Day 26 - Leh
Today Bel would not even entertain the idea of getting out of bed.
 Andrew sustained 3rd degree burns whilst pouring boiling water into a near frozen glass bottle, trying to make Bel some milk from Coffee Whitener (He was warned)...
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After kicking Bel a few times more, checking that she still had at least a weak pulse and wasnt coughing up too much blood.... Damo and Morgs went up the mountain that they had been trying to coax Bel up all morning.
 
 
 This is the Castle of king Tashi Nagmial at Tsemo and the red Namgyal Gompa both from the 15th Century
 This is the 3 story tall Maitreya Buddha within the Tsemo Gompa, LehÂ
 
 
 
 The view from the Castle is spectacular.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 We caught a Taxi up to the Castle but could see how the Monks make their way up from the Nagmial Tsemo Monastery so decided to walk down.
 
 
 The Nagmial Tsemo Monastery. It cost a $1 or something to go inside... but we went down to to see how Bel wa doing
 
 
 
 Dogs here are pretty cute
 
After getting back belinda was only slightly better and still in bed.
Our 3 story guest house had a staicase right up to the roof. As the sun set Damo took the last photos of the day
 
 
 
Day 25 Leh (Himalaya) - Riding the Royal Enfields
Day 25Â Leh (Himalaya)Â - Riding the Royal Enfields
Someone would not get up.... Harden up princess, Who cares about your altitude sickness, Take a look outside! The view is fantastic.
 
Eventually (Bout 10:30ish) we managed to coax Bel out of Bed. 
Who's up for a Tibetan for breakfast? Morgs and Bel ordered the vege momos. Damo ordered the yak cheese omelet but then when Belinda sensed confusion within the waiters eyes, Damo was dispatched to the kitchen to confirm his order. His order eventually came out as a 1/2 serving of Momos + Vegetable soup (Dispite Damo insisting it was all sorted after the kitchen visit).
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With out a doubt, the hiring of 3 Royal Enfield bikes for the arvo will be remembered/talked about for ages. Morgs and Bel were in absolute heaven,
 
 
Bel and Morgs came this close >< to signing paperwork having them shipped back home ASAP. They can still be caught wispering about what an absolute bargin the costs will be... (Watch this space for the Enfields imminent arrival in Australia).
 
 
 
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Driving Day 13
Driving Day 13, Friday April 20. Shillong.
Expecting the roads to continue to resemble the surface of the moon, we woke up early the next morning and briefly debated getting another chicken for breakfast while loading the spaceshaw. After deciding it would be bad form to eat all of the town's livestock, we said our goodbyes to our hotel family with Mike starting us off for the day. Our goal was to make the northern town of Guwahati by nightfall some 400 kms away, and then mount a final attack on Shillong the following day. After the first two hours, rubbly roads improved to smooth 1km sections of highway separated by short sections of broken pavement, no doubt put there for our protection as a means of slowing down traffic. As confused as we were by the Indian Department of Transportation's construction strategy, we were grateful to be picking up speed. Still tired from the late drive and monsoon the night before, Mike and Fred switched in the early morning with Fred making good speed for the next 100kms.Â
Having driven all morning, the fuelshaw was starting to get thirsty so we kept our eyes peeled for the next petrol station. Fortunately, we happened to be driving through the large town of Assam, so getting our little drinkshaw a sip should not have been a problem. Unfortunately, the entire town was on strike, with every pump closed - a fact we suspected after getting more confused stares than usual at the three petrol stations we visited and they had confirmed when we were stopped by an officious looking officer at the next police checkpoint. The good officer informed us that he would be giving us an escort through the rest of town, and after pilling five more police
We rattled into Guwahati as the sun was getting low. It was team meeting time. 65km farther to the finish line or get some much needed sleep? We chose beer and party. Will and Mike shared the drive up the mountainside and our exhausted rickshaw finally wheezed across the line at 8:20pm in total darkness. Worn out and elated, we grabbed beers with the teams that arrived earlier and tried to get a room. Apparently the team before us got the last one. We stayed on the manager's office floor behind the front desk on pull out matresses. Classy, gentlemen. Classy.
Daily stats:
Who cares, we're done!
Driving Day 12
Driving Day 12: Thursday April 19. Getting out of Dodge. Hashimara.
We woke up at 3:30am for a 4am taxi to Tiger Hill. It is the highest peak in the Darjeeling area and the Himalayas light up in succession followed by Darjeeling itself. Fortunately we got to see the third highest mountain in the world, Kanchenjunga, light up in a pale pink morning glow. Unfortunately the cloud bank was too high to see Everest. Despite chatty onlookers and children (everywhere) it was a meditative delight. A featureless cloud bank below us gave way, releasing the town from it's grip in finger-like strips to reveal a lush hillside of tea, town and jungle. As we descended our driver took us to an ancient Buddhist monastery and a war memorial with breathtaking views. Finally we saw Everest just peeking above the cloud deck as they retreated. A quick spot of breakfast and we were rolling by 9am. We can't imagine anyone being happy to leave that magical place, but it served us a double dose of sadness knowing we would have to descend the mountain we fought so hard to climb.Â
The trip down was as much an exercise in patience as it was on our ascent. Surprisingly effective brakes saved our bacon as Fred kept us out of trouble and off the cliffs. Engine braking wasn't an effective tool so we had to rely on our poor little drum brakes all the way down. Descent complete, we hit the worst roads we had seen to that point. We fought tooth and nail for every mile, finally getting caught in a rain shower. It kept getting worse, so we stopped under a gas station awning. As the actual storm rolled in we realized this was no shower. Gale force winds threw debris into the wetshaw and the wetshaw into a parked truck. Trees and power lines snapped like twigs and left the roads a sloppy mess. As night descended we fought on to grab a hotel for the night.
In darkness we came upon a clean albeit powerless establishment and took station for the night. The family was incredibly accommodating and asked if we wanted dinner. Naturally we were famished and agreed. They took us to the roof where we watched a man deliver a chicken for us to consume. And kill it. And dress it. With remarkable efficiency, our chicken was ready for the skillet in 5 minutes. Unsurprisingly, she was delicious. The family had us upstairs to hang out in the kitchen, take photos and just exist as part of their family and their world. The experience was moving.
Daily stats:
300km, 11hrs
Driving Day 11
Driving Day 11. Wednesday April 18. Darjeeling
We finally hit some decent roads, an actual divided highway and didn't hit anything else. As a result, we made good time to the base of the Himalayas. The plains leading north were remarkably flat, especially considering they form the "foothills" of the mountains. There were no foothills. We stopped and took photographs in a tea plantation. Wading through slightly fragrant waist-deep plants, we got some great shots of the top half of the teashaw. Continuing north, every square inch of available land became dedicated to tea production. It was a continuous hedge to the horizon with sporadic trees diffusing the light above like a big green bed with a side light.
Then it got interesting. From 300ft to over 8,000ft in a rickshaw was a lesson in patience, weight distribution and deliberate gear changes. Shocked, I'm sure, but these mountains are huge. The taxis to get to Darjeeling are massive SUVs with big diesel engines and they were flying past on unthinkable grades as we struggled to keep 10kmph. Understandably, the locals were laughing and waving at us on our climb. Everybody encouraged us to the top as we went. Go, slowshaw, go! Every few bends up the mountainside, Mike and Fred had to hop out so the poor machine could make the grades without dying. They ran alongside until it flattened out before hopping back in. At least the hillclimb road was in good repair.
The same cannot be said about the road that continued north from the first mountaintop town. Badly pockmarked with entire sections missing, the road got challenging. We were still climbing, albeit more slowly, and it was getting dark fast. Suddenly, Darjeeling emerged around a sharp bend. There it was, a town larger than expected clinging to life on an impossibly steep mountain; just a mess of uncomprehendable lights and streets. We stumbled upon our hotel around 7, and let our amazing (if foolhardy) accomplishment sink in over a fantastic dinner. Perched in a restaurant in our personal verdant mountainside wonderland, we sipped local Darjeeling tea and ate perfect fried dumplings. Afterward we met a couple of the half dozen teams for a drink and strategy to tackling Thursday.Â
Daily stats:
350km, 11hrs
