The buses claim to be eco-friendly too but the lorries still belch clouds of diesel and the interminable noise of horns is still deafening. The use of rear view or wing mirrors is unheard of so a warning of overtaking is necessary. The larger vehicles have "Horn Please" painted on the back and all the drivers oblige.

All the while, hoards of bicycles, scooters and some bicycle rick-shaws nip in and out with scant regard for life (theirs or anyone else's).

In places there are shanties by the side of the road - makeshift tents made from strips of torn cloth with bits of stick and scraps of rope to hold them in place. According to our driver, the occupants of these tents are not necessarily poor, but they have come to the city to seek work and there just isn't enough accommodation available. The overwhelming evidence of one's eyes is that they do, in fact, have nothing.

Alongside the shanties, shops and stalls jostle with high rise banks and the one sign that we really are in the 21st century is the frequent sighting of Internet caf