A Free Ride in a Rickshaw

Today was a big day.

Day 3 of India, and it was time to leave my jungle sanctuary and go into the Big City:

Bangalore.

There are many things I could write about, but I today I am going to tell you only about our rickshaw adventure.

I went into the city with a girl named Crystal, who has been here awhile and knows almost all the ropes.

We had been in town for a few hours (dare I say it....yes, we were shopping) and it was time to go to another street. We stopped to ask someone for directions (Indians are very friendly and love to be helpful) and a rickshaw driver pulled up and told us that he could take us there for 10 rupies. This is very inexpensive, and we asked him several times to confirm that it would only be 10 rupies. He insisted, so we got in. (This is where Grandma Mabby squeals and closes her eyes, remembering a certain rickshaw ride in London and trying not to imagine us in a rickshaw in the middle of the busy Indian street.)

As we chatted with the driver, he said that he was able to offer us a ride so cheap because it was his company. I took this to mean that he owned the rickshaw business and was like, oh cool! Crystal knew better. It turns out that he was taking us to his company and that in exchange for a 10R ride we had to spend 5 minutes in a very expensive gift shop. We argued with him for awhile and then gave in, entering the store, browsing, and leaving. We got back into our ride, and he told us that because we weren't in the store for 5 minutes we had to go to another one. What?!?!

The owner of the store will give the driver of the rickshaw a coupon for discount gasoline if they bring tourists to their gift stores. But the owner will only give the driver a coupon if the tourist spends 5 minutes in the shop. By this time our hands were tied, so we grudgingly walked into the next shop, browsing as slowly as possible and chatting with the clerks. Crystal and I ended up being pushed on a garden swing inside the shop for awhile while the clerks told us how mesmerizing our eyes were, engaging the clerks in conversation while trying to avoid committing to either purchasing something or having dinner with them. Eventually I gave in and made a purchase...don't worry, Crystal didn't give in to a dinner date.

We got back into the rickshaw and the driver was now happy. He drove us to our street, chatting the whole way, and let us out. I didn't have 10R, so Crystal was going to pay with a larger bill, but the driver didn't have any change.

He said, "That is all right girls. If you do not have the exact money, you do not have to pay me."

We looked at each other, looked at him, and said, "Ok, thank you!"

All that....for a free ride in a rickshaw. Only in India.