On the road

Worst roads we have seen

The roads we drove on in Tamil Nadu in 2008 were awful, full of potholes and requiring many detours where much-needed construction was taking place. But they were nothing compared to the awful roads of Karnataka. We were told that they are so bad because government money which is voted and given to improve them actually finds its way into the pockets of corrupt politicians. This was a subject we heard about several times: It appears that the politicians of Karnataka are among the most corrupt in India. C'est dire! (And that is saying something!)

In any case, we are never bored in India (except maybe in a city hotel room), not even on the road. Our first road in Karnataka was the drive from Bengaluru to Hampi.

Statue of Hanuman	Huge rocks
Oops...	Typical center of small Indian town
We eat a lot of bananas in India	Coconut milk for sale
Opening the coconut	And drinking the liquid inside

We often stop to get something to eat or drink. Small towns are quite interesting too and we went through many of them. At one point on the way to Hampi, we met with many colorfully-decorated bullock carts, as if they were all on their way to some sort of festival or rally. Maybe they were all on their way to some sort of festival or rally.

Colorfully painted and decorated bullock carts
Indian trucks comin' at us

One of the things which make Indian roads interesting is the presence of Indian trucks. They are always decorated profusely, with special paint jobs and ribbons everywhere. They also always drive like bats out of hell, with little regard for the lane they are in -- or for the one we were in!

In village or in town, Siv always finds happy children eager to be photographed
Colorfully decorated truck	Balanced rocks along the road
Village family	Village beauty
Small village	Roadside market

Our last strech of road was to get from Badami to Goa. The road was in better condition there, but we got lost, so it was a long day before we reached the sea again.

Approaching the coast	Beautiful coastal house
Scarecrow and waterfall	Back at the coast

Back to India 2009.