Rickshaw Ride through Madurai

This is the sort of thing that G Adventures does really well. Take a tour of a city with another company and they will put you on an air conditioned bus and take you on a trip around the landmark buildings. G Adventures on the other hand puts you in a cycle rickshaw and takes you on a tour of the markets and slums. Cycle rickshaws are no longer in vogue since everyone can now afford a Tuk Tuk which are much much faster. But in a cycle rickshaw you see so much more and everyone can also see you.

Every where we went faces lit up with great big smiles. Some even laughed out loud. White people in rickshaws - they must be poorer than us! There was much waving and shouts of "Hello! Where are you from!". Mothers brought their children out of their houses to see us go by. Tuk Tuks cruised alongside us asking if we wanted to transfer. School busses slowed down so that the kids could get a good look. We went to a weavers' community to see yarn being spun and woven into dishtowels. The spinners make 100 rupees a day - hardly enough to buy a single meal. The completed hand woven dish towels are 30p each. Our group snapped up the day's produce.

Onwards through the fruit and veg stalls, passed the plastics souk, the aluminium pots and pans emporium and on through the slums. The narrow streets in the slums were difficult for the rickshaws to negotiate, every now and then a wheel was in danger of slipping into the sewer. Even here, the people shouted out to us in English and looked astonished at our passing. Although living in hovels amidst seriously unsanitary conditions, there was clearly a vibrant community spirit going on.

After two and a half hours of hard peddaling the drivers took us back to our hotel. Total cost for 2 people was £1.50. We gave our driver a £1 tip and he nearly fainted with gratitude.