Monday, April 21, 2008

Postcard from naples - traffic

When we were disembarking at Naples airport, the elderly (but sprightly) gent in front of me remarked to the stewardess that the last time he had been in Naples was 65 years ago.

Personally, having a rifle in your hands and the British Eighth Army behind you is still the best way to see the place. We were flying home, but first we had to get from the hydrofoil port to the airport. This meant a taxi, or, as I like to call it, a near-death experience.

Naples traffic is truly astonishing. I don’t think we saw much of it on the way out, but we certainly saw plenty of it on the way back…much of it less than an inch away from the taxi. Chaos does not do justice to Naples traffic. It’s a free for all. Ever been on the bumper cars at the funfair? It’s like that, all the time, at speed. Everyone has a shitty car, all the cars have bumps and scrapes and the only people not with cars are either pedestrians wandering onto the road without looking or scooter types zipping in and out of non-existent spaces. I actually saw a bloke texting while riding his scooter.

Driving like this only happens in staunchly catholic countries with a strong belief in the afterlife.

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