Driving in Nepal

Things I’ve learned during driving practice


• It’s fun to weave the bike in and out of cars (this terrified me when I first started driving)

• Pedestrians think they own the road especially side roads and tend to ignore horns (though I can’t really blame them, most of the time people are honking for no reason)

• There is no line down the middle of the road, real or imaginary. Instead the space between the rows of cars moving in opposite directions is there for motorbikes to play games of chicken as they pass all the cars (don’t worry, I’m always the chicken in the end)

• Bicycles believe that they are cars and like to get in the way (or as my driving instructor told me “bicycle is zig zag”.

• Traffic is not really as scary as it looks. Just follow one simple rule: assume that all drivers, bicycles, and pedestrians are going to jump in front of you at any given moment and be prepared to stop or weave around them; then be pleasantly surprised when they don’t.

Now I’m working up the courage to try to get a licence. Here is what you have to do for the test in Nepal. You need to weave your bike in and out of a row of traffic cones. While doing this your feet should never touch the ground. Most people fail this test the first time around.