West Bengal, India
we are back in Silliguri after taking a day off taking in the charms of Darjeeling with the Tonnarottis. Treated ourselves to a nice heritage hotel and chauffeured car to take us around. Bliss! I have never appreciated a closed car quite so much. We pick up the ferrari from the service shop tomorrow morning and then hit the road. Just received our washed laundry back and it smells like it's been roasted with masala in a tandoor oven. Don't know why we bothered! None of the plugs in this room seem to work so if there's no update tomorrow it's because both our phones (hopefull not us) have died. Nite.
English Bazar, India
the name is misleading, there doesn't appear to be anything quite so charming in this town. It's been another tough day of driving through the chaos that characterizes the streets of India. The traffic noise is deafening...though it clearly hasn't deafened us enough as we search for our earplugs to enable us to get some sleep in this roadside hotel. On the upside, we offered a local guy a ride to his village and he brought us home to have lunch with his family. The whole village came out to watch the freak show. Judging by their relentless stares, I suspect they don't receive many white visitors...or perhaps it was the state of us that they found amusing. I laughed myself when I finally came across a mirror. Another 6am start tomorrow, best get some sleep.
West Bengal, India
we took the scenic route this afternoon and it was worth every pothole and unmarked speed bump! Was rather amusing to see the team with GPS go the wrong direction on several occasions. Ended up in what seems to be the only "hotel" (and bar) in town. Either that, or we're in the wrong town but never mind, we're headed in the right direction. If all goes to plan (which it never does) in two days we'll be in Silliguri. Meanwhile, what do you reckon are our chances of finding toilet paper and sunscreen in the outbacks of West Bengal?
Orissa, India
today was a long and boring day on the road. The sun shined as we had hoped but the Orissa section of the highway let us down so we didn't make it to Puri. Heading into West Bengal tomorrow. Can't wait to get off the NH5!
Rushikonda Beach, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Another long day on the road. The only difference was the thunderstorms and pouring rain. Yesterday was the last time we'll wish for rain...prefer the dry scorching heat to being soaked to the bone and freezing. Spending tonight at a "resort" recommended by the LP...been disappointed before but never seen anything like it. Still, happy to be alive and well after all the accidents we witnessed today. Hoping to make it as far as Puri tomorrow. Please let there be sunshine! Nite.
Andhra Pradesh, India
We escaped the madness of Chennai by following the sun (and a few vague directions) spent a full day cruising the NH5 at 50-60kmph. Finally a real highway!! It was a hot, dusty, uninteresting ride but we can't afford to take the scenic route every day. Broke down twice briefly due to engine overheating but otherwise smooth cruising. Clocked up almost 500 km!
Tamil Nadu, India
wasted the better part of the day in Pondicherry having our rickshaw serviced but it appears to be worth it. Overtook a car for the first time. Maximum speed 60kph. Experienced the madness of traffic in India's fourth largest city. Exhausted but otherwise well. 6am start tomorrow!
Pondicherry, India
Arrived this afternoon after long, hot and dusty ride on yet another "national highway" which is not deserving of the name. Staying at French Villa (where else?). Steak au poivre avec frites pour le diner! Rickshaw at Bajaj hospital for a little fine tuning. Testing blog updates by text. Will send more over internet tomorrow x
The journey begins
Lionel: "This is happening!
We have been here 3 days already and everything has been running as planned: meaning none of what happened has been expected. We flew Singapore Airlines to get a comfy flight in: Crap, rubbish flight with no entertainment system. No queue at the custom, driver waiting for us. Nice hotel, clean, good bathroom. Excellent food, no sickness so far. Damn, that was totally out of our plans. Last but not least, nobody even tried to scam us and sell us stuff at some crazy price. Result, we have been chilling out for days meeting a bunch of cool people and now this is really happening, we are leaving today for 4000 km of madness, and this is gonna be AWE-SOME!"
Mel: "I can hardly believe the long awaited day has finally arrived. There's excitement in the air...and hundreds of touts hanging around eager to get in on the action. If I had to describe Kochi in one word it would be
