Look Mum No Passports - we made it!

LMNH crossed the finish line in fine style. Without our passports.

We have changed our name to Look Mum No Passports.

Two days back, our eldest and supposedly most responsible member decided to hide the passports behind the bed at our hotel overnight. She thought they would be safer in there. Fast forward a day and we arrived at our next hotel only to find that our most important items were in the hands of some dodgy military style hotel. After an hour of panic, bag rummaging and sympathy hugs, we tried to figure out what the hell we could do.

We decided to push on without them. We were one day from the finish line and there was a party to be had.

The final day was quite surreal. Picture 10 rickshaws swerving on an Indian highway through the desert, swapping vehicles while driving, standing on the roof or turning off each other's fuel lines. It was anarchy. Somehow there were no accidents. We even managed to get a shot from someone's drone of the convoy blocking the entire road with trucks beeping and trying to pass.

We crossed the finish line to the sight of a magnificent palace and 50 or so rickshaws doing donuts and flipping themselves over. We then paraded our grotesque yet beautiful machines through the centre of Jaisalmer before returning back to the palace for a game of cricket against the locals. The rickshaw team made a respectable 80 runs and then the locals chased our total down in about 7 overs, mostly by one guy who hardly broke a sweat. A true thrashing.

The party was a bit of a blur. There was chanting, eating, intense dance battles, beard contests, turban tying, a small amount of drinking, a fireworks display, falling over and lots of smiling. Today we woke with a sore head. We went for a rather expensive lunch and ate until our bellies hurt (this time, in a good way).

AND WE GOT OUR PASSPORTS BACK. The hotel manager gave them to his brother, who took a bus to Jodpour, who then gave them his mate who drove and gave them to another guy and 2 days later here they are in our eternally grateful hands.

Look Mum No Hands (Look Mum Nice Passports)


The Final Day!

We woke up in the desert today in a hotel mainly housing rickshaw travelers in Dechu- a motorway hotel with sand dunes on both sides. We set off this morning for our final leg of the race with our awesome convoy 'Got Soup'.

As I travel down the road in this last 100km I am reminded of how completely different this setting is compared to where we started. India is definitely full of extremes, from this quiet landscape to the bustling cities. It reminds me that to do this, to do India, you have to embrace it because it's just like you're part of a moving vehicle and it will just carry on anyway. It really does ask for a leap of faith.

We will post again soon when we cross the finish line, with no doubt some shenanigans from today.

Wish us luck on our final journey!

Love Flo (aka Ash) And the LMNH

Precarious moments and some learnings

**Warning**: The following content contains Rickshaw crashes and is not suitable for nervous parents, eager relatives, or any friends.

Because we feel like keeping you all on your toes, we have decided to make a post including some of the more precarious moments we tactically decided to leave out.

**Disclaimer**: None of the Williams trio were driving during these incidents, as we are all top notch Rickshaw operators.

**1st January:**

The day before starting the race we unintentionally decided to do an upside down skidding rickshaw park near oncoming traffic. None of us were hurt (badly), and none of us were actually driving the vehicle. Dave was not involved in this incident.

The three of us jumped into a friends rickshaw for the New Years fair, meaning there were 5 of us (with one on the roof). The lovely young lady driving the vehicle took a tight corner with far too much confidence causing the rickshaw to flip onto its side and slide down the road. Meanwhile, the guy on the roof pulled a ninja manoeuvre and jumped onto an oncoming rickshaw. Ryan fortunately cushioned my landing, with only a bruise to tell for it. And Ash just got a few holes in her pants, which she thought was a good excuse to go shopping.

Instantly afterwards a wave of local Indians swarmed us, trying to help in various ridiculous ways. A couple of people flipped the rickshaw back over. "hospital?" was asked by people pointing at Ashleys tiny graze. Some started filming. A goat ran past. And finally, many people gave us sympathetic head wobbles. However, after a small breather nurse Ashley came to the rescue with enough medical supplies to bring someone back from the dead. Luckily we only needed a couple of plasters.

A good incident to remind us that these vehicles only have three wheels, and a good incident to decide carefully who to convoy with.

**10th January:**

We often rotate passengers in the three vehicles to keep things funky fresh. Accident also two also does not involve Dave. Ashley and one of the many British convoyees were in Lotus (the rickshaw in the worst nick out of the three by a long shot).

From my perspective being in Dave behind, we saw a huge truck suddenly stop in a large intersection, causing Lotus to swerve at the last minute and slightly connect itself to the back of a truck. We were going rather slowly but the front right panel of the rickshaw bent in, detaching the windscreen from the rickshaw. Nothing that a bit of duct tape can't solve. Barney (the person driving) turned around and the first thing he said to Ashley was "that better not have counted as a breakdown."

We took off a few 'safety points' from Barneys driving statistics and continued on our way.

Enough about crashes. On a more positive note, here are some learnings from the trip thus far in a bullet pointed fashion: - Naan bread is an excellent 'day after' breakfast food. Filled with nutrients and chewiness. To add to every waiters confusion, we tend to order 16 naans after every meal. - The horns of buses and trucks would fit perfectly in a Star Wars themed horror movie. - Some of the pollution in certain cities in unbearable. It makes you appreciate New Zealand a whole lot more. - Everyone discovered I am not exactly a morning person, and my inability to rise has been a joke enjoyed by EVERYONE. - Almost every nightly two hour planning session ends with "ah screw it we'll figure it out tomorrow."

We'll check in again soon with another blog posts and upload some pics.

We also have created a Mario Cart statistics sheet for all vehicles and drivers which will be revealed soon.

Stay tuned,

Captain M and the LMNH gang.

Dust, driving and selfies

LMNH here, after a bit of an absence it must be said. Wifi has been elusive at best.

The last few days have been a lot of driving as we make our way North, away from the humidity of Goa to the desert regions. We leave at about 6:30 every morning, so the layers have to be piled on and removed slowly throughout the day.

Our convoy is going swimmingly - including a daily challenge for every member. Ryan had to stay in contact with a watermelon for 24 hours. Marcus was forced to wear all his clothes backwards. Ashley had to draw a local a terrible portrait. As if the hectic Indian roads weren't enough!

So far Dave and the other two vehicles Lotus and Rex have handled the strain rather well - apart for a flat tyre, a few dodgy starts and the odd electrical fault here and there. Dave is proving stoic in the face of Indian chaos.

We stopped at a Hindu temple and were offered a blessing with milk/honey. This of course came with a giant selfie from a crowd of locals - which happens almost hourly. You've never seen shock until you see locals seeing our Rickshaws for the first time, driven by strange looking pasty bodies with ukuleles and manic grins.

It's a beautiful sight.

Yours dustily, LMNH

Day Seven- the challenges begin

Hello to you all!

We are about to head off on day seven of our trip. It was a bit of a slow start leaving Goa after an epic party from our team (rickshaw Rex, Lotus and Dave) on day five, day six we legged it (around 250k) through the mountains and stopped off for chai at the most beautiful spot in the country.

We have continued our cricket games at petrol stations and introduced a classic Williams summer tradition. Challenges of the day!

Highlights from our challenges include, Marcus wearing his shirt backwards all day, Barney walking into the ocean fully clothed, Dan getting a Selfy with a goat, Ash doing a life drawing of a local, Marcus having to introduce himself as being French during his time in Goa and today Ryan is carting round a watermelon named Winston. No doubt you'll see photos!

Other then myself being in stitches all day and having a constant furious ab workout I have found our crew just being such a good group of lads, the local people being incredibly warm and the scenery unreal.

Miss all you guys xx Love Flo (aka Florence Nightingale... or just Ash)

Goa Baby!

4 days in and Dave has got us to Goa!

Tonight we're partying with the other teams that have managed to scrape, swerve, honk and dodge their way here. It might get a bit out of hand.

LMNH

Two days in - Dave looking good

We've had a taste of the chaos - just a small portion.

We were sent off from the starting line yesterday with a few pearls of wisdom from the race organiser:

- Don't try cross into Pakistan (someone always does)

- If the Police pull you over, ask about their kids. If that doesn't work, talk about your own kids. If you have no kids, find a photo of kids and claim them

- People here love to help. They will give you an answer just to feel helpful. Therefore don't take any direction advice as gospel. It's better to take a sample of about 12 people and find the average

- Don't fuck it up

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Our first day was a slow one after a late start and then a ferry wait. Thankfully Ryan decided we needed to earn our ferry ticket money back and used the waiting time to busk on the Ukulele "play Wonderwall". The first day was filled with cricket games at petrol stations, vege samosas, and our first serious breakdown. We pulled apart various bits out of the engine, cleaned them, rearranged them and then diagnosed the problem as a lack of fuel. This terrible breakdown actually occurred to our convoy mates - some thrill seeking Brits. They appear to rival our weirdness so we've been getting along just fine. We've decided to take the coastal route up to Goa, so late in the evening we managed to catch the red sunset out on the Indian ocean.

Dave update - Dave has been handling things just fine. Loves the hills, isn't too scared of the crazy bus drivers and enjoys the horn.

Day two saw us leave relatively early although not early enough. It gets absurdly hot by about 10am so any driving done early morning is much more pleasant. It was a lot of the same on day two - buses careening around corners straight at us, car games, would-you-rather's over the walkie talkie with our fellow convoy rickshaws, and some incredibly friendly waving and head wobbles along the way.

We're all exhausted now after traveling over 200km in a glorified lawnmower today.

Yours wearily, LMNH


Test driving!

Yesterday was the day we gave our beloved vehicle a field test. We turned on the engine and let it warm up. During this process Ashley went out and made friends (of course) with the film crew, Ryan walked around and met some of our fellow Rickshawian friends/competitors, and I mentally prepared for the drive of a lifetime. Just 10 minutes on the road saw a mixture of cars beeping, locals peeping, indicators bleeping, and Ashley weeping.

Surprisingly, the rickshaw was rather easy to drive. Given that the 'test' to get our licenses was signing a piece of paper, I was a bit nervous to have a field test. The key was confidence. I pretended to know what I was doing and it seemed to work. Not sure if the same motto will apply for fixing an engine but I guess time will tell. Driving in India is absolutely insane. There are rickshaws flying left, right and centre, along with motorbikes, cars, trucks, goats, dogs, and most importantly cows. Having become mentally drained from the sheer concentration needed on Indian roads, I passed on the keys. Ryan proceeded to give the vehicle a good thrashing, handling the corners with ease. Ashley is going to have a turn today, which will be an exciting time for us all.

TLDR: A fantastic day in Fort Kochi for the Williams trio.

Captain M

  

Meeting the Beast + Taxis for T-Shirts

Today team LMNH made acquaintance with our glorious vehicle.

Just after midday we made our way over to HQ to sign our lives away and see the entire fleet of vehicles in all their glory. It was a touching moment, looking at the fleet and wondering whether any of them would make it took the finish line.

Since I had designed our Rickshaw in under a minute, we were surprised to find that the painter had actually painted the kiwi the right way up, and that the lightening bolts looked like lightening bolts. After a brief introduction talk by a mechanic it was time for the test drive.

What does it feel like to drive? Well it's kind of like an oversized motorbike with a dodgy engine that doesn't go anywhere in a hurry. The engine doesn't purr, but rather shouts. The lights will, in all likelihood, not work. Our fuel cap doesn't close. But the wheels move and it is green so what is not to love.

We all passed the self-test with varying degrees of ease, featuring a few stalls from Ashley and Marcus befriending the horn.

All in all, a nice start to what may be an up & down relationship with our Beast.

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Some of the local taxi drivers (who also happen to drive Rickshaws) have a peculiar payment scheme going. They ask us to hop in the taxi and the drive us to a souvenir shop run by the government. The shop owners then give the taxi drivers a free t-shirt after they bring three car loads of tourists in. In exchange, we pretend to be interested in the shop for a few minutes, then walk out and get a free ride from a happy taxi driver.

In short; taxi man gets one third of a t-shirt and we get a free taxi ride via a short detour. India. What a place.

Yours amusedly, Colonel R.

 

The Dragon's Den - Kochi Edition

I dumped the 20 something kg bag down in the middle of the room. My brothers did have a right to question the necessity of the warehouse bag stuffed full with items I thought may come in handy. Yes, I admit some of these pieces may or may not come in use- but it's better to come prepared right?

Our first day in Kochi after the boys arrived and had a rest, they got straight to it. "Ashley" Ryan said, "We are going to hold our very own Dragons Den".

So there I was, after our first sleep in and pitching to the boys on what was my thinking on purchasing these items. I believe I came to India to get away from pitching ideas but here I was standing in the middle of our apartment doing just that- and to my family!!? I had bought cushions for our bums on the rickshaw, duck tape, 16 packs of tissues for our non toilet paper stop offs, decorations, a head torch, spare hiking meals, walkie talkies (which where a hit) just to name a few. Sure a few of these items may be a bit excessive, but we are a team and we are all going to need to make a few compromises to keep our rickshaw moving- so we cast an eye over them one by one.

I stood up there, and my judges aka the bro's were quite receptive. They tested items, drank tea, and I began to notice, we really didn't have 'no' pile. It turns out only one item was a big no no - that was a brush and shovel- cause let's be honest, who is going to be cleaning in a rickshaw?

So after all of the banter and hilarity, I realised a unique learning. Although sometimes my madness or creativity seems strange, trusting the strangeness could potentially be of use. However friends- I may be talking a bit too soon, I have only made it through the first hurdle- convincing my brothers.. the rest of the trip well, I guess we will have to wait and see!

Peace Up, A. Town