Team Wobbly Winston's Wonder Wagon

Rajasthan, India

Just waiting for our flight from Jodhpur to Delhi, which is, of course, late. Have already been questioned about the 'handcuffs' in out luggage, but turns out it was only the bike lock! Going for one more walk around the rubbish heap that is Delhi later and home tomorrow! We're very excited about getting back to somewhere with a rubbish collection, hot water, real orange juice, food that doesn't try to kill you, and soft beds.@

Jaisalmer, India

THE FINISHING LINE!!! 472km from this morning and nearly 3,000km since the first day we have finished! Fourth overall and first of the teams that did not go along the faster route through Nepal, only through India. Nearly fell off at the last hurdle as Charis cut her foot falling through a wooden ladder trying to write our name on the finishers board and then Matthew nearly fell of the replacement! Now off to sit by the pool with a beer!

Phalodi, India

What we thought were going to be awful roads have really surprised us and turned out to be only slightly potholed, so we have reached Phalodi at 12.45. We have decided to push onto the end in Jaisalmer rather than hide in a hotel all afternoon away from the unblinking stares of the locals. Let's hope the road is ok from here, the guide book does say it's rubbish!

Rajasthan, India

Short trip today, with Charis doing the bulk of the driving and no visits to any mechanics. All good preparation for what could be a very long day tomorrow as we attempt to reach Philodi having left the major highways. In other news, we did see a crash involving a truck doing a three point turn on the motorway (to drive the wrong way) and a car already driving the wrong way, which was interesting.

Uttar Pradesh, India

Well it seems we were properly shafted in Bodh Gaya, where the so called mechanic 'fixed' our broken wheel for lots of cash. It turns out he didn't. So it meant we broke down again on the way to Agra, but we happened to break down right outside a mechanic and were taken in by a man and his lovely family for Chai and food, and they gave us gifts and refused to accept anything in return. As a wise woman (mum) once told me - everything happens for a reason!@

Uttar Pradesh, India

today's list of things trying to fall off includes one wheel, the new exhaust and the fuel tank. The first is now held on by properly tightened nuts while the other two are now held on by bits of bungy cord! We are still moving though so can't complain. Actually, I can: it's too bloody hot!

Uttar Pradesh, India

Arrived in Varanasi today with an increasingly noisy rickshaw, discovered the cobbled exhaust repair has now come lose, but luckily we have now located a proper exhaust and mechanic to try again at sorting it out. Had a quick wander around the Ganges and stumbled across 4 dead bodies waiting to be burned! The Ganges is very high due to the monsoon so we couldn't do much walking. Off on a boat trip at Dawn tomorrow to see the pyres from a different angle n

Matthew Watkinson

I’m an occasional theatrical prop (film extra), a frequent contrarian (popularity is irrelevant), a suspect philosophiser (I think therefore I…thunk?), a failed author (On the Destiny of Species), a one-time choir boy (non-halo division), a two-time adventurist (one Rickshaw Run and one Mototaxi Junket), a three-times a lady (...), a no-time Wildlife Photographer of the Year (I blame the camera), a part-time farmer (assuming two chickens and a tomato plant counts), a full-time natural history pipe smoker of the year (self-declared), a constant hypocrite (it's true), a mortified reflector (haunted by a particularly obtrusive Ghost of Conduct Past), an appalling salesman (a significant problem in a capitalist society), an existentially nihilistic (everything just is) and philosophically realistic (facts define themselves) incompatibilistic (free will is a myth) causal determinist (the future follows the past) with some non-spiritual stochastic reservations (did Heisenberg kill Laplace's demon with an uncertainty principle?) and no firm opinion about the existence and nature of the ultimate first cause (it's definitely possible that something is definitely infinite)...a supporter of critical thinking (in matters of truth faith is no substitute for evidence), a respecter of magical thinking (in matters of survival faith is the perfect substitute for evidence), a selfish cynic (altruism is also a myth), a latent criminal (stealing>begging), a possible anarchist (regulated freedom is an oxymoron), a former wrestling fanatic (oh how I cheered The People’s Elbow!), a wannabe smallholder (two acres with a water source and a sea view please), a used-to-be animal physician (beef locum – no herds), and my hobbies include firewalking in paper-mâché wellies and skydiving in a cling film parachute and concrete underpants.

I also make chutney.

read more... Load Matthew

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">This is Wobbly Winston: </font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><div style="text-align: center"><img border="0" src="team_website_resources/5549/_MG_4620.jpg" style="width: 600px" /></div></font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">He was hit by a car when he was a kitten and is now completely deaf and slightly incoordinated (don&rsquo;t worry, he&rsquo;s quite happy). He&rsquo;s also known as Sir Wobblington (in polite company), The Wobbly Man, Wobbles When Walks (when meeting native American Indians), Snuckleberry Finn (after the noise he makes while grooming, which we have onomatopoeically christened &ldquo;snuckling&rdquo;), The Croissant (because of the posture he assumes while waiting for us to get up each morning) and You Little Bastard (when he pulls the bin over in search of empty tuna fish cans).</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">As well as a large collection of names, Wobbly Winston also has a Wonder Wagon. A Wonder Wagon that is going to carry Matthew and Charis 4000km from Shillong in North East India to Jaisalmer on the Western border with Pakistan.</font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">It&rsquo;s not really a Wonder Wagon of course. It&rsquo;s actually a 145cc motorised Rickshaw, or TukTuk, and one thing&rsquo;s quite clear: it is not, under any circumstances, designed for adventures like this. </font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">That&rsquo;s all part of the fun though, so almost exactly 2 years after soaring across South America in a Mototaxi (ahem...), we will be hot footing it (/trundling slowly) across India in another motorised wheelbarrow. From Shillong, Meghalaya (meaning 'Abode of Clouds') in the far North East, to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (nicknamed 'The Golden City') on the most dangerous roads in the world and all in aid of the charity Frank Water. </font></p><p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Sound crazy? That&rsquo;s because it is, but Frank Water helps provide clean, fresh, running water to communities across the world and every single penny of any sponsorship money we raise will go towards their projects in India. It is, therefore, sensibly crazy (assuming we manage to raise some money of course).<br /></font></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #1c1c1c; font-size: 15px"></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px"></span></p><p align="center"><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" height="230" width="150" align="middle" data="http://www.justgiving.com/widgets/jgwidget.swf" flashvars="EggId=2836999&IsMS=0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.justgiving.com/widgets/jgwidget.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="flashvars" value="EggId=2836999&IsMS=0" /></object>