A horrible hangover to start things off...

"Sir, would you like a whiskey? And a beer? How many? 4? More?"

We indulged pretty heavily on the free drinks on the plane to Delhi last night. Waking up in Delhi with a pounding headache, and a quick change over for Jodhpur wasn't too fun. Worse still was the turbulent flight. We arrived in Jodhpur and James had to use the local toilet straight away(!)

We took a tuktuk from the airport. "Where you go?" We just said "urm centre of town". The driver took that literally and we were dumped in the middle of a road, bang in the middle of Jodhpur! What followed was an attack of all senses. Smells: filth, sewage, spices, fresh veg, exhausts. Sounds: "nice tattoo!", horns EVERYWHERE, traffic, bustling locals. Sights: everything is dirty & dusty, vibrantly coloured fabrics, locals staring from all directions.

We strolled around, sweating, mesmerised, lost. Somehow we got vague directions to "train", which we soon learned was out of tickets to Jaisalmer...

...But this is India where anything is possible for a price. A guy called Sharma found us and took us to his so called travel shop. We had our 1st chai and he proceeded to try and sell us opium and hash. Hours passed, and our hangovers faded. Sharma eventually got his equally dodgy mate to print what looked like fake train tickets for us. They then tried taking us to the best place in Jodhpur for dinner - ***bollocks***! Flies everywhere, nothing fresh, smells of sewage on the floor all around the seating area. Our choice was much better, a swanky hotel with a/c to eat a delicious curry and we washed in a sink.

Then 3 hours of waiting in the 1st class lounge which smelled of fresh crap. Poorer customers slept on the stone floor in the lobby. Our train pulled in at 23.45 and we got comfortable pretty quickly in a train absolutely jam-packed with Indians - our ticket *appeared* to be valid but everyone including the ticket inspector seemed more interested in there being two random white guys on a train with them. We slept like a squashed mosquito in a fridge - the a/c was on max and we huddled our bags thinking people might steal something. We soon learnt Indian people just wouldn't do that.

We're home!

We've made it back to our lovely home, lit the fire and eaten proper bacon - delicious!

What an amazing adventure. We have had the best time and thanks goes to The Adventurists team for all their hard work, to the other Rickshaw Runners who's company we really enjoyed and to all our sponsors who gave us the motivation to continue with one of the most ridiculous things we've ever done. We love you all xxx

Last set of random thoughts..

I'd forgotten how big the cockroaches are in India. The bloke selling maps of India in Shillong, really should have been in Jaisalmer. They don't like you to have a pen knife in your handbag at airport security. Every time you order western food, it has a masala tinge to it. Small children are responsible for themselves and have to walk everywhere  - none of this buggy business. Funny that it takes 2.5 days to fly, what it takes 6 days to drive in a tuc tuc. Anyone who is expecting a postcard - be warned, it will have a UK stamp on it. Post Offices have been slightly challenging... There is no such thing as personal space in India. How do people go missing in between check in and boarding at an airport?

Delhi fun

Went out for breakfast, overlooking the main bazaar. Watched a couple of tuc tuc drivers having an argument about something or another - perhaps they were debating whether their vehicles could actually get from one side of India to the other. Anyway, it was good to be back, in the high 39 degree heat, full of dust and with no chance of rain. Rob went for a shave and ended up having a massage, face peel and a bleaching process - much to the amusement of the locals: "you are white already!" It took the best part of 1.5 hours and cost £7 - amazing. He looks like he's got a new face! Lovely Delhi.

It's nearly over...

Our flight from Guwahati was great and we are now back at the Rak International hotel in Delhi. There were some other Runners on the plane and we all felt really sad that it was over, but all agreed that it had been epic.

Last night in Shillong...

We had to abandon the wait for our laundry last night, and just go out in the best clothes we had! We made our way over to Cafe Shillong to meet our waterfall friends and have some food. It was a great place and so we hung out for a while, also having the best coffee that India had to offer. We then made our way to the Pinewood Hotel to meet with the rest of the Runners and enjoy our last night with The Adventurists team. The Russians had finally made it to Shillong, so we heard all about their experiences  (including an accident with a truck), as well as chatting with some other latecomers. We enjoyed everyone's company, as well as some Indian whisky. We said our goodbyes and Matt ran us back to our hotel. Everyone has been brilliant and we can't thank them all enough. At about midnight, we received a text saying that our flight the next day was cancelled, and to call a number. There was a massive storm going on with amazing lightening, so nothing was surprising. However, no one on the end of the phone seemed to know what was going on and advised us to call back after a couple of hours. We knew there were other Runners on the same flight, so contacted them to see what they knew  - nothing! And all of us could still see the flight online. We went to bed and set the alarm. We got up about 2.30am to call again, and the storm had taken hold - affecting the electricity and therefore the Internet. Rob called four times, making different progress each time, establishing that the flight was definitely cancelled, but not able to make a confirmed purchase of two tickets from a different airport. Meanwhile, while the lights were on, Sam was online, and able to see two tickets to Delhi for Tuesday, from Guwahati instead of Shillong (double the price, but available). Somehow in the 20 minute window of Wifi, we were able to make that purchase and get confirmation. We let the other Runners know and went back to bed in the dark, about 4.30am, but at least we had a lie in to look forward to. Or not - the bloody laundry arrived at 8.30am... We got up, had breakfast and then got to Polo Towers Hotel to see if they would help print our tickets. They were great and did everything for free. Back at our hotel, we packed up and went to meet our car. The airport was a three hour drive - much of which we'd done in the tuc tuc - but the roads were really different with floods and landslides - somehow we'd been lucky enough not to have to drive through that. There had been some delays, but it looked like we were on time. We met with a couple of Runners  (they just get everywhere!), who were on the flight before ours, and just relaxed with snacks and a book before being called to the very wet gate.

Day 13 - Guwahati to Shillong

Somehow this didn't post....

We made it! 8 hours of continuous breakdowns while driving the final 80km during a massive storm.

Finished! 

Last day in Shillong

Had breakfast and then met a few Runners to go see Cherrapunjee - known for its beautiful waterfalls as well as being the 'wettest place on earth'. That name is completely justified as it poured with rain as soon as we got up in the hills, and the clouds hung over everything so we couldn't see a thing! Our taxi drivers did their best to get us a view, but it just wasn't happening. However we did then go and see some caves - which involved us scrambling around in water, but is good fun and interesting! We had lots of chai tea, but the weather didn't change, so we eventually came back down the mountain, to find bright sunshine... Back at the hotel, we showered and are currently waiting for our laundry to turn up before we can go out again - we are definitely nearing the end of our trip!