We've had an exciting couple of days since the last blog post! To summarise:
- Angus, our rickshaw, is performing admirably, so far 🤞
- The locals are very friendly and excited to see us - we feel like celebrities!
- Drivers over here are crazy.
- Cows like banana skins
We set off from our Jaisalmer base at around 9am on Tuesday. There was a short delay as we called at our hotel to collect our bags, then we were off for real with Amelia taking the lead to get us out of town. We've been driving for roughly 2 hours before taking a break and swapping drivers - bear in mind Angus is only designed for short trips, so regular 20-30 minute stops have been recommended.
We haven't had much scenery so far as we've been driving through the Thar Desert, however the landscape is getting increasingly greener as we move north. Tuesday night was spent in a hotel in a nature reserve on the outskirts of Bikaner, where we saw a beautiful sunset, peacocks and parakeets.
Today saw a slightly later start than intended which, along with a lack of accommodation options and rain from mid-afternoon onwards, saw us arriving quite late in Hisar.
Along the way we've seem numerous cows, goats, sheep, sheep and camels on the roads, along with the occasional surprise speed bump. Each has been providing entertainment and anxiety in their own special way!
We've had lots of bemused looks from locals, alongside many more smiles, waves, handshakes, questions and requests for selfies! I suspect most of them think we're crazy.
All being well, tomorrow we will end the day in the foothills of the Himalayas...!
Another day of test driving and generally getting Angus ready for an adventure. He's now almost fully pimped as you'll see below. We've covered the plastic seats to make them more bearable in the heat, and added an extra layer of foam for good measure. Plastic curtains also fitted should we get caught in monsoon rain (we are in a desert, but have seen some torrential rain while we've been here).
Someone (Amelia) has given Angus some very girly eyelashes, but he doesn't seem to mind all that much 🤷
While Angus was being outfitted, we were ushered away on the back of motorbikes to have some 'tea' with someone who was helping us. This (predictably) turned out to mean "let me take you to my family shop so you can buy things while you're waiting" 🙄 Anyway, I got 2 new shirts and Amelia rode on a motorbike for the first time ever, so wasn't all bad 😀
Some last minute bits to do in the morning, and then we'll be off - the Thar Desert awaits..! You can track our progress at https://www.theadventurists.com/rickshaw-run-himalaya/rickshaw-run-himalaya-live/
PS - head over to our Instagram page for more photos and video of Amelia on a test drive, we're @team_thunderstuk. Unfortunately we can only post photos on here 😔
Meet the newest member of our team - Angus! (In our excitement we forgot to take a better photo!)
Had a brilliant day test driving, firstly off road and then onto the streets of Jaisalmer. Neither of us have ever driven a motorbike, so it was all very alien - clutch and gears in the left hand, accelerator in the right, then right foot for the brake. The most important control is clearly the horn though! Turns out not using it can get you into heaps of trouble. There's a reason why Indian streets are so noisy!
More of the same tomorrow, but after that we're on our own!!!
This is really happening.
After a mammoth journey involving around 12 hours in the air, 6 hours on the road, some awful aircraft seats, and plenty of burping from our travelling neighbours, we're in Jaisalmer. We arrived yesterday evening exhausted but excited at the prospect of what's to come.
Jaisalmer is known as the golden city on account of the brightly coloured sandstone of the fort which dominates the skyline. This was our destination for this morning and afternoon until the heat drove us back to the salvation of our hotel's air con. We started the day by taking our first tuk tuk ride into the fort, with the surreal knowledge that soon we'll be driving our very own roadworthy (this is debatable) lawnmower across the desert and up into the highest mountain range on the planet. We did take heart in how manoeuvrable the vehicles are, and how easily they coped with the steep streets inside the fort, whilst making a mental note of the need to avoid pot holes at all costs for the sake of our behinds.
Our first stop inside the fort was a well known textile shop which stocks an incredible array of colourful fabrics, and re-learnt the key rule that their first price is probably at least double what they would be prepared to accept. We may go back... Afterwards we moved onto two Jain temples and the Jaisalmer fort palace museum, each with their own astonishingly detailed stone carvings and views across the city.
Tomorrow is a big day. We get to finally meet and drive our rickshaw, which has been painted according to our design. This is causing considerable excitement! Assuming we prove that we're not complete liabilities, we'll then be let loose on the streets of Jaisalmer as part of our training before we set off in the general direction of the Himalayas....
