[irahul]

> Come on, that picture is more exception than the norm.

The norm isn't too far from the exception.

I spent 4 years in Chennai, and this was a common sight.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-4o_J8R8OVg/TIy3nfGUzdI/AAAAAAAAAo...

Though I have never seen the bent buses in Bangalore yet in the 5 years I have been here. That is not to say public buses are pleasant here - you still deal with being densely packed with other commuters of varying degree of hygiene.

[RealGeek]

I see that picture ever day in New Delhi (capital of India)

[irahul]

I was in Delhi a long time back(9 years), and when I came to Chennai, the Delhi buses started to look pleasant in comparison. The only buses which ran on the route my college was on were skewed to the side owing to the hanging passengers. In Bangalore, at least the damn door closes and no one is falling to his death.

When I was in Delhi, I was a broke student and took buses most of the times. Some routes were quite pleasant. Some were outright hell. The one that runs between south Delhi and Najafgarh is packed(especially after 8 in the evening), and people are knowingly and unknowingly thrusting their crotches into each other.

[spitx]

You guys should come by the Mission district or China Town or Lower Haight ( here in San Francisco ) or take public transit (any of the BART stations - 16th, 24th, Civic Center or Glen Park). The foulest stench of excrement anywhere. Some blame the Hispanic population and some blame the Hmong and others blame the street urchins. But I never expected to smell anything so odious in a major metropolis in the U.S.

[JabavuAdams]

Well, you may be exaggerating, but I found my stay in SF similarly disorienting.

We were staying at 4th and Mission, surrounded by luxury stores and hotels. At night, though, it was like Dawn of the Dead, with street-zombies wandering around talking to themselves.

Sadly (to me), they were almost all black. In Toronto, the homeless have the decency to be fairly racially inclusive (with Native Americans somewhat over-represented).

Travel, huh. Different places are different.

[vineel]

That's odd. I've been to these places and have never smelled anything unusual.

[delackner]

I always just blamed the systemic paralysis of sf bay government caused by poor design of the intersection between public power and private power over the commons.

[barrkel]

Every time I go to SF, I take the BART from SFO, and travel through many of those stations. It's nothing like what you allude to; it's also completely underused.

[quesera]

I am certain that you have never been to India.

I question whether you've been to New York City, in the summer.