TravelBio

And part two of our Whatsapp group highlights: Every break down we insist on a shot of tequila in the back seat—we have nearly finished a bottle today. As a straight woman I really enjoy that they are catering to my non vag tastes. (instead of vegetarian, many menus denoted a non-veg section. Some got the spelling wrong) We just ran out of gas right in front of two cops trying to get a bride. Awkward. We played dumb and gave them random papers. They got annoyed and let us go. 4 days of squirts. Not ready for real curry. #squirt till it hurts Get it out, every last burning drop To note we have lost: one license plate, one tent, one hammock, one waterproof jacket (to dogs), one pen knife, two sunglasses and our speedometer. I would be surprised if that dive was on the map. We asked the hotel staff at the westfield for the closest bar and the sent us off in a rickshaw. Just a heads up, it seems a bit rough. There was a brawl between about 10 of the staf...

Here is part one of some of the memorable quotes and pictures from our Rickshaw Run Whatsapp group chat: Made it to Kozhikode. Dinged a bus and cost us 1000 Rupees. A few Canadian apologies later, bus driver refunded us 500. Solid day 1. Hit a parked scooter pretty bad dent paid heavy 2000 to a very angry Indian to get out of the situation asap. Clipped a motorcycle mirror, honked and kept going.   Q: Where the fuck is the booze. A: (Dropped pin) That’s the beerparlour if you don’t mind a sketchy bar and some big ass roaches. New year resolution “don’t drive at night during Rickshaw Run” just broken at day 1… Q: I feel like we hold the record for damage fees paid day 1 (ripped a car bumper off) @2.5k. Anyone top that? A: 3k yesterday, a scooter and a car bumper (including a 1k refund) A: 2 children and a goat @4k. The goat was 4k, we figured it would be cheaper to keep driving after the children. Got stalked by two guys on a scooter...

We did it! We made it to Jaisalmer in (mostly) one piece! At the outset of the Rickshaw Run my primary goal had been to survive. If we crossed the finish line by the 15 th of January that would be a job well done. We stayed only a couple miles from Jaisalmer Fort the main attraction in the center of town As it turns out, we made it to Jaisalmer on the 14 th . Our final parade and cricket match was set for the 15 th , and we didn’t want to miss out on the festivities. Most other teams also arrived by the 14 th and checked in at the local palace, where HQ was awaiting our arrival. I didn’t initially check us in, however, because our rick needed a bit of work done. If you recall my previous post, I rolled it driving in the dark. The windshield was out of place, one mirror and a turn light were broken, and some metal needed rearranging. After checking in to our hotel—the Mariott of course—I drove it into town in search of a repair shop. I asked around and found a guy who ...

India's largest state by area Just before noon on February 12 th we made it to Udaipur. We were finally in Rajasthan, our last state! Although it seemed like the finish line was in sight, we still had 500 kms to reach Jaisalmer. Rajasthan is India’s largest state by area. At over 342,000 sq kms, it’s nearly the size of Germany. We would have to hold off on the celebration for a few more days. The party in Jaisalmer was scheduled for the 15 th , so assuming we had no major issues with the rickshaws, we could spend the day in Udaipur and have two comfortable days of driving on the 13 th and 14 th . As it turned out, we had our share of issues; but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. First, Udaipur. We planned to spend the day there because the city is one of the most famous tourist spots in India. Every major city in Rajasthan is associated with a color; Jodhpur is the blue city, Jaipur is pink, and Udaipur white. It’s also well known in the West as the setting...