My
footprints in
Let me
introduce you to the “taxi” of Ahmedabad—the auto-rickshaw. It is three-wheeled
motorcycle with a seat at the back which can carry two passengers. It is quite
interesting. There is a meter in the front. But we have to make sure that the
driver sets zero before it goes. Most of the time I asked my Indian friends to
speak to the driver on my behalf, so that I would not be cheated. The minimum
fare in Ahmedabad is 7 rupees (roughly 10p or HKD 1.50). It costs me roughly
twenty or thirty rupees to go from Old Ahmedabad to New Ahmedabad, a twenty to
thirty-minute ride. Although it is obviously not air-conditioned, you feel cool
on an auto-rickshaw in a hot day when it is moving fast on the road.
Figures
1 and 2 Auto-rickshaw and an auto-rickshaw driver (or, auto-rickshaw-wala)
圖一：機動三輪車 圖二：機動三輪車司機
Figures
3 and 4 Meter and a view of the driver’s seat from behind
圖三：計程錶 圖四：從後看司機座位
雪泥鴻爪在天竺 （六）
讓我介紹一下阿姆達巴得的出租車──機動三輪車，直譯是自動／機動人力車(auto-rickshaw)。它的後座可載兩個人，蠻有趣的。在司機座位旁有個計程錶，但我們記得要司機把它調整至零，才開車。大多數時候我都是請我的印度朋友幫我跟司機說話，免得被騙。起步價七盧比（約十英便士或港幣一元半）。從舊城到新城（車程二十至三十分鐘），大約花二十或三十盧比。雖然它明顯的是沒有空調，但若行車快速的話，大熱天時坐在其上也很涼爽。