Cycle from pondicherry!

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This morning me and Erik, my german cycle companion awoke at 6am and it was dark and we were given coffee and then made breakfast, outside under some indian mountains. The sun rose an hour later because of the mountains and so we were late up!! I took a shower under our hosts hose, and not knowin wether i was being shy keeping in my boxer shorts i took them off and began to clean! he ran out of his home horrifed and threw me the towel! Not around here he said! haha! Today is day five since we set of cycling and has been so beautifull, it is gruellingly hard work riding up hills in this kind of heat, but it is hysterically fun dodging huge trucks and buses and riding through all the small villages and past temples and cows, and monkeys and dogs!
I found a bike in pondicherry for around 3900 rupees, i think thats about sixty quid! We have now reached Chitoor above velore! we ride slow but still yesterday managed around 75kms with a game of chess, and a two hour sleep in the afternoon! Its luxury and im really enjoying just exsisting in the now, and the future when im ridng thinking and dreaming and observing everything around me!

The first day i was nervous of course and i wondered how fit I am? It turns out im still pretty damn fit, im eating up hills and have a lot of energy! After being so sick in my last days at the project i was really scared i wouldnt have the strength to do this! So many funny things i have seen since i set off only a few days ago! hitching a ride holding onto the hay on the back of wagon, monkeys trying to shit on our heads! the indian people being amazed at us and greeting us everwhere, hello hello hello! mister, where do u come from? sit down, hello hello! stop stop!! little kids racing us on their bikes, big kids too, dogs chasing us monkeys growling..... but most people just staring or smiling like we are from another planet, whichi guess we are in a lot of ways!
The indian cities are crazy to ride through and we are out as quick as we can, you ride about twenty minuites and slowly the chain of lorries nad busses dies out , you breathe a sigh of releif and take a coffee at a stand!
Everything is grimey and dirty........... eating is funny, you have not many choices on the road in india it seems, and generally its tahli served on a bannana leaf and you eat with your hands! they give you as much as you can eat for around 15 to 24 rupees!! Last night as the sun was setting we pulled up and asked these guys a place to sleep , they didnt understand english so well so thought we wanted a hotel or something, its really hard for indians to believe we rich westerners want to camp out, but eventually we told them and they said no no! big mountain snake! i dont know why but recently im just finding all warnings so funny! people will alaways tell you dont do this that or the other cos its dangerous, or......for example in england, the hill is too big with riding , or its too far, or whatever, and then when u do it......actually if you do any dangerous thing as safely as you can, it usually turns out amazing! and so we ignored the snake warning and slept there anywhere and it it was lovely and we received so much hospitality!
Just as on our first night, we were riding along and encountered a man under a tree picking a strange fruit, he offered us some and we ate it, very sweet and sour......needing somewhere to stay we asked and he gave us a patch near his rice paddie! it was really beautifull! and waking up outside for sunrise everymorning is beautifull!
riding from around 6am to 6pm!
there is so much to write it doesnt even all fit here!
it was sad to leave the project at sahdanna but it was the right time!
thakyou everyone for your comments, tony and jane and mum and josh and everyone! All i can say about not wishing to visit india, is that i can completley understand..... i am still trying to figuire out if i like this place or not, i love it and i hate it, its amazing and crazy...... but i will say its really really surreal bombardment of the senses that i think is worth the adjusting!
much love
sam xx

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Comments

[Muvva]

Monkey Poo!
That really made me laugh, glad you didn't put the other thing about the monkey you were telling me about! 2 weeks and I'll be there, am so excited about sharing your experinces; Your blogs are amazing i love reading about your adventures. LONG LIVE REX!!!