It’s early evening. As I make my way home, the heavy rain comes down. It pounds heavily on the roof of the car and the windshield wipers seem to have little effect. Most of the other vehicles have slowed down considerably though there are still a few who show no concern for others’ or their own safety as they continue to accelerate despite the slippery asphalt.
I keep a sharp eye out for pedestrians who may risk crossing the street at unexpected places just so they could somehow escape the downpour and get on the bus in the outer lane of the avenue ahead of other passengers; the faster they can get to it, the faster they can go home. At least that’s what they hope to do. Unfortunately, at least a couple dozen others are thinking of the same thing as they head for the already fully packed bus. This group of people now block the street, causing other drivers to honk their horns in unison. The honks and the occasional siren from a politician or VIP in his big SUV fall on deaf ears.
Even as I manage to weave through the buses, jeeps, and passengers, traffic eventually crawls to a stop after a few more meters. I wait. Five minutes and nothing is moving. After another five minutes of staying put, I assume that an accident has occurred or the street up ahead is flooded.
Good thing I charged my iPod while I was at work. At least I can listen to my preferred music. Food…. Hmmm….. Good thing I have charged my iPod while I was at work so I can listen to my preferred music AND keep my mind from thinking about food. Where are those ambulant food vendors when you need them?
A few minutes pass and traffic does move again only to stop again after a couple of meters. People on motorcycles seem to be more fortunate as they weave in and out between the bigger vehicles. But then, they are more soaked in the rain compared to everyone else. At least passengers of buses or jeeps get the chance to have shelter once they get their ride. Motorcycle riders, despite the traditional raincoats or the garbage-bag raincoats, can only get temporary shelter when they get under a bridge. One particular motorcycle weaving in and out managed to scratch the side mirror of a car. Despite the honks and curses from the car driver, the motorcycle was away as if nothing happened; the poor driver of the car could do nothing more than shake his head and curse even more under his breath.
It’s now bumper-to-bumper traffic. No one really wants to give way. Everyone is irritated, hungry, tired, and stressed out. Luckily, no one has been involved in a fender-bender. Traffic will be worse than worse if that were to happen. Already, the three lane street has become a five-lane street. Vehicles are now even starting to make use of two lanes for vehicles going to the opposite direction. That could just cause cars coming from the opposite direction to also use our lanes. If that happens everyone is in for a long night.
Night. It’s already been a couple of hours since I left. The usual 45 minute to an hour 15 minute drive is now on it’s second hour and I still have no idea how long it’ll take. The downpour has gone unabated. It seems that it is even pouring down even heavier.
My stomach is now growling in complaint. Food is really the last thing on my mind. I just want to get home.
Vehicles on my left are now starting to merge into my lane. An opportunity opens and I managed to quickly but carefully transfer to the right-most lane. Something in my gut tells me that it’s the correct lane to be in. Sure enough, speed now picks up a tiny bit. I try to stay as close as possible to the vehicle ahead of me. A bit tricky because you can barely see what’s on your side mirrors. The dark of night coupled with heavy rain isn’t exactly a good combination for good visibility. The guy behind me is sticking close to me as well. Maybe even too close.
Finally, the end is in sight. Traffic is clear a few meters ahead! Good thing I listened to my gut despite it’s grumbling. Apparently, it wants to get home too so it can have some food to grind. As expected, traffic in the opposite direction has taken up a couple of lanes in our direction because of heavy flooding on their side of the road; no wonder traffic is so bad. Only one lane in each direction is in effect, working.
Glancing quickly at the flooding, I see that the water is flowing like a river. The continuous rain is making sure that the already poor drainage system to fail even more. At least no car has stalled yet. The flood still isn’t that deep enough for that. A few more hours of this rain and things could be different, though. Already, the flood is nearly touching the bottoms of the smaller cars.
I see a drenched traffic enforcer frantically waving his hands for us to pick up the pace. On one hand, they are probably thinking how in the world they would fix this traffic mess; on the other hand, they are probably thinking why they aren’t home lying down in a warm bed instead of getting soaked to their teeth. Incidentally, the rain has suddenly stopped. This certainly is a good sign.
I breath a sigh of relief and smile as I speed up to 60 kph for the first time in 2 hours and 10 minutes. As I turn on the next corner, my smile vanishes as I see another traffic jam just a few meters ahead. My stomach lets out a low rumble as it attempts to protest. Just then, the rain starts pouring again. Finally, my gut lets out a small pop: a sign that it has just given up on getting any food.
[This was based on an actual event, although some fictional content/events from other times were inserted. I did manage to reach home after three hours in traffic during that particular night with my wife eagerly awaiting my arrival; and my stomach was satisfied with the meal that awaited.]