h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I live in India and I must say that whatever's said here is pretty accurate. If the picture had been painted to be more grim it would have been even more accurate! Don't depend on public conveniences: the New Delhi buses are the worst, the Mumbai local trains are too packed to attempt getting in and the less said about the cabbies and auto rikshaws the better. Be also careful about being taken for a ride by the drivers who will overcharge foreigners and take non-locals for a long spin. The Kolkatta metro is a bit better. In India, it's best to hire a car, self-drive or chauffeur-driven, from a proper car hire company. This may be a more expensive option but it's so much safer. In Goa, you can hire your two wheeler, an Enfield motorbike or a Kinetic Honda scooter, on a daily basis from locals who stand by their vehicles waiting for customers. Best time to strike a deal is before noon as the previous day's clients have returned their vehicles and so you have more of a choice. Goa has a long siesta so conduct ALL business before lunch. Try and take the train or aircraft in India while travelling and stay off the roads as much as possible!

I was only in India for a fortnight in about 1986, but it put years on me. I recall driving into a roundabout on the Agra - Delhi road one night, that hadn't been there when I'd passed by that morning going the other way ! Apparently, a cow had lain in the road, people had come to feed it and to keep the creature safe from passing traffic while it was chewing, rocks had been rolled around it - to make the roundabout. When it got up, no one took away the rocks, and as the Sun had by then set I joined a scrapyard of vehicles in the storm ditch beside the "roundabout".

And, as I think Brian Johnston once said, "I still don't know if they drive on the left or the right".

techically neither - if there is no traffic (or otherwise) you are meant to drive down the middle of the road, otherwise you will hit pedestrians/bulls/scooters/potholes/roadside stalls...

and of course, if a pedestrian begins crossing the road in front of you, DO NOT CHANGE DIRECTION. 99 times out of 100 he will take three steps out and, regardless of the position/speed/direction of your car, go back again. so by changing direction you're only encouraging an accident!