Final Instalment

Safe and sound back in a grey and rainy Cornwall.  Firstly we would like to offer a huge thank you to all of you who have been following us on our blog over the past few weeks.  An even bigger thank you to all of you whose generosity has helped us to raise in excess of £2000 for the charity.

The final day in Delhi was a rush of wrestling (not literally) with rickshaw drivers who were determined to take us where they wanted and not where we wanted to go, a little souvenir shopping and most importantly visiting Asha.  Asha is the charity which Tim had worked with previously in Delhi who work in the city slums.  We were lucky enough to pin down the founder of the charity for a cup of tea and a piece of cake so we could regale her with tales from the road.

Our final place to visit in India had to be the Imperial hotel for a Bombay Saphire and Indian tonic over mineral water ice.  A little on the pricey side (in fact not far off the cost of most of out hotel rooms for the previous 2 weeks) but a nice extravagance to slap ourselves on the back for a trip well done.

Not nearly enough hours sleep later and we were on our way to the airport to spend our final rupees on miniature models of tuk tuks and board our flight for Blightey.

Over all it has been a fantastic experience, with plenty of highs, not so many lows, stress, excitement and a wonderful new outlook on the largest democracy on earth.

The roads back in the UK do seem disappointingly dull now we are home, but on the upside my car now feels like the smoothest of luxury cars in comparison to a tuk tuk over Indian pot holes.

Despite it being ‘all part of the adventure’ flailing around in ignorance with regard to what we should take or not take with us on this trip, I thought I should make a little list for any future ‘adventurists’ among you who are thinking of doing something similar.

**What to take:**

- Mini screw driver set (nothing too strong required, but different sizes/ styles proved very useful for the multitude of different screws on a tuk tuk) - Pliers (to be used in conjunction with wire - see below) - Sturdy cararbinas (it is amazing what you can hang off the side of a tuk tuk) - Ty Wraps (roof racks that snap oh so easily when used as a towing point, fix just as easily with ty wraps) - Gaffer Tape (no explanation necessary) - A colorful, but not too detailed paint job (making people smile and laugh at your beautiful tuk tuk certainly eases the tension on the odd occasion.)

**What not to take:**

- Comedy Horn from UK (broke within 2km of the start line!)

**What to buy in India for obscenely small amounts of rupees:**

- Jerry can (plastic will suffice) - Funnel to top up fuel (this will start to melt with excess petrol contact, but appeared to have no side affects) - Plastic tube for fueling (also helped with attaching comedy horn) - Comedy Horn (although you get a horn with the tuk tuk, another never goes amiss when trying to make people laugh instead of mob you in a vigilante style attack because you just ran over their moped or banana cart). - 2 Stroke oil (when you see it, get it.  It is readily available, except of course when you need it in the middle of the countryside with no other petrol stations for 100km) - Wire (thin enough to be pliable, thick enough to tie on an exhaust, fuel tank, roof rack, etc) - Tarpaulin (Monsoon or no monsoon a tuk tuk is as waterproof as a sieve)

Our sincerest apologies to those of you who had expected to see photos from our trip as we went along.  Our technological ignorance with regard to texting photos to the website prevented this.  However we have compiled a few of our favourite snaps and put them on the website for you to enjoy - (see GALLERY - INDIA PHOTOS).  For those of you foolish enough to have shown an interest in seeing a few more then we have almost 2000 to share as well as several hours of footage from the road.

Thank you all again for your incredible generosity and for supporting us by reading our waffle as we have gone along.  We look forward to sharing more of our trip with you all in person as the opportunities arise.

Heres to the next adventure.......

Lj and Tim

Rajasthan, India

We bid fair well to Jaisalmer and our new Adventurist friends before jumping on a late afternoon train bound for Delhi. As it happened most of the other Rickshaw Runners were on the same train anyway, so we are planning to all meet in Delhi for lunch to continue our story telling. This train was certainly a little better than our last experience. 1 person to a bed, air con and even a lockable door to save having to stand guard all night. We threw caution to the wind and had the train curry for dinner along with dozens of cups of 5rupee chai. Retracing our last 1000km of Tuk Tuk driving by train in just 14hrs has been a little like watching a short film of our adventure. So many familiar sights and sounds, place names and landscapes rushing by as we sat back and watched in relative comfort. We'll be getting into New Delhi in a little while before visiting Asha (one of the charities we have been raising money for) this afternoon. Hopefully they will find a use for several tool kits, lots of medical supplies and a big bag of crayons. Fingers crossed the monsoon rains have moved on from Delhi and we can have 1 final day of sunshine. Tim and Lj

Jaisalmer, India

A great night sleep under a smelly camel blanket under the stars among the sand dunes. We were fed a delicious curry with fresh chapati and chai after wobbling across the desert on a couple of smelly camels. It has made a wonderful change from the tuk tuk, but we are grubbier than at point since the start. Another tuk tuk team was sharing our sand dune, so we spent the night comparing stories from the road. We're headed back to civilization this morning to welcome the test of teams into the fort. Tim and Lj

Jaisalmer, India

Looking out on a bright sunny morning from the window of our 450yr old Moghal Palace within the fort, the noise of the street merchants and hundreds of pigeons drifting in, and we don't have to climb into the tuk tuk today! It's a bitter sweet feeling - more sweet than bitter though. We cleared out the rickshaw last night and some very kind locals relieved us of our shovel, fuel can, tarps etc. Even our empty plastic bottles were gratefully snaffled away. With the keys, we also handed over the little list of minor faults with the machine; 'Engine over revs to the point of destruction when in neutral' 'hand brake has been ceased since day 2' 'exhaust and fuel tank falling off a bit' 'reverse is a challenge' 'a few dings and dents on all sides' so on the whole it is a fully functional 'auto'. We will be reunited with 'Pricilla' (a late naming of the tuk tuk) for a parade around the town on Sunday afternoon. But until then we will travel on foot, proper rickshaws and maybe a camel or 2. Tonight we are headed off for a night on camels (hopefully not too much further West towards the Pakistani border!?) for a rest. For those that are interested in the stats, the final mileage (or 'Kilometerage' in guess) was 1958km by road, 55 being towed by a transit van, plus a terrifying 580 km by Indian railway. You never know, the parade on Sunday might take us over the 2000km mark. Now to find a coffee and some breakfast. Tim and Lj@

Rajasthan, India

A wholesome breakfast of toast and banana fritters set us up for a grey and dusty day on the road. Laurie took the driving seat for the day as we ventured onto our 1st 'white road' (a bit like a UK B road). Plenty of pot holes but our suspension is holding up. The 1st day in a while with no monkeys, but plenty of large lizards to avoid on the road. We rolled into Jodhpur early afternoon, passing an air force base which was proudly displaying what appeared to be the tail fin from a Pakistani fighter. We got a little lost through the tiny passageways of the old town - just wide enough for the tuk tuk - only to stumble on our guest house in the middle of a busy bazaar. We dumped our bags and went to explore the little streets we had just been racing along. It is a lovely mix of tourist stalls and locals doing there fruit and veg shopping. We found at least 3 stalls claiming to be the spice supplier for Sainsbury. Back to our roof top for a cold beer as the sun set over the blue city and the fort before venturing 50m to the best Indian restaurant we have eaten in to date. Tomorrow we plan early start for a long day on the road and hopefully the finish line! Bring on Jaisalmer. Lj and Tim@

Rajasthan, India

A copy of the paper was waiting for us at breakfast, with our smiling faces adorning the back page. We hit the road in weather more like Cornwall on a foggy day than the Rajasthani summer. Driving rain and flooded roads added to the fun. No real breakdowns, but the engine now over revs in neutral and stalls in 1st, but fingers crossed that fixes itself by the morning!? Not being overly impressed with Ajmer, we pushed on over Snake mountain to Pushkar, which is part of the old hippy trail and a little less hectic. We were both ushered to the edge of the holy lake where a couple suspect Brahman priests did there best to take out money for a blessing. When Laurie wasn't able/ willing to pay she was told bad Karma would come her way. The harassment continued until we escaped into a near by cafe. Let's hope Karma really doesn't exist... we'll let you know tomorrow! Jodhpur tomorrow. Lj and Tim

Rajasthan, India

Rudely awakened at 0445 by a shadowy figure peering in our window with a flash light. I think he was just sorting out the latest power cut at our rural/ deserted hotel. Either way, we survived the spooky night in Sariska and got on the road at 1st light to head for Jaipur and civilization. Making a final fuel stop 10km out of town, we were accosted by a journalist, who also owned several hotels, a new restaurant and a travel agents. Not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we are staying in one of his hotels tonight. He also provided a large breakfast for us this morning before sending us in a private car with a guide around the tourist highlights of Jaipur for the afternoon. The Amber Fort and the City Palace were both very beautiful and we feel we have done some good 'touristing' today. Dinner in a local backpacking guest house this evening was the setting for several unexpected reunions with other Rickshaw Runners. It appears all our paths are starting to converge again after being scattered to the 4 corners of Northern India in the past week. Particularly reassuring was the several other teams who have had to resort to trains as well. The journalist/ hotelier had a couple of journalists waiting in reception for us earlier, so I think we are going to be in the local Hindi paper in the morning!? Tomorrow to Ajmer. Tim and Lj

Rajasthan, India

A late wake to the start of a heavy monsoon day. Our new friend Koshal, one of our Tata salesmen from last night, was with by 9.30am with a motorbike mechanic who went to work inspecting the tuk tuk. With an apparent carburetor problem which is as we know painfully intermittent. A morning of getting very wet and making tiny adjustments and he sent us on our way. We only had a short day of driving down to the Sariska National Park (Tiger reserve). The road got steadily worse, but we made it in time for an afternoon safari. We pulled up to a beautiful former Maharaja's palace which is now a hotel, only to be offered rooms at £100 per night and the disappointing news that the park is closed except Tuesdays and Saturdays (it's Sunday). With not enough daylight to reach Jaipur we opted for a cheaper hotel down the road and an afternoon resting. A frustrating day, but unavoidable. Despite being the only guests in a ghost town, we can't eat until 8pm, but then to bed for an early start and then to Jaipur in the morning. Lj and Tim@

Rajasthan, India

Up at 5am, we made it to the Taj Mahal as the sun rose. It really does change colour with the changing light. Surprisingly a couple of other teams were there too after a night in the back of a pickup truck - it seems we are all in the same boat. Back to the hotel for breakfast and on the road for 0930. 20km out of Agra and we broke down again - so much for the full service the day before. Luckily a local jumped in as our beast jumped back into life. He took us to a mechanic for a tune up, before guiding us to our next turning. Laurie took to the wheel and we made it a further 50km before breaking down in the quiet Rajastahani countryside. Still having 44km to the next town, we flagged down a passing minibus. The 2 Tata salesmen couldn't have been nicer, agreeing to tow us all the way. They guided us all the way to our hotel and even offered to bring a reliable mechanic to us in the morning, despite it being a Sunday. A warm welcome and a curry in our room. Now for a long sleep. Tim and Lj

Uttar Pradesh, India

With a new day we have found new challenges. Despite our best efforts at copying the mechanic to retune our carburetor, our ricketty rickshaw continues to slow us down. As such we have had to bite the bullet and get to a train station. We decided we could either drive 12+ hrs a day until the end and just see roads and hotels or take a mini adventure on the Indian railway to Agra to stand a chance of finishing on time. We've spent the last few hours trying to convince numerous officials that taking an 'Auto' on the train was a reasonable request and they eventually agreed, as long as we load and unload it ourselves! Not sure if we will get a ramp yet and we only stop for 5min at our destination at 3am - so the challenge certainly continues. Just waiting for our train and looking forward to a proper meal in Agra tomorrow - crisps and biscuits are getting a little dull. More soon, Tim and Lj