Update

We are sitting in Pattaya Thailand and I thought it would be a good time to provide an update.  It is currently 12:50 p.m. here and I have taken the time to added a few phots to the gallery section of our blog and you might find it interesting to take a look.  The photos run chronologically with Pondicherry at the beginning and our arrival, community parade and final celebration last in Shillong last.  Enjoy! I tend to take more photos however most of this trip is marked by photos taken from the back of a fleeting rickshaw.  What is there I hope will give a modest idea of what we saw while on our journey up the east coast of India.

Taking up where I left off on the 13th of January... Norm, Bonny and I arrived in Shillong at 1:00 p.m. the next day.  We were 15th out of the 60 or so teams that participated in this year's race.  More teams arrived the next day and at the time of our departure the morning of the 16th, a total of 42 teams had arrived.  Each with their own stories, some more interesting than others and some much more boring.  It turns out, the hardships we face while on our trip are what added value to the experience.

The trip from Guwahati was only about 100 kms. but over very dangerous roads.  Two of the finalist rolled their rickshaws on the way up the side of the mountain to Shillong and were very fortunate not to have been seriously hurt.  Our arrival was marked by much fanfare, back slapping and the obligatory beer.  We stayed in a hotel called the Pinewood Hotel in Shillong which is sort of one version of Banaff in India.  Having seen Banaff and taken it for granted, I'm afraid Shillong misses the mark.  However it was clean, had great character and excellent staff and food.  An additional interesting aspect of the experience was a Baliwood production company were using the hotel as the set for the shooting of a Baliwood movie and the choriographer was a Canadian from Toronto.  Small world.  I told him about my daughter Alayne's pre-race instructions on how to dance Baliwood style: "hold your right hand above your head and make a motion as if you were screwing in a light bulb, at the same time, with your left hand held low by your knee, you make a motion as if you were petting your dog.  Once you have that working smoothily, you switch sides."  Our new friend edited Alayne's version addiing it was also manditory that your hips move in a figure eight motion at the same time.   Properly instructed we were ready to make our debue.  We really thought we were going to get our fifteen minutes of fame when the production company asked to use our rickshaw in their movie.  It was their intent to have the star of the movie arrive on scene in our Canadian rocket.  They were lined up and ready to do the shoot but the producer nixed the ideas as he did not want the Rotary logo to dominate the scene.  So close to being famous.   Maybe next year.

The next day was marked by a hugh parade through Shillong, a criket match with the local team and the final wind up celebration. Everyone had great stories to tell and as always, a common stressful experience had brought everyone close together.  Great party with the entertainment supplied by the local talent.

From Shillong we took a taxi back to Guwarti and then flew out to Kolkata.  We spent the night at the airport and travelled onto Bangkok the next day.  Three days in Bangkok and we are now in Pattaya, a beach resort along the west coast two hours south of Bangkok.  We expect to be here until the 25th and then back into Bangkok.

WE MADE IT!!

We arrived at 1:00 p.m. in Shillong to learn we were the fifteenth team to arrive.  3,200 kms across the worst of India in 14 days driving a three wheeled rickshaw.  Even the locals claim it to be impossible.  It is now 5:40 p.m. and only 22 teams of the orginal 63 are accounted for with two Canadian teams still missing in action.

A parade is planned for 10:00 tomorrow morning through Shillong after which we will be holding a cricket match, drinking a cup of tea, staying the night and headed back to Guahati via taxi to catch a plane to Thailand.

I have to give up the computer now to the others teams who are waiting to advise their families of their arrival I will update the blog when things are a little less crazy.

Rick/Norm/Bonny

13 January 2009 - 100 kms. and counting

Hello everyone. ,

As you can see by the title we are now very close to completing our journey.  We are currently in an excellent but over-priced hotel in Guwahati, India where we have cleaned up, sent our clothes to the laundry and are waiting to begin the final 100 km leg of our journey in the morning.  Before I tell you about today's events I thought I would take you back a few days and try to update you on some of the more interesting events I was forced to leave out of the blog due to the lack of time and computer access.  Quite a bit has happened so please excuse me if I provide it in point form and leave the details for story time:

1) While staying in Dantan with our friendly mechanic and his family, someone from the village of 1,500 called the media.  As we were sitting on the side of the road, with the entire village in attendance watching our mechanic waiting for parts, the televison media from Kalkata showed up to find out what all the excitement was about.  They shot had a few minutes of the three of us hanging around our grounded rickshaw before I quickly jumped in an old beat up taxi with three of the men from the village and took off for parts in Kharagapu.  I left Norm to deal with all the fan fare and media attention and am not sure what he told them.  I suspect some of it was almost true.

2) The trip to Kharagapu was interesting.  I found myself asking, "What are you dong?  Have you lost your mind?", as the four of us sped down the highway at speeds in excess of 140 kphs. with Baliwood music blasting over the car radio.  The car, an old diesel Indian made "Ambassador", was a wreck but it went fast and had a loud radio and horn.  What more could a person ask for?  We drove into Kharagapu which is one of the darkest places I have ever seen.  If the devil lives somewhere, it is in Kharagapu, India.  One hugh city full of the scariest people I have ever seen.  We didn't stay long and I was happy when we got out of there even if I had to face a return trip at 140 kph ride back. 

3) When we booked into the Taj Bengel in Kolkata, (the most luxurious hotel I have ever been in), the staff almost called the police.  (Not the first time this has happened to us if you recall).  We parked our bedraggled rickshaw at the front door, bent up fender and all, and dragged dusty selves into the place.  While the front line staff thought we were heros, management did not.  I must admit we were filthy and didn't exactly exemplify the average Taj customer.  I guess people performing charitable work for their country's less fortunate doesn't fit well with their marketing strategy.  They gladly took our money but the next morning asked that we leave by the backdoor.   Not a problem.

4) During our tour, India has been paralyzed by a trucker's strike.  The day we left the Taj, we were warned to get our gas immediately or we would be stuck in the city.  We quickly found a service station and when we pulled up to the pumps we found ourselves in a very lengthly line.  While Norm got out the gas can, I went to the pump jockeys and bribed them with some Town of Ft. Qu Appelle lapel pins.  The staff were so impressed we were allowed to jump the que and get our gas immediately.  One of the young jockeys was so happy he said, "When I get home I'm going to give it to my mother."  When the customers learned of our charitable efforts, they readily agreed that we should have access to the remaining gas. From that point on, we shamelessly gave the pins to everyone who did anything to help us: from making us a cup of chai to the police escort that came later in the trip.  We battle the gas shortage for the remained of the trip and were fortunate our progress was never impeded because of it.

5) We were having difficulty trying to get out of Kalkata.  (Again no map.)  I remember thinking, "Here we are 1/2 way around the world, almost out of gas and a wrong turn will put us in Bangledesh without a visa."  I finally jumped out of the rickshaw and walked up to a total stranger sitting on his motorcycle waiting for a red light.  When asked to help he said, "Yes, I know exactly where you want to go and will show you.  Your brother can follow in the rickshaw.  It is my duty to help".  So I climbed on his bike, waved at Norm and Bonny and away we went.  He weaved in and out of traffic for the next ten minutes, providing me with a vebal tour of the area before finally arriving at the enterance to a new highway.   Once we stopped, he introduced himself as the engineer/project manager responsible for the construction of the new road we had been seeking.  He knew every square meter of the road including the fact it had yet to be included in any of the local maps.  He was a brillant man and we had a great conversation. He wanted us to enjoy a cup of chai with him however it was too far to return to the little tea booth where we had started our tour.  We took turns photographing each other, exchanged email addresses and went our seprate ways.  It may have been a foolish thing to do to jump on the back of a motorcycle with a total stranger 1/2 way around the world and I still don't know what we would have done had Norm gotten lost in the traffic behind us.  (I guess to get to the good stuff, sometime you just have to take a chance.) 

6) On 10th day of our tour, we left Ranjanj with the intent of traveling late into the night and making it to Alipur Duar.  However, when we were 17 kms out of the city of Shiliguri, we blew out our second clutch leaving us stranded again on the side of the road again.  Although Norm and I had figued out why our clutch was giving us problems, it was too late, the trip from Kalkuta to Baharampur had taken its toll.  I walk down the road to a local police traffic office and was able to convince a young man, who just received a traffic ticket, into giving me a ride.  He drove me around for while looking for a hotel but I was unable to find anything suitable.  I asked a local business man if he knew anyone headed back to Shiliguri.  He pointed out a friend who immediately agreed to help us.  He stayed with us for the next four hours and ferried Norm back to the city in search of parts.  All the shops were closed and we were again forced to push our rickshaw down the road and left it at the police check stop. 

We got a hotel where we spent a lovely night listening to Indian music until 6:00 a.m.  The next day we hired a rickshaw driver who drove us around to find the parts we needed.  By 9:00 a.m. we had everything and ran the mechanic and parts out to our rickshaw.  We were up and running again by 10:30 a.m. and would have gotten out of the City early except Norm got talking with the police captain. (The Captain was good enough to only charge us 300 rupees and a free breakfast for storing the rickshaw...no receipt necessary).  When we finally left at 1:30 p.m., we ran into difficulty trying to locate the new divided highway.  It took a while but we finally figured out althought the road is shown on all the road maps, it was never built.  The intent to build was there, so the authorities thought it prudent to put it on the map.  Consequently we only made it a few hundred kilometers before we had to shut down and spend the night in a small city called Alipur Duar.

7) Alipur Duar was a great little place.  As we have moved north of Kokata, the towns and villages are cleaner and Alipur Duar was no exception.  We stayed in a great hotel with a total bill of $17.50 for the three of us.  The physical characteristics of the local people has begun to change and reflects those of the Nepolease people to the north.

8) When we left Alipur Duar in the morning we ran into some of the worst roads yet.  We stopped at a gas station to get some gas and advice.  Over a cup of tea, and exchange of the now famous Ft. Qu Appelle lapel pins, the proprietor told us of a good highway which ran south of the yet to be built, National Highway. 

In India the roads, if posted, are in the predominant language of the state in which they are located.  We were uncertain if we had the correct road so asked a traffic officer at one of the traffic stations if we were correct in making the turn we were about to make.  He advised we were and then directed me to his commanding officer.  A few minutes later we were off with a police escort through the heart of the city.  Once through the city, in addition to disclosing we were both retired police officers, we awarded the now famous Ft. Qu Appelle pins.  In no time, another pair of officers showed up and escorted us for an additional 20 kms.  And on it went until finally we had exhausted a total of 8 teams of escorting police officers and been escorted nearly to Guwahati.  Our trip was so fast and seemless and we were able to cover more than 300 kms. in one day.  We are now in Guwahati and in striking idstance of Shillong. 

We will sleep later than usual in the morning before heading off for Shillong.  We are told the 100 km journey will take better than 5 hours.  It is a very difficult climb into Shillong and will test both our second motor and third clutch.  We hope all goes well.  If it does we should be out of Shillong the morning of the 16th and on a flight same day to Thailand.  As always I will do my best to update the blog as soon as I have more to add.

Miss you all and hope to have many more stories to tell when we get back.

Rick

3:45 a.m. 12 January 2008 Siligui, India

We're still alive and progressing slowly.  I'm sorry we have not been able to keep up the blog but it is very difficult to gain access to the internet in some areas of northern India.  Sometimes because there is none and right now because of a very difficult person.  

I'm afraid we put our poor little rickshaw through the meat grinder when we headed north from Kolkata.  The roads were littered with potholes 2-3 feet deep and 10-12 feet long.  It turned out to be a long, slow arduous 200 km. journey.  The next morning when we started our journey, our brakes were nearly shot and the clutch barely hanging on.  We managed to limp along for another 500 kms. but I'm afaid we have pushed our rickshaw as far as it will go without yet another patch job.  It was Sunday afternoon here when we were forced to take a hotel room to gain access to parts Monday morning.  Unfortunately, have run into a very racist hotel manager who has turned off our TV, telephone and internet access and was good enough to place us in rooms directly above the disco.  The disco was suppose to end at 2:30 a.m.  It is now almost 4:45 a.m., the music is still blasting and I have snuck down to use the internet while the manager is asleep.  I suspect when Norm gets up in morning, "Someone's going to get a hurting".  Being the only white guys for for some distance, we may want to re-think our strategy.  All part of the experience I guess.

We are currently in Siligui, India, a city squeezed between Nepal and the north end of Bangladesh in the shadow of the Hymalayans.  It is cold and damp during the evening but not too bad during the day (10-15).  We have yet to see any snow and hopefully won't!  We have 650 kms. to go and with some luck should be out of here tomorrow sometime.  If so, we should make our goal of reaching Shillong by the 15th.  

I am sending this email to advise we are all alive and well.  I realise with people following the blog, long periods of not making an entry may cause concern.  I can assure you we are all fine and inspite of the problems are doing extremely well.  Two days ago we ran into four other teams who happened to be staying in the same hotel as we were.  Some of the team were fighting like cats and dogs, some were crying and some were just getting drunk.  So far we have held together quite well.  No harsh words, not crying and no drinking.  I'd say were winners already.

Rick

we're back..

Sorry to cause anyone concern for not having made an entry for a while but we have had a few issues to overcome. 

On the 7th we were happily making our way down highway #5 to Kharapur.  We had just cleared and Highway Patrol check point that they like to set up here to collect for "charitable" reasons.  We have discovered that the best way not to feel obligated to give to the police charity fund is just to just blow through the road block.  They seem to accept we are foreingers and never bother to chase us down.  

About 1/2 mile after having failed to make a donation, we spotted another rickshaw team from England on the side of the road.  We decided to go back in the event they had problems so we turned a round and went back.  It turns out they were fine and had stopped on the side of the road to give a young man on the side of the road a pair of pants they had no intent on using.  We left first and had made our way down the road about 1/2 mile when we suddenly threw the clutch out of our rickshaw.  As we slowly drifted to the side of the road our English team mates merrily waved as they passed us.

Norm and I worked on the rickshaw for a while when it became obvious we were in serious trouble.  A hitchiker came walking up and watched for a while and then convinced me to follow him back to the police check stop.  Once we got back there he convinced the police to phone a local mechanic to come and get us.  Ten minutes later two young men showed up with what appeared to be a Indian built 1940's tractor type army personnal carrier.  They hooked the tractor to our rickshaw and tried to tow us off the road.  Indian technology being what it is... it stalled.  After about 20 minutes of trying to start their tractor, we gave up and had to push both the tractor and the rickshaw which were now tied together down the road.

We drug Bonny out of the back of the rickshaw and the three of us merrily pushed the pair down the road.  After we had covered the better part of a mile, we tried to start the tractor again.  It took a while and when it finally started, we discoved it didn't have the power to pull your hat off and we would still have to push the pair to get them to town.  

When our parade finally got into the small community, the local mechanic checked out the rickshaw and confirmed we would need a new clutch which he was willing to go to a neighboring community and get...once he had his tea.  When he finally finshed his tea he announced he could not use the highway that night because of politics and we would have to spend the night at his nome in Dantan.  It turns out he was from the wrong caste and could not use the highway that night.

The dirt floor house was about 400 sq. ft. which our mechanic shared with his wife, two children, mother and father.  Norm, Bonny and I were given the prestigious livingroom with the TV and spent the evening with the entire community sitting around looking at the pictures in Norm and Bonny's computer.  When we were finally allowed to go to sleep we all spent a terrible evening with mosquitoes buzzing all nights and monkeys walking accross the roof in the morning.  The next morning we were ready to get our rickshaw fixed and get out of the town as soon as possible.  Our mechanic took off at 9:00 sharp to get the parts and returned at 12:00 to advise us it was a National holiday and we would have to wait for the next day before we could get the parts we required.

We managed to convinced him how desperate we were to get moving and to hired a local taxi to drive me, the mechanic and his friend to Kharapur and look for the parts.  We managed to get his friend to open his shop and supply the parts.  We finally got our machine back together and back on the road for 5:00.  We are now in Kolkata and staying at the Taj Bengal Hotel, a five star hotel with a price to match the number of stars.  We're having trouble getting Bonny out of the bathtub but when we do we will get a good nights sleep and be on our way early tomorrow morning. 

Sorry for the short report but it is currently 12:50 a.m. here and we have to get some sleep.

Rick

Tuesday January 6

Hello everyne,

I'm sure more than one of you was worried about us being on the hghway lae at night.  Well you can all be at ease.  We made it about 100 kms. when we discovered we had too much candle power for our poor little rickshaw to keep powered up.  As a result we had to shut down early and retire for the night.  Our fog lamps were killing the battery and to carry on may have lead to us being standed on the side of the road.  We knew it was time to shut it down when I almost tore the fae off a ow sanding in the middle of the road.

We held up in a small community called Sriakulam in a very nic hotel.  Bonny was very pleased as she was getting in desperate need of a bath.  The bathtubs in the other hotels were not exactlty the kind of a place where she wanted to soak her more sensitive parts.  Three other teams were also held up in the same hotel so we lost a bit of our anxiety about being too far behind.

Today we got out of the hotel early and hit the road.  We managed about 300 ks and are now in Cuttack, India.  Another flea bag hotel I'm afraid but close enough to the enterance to the city that w should be able to beat the traffic in the morning.

Tomorrow we are hoping to get within 100 kms of Calcatta.  If we mange to do so we shuld be in a good position to finsih in time. (Jan 15th). We have been told the rickshaws aren't allowed in Calcutta and f so, we will be frcced off the main road and into the county. We we very pleased when we managed to find maps for 1/2 of the eight states we will be driving through.  The roads are very well marked...in Tamil and very very occasionally in English. Once we get off he main road we will be forced to almost exclusively use the compass and gps to confirm we are headed in the right directin.  We have also been warned the roads are in very bad condition.  Nothing we can't handle.

I though I would conclude tonight by giving you a list of things I have learn't thus far while in India, most by personal observation:

1) every keyboard in this country is either worn out or the keys sticks.  Don't blame me if I spell my name without the "i".

2) Indian men work very hard.

3) Indian women work harder. ( OK Lauire I know things aren't that much different than Canada.

4) Not every dog markes it across the road alive.  (If Darwin's theory of evolution is correct, the next spieces will have hugh ears, rotating eyes and the speed of a fly.)

5) Not every cow is blessed enough to make it across the road alive either.

6) You seldom see the sky because of the pollution

7) Never sit in the front of an Indian bus...that's where the horn is.

8) Never sit at the back of an Indian bus...

9) A rickshaw is a piece of crap

10) Always carry you passport

11) If you feel lonely...open your wallet and there will be at least three people standing there trying to look in it.

12) Some Indian women look beautiful in a sari.

13) Some don't.

14) It is possible to step in a dog's, cows, goats and a mans feces all at the same time.

15) It is possible to have more hichhikers on the side of the road then there are cars on the road.

16) Give an Indian bus driver and inch and he will take a foot.

I've got to go now, I'm being kicked out of this internet shop.

Rck

We now know where we are...

I reviewed our map and determined that we stayed in Vishakhapatnam, India last night.  Unfortunately we are still here.  It turns out our fuel problem is more major than we had thought.  We have cooked the piston in our richskaw and have to rebuild the motor.  Fortunately for us we stopped 1/2 km from the largest Bajal dealer (brand name of our rickshaw) in the state.  All the parts are here as are the factory mechanics.  We expect the total cost to be about $50.00.  It is currently 4:00 p.m. India time and it appears we have lost a day.  We expect to finish the rickshaw in about an 1 1/2  hours then are going to run most of the night.  The rickshaw will be restricted to 35 kph for the first 2-300 kms after which we will not be able to exceed 40 kph.  Our next projected destination is Cuttack, India or about 400 kms. away.  

We had not planned to travel at night however, the Bangaledish Embassy has refused to issue visas.  We are now forced to watch our time more closely and make up the lost day.  The trip to Shillong via the north end of Bangaledish is about two days longer. Don't worry if we don't enter anything on the blog tomorrow.

 Rick

Sunday January 4th, 2009

Well it's Sunday January 4th and we are 250 km. further down the road.  I'd like to tell you the name of the City but to be totally honest I can't pronounce it and definitely can't spell it.  Needless to say we are here and we know where we are.  Hopefully that is good enough for you.

When we left this morning, we had plans to put in an extremely long day. It turns out our rickshaw had other plans.  After about 245 kms she began to act up and eventually crapped out on the side of the road in the city where we currently are.  It appears we took on a tank of dirty gas and have fouled our carburator.  We worked on the rickshaw for a couple of hours before we had to shut it down due to darkness and the need to find a hotel.  You guessed it, our rooms are even better than the others.  ( I last saw my remote control west bound on the back of a cockroach). We plan on getting the rickshaw into a repair shop in the morning or else ripping the carburator out and buying a new one.  It appears we will be late hitting the road tomorrow.  

In keeping with our luck, we were just nicely getting settled in the hotel when someone knock on the door.  Norm open the door and in walked four of the local police followed by the entire five member hotel staff.  They marched in demanding to see our papers; passport and proof of ownership for the rickshaw.  I thought maybe the minor hit and run in Chennai was coming back to haunt us.  It turns out the authorities are on extreme edge due to the Mombai attack and everytime a foreigner books into a hotel, the staff is expected to photocopy the passport and immediately deliver a copy to the local police.  I guess there was something they didn't like about we suspicious Canadians so thought they would all show up for a visit and interrogation. 

10 minutes of fast talking, including confessing to our own past sin of having been police officers, appeared to settle the authoities down.  They left ordering the hotel staff to take us to the mechanic in the morning and do whatever had to be done to get us on our way as soon as possible.  The police were very polite and friendly.  Norm even invited then to visit us sometime in Canada.  He reminded then they already had our names and addresses.  It appears police humor is international in its understanding.

The staff were shaking in their boots and immediately offered to drive us where ever we wanted to go.  It looks like being run out of 'God knows where India", is going to work out to our benefit after all.  

The weather is beginning to chill as we proceed north in the country.  It will be interesting to see what we face when we attempt to cross into Bangledesh.

Not to worry.. we're back on line.

Hello everyone. 

Sorry for taking so long to get back on line but we have had a few issues here to over come. Well the race started New Year's day and with a great blast of energy we made it 100 yeards before our trustry steed seized up.  It tunrs out that when they rebuilt the motor for our rickshaw, they did not allow time for it to be broken in.  Consequently as soon as we put it under stress, it would over heat automatically shut down.  A few minutes rest and then it was ready to go again.  Unfortunately the self-protection mode of the motor caused us to spend the first day travelling at the neck breaking speed of 35 kph.   Any faster and we were soon sent coasting to the side of the road.  Finally around 7:30 p.m. we managed to limp into Chennai, India.   Other teams had wisely chosen to circumnavigate the city but not us. We foolishly entered the city (population > 10,000,000) with little more than a few GPS coordinates for a beach near a hotel Norm and Bonny stayed at six years ago.  Now please remember the beaches we are casually cruising along are the same ones wiped out by the 2004 Tsunami which killed more than 8,00 people in the Province we are currently in.  (I try not to think about it... much like swiming in the ocean while trying to forget the movie Jaws.) In any event, everything has changed., nothing looks the same and we never did find it. 

 It is impossible to explain what driving in India is like let alone a city as large as Chenni.  I tried to come up with a comparison but it is totally outside the realm of my experience to be able to do so.  Everybody walks on the street because of the stench from the open sewers and the poor condition of the sidewalks.  You share your lane with thousands of people, dogs, cattle, rickshaws, motor scooters, bicycles, cars, tucks and of course the lovely Indian buses.  You are on the left handside side of the street, unless your not going too far then it is acceptable to drive the wrong way against the traffic.  Other than that there is only one rule you are expected to live by, "If your vehicle's tire is ahead of the other guys, you have the right away."  

Consequently when Norm hit the richshaw beside us it was obvious to us that it was the other drivers fault.  We would like to have stopped and discussed the incident but we were jambed in so close your leg would have been ripped off.  In any event we carried on as if nothing had happened vowing to remove the "Rotary in Action" sticker the next time.  We figure that if a rickshaw comes with three fenders and ours appeared to run just fine with two, there really wasn't a reason to stop.

After getting lost a few time, (which I would soon discover is the norm) we managed to land a place to sleep at the first hotel we saw, "The Presidential".  Trust me the name was much grander than the product.  I will save you the details and allow your imagination to ill in the details. 

After a poor nights sleep and a shower with my sandles on, we were off at 7:00 a.m.  At one point we were sure we were totally lost when we came to a blockade in the road with no visible way to get around.  Putting our male egos aside we decided to ask the locals.  Turns out we were on the correct road.  As they explained, or rather pointed out, all we had to do was jam the rickshaw against the post on one side and put the wheel against the concrete block on the other side and then with a whole lot of rocking and pushing we could make it through.  They were right.  Mind you we tore up a hubcap doing it but as with fenders, the rickshaw seems to fun just fine on two. 

Later that night we ended up in Ongole.   It was almost impossible to find a hotel so we rounded up the help of a young local guy.  He very graciously hopped into our rickshaw and directed us through the city to another prize of a hotel.  I tired doing a blog entry but it crashed just as I ended.  Sorry if I caused any undue concern. 

After we got unpacked, we went out for dinner and participated in a very Indian vegitatian dinner.  No knives, forks or plates.   We ate off of banana leaves with our fingers.  The meal was made up of rice and a collection of different sauces; cabbage, lentils etc.  The locals got a kick out of our attempt at Indian edicate.  Not somettng I expect will catch on at home too soon.

Today (3 Jan) we were off early again and headed up Highway #5.  We thought it might be a good idea to get off the main road and see what the back road would offer.  While it was a great drive, it was too time consuming and we will probably stay on the main highway until we are certain we can meet our goal by January 15th. 

I am getting confident enough to drive the rickshaw through the cities now. The little beast take some getting use to as you have to shift with your left while providing gas with your right.  A little different then a motorcycle and difficult to preform while in the traffic.  Norm has told me that if I'm going to write about his fender incident and his hubcap incident, then I have to write about having hit one pedestrian and ran over anothers foot.  It couldn't have been all that serious.  After all, one guy was able to punch Norm in the head through the rickshaw convas.  Of course we had to carry on without stopping.   

Tonight we are in a place called Tanuku.  It is a smaller community and equally adebt at hidding it's hotels as well as Ongole was.  It was beginning to look as if we would have to camp out but finally we kidnapped a local on a scooter off the highway and had him lead us through the city to an even better hotel. More wet shoes tomorrow I sure.  

Tonight, for the first time, I heard the Muslim call for prayer being blasted over a loud speaker throughout the entire city.  It is a sound I have heard on televison but have never heard before.   That experience and others like it, have made the trip very thought provoking which is what good travel should do.  This blog does not do the trip justice.  It can only touch superficial points with the really interesting stuff being told firsthand when we get back and are able to tell the stories first hand.   More surprises a head I'm sure.

Rick

Happy New Year!

Good morning everyone. 

Well the time is here.  It's 8:00 a.m. January 1st. (8:30 p.m.Saskatchewan time) and we are almost ready to go.  Bonny is finally here, she flew first class and all her  luggage has arrived. (I guess it pays to have family in high places) She is now getting a last few minutes sleep while Norm and I get the last details completed.

We finally got our rickshaw yesterday and have been preparing it ever since.  We were pleased to find ours was in exceptional condition however disappointed to see it was purple.  It has a new motor and transmission in it and we will have to take it easy for the first 500 kms. to give it time to break in.  With little guidance or direction I think we have it figured out.  We are watching the other teams trying to do the same.  All I can say is, "It sure pays to be a farm boy.

Somehow we have managed to convert our purple jellybean into something we can be reasonably proud of.  Photos will eventually show up in the gallery section of the blog.  I have downloaded a few but given the technology we are working with here in the hotel it is taking some time.  We managed to befriend a local rickshaw driver (bribery) and he took Norm all over the City.  The rickshaw now has side panels to block the sun and fancy red and white hub caps.   We are now searching for a grease gun, (farm boys) and a better funnel.  After that, we're ready to go.

Last night, the organizers bused us 8 kms. south of our hotel for a New Years Eve party.  Norm left at 9:30 to get Bonny and I stayed on to represent the team.  I'm afraid I'm getting a little to old for the party stuff and wish I had left with Norm.  The bus finally came at 1:30 a.m. to bring us back to the City.  With Norm and Bonny having arrived at 4:30 a.m. and a 6 hour ride rickshaw ride ahead to a clean bed in Chennai, its going to be a long day.