So now we’re back from the run, having managed 1 half-baked update between us in the whole 3 weeks we were away, I guess it’s about time we got our arses into gear and wrote something. It’s hard to know where to start though, because so much happened in that time. I suppose going from the beginning wouldn’t be a bad way to approach it…

Back on 28^th December 2007, Megha and I, having made somewhere between little and no preparation, embarked on the most dangerous and death-defying trip of our lives. Prior to taking part in the Rickshaw Run we had joked about the possibilities of death and mortal injury, but had never really taken them that seriously. Little did we know that, in less than a week, our whole perspective on life would change as a result of being within inches of experiencing the end of it. But more of that later.

The first 2 days are the tale of a train journey. So, in fact, it’s not much of a tale at all. We sat on a train for nigh on 48 hours and watched the world go by. Although that sounds kind of boring the time seemed to fly. It’s amazing how you can keep yourself entertained while sitting on the steps of a train. Playing ‘I spy’; watching people squat at the side of the rail track and guessing whether it was number 1 or number 2; looking at breasts made of hay and deciding which had the nicest shape; jumping off the train when it stopped, but not at a station, and only getting back on when it started moving. When you consider all these activities, it’s hard to deny it was a special journey. It was so much fun!

It was Megha’s first time in South India and immediately on arriving in Kochi that morning she made an interesting discovery. The people couldn’t understand what she said. As is the norm when we approach an auto-rickshaw driver, she explained to him where we wanted to go in Hindi. In Delhi it is guaranteed that they will comprehend what is being said, but here in Kerala most locals were utterly non-plussed whenever Hindi was used. In the four southernmost states of India everyone speaks their local language and many also have a good grasp of English. However, it still seemed a little strange that someone who speaks the official Indian national language was unable to communicate with a large portion of the population.

As it turned out, our particular rickshaw driver spoke reasonable English, so with his help we were able to find a pretty decent guest house. Home cooked food was the order of the day, so following the removal of 2 days of bodily dirt and a quick change of clothes, we put in our request for a chicken curry dinner and headed off to explore the vicinity. Our first stop was, not surprisingly for those who know me, a restaurant. As soon as we sat down something seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. Then I remembered having been at the same eating place 2 years earlier. I probably would have been oblivious to this fact, but on seeing the waiter carrying a teapot my memory was jogged. ‘Special Tea’. That was it. This was the place that served beer in a teapot. It was a foolproof plan to allow their clientele to drink alcohol without having to buy a licence. There is no way the police would ever discover.

Before our food arrived we noticed a group of six other youngish foreigners sat at a table nearby. Catching bits of their conversation we heard “…off a cliff…”, “…could die…” and “…get her on 2 wheels going round a hairpin bend…” and gathered that they might also be here for the longest ever Rickshaw Run. On introducing ourselves we discovered they were teams Kangasutra 1 and 2 – a well-oiled unit made up of six Aussies. Whether or not the last half of that sentence is a contradiction in terms is up for debate. Nevertheless, we had met the first of our rivals… I mean fellow participants. And we were glad we had. They had been in contact with lots of other teams and were arranging a pre-official party party that night. Would we like to go? Well, we’d consider it if we weren’t too tired!

But more on that next time…

Adventure, Rickshaw Run, Travel, India | 1 Comment »

Don’t worry. We are not going through a psychological period of confusion about our self worth as the title might suggest. And we are not turning into schizophrenics. Even though my continual use of the plural first person might imply otherwise. However, half of Stevie Wonder’s Driving School is starting to get a little anxious. Generally preparations for the Rickshaw Run have been going well. The entry fee has been paid; the paperwork has been sent off; 26% of the funds have been raised; we have looked at a list of stuff we might need; and have glanced at a big map of India. What more can possibly need to be done at this stage??

Well, in the current state of play, 1 of our team members will be attempting to enter Nepal using an expired sports club membership card and a couple of hundred Rupees as baksheesh. This does not mean we are awaiting the legendary efficiency of the Indian government authorities to return a passport. No. It means that the necessary bumf required to acquire such a document has not yet even been placed into their oh-so-capable hands.

I’d love nothing better than to whinge about the bureaucracy of the powers that be and complain that they are not pulling their fingers out. But no doubt I will be able to do that once the paperwork has been sent off to them. I remember a fine, sunny day back in September, when Miss Kehar informed me that she had spent the afternoon completing her passport form. Overjoyed was I to hear this news. Yet, since that day, something has prevented her from taking the next step of placing the sheets of paper in an envelope and dropping it through a letter box.

Of course, everything will be fine, and her passport will surely be ready in the nick of time. But Megha would not be Megha unless she left it ‘til the very last minute and ended up making both herself and me panic.

Adventure, Rickshaw Run, Life, Travel, India | 3 Comments »

We’ve been doing some really serious planning for the Rickshaw Run thing lately.

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Megha: On Diwali and Holi, I am a kid on steroids

Andy: I was a kid at Holi, kitted out with full gun and ammunition

Andy: but last night I was the mature onlooker

Andy: that’s something we should get for our Rickshaw Run auto — a super soaker

Megha: Yes!

Megha: Let’s get a super soaker

Andy: not sure who we’d fire it at?

Andy: any little shits who give us grief I suppose

Megha: and bystanders

Megha: and traffic cops

Megha: and YOU!

Megha: and Naxalites in Bihar

Megha: that’ll scare them away

Andy: their automatic machine guns will be no match for the rapid squirt of water that we will emit

Megha: Of course not. Even thinking that it will be is foolhardiness and not optimism on their part.

——————————————————————————————

Sorted. We are packing the Super Soaker with the rest of our luggage

Words, Rickshaw Run, Adventure, Thoughts, Life, India, Travel, Uncategorized | No Comments »

It’s official.

In January 2008, Andy and I are going to be taking the risk of our lives.

We’ll be driving across the length of India right to the mountains in Nepal, in the lamest, most fragile and most breakdown-prone piece of engineering ever made here — the great Indian auto-rickshaw. And this is all for a noble cause — charity.

We need to raise at least a £1000 for the world famous charity org Mercy Corps before this 15-day-long odyssey. We’ll be trying to avoid cutting ourselves open, breaking our heads or crashing into oncoming trucks or a tree or a dog because dogs are nice. We might even have to slay pythons, manoeuvre our way around a mud slide, hang from a cliff until help comes by and all that jazz — all while driving on not so particularly nice Indian roads.

The least you can do is help by donating towards this cause. You may do so by clicking on the widget on the side or here. You can pay as little or as much as you like. We’d be more than thankful. In exchange if you’d like us to stick a picture or spray paint your name or a message for a loved one on our auto or anything crazy, we’d love to do that. We are open to ideas.

Here’s what the awe-inspiring auto-rickshaw and our team logo look like.

Yeah, we’re calling ourselves Stevie Wonder’s Driving School. Some people think it’s clever.

Starting from Kochi in south India, we’ll be driving up north, right through the central Indian plateau area and all the way up to the mountains until we cross into Nepal. Since all the teams taking part in this charity race organised by the TheAdventurists.com are free to take any route that they desire, the approximate distance that we are looking at covering within a span of 15 days is at least 4,500 km.

The tentative routes that a lot of people are planning to take are:

If you’d like to get more information on this wicked race and our charity ambitions before you finally click on the ‘PAY’ button, you may directly contact us here: controlwee@gmail.com

Rickshaw Run, Sport, Life, Travel, India | No Comments »

It’s official. I’m excited. The reason? I’ve found some people who think a bit like I do. I’m sure those of you who know me are utterly shocked to discover this, but it’s true.

Who are these people, you might ask. And what deficiencies can they possibly have which allows me to state I have something in common with them. Well, quite simply, they are some guys who have traveled around the world and, although they enjoyed themselves immensely, came back thinking that something was missing.

I can’t claim to have been all around the world, but I’ve stopped off in a few countries during my time away from the UK. I’ve had awesome experiences in almost every country I’ve visited (sorry Bulgaria). However, when I heard about these folks, I could instantly relate to what they were talking about. They have the nerve to claim that people who go ‘travelling’ nowadays aren’t really doing it in the way God intended it. They think that, since the advent of Lonely Planet and other guide books, travelling has become staid and, dare I say it, a tad boring. To say boring might be dubbing it down too much, but predictable certainly sums it up. Guide books tell you what you’re going to see before you get there.

As a result of this kind of thinking The League Of Adventurists was born. Their philosophy is, “the world has been discovered, so we need to go out there and make it more interesting.”

I suppose I should explain why I’ve said all the above. Having a group of people thinking in this way is no good unless someone takes the initiative and turns it into action. Well, that is exactly what these crazy kids do. They think of a ridiculous idea for travelling from one place to another – something which mentally stable people would not even consider – and do it. Simple as that.

Lots of events have either already taken place or are currently in the pipeline, in countries such as Morocco, Mongolia, Vietnam and Jordan. All these trips seem great, but what has really got my interest is The Rickshaw Run in India.

The theory behind this event is very simple. Take a 3-wheeled vehicle, with an engine, that is half the size of a Reliant Robin and drive it 2,500 miles across India…… in two weeks! The more quick-witted of you might realise that this equates to just 178 miles per day. But how many of you have ever tried driving an auto-rickshaw that kind of distance in a day – outside of a major city!?

Around 70 teams will take part in this rally, which will start on 1^st January next year.

So the guys who say that travelling should be spontaneous and not arranged have gone ahead and organised a two week intensive travelling event. Are they hypocrites? Absolutely not.

The journey, from Kerala in South India to Kathmandu in Nepal, has no particular itinerary. The participants can take absolutely any route they like. This could potentially take them through deserts, across vast plains, up and down mountains and even off-road. It’s no holds barred. Anything goes. Accommodation, of course, is not provided or arranged beforehand. Each team takes their pick – tent, hotel or rickshaw. If any of the vehicles break down during the fortnight of fun the participants can rest assured that organisers will NOT assist them in any way. It’s either get the locals to help or fix it yourself.

It sounds like the perfect tonic for masochistic maniacs with a penchant for near-death experiences. Anyone who takes part in this sort of venture surely doesn’t value their life very much.

By the way, did I mention that I signed up for it yesterday.

Rickshaw Run, Life, Travel, India | 2 Comments »