Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, the end is near.

The Final hours have arrived, we find ourselves heading out of the magnificent city of Jodphur to our final destination, Jaisalmer our finish line with the Tuks. The journey is seemingly drawing to an end but our adventure still lives on a few days longer as we each part ways to venture out into the wilderness to seek out some final treasure. Curt to the rat temple, Mel and Ribs to Jaipur and us to the Taj Mahal before we all gather once more for our flight on the 17th. The roads have been mostly dirt roads this morning,which we are hoping will change, the mood a bit sombre as we are not quite ready to say good bye to our road beasts. Before I get all tearful I need still share our last place of fortitude, Jodphur.

As we left Udaipur with soft hearts wanting to spend some more time in this beautiful city, we hit the roads to the land of sand and this grand fort we had heard so much about. As usual there were always adventures along the way, what was it this time? Cole Trickle driving as if it were the last lap and he was in second position (because if you coming second you might aswel be last) hitting potholes as if they were just slight inconveniences, well one such inconvenience bit back and cost us a tyre. So there we were, the middle of the desert, me lifting the Tuk onto its side (I'm the stronger one) and Curt changing the tyre with the speed of the puma. A side note, we were to find out a couple days later, he had fitted the tyre on the wrong way round..... idiot!

In the Tuk again we rounded a few corners and found our team mates waiting on the side of the road for us, enjoying big conversations with the local inhabitants of this 6 house village. The custodians of this fine place were all with big smiles and questioning looks as to who these western Europeans were, we parted way with some South African money for the locals as they had never seen it and they compensated with bottles of rum... Jackpot! With photos taken and promises of pictures being physically posted to the dust town for the residents we were back on the road.

The rest of the afternoon seemed quite uneventful, that was until we reached Jodphur, like Udaipur we were met with crazy traffic and roads just wide enough for motorbikes. As I rounded a corner I found myself cornered with a crane, with some tight manoeuvring I thought i was through, clutch released and accelerator pulled I was about to round the beast of machinery when all we heard and felt was crunch, screech and hooting hahahahahaha. We had lost the wheel arch to the crane, turning to Curt, no words needed, one look and we had reached an understanding, out he jumps and with the full force of cross fit coming to life he begins hammering at the wheel arch to release it. Traffic going ballistic around us as we have now blocked up the entire intersection causing a bottleneck stretching back kilometres in a matter of minutes. After much sing song and shouting from our respective motorists, Curt with one final kick released us and we were off, a few more left and rights, near misses as children zoomed around us on bicycles we found our hotel, the Singh Haveli.

Resembling a Roman courtyard, fountain and all we had found the Gem of the trip. Being over 500 years old this little piece of history we were going to be bedding in was enlighting. With perfect staff and a host who was both welcoming and insightful, sounding as if he had been educated in England, he shared with us the history and lay of the land. Each room richly decorated, it felt as if we were being treated to a private museum viewing. We made our way up to the roof top and what behold us was unbelieveable, the fort stood with all its might just a 100 metres away, towering overhead. Breathtaking, having seen nothing like this in my life I couldn't believe what stood ahead of me. Built roughly around the 12 hundreds, it is the only privately Owned fort within India still under rule by the royal family of Jodphur.

On the other side of the rooftop, my view lead to the old city of Jodphur, an incredulous sight within its own right, again awe just overwelmed me. Famed for its blue houses from the braahmin religion it too is a sight uncompared to anything before seen by my eye. Everywhere we turned there was something to take in.

With some beers taking in the view, followed by some vegetarian din's the night passed by with ease. The ladies off to bed the gents settled in with some rum and Pepsi while Curt and Ribs dueled to the death in the longest game of chess I have ever witnessed, with what seemed like hours between moves, the game finally ends with Curt forfeiting and Ribs winning by default (much fist pumping ensued) with only a pawn and queen left on the board. For those of you who know the game you can sympathise as to how mundane it is to watch two playing next to near 50 moves of check, move check move check move check.... I could continue but I wouldn't want you to share my pain.

With the morning alive, we made our way to the streets for the time had come for the shave we had all promised each other. With a carefully selected barber shop by a shout of "theres one" we made our way into the 1meter by 2 meter room. With a quick negotiation of fee, Ribs made his way into the chair followed by Curt. With Francesca not wanting to miss out she jumped in after to have a quick trim and lastly with me. The entire process quite the experience, a massage with the brush to expose the hair, a cut throat razor applied with care and swiftness, ending off with a head and back massage we were soon all baby faced.

We made our way up to the fort soon after, after some steep inclines we had tickets purchased and headphones, our rich Indian voiced guide sharing the lustrous history of this bohemoth which emerged from this mountain top. We shared in the joys of art, weapons, lavish Elephant carriers and vast courtyards with vibrantly coloured rooms. The marvals of India again silencing us.

The evening was spent trying to work out the snakes and ladder style train system to ensure we have a way to our final journey points, which proved far more challenging than it seemed possible. Where was a simple online system with an underground style map when we needed one. Needless to say trains are booked and we are 204kms out of Jaisalmer.

The next time we speak will be the start of a 23 hour journey to Agra, split up by trains and busses, keep us all in your thoughts. Till then...

Sabre

The Waters of Udaipur

So guess where I am? Yep at the back looking forward to recount all of our passed days adventure as we head to Jodhpur. I thought I would try a different approach with this post, I hope it comes together as I envision it to. Most of the blog has been an update of day to day events, trying to remember details as each day progressed. However I feel I have been missing the magic or the soul enlightening aspects of the journey and I came to this realisation in Udaipur last night while trying to find my sleep. Lying there listening to the distant music, the shouts from the streets and the hustle and bustle of the kitchen upstairs I thought to just 16 nights back, we were fresh off the boat, trying to understand the customs, how things work, the feeling inside all of us as we were about to head out on the road for who knows what. It feels like yesterday. Truth be told, it feels both like yesterday and as if I have lived here for years, two conflicting feelings yet both aptly appropriate.

In such a short amount of time, India has greatly enriched my soul, giving me time to think and better understand how I percieve the world to be. Don't get me wrong I am not about to go all "Eat Pray Love" on you here, but there is a certain magic to this place that I don't think I personally will ever fully grasp. Perhaps my fellow tukkers have had better luck, but as this is my blog and my thoughts you will have to accept my point of view. I do hope you choose to visit this land, seemingly to be of a time lost in the decades, only as you drive into major metropolis areas do you remember it is 2016 and there is such a thing as WiFi, we live in a world where tractors do the hard labour and a good cappuccino is not far away. I do hope you choose to visit this land and come to form your own opinions.

Udaipur perhaps is the reasoning for this post being a little more insightful, perhaps it isn't insightful at all, perhaps I am just a chop and tomorrow I will wake up and it has all been an illusion, but perhaps I think not... I have not had the privilege of visiting further than France in Europe, countries such as Italy, Turkey, Greece and Spain still beckon me to their waters. So like many others I only hold pictures of what these places look like, it is this likeness that I compare Udaipur, yes only slightly as Franci would swipe me across the ear but nevertheless the resemblance holds true, and remember this is my blog.

With the City Palace towering it stands out a magestic centre piece to this little town, its walls bordering Lake Pichola, you can't help but feel humbled by its grandeur. The tiny roads bairly wide enough to fit the Tuks, they crisscross in every direction, often leading not to where you expect. The curbs wall to wall with little shops selling everything from household products to hand crafted leather journals. Noises and smells which I often was unable to identify. We arrived to chaos early in the evening on Sunday night, I couldn't believe the amount of traffic finding their way along these streets, hooters going, people shouting which I am sure were profanities at us while we contemplated which direction was the correct one? After many U turns and an untimely inconvenience with not one but two motorcycles which may have been bumped along the way, no serious damage, so all good, I managed to find parking next to the Lake. My first sighting of the Lake Palace, which sits in the middle of this expanse of water was pure delight and bewilderment. I raced up the road to where I had dropped off Franci and Curt far to excited for my own good. We all were lead to the rooftop restaurant where we were greeted with a sunset to silent millions. Take a wonder through our photographs but it will only represent a smidgen of what lay in front of us.

We attacked the next day, we only had one day here to take in all Udaipur has to offer.With plans being made over WhatsApp as we were all in different hotels, it was decided we would part ways as many of us had different objectives. Curt was planning a shopping spree of royalty standards, Mel and Ribs to explore the finer qualities and Franci and myself looking forward to amble the streets and let this little town surprise us with all it had to offer.

We began the day walking up to the City Palace, with its looming presence, it could not be ignored. With a quick read through the guide book, we absorbed much about the history of the Palace as we could. Built during the sixteen hundreds, it still remains within the Singh royal family. A side note offering being that they are the longest running unbroken royalty line in the world, however I will need to verify that fact when I encounter some internet. I have spoken much about the outside grandeur, and the inside treasures are just as astounding. It would seem the seven Maharana's who took to building this Palace had an affinity for courtyards. Marble floors where ever you walked, the walls decorated in each room with the highest of detail. One room would be wall to wall with intricate mosaics, the next fine wall murals of explicit detail and colour. Rooms of gold and mirrored surfaces give rise to thought that these chaps where quite vain. Artifacts of past weapons and armour, paintings of gory battles with men cut in two, it really was a spectacle for the eyes.

I laugh as I remember the next part of the morning, we were bearing the end of our venture and were photographing some beautiful mosaic peacocks when a gentleman of the guard approached us and asked us to produce our camera tickets. Now if you know us you would know we would think it is absurd to purchase an extra ticket to take photographs, we can just be sneaky.Well we got caught, we were instructed to follow the young guard as he needed to find his senior in order for us to receive a fine. Well after a few turns and bends, where an opportunity arose, Franci and I gave the man the slip and in our best James bond guise we made a swift exit before he noticed.

Out the Palace we headed, avoiding all eye contact. Our next adventure lead us to a marble shrine just outside the Palace gates. The shrine was built to honour the God Shiva, as we walked up the tall steps we were greeted by a guard very enthused to show us his beautiful gods monument. It really was exquisite, probably standing about 30 metres tall, the white marble richly decorated with the finest detailed carvings. Franci a little put off as we had to be barefoot, she trotted along ahead of me, at this point the guard giggled and quietly whispered to me, "look look" and hurriedly pointed at the carving of a most explicit nature before Francesca caught wind (You will have to go and look at the pictures to see the tantric poses and engorged members).

We left shortly after as the days here march on far quicker than you would like them to. We blissfully strolled the streets, engaging with shop owners as we explore the trinkets on show. The store owners realising they had met their match in my wife when trying to haggle, she is ferocious and I did not envy them as they have been used to the English targets and the ease of the pound. Well good patrons it was time to meet the JZ Zar. We decided to make our way to the large wholesale market across town, perhaps we would bump into Curt as we knew he was in the vicinity burning the cashmere.

On route we spied a little lake side restaurant and decided to enjoy the view over some lunch, now if you are a little squimish I suggest we part ways for the next paragraph.We can catch up a little further down, to the rest of you still here... We lazily ordered a chicken and mutton curry and sat waiting enjoying the breeze for quite some time, more time than was definitely needed. Eventually our food ladden trays was brought to our little table, it looked great! Eagerly splitting out the dishes so we both had a bit of each curry we began with the chicken. It definitely was chicken, but surely a chicken of prehistoric times, while not being off it had a wild game taste which left the taste buds expertly confused. With silent looks across at each other we both just knew we were in troubled waters. With a fashion most foreign to Franch she swiftly crossed the boarder to the mutton with a disapproving look. Now we are fully aware that mutton is probably goat in the fair lands we travel, what awaited us was of disarstedly proportions. While the taste was fine, the meat could sureley not be mutton or goat. Only until Franch pulled out a ribb bone which matched the size of a small animal, she looked curiously at me not understanding. Jokingly I mentioned perhaps due to the lack of cats we have seen in the area might that be the little chunks the chef had decided to pursue. A look of dread on her face , and as I pulled out of my mouth which quite unequivocally were small tail nuckles, it really hit home, we were indeed eating something that was of cat size with a tail to match! You may vomit now... As I remember the meal I am feeling rather quesy, the disdain at the thought that we were eating a feline was of earth shattering proportions. Well that was the end of the meal, bill paid and a hurried escape from the restaurant of doom, mortified. That is the last I will mention of that!

Welcome back to those of you who wisley chose to skip the last paragraph, I am quite sure a few others wish they had. It was back to our hotel, our afternoon turning sour we needed a place of safety to lick our wounds. Outside our resting hole we bumped into the Rebeck's enjoying a fine brew of bean. After a brief discussion of the days events from both parties we retired to their balcony for a few beers overlooking the Lake, we needed some time to centre ourselves and that view was just what we needed.

Later that evening we found ourselves at Ambrai, a restaurant of 5 stars (thank God) to enjoy the sunset and Palace views with sundowners. Curt joined us and expressed lavish stories of his day among the merchants, learning about pashamina quality and craftsmanship, paintings and masala tea. With a quick bite to eat and some great conversation around theology and judism we were off to bed.

And that is my story for today, Udaipur is a magical city which has stirred many things inside of me. I will forever rememeber this town and its well spoken citizens, one day I will return.

The roads have been a bit crazy this morning and writing my tale has been far more cumbersome than usual. We witnessed a cow being hit by a car and has left us all feeling a bit dull, but onward we march, just 150kms until we reach Jodhpur. where we will find ourselves for another 2 nights before reaching our end goal.

Till later and I do hope the change of style did not dissapoint.

Sabre.

Wine Tasting to Mandu

So here I find must of once again on my throne in the steam machine who I have affectionately nick named "Little Gem v2", (Bryce and Roan will underatand) she just keeps going. We have had no breakdowns, a few more noises here and there and some bolt failure but other than that all good.

So the adventure continues, much has happened since we last parted ways and I am trying to remember all the details to bring you all up to speed. So as Cole Trickle follows the navigators ahead I'll share our memoirs.

Day 7, Four Seasons

So after a few wrong turns and some help from two kind kids on a motorbike we found ourselves at The Four Seasons chateau, and can I just say it did not dissapoint. We arrived at gates that could rival a Palace entrance where we were greeted by a guard gifted in his approach at his inability to understand English. At first we were told we were not allowed in, but after a quick call to the big man the gates opened before us. A long winding drive way up to a very impressive manor. We were greeted by the staff with lots of smiles and welcoming gestures, as they lead us to our host. We were informed that they would be glad to let us spend the night at no cost for lodging but a nominal fee for dinner and breakfast, we couldn't believe our luck.

We were offered a tour after settling in our 5 star accommodation and were blown away. We found ourselves at the pool and decided we were in heaven, after a short dip in a very cold pool Ribs treated us to our fist bottle of wine, the first of many. After freshening up the the wine maker escorted us down into the vat room, where he was filling our glasses straight from the tanks as he shared the story of their wine journey. The wine was not as top class as Cape Towns best, but it definitely was very enjoyable and welcomed. We ended off in the barrel room where we allowed to then enjoy some reds, we were hammered! Such a treat, such wonderful company. Off to our rooms, we chatted more on the balcony and sipped some more wine, by the time we were invited down to dinner there were some very rosy cheeks and lots of laughs. The food was great we were offered a variety of curries and naan, with our belly's full we retired to our amazing king size beds and amazing showers, it was going to a be a great nights sleep.

Day 8, Ellora Caves, Castles and more.

With a few sore heads this morning we were off after breakfast, today we were pushing to get to the Ellora Caves. We made our way off the main road and found ourselves surrounded by ruins. In the distance we could see a fort/castle of sorts perched on a mountain top, the sides of the mountain had been chisled and smoothed as to better fortify it and a long forgotten moat with crumbling walls surrounded the grounds. Never in my life would I be expecting to see architecture of this kind in India of all places. As we drove passed making up extravagant stories as to who the owners once were I couldn't help wonder and appreciate all we were experiencing and living.

Soon after the Ellora Caves were seen in the distance, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, we couldn't stop staring. After parking we made our way up to the ticket gate surrounded by monkeys screeching and putting on a show.

We have all seen pictures of Petra in Jordaan and many of you have even been lucky enough to experience them, but this would be the best way to explain the Ellora Caves, which are not actually Caves but enormous Palace style structures carved out of the mountain its self. Dating around 700 AD these enormous cut out structures are breath taking, intricate detailed statues of gods and elephants chiseled into the walls. Cavernous rooms with writing all over the walls, alters, forgotten fountains and waterfalls. No words can explain, I hope you have the opportunity one day to visit this special place.

An early night tonight after some dominoes pizza, fist pump!

Day 9, Mandu - an off the map forgotten hideaway.

Our mornings seem to be getting earlier, we left at 6h30 today as we had to back track a bit due to there being no hotels around the Caves. We were greeted to a lovely gentleman ambling down the road completely starkers, Franci screeching as she got an eye full of penis. With a few strange turns from Google we were on our way to Mandu. Not much was known by this little place but we needed a rest point as we journeyed north to Udaipur.

We traveled on some amazing roads and some awful bumpy pot holed ones, but I do think this has been my best drive yet! A mountain climb with sheer cliff face only a meter from where our tyres rode, a village with the most beautiful display of fresh goods for sale in carts which littered the streets and the colours so striking and vivid, our fist camel sightings, U turns on busy highways and hopping the islands, a bumpy farm road with countless bridges as we zigzaged over a river which abruptly came to a rocky end (Google gets a little eager with its short cuts, if any of you employees of the tech giant are reading this, you may want to check that out) and finally reaching Mandu after 400kms.

Once again our mouths hang open, where has this town been hiding? Why were we not shared this history growing up at school, why is there no bloody Richard Attenborough documentary on National Geographic! Indescribable monoliths surrounded us, crumbling castle walls, rich history where ever we turned.

With the dark chasing us swiftly we headed straight for our hotel and decided to enjoy the sights in the morning sunlight on our way out. This evening Curt treated us to some local flavour, the much spoken about "Old Monk" a local distilled rum. No bar would be complete with out it and I am going to have to bring some home. Armed with a half jack and a bottle of thumbs up (local Indian coke) we devoured it with the thirst of a thousand virgins, it was delicious. Drinks with friends, stories of Rockefeller and his standard oil under the stars, a great night indeed.

And that my friends brings me to this current day, we explored the monuments this morning in the town while sipping on our milky coffee. Again words elude me, how am I to share the wonders of what's in front of me. What I will say is when I am home I will be chewing through my history on all I have seen and will be telling you all the stories of this magnificent place as we stand around the braai.

The road is open ahead of us, only 380kms until we reach Udaipur which is said to be the most romantic city in India. Our lonley planet tell stories of islands and floating palaces and we get to spend two nights there, we cannot wait.

Until the next one, big love to you all.

Sabre.

Goa to Jolhapur

And we back :) it is the 7th of Jan and we are 1200kms down. I'm in the back and Curtis at the helm, we are following Mel, Ribs and Franci and are currently on route to a wine farm. But before I jump ahead let's go back to where we last ended off GOA!

**Day 4 Goa: Palolem beach**

So we left early bells from Turtle Beach as we wanted to make it to Goa with the afternoon to relax, which turned out to be a great idea. We arrived around 13h00 to a bustling little town, where the roads are just wide enough to fit the Tuks. It was very different here to what we have been used to. As we approached Palolem beach it was almost a paradigm shift. Lots of tourists walking the streets and bottle shops everywhere. As Goa is a tax free state and not dry, we were looking forward to the beach, cheap booze and food.

We managed to find our digs with quite ease, now I refer to it as a digs rather than a hotel as it was not much more than a hut, but with about 20 metres from the beach and bar it was perfect. Trying to find the words to explain this little beach is challenging, its a perfect alcove of warm water, has the feel of Thailand but without the commercial hotels anywhere. Now this place is considered commercialised in terms of India, but compared to other island/beach destinations it is completely rural. If you looking for a bit if peace, this is definitely the place to find it.

We spend the rest of the day swimming, eating and drinking and just enjoying the chilled vibes. At 30 rupees a beer which is the equivalent of about 7 SA Rands, how could we not partake.

Curt managed to find a doctor to amputate his foot, jokes, he had a local aesthetic and then removed literally a thorn the size of a match stick from his heel! No wonder he was bitching like a little girl.

Side note, the days are hot hot hot, but the nights can get very cold, no need for a fan or aircon.

**Day 5 Goa: Palolem Beach**

Myself and Franci took it easy and had a little lie in, as we froze our chops off during the night and even found ourselves spooning to keep warm (ahhh newly weds). The rest of the team took the morning to plot our route for when we leave the following day. Do we spend a further night in North Goa or push on as we still have plenty of road ahead?

We were undecided, let's hope another day of lounging on the beach eating and drinking would help decide, so that's what we did.

Nightfall crept up on us at a far greater rate than we wanted and we knew we would be leaving soon.

A beach dinner was on the cards, myself and Franci not wanting to let some amazing fish pass us by ordered a 2kg Tuna, literally it had just landed off the boat! It was so big we were able to cook it two different ways, rare on the one side and fire grilled with garlic and butter on the other, writing this my mouth is watering just thinking about it... Needless to say it did not disappoint!

We then headed off to the rickshaw beach party, where we had parted ways with Cole Trickle (Curt self named himself after his questionable Tuk driving skills) earlier, however when we got there he was no where to be found, we figured with the bang Lassies on offer down the beach and the abundance of skirt around he may have huddled down in a grove somewhere talking about stars with his future wife. Well not so, as Cole Trickle has a booze limit of 4 before he falls over, we later found him snoring in his room, light weight.

Anywhooo, the beach party was tame we left after an hour or so, as ribbles was tired, ahhh booboo petal.

So yeah that was Goa, we were leaving in the morning and we are all very sad. It is beautiful and we have all promised to return.

**Day 6 The Road:**

So after 2 days in paradise we were back on the streets, now I'll have to Admit here, I was grumps! We all were, at the stops there was bickering and scowles. The Tuk was uncomfortable, the road was long and we nearly ran out of petrol!

We had to go through a nature reserve up a hill that no jokes was about 60 to 80kms long, we were riding on fumes. With no back ups as we had used them and the only wildlife in show were monkeys, we were all starting to shit bricks a bit.

Eventually as we neared the end of this windy staircase to heaven we saw our saviour, the petroleum gods were on our side. With a few high fives and silent prayers of gratitude we fuelled up and jogged on.

I think moods reached their peak in the afternoon and everyone just wanted the hotel, it did not help that trying to find it was a nightmare. Eventually Ribs, Mel and Curt had had enough and stayed at one we had passed by while Franci and myself marched on and found it literally about 1km away, a joyeous moment.

A good night sleeps what we all needed, and that brings me to today, where I am still penning these notations in the back of a bumpy Tuk while Curt hurtles down this excuse for a road. I can almost taste the wine we are hunting down like rabbid dogs.

I'll leave you there and hopefully share the treasures of today with you tomorrow.

Sabre out!

Goa to Jolhapur

And we back :) it is the 7th of Jan and we are 1200kms down. I'm in the back and Curtis at the helm, we are following Mel, Ribs and Franci and are currently on route to a wine farm. But before I jump ahead let's go back to where we last ended off GOA!

**Day 4 Goa: Palolem beach**

So we left early bells from Turtle Beach as we wanted to make it to Goa with the afternoon to relax, which turned out to be a great idea. We arrived around 13h00 to a bustling little town, where the roads are just wide enough to fit the Tuks. It was very different here to what we have been used to. As we approached Palolem beach it was almost a paradigm shift. Lots of tourists walking the streets and bottle shops everywhere. As Goa is a tax free state and not dry, we were looking forward to the beach, cheap booze and food.

We managed to find our digs with quite ease, now I refer to it as a digs rather than a hotel as it was not much more than a hut, but with about 20 metres from the beach and bar it was perfect. Trying to find the words to explain this little beach is challenging, its a perfect alcove of warm water, has the feel of Thailand but without the commercial hotels anywhere. Now this place is considered commercialised in terms of India, but compared to other island/beach destinations it is completely rural. If you looking for a bit if peace, this is definitely the place to find it.

We spend the rest of the day swimming, eating and drinking and just enjoying the chilled vibes. At 30 rupees a beer which is the equivalent of about 7 SA Rands, how could we not partake.

Curt managed to find a doctor to amputate his foot, jokes, he had a local aesthetic and then removed literally a thorn the size of a match stick from his heel! No wonder he was bitching like a little girl.

Side note, the days are hot hot hot, but the nights can get very cold, no need for a fan or aircon.

**Day 5 Goa: Palolem Beach**

Myself and Franci took it easy and had a little lie in, as we froze our chops off during the night and even found ourselves spooning to keep warm (ahhh newly weds). The rest of the team took the morning to plot our route for when we leave the following day. Do we spend a further night in North Goa or push on as we still have plenty of road ahead?

We were undecided, let's hope another day of lounging on the beach eating and drinking would help decide, so that's what we did.

Nightfall crept up on us at a far greater rate than we wanted and we knew we would be leaving soon.

A beach dinner was on the cards, myself and Franci not wanting to let some amazing fish pass us by ordered a 2kg Tuna, literally it had just landed off the boat! It was so big we were able to cook it two different ways, rare on the one side and fire grilled with garlic and butter on the other, writing this my mouth is watering just thinking about it... Needless to say it did not disappoint!

We then headed off to the rickshaw beach party, where we had parted ways with Cole Trickle (Curt self named himself after his questionable Tuk driving skills) earlier, however when we got there he was no where to be found, we figured with the bang Lassies on offer down the beach and the abundance of skirt around he may have huddled down in a grove somewhere talking about stars with his future wife. Well not so, as Cole Trickle has a booze limit of 4 before he falls over, we later found him snoring in his room, light weight.

Anywhooo, the beach party was tame we left after an hour or so, as ribbles was tired, ahhh booboo pettshi

So yeah that was Goa, we were leaving in the morning and were all very sad. It is beautiful and we have all promised to return.

**Day 6 The Road:**

So after 2 days in paradise we were back on the streets, now I'll have to Admit here, I was grumps! We all were, at the stops there was bickering and scowles. The Tuk was uncomfortable, the road was long and we nearly ran out of petrol!

We had to go through a nature reserve up a hill that no jokes was about 60 to 80kms long, we were riding on fumes. With no back ups as we had used them and the only wildlife in show were monkeys, we were all starting to shit bricks a bit.

Eventually as we neared the end of this windy staircase to heaven we saw our saviour, the petroleum gods were on our side. With a few high fives and silent prayers of gratitude we feulled up and jogged on.

I think moods reached their peak in the afternoon and everyone just wanted the hotel, it did not help that trying to find it was a nightmare. Eventually Ribs, Mel and Curt had had enough and stayed at one we had passed by while Franci and myself marched on and found it literally about 1km away, a joyeous moment.

A good night sleeps what we all needed, and that brings me to today, where I am still penning these notations in the back of a bumpy Tuk while Curt hurtles down this excuse for a road. I can almost taste the wine we are hunting down like rabbiid dogs.

I'll leave you there and hopefully share the treasures of today with you tomorrow.

Sabre out!

Day 2 and 3

It's an early one this morning 5h40, I'm still lying in bed and Franci is busy getting ready.Today is Day 4 on the road, and our end destination is Rococo Pelton in Palolem beach, Goa baby!!!! But before I get all excited about that, let us chat about the last few days on the road. Lets see where were we... We had ended off on Day 1 in Tirur.

**Day 2: The Road, starting point Tirur..,.,............., **

We took it is easy this morning, breakfast at 8am and ready to hit the road at 9. The other teams left around 6am, but that I'm sure is due to their Tuks only being able to reach a max speed of about 35kph, where we can do around 60kph. We headed off from Tirur which I have explained is literally a one horse town, but now you can't compare a one horse town in India to one in SA. As you drive between towns there is a constant flow of delapidated shacks and buildings selling goods of all sorts. There are no big shops such as Spar or Pick n Pay and God help you if you only ever use Woolworths. There is dense jungle all around us which opens up occasionally to mass expanses of water and it is no wonder why this is the back drop to Kipling's "The Jungle Book".

Curt started the driving and after a few bumpy gear changes, a stall here and there we were off to running speed. Ribs and Mel following behind us and enjoying the ease of keeping pace.. It really was a lovely day, taking in the sights around us. We managed to find an incredible spot for lunch that was on a cliff face which overlooked the ocean. The views from here were breathtaking and of course we had to take a few selfies with this great backdrop. After this it was a straight shoot through to Bekal, however the roads were awful and we ended up staying about 8kms short of our destination at the Raj Palace. We were again lucky, as this was a 4star and had hot showers and comfy beds. We bumped into the Kenyans after dinner and had a few drinks with them while swapping stories, again I will have to summarise the best ones below (all from the kenyans)

**All Kenyans have foreign accents due to the fact they all go to private schools elsewhere**

**The roads in India are FAR better than in Kenya**

**The seedy bars are quite a lot better too (this really worries me)**

**British troops still do their training in Kenya**

**The British soldiers in training have a really good time sampling the local prostitute's through the wire fence around base camp. (True story)**

**A lot of the locals speak Italian, due to the Italian woman coming to Kenya to enjoy the larger appendages.**

*Day 3, 12kms before Bekal (Part 2 of the blog, being written in the back of the tuck while we hurtle at 50kph)*

We woke up fresh this morning ready for an easy day of driving, we have left a bit earlier and only have about 180kms to do with our end destination being North Karnataka. We were very lucky today we had some really lovely roads, a double lane carriage way woohooo, coupled with the fact that it is a Sunday the roads are also super quiet.

I am starting to think these blogs are going to become a bit monotonous as the usual words are popping into my head, beautiful scenery, lots of smiles oh and today our first Elephant!! Now I realise coming from South Africa this should not be anything grand, but we don't have Dumbo rolling through on a highway with a man sitting on top.

We passed some beautiful temples, performed some acrobatics trying to get some cool video footage, enjoyed some road stalls and in the end Francesca guided us to a perfect sleep over seaside bungalows called Turtle Beach. Now if you don't mind roughing it a bit and enjoy having your toes covered in sand with a gorgeous sea view while you sippping on a beer, then this has to be the spot for you, it was just unbelieveable. I am no Paulo Coelho and don't have the words to build the picture we were privileged to have before us.

We spent the afternoon swimming, drinking and laughing.A special time with our special friends. There however was a moment of weakness from a tripod member, Curt stood on the mother of all thorns and after much cutting with a knife, needles and tweezers, we were still not able to remove it. But like a champion right now he is in the front of the Tuk, driving and ignoring the throbbing in his foot as Goa beckons him to find a doctor to perform some minor surgery. Oh and don't worry moms we used a flame and savlon to disinfect the fishing knife we were cutting into his foot with.

And finall **The CRAB**, holy shit balls!! So this morning around 4am myself and Franci are awoken by this scratching at our door. Being the gentleman I am, I went and had a little look see. I open the door and pop my head out to greet our visitor, nobody there... The next thing I hear is a fast paced scuttle on the floor, I shit myself with a high pitch yelp as I haven't yet identified my nemises. Franci screaming as she can just see me jumping and can here the intrudercoming to take our lives. Then I see it! The face clutching crab straight out of alien bigger than my hand. With lighting speed and cat like reflexes I knew I had my work cut out here. We were definitely not going back to bed. My pinpoint instincts had me grabbing the sheet which allowed me to subdue our alian face grabbing intruder and escort him back into the Jungle Book.

So yep that's it in a nut shell, I'm looking around me, Franci is wrapped in her blanket as its pretty chilly this morning. Mel is following us from behind keeping text book breaking distance. Tonight we are aiming for Rococo Pelton, a small beach getaway in Palolem south Goa.

Chat soon

J

We Here

So it begin... Sitting in the XL bar drink a few beers, sweating.. We arrived yesterday after 30 hours of traveling to our superb digs, the highlight being the shower, a light mist of cold water! Not ideal hahaha.

We explored a bit last night and found the restaurant where I am currently writing these words of wisdom. I have to add we had the banana wrapped fish and it was AMAZING. After that it was straight to bed on our 10mm foam matresses, they are the bomb.

Today we hit the streets, ambled around and took in the smells and sights, we feel like celebrities. Around every corner there is a group asking for our photographs or trying to get us to hand over our sunglasses. We are in the old Dutch district, we even stumbled across Vasco De Gammas house, for all you guys who are unaware of who that is, he discovered Natal after sheltering from a storm.

It has only been 12 hours in this incredible country and we are in love, there are no words that can explain how sureal it is to just be, just be in India.

We managed to find the registration area with a few side way glances and comments, needless to say Ribs is 2 and 0, I need to up my game!

Our Tuks are amazing, the paintwork are somewhat questionable but who cares. We here, we stoked and we ready to roar. We rolled around the grass area testing our road beasts, a little tricky at first but now we rolling strong.

Next up, finish our beers then off to the hotel to freshen up and then join the rest of the crazy lot for yep... More beers!

I wish I could write everything that has happened in the short space of time, but for that I would need a publishing contract. Love you all miss you all and I will update you again in a couple of days time.

Peace!

The Heat is ON

### So here we are just a mere 4 days until take off. Injections have all been done, Crazy crew cuts been had (much to the wife's disapproval) and Anti-biotics bought. All that is left to do is pack a few threads, some music and we ready to roll.

Now I am not going to lie, the nerves are hammering! Everybody who has made the trip across the pond to India before feels they need to share every horror story they have ever seen or heard from their cousins cousin twice removed. Needless to say, we are trying to negotiate the fact from the fiction, but all in all it doesn't seem to bode well.

My phenomenal wife literally landed back on SA soil yesterday after two weeks in Italy visiting family and skiing, you can imagine how she is just itching to get back on a plane for another 23 hours...

### So what are the plans from here... Well we heading down to Fort Kochi where we are staying in a top digs for 5 nights, you can see the place here (it really looks awful) [**www.adamsoldinn.com**](http://www.adamsoldinn.com/) Hows the website!

Well we there for five nights before the Tuk begins its journey on the 1st, we hoping to spend a day on the back waters of Kerala, then its off to driving school and some last minute modifications of our speed cruisers. We are then fortunate enough to have a New Years here before we head off, most probably very hung-over.

Our next destination is hopefully Goa, how we get there, how long it will take and where we stay along the way... Your guess is as good as mine, at this time I actually have no clue.

Until the next one peeps..

Peace!

The First One

So its Friday morning here in Cape Town, South Africa. There is a slight breeze in the air, the sun is finding its way through the clouds and it's pleasantly warm, the proverbial calm before the storm.... just 36 days before we jump on that plane for our 26 hour flight to the madness we expect India to be.

I am not going to lie... my nerves are starting to jitter.

So where did it all begin? well lets phrase that in a different way... How does one decide to jump in a Tuk Tuk with no support, no idea where they are going to sleep, has no experience in dodging cows and elephants (being from South Africa you may find this surprising) and drive roughly 3,000 km's in just 14 days? **Over a bottle of wine and face-time of course!**

Idiots...

Well its not our fault completely, although I do claim roping in Curt. There was no way I was going to have me and two girls attempting this.

Sorry ginger ninja :)

*So yeah, Mel and Ribs* I blame you guys **completely**, and thanking you... Its going to be a mad adventure.

So 36 days (in my mind I'm whistling 36 like the All Gold advert), Our spare room looks like a bombs hit it, bags, items we probably don't need, none of the items we probably do need. I think I have covered the essentials... Power banks, iSaw (GoPro), cameras and headphones, what else does one need on a journey for madness.

*Do I pack a red speedo and pretend I'm Mowgli the entire time? *  **I digress..**

So who are we, well we just 5 kids (and by kids I mean thirty year olds) with no clue where we going to end up or how we are going to get there, but it's going to be shit loads of fun along the way.

I suppose I am going to have to tell you about the team, but that can wait for next time... If there is a next time, you know how it goes with these things, everyone gets distrac