Day 14 - Final day!! Dechu to Jaisalmer.

Day 14 - Dechu to the finish line, Jaisalmer. 169km travelled, total distance 3262km

After a buffet breakfast and singing happy birthday to Claire from the Goshtbusters we set off to the finish line, each rickshaw started with ease and there was only 170km to go so the days driving should have been a breeze. One road with minimum roadworks, what could go wrong? Early on we reached our top speed of 72km per hour , down hill on good Tarmac with the wind behind us. About 40km from the finish line our rickshaw started to periodically loose power and then cut out. We managed to get her started again and Henry diagnosed that we had dirt in the idle jet of our carb. The solution Henry came up with was to keep driving with the revs up and see how far we could make it. On any other day we would have stopped to fix it but we only needed it to last 40km and it was freezing cold and raining. The Goshbusters kindly stayed behind us to be on hand in case we needed a tow. After 30km of driving with the tuk surging and jolting it fixed itself! We were back to 60km no problems and made it to the finish line with time to spare!

As we passed through the entrance archways to the finish I had to test my limbo skills as I was sat on the roof - they were so low that we snapped a flag, again! Posing for photographs on the podium listening to Bruce Springsteen, we were extremely proud considering the issues we'd had that day. After a round of kingfishers to celebrate we set off on the victory parade around the town of Jaisalmer, Henry was sat on the roof and I was navigating the narrow streets - it was a great feeling of achievement and the locals were loving it!

After the parade there was a game of cricket, where of course we got hammered by the Indian team, I have never seen someone bowl so quick with a tennis ball and so many people unable to catch! After snapping a bat on a concrete wicket we knew we were probably not going to win. Just time for a nap and a quick catch up with back home before the finish party. Everyone was so shattered but determined to celebrate hard and what better way to celebrate getting through 4 days of freezing cold driving than with an outdoor party! Henry was quick to get the face paint out and ensured that as many people as possible had red paint on their face!

Day 13 - Johdpur to Dechu.

Day 13 - Jodhpur to Thar Oasis, Dechu. Distance travelled 146km, total distance travelled 3093km.

We've given ourselves a couple of easy days to finish off on as we are all too tired to concentrate on the roads for too long and certainly don't want to be doing any night driving anymore. We started the day with what we thought would be a 10 minute drive to Jodhpur fort to tackle the 6 zip lines they have there. After an hour diving round the back streets / pedestrian paths of Jodhpur; tackling steep accents, narrowly avoiding the locals and their bikes we made it to the fort. The zip lining was impressive - we zipped across a lake, a dam and the fort ramparts reaching speeds of 50km per hour! Jodhpur is known as the blue city and to be honest I would have liked to see more blue, some people hadn't got the memo about what colour to paint their buildings ( blue).

We set off from Jodhpur after some Chai and samosa sandwiches to head towards the finish line. It was another extremely cold and windy journey which I can only liken to sitting on a ski lift in horrid conditions. We made it to Dechu before it started to get dark and decided to find somewhere to stay. Luckily we stumbled across the Thar Oasis resort which had rooms available for all 8 of us. It was a great find and the touch of luxury we all needed. We sat down for dinner and a few Kingfishers (for a change). Felt very relaxed and a sense of nervous excitement for completing the run the next day. Then the Germans arrived, one of the members of the group decided we were being inappropriate by have lively conversation over dinner, his exact words were "you do not need to speak so loudly, you can hear each other fine! Please be more quiet you are not the only people in here!!' Well, we were until they turned up and sat on the next table and no one in our group thought we were being particularly loud. Cam then said very politely, 'would you like us to move across to the other side of the restaurant?' He snapped back with 'No You need to move!' That's what we had just said so we all picked up our things and moved, not worth the hassle. It's a good job Henry was in the toilet at this point as he was not impressed that we had moved at all! We finished off the night with various games and all had a great laugh (once the Germans had left!)

Day 12 - Udaipur to Johdpur

Day 12: Udaipur to Jodhpur (via epic hill fort) distance travelled 330km, total distance travelled 2947km Started with a very cold start - not even all my layers could shield me from the desert winds. Far warmer to both sit up front. Played go pro relay with the Goshtbusters and Screaming Eagles which has probably produced some shocking footage. After filming and photographing each other we cracked on in search of the second largest Hill Fort in Rajasthan (possibly India). We thought we'd turn off one national highway to another and this would be the quickest route, in actual fact we went from a 3 lane motorway type road to a single track (both classed as national highways on the map?) after weaving through a small town and around a heard of cows who refused to move we were confronted by an even larger heard of cows who were definitely not moving to let our three rickshaws through (still classed as a national highway). Henry and Cameron paid a lady with grass on her head 50 rupees to feed the cows in the hope they would move. This did not work. A u-turn was our only option which took us through two marching bands back to the main road! Bizarre. Weaving past the musicians and posing for a quick photo for the press we made it back to the highway. Took an alternative route which was equally bumpy and unsuitable but slightly less cow-dense so we made it through to the epic /Kumbhalgarh Fort. I was like a little kid at Christmas running around and getting as high up as possible! We did have to secure our rickshaws prior to heading into the fort as the monkeys were seriously eyeing them up for our travel snacks. After a longer than planned visit at the fort we headed to the Ranbanka palace hotel apartments, Jodhpur arriving at 8pm. Completed a beer run and ate in the room.

Day 11 - a day in Udaipur

Day 11 - a day in Udaipur Highlights: - ourselves and the Goshtbusters got sweet henna tats of our ricks' - visited the city palace on the lake..... in which the maharani of Rajasthan resides. Five useless facts 1) took 400years to complete, started 1540 2) a previous maharani had 16 wives 3) features a solid marble bath around 2.5m square which will have been filled with gold and silver during the crowning ceremony 4) the impressive interior is decorated with materials from all over the world; Victorian wall tiles, Belgium mirror work, Italian chandeliers etc etc 5) the Udaipur maharani is the longest running dynasty in the world - following the palace tour we were taken to an artists studio just outside the palace walls where we bought some silk artwork. The story went that the grand father of the chap who painted the silks and sold them to us was responsible for some of the artwork in the palace itself. A decent enough tale but whether it justifies the price that we paid is impossible to say! - took a boat tour of the lake at sunset, there is a pretty exclusive hotel in the centre of the lake itself and another on the banks of the lake that we snooped around. - we met up with numerous rickshawers for a rooftop dinner, freezing cold but stunning views of the river and palaces lit up. - finished off the night spending at least an hour booking three train tickets via a travel agent, nothing happens quickly here!

Day 9 - Smog in Ahmedebad

Day 9: Navsari to Ahmedabad, 320km travelled, 2344km total travelled.

- the Goshtbusters oil problem was a little deeper than originally thought, once replacement oil had been found it was poured in only to immediately exit the gearbox by the missing sump plug that it can only be assumed dropped off when the whining started 350km+ ago! The plug hole required tapping so the 'shaw was pushed 1km by the foot of a taxi rickshaw driver travelling immediately behind to a backstreet garage (the taxi driver insisted that the 'Shaw was not driven under its own steam as this could result in catastophe (it had been driven all the previous day in the same state!)). Hole plugged & oil topped up within 2hrs. 300Ru - Wildlife report: saw our first camel, another elephant and a flock of green parrots on our days travel. The elephant was plodding between traffic around Ahmedabad's equivalent to the M25 - James "I think the best strategy when crossing the road is not to look at all, eye contact with a driver acknowledges he is there and it then becomes your responsibility to doge a collision. No eye contact = the drivers job to avoid a collision." I'll leave you to test that theory cheers..... - Drove by an enormous (official?) rubbish dump on the outskirts of Ahmedebag, the garbage was being arranged in mounds 10 storeys high by excavators whilst simultaneously being burnt creating huge plumes of acrid smoke that obscured the sky. It was like an orks scene from lord of the rings - Drove into central Ahmedabad at rush hour as the sun went down and hit the most horrendous traffic yet! In it for an hour before finding some digs, hotel Ambience, and eating at a rip off of the Hard Rock Cafe

Day 8 - What's Engine Oil?

Day 8: Panvel to Navsari; 292km travelled, 2024km travelled in total, 10hrs on the road Highlights; - Racked up 300km on the highway in convoy with the goshtbusters. The road surface is great so it's hammer down (55kmph) as opposed to the usual pot hole-avoiding speed (30kmph) - skirted Mumbai, closest we came to the centre was approx 20km and even at that distance smog reduced visibility to <1km and obscured the sun for a couple of hours after sunrise - The ditch alongside the highway doubles as a latrine. Harriet was oblivious to this until my explanation following her question "what are all those men doing at the side of the road?" - bought a replacement wheel rim and innner tube. Switched over the tyre from the knackered unit. 500Ru including an escort through town to the garage - Drove through the city centre of Navsari to find accommodation at rush hr (5pm) and found absolutely nothing. Fortunately a local on a scooter led us back through town to the Royal Regency Hotel which turned out to be the best spot we've stayed all trip! Clean bedding , towels, air con, hot water and ,as is custom in India, several banks of multiple wall switches that don't do anything. 1600Ru/night* - got on to the hotel roof to watch the locals playing with small paper kites from their rooftops. There is a kite festival in a week where they will fight each other's kites that they are practising for. We can see a hundred or so kites flying from the hotel and notice them later all across town wrapped around telephone wires, lampposts, trees, power cables etc etc.. - the chap on the scooter Whatsapps a recommendation for dinner which we head to for a thali supper. Super slick operation; from the minute we are sat at our table food appears and is constantly replenished at a click of the maitre d's fingers by the 10+ waiters hovering around the table. 200Ru/head* - Read some entries in the rickshaw run WhatsApp group, the gearbox oil may need checking. No dipstick on our machine and it's running great so not really concerned but it transpires the screaming coming from the Goshtbusters 'Shaw for the last 350km+ is due to the complete absence of any gearbox oil whatsoever! One to rectify tomorrow....

*80Ru = £1

Day 7: Lost a wheel (still alive though!)

Day 7: Ratnagiri to Panvel; 331km travelled, 1732km travelled in total, 12hours on the road. - Continue to travel with the Goshtbusters enroute to Jaisalmer - I thought I had a handle on the Indian head wobble* but my confidence was misplaced. On stopping for lunch Harriets meal refused to appear from the kitchen even by the time myself, Baggy, James and Claire had finished eating. Managing to get the waiters attention I gesticulated with my hands and completed the transaction with a head wobble only to find a short time after when plates started arriving that I had re-ordered the same meal for four that we had only just completed! More practise required... - The vast majority of Indians passing us on the highway continue to find us and our vehicle completely fascinating and have to do several close, high speed passes of the shaw to get enough footage of us on their camera phones - At about 4pm two loud bangs a couple of seconds apart turned out to be the studs between the front wheel inner and outer rims shearing. This resulted in the outer rim, including the tyre, parting company from the rickshaw entirely! By some sort of act of God we came to a semi controlled stop with the front rim, still fixed to the vehicle, digging itself an inch into the Tarmac. Changing to the spare we were carrying was straightforward with the assistance of 4 locals who stopped on the highway and rocked the rickshaw on to its side for access - Found a grubby hotel by the side of the highway at Panvel and got our heads down for the night after dinner and beers nearby

*the head wobble is sharp movement of the head to one side that may or may not be accompanied by a screwing-in-a-lightbulb movement with the right hand at chest height. I was under the impression that this meant something along the lines of "I see you brother". No longer know what it means...

Day 6: Ratnagiri

Day 6: Palolem Beach, Goa to Ratnagiri 309km travelled, 1401km travelled in total, 11 hours on the road.

Highlights: - Great section of coastal road for the last 60km to Ratnagiri - No joy finding accommodation in town but managed to find a homestay a short distance out of town at the last minute ran by a chap from Mumbai and his wife. Rocked up a little late but were made to feel very welcome, with a nice supper before bed and great breakfast the following day (www.barvehomes.co.in)

Day 5: rest and recuperation.

Day 5: Castle House, Goa to Cuba beach huts, Goa; 1km travelled, 1084km in total, 5 minutes on the road.

Woke up feeling rather worse for wear and had to check out and find somewhere new to stay, luckily Claire from the Goshtbusters was slightly more with it and sorted us out. We did snap a flag pole on a telephone wire which was a good effort considering how little we travelled and how thick the flag poles are. Had a full day of eating none Indian cuisine which has been a nice change. Found a great pizza restaurant for dinner, on the way back had a group shopping trip which resulted in purchasing, an inflatable giraffe, toilet paper and fireworks. Henry couldn't wait to set off fireworks on the beach which were spectacular. It's been a well deserved rest day and ready to get back on the road at 6.30am tomorrow to head towards a jungle camp.

Day 4: PARTY!!!!!!!

Day 4: Mangalore to Goa; 339km travelled, 1083km in total (I think we may go over the original estimate of 2500km in 14 days), 10 hours on the road.

Highlights; - Travelled the coast road to Palolem, Goa to join up with fellow Rickshaws to party!!!! - Stunning coastline including crossing some of the biggest rivers we've ever seen - Took a wrong turn, ended up at the river, canoe or not to canoe? Decided to wait until we're a bit further in to test our Rickshaw on a canoe. - Quote of the day; where's the best place to shit in a hotel room? - Coconut water is proving a life saver in keeping Harriet awake after a nap in the back of the Rickshaw following another early start. - Party in Goa, sampled the local spirit, acquired an epic laser pen, showed off our sweet dance moves, not sure coconut water is going to help tomorrow! ![Uploading file...]()

No plan for tomorrow just yet, although it would be rude not to explore Goa a little more right???