The Road to Shillong...

After 30 hours of travel, 36 hours for T Lyall, The “Three Rickateers†finally arrived in Gahawati in the state of Meghalaya.  Coming from the Western influence of Singapore airport. Gahawati was a shock to the senses. A thinly tarsealed runway that looked like it would scuff up just by walking on it, let alone a sizeable aircraft. After negotiating the mysterious puddle on the bathroom floor. We received our bags with sigh after thinking the worst, and stupidly unprepared wandered into the fray of Indian drivers waiting like vultures to peck apart any unsuspecting westerner. What a wonderful confronting sight. After being Ker ranged into a vehicle, and realizing that seatbelts were clearly a western oppression We were taken on a 4 hour driving gauntlet, to Shillong. Dodging cows and people as frequently as our driver sat on the horn, careering past trucks, that are literally a shipping container on wheels dwarfing our tiny Hyundai, as oil and exhaust spewed forth from these unstoppable metal monsters fro[]()m a myriad of mechanical problems deep within. We saw more of these Beasts broken or written off. Some were missing wheels some limped on with broken axels. One Truck we saw teetered dangerously on a bridge the driver had slammed into, presumably while smoking opium, so he could stay awake. People were standing about scratching their heads wondering what could have possibly caused this accident, After being pinballed about on roads hardly fit for walking, The cause is painfully clear.

This place is Mental.

The constant aroma of Rubbish and Coal permeate and offend the nostrils liquefying the 28degree heat into a hot inescapable soup. Dust fills every orifice. Sound pollution sits on equal terms with human waste and general deposits pilled by the roadside creating a haven for the street dogs that wander the countryside.

Our first meal in India unfortunately was the McDonald’s Maharaja burger. It’s like a big mac with out the beef. It was terrible, and hurt our stomachs. But it could have been the post mix Coca cola made with puddle water. We will never know.

We had a curry that was like nothing ever tasted in the western world. By Indian standards it was probably rubbish but we got three for AUS 3 dollars, so we win.

We started meeting some of the other Rickshaw teams, had extremely cheap beers by our standards but apparently these were still expensive.

Then we slept. We were done.

This place is Mental.

C. Abernethy