Trip Diary
Day 1: Sausage, bacon and eggs....... Sixteen innocents depart on overnight flight JET 121....... Should have upgraded!!!
Day 2: Travelling south from Delhi to Bhawani Mandi near Jhalawar in Rajasthan on a hot and crowded overnight train ...........
Day 3: The bikes were fitted today and we visited the Kolvi Caves cut by Buddhist monks in the 5th century . It is extremely hot. On our practice ride we pass through villages where the villagers have clearly never seen anything like us before. The only other traffic on the roads consists of cows, and cows and cows. ....... We are far from the madding crowd - no electricity - but our campsite is the focus of much local interest, the police and the mayor have turned out to look at these mad bikers - even the TV guys have found us ...... But the first real day starts tomorrow...................
Day 4: An early start to avoid the incredible heat on the 103 km journey to Jhalawar. We travel along bumpy roads with trucks, horses, cows, goats and camels - and of course punctures - and at each village we are greeted by groups of incredulous children, local dignatories, even a police escort. A newspaper vendor stops us to show us our picture in the paper and shake our hands - shades of Ewan and Charlie!!!!!! So far the stomach is holding out and tonight we sleep in beds in chalets by the lake after an evening of traditional music and dancing.
Day 5: The Long Way Across continues with a 98 km ride to Manohar Thana. Two punctures in quick succession start the day but the road is smoother and more undulating now (we even did two hills). Nonetheless my sore bottom is happy to reach the campsite where we are again the centre of attention - as if the circus has come to town, our tents are surrounded by 600 - 700 people, held back by the police! Clearly this central region is not used to tourists at all and they seem very happy to see us. Everyone wants to shake our hands! I have taken loads of photos but as yet no way to send them on.
Day 6: A very tough day, 97 kms, 15 km of it offroad and 2km along the New Delhi-Mumbai highway! Still amazingly hot, we saw monkeys along the way.
Now we are tired and dirty and ready for our makeshift 'showers' tonight (no running water) as we camp at Narsinghgarh.
Day 7: The last of our major biking days - 95 km to Sanchi and the Great Stupa, a Buddhist monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Everyone suffering from sore and blistered bottoms but tomorrow we should finally make it to Bhopal.
Day 8: Only 46 km today although the last 2 km through Bhopal was very hairy. We arrive at the Sambhavna Clinic to singing and dancing and drummers and garlands of flowers - a wonderful and welcome sight. An afternoon spent visiting the amazing clinic, incredibly well organised, bright and modern, and offering many different treatments, its garden a green oasis, and then the plant where the disaster happened...... Tonight we will attend a celebratory dinner and then we will sleep in a hotel truly at the other end of the spectrum compared to our normal campsites. Perhaps I will even be able to send some photos of this incredible journey.
Day 9: Press conference this morning then on to the Shatabadi express train for a 6 hour trip to Agra and some tourist spots tomorrow. The journey is drawing to a close...........
Day 10: Today we visited the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort - both so impressive, even on a misty day. Tomorrow we leave at 4am to journey back to Delhi and on to London, then on to Switzerland for me. I am ready to go home............
DAY 11: Up at 4am, 5 hours by bus to New Delhi, 9 hours to Heathrow, 2 hours to Zurich. It was nice of Swiss to let me on an earlier flight.... So happy to be in my own bed - and shower and toilet - again.
NOW TO ADD THOSE PHOTOS........................
