step out into the Tenderloin district and marvel at the sparkling clean, sanitized wonder that it is...and marvel too at the prosperity of its residents. The level of poverty and the lack of sanitation here in many areas is mind blowing and gut wrenching, in no small part because of the constant contrast between luxury and filth--high end clothing and housewares stores sit on streets piled with rubble and inhabited by paupers; the most expensive hotel in town is a block or two away from corrugated tin shacks with no water or power and open fires burning inside. It is extremely humbling and deeply moving to be driven through these streets.

But still I am very glad that I am here.