Bangalore to Coimbatore

We figure its two days from Bangalore to the finish, a long drive to Coimbatore and a shorter 200km run into Cochin, maybe in time for the Rickshaw Run cricket match. Due to sleeping in a bit and a long breakfast we started a little late, just in time for Bangalore's morning peak hour so we had hardly left town by 11am but the road wasn't too bad and we made good time till near to Coimbatore. The little motor in our tuk-tuk began to make unusual and very loud noises so a quick check in the engine bay discovered a few missing bolts and likely a cracked exhaust header close to the cylinder. The missing bolts were replaced by taking a couple of not-so-essential bolts from elsewhere and we continued into town in heavy traffic making lots of noise. Err, a slight collision going around a truck as well so we have a bit of a tear in the vinyl roof to add to the scratches on the rear wheel fenders. The hotel has nice rooms and a rooftop restaurant that appeared for quite some time to be completely out of food or drink, despite claiming a total of 4 restaurants on the premises. **Minor discoveries item #1 DO NOT spray pain-relief spray (intended for sore knees) as underarm deodorant. Mat has been screaming for some time now... **Technical Issue item #1 Tuk-tuks have bits that fall off, often not essential bits, but you need to pay attention and collect them all. We now have cable ties and electrical tape holding on lights, horn, roof bars and reverse gear handle. **Technical Issue item #2 My camera lens has fallen to bits, now held together with electrical tape but unable to zoom.

Goa to Bangalore

With more than our usual over-confidence, Team McChuck-Tuk have headed AWAY from the target destination at Cochin and detoured to the nearby-ish town of Bangalore where friendly relatives have promised a spare bedroom. Without an address and even though our combined total of 5 mobile phone SIMs are only giving very dodgy operation and we keep hearing some unsettling noises beneath the tuk-tuk. The road out of Goa proved quite a challenge for the little engine, mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear bouncing over more potholes and speed bumps until the road sorted itself out at the top and we cruised easily eastwards, overnighting at a little town called Kadur. Bangalore was reached this afternoon, following a great overhead freeway into the centre of town. A sign flashed past that might have been forbidding tuk-tuks on the freeway, but we didn't go back to check, figuring that all the other tuk-tuks here must know what they're doing. A final struggle with iPhone maps, confusing addresses, one-way streets and Bangalore traffic saw us wander past our hosts' house until rescued by another phone call.

Agonda Beach, Goa

From the overnight stop at a forgettable little town on the highway 350 km from Aurangabad, an early start saw more good highway until the State Highway to Goa. The road is diabolical with really good winding road for a kilometer or so then a sudden appallingly potholed section with no warning. This goes on for a hundred kilometers slowing our speed considerably because it takes ages to get the tuk-tuk back up to 60 km/h. But ------ We found Goa. The city is noticeably different from the rest of India, although the driving standard is the same. Instead of Hindu temples there are Christian churches everywhere and Christmas trees still about. A bit of wandering along the coast road brought us most of the way to the south end of Goa to the beach area of Agonda where we squeezed the tuk-tuk across a footbridge to a narrow lane behind the beachside 'resorts' where we found paradise - A little set of rooms with a sandy path to the beach with a bar and restaurant. Have a look at the pictures but they really don't do it justice. I'm lying on a bean bag next to the beach under a parachute for shade typing on the laptop, watching the occasional bikini go past. I've been working out the fiscal situation and I reckon I could retire here on $15,000 Aust a year so if I'm late getting back you know where to start looking.

Ajanta

Once out of Ranakpur, we found a super highway (by Indian standards) going south. This incredible two-lanes-in-each-direction finally let us give the tuk-tuk a full head of steam and hurtled southwards at just over 60 km/h. For hour after hour after hour, stopping to fill up with petrol and chai (tea) reaching Dhar just after dark, puncturing a tyre on the last dirt track section Next day we found a tyre repairman who promptly fixed our tyre and hit the highway again. This time we found a shortcut - a new but unfinished highway bypassing our intended route. It looked promising, because all the local motorcycles and tractors were going that way so we took the chance. The road was only missing those bits that get stuck in later, like overpasses and bridges but fortunately we were able to bounce our way through building sites, around earthmovers and piles of steel to each new section. A bit rough on the tuk-tuk going places I wouldn't like to take my Landrover but actually a much shorter way to Jalgaon. Jalgaon is simply the nearest town to Ajanta with reasonable hotels, so leaving early we found Ajanta and left our tuk-tuk and bags fairly unsecured in the parking area to explore the caves. These caves are astounding, carved into rock about two thousand years ago presumably with only hand tools. There is a series of caves of clearly differing styles dating over a period of hundreds of years, apparently completely lost until stumbled into by a hunter looking for tigers about 1880. The pillars, floors and roofs are amazingly carved and painted and I am astonished that few people have even heard about them. I took at least a hundred pictures before we decided we had to head on to Aurangabad.

Jodhpur

Jodhpur fort was built by people who were obviously not expecting friendly visitors. The sheer size of the fort walls, steep rock walls below and long winding ramp up to the gates really spells out Do Not Disturb in large letters. The old town is a maze of little lanes just wide enough for a tuk-tuk opening up into little intersections where vehicles can pass each other. The markets are swarming with people, cows, camels and motorcycles where nearly anything can be found. A rope shop looked interesting so we asked for kite string and were directed around the corner - sure enough the specialist kite string shop turned up 40 metres away. Our hotel Heaven turned out to be exceptionally good, with a rooftop restaurant and a view over the town to the fort walls, see the night time picture in the gallery. We started a little late this morning, partly through chatting to other Rickshaw Runners at the hotel and also because I forgot how to get back to where we left the tuk-tuk locked up in a little garage overnight. A couple of hours later we took District Road 40, a fairly major road on the map which turned into a large series of potholes with bits of road here and there. Hours later we headed up a better road which turned uphill where the tuk-tuk displayed alarming disinterest in proceeding. Monkeys watched us crawl past at walking speed, until we tried the siren which scattered them.

Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

Sheesh, just before starting today a cow came past and ate the marigold garland strung across the front of the tuk-tuk. Have we pleased the gods or displeased them?

With fingers and everything else crossed we fired up the motor and headed out under the sign - Jodhpur 265 km. The tuk-tuk continued to run and we breathed again. Many miles under  the wheels and the motor suddenly conked out again. Mat fainted while I calmly reached for  the petrol tap and turned to Reserve. We've managed about 130km on about 5 litres of petrol.

The road is winding past at just over 50 km/h, giving us time to notice the camels, goats, pigs, dogs and local people, most of whom seem to appreciate the sight of a blow-up  kangaroo on top of a poorly driven orange tuk-tuk.

About halfway to Jodhpur we came across another broken down tuk-tuk and were able to diagnose it as another victim of the dreaded piston holed and seized, so they are towing it  across the country to find a tuk-tuk mechanic.

Jodhpur itself comprises a new town and an old section full of winding narrow lanes. Of course our chosen hotel is in the middle of the old town, requiring amazing amounts of skill  to swerve around parked motorcycles, pass oncoming traffic, avoid pedestrians and find the  right intersection. Never fear, Team McChuck-Tuk have failed on all counts. The hotel was  eventually located a bit further down the lane by simply ringing them a couple of times.

Observations of the wild tulk-tuk

The common or garden variety of tuk-tuk can be observed almost anywhere throughout Delhi, appearing in great numbers at all times of the year. We have observed numerous specimens, becoming familiar with their habits. We at first studied their erratic swerving and unpredictable stop-start motion for patterns of behaviour, and have come to a preliminary conclusion that it is indeed erratic and unpredictable. The Delhi tuk-tuk is easily recognized by it's distinctive green, black and yellow colour scheme with prominent CNG labels, referring to it's diet of Compressed Natural Gas. These have 4-stroke engines, unlike the more

Preparations

*Sunday 11 December*

Preparations and plans are accumulating..

Teams of sturdy huskies have been trained, stocks of cheese and biscuits have been ordered and even as this missive is scribed, a squad is searching for adequate supplies of tea and cucumbers.

The IEM (Indian Exploratory Module) has been satisfactorily pimped, although improvements may be implemented when the sub-committee appointed for audio and optical standards reports back.

The team members of McChuckTuk were widely dispersed (i.e. opposite sides of the earth) but are rapidly closing the gap and preparing for a nearly simultaneous arrival at Delhi, where we will board the highly esteemed Delhi-Jaisalmer Express for what promises to be an experience never-to-be-forgotten.

An acquaintance noticed our team's combined knowledge of India amounted to a 100-year-old book and some local purchases of the national cuisine, but I can assure all those who fear for the team's future that we have actually consulted some natives of India and have tabulated their wisdom for a successful trip -

1. Don't drink the water, don't eat anything 2. You will be attacked by dogs, monkeys, snakes and mosquitoes 3. Stay on the main highways or you will get lost 4. Stay off the main highways or you will be run over by a truck 5. You can buy Pepsi anywhere 6. At restaurants, tell everyone you know Shayne Warne

Morale is high and the horoscope is interpreted as optimistic for the next month, so the countdown continues..