Rickshaw Riding

Today I finally rode a rickshaw! 🛺 Not a tuk tuk but a bicycle-pulled rickshaw/ pushcart! I worked all day on Machine Learning tutorials and even wrote a blog post about it on my tech blog. Then, decided around 4 to head out for my afternoon walk. On the way out, I ran into the downstairs neighbors who invited me into their house where I chatted with them in the kitchen while munching on the best, most highly-seasoned, homemade chicken nugget-like snacks ever! That’s what chicken nuggets are supposed to taste like. That was courtesy of the same neighbors who made palak paneer for us a couple nights before. 

When I left a few minutes later I was with their housekeeper who had finished her work for the day. I walked with her to a different part of Baridhara and finally crossed the lake. Instead of walking all the way around the lake and back, I finally accepted the offer of a rickshaw driver to take me back. It was a smoother ride than I expected and I was able to more fully take in the scenery without windows and doors acting as a barrier or having to look down for uneven pavement. It’s amazing how much these drivers can pull using their own momentum from peddling! It’s remarkable. So when we approached and attempted to drive over a medium-sized speed bump and my rickshaw start rolling backwards 🙄 I was like “really? lol I know I’m not that heavy”. But my driver definitely got off the rickshaw and pulled me over the bump. I offered to get off but he told me to stay on. He eventually got back on and peddled all the way to the entrance of the neighborhood where he was detained by the guards. Not sure why they didn’t let him in, likely due to zoning requirements for rickshaws or security regulations. But I thanked him, paid and walked the rest of the way after all I was back on my stomping grounds! 

Since I was walking anyway, I figured I’d make one more stop to the corner store not too far from the house. I bought some gum and a dried fruit called Sakura Plum. I had hoped it would be sweet but it’s kind of sour.

As usual I had a nice walk and I look forward to it again tomorrow!