Team Ain’t Our First Ro-Day-O

64

Day 14

The eagle has landed, I repeat the eagle has landed. Well ladies and gentlemen, it is safe to say mission accomplished. Today Dirty Kev and the boys have completed their outrageously long journey across India and have safely landed here in Kochi,Kerala.

The final day was filled with stress, anxiousness, with a hint of nostalgia. I think we can all agree we are extremely happy and proud that we have finished in one piece. With that being said, the final push seemed to be our hardest day yet. Our nerves were tested with some of the more reckless drivers of Kerala and with the end in sight we pushed our limits for a 300km day to engrave our names in the sky with some of the Rickshaw greats that had come before us.

The most important thing is that our rickshaw made it 3000+Kms without completely breaking down and that was a miracle in itself. Even though, in our final day we did have some small muffler problems and by small problems I mean our muffler fell off. One muffler short we decided to push on, continuing the rest of our journey in what only can be described as podracer disguised as a rickshaw. You can be sure we got some strange looks all day but it was all in good fun and added some much needed laughter to the stressful day that was day 14.

The highlights of the final day included quite a few close calls on the road throughout the jungles of Kochi. In some of our more stressful encounters we were happy to learn that the universal sign of bad driving is still the middle finger. Halfway through the day we also realized that we were in the middle of communist Russia, just kidding, but Kerala is a communist controlled state within India. (Don’t ask me how that is possible) It is safe to say we have never been happier to get back to America in all of its capitalistic glory.

We would also like to take the time to thank everyone that has been following along on this incredible journey we have had the privilege of embarking on. Our donation goal has been surpassed and two amazing organizations will reap the proceeds of your generosity. We truly hoped you enjoyed reading about 3 young men, blindly stumbling their way across a country they knew absolutely nothing about beforehand. Our final hope is that after reading about our ridiculous exploits you made one day feel the urge to do some exploring of yourself.

Next stop is the Maldives for some much need relaxation.

We will have one more final blog post with our reflections from our trip coming next week.

Signing off for now.

Dirty Kev and the boys.

Day 12

Which to be honest feels like it’s day 30 has definitely seen a major drop in morale. After several great days in Goa, driving the Rickshaw 8 hours a day has become a solid 5/10 at best. With kochi a mere 300 kilometers away we can hardly wait to cross the finish line and return back the the land free of Rickshaws.

The Shaw performed miraculously again today, yet India somehow still has surprises to through at us.

Magalore Buns, a mouthful of a word that truly lives up to its name in size. It is essentially a cream puff, except substitute the cream with a liter of air. Give it a quick google and you’ll understand the false hopes it gave us.

With morale quickly dwindling Corbin did the best he could to bring it up. As we passed a 3 wheeled truck carrying pomegranates, he quickly snagged one as we passed by full speed resulting in laughs from the Indian’s following behind us and a clueless truck driver. Only seconds later we came across a semi flipped on its side as a small village and a few police officers checked on it but being sure to wave at us as we passed.

Wanting to simply finish we made it as far as we could today and wound up in a nice town called Kannur. Not sure if it was from a lack of selfies or Chai today or the fact we are in the Communist state of Kerala but 3 hotels said no they were full. Based on how we have seen Indians pack themselves into a car it was definitely not full. Lucky for us the 4th one decided to take us dirty, tired and hungry foreigners under their wings.

On the road to Cochi tomorrow in hopes it’ll be our last day driving the death trap/sweat box this land calls an “Auto.”

Donn’t worry Karma came back at dinner when Corbin ordered a 7-Up that was a bit shooken up and shot him straight in the face to the amusement of our waiter.

Dirty Kev and The Boys

Day 11:

Today we finally hit the road again and crushed another 250kms down to Udupi. We got a bit of a later start due to the fact the half way party carried on into the wee hours of the night but a few battle scars aside we were ready to make the final push to Kochi.

The day seemed to drag on forever under the blistering heat of the South India sun. It is crazy to think that just a few weeks ago we were rolled up in our blankets and sweatshirts in the morning hours of our daily commute. The drive went very smoothly and besides a few rivers there wasn’t too much to see. Even though the lack of scenery may have had something to do with the thick layer of smog in the air throughout our entire drive today.

When we finally pulled into Udupi our tanks were on E and we were all craving some good ole fashion KFC. Luckily the Colonel was only an extra 15kms out of the way, a small price to pay for the comforts of home. Low spirits turned into smiles and the manager came out and asked us if we would like a tour of the kitchen and facilities. 3 hair nets later we were learning the ins and outs of making KFC chicken masala style.

 Currently checked into our hotel at Udupi and trying to put in another 250kms tomorrow.

Signing off

Dirty Kev and the Boyz

25

Day 10

Day 10:

A day where there was not too much to report on as it was another relaxing day for us in Goa. Our day mainly consisted of enjoying some of the more touristy attractions in Palolem beach and giving some local kids a ride in our rickshaw. Other than that we spent the day on the beach soaking up some rays of sunshine, which if you didn’t already know are hard to come by this time of year back in Seattle. Overall another day in paradise for  dirty Kev and the boys.

Day 9:

Sorry for the belated post we have been extremely busy.... that is if you consider drinking pina coladas and getting base tans busy. 

Today was the first full day that the team could get a bit of rest and relaxation since our journey began (which seems like months ago) and you can be sure that dirty Kev and the boys took full advatange of this much needed day to ourselves. We spent the day exploring all of the beautiful landscapes that Goa has to offer. 

Throughout our journy we have met some amazing travelers and that has once again been the case at our hostel here in Goa. Some of these people have embarked on adventures that make our rickshaw run almost look insignificant including a German man who has ridden his motorocylce over 40,000kms across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East to arrive here in Goa. Along with another from the US who quit her job and has been traveling around the world by herself for the past five years.

Luckily some of these amazing people took the time out of their days to hop in a rickshaw with 3 young men who had just had their first shower in almost a week and show them some of Goa’s hidden gems.

After a short rickshaw ride over steep jungle hills and quick hike down a volcanic cliff to a location I am not allowed to disclose to the public, we were brought to one of the most spectacular beaches I’ve laid my eyes on. The greatest part, it was empty. We spent the entire day decompressing from the stresses of the past week and all of the driving it entailed. Most importantly it gave us some much needed time to gain back the nerve to get in the Shaw and do it all over again in the coming days. 

Signing off from Goa

-Dirty Kev and the boys

Jk you thought we’d skip over day 8, but we ain’t slackers.

Day 8

The easiest day for the Shaw yet and the best day for the bellies.

Pulled the Shaw into an underground parking at a mall and lets just say it was not the worst vehicle there but that’s a lie. We were the only one with a broken turn signal from our small tumble in the Indian desert.

Why did we stop there? Three letters, KFC

The chicken was just incredible. Gotta say, Masala is really not growing on me but KFC is still trying to convince me.

We finished our 3 hour jont at Palolem Beach where we have yet to see a hippy with dreadlocks, definitely more our speed.

Fun fact #5 of India, you can buy beef in GOA! So naturally we did the most American thing possible and order steak and Budweiser’s. But don’t worry we got some physical exercise before this feast.

We flipped rolls with the local Indian’s and helped them push there wooden boat out of the water. What we thought would be a 30 second push turned into 10 minutes as we pushed the boat from the ocean to the palm trees, a good 50-75 yards.

Besides that, we did nothing but sit on the beach and enjoy the bath temperature ocean.

Jealous? Don’t worry we will post pics in the morning.