The goal today was Goalpara, which was about 390km from Darjeeling. We left at about 5:30am again to try and catch the sunrise at Tiger Hill, which is along the way back down from Darjeeling. Somehow during our time in Darjeeling we have seen the same man pop up 3 times and then again he was at Tiger Hill that morning! So strange when things like that happen. There were about 15 other people gathered on the small hill.
At sunrise, we heard a chorus of voices cheer and they sounded like they had come from higher up the hill. We went to investigate and drove Ricky up. There were a stream of cars parked along the road so we found a spot, hopped out and travelled up. We didn’t realise how far up we had to walk and we probably passed about 200 cars! It was insanely busy there so rather than sticking around and waiting in traffic was rushed back down to our rickshaw to make a quick escape.
The rest of the day passed quite quickly. Henry and I alternated driving every hour which meant that we didn’t get too fatigued.
The last stretch took a while and it was a super bumpy road but we saw the beautiful Assam sunset and some lovely villages. We got to Goalpara and went straight to dinner, then found ourselves a hotel for the night.
All in all another good day!!
A very late few notes from yesterday! I completely forgot after a huge day of driving.
We got up at 5 with the hopes of being on the road by 5:30. Unfortunately our hotel had locked us in so we had to jump a very wobbly and very high fence to get out. We then tried to started Ricky but the battery died! Took a number of attempts to get her going.
We finally hit the road and there was SO MUCH FOG! On previous trips it had cleared by about 8am however this fog didn’t go anywhere until about 11am, and even then it was still quite foggy for the rest of the day. The fog was so bad at one point that we couldn’t see the toll booth ahead. Because we are in a small rickshaw we are exempt from paying toll fees and we usually get to slip down a very narrow side lane. Since we weren’t able to see the booths we hadn’t ducked over to the left in time and we found ourselves stationed behind a big truck in a middle lane. We pulled up to a stop once we got there but shortly after the truck started reversing. It took a beat for us to realise what was happening and we couldn’t get out to reverse in time. The truck was right at our front wheel! Both Henry and I froze for a beat and then as though the same ‘run’ message popped in our heads we both jumped out of the rickshaw. I was wrapped around in a blanket and got a bit caught and stumbled as I left the rickshaw. I pulled myself together and started shouting at the truck driver who, in fairness to them, had no chance of seeing
Some notes to come!
We were up and attem today and we made some serious headway in the early morning light. I was sitting in the back seat freezing my lil nips off, and we realised that we had severely under packed for the warmer weather. Luckily we had bought a blanket in Rewa which provided a layer of protection from the morning bite in the air.
Things were going very well and we were making good time. We had stuck to the highways again to get through the kms, but by selecting the walking track (instead of the driving track) on Google Maps we managed to find an alternative highway called the NH33. It was great! There were few cars on the roads and the sights were beautiful.
Once we got to Varanasi city however things changed for the worse. I ambitiously and foolishly thought I could get through some very VERY narrow laneways. We turned off the main strip which is absolute madness and we saw our first obstacle - a motorbike parked on the side of this small lane. Henry got out to adjust it and we carried on through.
Our second obstacle was a corner which required a few pivots before our lil baby Ricky made it through. We proceeded on but noticed that the laneways were definitely getting more narrow and I forgot to critically analyse the situation - if we managed to get to our destination, where were we even going to park?!
Our best day of driving so far! The roads were very foggy to start off with, but once the fog cleared the conditions were great - relatively traffic-free roads, smooth drives and beautiful sights. We clocked about 315km quite easily which was fantastic! AND we even got to our hotel by about 4:30pm which gave us just enough time to max relax and wash some clothes before heading out for dinner.
We met a very friendly cow who was interested in eating Henry’s lunch and we tried heaps of delicious dishes at the street food vendors in the markets at Rewa.
All in all, a super successful day on the road.
Henry hasn’t showered in 3 days and you can definitely smell him from a mile away! Tonight he took off a tshirt that was once white and is now the colour of the earth. We are finding ways to get to Varanasi quicker but we haven’t managed to figure out how to teleport ourselves there yet unfortunately.
Everything in our bodies is now hurting and we have decided we will need to find a masseuse after this adventure. You can definitely tell we’ve hit the halfway point!
Today we managed to get through a good number of kms and it seemed to go relatively smoothly (not the roads, which are still very bumpy, just the kms). We spent about an hour looking for a mechanic because our engine was a bit blotchy - it didn’t get to full throttle comfortably or at all without some discomfort. After visiting 7 mechanics, who each redirected us to another mechanic down the road, we decided to just truck on. I suspect it was because we had filled the rickshaw with petrol from places other than Indian Oil but I am certainly no expert. It is also quite possible that us off roading Ricky could be part of the problem. Time will tell (or it won’t).
Nothing much else to report except that we are still enjoying a bakery in each town and today we went to an Arabic bakery which was delicious and soooo sweet.
Another fantastic day on the road tukking along! This time, we had the pleasure of enjoying a convoy with our friends Ollie and Charlie from the ‘Third Time Tuk-y’ group. It was fantastic to go off road and to experience the joy of knowing there are two additional pairs of hands who will help us out of a pickle. They also were great teammates to help sanity check us - Hen: “will we actually fit through there??” Es: “absolutely”, Charlie “possibly”, Ollie “let’s do the measurements”.
It is the best feeling ever seeing all the happy smiles and faces as we drive past little villages, and I think that might be my favourite part of the trip so far. Quickly becoming my least favourite aspect is the paparazzi in the form of every single living and breathing Indian who wants a selfie with us. They were very endearing at first, but the more north we have travelled the more frequently they want photos with us and the more pushy they are. I am sure I will feel differently about it tomorrow but for now I am a bit tired of the constant selfies, particularly as they will ask for pics with both Henry and I and I have seen them cropping Henry out afterwards so it looks like a photo of just them and I… weird!
The food side of today was a bit disappointing and involved lots of packeted snacks because there was simply no where to stop. Also and more shockingly, we didn’t consume a single cup of chai today! Terrible. Must double down on it tomorrow!
A very pleasant day of driving today where we really got to appreciate all the beauty of India. One second we were on a bustling highway and the next we were driving down what seemed like a family-only alleyway. It was amazing. We got lost countless times and we almost tipped Ricky over completely but we kept our heads on and got through any difficulty with somewhat ease.
Highlights from the day:
- A delightfully lovely mechanic who helped us with our ding from last night and demanded we don’t pay him (even though we did). He didn’t speak a scrap of English yet somehow we managed to communicate with each other.
- Breakky at Mysore including a world class croissant to munch on on the road
- A planning conference with about 8 men who tried helping us but ultimately left us bogged
- getting to enjoy the sights of Tumakuru because we got in a bit earlier in the afternoon, which has left us feeling a bit more revived tonight.
All in all, a really wonderful day!
Attempted to get to Ooty without success but we will continue on our journey tomorrow. After a busy highway, which featured a very gaseous tunnel, we went off piste and found some awesome back alleys. Loads of rice paddies, very cool!
Hope to get into more mischief tomorrow.
