Don’t search for Segway on YouTube, warned the guide. But I couldn’t resist. I could see her point: lots of people (and one chimpanzee) crashing their nifty high-tech personal transporters might not seem very good advertising but I couldn’t wait to try it—even the falling looked like fun.
Which is how I ended up one glorious summer morning gliding on two wheels up Raisina Hill as the sun rose over India Gate. Riding a Segway PT takes a little getting used to—lean forward to make it move forward, backwards for slowdown or reverse and stand straight to make it stop. Unlike a bicycle or scooter where you twist the handlebars to turn left or right, on a Segway, you tilt the entire stem. And also unlike a bicycle or scooter, the wheels are not connected, so you can make full 360° turns.
The overall effect was rather like travelling in your very own personal, open-top, clean, green one-man Popemobile. The smiles and bemused waves we got as our little pod sailed along were worth the price of the tour. In fact, on a Segway tour, you’re more likely to be the attraction than the sights you set off to see.
Since genius-inventor Dean Kamen came up with the machine in 2001, Segway tours have sprung up in over thirty countries, and it has become a hugely popular way to see the sights. Now Bird Retail have started up the first Segway tours in India — initially in and around India Gate, but soon expanding to Humayun’s Tomb, the Zoological Gardens, Chandni Chowk/Red Fort and other sites in Delhi (011-46340460, segwaytour.co.in).