News from the front…
Stopped at a garage for fuel and “trashed” 2 ricks in one fuel stop! Wrong petrol/oil mix.
Also lost a fuel cap….AND the battery has fallen out of another rick.
But there is good news…
“We are still going though!”
“All rickshaws still alive but in varying states of health. We’ve just tackled India’s version on M6 - (”rather like the surface of the moon”) and we’re in West Bengal.”
2200 Kms from the start and they have just passed Sambalpur in North Orissa.
A great days drive through sandy terrain.
(Good going lads. Push on and don’t miss the party in Darjeeling!!)
http://www.mapsofindia.com/driving-directions-maps/nh201-driving-directions-map.html
Hello everyone, all is good here with Team Curried Away. I’m writing this post from the Galaxy Cyber Inn in Rayagada. Yesterday we finished our blast around the big roads near Bay of Bengal Coast, veering north once we reached Bheemunipatam and trying out some smaller roads. We’d had probably 4 days of essentially motorway driving, which became slightly dull, given that 40mph is the absolute maximum we can coax our machines to.The route saw us hugging the east coast past Madras, Nellore, Vijayawada, and around the corner of the Bay of Bengal.
So last night we reached the Orissa state border, a county renowned for its tribes and essentially less developed nature. The difference is tangible. Gone is the relative wealth of the south, replaced now by more obvious poverty, a genuine third-world feel about it and total awe from the locals when they see us white-people, never mind the comedy vehicles we’re travelling in.
Once through the border, we were challenged by a 25km stretch of off-road/bad road, and the sight of our 4 vehicle convoy clattering and bumping up it was hilarious. Bags, telephones, iPods and anything unsecured were flying out every few minutes!
We stopped last night in the pitch dark at the sound of drums, and when some villagers came to look at us we asked what was happening. They explained that some sort of party/ritual was taking place and so we invited ourselves along to a truly haunting show. A tiny straw village off the beaten track was in the middle of some sort of ritual that involved chanting and drum beats, and two young girls being pushed around lots and looking like they were completely off their trolleys. It was amazing, though we are still yet to understand actually what was going on. Hopefully it was all good!
I’d best sign off now, as the team will be waiting for me - now that they are stocked up on petrol and food.
More soon - from here we are aiming northwards through Orissa.
A very quick update on progress. The last few days have seen the team blasting up India’s East Coast, along mainly decent roads. We’ve made some good progress and I’m writing this update from a hilarious broom cupboard in the town of Vijayawada. Somehow, there’s a staff of three, to operate this tiny outfit, I could barely fit in the door.
Anyway. there’s now 1400km on our clocks and we’re making good progress. The team has experienced a few changes over the past couple of days too, inheriting a rickshaw from American Team “To be Sorted” (who sadly had to fly home due to a bereavement). As a sign of respect, the other teams in the area have vowed to make sure their rickshaw gets to Darjeeling! We’ve also inherited an extra team member, Liam, who is hitching a ride and doing some filming for a production.
Our general route from here (we’re currently at the bit on the right of India, where the country gets fat on the map) is “up”. We’ve been on good roads for a few days now, so were considering getting a few more miles on the clock and then hitting the mountains again because they are such fun!
We’ll point in the general direction of Calcutta - we’re still deliberating over that…to tackle the beast or not….that is the question.
Sorry the photos on the last post are so small - I think the internet cafe I used had some kind of limit on size, I’ll upgrade the pics as soon as I am able.
More soon, thanks for your support.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the lads were in Mamalapurum just south of Chennai (Madras) in SE India…..
They greeted 2007 to bhangra music…….and may their heads soon be better!
Hello all, our first update since setting off! Here we are - 700km into the trip, in a completely different place to the one we had planned. The initial plan was to head north to Goa to enjoy the festivities of New Year there, but a last minute change of heart saw us heading out eastwards into the mountains to sample the smell of fresh tea and to head towards the town of Madras, home of my favourite curry.
We didn’t end up leaving until around 6pm on 28th December, and so straight away we had to shelve any plans of ‘not night-driving’. Instead we embarked upon an 8 hour thrill ride, eventually finishing 15 km shy of Munnar, some 6000ft higher than where we’d started. We were initally in a convoy of 7 rickshaws, and a film crew - which was great fun - everyone tentatively weaving through the traffic chaos - frightened by our own lack of ability t control our vehicles! As we headed to the countryside though, the traffic eased, and ghenerally we all gained in competence as the journey progressed.
In the spirit of throwing caution to the wind, we also abandoned any ideas of not eating roadside-cooked food - opting to sample the delights of a curry somewhere on a hillside village. Yam, Curry, Eggs and spices all combined for a fabulous first meal on the road, with no ill effects (even after having doggy-bag seconds the following morning, and slightly fetid thirds the following lunchtime, once the temperature reached the thirties.)
Rickshaw problems the first day involved our throttle going kaput - so that we couldn’t even drive up the hill in first gear. Luckily We manged to share a double room between 12 people that night and set off the following morning into the mountains.
The next day we headed across the mountains, revelling in incredible views and a refreshing smell of fresh tea. It is a world apart form the bustling chaos and mess of the cities, and was a real head-wreck to see these tiny rickshaws scaling the side of stark mountainsides!
And inevitably - one of our rickshaws developed a problem as we reached the summit…brake failure. Thus ensued an hour or so of moderate to genuine peril as we tried to negotiate it down 2 kilometers of altitude to the flat road below. This involved moving all people and bags to the functioning rickshaw, and leaving one unlucky soul to drive the dogdy one down. This worked, and once we sussed that the braking worked better once the handbrake was fully applied, things were fine. Inevitably and ironically, we found a mechanic as soon as we reached the bottom of the mountains, and our brakes are now fine.
We finished day 2 in a town called Dindigul, and re-convened with the large convoy we’d previously become detached from after our throttle and braking issues. There we managed to get hold of a hygiene disaster room and find a bar that served us with some beers to reward us for our day’s efforts. A beer-bravado moment saw us all agreeing to get up at 6am to ‘make a real push’ the following morning….and amazingly, that is precisely what we did, rising early and then thrashing along roads all day until 9pm. The roads were flat and insane, but generally good - with intermitttent chas in each town along the route. We were like peple possessed, and after making surprising progress during the morning, we started aiming to get to our New Year’s destination fully a day early - to facilitate a ‘rest-day’ that would enable us to get the rickshaw serviced, for us to update the website and for a few beers to be had.
This is precisely what we are doing now. The others are just off to secure tickets to a New Year’s party. I’m being a geek and mucking about typing this and sorting pictures - but look forward to a bit of a party tonight too.
India so far is a real experience. Stunning, chaotic and intense in equal measures. The people are fantastic, very helpful, humble, polite and intrigued. The towns are vibrant, colourful, manic - the roads are reasonably good (in terms of road surface) and although the driving displays are somewhat haphazard, there is actually some method in the madness of it all. The cocophany of noise is actually meaningful, with everyone tooting to let others know they are there. As a system it works, and as a rule, Indian drivers are very watchful. We too, especially as novices, are also watchful.
More soon, next post will be in 2007. Thanks again for your support and do look out for more progress later….
So, Team Curried Away is now in Cochin, southern India - after a 48 hour travel fest. It hasn’t been without incident…with the prbolems starting as early as Heathrow - when Chris discovered that he didn’t have a plane ticket!
We then set off on our long flights, with Ben travelling via Kuwait, and the rest of the crew via Istanbul. (They sell beer in 700ml glasses there, something of a challenge in a 15 minute connection window!).
In Mumbai we all met up and had 13 hours to kill before catching our internal flights down to Cochin. So we used the time wisely, making our way to Juhu beach to see the sun rise. An intriguing sight, with hundreds of people wandering around on the beach, even at 5 am. Some were doing yoga, some jogging, some sleeping, some commuting - a vibrant scene indeed. Then as the sun came up and the heat rose, the view became more classic, a hazy fuzz of colour.
We spent the day drifting about, catching taxis and rickshaws from place to place. The roads were a spellbinding experience, complete chaos on a ridiculous scale. Everything is moving at different paces, and the streets are filled with motion and noise. The whole experience can only be described as ‘white-knuckle’, though although terrifying on the surface, oddly things seemed safe on some level. All of the drivers seem very aware of the madness around them, and as such drive with a lot of caution - even though their speed, direction and use of the horn might give a different impression.
Anyway- enough for now. We’re off to meet our rickshaw, paint it and then we’re off into the abyss. So its bye bye for now. Updattes via text to follow…but we feel like we’ve achieved something just by making it to the start line.
So here we are, at half past six on Christmas Day. In 12 hours time I’ll be on a bus down to Heathrow, but still I haven’t packed, or found out where we need to go upon arrival in India, or sorted insurance, or got rupees. The adventure begins in the morning - and hopefully all of these minor details will right themselves in due course.
A few things to say before we all head off. Firstly - thanks so much to all of our sponsors. Individuals and companies alike have been very generous at a pressing time of year financially speaking. On the eve of our departure, we’ve already smashed our charity target of £2500, with promises of more to come. The charity fund stands at over £2650 now, with a further £600 or more to be added on as gift aid. Thanks also to our corporate sponsors who have helped our chances by donating some vital bits of kit - things like tools, gaffer tape, lights and lanterns, mosquito spray and the like. We’ll use these things and give away anything unused.
Our intention is to keep this webpage updated with progress, so don’t give up on us. Keep checking back and we’ll hopefully keep you posted. This is dependent upon unknowns such as mobile phone reception, availability of internet cafe’s…and of course whether or not we actually make any progress worth reporting!!!
Thanks again for your support.
Now that Dave and Ben are expert rickshaw drivers (read about their acclimatisation day in the post below) - we have a highly increased chance of survival on India’s roads.
We’ve also received some top-tips on road domination, from Chris’s uncle, who is a former rally driver and has good experience of India’s roads and their unwritten rules…
He emailed the team with the following:
Hi, guys,
I am Chris’s uncle, and have spent much of the last 12 years going back and forth to India.
Here are some essential gleanings, that you will need to know, in order to save your lives. Without them, you could be seriously at risk!! (I am not joking!)
India may have written traffic rules. But no one knows them. You get your licence in India by paying someone some money.
Here are the real, unwritten rules, that everyone instinctively uses. When I first met Indian traffic, it seemed like chaos, but once I’d sussed this, it all fell into place. The first three are vitally important. You MUST obey these or you are sure to have a bad time.
1) THE GOLDEN RULE: Forget it at your peril! BIG RULES. The bigger you are, the more right of way you have. Right of way has NOTHING to do with lines on roads, lights, junctions, main or minor roads, or even which side of the road you’re on. It is all about who is the biggest vehicle. Therefore in your rickshaw, you give way to ALL buses, trucks, 4WDs, cars, and vans. Two wheelers, bicycles, oxcarts and pedestrians give way to you. Simple isn’t it? But don’t forget it when you’re barrelling (in a rickshaw?) down the main road, and a truck comes up a side road to a junction. Give way or die! Buses are the kings of the road, and often come at you two (I have seen three) abreast. Practice driving your rickshaw into the ditch at full speed. You will need to. YOU may pass even if there is something coming, as long as you are bigger than them. Mostly in your rickshaw, you aren’t! Of course the buses know that there is NOTHING bigger than them, so they can and do pass wherever they want.
2) SPEED RULES - especially on the open road, the faster you are going, the more right of way you have. This is simple and obvious, because everyone knows your brakes (and probably your steering) are useless. Also, the driver is probably drunk or exhausted, and is driving fast to keep himself awake. Give any bus or truck travelling at speed a very, very wide berth! A similar rule applies on hills - anything going downhill has right of way over anything of a similar size going uphill, for the same reasons.
3) NOISE RULES - the more noise you make, the more right of way you have. If you haven’t already, get yourselves a set of air claxons. The pretty but useless rubber squeezy horn or standard fit beeper won’t do you any favours. No one will move! It is standard practice to use your horn at all times. Because of this, it is unsafe not to! Pedestrians, cows, goats, and even chickens are so trained to it, that they won’t move without hearing a horn. But a claxon horn blaring away for 1 km before you get to them will give you a clear road (believe me, it works!!). Yes, you will get very sick of it, but when you get home, you’ll wonder how anyone manages without. Passing MUST be done with lots of horn, as the other guy (who has mirrors?) doesn’t even know you’re there.
4) GO WITH THE FLOW In traffic, do what everyone else is doing. Forget what seems obvious, safe, or right. Just go with the flow. Anything else is dangerous!
5) PICK YOUR NOSE At junctions, lights or roundabouts (not many), in heavy traffic, the guy who has his nose in front has the right of way. Watch the professional auto drivers, who are past-masters at inching through traffic. Keep an eye out for police controlling junctions, especially at rush hour. They are hard to see and it’s bad form to ignore them.
6) Last, but not least, NO SEE CHICKEN. This is a game played at almost every junction. It goes like this. If you pretend that you haven’t seen the other guy, you have the right of way - obviously! He will see that you haven’t seen him, and give way. Except of course that he is playing by the same rules…
We’ll be praying for you…
With Rich and Chris both tied up for various reasons it was left to myself and Ben to fly the flag for Team Curried Away at the final Rickshaw Run meeting in Southampton.
After an eventful Friday night involving beer, broken phones and blind bus drivers (I won’t elaborate), I managed to make my way to Waterloo just in time to meet Ben and hop onto our train as it was leaving the station.
Friday had put me in a foul mood so I was looking forward to a bit of rickshaw related excitement to brighten things up a bit. In fact by the time we’d reached Southampton I already felt a lot better thanks mainly to a chap we were chatting to who, upon hearing of our adventure, regaled us with
travelling tales of his own, ranging from being arrested for Espionage to Swedish lesbian sisters!
Needless to say we reached Ocean Village only a couple of minutes late to be presented with camera crews, fellow Rickshawers and, of course, a lovely, sparkly new, 4 stroke 175cc Auto-Rickshaw fitted with all mod cons including zip up plastic ‘doors’ all courtesy of our good man Steve at TukShop…brilliant.
I was interested to find out that there will be two camera crews coming along for the ride - one independent and one in conjunction with Extreme Sports TV. With Team Curried Away the obvious favourites to win - if it’s at all possible - it looks like next year we’ll be movie stars…in a way!
So after much ‘pomp, handshaking and back-slapping’ we proceeded to be given a brief introduction to the inner workings of a rickshaw. To be honest most of it fell on deaf ears but Rich will be glad to know that I did put my hand up and meekly ask the questions he so desperately wanted me to and so:
What would be the most useful tools?
- apart from the ‘usual’, a feeder gauge
Most useful spares?
- Spark plugs, Clutch cables
Jerry can space?
- back shelf or fix a bracket to the back
Fuel?
- petrol (obviously surely?)
Electrical capability?
- Steve very dryly informed me there was a “cig lighter right next tothe ipod port” - it does have an alternator though
Tyres?
- Valves, no inner tube and 30lbs pressure is optimum
After a few too many nods of feigned understanding next up was to do what we went there for and drive the damn thing! With 20-30 people having one or two laps of the carpark each i’m sure you can imagine it took quite some time to get round us all. But TukShop were good in ensuring everyone got a go. I’m not sure how the power of TukShop’s pretty damn badass sparkly new one is going to compare to our clapped out, 2nd hand deathtraps but the fun factor
must surely remain the same - and believe me it is fun!
After a tentative half a lap, I built up to a good speed as I came haring round the front wing of a parked up Nissan Micra. Then it was clutch in, up to third, release clutch and throttle…neeyowm!
I must’ve got at least 20km/h out of that badboy. Not bad for a first time 
From there we moved on to a local curry house interestingly named “Cuti’s”. Despite the name, the food is great and has restored my faith in curries (I’ve had loads of bad ones in the past couple of years).
The journey back was as eventful as the day but to cut a long story short(ish) the main point of interest came from an American sounding, Belfast born post-woman who informed us that in India you can use beeping and lights as a form of morse code.
For example: one beep means hello. Loads of beeps means i’m behind you and am interested in overtaking. Loads of beeps accompanied by flashing lights means get out of the way i’m coming up fast. If you then reply with flashing lights of your own it means no chance stay where you are…punk. Similarly 2 long beeps and one short beep means what’s for tea tonight? And one short
beep, two long flashes and a final short beep means curry…obviously.
Bring on India!!!