13-2-2801-4

A very warm hello! 

 We write this blog to you from Kochi, the finish line!  And what an amazing feeling it is.  We had a long day yesterday, powering on about 250k which left us with 164k to do today, which we managed and arrived at the official finish line at the Parade Ground in Kochi at about 1 O'Clock! It feels brilliant let us tell you.  Trottsky has been an absolute star to us - we've had a comparably easy ride it must be said.  As a result it was a very emotional time having to hand the keys over at the end.  That's not to say any of us relish the thought of spending another 10 hour day in a 3-wheeled washing machine driving through pot hole after pot hole.  It's just Trottsky has done us proud, and we're all rather chuffed with him.  As a sign of how amazing he is, we were actually only the 7th team to arrive!  Quite incredible really.  

 

We're now looking forward to having a couple of relaxing days off.  Tomorrow we're planning to have a well earned lie in, and then hole up in the afternoon in a bar to watch the England Australia T20.  On Saturday we have a game of cricket to get involved with ourselves - as the triumphant Rickshaw Runners take on a local team.  This should be good fun, although there is a sense of concern that the cricket themed Rickshaw, and the cricket white outfit on the first day, may lead people to believe that the 3 of us can play cricket.  Which unfortunately simply is not true. Oh well, it should still be a laugh.  Then on Saturday night we have our official finish party, and a chance to congratulate all other successful adventurers, and share terrifying stories of the route.  From there we're only a large hangover away from returning to England on Tuesday morning.  As for today, let's just say there'll be a few beers involved.

 

Thanks for all your support!

Graham, Garth, Trottsy and Tim.

 

13 Days - 2 Days off - 2801km covered - 4 mechanics.

And most importantly, 50,000 people now with clean water.

 

The Final Run Chase

Hello again one and all.

 

Just another quick update to inform you all of the wonders of our last few days.

 

Having seriously relaxed on the beach and the warm Arabian Sea up in Goa, the team dragged themselves back onto the road in order to press on towards the finish line. As we're travelling further and further South, deeper into the Tropics, its certainly getting hotter and more humid. Which makes it very uncomfortable when driving. But the hard work in the driver's seat has continued, and over the last 2 days we're covered another 450km.We've left Goa, unfortunately, but have now entered the state of Kerala where we will be finishing.

 

Last night we pulled up into a more luxurious roadside hotel alongside three other teams, so after [finally!!!] having some nice hot showeres we spent our evening catching up over a few beers and a few curries. Very good!

 

But once again, we're up bright and early this morning to get back out on the road. We're now under 400km to Cochi, our finish line. So we're looking at getting a long and productive stint in today, to leave us with a shorter finish tomorrow so we can cruise in mid afternoon to the fan fare and celebration of a few Kingfisher beers.

 

So goodbye from us again, and we'll see you at the other end!

 

The Dream Team.

Goa

Hello all,

 

We are writing this blog from Goa.  We made it and it is definitely worth it!  We arrived yesterday evening after a long and arduous journey of over 300k, and which had possibly the weirdest experience of the trip.  Just north of the Goan border we were pulled over by 2 police officers who wanted to check our documents.  Having carefully studied the papers we handed over (and asking for clarification of what they were... good start) they asked us to pull over 1k further on to a police checkpoint, so that they could attach some reflective tape on the bak of our Rickshaw. We thought this was a little odd, but did as they asked. They stuck a small strip of tape on, then asked us to hang around for a photographer to arrive as they needed a photo. We assumed they needed a photo of the rickshaw with the tape attached for official records, but it turned out they just wanted to get a photo with the crazy westerners driving a rickshaw. The three of us and Trottsky therefore had our photo taken with who we believe was the chief of police for the state, and about 8 other officers.  Surreal but great experience.  

 

Other than that, the journey has been OK.  Trottsky has had quite a few trips to the mechanic now, as the distance takes its toll.  They have mostly made things worse, and currently we have very little power going up hill.  But nevertheless, we made it to Goa around the time we were aiming for, and so it's all good.

 

We are spending two nights in Goa, specifically at Vagator beach which is beautiful.  After writing this, we're going to grab some lunch then get an afternoon of sunbathing on the beach.  It's a bit weird to be in a touristy place after having driven through such small towns, but it's nice anyway.  We still managed to get some weird looks and smiles from the locals when they saw Trottsky!

 

We have done well over half the distance now, with about 750k left to do. Hoping to make it to Kochin by the 14th to get a couple of days there on the beach, before having to fly home. Some teams are staying on for a while after the finish party, so we're quite jealous of them!

 

We're going to try to upload some photos now, but apologies if we don't manage to get any on there.  Hopefully get some up before we return - aiming to get them on the team facebook page. For now, peace out.

 

Graham, Garth, Tim and Trottsky.

The first few overs...

Hello all!

 

Firstly, apologies there hasn't been a blog in ages, but we have struggled to get internet cafes, and then struggled to find internet cafes that had fast enough computers to actually do anything...  Anyway, here we are!

 

We have now done 5 days of driving, and have notched up about 1300km.  The Maharajah waved us off on New Year's Day (having busted some super-cool moves on the dance floor the night before, genuinely).  We got away with no real problems, although we did run out of fuel pretty quickly because the garage decided not to fill our rickshaw up, despite us asking for that exact thing.  Luckily we had a Jerry can so we were fine.  Driving through Rajastan for the first two days was quite amazing, long straight roads with barely any traffic! We stayed in Barmer the first night, and then made it on to Deesa.  Neither place is particularly much to shout about, although it did involve driving in the dark, which in the rickshaw is terrifying!  But we made it.

Yesterday we made it to the coast for the first time, holing up in Daman.  Daman is an interesting place.  In the heart of Gurjurat, it is actually it's own independent state (Daman and Diu).  Not that interesting in itself perhaps, but combine that with the knowledge that Gurjurat is a dry (alcohol-free) state, and Daman and Diu is not - we were pretty darn happy to be there!  So we had a few beers, and had a fantastic meal in the rooftop restaurant of our hotel.  Best meal so far, so we were pretty happy.

Today has not been quite the same.  Another early start beckoned, as we knew we had to get past Mumbai today.  We hit trouble almost immediately, as Garth noticed that the brakes were not working all too well.  We decided, in the interests of, well, nothing, to press on until we found somewhere suitable and after 3 hours of driving we found somewhere.   The mechanic we found was extremely confused as to why we were driving a rickshaw, and began to demand to see our taxi licence.  We tried to explain that we were not actually a taxi-rickshaw but were doing it for charity, but this did not sway him from his 'foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs' rant, which was fun.  But we got our brakes fixed and moved on.  

We eventually made it past Mumbai, after some scary traffic and some even more terrifying roads.  We took the  Mumbai Bypass road, which turned out to be pretty much out of use, and had potholes close to a foot deep.  In a three-wheeled rickshaw, with bags tied on the roof and no ground clearance, it was not an easy ride.  But nevertheless, he we are, blogging from Alibag on the coast south of Mumbai.  The coastal road has started, and it's already looking amazing.  We hope to get some pictures up soon, but so far have been unsuccessful.  You can see some general pics on the adventurists main page.

 

Hope all you faithful readers are well, and we will update you again when we next can!

 

Graham, Garth, Tim and Trottsky (our rickshaw). 

 

Oh, and we just want to add a massive thank you to everyone who has donated!  We were told at the start line, that the combined total money raised from all teams was enough to provide clean water to around 50,000 people!  Which is just amazing, so thank you to everyone who donated. 

New ball...

Greetings!  We have made it to India - all three are alive and well.  Impressive stuff so far.  Tim met t'other 2 at Old Delhi Railway Station after only a brief terrifying taxi ride in (people in India do not believe in lanes, and if moving vehicles aren't touching, you can fit between them...).  Then we hopped a train to Jaisalmer, our current location.  Only a brief, 17 hour train ride.  Fortunately we had crosswords. And beds.

 

So here we are.  We have just met our rickshaw, name as of yet undecided.  Potentially looking at a cricketing pun - Trott is a popular word.  Ideas are welcome!  We have test driven it as well, without any hiccups.  No animals have yet been harmed in this adventure.  It is fairly comfortable, and only milldy likely to tip over at every corner.

 

Jaisalmer is an absolutely beautiful location.  Our hotel is based within the old fort, which is huge and most imperious.  Garth would like to point out that the fort is also yellow.  That's the extent of our knowledge on it so far.  Our hotel is amazing - not entirely the one we booked but never mind.  Had a coffee/tea on their rooftop overlooking the fort, and then nothing else for miles.  Stunning.

 

Anyway, we best be off. Need to buy some drinks and snacks, before we make our way (by rickshaw, not ours fortunately) to the big party tonight in a palce.  An actual palace.  Take care folks, and we'll try to keep you updated when we can!

 

Happy New Year!

Double G & T.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Folks, The website is up and running, the donations have started to roll in and we've bought a map. We're not quite sure how to read it, but it makes us feel safer to know that we have one... Watch this space for more details as our planning unfolds...