The lively streets of India
Over Christmas, I was in the northern part of India where I visited Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Kashmir. It was my first time to India and the second I came out of the airport, the first thing that hit me was the air pollution. Yes air pollution in Hong Kong is bad, but this was way worse. As this was during winter and temperatures dropped under 10 degrees, the air became super hazy from all the firewood and biomass being burned to keep warm. Not before long, I spotted the biomass dung cakes lined along the streets...well at least it's a form of renewable fuel source.
The second thing I noticed, coincidentally, also environment related (must be an occupational habit), was that there's not a lot of trash in garbage bins, rather, countless piles of garbage found almost on every other street. I later found out, especially during night time, that these piles of trash are left to grow and grow until they are big enough for a bonfire right on the sidewalk to keep people warm. This "trash" is not only a valuable resource for humans, but also for animals that roam the streets, of which there's plenty of.
With goats, cows and pigs rummaging through the trash piles, camels sauntering next to swerving traffic, families of monkeys hopping between rooftops, constant honking from cars and auto rickshaws, the streets seemed chaotic as the animals keep to their territory on the sides of roads and pedestrians have become experts at avoiding being hit by vehicles...yet it was like a form of organized chaos. Life's a zoo!
Over Christmas, I was in the northern part of India where I visited Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Kashmir. It was my first time to India and the second I came out of the airport, the first thing that hit me was the air pollution. Yes air pollution in Hong Kong is bad, but this was way worse. As this was during winter and temperatures dropped under 10 degrees, the air became super hazy from all the firewood and biomass being burned to keep warm. Not before long, I spotted the biomass dung cakes lined along the streets...well at least it's a form of renewable fuel source.
The second thing I noticed, coincidentally, also environment related (must be an occupational habit), was that there's not a lot of trash in garbage bins, rather, countless piles of garbage found almost on every other street. I later found out, especially during night time, that these piles of trash are left to grow and grow until they are big enough for a bonfire right on the sidewalk to keep people warm. This "trash" is not only a valuable resource for humans, but also for animals that roam the streets, of which there's plenty of.
With goats, cows and pigs rummaging through the trash piles, camels sauntering next to swerving traffic, families of monkeys hopping between rooftops, constant honking from cars and auto rickshaws, the streets seemed chaotic as the animals keep to their territory on the sides of roads and pedestrians have become experts at avoiding being hit by vehicles...yet it was like a form of organized chaos. Life's a zoo!
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