Saturday, 21 May 2011

Up in T' North

In some ways the north of India is not like the north of England...... it is incredibly hot (we have hit over 50 degrees and it is more developed than the south. 
In other ways it is very similar: the men spit a lot, goats, camels, dogs and bison roam the streets freely and we got mugged!!!!

As I am hot and bothered I will tell our latest story in pictures.......

We have now given away over 300 pens so are running out quickly!

They like to fill the load on the trailers:
 

James has gone for the local lungi or "manskirt"

Some temple or other:

"Excuse me security guard, please may I have your big scary gun?"  "Of course you can white man, it would be an honour"

James shortly before blowing the security guard's right ear off:

Although the heat has been killing us, the roads up here are 100 ties better than the south  -this is the main road across the north (M62) - 2 lanes and very little traffic!!!!

Thunderstorm in Varanasi - you may notice i (Chris) am slightly wetter than the others - next time I try to dip my hand in the holy Ganges, I will check the grips on my bloody flip flops - I went swimming in the most septic river on the planet - bye bye phone and wallet!!!

More pens please!!!!

Driving down the freeway in the hot hot sun....... a bang so we stop check the engine - oh dear where is the other half - oh yeas its 200 yards back there on the road - Bluey!!!!!!!!

The typical bus journey to work

We stop for refreshments and one waits with Bluey - within about 30 seconds, we usually have a crowd of 10-40 curious locals:

The main intersection in of Calcutta - a city of 13 million people: the equivalent of where the M1 joins the M25.  Those with good eyesight may see Bluey in the middle.  Those with really good eyesight may notice he is jacked up and missing a wheel - 3rd blow out that day!

View for Mumbai window

Overall we have had a really positive 5 days.  We were a full 2 days adrift but are now in Calcutta dead on time.   This is down to three things:
  • Good roads
  • Bluey still breaking down but us getting results quicker!
  • 3 bloodyminded idiots driving from 04:30 - 19:00 most days

Whilst the scenery is less interesting (dessert in the main) the cities have been really interesting.  The main problem is the heat - starting at 04:30 has allowed us to make hay while it not scorching but from 1:00 onwards its been so tuogh - Bluey gives you no respite - it feels like someon is blowing incredibly hot, powerful hair dryers in our faces for 8 hours a day.  By 13:00 the conversation has dwindled and we are not happy chappies!!!!

Udaipur was beautiful - we all loved it and could have stayed a week.  Favourite city in the whole country.

Puskar was very fun: hill station town, very hippyish, relaxed, city centre wildlife included boars fighting dogs, monkeys, 2 bulls locking horns (knocked a few people down), bison, goats.  The usual really but a great place to spend time (shame we couldn't!).

Agra had the big temple but other than that not much to report.

Biggest disappointment so far was Varanasi - the holiest city in India lying on the Ganga - home to burning of the Ghats et al.  Sorry to the very good guys we have met over here but they seem to have sold out bug time: touts everywhere trying to flog anything, tat for sale, absolutely rammed - more like Blackpool than Mecca - although I must admit I haven't been to either.  Falling in the Ganga probably didn't help but getting mugged wasn't fun either.  Burning of the bodies in the Ghats was interesting but note to self - don"t take pictures or you end up in a spot of bother!!!

Anyhow, we are now in Calcutta and it has been the best of the big 4 - typically Indian, so busy and bustling but friendly and fun.

We enter the final stretch now - just the east coast to go and as long as Bluey doesn't break and we can keep ourselves together for another 7 days we are in with a shout of reaching the chequered flag.

Monday, 16 May 2011

Northwestern India

The last few days have been some of the best and some of the worst days we have had so far. Some early mornings and long days in the desert have put us only 1 day behind with some achievable stages in the next 3 days.

The heat during the day is immense and as such we're still in the habit of setting out nice and early and being silent and irritable come mid-day.

From Mumbai we carried on north and to a couple of incredible small cities, Udapur and Pushka (Where life began according to Hinduism) . Normal by Indian standards, the streets of both are small and winding with hotels, monuments and salesmen a plenty. The addition of more than the average amount of wild life in Pushka keeps things interesting.We were narrowly missed by 2 large Ox locking horns in the town square knocking an old man to the round in the process. . . a minute later and all was forgotten and the locals continued their day.

With James indisposed due to belly Chris and I set out for an explore in Udapur in the evening and found the streets to be quiet and peaceful, particularly down by the river, which boasts 2 temples in the center . A welcome break from the days heat and kilometers traveled!

All of the above is tempered with further breakdowns and hours wasted in garages all over the land! The latest of which saw us breakdown only 5km after making it away from the Taj Mahal without paying the 10 quid entry fee!

The most incredible event of the last few days has to be the wall of sand that must have been waiting for us to have to fill up the petrol tank before striking! We could see that a storm was coming as there is nothing but flat desert for miles and black skys up ahead! As the black came closer the winds whipped up higher and higher until the black changed to brown and we could see sand gathering down the road. With just enough time to pull up our masks we closed the engine bay and jumped into blue for the onslaught to start. We decided to drive on very slowly, the most worrying thing was that the buses and trucks had bothered to put their lights on. We had mid afternoon darkness for an hour and could hardly open our eyes. 2 days later I am still finding sand in places I didn't know I had!

1 day behind, the adventure continues, Blue is ready for the morning after his make over this afternoon. . . A new engine mount and a bolt to replace the duck taped screwdriver holding the exhaust on!

Thursday, 12 May 2011

Back in the mix.......


Bluey looking glorious...


 Bluey with engine on floor and mechanics in our hats!
 Bluey eventually got to the top of the Ghats - at about 10kmph, being overtaken by cows, ox ad goats!

 Pulled in at amazing village with a picture perfect beach and some great locals - time for cricket!

 Washing in rivers has become the norm - could be baywatch we know!

After a really bad week we have had two huge days and we are almost back on track - three more big days can put us on schedule!

Bluey is still causing us major problems - day 9 saw a 4 hour delay due to breakdowns, then we pulled away in the dark, got 10 miles and totally died.  Pitch black, middle of nowhere!  Luckily a very nice doctor (with a/c) took us to the local village.  The next day we convin\ced a rickshaw driver to go to the car (10km) and push it all the way back - he literally drove his own with his left leg hanging out and pushed ours with his foot whilst James steered - this was through a major city as well!  The mechanics eventually fixed Bluey but it took a full day which put us under huge pressure (although it did mean we got to spend a day playing street cricket with the lads and a tour of a local spice factory - brilliant day meeting great people but no progress!  For the record the Bluey breakdown tally is up to 12 and we're on day 14!

We left for Mumbai at 6pm - driving in to the most crazy city in the world at night - great.  A friend we met had arranged for us to meet his sister and stay in his flat in the city centre - another great act of kindness so we headed for the city centre.  As if rickshaws are not allowed in to the centre of town?  A 2km bridge and guards preventing us going in - we'd come too far so we begged and pleaded - they still said no and told us to pull forward and turn around... we reluctantly agreed but as Tim pulled forward I shouted be all you can be, James whacked his back "do it" and we floored it across the bridge - possibly the first rickshaw to do so.  Not sure whether to laugh or cry at our stupidity a\our optimism was short lived as the police were sat waiting for us at the other side "step out the vehicle".  10 minutes and 200 rupees later we were the only rickshaw in a city of 20 million - get in!  However we get a ridiculous amount of attention being white and having a rickshaw (we have still only seen 3 white people on our journey) - imaging if we are \white, and on the ONLY rickshaw!  Anyway by the time we were in the flat had dinner and a wash it was 2am - we went to sleep with alw\rms set for the usual 04:30 to ensure we make up lost time!

Since then 2 days of 350km per day have taken their toll but given us a chance of completing this stupid task - it means starting at 5am and driving in the night until about 9pm which is tough - Bluey is tiny so with bags etc its areal tight squeeze.The heat as we have travelled north has killed us - about 47 degrees the past 2 days and from 12-5 you simply cannot get air in your lungs - the wind coming in as we drive feels like it will burn its so hot.  This is making us tired and grumpy in the afternoons but we just don't talk so its fine!

Anyhow, time for a bite to eat (no cutlery of course) and bed - will check in soon - hopefully by which time we will be on schedule but that depends on Bluey!!!!  By the way, James' birthday today - happy birthday from all in England I'm sure.

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Each day's better than the next......

Right, we are struggling.  Bluey is rubbish - we are up to 11 on the Bluey breakdown tally - some minor like engine falling out, some major like engine seizing and clutch breaking!

I know I keep harping on about the heat but we are near Mumbai and it is mid 40's - we can hardly breathe.  Due to the heat and falling well behind, we have started getting up at 4am and hitting the road.  the midday heat is battering us everyday and spirits are low by 6pm - we are night driving when we have to but it is scary as hell - some vehicles have lights but lorries don't like them!  We are only doing it as we really need to be on the road about 14 hours per day to give ourselves a fighting chance, particularly as we have to factor in a breakdown everyday.  Other difficulties continue to be the roads / traffic  but we are acclimatising to the these - nothing shocks us anymore: goats, cows, boars, lorries, buses coming towards us at high speed has become the norm.  We are even getting used to eating all our meals with our right hand only (curry with no cutlery is easy now) and just our left hands in a field for you know what!!!!!  The food is tough going - local food only of course but we are all having belly problems which can be interesting.

Still meeting incredible people and going to some amazing places - these guys will do anything to help us, whether it be lifts in the middle of the night when Bluey has let us down again or driving 5km to a local restaurant and bringing dinner back to our tent!  Some of the beaches, mountains, villages, markets we have seen take your breath away and the locals have often never seen a white person.
The good news is we are still standing... just.  The bad news is we are well behind and the country is kicking the crap out of us!   BAYCB.......

Tuesday, 3 May 2011

Hot and very up and down.......... most of all HOT

End of day 5 and we are just about on track - north Kerala.  Hoever today has made us realise how tough this is.  we were well on top of the schedule this morning and thought if we pushed hard we might be able to alow ourselves a couple of hours on a Goan beach on day 7.  Bluey had other ideas.... firstly the engine fell out - tim too fast over potholes me thinks!!! A cuple of local guys (12) a few motorbike journeys, some white skin and 50 rupees (75p) gt us back n the road in 40 minutes - Kwik Fit are yuo listening?

Then our clutch broke which was more serious apparently.  Another mechanics (there is one every other l\klometer and they all want to help) fixed this but it took longer.  However this allowed the local kids (a crowd of about 50) to take us down to the river for a swim - amazing when its 4o degrees - even if you do hav to walk ahalf a mile down the train tracks t get there!!!!

Key points of note so far....
It is so so so so hot - on Bluey we get sme breeze but it feels like someone has a hairdryer in your face.  camping is tough.
We are like celebs - we saw 2 white people in Kovalam and that's it.  We have crowds of men, women children getting photos, offering  food, waving.  Everyone is so helpful.  We stop in random villages in the back and beyond - they tell us they have never had a white person in the village but we can wander around on our own (although we quickly attract a crowd) without any thought of trouble.
This is tough - every local we meet laughs and tells us it is not possible.  Bluey is a mess - today's mechanic basically said he's shot and we have t bump start every morning and after every petrol stop.
Tamil Nadu was arid and tough terrain - Kerala is simly stunning.
We are seeing some amazing sights but photos will follow shortly......
Did I mention its hot?