Traffic

Traffic is really crazy here.  From our time in Nanchang last time, I remembered crazy traffic, but of a very wide variety of vehicles - very wide.  There are still a lot of very interesting modes of transportation that go by and interesting ways of riding them while holding umbrellas or while riding the back seat of a bike under the back of the pedaler's poncho or with a toddler balanced on the footboard of a scooter.  However, it is different this time.  Maybe just due to the different cities and we'll see when we gat to Nanchang later this week if it has changed there, but there are now a lot more cars.  

Since the 2008 Olympics, drivers are limited to which days they can drive depending on their license plate number.   It keeps 20% of cars off the street M-F.  And yet it still takes forever to get anywhere in Beijing.  

If I had to drive here I would end up paralyzed in the middle of the road not knowing what to do.   Everyone here seems to know how to navigate the chaos though.   Pedestrians walk nonchalantly into the road in front all manner of vehicle.  Scooters zoom in and out between cars and busses and the intersection is a big game of chicken to see who backs down first and lets the others go.  This game of chicken may occur between a bike and our big tour bus.  

Our drivers are amazing in their ability to manuever those busses around.

Marnie