Just what Chennai needs ... another car on the road!

We haven't had much luck with getting a car here so we are still travelling everywhere by autorickshaws and call taxis. It is SO frustrating as with the autoricks - you have to haggle and haggle to get a fair price (they always try to overcharge you) and with the call taxis - you are lucky if they bother to turn up! The thing that is even more frustrating is when you call the company and say 'I ordered a taxi, you said it would be here at 10 o'clock - it's now 10.45' they respond '5 minutes, car will be there'. And guess what? An hour later you are still waiting. Honestly, I am not exaggerating ... one day we ordered a taxi and we waited nearly 3 hours before we started walking for an autorick. As we were driving down the road near our house in the auto, the taxi went past us going the other way (obviously to our house). 3 hours late!

So, I am now on a mission ... to find a car. I am going car shopping tomorrow with an auto driver called Selvam (who met Penri when he was staying at the Park Hotel in his first weeks here). Once we have found and bought a car, we will make the decision whether or not to get a driver. Most expats use a driver here for two reasons: the traffic is SO chaotic and there is no sense of logic (see picture above) and secondly, for convenience. You just get in the car and say where you want to go and you're on your way. So, fingers crossed we get something sorted. We need to try and sort it out before we have visitors staying with us. It's fine if there are only two of you in auto, three is a push, but four is a definite no-no. Unless you are Indian - somehow they manage to squeeze five or six into an autorick (which really doesn't look comfortable!)