Our first 'stop' on our big desert road trip was at a Sikh temple just outside Amritsar. It was a brief stop though, as tradition dictates that stopping here will bring good fortunte to your journey, everyone rolls to a halt, glances at it and speeds off again. We followed suite. That night found in the wonderful city of Bathinda. You might not have heard of Bathinda before, but we'll have you know it boasts such attractions as a large power plant, and a 7 story high monkey statue. Other than these two treasures and the hotel manager's insistence that [View Full Entry]

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According to the guidebook, Amritsar is worth visiting almost solely to see the Golden Temple, and this was how we approached it also. As usual, our relief at arriving was partially overshadowed by the difficulty of locating and securing decent accommodation. Battling our way through the winding streets and too-helpful locals, we eventually decided to crash at the temple itself. This isn't as strange as it sounds - this holiest of Sikh temples (as with most, actually) is set up to house pilgrims but true to their charitable nature, everyone is welcome to stay - for free. Donations boxes are [View Full Entry]

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Rishikesh to Chandigarh was to be our maiden voyage as bike-tourers and started well, as we blasted along smooth roads through forests and across plains. We quickly decided that this was the only way to travel. Then as we were coming into a small town, the clutch cable broke. First trip, first breakdown! Luckily, we had a spare with us (Indian bikes aren't exactly renowned for their reliability) as the only bike shop in town was closed. Actually fitting it looked rather more confusing than it should, so Ben went in search of a mechanic - any mechanic - to help [View Full Entry]

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Again, we'd managed to arrive at a ridiculous hour. Our train didn't actually go to Rishikesh so we had to jump off at neighbouring Haridwar with our Slovakian single-serving friend Peter, who served his purpose well, by finding us the correct bus at 4am. 30 minutes and a few moments of sheer terror (this is supposed to be a 1hr journey) later, we arrived at Rishikesh - finally. But wait, the dark was still upon us and there are no hotels in this area of town. It seemed more travel was required. A short while later we hopped off an auto-rickshaw [View Full Entry]

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...There we were - Varanasi station, 4.30am. You'd think it would be pretty dead at this time of day but you would be wrong. Touts of all shapes and sizes crowd the platforms at all ours and floor space is at a premium due to the many Indians using it as a bed and waiting room rolled into one. Tip toeing our way through the slumbering crowd, we met a British couple (whose bag had been stolen on the train... eek) and let them tag along (their guide book had been in their bag). After the usual hassle, hussle and bussle [View Full Entry]

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...Sitting in a a hotel restaurant waiting endlessly on cornflakes. Oh by the way - the 70s called, they want their dining room styling back. Ba-Boom-ching. So, how did we come to be here? Well after several days' procrastination in Kathmandu we finally got around to booking a coach back to the Indian border, only to find out half an hour later that we had in fact been sold a 'ticket' on a local bus. This wouldnt have been such an issue had we not paid about double the walk-on price! Needless to say, the ticket was returned and the vendor [View Full Entry]

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It started, like most good ideas, over a beer. We'd met a couple of ragtag randomers in Agra who were also on their way to Nepal. Bike touring came up in conversation, one of us had done it before, it was perfect! Rock n roll, rev it up let's ride. We trekked with these oddballs (see previous entry) and then our collective focus turned to the upcoming petrol-fest. The first and most obvious problem was that we didn't have a bike between us. This should have posed no problem - You can't throw a stone in Pokhara without breaking the window [View Full Entry]

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We've just gotten back from the Annapurna region of the Nepalese Himalaya, and we reckon we've earned ourselves a beer or 2. Or at least a soda. For this mission, we assembled a crack team of experts. Each brought a unique range of skills to the group, as listed below: Chris: Ex British army sniper, who has seen action in many a global hotspot. His camoflaged poncho and arm-length tattoos ensure he is well camoflaged and his navigational skills proved to be a tactical advantage throughout the campaign. Luke: A master of meditation, his calming touch assisted the team on numerous [View Full Entry]

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It's been a rough week and a hectic schedule, but we made it... So we're sitting in a lovely lakeside restaurant in Pokhara, Nepal. There is a pretend religious man trying to get money from us. Or maybe he isn't - it's hard to tell over here sometimes. For the last week it's been a constant barrage of men (it's always men) selling, scamming or otherwise getting all up in our collective face. Personal space is a concept which doesn't appear to have made it this far east - Yesterday Ben had to share his bus seat with a rather [View Full Entry]

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Delhi is hot. It's also quite an amazing place, but we'll get to that shortly. Episode 1, in which: Fosters hat is lost in Terminal 3 lounge, 2 friends are made, a wedding invite is extended and accepted, a hindu temple is visited, fireworks are set off and a massive devil effigy is burned, amazing food and chai is had by all, and we take several showers. So no sooner had our trip begun (about half an hour into the flight actually) than we were invited to an Indian wedding! The guy sitting next to me is getting married in November [View Full Entry]

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