From Start to now..Potholes, Cows, Breakdowns and more..
8th sept: so its the first day, flew in from HK to delhi last night, spent 6 hours in a hotel room and got a bit of kip. Up at 3.30am this morning to catch our flight from Delhi to Guwahati.
From guwahati we have a three-four hour journey to Shillong. Grab our rucksacks- met a few others that are just as crazy and have signed up for the same nonsense. We saw them on the plane when we boarded and kinda guessed they were on the adventure! All us crazy ones stick out like a sore thumb!Â
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So I go to the loo whilst Taran waits for the bags and I'm stupid, I have been to india so many times and know to have loo roll and wipes but I don't take them in with me so have to go back out and get the other bag from Taran with them in it! I don't know why but the toilets are so high. I almost needed a climbing frame to sit on it! The other toilets were the traditional hole in the ground! After all the trips I have made back "home" to India, I still haven't mastered the technique of using one of them and wasn't about to have another dab at it now!
Whilst I was in the loos, Taran goes to book a cab from the pre-paid taxi rank. There is a swarm of taxi drivers waiting to get the fare like its the golden ticket from charlie and the chocolate factory. I didn't see it, but one young kid jumped the queue (that's the indian version of queue by the way so just a mess of people barging each other), and after a few rough words and a bit of a barney, our driver just walloped him one round the face. Job done!
So en route to Shillong and the journeys nearly over before it even began. Taran spies a killer wasp the size of half my hand, on my trousers. He squashes it with our camera bag and we get the driver to stop the car and throw it out! He clips it with his fingers by the wings and dashes it out the window. Journey continues....
There are millions of goats and cows in the streets..we are used to this from all the trips we have both made to india over the years but we are looking at it from a different angle now of course as we will be behind the wheel and not in the "safe" hands of these expert Jenson Button's. Not sure how we will get past them in a rickshaw..mmm but everyone else seems to be fine doing it. Time will tell!
From Start to now..Potholes, Cows, Breakdowns and more..
8th sept: so its the first day, flew in from HK to delhi last night, spent 6 hours in a hotel room and got a bit of kip. Up at 3.30am this morning to catch our flight from Delhi to Guwahati.
From guwahati we have a three-four hour journey to Shillong. Grab our rucksacks- met a few others that are just as crazy and have signed up for the same nonsense. We saw them on the plane when we boarded and kinda guessed they were on the adventure! All us crazy ones stick out like a sore thumb!Â
Â
So I go to the loo whilst Taran waits for the bags and I'm stupid, I have been to india so many times and know to have loo roll and wipes but I don't take them in with me so have to go back out and get the other bag from Taran with them in it! I don't know why but the toilets are so high. I almost needed a climbing frame to sit on it! The other toilets were the traditional hole in the ground! After all the trips I have made back "home" to India, I still haven't mastered the technique of using one of them and wasn't about to have another dab at it now!
Whilst I was in the loos, Taran goes to book a cab from the pre-paid taxi rank. There is a swarm of taxi drivers waiting to get the fare like its the golden ticket from charlie and the chocolate factory. I didn't see it, but one young kid jumped the queue (that's the indian version of queue by the way so just a mess of people barging each other), and after a few rough words and a bit of a barney, our driver just walloped him one round the face. Job done!
So en route to Shillong and the journeys nearly over before it even began. Taran spies a killer wasp the size of half my hand, on my trousers. He squashes it with our camera bag and we get the driver to stop the car and throw it out! He clips it with his fingers by the wings and dashes it out the window. Journey continues....
There are millions of goats and cows in the streets..we are used to this from all the trips we have both made to india over the years but we are looking at it from a different angle now of course as we will be behind the wheel and not in the "safe" hands of these expert Jenson Button's. Not sure how we will get past them in a rickshaw..mmm but everyone else seems to be fine doing it. Time will tell!
Uttar Pradesh, India
crossing the river ganges coming up to midnyt after a 24hr journey. Tuk tuk has had its r&r +should now be back on form! In the meantime, tarans growing a wild beard + my broken hindi is sounding as good as a birds bad song.
West Bengal, India
nice cuppa chai in darjeeling from the thunderbolt raja himself. Earl grey jog on!
West Bengal, India
woke up in a nice hotel.well deserved! Yesterday had 12hours on killer roads with mammoth potholes.horns gone and no working lights. Need a break.need a kit kat.
Kokrajhar, India
12hours drive later. Rickshaws going strong with the new make shift exhaust but very sore bums from the dodgy roads.
Assam, India
been driving for over 4 hours.exhausted and exhaust-less
Assam, India
6.5 solid hours of driving downhill,thru narrow windy roads,heavy rains,broke down loads!finally arrived @destination. hungry,wet +tired.