All Good Things...

Well, it's happened.  Only one more day to go before I head home to California.  It's been...awesome.  Kim and Belinda should be boarding a taxi soon (they splurged for a taxi with AC!) to head to the airport and then back to Delhi, where they will be doing some more sightseeing before heading back to the States.  I will be leaving very early in the morning.  In the meantime, I wandered off to find an Internet cafe.  It's strange how being in India seems normal now--I wonder if I will have some culture shock when I return to the US.  This has been a trip of contrasts--we passed opulent hotels and beach resorts, but also drove through slums and past open garbage dumps on the side of the road.  The food has been excellent, and so has the companionship.  We all shared stories at the finish celebration last night, which was at Bolgatty Palace.  Everyone was excited and ready to party--the ferry to Bolgatty Island was packed, and there were so many people on the upper deck that it began to list dangerously to one side when they tried to turn away from the dock!  After sending half the people downstairs, we were on our way again.  I thought the incident fit quite well with the theme of this trip: a problem occurs, you fix it, and move on.  Thank you to all of the friendly locals who helped us on our journey, from the man who personally escorted us more than 5km on his motorcycle to a fort we were trying to find, to the mechanics who fixed our problems quickly and for only a dollar or two.  If I take one thing away from this trip, it will be my inspiration to try harder to help others, after consistently experiencing the willingness of people in India to give help and assistance when needed.

Garrett's Rickshaw Run Learnings, Day 10

1. If you don't want to be swarmed by people when pulling over to the side of the road, take out some food and start eating.  It's considered very rude to interrupt someone while they're eating.

2. If the cops motion for you to stop, chances are good that they want to have their picture taken with you (note: this only applies to foreigners driving a pimped out rickshaw).

3. GPS directions are sketchy and despite the best intentions of locals, it can be very hard to find your intended destination (hotel, beach, etc.).  The best way to get somewhere in a big city is to pay a local rickshaw driver to let you follow him there.  Sad but true!

 

Milestones reached today:

- 2000km mark

- Entered Karnataka state

- Saw our first signs for Cochin!

Garrett's Rickshaw Run Learnings (Day 4)

1. No matter how remote and devoid of people an area seems, if three foreigners in an auto stop there, they will be surrounded by rubberneckers in a matter of minutes

2. Traffic laws in India are wishful thinking.  You want to drive the wrong way on the shoulder of an expressway?  No problem!  (We did this today when we got on the expressway and realized we were going the wrong direction)

3. We now consider  a flushing toilet a luxury

4. People from England like to drink.  A lot. 

 

New Year's Eve

So here we are at the Jawahar Niwas Palace Hotel, waiting for the New Year's Eve party to start. Nice to relax a little after a hard day's work of both learning to drive the rickshaw AND learning to drive in India. We hear they're going to roast a goat!

Supplies

A partial list of things I still need to acquire:

universal sink stopperbatteriesdetergenthand sanitizergogglespepto bismolinsect repellentnotebookoutlet adapterCliff barssunscreenAs of last night, my clothes are packed for the trip.  No small feat, considering I'm making a stopoff in Wisconsin, where the temperature is currently 28F (-2C for you metric system people).  How's that for preparedness?

Yes, I do exist

I am the “mysterious character†to whom Kim refers in her delightful writeup in the About Us section.  Seeing as how a mere week remains before I depart on this (epic/crazy/amazing/weird/excellent idea for an/horrible idea for an) adventure, I figure it’s time to make my official blog debut.  Having acquired first my motorcycle license, then my International Driving Permit, gotten up to date on all my vaccinations and purchased malaria medicine, and sought out various and sundry supplies, I feel I’m about as ready as possible.  Oh, did I mention the 3+ hours of planning meetings with Belinda and the two or three quick glances I took at several India guidebooks?  Totally more than enough time to prepare for every possible contingency.