Day 15.. And so we've come, to the end of the road

300km and we are done.

Writing this now feels somewhat bitter-sweet. Its over and while both of us are more than ready for it to end, that's it.. No more India, trucks, cows, mayhem and endless roads. No more adventure!

We got up early so we we had the best chance of making it, even if we had a breakdown. We sailed down the road pretty quickly and were soon in Guwahati. Only 100km to go!

The road took a sharp turn uphill and while I still need to check what elevation, we climbed and climbed for hours. I knew it would be hilly but this was constant. We stopped eventually to take photos of the entrance to Shillong.

The town however was easily the worst place we have been to and driven through.. Was just awful. It took us an hour to do 4km to the hotel. When we got to the hotel, we were a bit taken aback by the absolute squalor of the place.. Not something we had seen in the other towns, this was much worse.

Our hotel was nice enough but we decided rather than level the rickshaw outside, we would the it back to the Adventurists HQ as by this time, some guy was using it as a phone box!

The drive to the Adventurists hotel was no better and by this time we were starved. We only ate a light breakfast at 6.30am and this was now past 4pm. We eventually made it the 3km through horrible traffic and were able to hand over our docs and fill up some forms and they passed us over a beer which we couldn't possibly drink as we were now shaking through lack of food and water.

Brooke (one of the Adventurists team), kindly went and got us some samosas and pakoras so we could at least eat something. After sitting for a while, we were asked to take our rickshaw one final km to its parking spot. So, another small drive through town and somehow she decided to behave in slow traffic - you may remember me saying how she stalled moving into first gear which is a nightmare in slow traffic. I only stalled twice!

We parked up in the car park and got a final photo.. Then we went into the hotel to grab a quick bite to eat and then wait for one other teams who had made it the same day as us, I.e 2 days late!

In the hotel was an Irish pub which was nothing like one but hey, beggars and choosers. Pavol grabbed food and I stole some of his while we waited for the others. Eventually about 4 teams plus the Adventurists guys came along and we had a good few hours talking about our experiences and looking at some of the photos that one of the teams took.

Getting back from this hotel to our slum proved to be bit more complex. We were told it would be 1000 rupees for a taxi.. To go 2km! Then the security guard offered 250 rupees so we decided to just go with that. We followed him up the hill to where we thought his car was, constantly asking where he had parked.. Eventually we twigged that he was walking us home for 250 rupees! No thanks!!

We told him to bugger off and we walked the rest of the way ourselves with the assistance of Google. Not nice streets but they were pretty deserted. Getting into the hotel proved to be a challenge as the security guard didn't seem to have the keys but we did get in.

Sleeping proved to be an issue as there was an almighty dogfight somewhere outside which sounded horrible and went on for hours.

So that's it.. A bit anti climatic if I could be honest.. No parade, no medal of honour, no civic reception.. Just a horrible, smelly, dirty and dodgy town to stop over for the night.

Day 11.. Today this could be, the greatest day of our lives

The last few days have been pretty rough on us, what with breakdowns, losing our newly-found american friends and generally not getting anywhere fast.

Today was not to be one of those days. We sailed through 350km, our best day so far to get into Siliguri in West Bengal before 4pm.

Suffice to say that this blog is remarkably short. We drove some, we stopped some, we refueled plenty and we even managed some lunch which hasn't happened for days!

We had a look at the westernised shopping mall in Siliguri which weirder us out as it wasn't like anything we had seen before in India. The town is definitely a little different from India (richer for a start) and you can see the change in the faces to more of a Tibetan/Nepalese look.

We grabbed food in the mall but it wasn't great. Back to hotel we found a couple of teams staying in the same hotel. They are on a different schedule from pretty much anyone else and not intending getting into Shillong until the 24th.

We did a bit of refined planning about tomorrow and our intention is to drive into the himalayas and get to khechopalri lake and wake up to the view of Khangchendzonga, the world's third highest mountain. Sounds good to me!

Day 9.. Start me up

We eventually dragged ourselves out of bed in time for the mechanic to turn up at 8am. Except no mechanic did actually turn up, just some little guy who knew where a mechanic was! Queue us walking 20mins with our bags as we couldn't remember where the hell the underground car park was. Eventually, we lucked upon it, packed our bags into the tuk tuk and made our way to the mechanic shop.

It turned out to be closed but a normal tuk tuk driver told us to head to mughal sadai which was about 15km out of town. Keen to get the hell out of Varanasi, we kicked the little guy out of our shaw and made our move. We ended up breaking down quite a few time before finding s place that looked like they might be able to help.

One of the locals phoned the mechanic and was told he would be 30 mins. While we waited some other guy had a decent go at trying to diagnose. After about 45 mins we were told that the mechanic wasn't going to turn up after all. After complaining that no one told us, we discovered that the 'mechanic' was sitting in one of the seats and had been there for over 10 mins but because he only worked on diesel tuk-tuks so didn't bother coming over!

One of the young kids pointed us to another place further down the road so we gave him a ride down so be could point it out. The mechanic was there and cleaned out our exhaust, stuck some new engine oil in and we seemed like we were good to go. However, on the test drive Pavol broke down again. This tuk tuk seemed not to want to be fixed.. Stupid tortoise.

After all our crappy luck, the gods smiled upon us just this once though as where Pavol broke down was an old guy who came across and went straight for the carburettor. Fishing out some crap, Pavol finally made it back to where I had been standing getting worried that he was under a truck.

By now, we had wasted all the morning. The Americans who had been thinking long and hard about how they were going to make it, decided that they would truck their tuk tuk all the way through the state of Bihar and start off again from Siliguri. So at a dirty mechanic shop outside of Varanasi, we bid each other our goodbyes and we headed up the road with a newly fixed tuk tuk.

We made cracking timing and in just over 2 hours, we were already 100km down the road. We hoped to make Ara before nightfall which was about 200km from Varanasi. After running out of fuel, we stopped to top up and all of a sudden fuel started gushing out of the newly fixed carburettor. Bugger...

We tried our best to stem the flow but no use. A couple of guys stopped and tried to tell us to tie the overflow pipes so that nothing could leak but we knew that would only make it worse. They kindly gave me a lift up to the next town where I got a mechanic to drive back with me. An hour or so later and he had fixed things and we were back on our way again.

This had really set us back though and we ended up driving the last 30-40kms in the dark which as I have said before is the closest to death that I intend to get without actually dying.

We found a hotel on Google maps called Ara exotica hotel which was nowhere near any level of exotica but the owner was brilliant and even parked our rickshaw inside his hotel lobby when he closed the restaurant.. Result..

Day 8.. There may be trouble ahead

So it was meant to be so easy..

125km in the morning and we would be on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, one of the holiest places in India.

It didn't turn out like that.. This time it was our turn for the breakdown. Driving merrily along, we started to lose power and the engine would cut out. The guy yesterday outside the temples said our tuk tuk sounded like the gasket was going. Well, once we had broken down a fee times, we eventually stopped in a little town where a guy called Ghandi had a look and within five minutes had the broken gasket in hand. Just need a new one and be on our way right? Well, not that easy. After he sent someone on a mission to find one, they came back with one that didn't fit. Then he tried the tool shop who had something resembling our gasket. He fitted that but it didn't work so he went back to the one the little guy brought back and changed it using a hammer and a vice so it fitted.

Now to explain this guy, he was no normal mechanic. A nice shirt, glasses, pair of jeans and a Calvin Klein belt told me he wasn't but he diligently (in Indian time of course) got it fixed and we were soon on our way delighted that we seemed to have the power back in our tuk tuk. 10km later, we lost power again. And again, and again. After breaking down countless times and waiting a few minutes each time before the engine would allow us to restart, I found a sweet spot and we eventually made it into Varanasi about 5.00pm. So much for our half day sightseeing.

It took us an age to drive through town due to the really narrow streets, some flooded and the immense traffic. Pavol lost it completely st a driver sitting behind us who had honked his horn for at least ten minutes constantly when we were all stuck in non-moving traffic.

We then had a whole new issue to deal with.. Just as we arrived in Allahabad last night, our engine cut out a couple of times as we held the rickshaw in first gear. Given we had been running all day, we forgave it. Now however, it was back with a vengeance and I couldn't get through the traffic jam without stalling every time I braked. Over 50 times easily I had to crank the handle to get her restarted. Utterly painful.

Some guy preying on tourists at least led us to an underground car park where we could store our rickshaws seeing as there was no actual road we could drive to reach the hotel. A good ten min walk with bags and losing a good few kgs more sweat, we made it.

By this time, it was dark so we dumped our stuff and went to eat. I got a contact who could help us fix our poorly rickshaw. While Gandhi had fixed one issue (we think!), it seems we have more than one problem and the gasket could still be one of the problems. I phoned and organised a mechanic to come for 8am the next day to the hotel where we can take him to rickhaw and hopefully he can work his magic.

We had a very nice meal and then went for a wander along the ghats before stopping for a chocolate dosa. We then took a walk along to the funeral ghats where about 8 bodies seemed to be burning. Youre not allowed to take photos but Google it.. Its absolutely overwhelming and we were there while a body was carried into the Ganges, soaked with water and then laid on a funeral pyre. Depending on what the family can afford will determine what level you are burned on. The top tiers are for the rich. The ashes are just swept into the Ganges once done.

Walking back down the ghats to our Hotel felt a little bit more tense once we had seen that.

Day 7.. The long and winding road

All of the guys got up early so we could get over to the Kama Sutra temples in the town centre... Well all except Pavol who after last nights exertions decided an extra hour or so in bed was preferred.

So myself, Anna and Matt took our tortoise tuk tuk up to the entrance and the temples were absolutely awesome. Its just a pity it was clouded as the sun rising over them would have been amazing. After an hour of walking round, we drove back to hotel, woke up Pavol and grabbed some toast and tea before setting off.

We had three routes to take and we decided to take the shortest one of course.. Was awful.. We barely managed 25km an hour. Once off the 'shortcut', we tried our best to make up some time. We skipped lunch in favour of some roadside samosas and chai - not bad at all although we couldn't determine between the four of us what meat was in them. For the best.

We tried very hard to get up to Allahabad before nightfall but again, we didn't manage. We booked a hotel and followed the booking.com's pin on Google maps which ended up a massive mistake. After driving round a residential are for 30 mins plus a few phone calls from me asking where on earth the hotel was, we eventually found out it was 15 km away and slap bang in the middle of the city centre.

Following new instructions while driving through a very busy city centre was really not fun and when we ran out of fuel on a roundabout, the fun part decreased further. Some good Samaritan who read about the rickshaw run in the newspaper that morning stopped and shone his bike light to the back of the tuk tuk so we could see what on earth we were doing. Once fueled up, we then got stopped going the main street to the hotel due to the main road being only for military personnel.. However, a retired army captain drove in front of us and led us to the hotel.

Hotel not much to speak about and dinner for Pavol was an experience when he got served dry noodles - I.e uncooked! After a complaint, a chicken burger made its way to the table to calm him down. I had the meat thali which upset my stomach so first bout of dehli belly ensued. Wasn't too bad and I do recommend the tablets from boots - they worked a treat.

Day 6.. cos this is thriller, thriller night

With the first major breakdown out of the way, we were confident of getting on the road early and getting to our overnight stop of Khahurajo.

We left Gwalior early enough to avoid the morning traffic and were soon on our way via Jhansi. Plain sailing for a bit before we hit Jhansi and having missed the bypass loop, we ended up driving through the narrow streets of the city.. Absolute bedlam, chaos and much slamming of horn, brakes and constant gear shifts. Was not enjoyable.

We emerged unscathed just over an hour later and were making reasonable time to Khahurajo. Unfortunately, we weren't going to make it before dark.

The day was to take a massive turn for the unexpected about 7pm and only 20km from our destination. With our first real taste of night driving, we were taking it easy along the country road when we beard a big thud. Not knowing for sure what it was, we slammed on the brakes. Pavol asked me what he had hit and I informed him I thought it was a person.

I grabbed the torch while Pavol ran back to see. We found a guy lying at the side of the road, still conscious etc you'll be glad to know. Pavol asked if he was OK and his friend started calling out for people to come over.

First things first.. It was very dark and these guys were walking on the main highway. Secondly, the guy Pavol hit was stinking of booze. Thirdly, after rubbing his head for a few mins, he got up and walked over to a tree to pee before coming back onto the road and more than likely being told to lie down and act hurt.

Before we knew it, there were 20 guys there and it got very heated when they stole our keys from the rickshaw as I was trying to restart it. We had offered the guy some money so he could get himself checked out but before we knew it, the price had escalated considerably and there was a lot of emotion, raised voices and dare I say it, bad temper from a few of the young guys who were just there for something to do/see.

The old man that came into he crowd proved to be a bit of a saviour. Once they had settled on asking for 4000 rupees, to de-escalate the situation, we said we didn't have that much money and we needed to drive to ATM.

So with me driving, I took Pavol, the old guy and two others to the atm where Pavol pretended to get money out and hand it to the old guy.. We then drove up to our hotel, just a damn sight more tense and nervous than we planned.

The hotel we checked into for Khahurajo was pretty nice but we spent the meal going over what had just happened. It wasn't great and night driving is very much not advised.. People and cyclists walk down the side of the road with no lights, the cars coming the other way (or in your lane depending on their mood), either drive with high beams or with no lights whatsoever and I will admit to it being the most intense experience of the trip so far and one we both wish never to repeat.

Day 4.. It must be love

Early start from our roadside hotel and we hit the highway to Agra. All was well until we got close to Agra and the roads went terrible. The city is big and driving through was as close to suicide as I hope to get.

We got to our hotel without too many problems and it was a great find by Pavol. While the rooms weren't fancy, there was a rooftop restaurant with a view of the Taj Mahal. We grabbed lunch there and while Pavol was delighted to see chocolate pancakes (think nutella and banana pancakes), what came back was unfortunately neither chocolate or pancakes.. The rest of us were fine though!

So, with the hotels resident tuk tuk driver, Assim, we rode up to the Taj Mahal south gate. Talk about bedlam.. Thousands of kids trying to get us into 'their' shop. Eventually grabbing the extortionately priced ticket (whatcha gonna do - you're probably only at the Taj Mahal once!), we made our way in.

A side interject to the Agra theme of this post.. After the chicken burger at Dunkin Donuts in Jaipur, Pavols stomach changed for the worst. A full day bout of Dehli belly ensued which was not great when trying to see the sights and I'm sure the unbearable heat never helps these things..

Anyway, the Taj!

Getting in proved more problematic than we thought. Having had no food, Pavol decided to take some rations with him in case he felt well enough to eat.. However, the look on the Indian guys face when aside from the energy and chocolate bars, he discovered a whole chunk of Salami!

So this brings me to explain the Salami Meter. Pavol had decided that just in case his meat intake wasn't enough, he would bring a massive slab of salami. So far, he hasn't eaten any. As he does I will reduce the meter accordingly.

However, given that there is no food in the Taj, he ended up with the choice of binning it or not going in.. A small brainwave and we phoned Assim the tuk tuk driver to come back and hold all the food for us.

Once finally inside, I have to be honest and say it was absolutely spectacular. Photos just don't do it justice and I always thought it was pretty small but the place is huge. We all took loss of photos from every conceivable angle so day 4 photos are going to be a real joy for anyone forced to sit through them!

We probably spent the best part of 3 hours there before ringing up Assim and getting him to take us to the Agra fort. By the time we got there though, we were knackered so we only briefly looked round and took more of the taj mahal from the east side of the fort.

Evening was a relaxing affair up on the rooftop getting some food. Talked for a bit then we gave up for the night.

The rickshaw theory test

Well, a lot has happened in the last 30 hours or so since our last update.

We got our delayed flight from Dehli to Jodhpur which went smoothly enough.. Collected our bags and walked out of airport into the glorious sunshine.. Hello 35 degrees! After thinking seriously for about a minute on how we would get to Jaisalmer, we opted for air conditioned taxi. 300km for £60.. Worth it.

What was supposed to take 5/6 hours took our noble taxi driver 3 hrs and 45 mins and how on earth we didn't die or kill a goat/cow who seemed to accept the road as their grazing establishments, I will never know. From there, we checked in our hotel and walked across the road to the hq of the adventurists.

We were a bit late to register so we left and went to have a look at our might steed. Our rickshaw looked resplendent, decked in her tortoise outfit.. We need a name though! And I think it needs to be female, the face looks more feminine than our drawing.

Upon gazing for a while, we went back to hotel room to get showered and ready for some food. However, a major dust storm put paid to that so we ended up locked in the hotel. After waiting for about an hour and with very little food eaten, we went to reception and asked if there was any way of getting food. The little guy on the reception did us proud and whipped up some dhal, mixed veggies, rice and rotis that more than filled us up!

So after a celebratory beer with our food we went to bed happier and managed to sleep for at least 12 hours.. Badly needed!!

A late start to today saw us wander over and register as we were meant to and then grab the keys to our rickshaw. A few minutes scratching our head about how she starts concluded with us figuring out there was no fuel whatsoever in the thing! Then a few more minutes wasted figuring out things like gears and brakes.. Eventually though, all well and we can both start and stop almost on command.

A trip to the market allowed us the chance of buying a stereo and extra battery.. We then wasted a good two hours almost fitting it only to not get anywhere at all. Hopefully, we can finish our pimp-my-ride job tomorrow. We stopped by the mechanical and then the overall rickshaw run team meetings which gave us some clues about what we should be doing at a technical and trip level before we went into town to find a restaurant that wasn't a complete rip-off like this mornings breakfast/lunch gig at the adventurists hq place.

We lucked out thanks to an American team who took us with them to an amazing restaurant where we feasted on all manner of curries..

So now it brings us to tonight.. It's just gone midnight and we are up to do some sightseeing tomorrow at the Jaisalmer fort before taking our tortoise out on the actual road.

Till tomorrow..

My Dehli belly is fine

Well, I finally took off from Frankfurt last night and got in an hour ahead of schedule so hurrah for that.

However, needn't have bothered. The air India flight from Dehli to Jodhpur is delayed so will be leaving just before 1pm local time (another 4 and a bit hour wait at an airport).

Pavol made it in and went to the hotel we have booked - without any money. Queue some driving around in the dark trying unsuccessfully trying to find money and giving up. Dollars are indeed the currency of the world and further proved last night.

I met Pavol as I went to check out the wrong Jodhpur flight - mainly cos I couldn't see our flight on the screen. It's headed off to Mumbai afterwards and the screen didn't bother to tell me that!

We are now on the short hop flight and then face whether we get taxi to Jaisalmer or the bus. Taxi more expensive obviously but likely 4 hours. Bus cheap as chips but anywhere between 5 hours and next week.

Decisions, decisions..

European air adventure

Made it to Frankfurt and grabbed dinner.

No word from Pavol.. Where has that boy gone? Am I doing this by myself?!

Dinner so I can sleep on the plane!