photos

some photos from the first days

Our start at Kadava resort

Keeping cool

Keeping cool.

Keeping cool in India is important for us Northern Europeans. We tend to overheat in warmer climes. We burn in the sun, sweat a lot, dehydrate and become a little fractious. It doesn't matter how many times people are advised to increase their fluid intake and decrease their alcohol consumption they invariably get it the wrong way round and forget to stay cool.
It is impossible to get things the wrong way round on the roads of India. The central white line is absent from most roads. Keep left / right arrows are universally ignored. Traffic lights tend to be advisory unless faced with certain death and there are as many lanes on the road as you wish to make.
I kid you not!
I will recount some of my personal experiences to prove the point.
On what we would consider to be a two lane road on the outskirts of Mysore there was a car passing a bus that was overtaking a lorry. All this was heading my way on a road with a ditch on either side. On my way up a mountain I leaned the Royal Enfield over to take a hairpin only to find that I was being passed on the inside by a motorbike coming down the mountain. At Ooty I was undertaken by a car going the wrong way round a roundabout. I can go on and on. The point is this happens everywhere so just keep cool.
The horn is the only part of any motorised transport in India that is guaranteed to work. It is an audible warning instrument  and is used by motorists instead of speech or gesture. Road users in India have an awful lot to say to each other. As part of a stream of traffic I was followed up a mountain road by a lorry who was trying to overtake me in the face of a stream of traffic coming down. The hooting and honking behind me was continuous despite the fact that the driver must have realised that overtaking was impossible. We would consider such overuse as rudeness. Here it is the language of the road so don't take it personally, just keep cool.
Restaurants advertise if they are air-conditioned. Even if they are there is no guarantee that the clientele won't overheat.
It is a fact of life all over the world that restaurants have waiting staff. There are some where the staff are so attentive that just as you are thinking of something, it appears. Others where they seem to go on a long break as soon as you walk in the door. India is a frustrating mix of the two. Waiters are attentive, the problem is they are attentive to everyone. Halfway through ordering a meal they will break off to get someone a drink or greet a new customer. One person in the group will order their meal and the waiter will vanish before asking the others. They will reappear a short time later with the drinks asked for by half the party before going to tidy up someone else's table. Despite all this or maybe because of all this the meal and the drinks end up getting served with the efficiency of a German train line. Don't ask me how it's all a bit of a mystery really. The important thing is, just stay cool.
We handed our Royal Enfields back to the hire company a couple of days ago. It was a bit of a wrench for me. I got so possessive about it that I wouldn't let the mechanics warm it up for me in the morning. I hoped I looked after it because it certainly looked after me during the odd moment of ill timed exuberance. The Bullet, thankfully, is a very forgiving motorcycle and for me it will always be cool. From the bikes we moved to a house boat and spent a very pleasant 24hrs on the river at Alleppey. The river breezes took away the heat of the day. The tranquility took away the stresses of the Indian roads. I relaxed enough to enjoy a bit of fishing, I said fishing not catching. Here it was impossible not to be cool.
Now I'm writing this, my last entry, with the sound of the Arabian Sea breaking its waves on the shore beside my sun lounger. Tomorrow we fly back to the UK full of precious memories and new friendships.
So thank you Gordon for organising this. It has been outstanding.
Before I leave I have time for another drink so I'll tell the barman once again,"Just keep it cool".
Iankosi

Someone like you.

There are people that are known to the world. Some gain notoriety during their lifetime like Pol Pot of Cambodia, others gain worldwide respect like Nelson Mandela, of South Africa.  There are people like Sir Arthur Wellesley, The Duke of Wellington. He is known throughout the world as the man who in 1815 defeated Napoleon Buonaparte at Waterloo. He is as well known in India as the man who eventually defeated Tipoo Sultan. At that time he was plain Colonel Wellesley. A lesser known fact is that in 1790 he is believed to be the first European to see the hills and rivers around Munnar. He reported his observations to the authorities and his simple act led to one of India's largest tea plantations.
Tea was first recorded as being drunk in China in the 4th century BC. By 1664 tea had became a popular drink in Britain. The mighty clipper ships, of which The Cutty Sark is probably the best known, fed that demand until tea became Britain's favourite hot beverage and it remains so today.
Tea was introduced to India in 1780 and the rest as they say is history.
The plantation we visited was started in 1878 and today is 86% owned by the workforce. The plantation stretches for miles in every direction and flows up and over the hills and down into the valleys. This description just doesn't do it justice, it's one of those things you just have to see.
From here we went to see the Spice garden. This was famous for containing all the spice plants known to India complete with their medicinal properties and recipes. Visitors could climb a tower and look onto the spice gardens laid out before them. That is until the whole thing was turned into an amusement park. I wonder why the two couldn't have co-existed.
This wasn't the only disappointment of the day. The road back to Munnar had been closed due to repair being carried out. The beautifully scenic and curvy route to our hotel was lost to us and instead dusty rural tracks were our lot for the afternoon.
Even on the roads there are shrines to all manner of deities. So far I have seen places of worship for Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. To be expected. Ok, how about Greek Orthodox, Church of England, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic.
One of the places we passed on these back roads was a Carmelite Convent. Not as unusual as it may seem. The sound of a choir singing hymns woke me up early one  morning. There are Catholic Churches and roadside Christian shrines rubbing shoulders with those dedicated to Shiva and Ganesh. Saint Thomas, the apostle, also known as doubting Thomas, is buried in Chennai. His shrine draws the faithful and the curious in great numbers.
A little ways up the river from Alleppey is a carpenter's shop. Three generations of the same family have been carving religious statues for Christian churches. They have also exported their work to Australia and Canada.
India also has it's share of home grown world famous people. There is Sachin Tendulka and Kapil Dev. Both are legendary cricketers in a country where cricket is almost a religion. Indira Ghandi, the first woman Prime Minister of India is known throughout the world for her political leadership. There can be only one name at the top of the list and that has to be Mahatma Ghandi, who through a policy of passive resistance led India to Independence on 15th August 1947.
That isn't the name I want to leave you with. As religion has been mentioned I will leave you with this.
Some years ago a girl from Albania moved to India. As time went by her impact on the world increased to the point where everyone knew of her. They called her Theresa.
Iankosi. 

Dogs and a day off.

It is much colder in Ooty than on the plains so when the sun goes down it gets very cold. About two a.m. I woke up shivering, eventually got fully dressed, climbed back into bed and shivered some more. Later, but still early in the morning, I was woken by a horde of dogs howling and barking. First on one side of the town and then the other. They seemed to be trying to out do each other.
It reminded me of Prime Minister's question time where different factions of MP's try to drown each other out.
A former member of this house, one Michael Portillo, has recently made some TV programs about famous railway journeys. Today we joined him in taking the railway from Ooty to Coonoor.
This section of railway was completed in1908 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. From its inception it has provided those people living on the plain with a means of escape from the heat of the summer to the cool of the mountains. Today a Second class ticket for this 90minute journey will cost 5 Rupees, or 5 pence. A First class ticket will cost 85 rupees or 85p.
Railway travel in India does not usually get a good press. The media image is one of more animals in the carriage than in Noah's ark and more people sat on the roof than there are fleas on a Mumbai mongrel's back. Our journey was nothing like this, everyone got a seat and there wasn't a chicken in sight.
Then something odd happened. We entered a tunnel and the passengers began to hoot and holler with more gusto than a cars' horn in a Mysore traffic jam. Apparently this is a part of Railway folklore in these parts much like the Beeching report and the Great train robbery are in our culture. I understand that in some quarters opinion is still divided as to which of these was the greater crime.
On the platform at Coonoor we saw a steam engine making ready to pull out so we rushed towards it along the platform only to be stopped by a Constable. He explained that it wasn't safe to go any further. He did his job and moved away, so we did ours and moved closer for some photographs.
Coonoor is a small town with two high points. Firstly it sells handmade chocolates at ridiculously low prices and secondly there is a daily produce market. At markets like this it is possible to feed a dinner party of twelve for less than a fiver. I know, it's staggeringly cheap plus it's all organic and free range.
The dark side of Coonoor is the state of the stream that flows through the town and the middle of the market. It is no longer a stream worthy of that title, it has become an open sewer filled with human waste, refuse from the market and all sorts of modern day litter. I have no doubt it harbours every waterborne disease known to mankind.
This isn't unusual in India. Nor is it unusual for strangers to shake your hand and strike up a conversation. On the way back from Coonoor we chatted with a lovely young couple from Ooty who had been shopping for the day. He had 46 dogs  that he kept in kennels at the bottom of his garden. It was at this point that one of our party broke into the conversation with the question, "Do you like dogs then ?"
That evening we dined at the Blue Hills restaurant where nine of us had dinner for £20.02p between us. The restaurant is sited just a few yards from Charing Cross. There is a St Pancreas in OOty as well. These aren't Railway stations but road junctions much like Piccadilly Circus in London.
That night as I lay down to sleep under five blankets I thought of the couple with the 46 dogs. Is it OK to hope they get woken up as well ?
Iankosi.

Going to Ooty. Yesterday as we travelled around Mysore we kept meeting a pair of Australian ladies, mother and daughter to be exact. It seemed that everywhere we went so did they. There are only so many times that you can ignore people and so we said hello and started to chat. Turns out they are touring India as well. This morning as we prepared our bikes for the off they came to say goodbye. We took pictures, swapped Facebook id's and promised to stay in touch. We hardly know each other. We said less words to each other than you'd find in a comic book and yet this could lead to a friendship. Perhaps David Lean's film, 'Brief Encounter'; where two strangers meet in a railway cafe and almost declare undying love to each other before remembering that they already have commitments isn't quite so fanciful as it first appears. Some people in our group are on their fourth motorcycle tour of India and talk of having found an affection for the Sub-Continent. This is my first, I've only been here four days and I'm already talking about coming back. What is the attraction ? Difficult to say. Obviously there is the weather. Cold, rainy and miserable winters are easily traded for sunnier climes. The difference is another pull. It is SO different. Everything is different but not in a scary way. With English being so widely spoken there is also some familiarity and a feeling of being at ease, dare I say, almost a feeling of being at home. Maybe because this was home for tens of thousands of British men and women who spent the greater part of their lives out here. Who entwined their culture, our culture, deep into the fabric of India's societies in the same way as the Paisley pattern from Scotland is the main design in India's textile industry today. One cannot be separated from the other. Now on to Ooty. A hundred miles south and a long way up. It's 2240 metres to be precise. We passed through another Tiger reserve which is a mark of India's determination to save this animal from extinction. The Government is so concerned about this that should a Tiger be spotted in any of their reserves they will immediately close the doors on the public and forbid further access. Good for the tiger but not for the motorcyclists. The roads in these reserves are ideal for riding along slowly whilst scanning the scrub on each side of the road for photo opportunities. It is doubtful that a Tiger will ever fill the viewfinder that close to the road but there are plenty of monkeys and deer that will. From the warmth of the plains we climbed up to a much cooler Ooty on a mountain road with more hair pins than a Vidal Sassoon salon. Some of the bikes struggled with the altitude and, surprisingly, so did some of the riders. This was the most difficult part of the ride so far. Yet here we are in our hotel's restaurant drinking beer especially brought up from the Town because the hotel is dry. Welcoming fires are ablaze in our rooms as the nights can get quite cold at this altitude. Bikes, beers and blazing fires in February, strange, this could almost be England. Talking of which I wonder what those Aussies are up to ??? Iankosi

Gordon's report Where do I start here we are on day three and the first time I have had to reflect on our trip so far It was really good of Kathy and Andy to make the effort to see us off at 7.00am hearing a royal Enfield thumping up was a great way to kick start the trip. Thanks to SAMs Andy for taking the van back to base. We arrived in India at about 9 and took a considerable time to clear baggage and customs which I am sure Nigel will report on A lat. Knute change of hotel meant we stayed a the Kadava resort which Ted will remember as our starting point in 2005 A great night there saw us refreshed for the 9.30 start , bikes sorted and kitted up we left for the hectic hours ride to the bottom the gnats when the traffic disappears and hill appear. Julia and Pam where coping with the riding and always gave me the thumbs up. Steve well with the exception of a new way of coping with the sun i.e. An umbrella Steve was Steve. Tony wiggins my old chief inspector, whom I had to salute in the "good old days of policing" Was dropping into the system well and Mike who has only just returned to biking loved the mayhem just like London he says

Report

It can't get much better than this 7.00am Indian time and having breakfast in the superb sandaesh the price in Mysore the furthest north that I have travelled the hotel is excellent, swimming pool, gym , restaurant AND wifi the only problem if it could be a problem slightly over zealous security at the entrance gate, it was a bit of a surprise that he could hang on for that long, but I did manage to a shake him off after a bit !( a story to be told) Yesterday's adventure began well enough but a melt down on communications let Nigel do a 10 mile detour along with several others not a problem we soon regrouped and had a lovely ride through tiger and elephants reserves which were like stepping back a couple of centuries we even passed a local of the low caste, the name of which I can't find at the moment Who was sat naked on the side of the road eating his rice from a banana leaf, SHAFI had arranged a really good ride, some of it could be described as off road but no worse than you would get visiting a farm and after a bit of encouragement all coped well with the change of surface the slight discomfort, bearing in mind the Enfield has about 2 inches of suspension travel, well worth the experience and sights although the chances of seeing a tiger extremely remote there is still the excitement of searching for one, however it is a bit disconcerting when you pass roads signs warning you to "keep windows closed" we dis see deer and a mass of birds which would had kept Gordon Williams happy for months, it's a shame he was not about as I found his commentary on the makes and models of all the birds really interesting. We arrived at the hotel about 4.30 slightly later than expected but had suffered bikes running out of fuel, it's amazing the difference some had used half tank the others on reserve, no real problem, oh other than peters gear lever falling off. Mysore showed that the group had picked the group riding a skills Sam at the back hoarding the group along like a sheep dog whilst Gordon and SHAFI sorted the navigation through the city. I think everyone was well impressed by their rooms and Avesta rest and clean were ready fort he off again this time in search of food, the triple r was recommend and we arrived just before 7.00pm and was meant with more nonchalant than normal waiter who dealt with our demands with slower than normal efficiency then on the stroke of seven changed to a Husain bolt, the restaurant we found out didn't open until seven, he took our order, for 9 of us with out the benefit of pen and paper as was back within minutes, and we eat a superb meal off banana leaves. Ian found the chilli a tad hotter than normal and was son sweating under the strain however the waiter showed that a small amount of raw sugar took away the burn, Steve wondered if this method could be used a suppository to the same effect.

Ok so now things are starting to settle internet wifi phone and video all seem to be working only the go pro to sort now, oh and the leak from my bladder it's been causing a problem for two days it started with just a drip especially after I had a drink, nothing too much just made my clothes wet but it got worse and I became fed up with people pointing out the trail of wet I was leaving, sometimes if I moved too fast it gushed out,leaving a puddle but I think I have found the problem. as a quick fix I stuck some chewing gum on it but I found that a bit messy, Sam tried some insulating tape but couldn't get it to stick and then I remembers the Sugru which fixes everything and stuck that on. I had to hang it out the window and wave it around that caused a stir as not many Indians had seen one that colour or that big but it seems to have sorted things for a while. These bladder pack water bottles are essential for anywhere hot but the plastic on them just a bit brittle !