Musings whilst on the road.

Blog 3

If im ever stuck in traffic in the ‘civilised world’ again I must remember my trips to and from the airport in Tana!  Roads are congested and broken up with large holes to be dodged whcih makes for slow going. There are often no pavements at all. The fumes through the car window are seriously intoxicating. The locals seem oblivious and my driver keeps his window open ‘to let the fresh air in’!!  It reminds me of Kathmandu where even some of the local where masks to breathe through. In Tana the roads are wider and the buildings spaced further apart but this does little to appease the thick air. In Kathmandu walking down a main road was simply torture and it really is much the same here

The road from the airport into town

The mish-mash of different vehicles in this city is like nothing ive ever seen. They are driving anything from 50 year old plus Renaults, of all different kinds,  seriously beat up mini vans – to brand new range rovers, Mercedes and VW Golfs.  And if that doesn’t tell you something about this society already, you are blind. A lot of the men drive these cool old skool looking Peugeots golf’s and BMW 3 series. Some of them are painted really nice and its clear there a kind of status symbol. 

A classic Renault, a common site

However it does not distract much from the petrol/diesel they run on. If you have never been to a city in the 3^rd world, it is quite unbelievable how bad the fumes are.  Im quite sure, the fuel they use is banned in the US and most of Europe. At least that’s how it was in South America, so im sure it’s the same here – and of course there are no filters either. You simply cant escape the smell hanging in the air and being covered in dirt and grime if your on the streets or in a traffic jam for very long.

young boy looking after a baby

To make matters even more interesting when your stuck still in the traffic, the famous car window sellers are queued up in the most congested areas. They are very sad people and seeing them desperately trying to sell what ever it is they’re peddling is uncomfortable to the western eye.  They come in all ages, male and female. Some of them look like complete stragglers, they look ill and in very bad shape. All of them are covered in the black dust of the fumes and none where masks. Some of them are smart young guys who have big smiles as they approach, some of them are young children. The stuff sold is various: sun glasses, leather belts, newspapers, electronic goods like mobile phone chargers and usb adapters, door mats, fruit , other snacks and all sorts of other stuff.

not really sure!

Generally I feel that half of these goods are the sort of thing you want to buy when standing in a shop or at a stall. Why these people are trying to flog them through car windows I don’t get. But then I suppose they don’t have any other choice.  I did not see anyone take up there offer. Of course being the foreigner they pay special attention to me, I blush, shake my head and say no.  This isn’t the sort of traffic jam you want to be stuck in on your way to or from work, but in Antananarivo that’s the way it is. 

2 young kids are left to play all day in the shade of a roadside clothes stall

As I sit back in the 4x4 which is escorting me around town I take a deep sigh. To see all the degeneration on the street makes me feel so very lucky to be who I am. Ill do my work here and ill work hard, ill try my best and help where I can. Despite all the unknown around me I do not wish to be any where else at all.

A man and his child sleep in the shade on the street