Day 6
Today was just mental. India really did throw everything at us. So after spending the night roughing it on the side of the road, we woke up at first light and decided to tow our tuk tuk to the nearest truck stop where we got food the previous night (1km up the road). Thankfully the they were able to call a mechanic and around an hour later one came by. Turned out to just be a fuse on our battery that had blown so was an easy fix. We were gutted not to have realised there was a fuse on these! Wasn't obvious though... The mechanic also had a look at the two fun Tukingtastic tuk tuk's but seemed to want to take us 3km back the way and we weren't convinced they could be fixed. Thankfully there was the nicest truck driver ever that was able to help us. He was able to take us somewhere else as the mechanic at the truck stop was taking the piss on how much his time cost (he wanted 3500 rupees for changing a fuse, when 6 hours of getting the steering column fixed the other day was 1600). We drove 20km up the road and had the steering and electrics looked at. Another 2 hours later and we were ready to go! We decided to make up for lost time and head (the now) 250km to Varanasi to join the others. It was a relatively smooth journey at first with us making good progress and enjoying the changing landscape as we head into the east of india were there is more green and farming on the landscape. Unfortunately we had to drive in the dark again. We set up for a convoy to Varanasi and with the better motorway roads, we made good progress. Then about 60km outside Varanasi it all turned to shit as the our tuk tuk (Gloria) broke down again! I don't know what happened but it could have been something wrong and it slipping into first gear and by mistake and breaking. Either way it was badly broken. It was dark, the wind was picking up, and was a pretty crazy situation. Quiet a few locals had stopped to see what was going on, and we thought about trying to stop a truck or stay at a nearby hotel. A local said there was a hotel 200m away so two of the girls went to check it out - but it was awful. So then Jon and Sharon (from fun Tukingtastic) went to a police station to see about getting a truck carry us and the tuk tuk's. By the time they got back though we had spoken to a local who has good English and arranged a tow to Varinasi as it was 60km and we thought we were more likely to find a hotel and fix the tuk tuk in a big city the next day. The towing vehicle turned out to be a large tuk tuk and we set off for what we thought would be a 1h 30 min journey - it was 10:30 pm at this point so aiming to get in for midnight. The journey that entailed took 3 hours and was just mental! I ended up in our tuk tuk that was getting towed - and had to concentrate so hard to ensure the rope stayed tight and I didn't drive over it. I've never focused so hard on a piece of rope in my life before! We made good progress at first but we were all very tired and the lack of food didn't help either. When we got close to Verinasi the roads got worse and there was a truck traffic jam at 1am! It just made the journey through crazy hard. They guys following in the other tuk tuk's did a great job to keep up. We were aiming for the railway station as there was hotels near there. Eventually we found a decent hotel close by at around 2:30 am. Was a crazy scary journey and we were all very tired and emotional after the last couple of days. We need a day off and we'll try and fix the tuk tuk in Varinasi tomorrow. We got some food in the hotel at 3am and then headed to bed. I really hope the rest of this journey is not as mental as this!
Day 5
Wow this has been the craziest day yet! And full of drama! So in the morning the two lassies team and 123 characters wanted to sort their tuk tuk's mechanical and electrical issues in Etawah, while we and the two tuk tuk's from the fun Tukingtastic continued on and the plan would be to meet in Fatehpur. George, Jon and I did wonder about leaving the group to head a slightly different direction but decided to stick with the guys. We made good progress in the morning and saw first hand the difference of being a girl team in India as the girls would get surrounded very quickly as we stopped for drinks! The main drama for today though was one of the fun Tukingtastic tuk tuk's had a crash off the side of the road, no body was hurt bad and everyone is okay. But the front steering column was bent bad. After getting the tuk tuk out a ditch and making sure everyone was okay we made it to the next town but it was a mission! Next we wanted to get the guys who were in the crash checked by a doctor - luckily there was one near by so George went with them. Jon helped with sorting the damaged tuk tuk, while I was on crowd control making sure it didn't get too rowdy, as a big crowd had gathered by this point! The guys came back from the docs and we're all patched up. But the tuk tuk needed the steering column bent in shape in a different location - so Jon went with them. I in the meantime went to find a battery for the other tuk tuk as we had started to see problems with that. Tuk tuk's are so not reliable! After quiet a few hours now we eventually had the tuk tuk's in working order. And escaped the massive crowd that had formed. Unfortunately there wasn't much light left and had to drive in the dark again. After an hour or so tho our tuk tuk dropped out and the lights had stopped working. We tried to fix it but couldn't :(. So we were running out of options of what to do after and much debate we decided we would have to camp next to the road. Fortunately we had broken down just next to a school with a 24h guard. They didn't let us into the school but we're happy for us to camp outside. So yes that's right we slept under the stars on the Indian roads! Was just one problem after another today! We are all good though and wasn't too bad in the end. Jon got bitten bad but is fine. We're hoping to get tuk tuk fixed in the morning and back on the road!
Day 4
We managed to get up early this morning and make good time to Arga. The convoy was good fun again, but we did get separated on the way into Agra. The traffic was a bit mental in Agra but we made it to the West car park. Because we had the bags we decided to go in two groups to see the Taj Mihal while one watch the bags on the tuk tuk's. We decided we wouldn't stay in Agra and wanted to drive after, so the other teams headed on while we and the 123 characters team headed to the Taj Mihal. It was stunning and just like the post cards. And an engineering master piece especially given the time it was built and materials available! After some time we pushed onto Etawah, but ended up doing some driving in the dark to get there in time which was intense. We made it there fine and had some food in the hotel after. The two lassies and fun Tukingtastic teams that left earlier had a breakdown unfortunately and arrived at a similar time despite having a two hour head start. Hoping Gloria (the name we have called out tuk tuk) can hold on! We're going to try and head to Fatehpur in the morning.
Day 3
George bought some drums this morning! They're so cool! And on the way back we bumped into some more teams (Fun Tukingtastic x 2, 123 Characters and Two Lassies), and decided to convoy together as we had a similar plan to head towards Jaipur! There were 5 of us in the convoy and it was so much fun! The road between Pushkar and Jaipur was a three lane motorway and meant we could all drive together! There was even some passenger swapping along the way! It felt like real life mario karts! We made it to Jaipur by 5pm and carried on East to a small town called Dausa. After an initial struggle to find a hotel, we found the 'Pinky hotel' which had enough rooms for the 5 teams. Dinner and bed for an early start tomorrow for Agra and the taj mihal! Can't wait!
Day 2
So we've decided to stop at Pushkar instead of Jaipur as the roads weren't great and was going to prove to be too long a journey to make it in time. But Pushkar was awesome and I'm glad we decided to stay here instead! The lake in Pushkar is beautiful! And we ended up playing drums with a really cool Indian man that teaches drums and will be playing in Europe with radio head! We got his cd and we went for a lesson with him after! He joined us for dinner and we want to buy some traditional Indian drums (Nagara) from him in the morning at 9:30. The plan is to head to Jaipur and a bit further tomorrow.
Day 1
Wow what an epic first day! Where to start! So not long after leaving Jaisalmer we saw teams breaking down already which always fills you with confidence... But the main thing was getting caught up in a crazy sand storm which looked like something from a Hollywood movie! We were out running it for a while but we got engulfed but decided to dive on very slowly to make progress. The sand soon turned to rain and we finally made it to Jodhpur. Unfortunately we had booked a hostel in the centre of the main down which had crazy narrow streets! I ended up having to driving through them in the dark while getting through the traffic jams, avoiding the people, motor bikes and the cows of course! After going the wrong way and almost knocking down a power transmission box and causing a nasty accident we eventually made it to the hotel to cap of an intense first day with a beer and some food on a roof top restaurant in front of a Jodhpur fort. Next we're going to see how close we can get to Jaipur (+300km away)!
We're off!!
We're off!! Finally after four days in India our Rickshaw adventure starts. Epic party last night, and the start line was great fun! So many tuk tuk's all looking good. The plan is to aim for Jodhpur tonight, heading across the Rajasthan Desert! Will keep you posted!
One more day to go!
Hi all! Finally got some wifi to update the blog again. It's been an eventful couple of days! We've had the tuk tuk out on the Indian roads and is certainly an experience! Cows certainly do rule the roads and free to roam wherever they want! Which can make it interesting but good fun. The locals in Jaisalmer are great though. Very friendly and we've even learnt the local card game! Which should hopefully come in useful! Jon has also befriended the barman (typical Irishman) and we seem to be getting a lot of interest with the lights on our tuk tuk. George suorisingly was the first to get a doggy stomach but wasn't bad and is fine now. This morning we went on a camel ride and saw the sun rise, which was awesome! We're away to pick up the final parts for out tuk tuk, and then a mass cricket match with everyone later this afternoon! Can't wait to get going tomorrow!
Jaisalmer a crazy 48 hour
Hi all! Thanks for taking to time to read if this. We've have a crazy 48 hours but made it to Jaisalmar! After a 12 hour train journey which flew by, we finally made it to the hotel which is a converted fort and amazing! Spend the day getting to gribs with the tuk tuk (aka Gloria we have decided). It looks great and we've manage to get the lights on and definitely in with a shout for best looking tuk tuk! Or so we think anyway... Hoping to grab a camel ride tomorrow and enjoy the ret of what Jaisalmer can offer!
The adventure begins!
It's no Aprils fool, Jon, George, and Chris are heading off on the Rickshaw Run! It's finally happened! Just 15 hours of flying... 9 hours of waiting around... And an 11 hour train to the start line
