We got some KMs in!

We rode from Baurauch to Navasari after our rickshaw was fixed. We could have gone farther but night driving feels dangerous and I was feeling really sick. We got a hotel after a few tries, this one a gem stuck in the late 1970's. I laid down while Ryan got supper and got me ice cream. Add to the cold or flu stomach issues. I ran a really high fever that night - Ryan said he didn't sleep because he kept checking me and we thought we might have to take me to a doctor at one point, but the cipro seemed to know whatever it was out of my system and by the enxt day I was feeling betterish. We decided to push as far as we could for the coast and then find a beach town where we could stay for a full day, do some laundry, post to the blog and let me recouperate. We headed out around 9 and by noon we were out of Gujurat and started seeing Wine and Beer shops. Ryan had to stop and get a Kingfisher - which is why there are random photos of him in front of one of those.

We were originally headed to Uran, but about 3:30 we ran into the Norwegians, who were heading to Alibag. It feels safer to travel with others, and we'd hung out briefly with these guys before and really liked them so we asked if we could follow along. Our groups got to Alibag about 7:30. We found a hotel (again after a few tries - the Radisson in Alibag costs $375 US minimum - out of our price range) and sat outside, had a few beers and chatted. In total we covered over 300 KM so Ryan and I made plans to find a mechanic and get our rickshaw overhauled and spend the day in Alibag then try to push as close to Goa tomorrow.

Today we got up and Ryan headed to the mechanic again while I made notes about what we would post to our blog. After breakfast we found a beach, which was pretty except for the trash, then found an internet cafe. I've not spent the last two hours updating. Hopefully the next time I'm on here we'll be in or past Goa!

Onward - sort of

From Palanpur Ryan and I decided we would try to make a run for it out of Gujurat. It's a dry state, and though my husband to be isn't an alcoholic, he is definitely from Wisconsin and can't go very long without beer. We were somewhat sucessful. Today most of our delays were related to the lack of directions and road signs. Our maps don't match up with the cities we see, and the road signs don't make sense. I've decided that the English road signs are actually a practical joke and the ones in Hindi are the correct ones. You'll pass a sign that says "Ahmenebad 5 k" with a straight arrow, then 2 minutes later you see a sign saying that Ahemenebad is 10 K to the left. Either the cities are moving (possible) or the signs are misleading (probably) or Ran and I aren't smart enough to figure them out (I'd like to say impossible, but this is the most likely option). We got seriously turned around in Ahmendebad (no clue how to spell that) but finally made it through a bit south of Vadodora. South of Vadodora our rickshaw started to give up the ghost. She'd run for two minutes and die, run for two minutes and die, so we pulled into a hotel. Here's where Ryan and I learned that hotels don't necesarily have rooms here in India. We had to limp from the first hotel to a second one about 15 k back the way we came. Luckily it had rooms, it was clean, it had a bathroom and it only cost about 19 dollars. So Ryan and I learned that you can't judge a hotel by its outside appearance (it even had hot water!).

I woke up the next morning with a full on cold or flu. Ryan let me stay in bed while he got the rickshaw fixed. About 11 we thought we were set and headed out. 5 minutes later the rick started acting up again. Rather than turn around we pushed forward till we found another town. Here somebody put clamps on our fuel line and sent us on our way again. 2 minutes later troubles again. The third place we went we found somebody who spoke English. Muthan helped us find a mechanic and made sure he didn't chaged us too much. We thought we were sorted out for the third time in the day, but as soon as we got up to speed heading out of town we started to have issues again. This time we turned around and Muthan took us into town to a mechanic who specialized in rickshaws. While Ryan took our fourth mechanic of the day for a ride I sat down and had some chai. Apparently the mechanics shop was outside a primary school because after 2 sips of tea I was mobbed by about 20 school aged girls. They just stood about 6 feet from me and stared at me. Then they started pushing on another closer to me as though I was a dangerous tiger. I thought they were pretty cute, so I took out my camera. They scattered like I'd pulled a gun. Muthan explained to me that we were in a pretty small town and these girls had probably not really seen white people in real life before, or at least not many. Additionally, I was still feeling pretty sick, so I'd sat on the ground, which was smoething only poor people do here, and since I'm white I couldn't be poor, so that was weird too. He didn't explain why my camera was terrifyining. I got some pretty good video of them running and hiding from me though. Once I got a few of them close enough to show them what I was doing they were fascinated with my camera and we made friends.

Ryan came back about 30 minutes later, and he was instantly mobbed by little boys who wanted to play cricket with him. We were stuck for a while, so he went with them and batted for quite a while. In all our break down ended up being one of the best experiences we've had in India. The people in Gujurat are the nicest we've met so far, and have done everything they can to help and have asked for nothing in return - which is different from the tourist areas where you feel like you're on Let's Make a Deal constantly.

Dia Numer Tres

Check the photos for this one. We played around in the fort, played cricket with some local (one of whom turned out to be the prince of Rahathstan) and went to bed early for our big day tomorrow.

 

Mom and Dad - we don't have video right now - not because I've not taken any, but because they can't upload it from this internet cafe. Hopefully some will beadded later!

A few days on the road

We got on our way today! We headed south from Jaisalmer to Barmer. Once we got to Barmer, found a hotel and got settled, an employee came and found us to tell us our rickshaw was leaking gas. No good. The hotel mechanic diagnosed a bent flow pin, and told us through the manager that he couldn't fix it till the shops opened in the AM. Indian shops are really specialized. The mechanics carry no parts. I wonder sometimes what an Indian would do if they were taken into a Super Walmart. But I digress. Our rickshaw was fixed about 11 am. This was after the hotel told us that the mechanic would be there by 8:30 (translation 9) and he would come with the part (nope). He then went to get the part and an hour later stomped away when we wouldn't pay 500 rupees for it. When he came back it took roughly 15 minutes for him to take the carbeurator apart and replace the flow pin. By the time we paid and got on the road Ryan and I were afraid we wouldn't catch up tp any teams. We shouldn't have. The organizers weren't joking when they said the rickshaws break down. They breakdown more than they run. On the bright side, beng broken down puts you in contact with lots more peopl because the moment you stop you will have at least 10 people gathering around your rick, and the longer you stay there the more show up.

We made it to Palampur and stayed in the Balaram Palace with the Virginians that night. Fun group of guys. We had originally hooked up with them in Barmer, but they got ahead of us because of our break down. The palace was pricey, but it was unique. No hot water though, so I think Ryan and I will continue shooting for our mid-range hotels. We enjoyed the company though and are hoping to see the VA boys farther down the road.