Day 14.
The final day has arrived and the rickshaw is going strong. We left our luxury accommodation and hit the road for our final stretch. Went down a side road and stopped under a tree at the halfway point for an engine break and had a chat to a elderly shepherd about his goats using only sign language. He seemed to find us pretty amusing, and even got in the drivers seat to pose for a photo. After the rest stop we tested out the roof racks (now featuring a new snap on one of the four metal support bars) and Tom had a bit of a ride on the roof on the way back to the highway. The constant stream of walkers continued all day, this time people walking in the opposite direction from Jaisalmer toward Ramdevra.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at the Hotel run by a guy Tom met on his trip to India a few years prior. He hooked us up with the best room in the place for an incredibly good rate, we had spectacular views of the golden Jaisalmer fort through our windows. It all seemed a bit anticlimactic really, 14 days of incredible adventure ending in an arrival to another hotel with no real fanfare. We showered the sweat and highway grime away then drove to our friends hotel to have lunch. One of their rickshaws was in a terrible state, the roof rack had long ago been abandoned, the frame had rusted away in places, and they'd taken down the canvas roof to become a convertible. The front seat was on the ground next to the rickshaw.
Our friends were in a similar headspace to us, it was odd to all of a sudden be done with the rickshaw. Little did we know we were about to wrap up our journey in epic style.
There was a parade planned for 1pm setting off from the palace belonging to the prince of Jaisalmer around the Jaisalmer fort. We began the 8 minute drive to the palace at about 5 minutes to 1 after having a few problems starting one of the 3 rickshaws. While they were trying to start, the rickshaw belonging to our other friends set about taking their jerry cans off the roof as the sun had been beaming down on them all day and the 38 degree heat had turned the once rectangular plastic containers completely spherical. They could have blown at any moment. The late departure made for a pretty frantic race to the palace, we saw a few other rickshaws in similar states to ours and a few hundred metres from the finish line we spluttered out of fuel. Disaster. We thought we had planned it perfectly, but spending the whole morning abandoning our previous nursing of the engine and driving full throttle had burned more petrol than expected. Team 'she'll be right' we're the ones who had taken the Jerry cans down from their roof and Henry went with them as they raced back to their hotel to pick them up for us. Just after they departed the scene Tom flagged down another passing team and they graciously threw us a Jerry can. We took a litre using hands as a funnel and called Henry back. Back in action we crossed the finish line with plenty of tooting and were stoked to see 70-80 other rickshaws still there getting ready to kick off the parade.
The air was electric and excitement got the better of our three teams. We hooned into the sandy front yard of the palace behind the queue of rickshaws preparing for parade and started going nuts. Driving round in circles on the horn, drifting, doing burnouts in the sand and generally having a good time. Tom was at the helm, and knowing this was his last chance driving the rickshaw that had mightily carried us over 3000 km he got thoroughly carried away and accidentally managed to put the rickshaw right up on two wheels. Who knows how it didn't roll, eye witness reports reckon it was right at the tipping point and could have gone either way. Pretty good time to join the queue and get ready for the parade.
80ish pimped up rickshaws driven by foreigners doing a lap of the town is quite a sight to behold, and Jaisalmer definitely wasn't ready for us. No roads were closed and it was the middle of the day. Absolute chaos. More than a couple of rickshaws less fortunate than ours broke down before completing a lap, and one right in front of us managed to fall into a pothole so big their right rear wheel was left hanging freely, supported by the framework. Took a couple of people to lift it out and set it on its way. When everyone finally arrived back in the palace grounds it seemed our earlier arrival had inspired dozens of teams to get a bit loose. After the previous brush with disaster Henry and Sarah demanded to be let out of the rickshaw before Tom joined the fray. It was insane, so much dust was kicked up that visibility was reduced to a few metres. Tom attempted to perfect the art of driving a rickshaw on two wheels, as did our mates in the convertible. They were a bit less successful and managed to roll sending the three of them out the roof and drawing a bit of blood. There were a few friendly collisions, but once a second team ended up on their side the police stepped in and the whole thing died down. With a ceremonious lurch, the rickshaw was stalled into silence for a final time alongside its battered brethren.
We partied into the night with the prince himself. This whole trip has been the adventure of a lifetime. After day one we were pretty confident we wouldn't make it, but the rickshaw stayed strong and the people of India showed us some amazing kindness.
Day 14.
The final day has arrived and the rickshaw is going strong. We left our luxury accommodation and hit the road for our final stretch. Went down a side road and stopped under a tree at the halfway point for an engine break and had a chat to a elderly shepherd about his goats using only sign language. He seemed to find us pretty amusing, and even got in the drivers seat to pose for a photo. After the rest stop we tested out the roof racks (now featuring a new snap on one of the four metal support bars) and Tom had a bit of a ride on the roof on the way back to the highway. The constant stream of walkers continued all day, this time people walking in the opposite direction from Jaisalmer toward Ramdevra.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at the Hotel run by a guy Tom met on his trip to India a few years prior. He hooked us up with the best room in the place for an incredibly good rate, we had spectacular views of the golden Jaisalmer fort through our windows. It all seemed a bit anticlimactic really, 14 days of incredible adventure ending in an arrival to another hotel with no real fanfare. We showered the sweat and highway grime away then drove to our friends hotel to have lunch. One of their rickshaws was in a terrible state, the roof rack had long ago been abandoned, the frame had rusted away in places, and they'd taken down the canvas roof to become a convertible. The front seat was on the ground next to the rickshaw.
Our friends were in a similar headspace to us, it was odd to all of a sudden be done with the rickshaw. Little did we know we were about to wrap up our journey in epic style.
There was a parade planned for 1pm setting off from the palace belonging to the prince of Jaisalmer around the Jaisalmer fort. We began the 8 minute drive to the palace at about 5 minutes to 1 after having a few problems starting one of the 3 rickshaws. While they were trying to start, the rickshaw belonging to our other friends set about taking their jerry cans off the roof as the sun had been beaming down on them all day and the 38 degree heat had turned the once rectangular plastic containers completely spherical. They could have blown at any moment. The late departure made for a pretty frantic race to the palace, we saw a few other rickshaws in similar states to ours and a few hundred metres from the finish line we spluttered out of fuel. Disaster. We thought we had planned it perfectly, but spending the whole morning abandoning our previous nursing of the engine and driving full throttle had burned more petrol than expected. Team 'she'll be right' we're the ones who had taken the Jerry cans down from their roof and Henry went with them as they raced back to their hotel to pick them up for us. Just after they departed the scene Tom flagged down another passing team and they graciously threw us a Jerry can. We took a litre using hands as a funnel and called Henry back. Back in action we crossed the finish line with plenty of tooting and were stoked to see 70-80 other rickshaws still there getting ready to kick off the parade.
The air was electric and excitement got the better of our three teams. We hooned into the sandy front yard of the palace behind the queue of rickshaws preparing for parade and started going nuts. Driving round in circles on the horn, drifting, doing burnouts in the sand and generally having a good time. Tom was at the helm, and knowing this was his last chance driving the rickshaw that had mightily carried us over 3000 km he got thoroughly carried away and accidentally managed to put the rickshaw right up on two wheels. Who knows how it didn't roll, eye witness reports reckon it was right at the tipping point and could have gone either way. Pretty good time to join the queue and get ready for the parade.
80ish pimped up rickshaws driven by foreigners doing a lap of the town is quite a sight to behold, and Jaisalmer definitely wasn't ready for us. No roads were closed and it was the middle of the day. Absolute chaos. More than a couple of rickshaws less fortunate than ours broke down before completing a lap, and one right in front of us managed to fall into a pothole so big their right rear wheel was left hanging freely, supported by the framework. Took a couple of people to lift it out and set it on its way. When everyone finally arrived back in the palace grounds it seemed our earlier arrival had inspired dozens of teams to get a bit loose. After the previous brush with disaster Henry and Sarah demanded to be let out of the rickshaw before Tom joined the fray. It was insane, so much dust was kicked up that visibility was reduced to a few metres. Tom attempted to perfect the art of driving a rickshaw on two wheels, as did our mates in the convertible. They were a bit less successful and managed to roll sending the three of them out the roof and drawing a bit of blood. There were a few friendly collisions, but once a second team ended up on their side the police stepped in and the whole thing died down. With a ceremonious lurch, the rickshaw was stalled into silence for a final time alongside its battered brethren.
We partied into the night with the prince himself. This whole trip has been the adventure of a lifetime. After day one we were pretty confident we wouldn't make it, but the rickshaw stayed strong and the people of India showed us some amazing kindness.
Day 13
Second to last day. Had a fairly relaxed morning wandering around Jodhpur, Henry and Tom had another dip in the inner city water hole. This time nobody else was jumping in which meant the water hadn't been churned up and the uncleanliness was really showing. There were also a whole lot of weird fish all over the place, so before jumping in an old man walked down and fed them at the opposite corner to get them out of our way. Legend.
Met up with the other two teams we've been keeping in touch with at breakfast, their plan is to have a big day on the highway and make it to Jaisalmer a day early to look around there, our plan is to enjoy Jodhpur and have two smallish days between here and there. Jodhpur is full of rooftop bars/cafes/restaurants, all with amazing views of the fort and surrounding blue houses.
Despite much protest from Tom and Sarah, Henry decided 'it's too hot to have a beard' was a stronger argument than 'it's quite funny if you grow a massive ginger beard'. So he ditched the group to get a roadside shave with comb and scissor and complimentary aggressive face massage. Meanwhile Sarah and Tom sorted team outfits for tomorrow nights finishers party. It's a bit surreal that tomorrow will be our last day in the rickshaw, it feels like we've been on the road for months with the amount that's happened since we started out.
We set off just after midday. Our plan was to head for a town called Phalodi because google maps showed it as having a pretty impressive fort. While having a chai at a rooftop cafe someone noticed that the fort from google maps looked suspiciously similar to the fort towering over Jodhpur. Identical in fact. Dodgy Indian google strikes again, and fortunately Phalodi is struck from the itinerary before we detour the wrong way. Pokhran is chosen as the replacement destination for no reason other than it's vaguely on the way and reachable by nightfall.
The drive was along reasonable highways with the accompanying aggressive bus/truck drivers, but on the side of the road was a constant stream of people walking. Some holding bags, some balancing entire suitcases on their heads, some holding massive flags and some carrying larger than life stuffed toys of white horses. It was all pretty baffling, there were plenty of cars with similar flags and trucks full to overflowing with people holding the same type of flag. There were some trucks with giant speakers on the back pumping weird Indian techno driving slowly next to the road with walkers having a bit of a dance as they walked behind them. It was pushing 40 degrees and nobody was wearing shorts. Mostly saris for women and jeans and collared shirts for men. This went on for the entire 175km trip.
We later discovered that it's a pilgrimage for one of the Hindu gods. This god is always depicted on a white horse holding a multicoloured flag, which explained what the walkers were carrying. Apparently some Hindus make a wish with this god for something they want, be it cure from illness, a new job, to have a baby boy instead of a baby girl, and make a deal with this god that if it comes true they will walk to a shrine in the village of Ramdevra in Rajasthan to pay homage. So all these people lining the highway are walking hundreds and hundreds of kilometres in the intolerable heat because of a deal with this god. It's unfathomable dedication to the faith.
Nearing Pokhran we had a look at accommodation options and noticed there was a 13th century fort in the middle of town that google was advertising as a hotel with a pool. We navigated our way through some pretty busy streets, a bit dubious as there was no fort in sight until suddenly we arrived at some huge wooden gates. We drove on through to find ourselves in the courtyard of a bustling fort full of local tourists. It seems foreigners can get away with anything in India, so we parked our conspicuous ride in the courtyard and set about determining whether this was a hotel. After a few false starts we were led to a beautiful closed off courtyard away from the hustle and bustle through the maharaja's (maharaja = Indian king) dining hall to a chandeliered bedroom with the best looking bathroom India had produced thus far. And best of all, the swimming pool existed. We went into a dingy office and were quoted an outrageous fee, so after a brief unsuccessful attempt at haggling we went back to the rickshaw and began looking through the usual terrible hotels small towns like to offer.
On starting the rickshaw to leave a man quietly came up to us and said '5000 rupees with no tax required'. Bingo. Still expensive compared to the usual 700 rupees, but how often do you get to stay in a palace. The rickshaw was led through another set of gates and we had half a palace shut off for just the three of us to enjoy. The plebeian section of the fort was pretty unpleasant, with large mounds of red spit in the corner of each room and hundreds of staring, unsolicited selfie taking locals crowding around the only foreigners in a 100km radius. We couldn't stop moving without being surrounded. We tried to have a bit of a laugh and stare back to see what happened, but they just don't flinch and you just end up staring into each other's souls for 30 seconds. We fled the paparazzi to our private palace and swam in our private pool, wandered through our private gardens and climbed along our private fort walls. We were served dinner in a large hall by our private butler and played cards under the gaze of photographs of the various maharaja who ran the palace in days gone by. By far the best place we've stayed in our lives. A definite step up from the filthy inner city swim of this morning. Thank you India.
Day 13
Second to last day. Had a fairly relaxed morning wandering around Jodhpur, Henry and Tom had another dip in the inner city water hole. This time nobody else was jumping in which meant the water hadn't been churned up and the uncleanliness was really showing. There were also a whole lot of weird fish all over the place, so before jumping in an old man walked down and fed them at the opposite corner to get them out of our way. Legend.
Met up with the other two teams we've been keeping in touch with at breakfast, their plan is to have a big day on the highway and make it to Jaisalmer a day early to look around there, our plan is to enjoy Jodhpur and have two smallish days between here and there. Jodhpur is full of rooftop bars/cafes/restaurants, all with amazing views of the fort and surrounding blue houses.
Despite much protest from Tom and Sarah, Henry decided 'it's too hot to have a beard' was a stronger argument than 'it's quite funny if you grow a massive ginger beard'. So he ditched the group to get a roadside shave with comb and scissor and complimentary aggressive face massage. Meanwhile Sarah and Tom sorted team outfits for tomorrow nights finishers party. It's a bit surreal that tomorrow will be our last day in the rickshaw, it feels like we've been on the road for months with the amount that's happened since we started out.
We set off just after midday. Our plan was to head for a town called Phalodi because google maps showed it as having a pretty impressive fort. While having a chai at a rooftop cafe someone noticed that the fort from google maps looked suspiciously similar to the fort towering over Jodhpur. Identical in fact. Dodgy Indian google strikes again, and fortunately Phalodi is struck from the itinerary before we detour the wrong way. Pokhran is chosen as the replacement destination for no reason other than it's vaguely on the way and reachable by nightfall.
The drive was along reasonable highways with the accompanying aggressive bus/truck drivers, but on the side of the road was a constant stream of people walking. Some holding bags, some balancing entire suitcases on their heads, some holding massive flags and some carrying larger than life stuffed toys of white horses. It was all pretty baffling, there were plenty of cars with similar flags and trucks full to overflowing with people holding the same type of flag. There were some trucks with giant speakers on the back pumping weird Indian techno driving slowly next to the road with walkers having a bit of a dance as they walked behind them. It was pushing 40 degrees and nobody was wearing shorts. Mostly saris for women and jeans and collared shirts for men. This went on for the entire 175km trip.
We later discovered that it's a pilgrimage for one of the Hindu gods. This god is always depicted on a white horse holding a multicoloured flag, which explained what the walkers were carrying. Apparently some Hindus make a wish with this god for something they want, be it cure from illness, a new job, to have a baby boy instead of a baby girl, and make a deal with this god that if it comes true they will walk to a shrine in the village of Ramdevra in Rajasthan to pay homage. So all these people lining the highway are walking hundreds and hundreds of kilometres in the intolerable heat because of a deal with this god. It's unfathomable dedication to the faith.
Nearing Pokhran we had a look at accommodation options and noticed there was a 13th century fort in the middle of town that google was advertising as a hotel with a pool. We navigated our way through some pretty busy streets, a bit dubious as there was no fort in sight until suddenly we arrived at some huge wooden gates. We drove on through to find ourselves in the courtyard of a bustling fort full of local tourists. It seems foreigners can get away with anything in India, so we parked our conspicuous ride in the courtyard and set about determining whether this was a hotel. After a few false starts we were led to a beautiful closed off courtyard away from the hustle and bustle through the maharaja's (maharaja = Indian king) dining hall to a chandeliered bedroom with the best looking bathroom India had produced thus far. And best of all, the swimming pool existed. We went into a dingy office and were quoted an outrageous fee, so after a brief unsuccessful attempt at haggling we went back to the rickshaw and began looking through the usual terrible hotels small towns like to offer.
On starting the rickshaw to leave a man quietly came up to us and said '5000 rupees with no tax required'. Bingo. Still expensive compared to the usual 700 rupees, but how often do you get to stay in a palace. The rickshaw was led through another set of gates and we had half a palace shut off for just the three of us to enjoy. The plebeian section of the fort was pretty unpleasant, with large mounds of red spit in the corner of each room and hundreds of staring, unsolicited selfie taking locals crowding around the only foreigners in a 100km radius. We couldn't stop moving without being surrounded. We tried to have a bit of a laugh and stare back to see what happened, but they just don't flinch and you just end up staring into each other's souls for 30 seconds. We fled the paparazzi to our private palace and swam in our private pool, wandered through our private gardens and climbed along our private fort walls. We were served dinner in a large hall by our private butler and played cards under the gaze of photographs of the various maharaja who ran the palace in days gone by. By far the best place we've stayed in our lives. A definite step up from the filthy inner city swim of this morning. Thank you India.
Day 12
Today we woke up from our lovely bus station side hotel full of spit marks and dubious sheet stains to no ventilation. Off we set in the rickshaw for our third to last day on the road!
We drove fairly bumpy roads until in the middle of the smallest and muddiest of roads Tom did a bit too much drifting and the rickshaw broke down. Tom set about troubleshooting in the near 40 degree heat and it turned out to be the CDI unit again. This time no amount of toothbrush would fix it, but luckily we had picked up a spare a few days before when we were getting it serviced. When the new unit was in and taped up to keep the water out Tom asked Henry to start the engine, it worked a treat so he asked him to stop so we could pack up the gear. The engine did not stop however and kept running without the key, we turned the fuel off and it kept running without the fuel. Ghost rickshaw. To stop the engine we now have to stall it. Curious.
We continued on our way and reached Jodhpur nice and early in the day leaving plenty of time for relaxed exploration.
The fort and view of the blue city was very impressive. There is a kid who every afternoon flings chunks of meat off the top of the fort and hundreds of Kites gather to swoop down and grab them. Quite a sight to behold.
On our journey back to town, Henry had his third crash of the trip. The roads through the old city are so narrow that they make extra narrow rickshaws to get through. We didn't really know where we were going so unintentionally wound our way into narrower and narrower streets. Nobody seems to care that we're trying to squeeze our mighty rickshaw through so nobody gets out of the way leading to Henry slowly clipping a guys motorbike as he sat in the road talking to some friends. No harm done apart from to Henrys points tally.
We were later swarmed by a group of young children while stopping to look at the map and had to physically pull them all off the sides and back of the rickshaw to get away without running over toes.
Over the road from our hotel is a small square man made lake surrounded by steep steps on three sides and a temple on the other. Some young kids were jumping off the 10 metre roof of the temple into the water, which was dubiously coloured and trash filled and of suspicious origin. But it's about 35 degrees so Tom got amongst and had a few jumps to the delight of the crowd.
Later on we checked out some of the bustling Jodhpur markets, it is a very busy little city and we've definitely noticed an increase in tourism up here. We've already bumped into 5 rickshaw teams and we know there are more here, obvious that we are near the finish line!
Day 12
Today we woke up from our lovely bus station side hotel full of spit marks and dubious sheet stains to no ventilation. Off we set in the rickshaw for our third to last day on the road!
We drove fairly bumpy roads until in the middle of the smallest and muddiest of roads Tom did a bit too much drifting and the rickshaw broke down. Tom set about troubleshooting in the near 40 degree heat and it turned out to be the CDI unit again. This time no amount of toothbrush would fix it, but luckily we had picked up a spare a few days before when we were getting it serviced. When the new unit was in and taped up to keep the water out Tom asked Henry to start the engine, it worked a treat so he asked him to stop so we could pack up the gear. The engine did not stop however and kept running without the key, we turned the fuel off and it kept running without the fuel. Ghost rickshaw. To stop the engine we now have to stall it. Curious.
We continued on our way and reached Jodhpur nice and early in the day leaving plenty of time for relaxed exploration.
The fort and view of the blue city was very impressive. There is a kid who every afternoon flings chunks of meat off the top of the fort and hundreds of Kites gather to swoop down and grab them. Quite a sight to behold.
On our journey back to town, Henry had his third crash of the trip. The roads through the old city are so narrow that they make extra narrow rickshaws to get through. We didn't really know where we were going so unintentionally wound our way into narrower and narrower streets. Nobody seems to care that we're trying to squeeze our mighty rickshaw through so nobody gets out of the way leading to Henry slowly clipping a guys motorbike as he sat in the road talking to some friends. No harm done apart from to Henrys points tally.
We were later swarmed by a group of young children while stopping to look at the map and had to physically pull them all off the sides and back of the rickshaw to get away without running over toes.
Over the road from our hotel is a small square man made lake surrounded by steep steps on three sides and a temple on the other. Some young kids were jumping off the 10 metre roof of the temple into the water, which was dubiously coloured and trash filled and of suspicious origin. But it's about 35 degrees so Tom got amongst and had a few jumps to the delight of the crowd.
Later on we checked out some of the bustling Jodhpur markets, it is a very busy little city and we've definitely noticed an increase in tourism up here. We've already bumped into 5 rickshaw teams and we know there are more here, obvious that we are near the finish line!
After waking in our nice hotel we walked over to visit a temple before breakfast. Monkeys were everywhere and they were pretty fierce, particularly if you stare at them. They have almost no fear of humans. An older man started shaking and having some sort of fit. He removed his shirt and those around him started praying at his feet. Turns out they were performing a ritual where he was embodied by one of their gods.
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel then got on the road. Unfortunately the roads were really rough for most of the day. One particularly splashy puddle ended up drowning the bit of the rickshaw's electrical system that controls power to the spark plug, so after some trouble shooting to figure out this was the issue, Sarah's toothbrush was commandeered and Tom cleaned out the sodden connections and it kicked back into life.
On the road we passed a family of wild camels which was awesome. They're so massive and would totally dwarf a large horse. They seemed unphased by our presence. As nightfall approached we were getting slightly on-edge by the fact that we had nowhere to stay and had run out of cash with no hotels or ATMs in sight. Our phones haven't been working the last couple of days either due to the state of Rajasthan not liking our phone network. Thankfully we managed to get some money out in a small town and on reaching our destination, just as our hotel situation was becoming increasingly dire, a nice guy on a motorbike led us to a dingy hotel by a bus station. It was pretty grotty with red spit marks all over the walls and mysterious electrical lines jutting out of the walls but certainly better than the streets!
For dinner we went to the only restaurant close by where they served curry on bread. It was delicious, but to enjoy it we had to clear our minds of seeing the hugely fat and sweaty chef preparing the meal - getting right in there with his sweaty hands, mushing the bread on the plate. His sweaty nipple was also dangling out of his loose singlet.
It's been a bit difficult planning our route without internet, so we set about finding new SIM cards that worked in Rajasthan. Indian bureaucracy is pretty outrageous, and to get sim cards outside of an international airport you need an identity card. After pleading with the guy at the shop to help us out with no success, we walked out of the shop and down the road only to find him following us with a shifty look on his face. He said he could arrange for one SIM card if we met him outside our hotel at exactly 9:30pm. It felt like some kind of weird drug deal, but sure enough he rocked up at 9:30 with the goods. Tom organised a second SIM card when approached for a selfie by a couple of locals. A trade was agreed upon, selfies with all of us if he could get a SIM card on our behalf. He was happy to help, a selfie seems to be worth quite a bit in India as he had to scan his fingerprints and have his ID card scanned in order to get us the sim.
After waking in our nice hotel we walked over to visit a temple before breakfast. Monkeys were everywhere and they were pretty fierce, particularly if you stare at them. They have almost no fear of humans. An older man started shaking and having some sort of fit. He removed his shirt and those around him started praying at his feet. Turns out they were performing a ritual where he was embodied by one of their gods.
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel then got on the road. Unfortunately the roads were really rough for most of the day. One particularly splashy puddle ended up drowning the bit of the rickshaw's electrical system that controls power to the spark plug, so after some trouble shooting to figure out this was the issue, Sarah's toothbrush was commandeered and Tom cleaned out the sodden connections and it kicked back into life.
On the road we passed a family of wild camels which was awesome. They're so massive and would totally dwarf a large horse. They seemed unphased by our presence. As nightfall approached we were getting slightly on-edge by the fact that we had nowhere to stay and had run out of cash with no hotels or ATMs in sight. Our phones haven't been working the last couple of days either due to the state of Rajasthan not liking our phone network. Thankfully we managed to get some money out in a small town and on reaching our destination, just as our hotel situation was becoming increasingly dire, a nice guy on a motorbike led us to a dingy hotel by a bus station. It was pretty grotty with red spit marks all over the walls and mysterious electrical lines jutting out of the walls but certainly better than the streets!
For dinner we went to the only restaurant close by where they served curry on bread. It was delicious, but to enjoy it we had to clear our minds of seeing the hugely fat and sweaty chef preparing the meal - getting right in there with his sweaty hands, mushing the bread on the plate. His sweaty nipple was also dangling out of his loose singlet.
It's been a bit difficult planning our route without internet, so we set about finding new SIM cards that worked in Rajasthan. Indian bureaucracy is pretty outrageous, and to get sim cards outside of an international airport you need an identity card. After pleading with the guy at the shop to help us out with no success, we walked out of the shop and down the road only to find him following us with a shifty look on his face. He said he could arrange for one SIM card if we met him outside our hotel at exactly 9:30pm. It felt like some kind of weird drug deal, but sure enough he rocked up at 9:30 with the goods. Tom organised a second SIM card when approached for a selfie by a couple of locals. A trade was agreed upon, selfies with all of us if he could get a SIM card on our behalf. He was happy to help, a selfie seems to be worth quite a bit in India as he had to scan his fingerprints and have his ID card scanned in order to get us the sim.
After waking in our nice hotel we walked over to visit a temple before breakfast. Monkeys were everywhere and they were pretty fierce, particularly if you stare at them. They have almost no fear of humans. An older man started shaking and having some sort of fit. He removed his shirt and those around him started praying at his feet. Turns out they were performing a ritual where he was embodied by one of their gods.
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel then got on the road. Unfortunately the roads were really rough for most of the day. One particularly splashy puddle ended up drowning the bit of the rickshaw's electrical system that controls power to the spark plug, so after some trouble shooting to figure out this was the issue, Sarah's toothbrush was commandeered and Tom cleaned out the sodden connections and it kicked back into life.
On the road we passed a family of wild camels which was awesome. They're so massive and would totally dwarf a large horse. They seemed unphased by our presence. As nightfall approached we were getting slightly on-edge by the fact that we had nowhere to stay and had run out of cash with no hotels or ATMs in sight. Our phones haven't been working the last couple of days either due to the state of Rajasthan not liking our phone network. Thankfully we managed to get some money out in a small town and on reaching our destination, just as our hotel situation was becoming increasingly dire, a nice guy on a motorbike led us to a dingy hotel by a bus station. It was pretty grotty with red spit marks all over the walls and mysterious electrical lines jutting out of the walls but certainly better than the streets!
For dinner we went to the only restaurant close by where they served curry on bread. It was delicious, but to enjoy it we had to clear our minds of seeing the hugely fat and sweaty chef preparing the meal - getting right in there with his sweaty hands, mushing the bread on the plate. His sweaty nipple was also dangling out of his loose singlet.
It's been a bit difficult planning our route without internet, so we set about finding new SIM cards that worked in Rajasthan. Indian bureaucracy is pretty outrageous, and to get sim cards outside of an international airport you need an identity card. After pleading with the guy at the shop to help us out with no success, we walked out of the shop and down the road only to find him following us with a shifty look on his face. He said he could arrange for one SIM card if we met him outside our hotel at exactly 9:30pm. It felt like some kind of weird drug deal, but sure enough he rocked up at 9:30 with the goods. Tom organised a second SIM card when approached for a selfie by a couple of locals. A trade was agreed upon, selfies with all of us if he could get a SIM card on our behalf. He was happy to help, a selfie seems to be worth quite a bit in India as he had to scan his fingerprints and have his ID card scanned in order to get us the sim.
We set off relatively early on the road again today. It's amazing how the climate has suddenly changed to being hot and humid the way it was back in Kochi. All the rooms seem to have a powerful ceiling fan which makes it bearable during the night. We stopped in a small town off the highway for samosas. They were as fresh as can be, straight from the pan. They're surprisingly not greasy though. It was good to have a small breakfast for once, rather than a heavy curry meal. We were fascinating to the locals, and within minutes more than a dozen people had gathered around us, many taking photos. We've had to get a bit more forceful with declining 'selfies' though, as it gets tedious and sometimes you just was to eat without a camera in your face. If they're polite about it, it's a bit harder to say no. Some people are pretty rude about it though.
We were determined to avoid the highways as much as possible so we ventured off into back country. Google maps are helpful but it's impossible to determine what condition the smaller roads are going to be in, so it's a bit of a gamble. We were in no rush though so it was fun to just head in roughly the right direction and hope for the best. We pushed our poor rickshaw to the limit, going through really rough muddy patches, more suited for quad bikes. The fuel filter jammed up again from all the filth getting into our fuel tank, fortunately we bought a bunch of spares in Aurangabad so nobody needed to suck out the muck this time.
The most exciting moment of the day came when Sarah got within centimetres of putting the rickshaw into a hidden ditch while dodging a particularly nasty pothole. It took a bit of quick manoeuvring to avoid potential disaster, with Tom jumping out and pushing the rickshaw sideways to stop it slipping further into the ditch.
We arrived in a town called Chittorgarh in the early afternoon. Above the city lies a village and a massive old fort. We were later informed it's the largest and oldest fort in India. In the sweltering heat we explored the various temples. The fort is so impressive and offers an amazing view of the city and surrounds.
We came across a few locals swimming in a green murky looking reservoir, and jumping off part of the fort 13 meters above the water. Tom jumped in too and we're waiting with bated breath to see what diseases he's picked up from the dodgy looking water.
The village was one of the friendliest we've come across with all the locals very keen to pop their heads out from their doors and windows just to say high. Almost everyone in the village is Hindu. As usual, there seem to be almost as many cows roaming the streets as there are people. As the sun was starting to set, we were enjoying strolling around the pretty village so much we decided to see whether there was anywhere we could stay up there, to avoid going back down into the city. We asked some people we came across who spoke English and a nice man guided us to this amazing house owned by a really friendly couple. It was so beautiful and far more lavish than anywhere else we've stayed this trip. It also cost 5700 rupees - around 5000 rupees more than we've normally been paying! The humidity was building up and eventually a massive downpour drenched the little town. Thankfully it eased off so we could head out and see a procession that was taking place through the small alleyways. A statue of an elephant was being wheeled through the streets with loud dance music blaring, and an old man was walking behind it carrying a smaller elephant on his head. There was a bit of dancing going on behind the big elephant, and Henry and Tom were roped into having a dance with some of the locals which was great.
