The traffic jam solution: the bajaj

The bajaj is the less secured version of the Dhaka's CNG, the three wheeled auto-rickshaw. I am not allowed to ride them in Bangladesh for security reasons.

But here I can't walk anywhere without being honked at by the drivers. I guess no one expects the white man to be walking. They must be thinking: "Certainly the man must need a ride. Time to honk my horn!" Since I am pretty sure I never wore a short skirt or high heels, I am thinking I look like a walking dollar bill!

Part bicycle, part car, all of them are for sure an art project as you they are decorated with paintings of Jesus, Obama, or Che Guevera. Some of them even have sound systems, so you can listen to some rap during your ride.


What's nice about the bajaj is how the negotiate worst of Dar’s rush hour traffic. They can jump the curb and barrel down the sidewalk, playing chicken with pedestrians who jump aside at the very last minute. If there is no sidewalk, the drivers slip across the line separating the right side of the road from the wrong side, swerving from left to right to avoid the oncoming traffic. An hour long commute is compressed into ten minutes.


Of course, riding in a bajaj is not without risks. There is no safety belt. These things have higher rollover rates than the biggest SUV’s. And there is also the traffic in Dar to contend with as well, not to mention thousands of others bajaj riders trying to make a living. It’s a bajaj eat bajaj world out there!