India

India / Indian Road Trip

Day 5 – Doing the Shimoga Shuffle

Tuesday, December 7th BikeShuffle: The Dandy Warhols – Boys Better [audio:http://shambolic.com/blog/files/2010/12/06-Boys-Better.mp3|titles=06 Boys Better] 6:13Just waiting for it to get light, before trying to take as big a bite as possible out of this one. The most salient question seems to be: how long to stay on the NH13? I think I’ve resolved to hit the back roads where I can, and I guess I will have two cracks at it, heading for Kotturu either from the nameless crossroads about 10k south of Hospet, or a further fifteen or south at Kudigli. Then it becomes similar to day 1: driving by brail. I expect the laptop to be out and marked with greasy thumbprints by the end of the day. Still, the back roads have to be superior to the Tata dueling and massive potholes you seem to find on the National Highways (outside of my beloved 17, of course). I think Shimoga is a best case outcome. Not really sure how far that is. 200 and some. Getting eaten by mosquitoes and have decided not to have a shower. Too fucking cold. Happy Birthday to Stewart Macmillan and the King twins, by the way. Strange the ones you remember when you're a million miles from Facebook. And then there was Pearl Harbour. We’ll see if I manage to get on line at all in the next few days to bestow those felicitations. Ahoy! Hagaribommanahalli 09:24 This really is nowhere. Except that tons of people live here. Perhaps it’s the cold weather and cloudy skies, and the copious amount of dust in the air, but it feels so forlorn. I was saved from the hell in road form that is the NH13 by, first a nice policeman near Munirabad who told me I was going the wrong way, and then, after forty-five minutes of bone jarring, bikebreaking potholes, I was able to make a most welcome right on to National Hightway…

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December 18, 2010
India / Indian Road Trip

Day 4 – Perpetual Maintenance

Monday, December 6thToday's Soundtrack: Herbert - So Now [audio:http://shambolic.com/blog/files/2010/12/02-So-Now.mp3|titles=02 So Now] MorningA better sleep than the last, now that I have learned the trick of tucking in my only bed sheet at the bottom to protect my feet from the mosquito’s searching proboscis. And my dreams, though they linger before my eyes when I close them, refuse to congeal into anything which I can relate. What of today then? I have a shopping list of errands which will no doubt arrange themselves nicely: welding, washing, shopping, internetting (my spell check rightly pulls me up on that last). And of course, I should do some work this morning, that I might feel that all is not a leisurely dalliance. The amount of birdsong in this places verges on outrageous. There are so many, it feels as though every point in the stereo image is occupied by a little tweeter. To breakfast then.… AfternoonA strange day spent on bike repair, washing and riding around in the countryside outside Kamalapur. I’ve realized that this is quickly reverting to the perpetual maintenance mode that we had with the bike last time round, and in fact, I think that would be a worthy title to any account of Enfield-based travel around India: Perpetual Maintenance. That is inevitably how you spend a good portion of your time. Of today’s two repairs, welding the seat frame and fixing the foot pegs more firmly, only the former held up for more than ten minuts. The latter situation is as bad as it was, and the side stand has decided to add another fifteen degrees of lean when parked, meaning a collapse is soon likely. Additionally, I’ve only just noticed two broken spokes on the non-drive side of the rear wheel, so today has actually ended off worse than it began from a maintenance perspective. The afternoon also took on a slightly melancholy air. Driving around outside of Kamalapura,…

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December 17, 2010
India / Indian Road Trip

Day 3 – Ruinous Ruminations

Sunday, 5 December 2010 Today’s Soundtrack: Payola$ - Eyes of a Stranger [audio:http://shambolic.com/blog/files/2010/12/05.-Payolas-Eyes-of-a-Stranger.mp3|titles=05. Payolas - Eyes of a Stranger] Planning 07:30 Spent a strange night of semi-wakefulness, with Eyes of a Stranger on permanent loop in my brain. The courtyard outside my room was lit with a fluorescent light that made me think it was always dawn. Twice I was bitten through the mosquito net on the foot. It was so painful and took so long to subside that I found myself working a huge, knife-wilding mosquito into my dreams. He was waiting for another crack at my toe with the patience of a master burglar.  At Shanti Guesthouse the tourists are beginning to stir, and I’ve just heard the first horn honk of the morning. Since most of the rooms here are without showers, there’s been a fair bit of wobbly flesh on display as people stagger around with towels and toothbrushes using the shared facillities. Is it because the Indians have already been up for at least an hour at this point that they look so much better put together?   Even though there is technically no booze in this town, the Westerners still look a little shellshocked at finding themselves awake and in Hampi.  Seven o’clock arrives like the start of a race, and suddenly everyone is up and doing things - sweeping, honking, doing that really loud yogic throat clearing thing that sounds like a slow and painful death. It is a show of instant readiness. I too am a little shellshocked. My eyes have the shadowy look of an undergraduate at finals time; even after I’ve scrubbed off the soot from the road. Can it be that I’ve undone myself with a few too many nips on the whisky I’ve been using as a pothole countermeasure? I’ve got Ian to thank for that particular technique. So, it occurred to me last night that we were here eight…

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December 16, 2010
India / Indian Road Trip

Day 2 – Hampi-Pampy meets Resurgent Canadiana

December 4th, 2010 BikeShuffle: Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down [audio:http://shambolic.com/blog/files/2010/12/01-Never-Let-Me-Down-Again.mp3|titles=01 Never Let Me Down Again] Hubli – 06:52 I’ve been gently reminded that I went to bed a bit pissed last night by the university-style beer hangover that is alive and well behind my eyes.  This despite drinking a litre of water during the night. Although the mind desires to get up, wash, eat something and start driving, the body is weak.  I feel defeated by even the horrible taste in my mouth. Outside they’re blasting an air raid siren and I’m trying to decide if this is because it’s now 7 o'clock in the morning, or because I have had the strange misfortune to have left my family in Goa on the eve of  armageddon.... Last night over dinner, in what was quite a raucous ‘family’ restaurant and bar, I had one of those hilarious conversations – made even more so because we were both a little bit pissed – where neither person could understand a word the other was saying and yet were undeterred from trying.  He was a moustachioed office worker, enjoying dinner and a few whiskies before making the 60 kilometre trek to his home.  At his insistence, we did the full phone ritual – first he proudly gave me his number in English, then he had me call him so that my  number was on his phone, then he made me spell my  ‘good name’ so that would make no mistake about it.  I’m sure he keyed in ‘tourist’ to help his memory in the same way that I put ‘Hubli’ to aid mine. Still can’t believe I am driving to Hampi. Having taken a day to get here, that means I’m going to be away for a minimum of five.  Five days! Have been looking at the map and that old familiar feeling of ‘I wonder what it would be like to drive…

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December 15, 2010
goa / India / Indian Road Trip

Day 1: The Excursion Diversion

December 3rd, 2010 BikeShuffle:  The Police - Walking in Your Footsteps [audio:http://shambolic.com/blog/files/2010/12/02-Walking-In-Your-Footsteps1.mp3] Patnem Following a new high in kiddie antics yesterday, I think the missus may have spotted a look of pain which got stuck on my face and didn't come off.  She asked if perhaps the 20x7 childcare might be getting to me, just a little (i'm discounting Dumpie's four hours of school).  From there, it was an amazingly quick and congenial discussion that, unbelievably, saw us decide that  I would drive up to Hampi this morning in order to scratch (and hopefully eradicate) the bike itch which has been plaguing me ever since we got back to Goa. Result! So,  we're looking at a rather involved scoot -- about 370 km's each way -- not likely to be something that can be done in a single day.  This gives us a little bit of flexibility on routing, and rather than take the standard Highway 17 and 63 route, I think i'm going to go by way of the Anshi National Park.  Will be travelling minimal,  and with no spares or tools beyond my LeatherGirl it does mean that even small mechanical problems in the boondocks could prove to be a major headache (although I just know that cocktail fork is going to come in handy!). Anshi National Park Snake! Stretched out and sunning itself on a sharp turn.  Nearly spanning the road.  I thought it was a tree branch at first and lazily steered to the left to avoid it.  As I got closer I could make out the head, watching me, and then it gave the smallest slither to allow a small gap at the side for me for me to ride through.  Must have been over two metres, since there was very little road left, and he wasn’t even fully stretched out. I found myself wondering whether they could strike fast enough to bite you if…

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December 14, 2010
goa / India / Indian Road Trip

Intro: ¡Ay, Karnataka!

By the missus' extremely good graces, i was allowed to gallivant across a fair old stretch of south India last week, notching up about 1,000 kilometers of bone-jarring goodness on a bike that is, miraculously, still intact (apart from four snapped spokes, some minor welding and much tightening of nuts).  Being of a fairly nerdy persuasion, i took the laptop and diddled away whenever anything struck me as odd, amusing or noteworthy. This turned out to be fairly often, and if nothing else, it fostered some fairly ridiculous scenes where whole crowds were jostling behind me to catch a glimpse over my shoulder of this wondrous device. So, if you will indulge this experiment in serial posting, i'm going to try chucking that material up here at a rate of one day's driving for each day of reality. I am a lazy sod after all, and this beats having to think up something new to say about it. Those of you with only lukewarm enthusiasm for this plan need not worry, i am going to turn off the email notifications for this batch, which means you can enjoy the run up to Christmas without getting spammed into 2011. So saddle up, y'all. Tomorrow we ride! View South India Road Epic in a larger map

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December 13, 2010