Rupert Shaw

Rupert Shaw
Of The Charioteers
On the The Rickshaw Run Winter 2012
HIGHLIGHT ON MAP
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Day 4

We left Udaipur early, 7.30ish - not used to these early starts but didnt want to be in rush hour traffic - still coming to terms with city traffic and lack of mirrors on the Tuk. We headed down south toward Vadodara, we were hoping to go beyond but we were side tracked half way down. The roads were good initially before we headed off on teh state highway - great scenery, small towns but some of hte worst roads ever. The mammoth potholes had gone, but the roads and tarmac had been totally ripped up and compacted by the trucks that it was impossible to go above 10km/h for about 30kms. The tuck was shaking and rattling, the top right of our frame has come loose as well - well the weld has snapped so the frame constantly rattles now which is nice. Half way through the day we stopped off in a small town in the middle of nowhere and went walking around the market, this caused chaos as clearly foreingers are not often seen. Whilst Tanner wondered off i guarded the Tuk and began to attract a crowd - at one point 30-40 people were all crowded around the tuk reaching in, trying to have a look, taking numerous photos and i seem to have made 5 new facebook friends without trying. One guy was telling me how he had a son studying in London and that we should go back to his house - i did consider leaving without Tanner but luckily he arrived back from his walk and we all jumped in the Tuk and i drive us to his house with crowd following. We met the family and had the most amazing lunch which his wife cooked from scratch there, still with various neighbours popping their heads in to see uis and say hi. 2 hours alter though we had to say our good byes as we still had another 200 odd kms to go.

 Short story - didnt make our original destination but defintiely worth it and now need to plan where we go tomorrow! Early starts and early beds - 9.30 and time to hit the sack... #rr

Rupert Shaw
Of The Charioteers
On the The Rickshaw Run Winter 2012
HIGHLIGHT ON MAP
MORE FROM

Day 1, from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

So, with us both feeling slightly hungover from the evening's launch party e were up packed and ready to go - as much as we were able. Petrol was bought and mixed and our leaky jerry can plced and strpped in, our unreadable insurance documents were issued and apart from the Maharaja we were ready to hit the 290kms to Jodhpur. So we waited and the official launch time came and went... until 1pm when teh Maharaja arrived nd waved us all off in convey. 

 

There were two main routes people seeemed to be taking, teh direct route south and the eastwardl;y route to Jodhpur - this was longer and as we were under strict instructions that if we wanted to keep the tuk alive that we should not thrash it hard on day one we were going to need to if we wanted to make JO\odhpur by nightfall. We had a small hicup 5mins into teh journey with the throttle stuck fully open which was slightly alarming for me in central Jaipur but more was to come later when Tanner was driving. The roads to Jodhpur were nice and we fired up nokia maps who set us on our path. The music was working, nothing was falling off - we were rocking. The tuk has a remarkable propenity to change direction whenever tanner shifted in the back seat - it really is not the most stable of machines. We chanegd over half way and by then we had realised that by slowly breakingthe engine in meant we were neer going to make Jodhpur at any sort of reasonable time so we opened up and ht the heady heights of 50kms/h.

 

This wasnt anyway nearly fast enough and first dusk and then nightfall came and we were stil 80kms from the hotel. Driving at night is not what you want to be doing. Every drier has a death wish and by now Tanner was driving so will let him up date you on the near misses, near death and being run off the road - in a tukyou really are the bottom of the pile...

 

Hotel was lovely though, and up early to see JOdhpur before we have anohter 250kms drive down to the water city of Udaipur - famous for Octopussy.Â