First Impressions – The Beginning
3pm – Saturday 3rd October 2009 – We land in Mumbai on the first leg of our fiteen \hour flight
(including 3 hour connection time). The Kingfisher plane was kitted our with personal televisions (equipped with an awesome 8-bit multiplayer boxing game) not to mention a volley of top notch flight attendants!
the Mumbai security had clearly not encountered three people like us before. The worlds biggest ego, Britains palest man and our final adventurer masked with a banana entered the security checkpoint in matching t-shirts and were instantly hauled away. Checking through our kit they found a host of items incuding fire starters, tent pegs and highly flammable heximine tablets all of which were deemed to be offensive paraphenalia.
Trying to explain what we were doing was not going to wash with these guys as clearly they thought we were crazier than a story was letting on. Eventually, after a cup of tea and a chat about UK weather they decided we were harmless nutjobs and let us go leaving us with 45 minutes to check in and board our conecting flight!
God’s Paradise – Goa
Or not as it seemed. Goa, dubbed by Adrian “Goan God” Botelho as God’s Own Paradise turned out to be a vast jungle type expanse still feeling the full force of the monsoon. If this was God’s Paradise … he was having a bad day.
It turned out to be the worst rainfall and flooding that the state had experienced in over 100 years!
Whilst we are having a nightmare, it is nothing compared to the catastrophe caused by the flooding to the locals. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected, who have lost relativesand those who have been forced from their homes.
The above linked to article will show the devestation that this is causing to the local populace with scores dead and hundreds of thousands evacuated it left us in somewhat of a pickle. Highways have all been shut down due to the flooding, two tourist coaches were marooned on those highways which definitely ruined their holiday!
We got a taxi to the station where we planned to get our first train which was to lst tirteen hours to Mumbai. Yes we are fully aware that we had already been through Mumbai an hour agoand were heading back there. n hindsight we would have thought about this … but they … adventure is adventure right?
Unfortnately, it was not to be. Trains were not in operation due to the flooding and our pre-booked train tickets were now null and void. No refunds and no chance of actually leaving Goa.
So we were marooned in God’s Flooded Paradise, being chewed at by all manner of bugs that David Attenborough is yet to discover and sodden through thanks to the weather. We had a rickshaw to pick up and a route was needed … fast.
Getting in a taxi we headed back to Dabolim Airport and got on the first plane that came along that was headed in our direction. So back we went, just four hours after we had had landed in Goa we were leaving again.
Our flight North was to be handled by the not so scandolous Air India who have been in the news recently for the wrong reasons. Things were really beginning to look bad. We were off to a crappy start.
Things are looking up, however. We are now on track, one day ahead of schedule (and a hell of a lot out of pocket). It is now Sunday the 4th at 8.28pm and we are huddled around a 14″ CRT montiro that was once cream but has turned brown with age. The screen resolution is having trouble with WordPress as it is running 800×600 as its maximum resoltuion and I tap away on the FireFox 1.5.0.2 browser (Manon is currently QCing Darwin and the General will be happy to know that it works)! The keyboard keeps sticking as the keys hit the plate (so apologies for the poor spelling here, I make a mistake and it is too much of a chore to go and correct it).
India in the Internet Age
WordPress ought to have thought about FireFox 1.5.0.2 users with 800×600 reso huh?
Unfortunately, these Windows 95 machines offer us no means to upload our pictures but we have been tweeting a few so check over there.
Two of us coughing with some unknown disease and the other constantly yelping as bugs the size of your fist puncture holes in his sensitive un conditioned skin. Tomorrow we have a trip to the Mother Teresa orphanage and have to pick up our rickshaw (which we hope is there waiting for us). Already being targeted for my pale skin I have a horde of beggars in a zombie like trance waiting for me outside of the internet cafe hell bent on the fact that I am some kind of secret millionaire in my flip flops, combat shorts and Prince’s Trust t-shirt.
Things can only get better … right?
Ain’t no party like a…what…what…
…Rickshaw party…hey….ho….hey…..
That’s what it’s going to be. Non-stop ridin’ durrty on the highways of Hindustan. We’ll be bumpin’ crazy Bhangra tunes and Bollywood anthems from our solar powered 2 watt radio, singing along to “Ek-Do-Teen” and teaching George Gaz how to pointlessly count to 13 in Hindi.
For me it’s going to be a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to travel around the motherland, and when Jagdish (George’s adopted Hindu name) approached me about doing it for a great cause, I knew it was time.
This is a real challenge. Do not be under any illusions, this is not going to be 3 guys having an Ibiza holiday in India. Quite the contrary, actually. As you may have read already, we’ve been stocking up on survival kit, first aid goodies, and that weird tin of indestructible food that George keeps eating from! I have to admit, though, a Yorkie that expired in 2004 has quite a nice taste to it…almost like drinking a vintage wine.
Anyway, this week we’ve got a few more things going on – notably getting our visas. The sleepless nights have already begun in anticipation of crossing state borders, camping in slums, eating roadside bhajia, and sleeping with Jagdish and Baby Balls.
Yes, it’s going to be hard. Yes, it’s going to be a life changing experience. Yes, one of us is likely to come back with a disease, a scar, or a wife – perhaps one each. One thing is for sure; we need you to support us!!
If not for an extremely worthy cause (The Prince’s Trust), then at least for our utter audacity, please give what you can.
Holla atcha boi homie’s!!
The Route – Part Deux
Zoomed out
- Start: Mumbai
- Turn around Point: Agra
- Finish: Goa
- Distance: Over 3200KM
Mumbai
Arrive here a day before we begin our journey. Mass alcohol consumption and luxury living will be permitted for this ‘prelude’ to the tour only (okay, maybe the mass alcohol consumption can be a recurring theme)! Make the most of it. I propose that we spend the night that we arrive at my aunt’s place, get a good meal in us, and spend the following day sight-seeing (as there is a lot to see!) before moving on in the evening for our first over-night drive.
The Gujarat (Ahmedabad)
We will travel north, up the coast, from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. This journey could take 2 days if we were messing around, but I plan for us to do this in just one day. We won’t really be missing much in the way of sights, although it is going from one major city to the next. My argument is that we still have a long way to go, and plenty of random villages and fields to camp in! Although, the likelihood is we’ll get tired and lost, and end up camping somewhere near Vadodara. There is a small village called Anand, and I think this could give us a good starting block
Ahmedabad is my home town! This is the capital city of the state of Gujarat. It’s expanded a lot in the last few years, but is still pretty poor and a true representation of India as a whole. We can drop in to and spend a night at my place out there. Again, it’s a city full of history so we can see some sights and move on after a day or so.
Gandhinagar/Surendranagar – These are very much pit-stop towns. Not much to see apart from a couple of beautiful temples and surrounding jungle.
Shiani - This is the village of my ancestors. I go here every time I visit India. We have to travel through the jungle surrounding Surenranagar to get to it. There are some VERY bumpy roads and we really will feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere. When we get to the village, it will feel like a ghost town. There are lots of ancient ruins and temples. The remains of my ancestral home which collapsed during the big earthquake a few years ago is amazing. The temple inside the house somehow remained intact. I also have a plot of land here. I suggest we camp there
Vadhvan - A hustle and bustle kind of village close to Shiani. We should pass through here as we’re leaving the Gujarat. The world’s best ladoo’s can be found at a family run ladoo stall in Vadhvan Village Market. It’s been there for centuries, and I’ve never tasted anything better!
