We Took A Tuk Tuk: Rickshaw Run

After 15 days and some 4000 km we have finally finished the Summer 2008 edition of the Rickshaw Run. I would be lying if I said it was not emotional. We have seen the best and arguably the worst of what the subcontinent has to offer and here we now sit in Thailand reflecting and looking forward to a few well deserved days of R&R, some decent coffee and food that will not make us sick.
 
Along the journey, which started in Kathmandu, Nepal, and ended in Pondicherry, southern India, we passed through spectacular mountain ranges, over strange coloured rivers, through bussling cities and sleepy villages, into national parks and over every condition of road imaginable. All this at a theoretical maximum speed of 62km/h, which was rarely met due to traffic and road conditions but could be exceeded down hills with tailwind. We traveled in a convoy of eight others (four kiwis, two Poms, a Frenchie and a Dane) for the whole way, and despite patience sometimes being tested at times great friendships were forged.
 
India's population has doubled in the last 20 years and now exceeds one billion. That's more than Europe, USA and ten Australias all in one. With that growth has to come issues. And quite frankly they are everywhere to be seen. And heard. And worse, smelt. The entire country needs a massive public education campaign and a long, hot shower. Family planning, sewerage and waste control, waterway and nature preservation, driving, tourism and hospitality, and most of all food preparation are just the start.

Fresh water in particular is a massive problem for the entire country as all the waterways that weren't bone dry from drought were rancid. One region we passed through attributes 75% of their hospital admissions directly to poor and polluted water supply. Organisations like Frank Water, who we supported through the race, really have their work cut out for them supplying fresh water for some of these villages as many of the waterways are clinically septic. Driving along in the mornings was often met with fields of people out for their morning ablution, often within metres of the road way and rivers. Quite disturbing at times. Top marks go to one guy seen to multitask - squatting, smoking and texting all at once. Litter lined all the streets and highways, and towns would all pile and burn their rubbish (including plastics) on the roadside each evening. The smoke from this and the resultant brush fires, the fumes from the traffic, the dust and pollution spewed from industry all combined to make it very hard to breath at times.
 
Cleanliness was lacking in all facets of life here, and food was the biggest issue for us. All of us were sick at one time or another. Marc was violently ill for the better part of the trip and I wasn't much better. Having seen the markets the meat was on sale at, the waterways the vegetables were washed from and the kitchens they were cooked in went a long way to explaining why. Plain toast and occasionally eggs for breakfast, crisps and coke for lunch and vegetable fried rice for dinner, with imodium scattered throughout the day, was the staple 'safe' diet by the end. We found a Pizza Hut and McDonalds about four days in and - while I'm not proud to admit it - there was nowhere we would rather be at that time. No beef on the menu for religious reasons meant we were stuck with McChickens, but with the alternative of another curry that was likely to make us crook again we were fine with that. Strange thing is, other teams reported eating anything - including from the roadside stalls - and not having any issues!
 
Driving in India is an experience you can only be seen to be believed. Towns generally had the worst roads. Coupled with masses of people, nonchalant cows and oblivious bike riders meant for slow and dangerous movement. Cities are just gridlock all day long: everyone stamping their right of way, correctly or not, at the cost of free flowing traffic. Freeways can only be described as chaotic: pedestrians being overtaken by pushbikes, overtaken by motorbikes, overtaken by rickshaws, overtaken by trucks, overtaken by cars... often at the same time, and with little obstacles like full grown cows, herds of goats and potholes the size of a small car thrown in to spice it up. No side mirrors, due to fear of losing them in sideswipe, means air horns rule supreme. And boy, do they know how to use them. Horns only meant one thing - "I'm going kill you if you change lanes now". In case you forgot, all the trucks have polite instructions in foot high paint such as "Please Blow Horn Please". In each different region indicators and brake lights (if they even worked) meant slightly different things, and they also had instructions on the back but they never made any sense.
 
Driving at night added a new dimension to the experience, and despite best efforts to avoid it we needed to soldier on to find a hotel on about half of the nights. High beams are compulsory at all times, even with oncoming traffic, and having 15 trucks coming at you on a road with no lanes marked with high beams lit up and the rain pelting down can - as we discovered - lead to to inadvertently landing in a ditch.
 
Despite the more-often-than-not terrible roads and atrocious driving there were minimal issues for us. That's not to say we didn't see some awful accidents involving trucks, most of which were surely fatal. There were no major injuries in our convoy, however the Bandits flipped their rickshaw going too fast down a mountain pass (trying to keep up with us! :) ) and it came off second best. Of course the locals, used to fixing anything and everything, got her back on her feet, er three wheels and looking like new. The end-of-run party was like a warzone though - broken limbs, bloody bandages and stories of woe from many other teams. We also had a small bingle where we were cut off by a lunatic in a car, only to be rammed by a local's rickshaw from the other side. Luckily damage was minimal so we shook hands and parted ways. Beyond this, the exhaust threatened to fall off for about a week and one attempt to resolve it ended in a hole being welded out of it and earplugs being worn for a few days.
 
Luckily most of the hotels we stayed in were of reasonable quality, and we even got into a couple of swish 5-stars along the way. The look on the bellboys' faces as we rock in filthy and stinky, unshaven and half naked in a convoy of rickshaws was priceless. One night in particular looked pretty dire for us though. Stuck in the middle of nowhere quite late at night all the hotels were actually booked out! The owner of one came to our rescue and put us up - for free none-the-less - in the dining room of the hotel, and even re-opened the kitchen for us for a very late dinner. This kind of hospitality was not uncommon, but was occasionally overshadowed by the small minority who were just out to scam us at all cost.
 
The weather started out cripplingly hot. It went above 45 degrees a couple of the days we were in Nepal and northern India. We were going through about six litres of water each a day and still dehydrated. Passing from northern India to the south the landscape changed along with the climate (and the skin tones and language). Dusty desert scenery was replaced by lush fields and beautiful tree covered mountain ranges. Unfortunately by the time we hit the coastline, and finally had a chance to swim, the monsoon was in full swing and it was chilly and wet. D'oh! We did find some lovely swimming pools at the hotels along the way though, so it wasn't all bad.
 
Along the way there were only three major sites of note. This was mainly due to a last minute re-route that saw us going through central and east India, instead of through Mumbai and Goa on the west coast. The rickshaws were not capable of the speeds required to take the longer route, and the lack of fuel supplies in Nepal meant we had little choice in the matter on where and when we entered India. The first major site visited was Varanasi, the heart of the Hindu religion. If you die and are cremated here you are freed from the circle of reincarnation and welcomed into Heaven. Hindus from all around the globe are expected to make a pilgrimage here at least once in their life to bathe in the Ganges River. Keep in mind this river is filthy. It is the main river serving millions of people - the sewerage outlets to serve these people are only the start of it. On the banks there ane many cremation areas, where the last remains of the dead are set into the river. Certain people who died 'unfairly', such as children and priests, get weighed down and sunk whole in the river. This all happens within metres of where people come to wash, swim, DRINK the water. In fact, we even saw a half decomposed body being dragged into shore by a dog right near the busiest section.
 
Due to time constraints, we left the rickshaws to make an overnight train trip each way to the Taj Mahal in Agra, western India. What an amazing sight, particularly when watched at sunset away from the crowds across the river. This was almost worth the trip in itself. Catching an Indian train was an experience worth mentioning too, particularly the platforms which were like refugee camps. Thousands of homeless people set up semi-permanent shelters, using the tracks as their toilets and begging and stealing from passengers for food. Incredibly depressing a scene.
 
Pressing on, we headed through two of the country's larger tiger reserves, but despite several day detour for this and three early and long morning 'safaris' the closest we came to a tiger was the one painted on the front of our rickshaw. One park claims a 99.99% chance of seeing a tiger, so we apparently arrived on the only day in 27 years that they decided to be shy. I think they were 'lion' to us. Ahem, anyway. There were plenty of deer, elephants, monkeys and tourist jeeps to see though. Of course at the finish line virtually every other team was showing the magnificent photos of their tiger experiences - but I'm convinced they downloaded them from net to spite us.
 
Needless to say this was quite a change from the family road trips in a sports car to Shoal Bay of the early nineties, but it was great bonding time for the two of us and a massive learning experience as well. If the customs officer asks on our return, "Got anything to declare?" we'll probably reply in unison "Yeah, don't go to India". Food poisoning for 15 days straight can dampen the good memories. While it was exhausting and at times incredibly unpleasant, the country certainly had a lot to offer and we will eventually look back fondly on the experience. If I were to see the country again, however, it would be in an air conditioned 4WD with a knowledgeable and English speaking guide - and a map to all the McDonalds.
 
That's all for now. Thanks for reading this far! We'll finish off with massive thanks to...
 
Karen and Zac for letting us go away for four weeks. Ali for house sitting. Simon for help on the design - seriously, you should do this for a living man! Mazubi for the shirts and hats at such short notice. To the rest of the convoy for the company, laughs and spare parts. Raj and the team from Swan Valley Treks in Kathmandu for organising all our Nepalese tours. Karen from Flightcentre for putting up with all the changes - and still giving me a discount. The hotel manager at Hotel Surya in Rewa for taking us in when we has nowhere else to turn. The Nepalese and Indian people for tinnitus and acute dysentery... and an action packed trip. Lamorna, Niraj and the rest of the Adventurists for organising the event. But most of all thanks to the generous supporters who helped us raise over $3000 for two very worthy charities (1500 pounds) - we have witnessed first hand the work they have done, and more-so the work they have ahead of them. If you haven't already, please give generously to these causes - or better yet, find your own way to support regions in dire need like this.
 
Marc and Daniel
'We Took A Tuk Tuk'
- Second place and honorable mention, best paintjob, Rickshaw Run Summer 2008

Hi guys,

We have been warned to keep our updates short and sweet, so if the below looks too long just check out the photos HERE :)

We arrived on a hot Sunday afternoon in Kathmandu following a 20+ hour long series of three flights from Sydney. After dodging cows and crazy drivers on the road, the afternoon was spent organising the rest of our week with a travel agent. Monday morning we caught a joyflight along the Himalayas and around Mt Everest - an amazing experience, even if covered by the monsoonal clouds. We then checked out all the Hindu and Buddhist temples of the three formers kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley. Well, not ALL of them... we'd be here for eternity. Or so the Hindus believe.

Tuesday we drove up to Nagakort at the peak of the Kathmandu Valley - after a few hours lost at a Maoist roadblock and visiting another ancient city, Baktapur. Again, monsoonal clouds obstructed most of our views but the Himalayas still amazed.

Wednesday we flew out to Pokhara, for two nights in this second city of Nepal set on a lake at the foothills of the Annapurna Range. Bad news came on this day as Dan found out he was made redundant at work. This day also saw he declaration of the Republic of Nepal, meaning the Daniel and the Nepalese King share the fact they have no job tomorrow. Guess it's not so "Good to be the King" after all. Some small riots and bombs were reported in Kathmandu, but we were largely unaffected by it.

Today, Friday, saw us meeting a bunch of other teams for the first time, buying black market petrol due to a fuel crisis and checking out our mighty rickshaw for the first time. Mechanically it's A-OK, and the pimped out paintjob worked even better than expected. They did well despite going off a sub-A4 sized design!!

We have a day of test driving and further pimping tomorrow, then head off on the open road at midday Sunday. Wish us luck!!

Special thanks to our latest supporters: Atsushi Kagawa, Rich Frizzell, Margaret Pereira, Belinda Bock, Anya Revans and Dave Cohen! (hope I got everyone!!)

Namaste,

Dan and Marc

p.s. please remember to sign our guestbook!

We're only one day away from flying out to Nepal. Flights are booked, visas obtained, every possible vaccination under the sun jabbed. Apart from this, preparations have been... well... non-existant. But what fun would it be if we had everything all planned out. 

First stop is one  week in Kathmandu, where get acclimatised and over our jetlag. This also gives us plenty of time to buy all the things we're bound to have forgotten. On May 31 we get the first look at our trusty steed and some driving lessons from the locals. We have 'distance pimped' our baby, using the services of some local mechanics to have a stereo, industrial horn, flood light and roof rack fitted, not to mention a kickass paint job.

(Artists impression)

 We have also officially exceeded our fundraising target and are now sitting on a fantastic £1182.49/AU$2447 (plus giftaid from the UK supporters). Huge thanks to Michelle McLean, Glenn Hebblethwaite, Danya & Nathan Webb, Laurie Shaw, Steven Oakes, Nick Halar, Justine Hinwood, Stacie Gill, Niki Vandervaere, Dani Hinwood, Paul Gerelle, Holly Gerard, Anna Juniper, JP Vandervaere, Karen Ball, Soudi Moraveji, Aimee Hinwood, Tim Ward-Harvey, Phil Vandervaere, Rene Vandervaere, Nicholas Eales, Bernhard Conoplia, Chris Royle, Natalie Sterck, Mehul Vora and Craig Emmett for their generous donations. If you're keen to help out click the Donate Now button below!

That's all for now. Watch this space! 

 Sydney based uncle/nephew team Marc and Daniel Vandervaere are about to take on the wilds of the Indian subcontinent... in a Tuk Tuk.

The Rickshaw Run is pretty simple. With no preparation and less luggage one flies to the middle of the Himalayas and does one's damndest to force 150cc of Indian engineering over thousands of miles of questionable terrain in around two weeks.

Upon arrival in Nepal we pause briefly for a game of cricket followed by tea and cakes before revving our engines and setting off. We stop only to wet our whistles on the occasional gin and tonic at specially selected refreshment points.

 
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Start line: Kathmandu, Nepal on 1st June 2008
Finish line: Pondicherry, India about two weeks later
Distance: Depends on the route taken!

Altitude and monsoon rains added to the usual dirt tracks, jungle, bad roads and awful driving combine to make the Rickshaw Run a fine vintage of adventure and stupidity.

Not only an adventure in itself, we are raising cash for two great charities that operate in the region - Mercy Corps and the Frank Water Projects.

Will we make it? Stay tuned to find out!