Day 13-15

We were delayed in Jodhpur due to tragic circumstances.   On the morning of what would have been our final drive, we were shocked to discover that our friend and teammate Chris had passed away.  Mary, Team Mutneg, and I then stayed behind two days to assist his family and the embassy with arrangements to get him home.  Once things were in order, the five of us finished the Rickshaw Run to a warm and supportive welcome from the Adventurists staff.

Upon reflection on the last two weeks, Mary and I are impressed with how the challenges of the Rickshaw Run have been a transformative process.  Travel is most effective when it takes you out of your comfort zone to experience new lifestyles and worldviews.  This event thrust us into the unknown culturally with the added bonus of learning to drive, plan, and be self-reliant in this alien land while testing tolerances for cleanliness. We soon learned how we each responded to these stresses, which at times strained our patience with each other.  With that comes a great sense of accomplishment as we conquered those challenges to finish something that many would have quit.  That makes it all the harder to lose Chris one day before he could share in that moment with us. 

After all, who else but Chris could have even suggested such a crazy thing?  When he pitched it to me a year ago on our travels in South America, I laughed it off as a cool idea that we would never really do.  Little did I know that he was serious and set out to recruit a team to experience the real India with.

In many ways Chris was made for this event.  He liked to brag about his skill behind the wheel, and he jumped right in to conquer the roads of India.  With Mary and I having little experience with motorbikes, he was also patient to teach us how not to stall in traffic or burn out a clutch riding over a mountain.  He was always up for a laugh and a chat with interesting people and often enjoyed being the center of attention.   Being treated like a celebrity by a mob of friendly Indians was just his style.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Toby, Rosie, and Rowan of Team Mutneg who stuck with us like family through the difficult times as well sharing laughs over the joys of the road.  Matt, Ricky, and Brooke of the Adventurists staff were also quick to lend their support and also deserve our heartfelt thanks.

I for one will miss the future chances to travel with my friend Chris. I can say though that he picked a great adventure to finish with and that Mary and I were lucky to have shared it with him.

Day 12

-I updated all past day's posts too. Long one on Day 6 about general observations and road rules.-

Only one more drive to go!

Random, tiring, but overall enjoyable day got us to Jodhpur The Blue City. Getting out of Udaipur proved easier said than done as the nav app led us to a road block or two, which turned into some improv work on some very narrow streets. Finally pulled it off to head northwest out of town. Saw some other Runners on the road, which was a novelty after spending so much time just staring at Mutneg.

We went with the quick food stops today and got lucky to pull over to a guy selling the best samosas we've encountered yet. As an extra treat, he was selling what we call the honey pretzels. There must be a cool local name to be sure, but we came up with our own. They are delicious yellow fried dough covered in a honey syrup. Sweet and awesome!

Chris and I got our money's worth out of Mary today as she drove more than ever. She coasted down a mountain in a beautiful pass covered with trees while monkeys at the roadside stared as we passed. Definitely more scenic and enjoyable than much of the last several days.

As we came out of the mountains, everything changed. We were reminded of parts of I-10 in the American Southwest as things got even drier than it had been and the foliage and landscapes reminded us of home. To go along with the change to desert scenery, the clothing of the residents of Rajasthan are different as well. The colored turbans worn by some of the men stand out the most.

Our route after the mountain was the most direct but it went super local. Well paved mostly, but we did get turned around in a village much to the amusement of the residents who saw us drive by twice. They pointed us back to the main road and we were back up to speed.

One close call today when two wrestling calves decided to jump into the road while a truck was blocking my escape lane. Luckily I was able to swerve around them at the last moment. Not that our lives were in danger per se, but we would have messed up poor Ricky and had to flee the scene of cow murder. Wouldn't have been pretty. Mary had one too when a truck pulled out of our lane to reveal another truck stalled in the road. She stalled on the freeway but was quick enough to not run us into the truck or the bus that was passing us.

When we pulled into Jodhpur, I was speechless. The massive fort on the sandstone cliff dominates the view while the blue painted cubes of the guesthouses and homes dot the foreground. It truly is one of the more incredible views I can remember made even better once the sun set and it was lit up. Roof top dining was again the way to go, and staring at the fort almost doesn't seem like it could be real. Our plan is to jump in for a quick look in the morning before the final push to Jaisalmer.

Day 11

Another free day! This is what makes the long driving days worth the hassle.  Udaipur is stunning with tall guest houses and palaces along a lake front surrounded with mountains.  The touristy area near the City Palace is a hilly warren of narrow streets lined with art dealers and tailors.  Nearly all the lodges have roof top restaurants, and many advertise that theirs is the highest.  Several also advertise showings of James Bond Octopussy.  Some of it was filmed here. 

We ended last night with pizza and beers on the roof, and after sleeping in and sort of hot showers, it was souvlakis and chai to ring in the day.  One item on all of our to-do lists was a massage.  The rigors of the road was taking its toll, and the knots in our backs and shoulders were getting knots of their own.  The others grabbed theirs at the hotel, but Mary and I found one while exploring that seemed more interesting.

The father and son team were extremely well reviewed online, and they promised to do a combination of deep-tissue massage styles that would fix the muscles and bring our bodies into balance rather than just getting an oily, relaxing rub down.  It was the most unique massage I've ever had, and there were parts that were much like a chiropractic adjustment with elements of Thai massage.  He also used a knotted string to show how my body was imbalanced.  Starting at the navel, he would show the length to one big toe or shoulder and then show how it didn't go to the same spot on the other toe or shoulder.  By pressing on my guts and aligning my chakra back into order, he then did the same trick to show balance restored.  Sounds cool enough.   All I know is that my lower back was a painful mess, and I walked out of there in much better shape.  Still feels good today.

After some personal time for shopping etc, four of us went on a city tour for a few hours.  It was fairly vague with the details and eventually turned into a driver taking us from place to place while not speaking.  The Monsoon Palace on the mountaintop surrounded by a protected wildlife area was the highlight.   The commanding view of the region and city alone were worth the trip, with the palace and monkeys as a bonus.

We opted out of the art school stop as we could smell a tourist trap and weren't in the mood to shop.  Then we were dropped at a dock on the lake.  After some confusion, we realized he expected us to buy tickets for a boat cruise.  We played along and went for  a 20 minute spin on the water.   The final stop was a former royal garden, which was well landscaped with fountains.  On the way we saw an elephant in the street as well as several camels.

Walking the neighborhood before dinner, we came across many a painted rickshaw parked on the street.  It was fun to see which ones we recognized while checking out how everyone had tricked out their rides.  We bumped into several Runners as well and had some quick chats comparing notes.

Dinner on the roof with the team to plan out the next few days and back on it in the morning. Only two more drives!

Day 10

Once again we had the best intentions to leave early. This time the hotel spoiled it by not having our laundry back in time. Something got lost in translation, and we thought it would be returned the night before. Bad timing, since it was a 350+ km drive to Udaipur where we planned to stop for two nights. Then when we got the laundry back, much of it was still wet. Chris secured his to the roof with bungee cords to dry as we drove.

After the late start, we opted for the longer but faster highway option. Unfortunately, that chewed some time getting stuck on the ring road at Ahmedabad, which may have been the biggest city we've encountered.

Just because we were getting complacent about the difficulty of our endeavor, we ended the day with a challenge. We've done night driving, and we've done mountains. Why not combine them? Zero fun for any of us, but we pulled into Udaipur safe and sound. Navigating the end was wild as the streets of the old city kept getting narrower and more steep as we got closer to the tourist district near the City Palace on the lakefront. We pulled it off though, and the prize was another free day to relax and sightsee.

Day 9

Our plan was to get rolling before sunrise, but the hotel had other plans for us. We came downstairs to find a padlock on the door to reception and the exit trapping us in the stairwell. Lucky there wasn't a fire! As usual someone was sleeping in reception on a cot, and after making enough noise, he let us out.

We did sunrise departures in the south with no trouble, but things were different up north. It's cold in the morning! Not all of us were prepared for a dawn drive through a mountain pass, so as we came down the other side, extremities were getting numb. Fortunately, police stop #4 of 5 was waiting for us.

A few days ago stop 1 was a check point where they just wanted to stare at us a moment. The 2nd checkpoint yesterday they asked to see a license and after staring at Rowan's and my paperwork a few minutes, they waved us on.  For #3 we were chased down and waved to the side of the road by a cop car.  It was probably because of Mary's driving.  Not because of anything she did anything wrong.  Turns out they just wanted to pose for photos with the crazy westerners in a painted rickshaw letting a girl drive. #5 later today was another checkpoint for a stare and a handshake, but #4 was the best.

The highway patrol had a station at the entrance to the mountains, and as they waved us over it seemed business as usual. Way better as they invited us to have some chai by their fire! A couple rounds and some photos later we were back in the game. One officer even gave Chris a gift of a sweet head covering/mask like Mary and I have been wearing.

From there Mary put the pedal down on the highway to get to the outskirts of Surat. After a nasty merge onto a new frewway where we had to idle in traffic waiting for traffic cops to give us a turn, we were hot and frustrated. Then like an oasis in the desert it appeared. McDonalds.

Now the food here has been absolutely wonderful, but it has been a tad repetitive of late. Anything different with a touch of home was exactly what we needed. Indian McD's doesn't serve beef, so we went for the Chicken Maharaja Mac. Like a Big Mac with chicken patties, jalapenos, and spicy sauce. Topped them off with chili-mango McFlurries for good measure.

Back to the motorway to make quick progress. Not as scenic or fun, but it is productive. Eventually when a bathroom break was in need there it was again. McDonalds. Wherever you are in the world, you can always count on facilities there that are nicer than most. So we went from not seeing any western fast food to stopping twice in a day. While there we did bump into the first Runners we've seen since Day 1. The two CanuckTuk ricks were there, so we had a quick chat with our Canadian compatriots. We invited them for a chai at the roadside shack next to the McDonalds, but they were heading into the AC. Apparently they haven't been doing chai stops at the roadsides. Their loss!

Our arrival into Vadodara was more planned and earlier than usual, and we booked a hotel that was luxurious compared to many from the past week. They even had wifi and laundry service, which has been much missed. After much needed showers, we all opted for room service and a good night's sleep on the softest (still not that soft) beds we've had yet.

Day 8

Today started with another deserved sleep in before some personal time sightseeing at the Ellora Caves. Our hotel was a short walk from the entrance which allowed everyone to prioritize their time before a midday departure. Sadly some (Mary) were too hungover to have a look.

The "caves" are temples which were carved out of a cliff face between the 6th and 9th centuries by a combination of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain worshipers. While the entire complex is incredible and worth a visit, a few caves stand out as mind blowing.

I'm in no way a spirtual person, but when I was alone in a semi-dark chamber of Cave 10 with a lone seated Buddha at the end of the room, I couldn't help but feel goosebumps at the awesome power of the site. Cave 16 is impossible to describe but also hard to comprehend when you realize it was carved out of solid rock with hand tools. Towers, caverns, elephants, and reliefs of gods and heroes decorate every surface.

Rolling alone, I also had a glimpse into what it would be like to be Hollywood royalty. When I set foot into a cave, the local, Indian tourists and school field trips treated me as one of the attractions. All eyes were on me, and as soon as one person approached to pose for a photo, the rest quickly jumped in to take their turn. It's amusing and endearing really, but it can get in the way when trying to sightsee on a timeframe. By no means am I special in this regard. My friends or the other Western tourists I spotted had equal experiences.

Once we hit the road, the goal was to throw down nearly 200 kms to get us in position for a couple big highway days to allow for more fun time later. It turned into a game called "find the shittiest road in India". There were some epic bumpy roads by the end, but some great roadside chai, munchies, and hospitality kept us sustained to our destination. One cute moment was when Toby bought a ball to give to an adorable rural toddler who was running around our chai stop.

Mary cut her teeth on some serious driving today. Previously she had done some cruisy expressway driving, but this was her chance to tackle the chaos of passing through a town. She handled it like a champ and is more confident than ever.

The last leg into a sizable town started with a random road that Google didn't recognize but our nav app insisted on. Depsite the slow, bumpy journey, it turned out to be one of the more beautiful, rural patches of road we've seen. I guarantee the people along that path had never seen anything like us.

A modest hotel in a small town was discovered, and they gave us our own terrace to have dinner and drinks. May have to do with the girls not being allowed to join the public downstairs. Depsite sightings of a mouse and open windows welcoming more guests to the room, we're ready for a good night's sleep and another full day.

Day 7

Another big day to allow for a relaxed morning of sightseeing to follow.  Most of it was pretty tedious, although the later part of the day we did find ourselves on the worst patch of motorway we've seen yet. Traffic flow as crazy as usual, but the road itself was utter garbage.  We had to slow down considerably and drive a few patches on the shoulder before we rattled ourselves apart. 

At lunch we were alerted to the fact that our front tire was flat.  We limped it across the street for some air but quickly realized it was a lost cause.  Luckily for us again what we need is never far away. A tire shop was down the street, so we set about getting a new tube.

As we did so, we drew the usual crowd of onlookers.  We're likely to be talked about in this small town for years to come.  I made the usual introductions of where everyone was from etc, but mostly they just wanted to watch us. The mechanics son handed Mary his baby without being asked. Once again suggesting her novelty value is especially high.  A local transvestite came by on her rounds of apparently asking for tips.  Hard to tell what the deal was but she went door to door.  Anyway, the mob seemed to think it funny to send her to me and told me to give her 20 ruppees.  Being a good sport, I played along expecting to be the butt of a joke, but after a moment staring at me, she wandered off.  I might have missed the point, but I'm happy our hosts were amused.  Anyway, new tire tube installed and with labor was $7 USD. 

There was crazy traffic in Aurangabad near the end.  In the chaos we lost Mutneg at a wild roundabout and had to take some time to reconnect.  Pushed on to a hotel on the doorstep on UNESCO World Heritage Ellora Caves which we'll check out in the morning.  Given the free time, we grabbed another local mechanic who replaced our spark plug and tweaked our clutch.  Booze and Chinese food came out to celebrate the official halfway point of the run.  Given our setbacks and leisure time, we're feeling good about our position and are ready for the second half.

Day 5

Free day in Hampi! We worked hard so we could play hard with a full day of sightseeing. We put the time to good use for our rickshaws as well by getting a local mechanic named Basha out to do some service on Meg and Ricky. We turned over the keys for the day, and hired ourselves two local drivers along with a guide named Prakesh.

He had a full day in store for us after a decent sleep in of course. First on the agenda was the magnificiant Vittala Temple. As we walked a kilometer from the parking lot, Prakesh told the history of Hampi as it grew to be the capital of an empire that ruled south India and Sri Lanka for about 200 years before falling to Muslim invaders. It is a site not only revered for its historical importance but also its spiritual relevance for Hindus. Additionally, scenes from the mythological story the Ramayana take place in Hampi. In 1500 it had a population of 500,000, which made it the second largest city in the world at the time after Beijing.

Vittala Temple is regarded as the crown jewel of the Hampi sites that cover over 20 kms. The detail work on the carvings are exquisite, and many clearly show foreign ethnicities like Chinese, Cambodian, and Japanese that were trading with or influencing the Indian empire.

One of the coolest features was a massive stone chariot that once had spinning wheels. It worked well for obligatory group photos with strangers and school kids who wanted their picture with us. At one point an entire field trip surrounded us while their teacher took the shot. Mary in particular would always be approached by the girls, who wanted to know her name and where she was from.

After a look at the river behind Vittala Temple, we went to a hill topped with Hampi's famous boulders. It was the location where Rama meditated for months to wait for the rainy season to end so he could cross the river to ask Hanuman the monkey king for an army to attack the demons who took his wife. A temple sits on the site where pilgrims take turns continously reciting the Ramayana without pause for many years now. The view from the hill also provided a perfect place to appreciate the countryside with some panoramic photos.

After lunch, we made an atm stop. Chris and Rowan popped into a shop to kill time and ended up buying handfuls of antique coins. The shopkeeper even found old ruppees from each of our birth years to give as gifts.

Another stop was the royal enclosure which has the remnants of the king's palace and other civic buildings torched by the invaders. We saw our first step-well which was used for holy water associated with a temple. The queen's (plural) summer palace and bath house as well as the elephant stables were still intact. Since they were desinged in a Muslim style, they were not destroyed.

We also visited two gargantuan statues that were carved out of one solid rock. One was a half man half lion avatar of Vishnu, and the other was the elephant headed god Ganesh. To finish the day we perched on another hillside with some chai to watch the sunset. We had a view into the modern town of Hampi with some of its ruins and functional temples while dodging packs of wild monkeys.

Then it was back to the hotel to settle up with the mechanic, grab some dinner, and get some rest. It was a great diversion, but it's back to work in the morning.

Day 4

The Adventurists have organized a beach party in Goa for tomorrow to celebrate completing 1/3 of the route. Even with our planned trip to the interior we had every intention of heading back to the coast to join friends that had gone straight north from Kochi. At our current position, it was totally attainable. However, it would have involved at least one more really big day and another pass through the mountains. Then with a hangover we would have another mountain pass in our future while battling the majority of the Runners all leaving the same place at the same time to find the same hotels.

Or..... We give ouselves a treat by staying in the interior. A solid day's drive would have us in Hampi. UNESCO World Heritage listed ruins from around 1300-1500 that rate as one of the top things to see in all of India. Not just could we get there in a day, but then while other runners are arriving in Goa for a party, we would take a totally free day to sightsee and relax while Ricky and Meg get serviced and a once over by a mechanic. Tough decision? Nope.

Most of the day was uneventful as we made time north. Didn't really stop for a proper meal until our hotel subsisting off of snacks and chai. The last leg was a bitch though. We found oursleves on the major roadway for the area that all the truckers and buses were using. With only 2 lanes to play with and more traffic than we've usually seen, it was a white-knuckle ride for those in the back seat as we passed or were passed by other vehicles. There was a lovely, organic juice stand where we pulled over to take a break over fresh watermelon juice. Another time there was a curious, rural girl who came to investigate us on the side of the road during another break. She and her parents were on the other side of the road sifting hay.

A respectable late afternoon arrival to what is probably the best hotel in the neighborhood put us all in better spirits. Beer and food in a outdoor garden took the edge of while preparations were made for the mechanic, a tour guide, and two rickshaw taxis for the following day.

Day 3

An excellent day where we put down 300 km in spite of a few fun diversions! Up bright and early as promised with the first task to get over a mountain pass that was part of a tiger reserve. Maps showed some tight turns and switchbacks. Turned out to be 27 "hairpin turns" up a steep mountain with all the usual traffic coming from both directions. Poor Ricky had to work for this one and Chris worked those corners like a pro. Oh yeah, signs warned us not to get out of our vehicle. You know because of the aforementioned tigers as well as leopards. Saw the sign after we stopped for a photo!

Finally reaching the summit called for chai while monkeys played around us. I went through an unmanned gate into a "traveller's bungalow" to attempt a photo of the landscapes below. A very polite guard with a rifle appeared to chase me off. I later learned it is a government building to house park rangers.

Down the mountain was much less hair-raising until I took us on failure of a detour. Our navigation app made it look like a shortcut, but it ended with another guard and a barricade shooing us down a dirt road. That road quickly became terrible with dried, muddy tire tracks. We got out to debate powering through or backtracking to a known road. The latter prevailed, and on the way out a chat with the guard proved that beyond the barricade was another government protected wilderness area. Once back on the main road, I compared a few resources to discover that we should have been on our current road the whole time. Oh well, got a story out of it!

From there we put the foot down on the mostly flat local highways, which are quite a pleasant way to go. One small road took us through a rural town where the locals where preparing the hay harvest by scattering it all over the road! We drove around most of the piles in "Hay Town" but had to plow over a few of them. Chai, petrol, and some street dosas later we pulled into our target town at the 300 km mark, which was our goal for the day. Back on schedule and kicking ass!

Team strategy session over dinner even had a special, new plan in the works for tomorrow. We also learned that "family restaurant and bar" means women can enter. As long as they and their companions eat in the storage room!