A short journey of a few kilometres can take two hours depending on Traffic. What time will you pick me up tomorrow? We'll leave early because of Traffic. See that pile of cars on the other side of the road? Traffic. We're an hour late for a meeting because of the Traffic. Tomorrow (Friday) is the weekend, so no Traffic. I should easily make it to my flight on Saturday night, because no Traffic.
Dhaka is a city of 12 million people, including 7 million who commute into the city every day. Think about it. Traffic. Traffic intensifies during thunderstorms, but also seemingly when it's fine and sunny. Rush hour is complete mayhem, but sometimes there is also Traffic at other times of the day. The roads and footpaths are full of potholes that fill up with rain, making for a bumpy ride. It's all part of the Bengali experience.
Today, the city of Dhaka is officially closed for the mayoral elections. No motorised vehicles are allowed on the roads, although I've seen one or two. That means there is very little Traffic. Vehicles are not vying for open spaces, regardless of whether or not they're allowed to perform a U-turn at a busy intersection or drive on the other side of the road. The car horns and rickshaw bells are mostly quiet and it feels safer to walk around.
Here are some of the vehicles you will see on the road. I've been for a short rickshaw ride and hopefully will have an opportunity to ride in a CNG. Unfortunately I'm unable to take an aerial photo of a really good traffic jam in action, but the gif above almost captures it. (It's a bit more orderly than yesterday's spectacular traffic jam that our Uber was somehow in the middle of.)
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| An elaborate rickshaw |
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| Rickshaw taxi stand |
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| CNG because it runs on ... CNG |
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| Pedestrians, rickshaws, CNGs and motorised vehicles all vie for space on busy roads |
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| A commuter train at dusk Zoom in to see children hitching a ride on the roof |
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