Wanna Take a Rickshaw?

Here is an 8-minute rickshaw ride in just over a minute!

I feel slightly odd paying someone to bike me around a city. I never felt odd in Tanzania for paying someone to drive me on a motorbike though. In both cases I'm paying someone to take me from one place to another, so why do I feel differently about them?

For me, I think pride is involved. For some it may be the case that they feel that they are better than the rickshaw driver, they deserve to be pulled through the city by someone of lower standing. That isn't the type of pride I'm dealing with. I'm dealing with the pride of thinking of myself as better than those who think they're better than the rickshaw driver.

I don't see manual laborers as somehow lesser than me, so I do not want to be associated with those who may have that opinion. By taking a rickshaw I feel that I could be associated with them, and I think I'm better than them. All things being equal, thinking you're better than a rickshaw driver and thinking you're better than anyone else is really just the same thing. It is pride. I don't know if there is "better" or "worse" pride in this case and I'm sure a debate about that could be extensive!

For me, I will ride rickshaws, giving the driver respect and gratitude, being grateful that he is able to provide for his family, and enjoying the wind in my hair as I breeze through the city.