The long way round
With but a few days and a few hundred kilometers left, we decided to get off the grid a bit and headed to Sohra in Cherrapunji, which receives the most rainfall anywhere in the world (with close to 12m annually). An awe-inspiring place, with clouds forming before your eyes and mists rolling up valleys into mountain ranges with abundant waterfall torrents in all directions. A Scotland of the east within the township, Christian graveyards and rolling grass hills upon the plateau which the town is built you could forget you were 2000m above sea level. In stark contrast the valleys were a tropical and humid jungle where the village people coax tree roots to form 'living bridges', taking 20 years to form but lasts hundreds of years. An absolutely mystical way to spend our final 2 nights in india, it was with lamentation that we turned over the keys to our rickshaw. It had been our vehicle by which we traveled 3400kms across the subcontinent, but more than that it had been the vessel by which we had experiences otherwise unimaginable.
Cherrapunji no power!
No power here!
Quake!
Our last morning before crossing the border, we stopped for a chai to relish the time we had spent around the Himalayas. We left Nepal with a heavy heart, but we entered India with an even heavier throttle. 380kms to cover and customs to deal with, the day was spent with a focused driver in the front and in the back seat a first mate with compass and map in hand at all times. Found our way into Bongaigaon about an hour after dark, a town known only for it's fuel refinery and the thick smog which envelopes it. After searching for a while we found a hotel with wifi in the lobby and cockroaches no larger than a 50 cent piece so settled down for the night. While waiting for dinner just got hit by a 6.9M earthquake and had to evacuate the building, so theres another box checked! Feeling fairly safe though given there is a nice ganesh shrine which we're pretty confident will protect us....
We must take the Pass of Caradhras!
Back on the road again, we set course east at sunrise, with an aim to slog out some solid kilometers toward the border. Though there were a few possible routes to take we stayed true to our life mantra and took the high road. Unfortunately in Nepal this is rather literal and we spent the next 6 hours guiding our rickshaw around hairpin corners and up and down the snaking mountain pass through the Himalayan foothills. We did however manage to get ourselves down to the river Sunkoshi to revitalize ourselves which was fortunate because we ended up having to drive well into the night hours to make up for the slow mountain driving. A solid 14 hour drive completed and the eastern border in reach, we set our sights on Assam.
A blog about smog
the last day until the end of the race that we didn't have any distance to cover, we started the day off nice and slow with a trip to the hospital for seans rabies shot. With that out of the way we decided to flog the rickshaw a bit and drive it 30kms up to the nagarkot lookout tower (2175m above sea level) with the promise of views of everest. Unfortunately though the smog meant even views of the immediate surroundings weren't possible! Not to be deterred we hiked up to the Saraswati temple for sunset. On the way up the countless stairs bought ourselves a set of prayer flags to decorate our rickshaw and now rest comfortable in the knowledge that god (or many gods) are surely on our side
Rocky roads and full rickshaw loads
Keen to get back on the road after a full 24 hours without any serious kilometers logged we left for kathmandu. Along the way took a detour to drive through the nice little town of Rupakot to see a sunrise over Lake Rupa, but with temperatures still a bit chilly to swim and a fair array of fishing equipment scattered around the outskirts of the lake we drove on to find a spot for a dip. Flagged down by a few locals for a lift we happily agreed; only then to have 4 additional passengers pile in along with 4 30kg sacks of rice. A perilous but hilarious trip ensued with a few close calls of rolling the rickshaw but with some skillful shifting of weight by the passengers each occasion was narrowly avoided. Soon after we happened upon a quarry trail leading down to the Trishuli river which was just calm enough along the rocky banks for a swim. The next couple of hours involved navigating winding mountain roads behind painfully slow trucks chugging up hills, leaving us no choice but to overtake around blind corners with our horns sounding for safety. Found ourselves lodgings and a couple of delicious local beers to take the edge off and assist with the planning of what to do tomorrow
Do you have the hobby of mountaineering?
Bit of uncharted territory today (and that's saying something given the last few days), took our rickshaw up to Sarangkot lookout; a 1600m high point with only an unsealed dirt and stone trail to the top. Apparently the only rickshaw to have even attempted the climb in the veteran opinion of the peak ticket man, the look of astonishment of the towns people as we arrived at the top was matched only by the cheers that followed when they processed what was happening. The view itself was stunning with Dhaulagiri, Annapura I and Manaslu (8000m high mountains) visible even though they were up to 100km away. Keen for a swim we found ourselves in the icy cold water of the Seti Gandaki river, made chalky white by the glacial silt that it carries. Once back into Pohkara proper we spent much of the afternoon giving rickshaw rides around town to the children (and more than a few adults), who seemed to enjoy riding in the rickshaw nearly as much as we have! Rowing a boat out onto Phewa lake to watch the sunset over the mountains was a sublime final eve in one of the nicest places we have been. Sad to go but confident we will be back one day, we prep ourselves for the journey to Kathmandu at sunrise
Himalayan happiness
Without a doubt our best day yet. Have fallen in love with Nepal and couldn't be happier that we drove so much the first 4 days. 190kms to Pohkara, sheer cliffs alongside the road as our rickshaw is flogged the up and down the Himalayan mountains. Stopped a few times to swim in some fresh water streams, the cool fresh water matched only by a couple cool local beers along the way. Made it into town in time for sunset by Phewa lake, an exquisite end to an absolutely fantastic day. To top it all off bars and beers and plentiful and by god do we have a thirst to quench.
Off to Nepal!
Only 326kms today but through some very trying conditions with another highway that was actually an unsealed pothole filled rural road, really testing out both rickshaw structural integrity and driver finesse. Pleased to say both are at an all time high and in our expert (read: amateur) mechanical opinion no harm done. Also throughout the day a few delays pandering to our adoring fans, many of whom are very keen, often risking their lives flagging down our rickshaw for selfies. Pleased to say we made it through to Nepal in a surreal experience that involved driving down a near 10km stretch of road with never ending stationary trucks parked down one lane forcing us to drive down the opposite side of the road into oncoming trucks ominously sounding horns and refusing to slow or swerve. Gale force winds were also creating a dust storm blinding us while driving during this so the use of protective eyewear was employed, as is always our policy; safety first.
Lucknow for team sean!
Another day another 420kms. Say what you will about these auto rickshaws but I've never seen a 2 stroke engine work so hard for so long. Took a bit of time in the morning for a sunrise in Agra and to see some very rural uttar pradesh and tested our girl on some all terrain roads. Within 599kms of kathmandu and looking like we will get a fair bit of time in Nepal. After a 14 hour day on the road spent a bit of time wandering the bustling markets of Lucknow to find a speaker (a rickshaw quality of life purchase). Diz & siz signing off!
