Chris G's Indian Journey: January 2008

Have you ever seen the movie Road Warrior where Mad Max (Mel Gibson) is running for his life from a band of deranged, manics in all sorts of crazy vehicles? Well add to that nostril filling dust, unchecked diesel fumes, ox carts loaded to the brink with sugar cane, monkeys, insane bus drivers, dogs, cows, bicyclists, bad road conditions... and you have yourself an Indian road trip. Truthfully, I am sensationalizing a bit but the riding a motorcycle on Indian roads is not for the faint of heart.

I arrived in Delhi from a marvelous paragliding trip to Nepal with the intention of jumping on the Enfield and riding to the other end of Rajasthan, far into the Thar Desert. My reality was shattered when the local Enfeild dealer told me I needed a new piston for my bike. I was obviously disappointed about the potential delay and expensive bill. In the end this slight delay and 2000 rups ($50) turned into a hidden blessing, more about that later. After spending 3 nights sleeping on my pilot brother Shubang's floor (thanks Merlin and Nina) I was off. The ride from Noida (suburban Delhi) to Jaipur is about 270 km, well that is if you don't get lost trying to find your way. I finally found my way out of Delhi and onto the newly paved Delhi-Jaipur Road. It was essentially smooth sailing the whole way. I say essentially because there are degrees of smooth sailing that you can experience, this was the Indian version of smooth sailing. Still plenty of dirt, crazy towns, animals and the like.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. A city filled with a rich history that dates back hundreds of years. It was the stronghold of many Maharajas, this is evident from the many forts, walled cities and heavily guarded palaces spread throughout the city. I am not much of a history buff but it was very interesting exploring the old forts and palaces. It is amazing all of these fortifications were built to keep a few noble men and women safe. Impressive to say the least.

Enfield on the sweetest road I rode (:p) this whole trip. On top of a mesa beween Tiger Fort and Amber Fort.

Self Portrait- Amber Fort, overlooking Amber Palace and town

Originally my plan was to ride deep into the desert to a place called Jaislmer. It would have been amazing to see all of the history and amazing towns along the way. However, the time I lost in Delhi did not allow me to make it that far. I still had a few days to spare so I thought I would swing by Agra and see the famous Taj Mahal on my way home. I know what you are thinking, awww so cliche the Taj. Every tourist sees the Taj when in India. When you visit certain places you have to see certain things; when you do to Rome you have to see the Colosseum, when you go to Greece you have to see the Parthenon, when you go to NYC you have to see the Statue of Liberty, well guess what when you go to India you have to see the Taj. On top of this because I am an Indian tax payer I pay the Indian price, a deal at 20 rupees ($.50). I went with a friend from England, guess how much she paid, 750 rups, just short of $20. Not a bad deal huh? Anyway, so me and thousands of my closest friends got to see the Taj Mahal that day. It is truthfully quite stunning. An amazing display of one man's love for his departed wife.

There it is, picture don't come close

The rest of the trip was a two day ride back to Mussoorie. Reasonably uneventful by Indian standards. A weird thing happened as I near Dehra Dun. I was riding over the Sawalik Mountain Range, a small range of hills on the opposite end of the valley from Mussoorie. As I crested the hill and started down into the Doon Valley I noticed a few things that made me slow down and smile. It was like I was in a different place. The air was noticeably cleaner, the road had gotten nice, the light filtering through the towering stand of pine trees had a warm welcoming glow to it; it made me smile deeply. I was home, I could see Mussoorie across the valley way up in the hills, an hour later I rolled into my house. I had survived.

More about this blessing in disguise. All told I had ridden the bike about 1500 km on whats called the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Jaipur, Agra). My intentions were to ride significantly farther into Rajasthan, almost doubling that figure. By the time I had arrived home after the 1500 km, I was dirty, tired, sick, dehydrated, brain fried from a constant state of alertness on the road... If I had to double that amount of riding in only a few more days, I would have been a shell of a man. So, while I did not get to see some of the amazing sight I wanted to, I saved my sanity and health by taking the abbreviated route. The rest of it will have to wait until next time, hopefully with a riding partner, it would make it much more enjoyable to have someone to ride with.

Pictures to come, having technical difficulties with my computer at the moment, patience please. Oh yea, don't forget!! I love when you leave comments!!

Hello all, sorry for the lack of posts and pictures. The Internet in Pokhara was painfully slow, it was all I could do to check my mail and send out a few. I am back in Katmandu after 2.5 weeks of wonderful times flying in Pokhara. I fly to India tomorrow afternoon to a whole new setting, he sands of the Thar Desert. I am not sure I am ready to return to the chaos and dirt of India after my peaceful lakeside stay in Nepal. I will miss Nepal, it is an amazing place. I will return someday, hopefully with someone special to share it with next time. The people, places, sights, sounds and smells are hard to describe in words. I will try to sign on tomorrow and post a few picts of my trip, the net in Katmandu is much faster.

Driving into Pokhara was almost worth the 5 hour bumpy busride from Katmandu. For the last 20 km you drive straight at the amazing Annapurna Range. Numerous 25,000'+ snowcapped peaks, the most impressive is Machhupuchare, a Matterhorn like peak standing directly in the middle.

Awful picture from the bus windsheild of the Annapurna Range. I promise, the view was amazing.

My actual arrival in Pokhara was about how I expected it. After fighting through the crowd of touts, cabbies and hotel reps trying to get my business. I made my way to Lakeside (Where all of the paraglider pilots hangout) to see the one person, my friend Anita, I knew in town landing by the lake LZ. I hung out with Anita and Alex for a while then got introduced to the crew I would be hanging out with for the next 2.5 weeks. A bunch of great people/pilots from the UK, Spain, Australia, Iceland, France, Czech Rep. you name it. For the next 2.5 weeks it was like the movie Groundhogs Day wake up, eat breakfast, fly a few times, relax, eat dinner and drink beer, repeat. Not a bad vacation. Flying conditions were not all that great but it was still a good time. On New Years Eve we took a short trek up a near by 3200 meter peak and flew off New Years morning. It was a great way to ring in the New Year. It was a pretty spontaneous mission where about 9 of us just decided to head up there. It was one of those trips that just totally fell into place and turned out perfectly. We hired 3 taxis to take us as far as they could before the road went to shit. We then hopped into a jeep for the rest of the ride. The jeep took us as far as the village of Machhupuchare, it just so happened they were having a small festival in this village and our arrival was perfectly timed for dinner. We arrived in the city center like celebrties, everyone shaking our hands and asking our names. They had a special welcoming ceremony for us and everything. After dinner, drinks of the local hooch, dancing and other party favors we retired to the villagers homes to spend the night. In the morning Machhupuchare peak(a.k.a the Fishtail, which the village takes it's name from) was beautifully illuminated in the morning light. We began our trek early, with hired porters from the village. The hike was challenging but not too bad, the end result and our campsite was well worth the hike. Most of us soared for a while up top before heading out on glide to look for something better. One of our party reached 6100 meters ( about 20,000') ridge soaring the face of Machhupuchare. In case you didn't know that is huge.