Team The Karma Payment Plan

Ricked our shaw to the finish!!

well we made it!  the phone turned off as we crossed the border into nepal about three days ago.  After swimming in the ganges in veranasi we were super charged to tackle the rest of india in a single day, rolling over the border with the police giving us thumbs up to cut in front of the 2km long line of trucks and cars.   arriving in nepal just over the border, we were greeted by a cow running across the street and running right into the side of us, we kept driving, cow kept running. hopefully with nothing more than a headache!

 

day 2 in nepal was rather eventful to say the least. the himalayan mountains rose ahead of us and we started out with kate and jack in their rickshaw ahead of us.  it is the most beautiful road i think any of us have ever seen.   ambitious really to cut such a road into such a landscape!  we had lunch on top of a cafe overlooking a massive canyon and raging river beneath with the mountains and sky soaring above.  kate and jack headed out ahead of us in their rickity rickshaw, and flipped it right over on the first curve!  luckily an entire batallion of police were right there to lift the shaw off kate's leg and move the rickshaw off teh road.  they escaped with a bumped head and a black eye.  pretty lucky!   so we drove another 20 km, and stayed in a little village at the edge of the river.  hospitality ushered in a wonderful dance party with matt as a dancing dj and all the nepalese coming out to take a look at "traditional american dance"   it was good fun!

 

Day 3 in nepal we kept a slow pace behind jack and kate, watching for any more possibly flips... the funniest was just watching them drive their rickshaw without a windsheild in the only rainstorm we have had in two weeks.  it made the windy roads and cloudy skies excessivly entertaining!   we pulled into pokhara around 11am, only to get lost for about a half hour...  but true to form we got on track and pulled into the lakefront with a huge welcome from about 30 other teams!  they were just about to set off on the parade caravan through town!  we made it in just the nick of time, with holi powder to shower everyone with colors.  it was riotous as we drove through town to give up our rickshaws.  more like a demoltion derby of 30 rickshaws playing bumper cars.  after we cheers with a beer, signed the finish line board and prepared for our first meal of steak!  holy cow.  haha.  

 

And the prize of it all....   our rickshaw was unanimously voted the "best pimped ride" and we were cheered on as matt and nick sang our favorite gallwaybay tune.   the british said it was a well, painful, i thought it was a great effort!  the night was full of heroic storytelling, plenty of celebration, and some wonderful pranks, songs, dancing to nepali version of nirvana and the chilipeppers. 

 

Nepal is fantastic.  absolutely beautiful, the people are so lovely, friendly, and dead curious about our rickshaws, and heartily amused by our obnoxious antics i think.  teams have been trickling out of pokhara.  we're doing some paragliding tomorrow i think before we move into the mountains!  no firm plans yet, just enjoying our vacation from our vacation in the paradise city of pokhara!   love to all!  photos soon!!  

Joy Bloser

Load Joy

Nicolas Campbell

Load Nicolas

Matt Acosta

Likes to travel with less guilt. Likes to adventure. Likes to breath the air of different locales. Likes driving at a mostly cautious pace. Likes chain smoking foreign cigarettes. Likes colors, smells and ghastly visions. And most importantly likes contributing to the human race on the human planet be it through interaction or be it through action.

read more... Load Matt

Jack Metier

Load Jack

<h2 align="center"><font color="#0000ff" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="6">Autumn Rickshaw Run 2009</font></h2><div style="text-align: center"><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><input name="cmd" type="hidden" value="_s-xclick" /> <input name="encrypted" type="hidden" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7-----MIIHPwYJKoZIhvcNAQcEoIIHMDCCBywCAQExggEwMIIBLAIBADCBlDCBjjELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAkNBMRYwFAYDVQQHEw1Nb3VudGFpbiBWaWV3MRQwEgYDVQQKEwtQYXlQYWwgSW5jLjETMBEGA1UECxQKbGl2ZV9jZXJ0czERMA8GA1UEAxQIbGl2ZV9hcGkxHDAaBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEWDXJlQHBheXBhbC5jb20CAQAwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQAEgYAoJx5xQooZfCk6O2ZuIg6UAFl+nPJxkqzz+GsZGeo4GUQ2DrsBV/CCXk6W2BBJlCBZDwJTgvh9EY1CFjNO3wLub5Ion9RKwGV1rFaTSse0Oc2VZxYVciASXSGofSM04JLO3RD9BWw92O6mOVMEQqPVHmS/0AwcpIxoeaCWxrXtLjELMAkGBSsOAwIaBQAwgbwGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAUBggqhkiG9w0DBwQIrdwnj+E1s5+AgZh8C8mOucg7KQExaSTsMacnv7BygzMLKh5TKrDTdO7KbpIvZ06VMdxJb5HZd5tkihGANqCM1ub3jbmpiPBUQ9U5uGwnRyQa6uOA24xVxYir/F8FKIF1MF7i79ELBer3TKZjWDTvbWM34ZohWGx5Zz2rQOna1kNVS35lmSkOl6C2LP83QJ0AX0QgL6vARINjyamRRvDUI5QpRqCCA4cwggODMIIC7KADAgECAgEAMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBQUAMIGOMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzELMAkGA1UECBMCQ0ExFjAUBgNVBAcTDU1vdW50YWluIFZpZXcxFDASBgNVBAoTC1BheVBhbCBJbmMuMRMwEQYDVQQLFApsaXZlX2NlcnRzMREwDwYDVQQDFAhsaXZlX2FwaTEcMBoGCSqGSIb3DQEJARYNcmVAcGF5cGFsLmNvbTAeFw0wNDAyMTMxMDEzMTVaFw0zNTAyMTMxMDEzMTVaMIGOMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzELMAkGA1UECBMCQ0ExFjAUBgNVBAcTDU1vdW50YWluIFZpZXcxFDASBgNVBAoTC1BheVBhbCBJbmMuMRMwEQYDVQQLFApsaXZlX2NlcnRzMREwDwYDVQQDFAhsaXZlX2FwaTEcMBoGCSqGSIb3DQEJARYNcmVAcGF5cGFsLmNvbTCBnzANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOBjQAwgYkCgYEAwUdO3fxEzEtcnI7ZKZL412XvZPugoni7i7D7prCe0AtaHTc97CYgm7NsAtJyxNLixmhLV8pyIEaiHXWAh8fPKW+R017+EmXrr9EaquPmsVvTywAAE1PMNOKqo2kl4Gxiz9zZqIajOm1fZGWcGS0f5JQ2kBqNbvbg2/Za+GJ/qwUCAwEAAaOB7jCB6zAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUlp98u8ZvF71ZP1LXChvsENZklGswgbsGA1UdIwSBszCBsIAUlp98u8ZvF71ZP1LXChvsENZklGuhgZSkgZEwgY4xCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMQswCQYDVQQIEwJDQTEWMBQGA1UEBxMNTW91bnRhaW4gVmlldzEUMBIGA1UEChMLUGF5UGFsIEluYy4xEzARBgNVBAsUCmxpdmVfY2VydHMxETAPBgNVBAMUCGxpdmVfYXBpMRwwGgYJKoZIhvcNAQkBFg1yZUBwYXlwYWwuY29tggEAMAwGA1UdEwQFMAMBAf8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEFBQADgYEAgV86VpqAWuXvX6Oro4qJ1tYVIT5DgWpE692Ag422H7yRIr/9j/iKG4Thia/Oflx4TdL+IFJBAyPK9v6zZNZtBgPBynXb048hsP16l2vi0k5Q2JKiPDsEfBhGI+HnxLXEaUWAcVfCsQFvd2A1sxRr67ip5y2wwBelUecP3AjJ+YcxggGaMIIBlgIBATCBlDCBjjELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAkNBMRYwFAYDVQQHEw1Nb3VudGFpbiBWaWV3MRQwEgYDVQQKEwtQYXlQYWwgSW5jLjETMBEGA1UECxQKbGl2ZV9jZXJ0czERMA8GA1UEAxQIbGl2ZV9hcGkxHDAaBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEWDXJlQHBheXBhbC5jb20CAQAwCQYFKw4DAhoFAKBdMBgGCSqGSIb3DQEJAzELBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHAYJKoZIhvcNAQkFMQ8XDTA5MDUwNDIwMjE0NlowIwYJKoZIhvcNAQkEMRYEFGjQy3w+x28Y8/ZZ8zfjjCMLIjGzMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUABIGAUbU01Qk44KBh+xllQZcQOY3SWKPhVoiI6BToBToy+mtruzbfFHJStnoMxmuJRcnHZ7oJCsVfFTQUik9bZtQMEeRYcszaTy58B3pDDWGrgq7RhbIglfs+nt3y5RpiehhZ9Glbx75v1EbtOCRrnqc+jhjD/VUS8NYDHA0yKEo2U+o=-----END PKCS7----- " /> <input alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!" name="submit" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" type="image" /> <img border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /> </form></div><div align="left"><br /></div><font color="#800000" size="4">Our team, the Karma Payment Plan (Nick, Joy, and Matt),&nbsp;will be&nbsp;racing 5,000km&nbsp;from Goa, India to Pokhara, Nepal in our trusty Indian auto rickshaw.&nbsp; We will set out against 59 other international teams this September with the full intent to raise a pile of money for&nbsp;an outstanding set of&nbsp;charities!</font> <p><font size="\">Straight as a crow flies- 1,000 miles...&nbsp; crooked as a rickshaw drives?&nbsp;Probably close to double that!&nbsp; Apparently this outrageous adventure should take about 2-3 weeks...&nbsp; and should you cross the finish line first?&nbsp;Pomp, glory, bragging rights for years to come&nbsp;and a tea party are all&nbsp;thrown in your honor!&nbsp;&nbsp;Is there any better motivation?&nbsp;We think not!&nbsp;</font></p><p><font size="\">The funds are forthcoming, the rickshaw engine specs are scant, the adventure is&nbsp;quickly approaching... karma's payment begins!&nbsp;</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Good Karma: Support our Charities!</h3><p><font size="\">Help us reach our fundraising goals of&nbsp;$1000 per charity.&nbsp; Any dollar you are able&nbsp;to spare would help bring clean water to India, provide safety and shelter for women in Nepal, or&nbsp;support HIV/AIDS education to the youth of India!</font></p><p><font size="\"></font></p><p>Streaming progress for our fundraising for <strong>Maiti Nepal</strong> is on our <strong>Charities Page</strong> and streaming progress for our fundraising for <strong>Frank Water Projects </strong>is in our <strong>blog</strong> entries below.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><font size="\">Please follow the links in our blog for Justgiving.com&nbsp;and on our Charities page to give!</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font size="\">And here is&nbsp;a little anthem to our namesake the Karma Payment Plan... Listen and&nbsp;browse around to read about&nbsp;our charities, sponsors, and&nbsp;outlandish adventure!</font>&nbsp;</p><p>$parse[embedvideo_173]</p><p>&nbsp;</p>