Jeeps come in several breeds, with 3 horizontal seat rows, 2 horizontal seat rows and luggage, or 2 horizontal seat rows and 2 or 4 facing seats in the back. Most officially seat around 10 or 11 people, 3 or 4 across the front row, 4 in the middle row, and 2 to 4 in the back row or sideways benches.
I've shared some interesting squashes in my recent trip to West Sikkim: as you depart or approach the arrival destination, local friends of the driver often blag a ride from or to a suburb or hamlet. This involves much squashing, and occasionally the driver ends up steering from someone's lap - I have no idea how they manage the pedals! I think the record I've seen so far counted 15: 4 passengers in the front plus driver hanging half out of his door, (fortunately one passenger was a toddler), 5 in the middle (I had a window seat so was comparatively well off, the others doubled up on laps), 2 on sidways facing seats, and 3 hanging off the back.
To add to the challenges, I'm about the same size as your average overworked Indian bloke, with possibly slightly longer thighbone, and my knees just fit in a jeep within 1cm or so of the seat in front. However, these days, not all Indians are overworked, so any middle class passengers increase the crush even if you stick to the official seating plan. You can book a whole jeep, it's not very expensive, but seems a waste. I gather some Westerners book 2 seats each as a compromise.
Mostly jeeps have a common engine, a 3.0l diesel - the road from Jorethang to Zoom (gotta love the place names!) is pretty serious though - the driver was in 1st gear for all 6 km and the engine was a furnace at the top. Fortunately we went down in 1st gear too, cos I wasn't too sure what it would do to the brakes. You get a cool view of Kanchenjunga from this road, it shoudl be one of my photos when I get to them.
Jeep essentials are well tended by their owners, brakes, tyres, and engines seem pretty sound and I often see drivers checking the tyre state in particular, also they are meticulous about sticking a rock under a corner when parked. However, many other items taken for granted in Western breeds are optional luxuries here - including seatbelts, side windows, a rear window, a functional starter motor, and working dials. It's not difficult to park on a hill here - and if you are accidently facing the wrong way, the rear seat passengers usually provide a push start. :-)
Prices are fixed by the government and work out at around Rs1 / km (for a seat). Average speed for Sikkim journeys is about 30 km/hour, so at current rates you can usefully double the price to give you an idea of how long the journey will take.
12 Nov 2007
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