DAY TWELVE - MAU TO LUMBHINI

Time really does fly! Today we had our final day in India and today we crossed the boarder into Nepal. Yippie! On the one hand OMG! On the other I cannot believe that we have travelled so far across India and that our incredible journey is soon to come to an end. Today we were all happy to start our travels early and see the back of the Mau and the so-called hotel. –AKA: a marriage hall. An emotional yet exciting day was ahead of us, it was the last of this magnificent country’s smells, spices, colours, people, traffic, cows, road kill and trousers we were to experience but the beginning of our tracks to be made in another country Nepal.

Nepal is the home of the world’s finest landscape, crystal-clear water, smiling faces and has an almighty sense of serenity!

Today was such a long day! Beginning at 7am we powered through India’s last lot of bumpy roads. It was a day where we skipped lunch and cured our hunger pans with packet’s of crisps, lollies, bottles of water, Mirinda and Coca cola. Today I was busy playing the photo journalist for the, “Pants of India” when in the rear seat of the shaw, getting those priceless last trouser pics that truly set India apart in the fashion stakes from the rest of the world. We had a delightful experience when we hit the India/Nepal boarder where we sat waiting for about three hours before we were cleared. The last township of India or the first if you were to enter the country is a extremely unattractive location, the air is filled with truck exhaust, desperation, rubbish filled roadage and traffic!

Once on the Nepal side of the line you could notice a difference in the Nepalese people and their land compared to India. The surrounds we found ourselves in now seemed to have a pride about them. The air felt like mountain air, there was no road kill, no rubbish on the streets and the there was no brownish colour mist in the air.

Now in Nepal we thought we best see one of the Buddhist world’s greatest sites, heritage listed, the place where Buddha himself was born.

Off to Lumbhini it was. Apart from hitting a few frogs on the roads I found Nepal far nicer to drive through than what I had experienced in India. The roads didn’t have nearly as many potholes or cows to dodge. This place seems far more my speed.

The hotel is such a nice change from the dive we stayed in at Mau and it felt well deserved when we arrived there at half nine that night. We had a hot shower and a proper toilet for the first time in over a week, yeay!

Can’t wait to wake up and check out Buddha’s birthplace tomorrow.

DAY ELEVEN - VARANASI TO MAU - 114km

Waking up in the holy city of India Varanasi at 4am with a head cold certainly isn’t my cup of tea, however Varanasi was an interesting site to be seen at dawn.

Our final destination Mau on the other hand was a complete and utter dive and lets just say it wasn’t the anything like Maui of Hawaii. Our travels today were less than usual as all the crew and us rickshawstar’s were stuffed from the past ten days on the road. Splitting our day into two parts worked well for all, with an early wakeup and mid morning siesta before we were to get back on the road.

Today was special to me as it was a place I’ve always wanted to travel to and a destination I’ve always seen in the travel brochures and heard about from those who have travelled to India. Varanasi a holy place with an abundance of noisy atmosphere, pollution, pilgrims and tourists. All with the surreal 5^th Element movie backdrop or something you’d seen in a children’s animation movie. Noice, different and un usual. Everything about this place was special in itself, cows standing lonesome in the middle of a rundown riverside building, the cremations going down as if a baker was cooking his days worth of bread, old men and women preparing themselves for their next life or just exfoliating their body with the rivers muddy rocks.

After a much needed rest we hit the frog and tod to our next destination, Mau. Which is actually far worse than a staying in a dumpster for the night, at least a dumpster would have had alcohol readily available at the end of our working day and probably less bugs and gum on the floor. We were also treated to a rock hard mattress and blood stained sheets to sleep in. Mau. Yuck! Never again. Note to self for next time, Must bypass Mau.

All up a memorable day but we all can’t wait to get out of Mau.

DAY TEN - REWA TO VARANASI - 243km

Rewa was the perfect hotel room spacious, comfy beds, a delightful dinner and breakfast the following morning. Rewa itself was a bustling township of India, with lots of colour and busy stores in the streets. However we didn’t really go out in Rewa, we just stayed at the hotel….the hotel there was a means to an end- to get as close to Varanasi as soon as possible.

On the road again and up early to Varanasi and we faced our first stint of seriously bad weather, in India during monsoon season when it rains it pours and today it certainly bucketed down!

Our little rickshaw was a complete wash out, Gordon, Shelley and myself had so far been winging it and thinking that we had missed out on all the bad weather and that there was absolutely no chance it would rain until Nepal….Whoopsie!

So we got completely soaked, everything in the rickshaw was wet and so were we! The challenge was that we had to then try and keep the remainder of the rickshaw dry. So we taped a shower cap to the roof of the rickshaw as only days before the roof of the convertible was ripped open with the might of an electrical cable hanging in the streets of Bhopal. Meanwhile Shelley, Gordie and myself tucked into a packet of Maltesers to pass the time, after the dose of sideways rain we drove off towards Varanasi- the Holy place.

Arrrrrghhhh Varanasi…. Another busy Indian city but this time it was a holy city, We’ll see in the morning as I am absolutely buggered and haven’t been able to take much in this evening. I have been a bit cranky and tired all day and also feel a cold coming on. Yuck! Laters.

DAY NINE - KHAJARAHO TO REWA

Another day, another million people and another temple to check out, this time the temples of the well known ancient Karma Sutra. It was also Gordon’s birthday today and Shelly and I were able to go shopping finally as well. The rickshaws shassy was completely removed and reshaped, I followed the wrong car around Khajaraho and managed to slightly swipe the side of the rickshaw when driving up to a petrol tank, whoopsie! What else happened today??? Oh Katie started her photo diary today of the, “pants of India” - which is simply a few hundred or so snaps of the fashionista trousers sported by males here in India.

The Buddhist temples of Karma Sutra in Khajaraho were awesome! The graphic statues in the temples and the on the sides of the exterior walls were such a good laugh and also very arousing! The architecture of the temples was simply stunning also, as you looked up to the sky the roof of the temples looked like gigantic jengar blocks or a sandstone lego block castles. These kind of old and graceful places tend to take you back to your childhood I think.

Meanwhile due to the lopsided appearance of our rickshaw yesterday and the tough terrain the rickshaw had to endure yesterday we sent her off to the mechanics to get looked at. Sure enough the Shassy had a big huge stress crack in it. So it was removed and replaced, kind of weird that the entire capsule of our rickshaw can be removed and then put back together in approx 3 hrs. Thankfully it drove much better today! Until I side swiped it at the service station that is, again…..whoopsie!

On the road again and all went well, painted birthday party faces on for Gordon and all. We arrived safely into Rewa.

DAY EIGHT - SAGAR TO KHAJARAHO

Such a good day, stress free, the rickshaw was blissfully taking to the roads of India with no little dramas and we arrived to Khajaraho, the land of Karma Sutra before sunset. Woo Hoo! So of course we all found a way to celebrate by watching the sunset go down over the temples with a few Kingfisher beers.

I was so happy with our run today, we basically drove for most of the day and then about an hour before we were to reach Khajaraho we came across this unbelievable fort perched on a hill above a small village. Well actually it was our cameraman Steve Moro that stopped and found the magic of our India travels for the day.

Just as I was kicking back in the rear of the rickshaw we decided to drive back and check out this old fort perched on the hill, as we attempted to search for some parking near by we came across a very beautiful and extremely welcoming local village. The locals of this township could not be any more intrigued and friendly towards us. The local children and their fathers joined us on our mini trek up the step hill into the forte. The forte was utterly beautiful and old, with stunning views across some Indian landscape. We had photos and chatted with the locals and met the local Indian Hugh Heffner of the township. 80yrs + and getting a photo with the ladies!!!

Back on the rickshaw and we were off towards the land of Sutraaaaaa, Whoop Whoop! The sunset itself set the vibe upon arrival and I was so glad we reached the joint before 9pm. After seven nights of eating curry and Indian flare I was soooooo hanging for my usual steak and salad or sushi, but instead opted out for some Italian cuisine. Tuna spaghetti, yum!

With a full belly it was time to hit the hay and gear myself up for the day to come at the Buddhist Karma Sutra temples and a session of early morning roof top yoga.

DAY SEVEN - BHOPAL TO SAGAR

And on the seventh day they rested! Yeay! Finally after six days on the road with early morning rises, we were able to have a welcomed sleep in. Day seven and we were in one of India’s largest city’s Bhopal, where we decided to check out the memorial of the Bhopal Union Carbide disaster, have the roof rack ripped off by a hanging cable, tyre puncher and visit a beautiful Buddhist structure in Senchin.

Again another eventful day but thankfully due to the sleep in we were able to laugh about it all and handle the heat and stress a little better. First off today the memorial, which just makes you wonder why nothing was ever brought to justice about this incident. So many lives were lost and no one was blamed. It is still a very morbid area, the memorial itself is rather run down and obviously there is no finance to maintain the area.

Bhopal is a seriously polluted city also and I personally didn’t fancy it at all. There were just so many fumes blowing in your face in our little rickshaw. If the heat and the pollution didn’t stress us out, then the fact that our roof rack was ripped off definitely did. Ripped off by a hanging city street cable that is, an electrical cable that could have sparked and caught a light while we are carrying fuel in our rickshaw. Shelley’s head also near missed part of the rack when it cut thru the convertible roof and hung directly above the head. Lucky for us Gordon decided it was a mans job to fix it and allowed Shelley and I to go and rest in the café across the street.

On the road and it was my first decent drive so far, I was the lucky enough to cop some of the best roads in India too. Don’t know if this national hwy of theirs is really even a road? Its worse than a dirt track, it had massive rocks and pot holes all over the place. After getting away with the ditches for about 15 km we finally pulled over due to the rear tyre blowing. Bugger! Again Gordon managed to be the man about the situation and fix the little lady’s rear end.

Finally after another few hundred miles on that fantastic highway we reached the deluxe hotel in Sagar, where the room smelt softly of garlic and onion. Mmmmm!

DAY SIX - KHANDWA TO BHOPAL

As the sun rose over Khandwa so did myself and the rickshaw team, with high ambitions to drive over 250km. Our wake up time was around 6am, arrrrgh….Yuck!

Much to my dismay I rolled out of bed and walked slowly into the shower. The cold shower, that again became a shower with a bucket and a jug, arrrghhh!

Today was completely exhausting with so much ground to cover before dark we were seriously wishful thinking. The little rickshaw certainly could not afford to have any minor dramas today, but unfortunately for us she did.

We managed to run out of fuel on the road twice today, had to sort out a new route to take after lunch, watched the rickshaw and my feet sink into sand, were faced with the threat of being ambushed by bandits in the jungle, transported the rickshawstar over a river with nothing but a few floating planks of wood, I was slapped across the face by a so-called Holy man and enjoyed a chai and a chat with some local Indian ladies.

Aside from these minor dramas our little rickshaw faced today, Shelley, Gordon and myself shared the driving equally.

Running out of fuel became more regular than the boys changing their socks and jocks on this trip today. Having to roll off onto the side of the roads twice today we were lucky the first time and not so fortunate the next, when we had to we had no spare petrol bottles in the rickshaw. We waited an hour and a half! All this and more pushed us behind schedule.

As well as the petrol running out we had to make changes to our original route to Bhopal, we now had to catch a so called ferry….aka a few planks of wood floating across a river. Faced with an off road path we managed to get the rickshaw down to the waters edge, with the helpful hands of the crew and some locals in the area. I was happy to help with the pushing but when it came to the rickshaw sinking and my Haviana flip flops sinking into the sticky sand also, I was sick of lending a hand.

It was bloody hard work!

After our little triumph we gathered at the riverbanks waiting for the next ferry to take us across, gawking at the ferry we wondered how on earth we will get the rickshaw to the other side safely….

As per usual we attracted a bit of a crowd while we waited and unfortunately for me, Shelley and I got chatting in broken English to a local holy dude who slapped me across the face!!!! – Apparently it was a slap that meant I was like his daughter or niece…. something special, by goodness I would hate to be his relation! I was completely gobsmacked!

The other side of the river however brought great joy, upon reaching the other side Shelley and I were desperate to find a ladies room. With nothing in sight a local lady grabbed our hands and took us under her wings to go to the local’s open air toilet. NOICE!! I will never complain about there not being any toilet roll again or the fact that the toilet seat is up. This was open air and on the riverbank.

Relieved the lady then invited us to her home for a chai tea, such a humbling experience with the entire community surrounding us also and just wanting to chat to us and find out where we are from, why I have blonde hair etc…. These local people have minimal amounts of wealth, yet they are rich with happiness. It is so brilliant!

All the crew finally landed onto our side of the river and it was time to set off to Bhopal for real this time, but not without another bloody drama. This time it was the bandits that were apparently hiding out in the jungle. Oh No!!! Be afraid! Be very afraid! We all arrived to Bhopal safely and in one piece though so all was not lost and I have to say it was an incredibly eventful day with memories and laughter that will stay in my mind forever!

Hotel was alright! Maybe just one mouse and a bug, Lal’s all the way!

DAY FIVE - FARDAPUR TO KHANDWA - 260km

Today began with yet another unsatisfying shower with cold water and a bucket.

However after a thankfully delicious and cooked breakfast I was ready to take on the Ajanta Caves, driving, Shelley’s driving, men with sticks, dead dogs and men on the side of the roads taking a slash and number two…..as you do!

The Ajanta caves certainly enlightened me as I love anything to do with the Buddhist culture and the caves themselves were just phenomenal. If you could imagine how much work actually went into carving the things into the rocks, it is truly amazing. Advanced were the wall paintings inside the caves for their time, telling the stories the people in those times. It seems their sexuality and sensuality had been widely spoken of back in the old days and well advanced.

I was forced to drive the Rickshaw again today and after a few kangaroo hops and launches off speed humps and roads bumps, I was a fully fledged professional Rickshaw wallah. I also managed to take our Shaw over the 1000km mark for our journey, whoop! Whoop! –Which would have gone unnoticed without the attentive eyes of Gordon and Shelley darling. Five hours later and I was finally allowed to take a break from the handle bars, yeay!!!! Very tough day up front as your concentration levels have to be in tiptop shape or you’ll crash, be crashed into or run off the road!

While on the road today we happened to come across a small town that according to reports were, it was dangerous to tourists, told to beware of local folk with sticks we decided to cover up and drive at Rickshaw record speeds out of the town with our action plan if sticks should strike the Rickyshaw.

Shelley turned into a speed freak today also taking on many semi’s and again about 3 massive moo cow’s. Hats off to the woman as I now know what its like to compete with these huge truck and their psychedelic painting and horns now.

If sticks weren’t enough to scare us tourists off the roads, then maybe a few dead dogs on the side of the road were, stray dogs are very common in India and this is one of the culture shocks I have certainly come across. Dogs are definitely not seen in the same light as they are in the western world, however cows are seen as a very holy and treasured animal. As well as the dire state of canine’s in this country seeming odd to me, I was also surprised to see the number of men taking a dump on the side of the road tonight. I think they like the spot light here.

Eventually after slaving myself for hours behind the handle bars and surviving a few near misses with Shelley behind the wheel we arrived at our humble grand hotel, “The Hotel Grand” in Khandwa. It was dead noice! Lots of bugs, ants and not a lot of beer or sheets to sleep in, ahhhhh……Incredible India!

DAY FOUR - BEED TO FARDAPUR

Both Shelly and Gordon pushed their Rickshaw driving skills to their limits, by thankfully avoiding near fatal accidents with rampaging cows and huge indecisive semi trailers. Today also brought a couple of unpleasant moments for me when toilets were simply out of the question, so behind bushes again it was!! Shelly was lucky enough to have the pleasure of actually stepping on my patch of chosen grass and then as if that wasn’t enough stepping in the passing cows poo pile, NOICE! Maybe that ridiculous sized flask we were given by our producer today on the road could have come in handy, but we don’t accept stolen gifts on our rickshaw….!!

As I mentioned before I tried my hand at driving today, due to the fact that I was sabotaged and then strapped to the drivers seat by Gordon and Shelley.

I must say I certainly showed them that I can be like Mr. Shummie, but lets face it I’m just too lazy to drive and frankly after 5.5km behind the handle bars I thought, stuff this I’m outer here! That back seat and snooze break was calling out my name.

Apart from those minor details we had no major hiccups with the rickshaw today, no breakdowns, no flat tyres and certainly no wild adventures in trucks with total strangers. Just Shelley and Gordie and their near misses while I was trying to get my afternoon nap in. I just remember thinking how many damn bumps and massive holes on India’s roads and then suddenly nearly being thrown thru the windscreen or out the side of the little Rickshawy, safe.

All is well now and we arrived safely after rolling down the mountain near Furadapur, a few thousand insects but nothing to be worried about…..until the morning when Gordon’s face is covered in mosquito bites and I have to touch up with the fair and handsome foundation.

Off to Ajanta caves in the morning can’t wait, don’t know what it’s about but sounds exciting and incredible.

DAY THREE –BIJAPUR TO BEED

My birthday, and what a memorable one it was: my first ever in India and probably my only one in Solapur. Day three started with a well deserved dose of shopping. Shelley and myself were desperate to check out some of the local markets before leaving Bijapur and pick up some much needed necessities. As girls always do, we managed to get a little carried away and we picked up Chai, flowers for our hair, ear muffs for Gordon and had our foreheads painted with Tikas. So we got nothing we truly required……what to do?!

After departing Bijapur, bound for Beed, we came across our first set of cock-ups.

Cock-up one seemed to set the tone for our journey throughout day three. It is said that things happen in three’s and this was certainly the case today. A flat tyre, and two instances of us running out of fuel- brilliant!

First up: the flat tyre. Arrghh, the joys of road tripping across India- quality roads! So there we were, thankfully at the servo, jacking up the rear end of the rickshaw with a rock and stick. Gordon started fixing the tyre on back to front… Oh dear! Soon enough though, we were back on the road for my birthday bash.

The birthday bash was held in Solapur. It was a joyous occasion- the crew and co-rickstars surprised me with a great big triple decker chocolate cake. Yum! So really, thanks guys! …. Still waiting on my birthday presents though- cheapskates! Solapur- modern town, but still no tanning salons.

After lunch, we were hit with our second cock-up for the journey: anyone got any fuel?? We ran out mid-driving. So, after much discussion in broken English and charades, we decided that it was best that I get to work and find some fuel. I almost picked up a husband for my birthday when I thought it would be an “interesting” idea to hitch a ride with some local male talent to the nearest servo in town. One of our producers, Jon, wasn’t very impressed with my foolish and naïve antics… but it was my birthday and one must understand that it was high time to get on down and boogie in my birthday suit!

Nearly there, and after our final chai stop for the day, we managed to break down yet again. This time it was pitch black and pissing down with rain. FUN! So, Shelley and I stayed in the back wrapped in a fleecy blanket while we got Gordon to work on refueling the empty tank. Lucky for us, we had picked up an extra bottle of fuel after our previous dilemma. Another day, another cock-up, but finally we arrived safely in Beed. Hopefully I’m a little wiser, but if birthday wishes DO come true I won’t have to drive until we near Nepal, and I could get a massage and have some beauty treatments along the way! Happy birthday Barbie!

DAY TWO - BELGAUM TO BIJAPUR

I was delighted at the beginning of day two being the first rickshaw driver on our team to get a dodgy belly. Having to run to the toilet at the last minute before we set off for the day. Three imodium’s and four Buscopan’s later I was able to keep my behind from, “letting loose” over the hundreds of speed humps we drove over today.

Thankfully I am an advanced rodeo show rider.

Shelley drove while I tried to promote Gordon the best way possible from the rear seats…. Still no phone calls to our rickshaw hotline, however some very promising male prospects expressed their interest towards him. Good blokes!

Skipped lunch just to be safe, chatted with some local children along the way in a Russian/Indian accent – thinking my broken English was easier to understand than my native Aussie accent. We managed to cross a holy river by driving over a bridge instead of catching a ferry across it, shared the roads with motorcycles, thousands of cows and stray dogs, John Deere’s and very friendly Indians.

All up another incredibly incredible day in incredible India.

DAY ONE - COLVA TO BELGAUM

And they’re off and racing, up the main street of Colva that is! Now its just a leisurely drive up to Nepal, Arrrrghhh! –Fingers and legs crossed!

Day 1 of the Rickshaw Run and so far no one has called our hotline, we have managed to laugh ourselves silly and get completely covered in thick red coloured dirt.

Despite feeling like I needed to shower the entire day, I can say I really enjoyed my first day on the road with Shelly, Gordon and our rickshaw. starting from the sunny shores in Goa, where the beer was constantly served warm and the rays that turned our pale skins to pink, to the lush greenery of the Western Gaht mountains. It felt completely amazing and surreal to be driving in a rickshaw at 45kms an hr and seeing the beginning of our journey across India and Nepal.

Along with this awesome scenery that we discovered on our first day, Shelley and I happened to discover some of India’s finest wild life. Snakes, bats, monkeys and slugs, Note to selves not exactly a good idea to use the bushes along the roadside here as substitute dunnies. (toilets)

Finally after a long first day and 7 hrs of Gordon driving the rickshaw we decided it was time to pull in to a hotel in Belgaum for the night and retire until the morning.

Belguam- Busy, noisy and a big Indian city with lots of tiny stores about 150kms from Goa…. Interesting.

ARRIVING IN GOA

Well it's not really the first day as we didn’t actually begin our run in the rickshaw. However it was the first day to really prepare our selves for the long journey ahead.

The journey with the three-wheeler rickshaw and my team mates, Shelly, Gordon and of course the crew.

We began the day by being introduced to our rickshaw, then we were given the task of, “Pimping the Ride” … so we decided that the best way to do that was to stick a photo of Gordon onto the exterior of the rickshaw and place a hotline number on the front and rear wind screens. No one is yet to call!

Later in the afternoon it was off to check out the old town of Goa. The Portuguese Goa, which unfortunately took longer than expected to find and when found was certainly old but only a little Portuguese.

Finally our Day 1 that wasn’t really the Day 1 ended with a few light refreshments and a outdoor beach party on the shores of Goa with all the teams from the coming days Rickshaw Run.

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Katie "the blonde thunder from down under" has appeared in numerous television programs, in Australia, Canada and the US. She has experience performing on stage and in musical theatre productions. Katie most recently hosted one of Australia iTunes most popular comedy podcasts, which set alight the local soccer community.

Additionally Katie has a quirky and bubbly personality, has been known to talk under water and is a wannabe Astrologist.