One of the most frustrating aspects of walking around the city is the presence of motorbikes on the sidewalks. It’s hard enough crossing the street with all the traffic but you expect to be able to walk on the sidewalk without dodging traffic. (I used to complain about Tokyo and bicycles on the sidewalk. Never again.)
Plus the sidewalks here are in terrible shape. It is one of the most visible signs that you are in an “emerging nation.” You can find yourself in a modern skyscraper, 50 stories high with Cartier and Versace shops, then exit onto a sidewalk that’s in pieces. It’s just one of the things you have to put up with here, one of the tradeoffs for a low cost of living.
It reminds me of the time I spent a month in Valparaiso, Chile and met an Australian couple there, the guy telling me that they were considering a move to South America so they were there to check it out. And he was disappointed with how “dirty” it was. “Dogs are everywhere,” he complained to me. It’s true. Stray dogs are treated very well in Chile, given food and allowed to sleep anywhere they want, even in the middle of the sidewalk during rush hour (people just walk around them). But I remember thinking, you don’t get something for nothing. You want a place that’s exactly like where you’re from in Australia, only 75% cheaper. That place doesn’t exist, mate.
But getting back to the motorbikes-on-the-sidewalk story. Given my stated frustration, I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I went for my morning coffee and saw a new addition to the sidewalk in front of the Rex Hotel. A red and white steel pipe bolted into the ground, acting as a physical barrier to motorbikes. It’s funny how it appeared in just that one spot and naturally I speculated that someone at the Rex Hotel had the right political connections to get the project approved.
At any rate, now I can walk in relative peace, at least for a small stretch of sidewalk. I remember saying they should have painted the pipe the same color as the sidewalk to knock down speeding motorbikes.
But I kid.