Day 14: The finish line at Jaisalmer
Got up early to drive the last 100ks to the sweet, sweet finish line. Well, I did. Chris had already been up all night with Delhi belly. It was f-f-f-freezing - even with socks, shoes, thermals and windbreakers. Stopped for chai to warm up and was thoroughly ripped off to the tune of 60 rupees, but when that's essentially less than $1.50 it's easier to just keep moving.
Made it over the finish line around 10am and a somewhat respectable 30th place from 104 teams. Had a victory parade with all the successful teams around Jaisalmer at midday, and managed a second mid-drive switcheroo. Massive doughnuts in the dirt performed back at the palace, before cricket, chai, and samosas.
Met the Maharana (King) of Jaisalmer, who was completely wasted. Great photo op, pretty average small talk. Have come back to the hotel for a quick siesta before this evenings frivolities. All in all its been an absolute blast. India will always be a part of me. Partly because I don't think some of the grime will ever wash off.
Bring on the two days of travel back to Kerala and some well-deserved beach time. TTFN lovelies.
Day 13: Jodhpur to Pokaran
Spent the morning doing a cycling tour around old Jodhpur. Definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip, it's a beautiful city full of surprises around every corner. Was also serenaded by a charming septuagenarian over chai, and had selfies with an elephant. Good times all round.
Set off for Pokaran around lunch time to make to most of our second-to-last day on the round before crossing the finish line tomorrow. The last two weeks has gone so quickly it seems strange to think that it will be over soon, sad face.
Day 12: Udaipur to Jodhpur
Got on the road at a leisurely 8.45am and took the back roads to Jodhpur through loads of tiny little villages. Have lost count of the number of amazing mustaches and bright turban combos; brilliant!
Managed to avoid booking a hotel in advance and arrived into Jodhpur bang on rush hour. The map sent us to one street and three different hotels that didn't exist. Not exactly a trip highlight of the day.
Finally found an Internet cafe but after not taking down the address or general location of the hotel we ended up 10k out of town on a highway in the dark trying to figure out where we were.
Eventually made it, and the last moment we (Chris) tipped the rickshaw into a gutter with a good 30cm drop. One minute later with 7 Indian men pulling it out of said gutter and were right as rain without even a scratch on the 'shaw.
The rooftop bar has an epic view of the fort by night, so looking forward to exploring a bit tomorrow and seeing the city by daylight.
Day 11: Bichhiwara to Udaipur
Had an interesting drive into Udaipur - in 100k we passed the remnants of 8 massive accidents and a hit and run with a cow. The cow didn't make it.
Managed to avoid most of the massive traffic jam when Chris shot up the side of the highway, job done!
Udaipur has been amazing, a beautiful city and its been great to have a rest day after a good few days of highway driving. Did a city tour, watched the sun set from the rooftop garden of the hotel, and had my first vino since Christmas Day, woop! On the home straight now and heading off to Jodhpur this morning.
Day 10: Ankleshwar to Bichhiwara
Said goodbye to the most glorious hotel room and spent a long day on the highways trying to get as much distance as possible to get close to Udaipur.
Ended up at a pretty average roadside guesthouse just over the Rajasthan boarder - the sink had a piece of pipe that sent water onto the floor instead of any kind of plumbing. Slept in thermals as the temperature is cold enough to warrant it, but also since o don't think the sheet had been charged aged since 1998.
Day 9: Navi Mumbai to Ankleshwar
Had our first 'proper' breakdown today. Queue cleaning the jets in the carburettor at the edge of what would appear to be a 3-lane highway heading North, which is really a 6-lane one in India. Massive thanks to all the legends who stopped to check on us.
Returned the favour just up the road to find Keep Calm and Korma On stuck on a hill so managed to tow them to a nearby village by the two boys holding onto the sides of the rickshaws. At least they had hazard lights.
Despite a few hiccups we managed some decent time and pushed on to Ankleshwar. This part of the approx. 3-to-6 lane highway had added excitement from a steady stream of traffic heading the wrong way down the road on the hard shoulder.
Rickshaw Nap tally: 2
Breakdowns: 1 proper, 15 little ones that don't really count, right?
Number of times almost run off the road: approximately 3,217, and counting (sorry Mum)
Day 8: Satara to Navi Mumbai
Wifi terrible - made it to Navi Mumbai yesterday and off again further north now. Will update properly soon. Phone has been found but is in Goa, left jandal still MIA.
Day 7: Mandrem Beach to Satara
Quick one on the wifi before we leave for Mumbai tomorrow. Will update properly soon!
Day 6: Palolem Beach to Mandrem Beach
A rather slow day today. After last night's festivities it was a much later start than usual, and we spent the morning trying to find my iPhone (didn't), Chris' left jandal (also no luck), and picking up the rickshaw after a service.
We have no local sim, so today's drive was mostly just general high level guidance from a map, but we almost got to where we were aiming for! Someone (not Chris) may have also "nudged" (hit) a stall on a very narrow street and ran over three pairs of elephant-print pants. Oops.
Trying to get to Mumbai in 2 days so it'll be an early morning. Best get the beers in early then.
Day 6: Palolem Beach to Mandrem Beach
A rather slow day today. After last night's festivities it was a much later start than usual, and we spent the morning trying to find my iPhone (didn't), Chris' left jandal (also no luck), and picking up the rickshaw after a service.
We have no local sim, so today's drive was mostly just general high level guidance from a map, but we almost got to where we were aiming for! Someone (not Chris) may have also "nudged" (hit) a stall on a very narrow street and ran over three pairs of elephant-print pants. Oops.
Trying to get to Mumbai in 2 days so it'll be an early morning. Best get the beers in early then.
