LUMBINI II

It's been OK here. The Lumbini Development Zone has representatives from all different countries & styles of Buddhism - there's the snazzy Chinese Monastery, acroos the road from the monstrous Korean yet-to-be-completed concrete Temple, and the extravagantly ornate Lotus Stupa built by a German Buddhist group, as well as a number of others from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam & so on. I took the opportunity of sitting a couple of times at the Lumbini Vipassana Centre ("Dhamma Janani") in what's called the Eastern Monastic Zone - the caretaker there was most welcoming when I first fronted up & provided me with some sweet black tea, a tasty bowl of meal (millet?) before showing me to the meditation hall where I sat for an hour. Today I visited the museum, which wasn't much chop - everything in it was either a photograph or a replica - nothing original at all. I'm figuring that I'll maybe head off tomorrow, along the Terai via the Mahendra Highway to ... I don't really know, as I'll be off the Lonely Planet map (EVERYONE here is toting around a copy of the Lonely Planet - it really is amazing how this book virtually guides where tourists go & stay. It is somewhat of a comfort of course, but seems mighty weird just how ubiquitous it is).

A slightly annoying occurrence has been that my laptop, USB drive & even camera card have picked up a virus/trojan/ worm that I just can't get rid of - it's started to gum up the laptop & has even locked me out of various components such as task manager & has changed some of my preferences. The computer is still functional thankfully but I'm not sure how many of my photos I'll be able to save at the end of the trip - one of the camera cards seems inaccessible ....

LUMBINI - Birthplace of the Buddha

On Sunday (9.11.08 - Tansen), after a hefty 'continental breakfast' (= juice, sliced fruit, scrambled eggs, 4 peices of toast, butter & jam, coffee) I thought a walk was in order, so headed off. Before I knew it, and without being conscious of making an actual decision to do so, I found myself on a 15km round trip/walk to a place called Ranighat Durbar (or Palace) - a baroque palace built in the 1890's on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River. What an amzing walk it was... alongside a river for much of the way, past ravines you could not see the bottom of, through waterfalls, past small villages, huge Banyan & Mango trees, and countless Nepalese - and with the Annapurna Range in the far distance - just magical! The palace itself seemed very oddly placed - as if in the middle of nowhere, except that there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of Nepalese there having a day out ... no other Western tourists to be seen, I felt as if I had just stepped in from Mars. It was quite a carnival atmosphere, and various fair-like games were going on - drop a loop on the end of a stick over the neck of a bottle of beer, throw a hoop over a packet of biscuits or a trinket, & they were yours ... All up, the round trip, utterly unplanned, took about 6 or so hours, and it was just getting dark as I returned to Tansen. I figured on staying another night but was told that where I was staying was all booked out by a tour group. I could've moved elsewhere I suppose, but figured I might as well head off the next morning. Tansen is not a very 'happening' place - I'd gone out at 7:15 to have a meal at the place reputed to be the place for "sampling Nepali delights" to find that they were packing up before I'd even quite finished eating, and when I left the building - at 8:30pm - the whole town had closed down.

Day 6 cycling: TANSEN to LUMBINI
DST = 80.9km; RTM = 3hrs 58 min; AVS = 20.3km/hr; MAX = 47.2km/hr
ODO (i.e overall odometer reading) = 438 km

After another hearty 'continental breakfast', I headed out of town - 3.8km back down the hill to the main highway to Butwal. This was an excellent ride - the road surface, except for a few shocking patches, was pretty good, and the ride was mostly downhill or on the flat, and the scenery was surprisingly dramatic - I somehow had expected it to be a bit of an anticlimax after the really mountainous areas I'd cycled through. But no - there were some really stunning, precipitous sections that left me feeling a little nervous, and drawn toward the centre of the road. Cycling too near the edge left me feeling edgy. I also began to remind myself to take it easy - no need to be quite so 'nose down, bum up' about the riding as I can tend toward - the whole point about riding the bike is to take things in, take one's time, stop & sit down & just soak things up ... Butwal was 'bike city' - people on bikes everywhere, a bike lane through the main part of town, and most of the public transport seemed to be 3-wheeler bicycles. The next stretch - Butwal to Bhairawa - was not so pleasant - heaps of traffic & fumes, and I was shocked to realise how flat it had all become - no mountains ahead or to the sides of me. Buddha may have been born in the area but there was little sense of much compassion, tolerance or patience having permeated into this stretch of road. Finally, Lumbini, and the Lumbini Village Lodge, a cheap but pleasant place (except for the mosquitoes) ...

TANSEN

Day 4 cycling: Pokhara to Galygang
DST = 79km; AVS = 16.2km/hr (estimated)

A minor hassle as I set out from Pokhara - the bike computer battery was flat; I managed to buy a new one on the outskirts of Pokhara, [... this is a Nepali/English keyboard - the comma took ages to find] ... hence had to estimate distances on day 4 riding, although fairly accurate I think. This was a fantastic day's cycling, with the snow-capped peaks of the Annupurna Range to the side for much of the first half of the ride, only to reappear much later as I rode higher & higher. The scenery could be described as stunning, striking, gob-smacking ... every time you rounded a corner a new and surprising panorama opened up. Ahh! This is why cycling is the way to go, although at times the drop to the side was so deep, so profound, and there was so much to take in visually that I could feel myself wobble on the bike as if almost magnetically drawn to just plunge over the edge. Today comprised steady uphill climbs, followed by some very satisfying downhill runs. A quite achievable ride, and nowhere near as tough a day's ride as I'd envisaged. Galyang seemed a good enough place to stop, given the time of day, distance covered, and the fact that the town had a small Hotel & Lodge. The room, at 300 NPR, was adequate, as was the associated restaurant across the road, where I had a dal baht for dinner (rice, lentils, green vege & some pickle & yoghurt, all of which I ate with gusto).

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Day 5 cycling: Galyang to TANSEN
DST = 46.09km; RTM = 3hrs 53 min; AVS = 11.8km/hr; MAX = 39.8km/hr

I made an early start from Galygang, thinking that I'd knock off the last 40 or so km in no time, and be in Tansen for morning tea. It was lovely -no vehicles on the road, although the drop was precipitous on my left hand side. I found myself stopping continuously to take photos of the scenery, while aware that they lack the 3rd dimension that gives this ride such impact. The Nepalese don't seem to do breakfast, so I left just having had a cup of chai & 3 sweet biscuits I had in my bag.

As it turned out, this was a really hard ride pretty much all the way, perhaps exacerbated by my inadequate breakfast, and I found myself struggling to make the last stretch up the hill to Tansen at about 1:30 in the afternoon. I was buggered, and the maze of streets made it a torturous end to the day trying to find suitable accommodation. I eventually checked in to the Hotel The White Lake, quite overpriced at $12 USD per night, but I had little strength to argue the toss with much vigour or to look elsewhere. Their restaurant & the excellent view from the rooftop perhaps compensated a little. My first impression of Tansen hasn't been all that overwhelming but perhaps more delights await me as I explore the town a little more (mind you, I think I saw much of it yesterday as I stumbled about trying to find accommodation.)

POKHARA

Day 3 cycling: Bandipur to Pokhara
DST = 75.4km; RTM = 4hrs 29 min; AVS = 16.7km/hr; MAX = 51.1km/hr
(NB. Bandipur to Pokhara is a little further than this; the bike & I were obliged to travel several km in a van; see below)

Bandipur is a very pleasant place, with one especially great feature - there is no vehicular access to the main bazaar area, allowing you to amble about without having to always keep part of your mind alert to the possibility of being run over (as per KTM). I had expected the 8km ride back down the hill from Bandipur to rejoin the main Prithvi Highway to be a joy, which initially it was. It was a foggy morning however, making it quite hard to see what was ahead, and the brakes seemed to be slipping due to the dampness. And as the road largely comprised hair-pin bends I found myself braking constantly, to the extent that the rims became red hot from the friction of the brakes on the wheels. Could they become so hot that the tubes could melt, I wondered nervously? Will I wear the brake pads away entirely (I don't have any spares)? Am I worrying excessively? In the event, I descended gingerly, only averaging about 22km/hr & hitting a maximum of 44km/hr. Damauli, the next town, might have "little to recommend it" as the Lonely planet guide seems to unfairly suggest, but the ride into it was certainly sweet. The initial ride from the turnoff was a slow, steady, uphill slog for maybe 8km, but the next 8km was a blissful downhill ride (hitting a maximum of 51km/hr). After some while I began to notice a small problem with my chain, which eventually snapped as I started to pedal uphill about 20km from Pokhara. I rolled back into the town I'd just passed but was met with a shake of the head on enquiring if there were any bike shops around. Happily for me, the fellow I'd asked elected to arrange a lift for me & the bike in a delivery van a few kilometres to the next town, which, fortunately had a bike shop, someone who knew how to fix chains & the requisite equipment - a big metal hammer. Before long it was fixed & I was back on the road. The van driver & the fellow who assisted wouldn't accept payment for their help, but suggested I give the bike shop bloke 25 Rp (about 50 cents) for his work. Their kindness negated the actions of some dickheads a few hours earlier who'd thought it amusing to douse me with water from the roof of a bus as they passed. (The chain doesn't sound quite right anymore as I pedal & I'm not sure why. I'll take some time today to have a good look at it before pushing off south towards Tansen.)

Mysteriously, nearing Pokhara, the road surface began to degenerate and the vehicle fumes seemed to become blacker, whereas the children's English seemd to improve. Now, instead of asking "one rupee" they demanded "give me money" or even simpler: "money!". It was rather horrible.

Despite its problematic aspects, the ride from Mugling to Pokhara was nowhere near as forbidding or steep as I'd for some reason imagined - the road, except for the last stretch into Pokhara, was in pretty good condition, fairly flat in many places, and there were quite a few good downhill runs.

Surprisingly, Pokhara is very full of tourists and I had some trouble finding a room as the first few places I tried were full. I eventually found a room at a place called Hotel Bien Venue, a new & very characterless place. As I tried to take a rest in my room, I was assaulted by the sounds of kids yelling & screaming & people talking loudly, and for some reason sitting outside my room doing this. After boiling inside for a while, I finally lost the plot & stormed outside, giving everyone a rather unpleasant piece of my mind. I'm thinking I must have been feeling a bit tense. For a short while I felt a bit embarrassed about it all ... "well, "Mr Anger Management"... what do you have to say about that!?" ... " This morning I moved to the Hotel Nirvana & am feeling a lot more relaxed. Must be time for some lunch & then a look at that bike chain.

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Hmm. Inspection of the bike chain revealed it had been threaded incorrectly through the derailleur. Thinking to find a local bikeshop that might be able to do it for me, I headed off into the depths of Pokhara only to be advised that there weren't any decent bikeshops in town. But suddenly, 4 Spanish cyclists came cycling toward me, and trusting in the fellowship of cyclists I hailed them & they were able to assist me in effecting the required adjustment.

Bandipur

KTM - Thursday 30.10.08
I've been doing a little cycling over the past 2 days. Yesterday I rode out to Swayambhunath, a Buddhist temple about 2 kms to the west of Kathmandu. This place is also known as the Monkey Temple due to the many monkeys there, some of them extremely unpleasant & aggressive, exemplified by one who tried, in a sudden startling swoop, to try & snatch my water bottle. I'm sure it was only due to my years of martial arts training that the attack was unsuccessful. Otherwise, it was an interesting enough place to visit, seemingly comprising of both Buddhist & Hindu imagery & architecture.

My plans for today were to cycle to a place called Pashupatinath and then onwards to Bodhnath (or Boudha). The streets in Thamel, the area where I'm staying, are all unnamed; roads further afield are poorly signposted and there are no signs to the obvious tourist sites around the KTM valley. So, despite having both a map & a compass I became hopelessly lost quite soon after leaving Thamel. I eventually reached where I was heading by asking directions of passerbys (the utterly blank stares I encountered at times suggested that my pronunciation skills are perhaps on a par with my navigational skills). But it was when I hit the open roads, away from the traffic & pesky touts & tourists, that I was reminded of the joys of cycling & why I've come on holidays with my bicycle. Ahh, such liberation! ... the open space, the fresh air, the scenery ... (well, for a few minutes, until realising I didn't have the faintest clue where I was...)

Pashupatinath, to paraphrase the Lonely Planet guide, is Nepal's most important Hindu temple & is also a very important Shiva temple which draws in devotees and sadhus from all over India. I am sure that a good number of the flamboyant & extraordinarily decorated 'sadhus' lining up to be photographed by tourists are really just very entrepreneurial beggars.

I eventually found my way to Pashupatinath by trailing behind a slow moving convoy of cars & motorbikes that, I was told when I enquired, was apparently heading there. Some while later I realised that it was actually a funeral procession on its way to a cremation on the banks of the Bagmati River at Pashupatinath. It also turned out that the deceased was a member of the recently-defunct royal family (the new government here abolished the monarchy shortly after coming to power) and so the cremation was a pretty big deal. There are two main cremation areas at Pashupatinath - one section for the common people and another for royalty (who still apparently retain high status despite the fact of their apparent abolition). After a few hours there, wandering about & watching the various stages of the cremation, I managed with some difficulty, and via an unusually long, convoluted & rather bumpy route, to then cycle to Bodhnath (aka Boudha), the site of a huge Buddhist stupa. It was reasonably interesting, with scores of Tibetans circumambulating (clockwise) the stupa while counting beads & mumbling to themselves. The return route to KTM was rather more complicated than I'd have preferred, but I did get to see some parts of the city that I hadn't planned to.

The big thing in KTM at present is the Tihar (or Diwala) festival. It's supposedly the Festival of Lights but could be more aptly named the Festival of Interminable Explosions. The last 3 evenings here have been punctuated by incessant explosions, and during the day there have been sporadic blasts, much like I imagine a war zone would sound like. People are setting off these firecrackers presumably to mark the fact that it's Tihar. Not fireworks (eg skyrockets, colourful displays, etc) but just bangs - sounding like machine gun fire, mortar rounds or hand grenades. Unbelievable!

In stark contrast however, it is astonishingly quiet after midnight until about 6am when a hotel generator starts up, followed by the occasional dog bark, then the birds, and finally people & traffic noise. I've been sleeping extremely soundly.

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Day 1 cycling: KTM to Mugling
DST = 113km; RTM = 6hrs 7 min; AVS = 18.4 km/hr; MAX = 54.7km/hr
I wasn't feeling all that great this morning as I headed out of Thamel. The sore throat was presaging a cold, which has now arrived, albeit a fairly light one. I cycled NW to hit the ring road, then west, then south for about 6 km all up before connecting with the Prithvi Highway - the 206km road to Pokhara. Somewhat to my dismay, I found myself huffing & puffing as I encountered a few slightly steeper parts of the road, which was mostly uphill for the first 15km. Omigod, what will the big hills be like? After this however it was downhill for well over 20km; a tempered exhilaration however and I had my hands on the brakes for most of the way as there were occasional potholes and, the worst hazard of all: not knowing was coming around the corner. As in India, trucks, buses & minivans just love to overtake on blind corners. And when they do, both lanes of the road are taken up, giving you nowhere to go. My maximum speed of nearly 55 km/hr was probably foolhardy, given this, but it did feel fantastic. The road surface was generally very good, and I tended to ride on the shoulder which was much smoother than the main road surface - on my left side, for much of the way, was a ditch, and I kept thinking of that female Chinese cyclist who tumbled into one during the recent olympics. The weather was perfect for cycling - mid-20's, and the scenery was lovely, mostly following alongside various rivers with the occasional snow-topped mountain in the distance. Overall though it was a fairly tough day's cycling, although thankfully Nepali drivers seem to use the horn less than do those in India. I only saw the remnants of two road accidents - the second was a bus lying on its side with a few perplexed blokes standing around with a long piece of cable wondering how they were going to upturn it. A young boy, after asking my name, thoughtfully pointed to a patch on the road, indicating "blood", presumably belonging to one of the victims.

I eventually reached Mugling, at the junction of the Prithvi Highway & the road south to Narayanghat & beyond. It's not a very attractive place & the Machhapuchhare Hotel & Lodge was pretty basic, but cheap at NPR 250. I asked to put my bike in my room (some places in India are very against allowing this) ... which turned out to be on the second floor! No electricity until about 7:30 pm, no hot water & no towel provided, although I got one after asking. It was a noisy place - trucks & buses at first, and then I nearly fell off the bed when some incredibly loud Bollywood-type music started up. Thinking it was coming from the neighbouring room I stormed out to express my displeasure ... to discover it was coming from the street outside. Right out the front of the Machhapuchhare Hotel & Lodge, and onto the highway was a crowd of a hundred or so locals watching what was apparently a sort of disco-dancing competition - first prize: a wrist-watch. Groups of young lads, and then of girls, and then some mixed couples, were dancing between huge loudspeakers as a compere appeared to be trying to keep the crowd interested while awaiting the next group of contestants. I figured that perhaps the reason for the lack of electricity earlier was that they'd been saving it up for this. My dinner that night was some rice and lentils in a local cafe; I thought it wiseer to not eat the cold spinach that had been spooned out from a huge uncovered tub under the counter, as well as a few other cold pre-cooked vegetables that accompanied the hot food.

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Day 2 cycling: Mugling to Bandipur
DST = 33.07km; RTM = 2hrs 48 min; AVS = 11.7 km/hr; MAX = 46.4km/hr. Temp: mid to high 20's
Breakfast was a cup of chai at another cafe, and a few bananas and some coconut-flavoured sweet biscuits. My plan for the day was to cycle to Pokhara, around 100km or so. After maybe an hour's cycling, to my surprise, I saw a couple of cyclists ahead labouring up the hill, one seemingly helping the other along a bit by pushing on their shoulder. It was surprising because I've found it's not often that one encounters other touring cyclists on the road. Even more suprising was the fact that they were towing their young daughter along in a baby trailer. We stopped & had a chat & a coke - they were a French couple on their way to Bandipur, then Pokhara & beyond (they'd not quite decided where). I headed off after a short break only to bump into 2 female Dutch cyclists headed the other way. They also sang the praises of Bandipur, having just come from there, although pointed out that it was a pretty steep 8km road up. Lonely Planet describes Bandipur as ".. a national treasure ... a living museum of Newari culture ... hard to believe that somewhere so delightful has managed to escape the ravages of tourist development." Pretty positive stuff, I thought, so I elected to make the detour. Phew, it was a hot & gruelling ride to the top - at one point, I was cycling at 5km/hr, and just "hit the wall" - dreadful, as a cyclist, to confess that I had to get off the bike a few times & walk (stagger?) - at 4km/hr, this wasn't much different to my cycling speed. (The old tune "I think I can, I think I can .." started to roll about in my thoughts ... followed by: "I don't think I can ..." and finally "fuck it, I just can't") And it's shameful to admit that the one thing that spurred me along, that stayed me from just collapsing on the side of the road, was the thought of the humiliation of being overtaken by the Frenchman lugging his baby trailer along behind him. Such relief, even disbelief, at finally reaching Bandipur! The thing with hills is that you often just can't tell how far you are from the top. I checked into the Bandipur Guest House - a very basic accommodation, but with very good food. The bathroom & toilet is shared, and is little bigger than a telephone box containing a sit-down toilet, with a tap & bucket alongside & a shower head poking out of the wall. Cold water of course, and a good example of why having a pair of thongs to wear (which I don't) is a good idea. There are a few walks about town, and the town itself is low key & pleasant to hang out in.

My initial plan was to plug along to Pokhara today (tempted by the thought of that glorious 8km of road to roll back down) but then thought "bugger it ... there's no rush, and three days of cycling in a row is a bit much, and might as well just take it easy ... I'll leave tomorrow. "

KTM III

Friday 31.10.08
I woke with a very sore throat this morning; my hunch is that it is the result of cycling through the traffic yesterday. Today I cycled south of KTM to Patan & had a good look around. It was indeed interesting but I think I may have now completed the 'temple tour' part of my journey. I reckon that tomorrow I should 'hit the road' now that I've been 'blooded' into the traffic here. To be honest, it's a little hair-raising in the traffic here, but it should lighten up a tad as I leave the city. And this is predicated on me actually being able to find my way out of town - really, it's not that easy!

What do things cost? Internet at this hotel is 20 NPR (Nepalese Rupees) per hour (= about 37 cents) & it's reasonably fast. A 'standard breakfast' around town is usually about $2 AUD (eggs, toast, butter, jam, fried potato, fried banana (?), coffee), a litre bottle of water is about 35 cents. Lunch eg dhal & rice, coke, coffee usually runs to about $4. The evening meal, depending where you eat, can cost anything up to maybe $16. So, it's all rather cheap (I've had a few extra expenses, like buying another map of Nepal as I left mine at home!). Temples & most tourist sites also cost to visit eg the Patan/ Durbar Square ticket cost 200 NPR {about $3.60), and entry to the museum was 250 NPR (you can work this one out).

KTM II

Thursday 30.10.08
I've been doing a little cycling over the past 2 days. The day before yesterday I rode out to Swayambhunath, a Buddhist temple about 2 kms to the west of Kathmandu. This place is also known as the Monkey Temple due to the many monkeys there, some of them extremely unpleasant & aggressive, exemplified by one who tried, in a sudden startling swoop, to try & snatch my water bottle. I'm sure it was only due to my years of martial arts training that the attack was unsuccessful. Otherwise, it was an interesting enough place to visit, seemingly comprising of both Buddhist & Hindu imagery & architecture.

My plans for yesterday were to cycle to a place called Pashupatinath and then onwards to Bodhnath (or Boudha). The streets in Thamel, the area where I'm staying, are all unnamed, roads further afield are poorly signposted and there are no signs to the obvious tourist sites around the KTM valley. So, despite having both a map & a compass I became hopelessly lost quite soon after leaving Thamel. I eventually reached where I was heading by asking directions of passers-by (being met by utterly blank stares on occasion suggested that my pronunciation skills are perhaps on a par with my navigational skills). But it was when I hit the open roads, away from the traffic & pesky touts & tourists, that I was reminded of the joys of cycling & why I've come on holidays with my bicycle. Ahh, such liberation! ... the open space, the fresh air, the scenery ... (well, for a few minutes, until realising I didn't have the faintest clue where I was...)

Pashupatinath, to paraphrase the Lonely Planet guide, is Nepal's most important Hindu temple & is also a very important Shiva temple which draws in devotees and sadhus from all over India. I am sure that a good number of the flamboyant & extraordinarily decorated 'sadhus' lining up to be photographed by tourists are really just very entrepreneurial beggars.

I eventually found my way to Pashupatinath by trailing behind a slow moving convoy of cars & motorbikes that, I was told when I enquired, was apparently heading there. Some while later I realised that it was actually a funeral procession on its way to a cremation on the banks of the Bagmati River at Pashupatinath. It also turned out that the deceased was a member of the recently-defunct royal family (the new government here abolished the monarchy shortly after coming to power) and so the cremation was a pretty big deal. There are two main cremation areas at Pashupatinath - one section for the common people and another for royalty (who still apparently retain high status despite the fact of their apparent abolition). After a few hours there, wandering about & watching the various stages of the cremation, I managed with some difficulty, and via an unusually long, convoluted & rather bumpy route, to then cycle to Bodhnath (aka Boudha), the site of a huge Buddhist stupa. It was reasonably interesting, with scores of Tibetans circumambulating (clockwise) the stupa while counting beads & mumbling to themselves. The return route to KTM was rather more complicated than I'd have preferred, but I did get to see some parts of the city that I hadn't planned to.

The big thing in KTM at present is the Tihar (or Diwala) festival. It's supposedly the Festival of Lights but could be more aptly renamed the Festival of Interminable Explosions. The last 3 evenings here have been punctuated by incessant explosions, and during the day there have been sporadic blasts, much like I imagine a war zone would sound like. People are setting off these firecrackers presumably to mark the fact that it's Tihar. Not fireworks (eg skyrockets, colourful displays, etc) but just bangs - sounding like machine gun fire, mortar rounds or hand grenades. Unbelievable!

In stark contrast however, it is astonishingly quiet after midnight until about 6am when a hotel generator starts up, followed by the occasional dog bark, then the birds, and finally people & traffic noise. I've been sleeping extremely soundly.

KTM 1

well, the most harrowing part of the journey is over - getting here with the bike & panniers largely intact. Checking in at Tullamarine was a breeze - I and the bike were waved straight through, and surprisingly my 15kg bike only weighed 10kg on their scales. I had weight to spare, and could have brought those extra undies along after all. I didn't wrap the bike in plastic (what a dumb idea) but merely let air out of the tyres, removed the pedals & unbolted the handlebars & wheeled it into a large metal cage to be put on the plane.

What was I thinking when I booked a room in Thamel, perhaps the noisiest, most crowded place in the universe? I've been titrating my forays out into the streets, and this morning ventured down to Durbar Square where I had a somewhat cursory look around before returning to the safety of my room. The Square was extremely crowded, with market stalls, tourist guides, phony sadhus, and countless tourists and others. I'm told it's busier than usual as tonight is the start of the Tihar festival (also known as Diwali, festival of lights) which lasts for about 5 days. Everyone seems pretty excited. and there are garlands of flowers everywhere, as well as people setting off some rather large firecrackers. I'm sure that making tourists jump is part of the fun.

And then this afternoon I ventured out onto the roads of KTM on my recently reassembled bike. In some ways this was less oppressive than walking, and I seemed to bump into fewer people. So gradually I'll acclimatise to this place & then hit the road ...

Last night was surprisingly quiet, other than the occasional barking dog, and I slept extremely soundly even though the bed was designed for people much shorter than me. So, after writing this & checking some emails, I'll have some dinner & wander about town for a bit ...

5 days to go ...

... 5 days before I go & I'm feeling uncommonly jittery & obsessing about minor matters such as ... should I take 4 pairs of undies or 3? I'm pleased that Thai Airways do not insist that I take the bike in a box, although they reckon "... it must be covered by a bag, or something similar" and that "the handle bar must be fixed side ways, tyres deflated & also peddles taken off". I telephoned "Protectabag" at Melbourne airport - they will wrap it in plastic for $35. A daft idea, and of course environmentally unsound, but it will save me a deal of weight & maybe protect the bike a little, and I sort of like the absurdity of it. I thought I'd book a room before leaving and have done so at the Potala Guest house. It must be busy in KTM at present as the first place I tried emailed me back to say they were booked out. The only room left at the Potala GH was "double bed, private facilities" so I took it (US$26 a night - a little more than I was initially planning). Ah, a bed big enough for me and the bike!

this time, I'm NOT TRAVELLING QANTAS (see below) and I have a new bike - a Surly Long Haul Trucker - which I reckon will be perfect for the job! The Surly has 26" wheels (good for travelling in places like India which retains the Imperial system of measurement), drop-down handlebars which I now prefer to the straight bars, and a steel frame, and is a little lighter than the mountain bike I used for my last trip. No suspension this time, but this shouldn't be a problem.

So, after 2.5 years I'm planning on returning to India by cycling from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi; I'm leaving Melbourne on 26th October '08. My planned route is at: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Kathmandu-to-Delhi-via-Pokhara

David & his bike go to India

By the way, I've rejigged & reposted the blog of my 2006 trip so it can be read in chronological order: http://members.optusnet.com.au/dwillsh/india1.htm

Melbourne II

I've been back for a little over a week now, and while I feel I've recovered from jet lag, I do continue to feel 'in a funk' - in the sense of a nervous depression - a sort of post-travel blues. It's not that I wish I was still in India - heaven knows, while India is a vast & fascinating place, it can also drive you barmy. I'm not sure I 'love' India, although I'd be keen to return & do some more cycling there (I'd like to cycle further into Rajasthan, and I also fancy cycling from Mumbai to Goa, return). Perhaps 'strong ambivalence' captures how I feel about the place - I both love it & hate it. And it's not that I can't make up my mind - I think it evokes strong feelings in both directions, which is perhaps what attracts me to it. No shades of grey.

I've heard people describe the place as anarchic, but I don't think this is correct. India has an extremely hidebound & conservative culture, as evidenced by, amongst other things, how large a part religion plays in the society, the poor status of women, and the ongoing strength of the caste system. To my mind, chaotic is a more apt description. And a bit of chaos is heavenly - perhaps that's what I'm missing.

I thought I might briefly review how it all went - for my own interest & perhaps for the interest of anyone who's been reading some of this blog or who may be planning a similar journey. My first entry (at http://davidinindia.blogspot.com/2004/12/my-plans-what-i-plan-to-take.html) provided, in somewhat obsessive detail, a list of what I intended to take with me. On the whole, it wasn't a bad list. In particular, though, I didn't take the windcheater, but bought a cheap jacket for use in Mt Abu, after nearly freezing to death on the bus from Rajkot. I also didn't take a sink plug or moisturiser; the latter might have been helpful as my feet, especially heels, became cracked & dried from wearing sandals the whole time. The Dunlop Volleys could well have stayed behind, as could the extra U-bolt lock, 1 padlock & wire cable, plastic spoon, bungy strap, sewing kit, & storage bags. Four pairs of undies was excessive - perhaps reflecting my slight nervousness as I packed; three pairs is certainly plenty. I didn't need the first aid kit or spokes but would probably take them again. I took an extra pair of long pants, and would do so again, to wear while the other pair were being washed. The laptop? It was a little daft to lug this around, especially as it enabled me to download photos onto it & preview them, with the result that I took over 3000 snaps. Still, I'd seriously consider taking it again next time, as it was good on several occasions to be able to listen to music & even to watch a few episodes of Seinfeld that I'd not seen. I also had some maps on it, my instruction booklets for the camera and bike, instructions on how to remedy various bicycle problems and various other bits & pieces. Having the day & date on it also helped keep me orientated.

Other than one self-induced sequence of flat tyres (in Mt Abu), I had no bicycle problems (well, that's if I don't count the twiddling & adjusting, by locals, of various knobs & levers on the bike whenever I was unable to keep it in my room). I think the MTB was probably a better bike for Indian conditions that the hybrid bike I took in 2000. Perhaps not quite as fast, but it seemed more robust, especially with the wider & sturdier tyres.

So, what stood out? I particularly liked cycling in Rajasthan - especially the roads to Ranakpur & Kumbhalgarh, even though they were a little steep in parts. They were interesting, with very little traffic & quite reasonable road surfaces for most of the way. I was very impressed by the fort at Kumbhalgarh, and by the baolis - step-wells - at Uperkot Fort in Junagadh, especially the Navaghan Kuva, which was just stupendous. The best restaurants were probably those at the House of MG in Ahmedabad - Agashiye upstairs & the Green House downstairs, although the buffet at Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur, was most impressive, and very tasty. I also enjoyed the kabab at Bade Miya, an evening street stall in Mumbai.

I found Ahmedabad (Amdavad) to be one of the more deceptively interesting places I visited - by this I mean that on first impression it seemed like a noisy, dusty, boring city, but further inspection revealed a fascinating city with lots to see & do, including eating at the aforementioned restaurants. I also really liked Junagadh, and the climb up Girnar Hill, despite the fact that I could barely walk for the next few days. Udaipur was magical, even without any water in its lakes, and I'd like to return there should they ever fill up again. Diu was a delightfully laid-back island, with some pleasantly deserted beaches, and I did enjoy my brief stay at Palace Utelia in Lothal, despite it being "ridiculously overpriced", according to the Lonely Planet Guide.

One of the best managed hotels, from a tourist's point of view, was in Daman, at the Hotel Gurukripa. It was about Rp 700 a night (about $16 USD) - not cheap - but had all the small touches that were just great for a weary, grubby, dusty cyclist - shampoo, soap, toilet paper, several towels, even little sponges to clean shoes & sandals with, and a pair of bathroom scales so that I could see how much weight I'd lost.

I should note that while I often tended to stay in mid-range rather than budget accommodation, many of the budget places I saw or stayed in were perfectly adequate (and conversely, a number of the mid-range places were pretty awful). In Udaipur for example, two people I spent time with, John & Marianne, were staying at Lal Ghat Guest House, which seemed pretty good to me, and somewhat cheaper than where I'd elected to stay. My reason for staying in mid-range places was that after 5 or 6 hours on the road, I really welcomed a bit of (relative) luxury - hot water/ shower, towel, a good bed, and easy access to a meal.

People have asked me about what dangers I encountered, questioned my sanity, called me intrepid & adventurous amongst other things & wondered how I could do something like this, especially on my own. While I'd admit to feeling nervous at times (eg prior to leaving Australia, and to cycling out of Mumbai & Nasik), the fact is that it was surprisingly straightforward. There's little or no requirement to be particularly fit - this begins to happen after a few days on the road - accommodation is easy to find, and the roads & traffic conditions are not really all that much worse than those in South India, or in Melbourne for that matter (well, I guess we don't have so many goats or cows on our roads, and people here do tend to look before they pull out into traffic or cross the road). It can get quite lonely at times, but this is manageable. Writing the weblog, checking emails, planning the next day's cycling, occasional phone calls to Australia and staring with desperate, glazed eyes at the wall all helped. There were a few times when I was daunted by what lay ahead e.g. cycling back up the hill from Ranakpur - from the "remote, plunging wooded valley, reached down a twisting road..." (LP guide), but in fact it was no big deal, once I decided to put my head down, bum up (a good cycling pose) & just do it. I hate to say it, but the Nike phrase, while being a bit simplistic, makes good sense.

I may well rejig this blog at some point into a website, including a selection from my 3000+ photos, as the reverse chronological order that Blogger uses is a little cumbersome to negotiate. To this end, I have been involved in some delicate negotiations with my good friend Mr Felix & his pal Mr Pumpy (see Mr Felix's Cycling Asia Blog and Biking Southeast Asia with Mr Pumpy!) about possibly having some sort of link with the Mr Pumpy site. We'll see.

map of the trip

here's a map of where I cycled ...

Melbourne

It was a pleasant enough flight from Mumbai to Melbourne, although I was still smarting over the $60 excess baggage charge that Qantas stung me with in Mumbai. My bike-in-a-box (i.e bike, locks, tools & a few clothes) weighed in at 27kg, which I was informed was 2kg over the allowable 25kg & that they had been directed by the Sydney office to charge for anything over this.

I guess it's labouring the point to note that my box weighed 2.5kg. Still, it's hard to see how a similar cycling venture is viable with airlines that insist on a box. I guess not taking the extra lock & the laptop would trim overall weight by this amount.

I'm still adjusting to the cool weather here in Melbourne (it's about 20'C here at 1pm, compared to mid-30's in Mumbai), the 5.5 hour time difference, and the lack of Indians.

Mumbai II

I can feel myself staring to wind down (or up) as my time in India comes to an end. I've spent the last few days cycling around Mumbai, taking in a few of the sights eg. Falkland St, the laundry guys near Mahalaxmi Railway station. On one of my forays out into the city, near a cricket ground across from the Chowpatty seaface, I spotted some bicycles with gears & two Westerners standing near them. "Other cyclists", I thought with excitement, as I've not met or seen any others on the trip. They turned out to be a pleasant young Australian couple who are working aboard the cruise ship Oriana as photographers. They've taken bicycles with them, and cycle around the various cities they stop in. It was good to chat with them; they are contemplating doing some cycling in a yet-to-be-decided country or countries.

Mumbai is a colossal & at times chaotic city, and cycling around it feels nearly as dangerous as cycling in Melbourne. Being a tourist, the 'hassle' factor is fairly high here. It does amuse me when some of the dodgiest-looking people you are ever likely to meet sidle up to you in the street and mutter "change money?". You would have to either have a total lack of judgement or be totally insane to even contemplate taking up their offer.

The other thing I've been doing is sorting out a fucking cardboard box for the bicycle. A telephone call to the Qantas office here revealed that, yes, they do insist on the bicycle being in a box, but no, they weren't able to supply one or suggest where to get one. Luckily the Indians are intrepid folk, and a worker in the hotel I'm staying in was able to find me a old refrigerator box. I'll be spending this afternoon cutting & remodelling it into a bicycle box. What a pain. So, words of advice to myself & other intending cyclists - DON'T TRAVEL QANTAS if you plan to take your bicycle. Most south-east asian airlines (eg Garuda, Malaysian, etc) are much more relaxed about this, and let you more or less wheel your bike aboard.

Mumbai

Back in Mumbai after 2.5 months - seems less overwhelming now having been travelling around India on my bike.

Yesterday, while still in Udaipur, I cycled to the Monsoon Palace, atop a nearby hill. It was a tough ride (return trip from Lal Ghat 15.9 km; average speed 12.66, but maximum speed back down the hill was 48 km/hr. Fabulous!). The Palace is not all that spectacular, but the view from the top makes it a worthwhile cycle.

The bus trip here from Udaipur was not very pleasant. The ticket was Rp 500 for me & Rp 100 for the bike, which travelled on the roof. And frankly, I wouldn't have minded swapping places. I had a sleeping compartment which was really like a big sardine tin ... I even found myself for some of the journey imagining that I'd died (which would have been a sweet release) & was being transported to Mumbai in a coffin. What was odd was that when I first got in & lay down I seemed to fit OK lengthwise ... I certainly didn't several hours later. I began to wonder if I was in one of those rooms in the old horror movies that slowly closes in, squashing its victim. Then I began to wonder if I was expanding! Around about this time I realised that I was slowly losing my mind in this perversely-named deluxe sleeping compartment.

Still, both I & my bicycle are here largely in one piece. We're (see how attached I've become to it ... I'm not sure how it feels about me though) here for a few more days, during which I'll poke around Mumbai on foot & by bike. I also need to find or make a big cardboard box to put the bike in for the journey home, to satisfy Qantas' absurd rules.

Today I saw the caves on Elephanta island, which all relate to the god Shiva. I thought they were well worth seeing, despite the annoying demand to pay 25 times what Indian residents pay to see the caves (Rp 250 vs Rp10).

Kumbhalgarh

Day 22 cycling: Ranakpur to Kumbhalgarh
Distance: 53.34 km
Ride time: 4:38 hrs
Average Speed: 12.14 km/hr
Maximum speed: 50.4 km/hr
Total cycled: 2022 km
Total between towns: 1822 km

It took little less than 2 hours to get to the top of the hill out of Ranakpur, where a Hindu temple stands (about 19km from where I stayed). As I left my accommodation and began the day's cycling, a dog suddenly made towards me. Thankfully he didn't bite into me, as I at first feared, but merely began trotting alongside me - and did so for the next 13 km (which shows how fast I was travelling). My next reaction at him follwoing me was an echo of the irritation that I'd developed from the "one pen" kids who followed alongside, but then I figured the dog couldn't have been expecting much of me. I then began to think (cycling does strange things to your psyche) as the hill became steeper & I began to huff & puff a bit harder that "perhaps he knows I'm gonna die up here & he's tagging along for the meal" (I'd seen some dogs ripping into a bull carcase the previous day). He finally disappeared after it started to rain. Fair-weather friend.

Unbelievably, it began to rain really heavily on the way, and I sheltered for a time under a tractor trailer at the invitation of the driver & his colleague. There were even a few hailstones falling for a time. Thankfully it was fairly short lived & I finally made it to Kumbhalgarh, while singing at times "it's raining in Rajasthan ..." . It was an excellent ride, although hard in parts, and I made 2 milestones - the fastest downhill ride of the trip (50.4 km/hr) and breaking the 2000 km mark. It was predominantly a rural area, and I found it to be one of the more interesting rides this trip. There was so little traffic & so few signs of any sort that for some time I thought that I'd taken a wrong turn.

I stayed at Hotel Khumbal Castle, quite close to the fort, which was expensive at Rp 1000 (cheaper accommodation was in the town of Kelwara, down the hill a few kilometers, but I didn't fancy making my way back up the road to see the fort, which I hoped to do straight away). It was comfortable enough, and had a great view out the window. The fort itself was impressive & probably worth the cycle there.

Unfortunately during the night I awoke with "gastrointestinal problems" that I felt precluded me from cycling the final leg back to Udaipur (about 80km) and so I did the unforgiveable, for a cyclist, and hired a jeep to take me & my bicycle back here. It was interesting to muse on the difference between travelling by bicycle & by jeep (and I did enjoy seeing that even it was forced onto the shoulder several times by oncoming buses). Obviously the jeep is much faster, and so serves a purpose if you want to get from A to B quickly. On the other hand, it felt much more insulated from what was happening outside, and no-one waved or said hello (or, it must be said, cried out "one pen"). It was like being in a bubble. You still are on a bicycle, I reckon, but it's a much more slow moving bubble & it's a little easier to stop & look at things that grab your attention.

So, I've bought a bus ticket back to Mumbai, leaving tomorrow at 3pm. Less than a week & I'll be leaving India.

Ranakpur

Day 21 cycling: Udaipur to Ranakpur
Distance: 102.88 km
Ride time: 6:27 hrs
Average Speed: 16.31 km/hr
Maximum speed: 49.1 km/hr
Total cycled: 1969 km
Between towns distance: 1769

It was good to get back on the bicycle after a week's R&R in Udaipur. It actually rained last night in Udaipur, and occasional drops fell on me as I cycled, taking the edge off the heat. I really enjoyed the ride & the scenery on the way, despite some hilly bits. The first part of the journey to Gogunda was along the same stretch of road that I cycled into Udaipur. The last 15km was largely downhill, as Ranakpur is tucked away in a wooded valley. The Jain temples were good to see, but I'm not sure that they were worth a 100km cycle, especially as I'd already seen and been impressed by those at Delwara (Mt Abu) and elsewhere. I stayed at the relatively lavish Ranakpura Hill Resort for 2 nights, after having managed to beat them down to Rp 700 for a quite nice room. They even had a swimming pool, which I sat alongside for an hour or so trying to even up my odd cyclists' suntan.

But SOMEONE GET THESE PEOPLE A PEN!!
People were very friendly, waving, smiling and calling out, but the kids became exceptionally tiresome after a while, with their "one pen, one pen!" cries (and the occasional "one rupee!" and even a "shampoo!"?). The children will see you coming from the top of a hill, and start screaming like banshees as they hurtle down shrieking "one pen, one pen". At first I thought I was mishearing; that perhaps it was Hindi for "welcome, stranger on a bike, to our village", but the outstretched hand, the occasional tugging at the bicycle, and even running behind me for several minutes with hand outstretched dispelled that thought. Several times I cycled past obviously better bred children who would calmly, with one hand behind their back & the other imperiously outstretched, request "one pen". And this occurred almost the entire way from Gogunda to Ranakpur (and to Khumbalgarh). People who know me will know I'm not a cynical man, but I did begin to wonder if the delightful "bye, bye" that many people said as I cycled past was not perhaps "buy, buy".

Udaipur III

I'm still here in Udaipur after nearly a week, soaking up some relaxation & time not on the bicycle. I can become a bit driven & so it's been good to just stop for a while - not that a week is all that long. My plan is to cycle to Ranakpur tomorrow, about 90km to the north of here, and then a little further north to Kumbhalgarh to do some sightseeing (Jain temple, fort, etc.) I'll most likely return to Udaipur for a day & then get a bus from here to Mumbai where I'll hang out & explore the place by bicycle for a few days before departing.

I have enjoyed Udaipur though, enhanced by having met Marianne, a Swiss woman, and John, an Australian, who curiously lives fairly close to me in Melbourne. It's been good to eat out, walk about & generally hang out with someone who enjoys these things.

Udaipur II

Udaipur, known by some as "City of Lakes" or "Venice of the East", is struggling at present with the fact that its lakes have been dry for at least the past year. Apparently it's been many years since things have been as dry. Still, it's a pretty interesting place to spend some time in. At first I felt quite dispirited at how 'touristy' it is, in that there are more western tourists & tourist infrastructure here than anywhere else I've been in India this trip (without forgetting that I'm also one, of course). So, leaping wholeheartedly in, I had an 'Aruyvedic' massage out the back of a local barbershop (Millenium) for an hour (cost: Rp 400, which seems fairly standard around here. It was reasonable, but I'm not keen on the coconut oil residue that sticks around for the next day or so. Then, the next day I had a massage from Raju, who runs the Bharti Guest House, Restaurant & Massage Centre in Hotel Lake Pichola Road. It was a very strong massage, which I like, and he employed some unusual techniques. I was briefly alarmed when he removed his own trousers, but thankfully he put on some shorts, and was again startled when he sat astride me to commence the massage, especially as the hairs on his legs were rather prickly. His approach was thorough & professional, and I may well have another before I leave here. At Rp 1050 however, it was extraordinarily expensive by Indian standards.

Yesterday was the time for a big treat, and so I went and had lunch at the Lake Palace Hotel, a 5-star luxury hotel in the the Lake Palace, built in 1754. It's in the middle of the lake, usually surrounded by water. You're taken to the hotel by boat. Lunch is a buffet comprising soup, salads, a dozen or so veg and non-veg dishes and perhaps half-a-dozen different deserts (cost: Rp 1200). Sometimes buffets can be a bit pedestrian, but this food was delicious, and we were there for several hours. Later we managed to have a look at some of the rooms by the man in charge of housekeeping there. The rooms, at over $300 a night, were wonderful.

Udaipur

Day 20 cycling: Gogunda to Udaipur
Distance: 46.34km
Ride time: 3:01 hrs
Average Speed: 15.95 km/hr
Maximum speed: 42.8 km/hr
Total cycled: 1866 km

It was nice getting up with the realisation that I only had a little over 40km to cycle. It can feel quite a pressure when you know you have a 100km day ahead of you, especially when you have no idea how the road will be. I had a relaxed breakfast before heading off (mind you, if the sounds of hawking & gobbing in the morning are 'off-putting', the sounds of them emanating from the kitchen are especially so).

The road was undulating with some steep parts. Despite this, it was a very pleasant ride. Very rocky, with some amazingly long stone fences snaking across the hillsides. The people seemed extremely friendly, waving & smiling & saying 'hello' or 'bye', and children would coming running up to me from all directions, invariably, and annoyingly, with hands outstretched, demanding, very specifically, "one pen" or "ten rupees". Luckily they didn't know what a kindly spoken "fuck off" meant. But generally, the friendliness was extraordinary. I felt like how the Queen must feel with all the waving she encounters & in turn is expected to return - sweet, but a bit of drag after a few hours, and there's always the risk of falling off my bike as I do so. One kind gentleman even offered to push me & my bike up one of the steeper hills with his outstretched leg from his motorbike. I thanked him but declined this unsafe-sounding offer. The nice part about struggling up these undulations is that you get to hurtle down the other side at great speed, singing "what goes up must come down, spinning wheel ...". I was also struck by how many westerners - either singly or in pairs - were driving past as passengers in Ambassadors & other cars, probably on the way to Mt Abu. Always a hoot to watch them gawp when they see me cycling along.

I've checked into the Hotel Caravanserai. A clean & simple room, good value for Rp 400, with a fantastic view of Udaipur from the rooftop.

Gogunda

Day 19 cycling: Mt Abu to Gogunda
Distance: 107.75 km (plus 23 km in a jeep)
Ride time: 6:54
Average Speed: 16.24 km/hr
Maximum speed: 45.0 km/hr
Total cycled: 1819 km

Mount Abu is a charming town, with a sense of spaciousness and (relative) quiet, enhanced by the lack of autorickshaws & dogs. Touristy, for both foreign & Indian tourists, in that there are numerous hotels & restaurants, but now is a relatively quiet time of year. While there were quite a few western tourists about, there are no obvious western tourist 'hangouts', so again I found meeting other travellers difficult. A very hilly, treed area, with many old, interesting-looking mansions dotted around. I quite liked Arbuda restaurant - a large place that for some reason isn't listed in the LP guide.

As noted earlier, I had a shirt copied by TRILOK CHAND TAILOR, near the Union Bank of India. They did a pretty good job. I liked their motto: "Be holly - Be yogi".

I headed off, somewhat tentatively in the direction of Udaipur - I felt a slight insecurity for the first time about my bicycle, or more specifically about the tyres/tubes, given the troubles I had the previous day. The tube hadn't deflated overnight, so I figured it was probably OK to head off into the relative unknown. Unknown becaus ethe Lonely Planet Road Atlas is actually not all that accurate, I'm coming to realise. A local map of Rajasthan show roads that the LP doesn't - fairly critical for the ride to Udaipur from Mt Abu. The ride down Mt Abu was fabulous. The scenery was great - at times even reminded me of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, except for the troops of monkeys at various spots down the mountainside. I only hit a maximum of about 40km/hr however, as there were many curves & the road, while being pretty good, did have some hard-to-see bumpy spots.

I took the first left at the bottom of the hill as advised, and headed toward the town of Pindwara, one of two towns on the way to Udaipur that apparently had accommodation. This leg, to Pindwara, was about 80 km from Mt Abu, and comprised both flat & fairly undulating sections. I'd not reckoned on how desolate the road would be, and in the heat quite quickly ran out of water. Coming across a police post in the middle of nowhere I was able, after a halting conversation with the policeman on duty (I think he was; he seemed to be in his underwear), to pump some bore water into my bottle. Being the colour of weak tea, I added a water purifying tablet just in case. The resulting mix tasted awful, and some difficult arithmetic arose between becoming dehydrated & throwing up.

After cycling about 107km, with another 23km to Gogunda, the only other town with accommodation, I was utterly exhausted, and managed to secure a lift in a jeep with 2 blokes. We agreed on Rp 100, but half way there they tried upping this to Rp 200, taking advantage presumably of how buggered & yet grateful I looked (especially as they did all the heavy work of putting the bike on the roof). The silly thing was that I'd already decided I'd give them Rp 150, which is what I ended up giving them.

I stayed in a room attached to the Jai Shree Govind restaurant - not very flash, but like nirvana to me at 6pm, after nearly 9 hours on the road. It was quiet - no early morning traffic & no amplified noise at 6am from local temples.

Mt Abu IV

Disaster! I was all keyed up & ready to hit the road to Udaipur this morning, but a bicycle problem has delayed this. As part of preparing the bike last night I thought I would just put a little more air in the tyres, even though they didn't really need it. As a consequence, goodness knows how, it resulted in my rear tube stuffing up - the valve came apart from the tube. After much effort (the bloody tyre beading is really tight) I fitted my spare tube, only to damage this in the process with the tyre levers, as I discovered this morning when about to pedal off - the tyre was flat. Hours later, and with the assistance of several blokes from a motorbike shop I managed finally, I hope, to have some success in getting the tyre to remain inflated (the American no-glue patches just wouldn't stick properly). Happily I managed to remain reasonably upbeat about it all, although there were several flashes of dread ("oh no!", "what am I going to do?", "how will I continue my travels?", "what if it can't be fixed?" etc.) as obtaining a replacement tube in Mt Abu is not possible.

Yesterday I had the most amazing hairdressing experience. My beard was getting a bit long so I thought I'd get a trim at the local barbershop - a small shed with 4 chairs & 4 hairdressers. I was ushered into the corner chair & the barber began his work. After largely finishing the beard he asked if I wanted "the blade" applied to those parts of my face that I shave. I could hear the bristles crunching as he scythed his way through the stubble. He then asked if I wanted a face massage. When I said "yes, why not", he produced an electrical appliance that looked suspiciously like an orbital sander, although thankfully the disc was smooth rather than made of sandpaper, and applied it to my face, along with various creams, lotions & sprays. The noise & vibration in concert was an extraordinary, even indescribable, experience, especially when he applied it to my ears. He then asked if I wanted a head massage - "yes", I weakly replied - and he proceeded to beat a rythym out on my head with cupped hands (the resulting concussion is probably what led me to damage my bike tubes last night) and squeeze it hard - as you would if you wanted to know how much air there was in a football. The whole process was extremely invigorating. I was tempted to ask if he did buttocks also, but wasn't confident that he'd quite know what I was asking him for. All this cost Rp 60 - less than $2 AUD. I'm gonna have this done again - perhaps I'll try a haircut next.

So as I wandered Mt Abu this afternoon with a day to kill, I was approached by a tailor whose request to visit his shop I had declined yesterday. He's agreed to make me a duplicate of one of my 2 shirts that's nearly worn out (in fact, a number of things I brought are starting to wear out or have broken), and reverse the worn-out collar on the existing shirt, by 8pm tonight, and all for a very reasonable price (Rp 350). Good for him, good for me.

Mt Abu III

Today I cycled to Mt Abu sanctuary. A sign there proclaimed that in 2001 there were 40 panthers, 108 sloth bears, 46 hyenas, 185 jackals, 85 wild boar, 44 pocupines, 2 wolves, 63 jugle cats, 393 peacocks & 7 crocodiles. Unfortunately I didn't see any of them during my visit, but with the number of Australian eucalypts in the sanctuary I was half-expecting a few koalas to make an appearance. From the tremendous variety of animal shit on the ground, however, there clearly were plenty of animals lurking about. Perhaps the best part of the visit was the experience, for a time, of quiteness - a rare commodity in India. What is it about so many Indians & their apparent intolerance of silence? Surprising in the country that presumably invented meditation. While I was in the sanctuary, a 4-wheel drive load of Indian folk (8 of them) arrived. The noise! (and this despite signs everywhere saying keep it quiet). Then another driver arrived & started doing some car maintenance, banging away with a hammer!

I'll leave for Udaipur tomorrow morning - by bicycle. I was briefly contemplating catching the bus again, having been put off by someone I asked who described the route as being "hills ... a tribal area ... no accommodation". However someone else, who seemed more knowledgeable (I hope) assured me that there was indeed accommodation on the way (it's somewhere between 153 & 180 km - a little too far to make in one day, especially with hills on the way). I am looking forward to whizzing down Mt Abu for 27km!

Mt Abu II

My first night in Mount Abu was a suprising one - so quiet, and I slept like a log (well, until 7am when a local restaurant turned on & cranked up the music). I woke up at one stage & didn't know where I was it was so quiet. Thinking it would help orient me to the place, I did a bus tour of Mt Abu. The tour was OK, except that it was all conducted in Hindi - like the old comedy sketch, where the guide says to me in English "Mt Shrikar, 5231 feet in height" and then speaks in Hindi to the rest of the passengers for 10 minutes, presumably about the same thing. The Dilwara temples, with their incredible & delicately carved marble were especially impressive, and the view from the top of the mountain was also striking.

I was hanging out to eat some meat - having been in the predominantly vegetarian state of Gujurat for a fair time - so went to one of the more expensive places in town - Mayur Restaurant, at Hotel Hillock. I, along with a bus load of German tourists & a number of presumably well-off Indians, ate heartily, for, in my case, the relatively large sum of Rp 432. I devoured dal shorba (soup), sweet lassi, coca-cola, murgh hara masala, naan, rice, gulab jamun with ice-cream, and still felt OK the next day. Amusing to note on the way back to my hotel that two hotels here are named Hotel Hiltone & Hotel Sheratone respectively.

I haven't read as much this trip as I thought I might, but two books that really stand out are Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (he is an excellent writer, with some wonderful insights & skill in how he writes about them) and the Wasp Factory by Iain Banks - a very perverse & enthralling book. The reliable Reginald Hill writes the Dalziel & Pascoe books, which are always a good read - they're crime novels, but intelligent ones. I've not seen any bookshops in India yet, but am perhaps not looking in the right places. I did think I'd use my laptop, on which I've numerous 'e-books' but it's a bit cumbersome to use in bed especially because it heats up quite dramatically after about 30 minutes & I don't want to use it in public, for fear of the crowds it would draw & the possibility of it being pinched. The bike is enough to have to manage.

Today I caught up with my old school chum Charlie, who's been involved with a group called Brahma Kumaris for over 30 years. The organisation teaches the Raja Yoga meditation technique and runs other courses & workshops. Mount Abu is their world headquarters; they claim over 6000 centres in 84 countries. Nevertheless, I expected it to comprise a few old buildings with some handouts for people interestd in what they do. In fact, the magnitude of the organisation & its facilities here are staggering. They have a "Universal Peace Hall" in Mount Abu that seats 3,000 people, while the hall in Abu Road ("Diamond Hall"), used for conferences, etc., seats 20,000 people! Gyan Sarover, where Charlie is staying, is a huge educational & residential complex. They also have a "Global Hospital & Research Centre" here, and a regular shuttle bus service runs between the 3 centres & Mount Abu township. There are folk everywhere, dressed in white, who are here to study at their 'Spiritual University'. Charlie introduced me to one of the BK people, Jenna, a delightful woman, who gave me a run down on their approach. Interesting, but the BK way is not quite my cup of tea.

Mt Abu

Distance by bus: Rajkot to Mount Abu - approximately 430 km
Time: 9.5 hours
Cost: from Rajkot to Abu Road - Rp 220 + Rp 100 for the bicycle

The bus arrived at the offices of Shrinath Travel at about 7pm, & so I somewhat nervously handed over my bike to be tied to the roof of the bus. It looked a long way up & there were heaps of other boxes & baggage being thrown up as well. (In 2000, my bike was badly damaged on a train between Kochi/Fort Cochin and the aptly named Managalore - the rear derailleur was damaged beyond my capacity to repair it & beyond that of Jyoti Cycles - the main bike shop in Mangalore. They weren't really familiar with gears & so were going to hit them with a big hammer, until I shrieked "no!" They were kind, however, in not wanting to charge me anything, and their efforts did enable me to be able to make slight gear changes with some struggle.) However I'm happy to report that it arrived safely at Abu Road. I, however, was in pretty bad shape when we arrived at 5am. It was unbelievably cold, and the bus seat was murder on my tender cyclist's buttocks. I was so cold, shivering uncontrollably in fact, and had hardly slept, that I decided not to cycle the 27km to Mount Abu from Abu Road, and caught a local bus.

Abu Road has a spacious and relaxed feel to it, and there seems to be an absence of the hideous traffic that blights much of India. I've checked into a relatively plush place - the Samrat International - but I feel the need for some comfort at present.

Rajkot

Day 18 cycling: Junagadh to Rajkot
Distance: 105.44 km
Ride time: 6:11
Average Speed: 17.33 km/hr
Maximum speed: 28.7 km/hr
Total cycled: 1697 km
Total between towns: 1512 km

The road surface was, on the whole, good, but the wind & traffic conspired to make it awkward. The last 30 km was a dual-lane divided highway. Interestingly, while I was still hobbling around, struggling to walk after my punishing hike up Girnar Hill & back, I had no difficulties with cycling - different muscles I guess.

I've now cycled a similar distance to my journey through South India in 2000 & for as many days. The main difference this time is that I've had no bike trouble whatsoever - in fact, I've only pumped some more air into the tyres once. In 2000, I incurred numerous flats, due to thorns, and my rear tyre had begun to perish. It was a little hotter then, and it rained several times. I have a mountain bike this time rather than my hybrid cycle (the worst of both worlds?), mainly because a 26" wheel is more convenient in India than a 700cc one, in terms of possible replacements, and I think it's a little more robust, as are the tyres.

The reactions from other travellers on hearing that you're cycling in India tend to be:
(i) they tell you you're mad (i.e dismiss you)
(ii) tell you about someone they know who's doing something even more extreme (eg "well, a bloke I know is walking cross India...") (i.e top you)
(iii) put themselves down (i.e "you're really seeing India ...")
Sometimes people enquire about the experience...


In Rajkot I stayed at the Hotel RR Palace. It was a bit of a drag that they didn't seem to provide breakfast and so I had to trek off to find somewhere to eat. I guess I've become spoilt. From the front desk of the Hotel RR, I rang the travel agent that people in Junagadh had suggested, to get a bus to Mt Abu (it's with great embarrassment that I write this, as it challenges my own purist notion of being a cyclist. Still, it's much too far to cycle in the available time - I want to be there in the next few days). The person who answered said there was a bus at 10.30pm that night - I was pleased, & said I wanted a ticket. Ah, but it's cancelled, they told me. Well, how about tomorrow night? "Cancelled also" The next night? "Cancelled" ... Oh no! They suggested another place, and I rang it. Yes, they had a bus leaving at 7.30pm (yippee!), but it only went to Abu Road, about 27km short of Mount Abu. They asked me the number of where I was staying. I began "221 ..". they said "321..?". I said "no, 221...". They said "231..?". I said "no, 2214...". They said "2213 ..?" I said "FUCK!!!". I think I must have been a little keyed up. At this point the hotel guy took over & gave the number. I went for a walk.

I didn't much like Rajkot, and was glad to leave, which I did at 7.30pm that evening.

Junagadh III

While in Junagadh I visited some of the other sights - the Arurvedic Research Institute & Museum was not very inspiring. As far as I could see, the place mainly comprised a collection of dusty bottles containing even dustier twigs, leaves and sundry other vegetable matter, in different sections eg for hiccups, angina, etc and a few old posters. However the comments in the Visitors' Book were all very glowing so perhaps I missed something. The Durbar Hall museum was of modest interest - it contained some weapons, portraits of various nawabs, chandeliers, chairs, howdahs and palanquins. The Zoo and Museum weren't much chop, although there are far worse zoos in India than this one. However, I really quite liked Junagadh, despite the shortcomings of some of its sights.

I might also note the typical process for changing travellers cheques at a bank, because once you get past the frustration it really is quite amusing. Today, as I entered the Bank of India a staff member approached & asked what I wanted. He then checked I had my passport and marched me up to a man sitting at a desk, directing me to "sit here". The man scrutinised my passport, then had me sign the TC and the back of a form. He then filled out 3 forms and made entries in 2 books or ledgers. Then he, I, the books & forms proceeded to another man who double-checked everything. When this was OK, the very first man took me and some of the paperwork to a teller who paid me. In some banks you get given a token after the paperwork is completed, and then you sit & wait until the number is called.

Junagadh II

Contrary to the views of two Australians, John & his daughter Vivienne, whom I met in Sasan Gir, I quite like Junagadh. While it's noisy & dusty, it's also a small enough town to be able to get to most places by walking or by a short autorickshaw trip. And there's lots to see & do here. Yesterday I made the big walk to the top of Girnar Hill & beyond. There are apparently 10,000 steps, which were built between 1889 & 1908. Dotted along the way are numerous Jain & Hindu temples, some of them dating from the 12th century. After reaching the final temple where you get given some coconut & sugar, you can descend to an ashram for a free meal of roti, dhal, aloo (potato) and rice on big leaves. Later I bought a bottle of "Mecca Cola" which tasted surprisingly like Coca Cola. I spent nearly six hours on the hill, and had very tired legs at the end (different muscles to many of those used for cycling are used in climbing, unfortunately.) But note:

** WARNING: LEG MASSAGE SCAM **
As I walked stiffly toward the base of the mountain, a young man offered me a leg massage (from the knee down) for Rp10, which I gratefully accepted. After doing both legs (and it wasn't a bad massage, except for the bit where he cracked each of my toes by giving them a vigorous tug) he tried to charge me Rp 20, claiming that Rp 10 was just for one leg!

Also visited Uperkot Fort. At first it seemed pretty dull - a wall, a mosque and a rather unexciting Buddhist cave apparently 1500 years old. However, there are 2 baolis (wells) within the fort - one round and the other square. The round one was amazing enough, but the square one, with its superb winding staircase cut into the rock was just astounding - incredibly deep, and somewhat spooky, with hundreds of pigeons nesting and swooping about, and the associated cooing & smell of pigeon shit & urine (human).

I'm staying at the Hotel Relief (motto: "we care people carefully"). I like it - simple, cheap, clean, and the owner & his brother are very helpful and knowledgeable about Junagadh & its surrounds.

Junagadh

Day 17 cycling: Sasan Gir to Junagadh
Distance: 53.87 km
Ride time: 3:40
Maximum speed: 27.9 km/hr
Total cycled: 1591 km
Total between towns: 1407 km

What a great ride today was! The road itself was in pretty poor condition - a narrow strip of bitumen & rocks on the shoulder meant that I had to be especially vigilant for vehicles in either direction, as there was a great risk of toppling over when moving onto the shoulder (you really need both eyes & ears in the back of your head). I suspect the rocks were there as part of a plan to upgrade the road at some point. Nevertheless it was a very nice ride - not too great a distance, the weather was perfect for cycling, but the best part was the wildlife on the way - monkeys, peacocks, deer (? well, they had antlers), birds and some sort of fat possum-like creature. I also realised that I must learn to cycle with my mouth closed, as to date I've swallowed a large quantity of the Indian insect-life. It's not that I cycle with my mouth hanging open - I'm either talking to myself, gasping for air, or saying "hello" to a passer-by. I suppose I could take a leaf out of the Jain's book and wear a scarf over my mouth. The other nice thing about today's ride was that some folk pointed out a short-cut to me which I took (always a little bit risky) & I saved about 8km as well as having a very quiet road to cycle on.

One of the things to do in Sasan Gir - in fact the main or only thing to do - is to go on a 'safari' to see some lions. For some reason, I really couldn't summon up the enthusiasm to do this & so headed out this morning for Junagadh, after an absolutely inedible breakfast of lightly toasted stale bread provided, at extra cost, by the Hotel Umang at which I stayed overnight.

I was again momentarily disquieted by a road sign that said "Look Out For Lions" as I pedalled off into the distance. I'm sure they were joking.

As I hit Junagadh, a government official sitting in a booth at the side of the road waved me over to shout me a cup of tea. As usual, a small crowd gathered, asking the standard questions about me & my bike. My first impressions of Junagadh are that it will be an interesting place to look around - the town has quiet a nice feel to it. I'm staying at the Hotel Relief, in a very clean & pleasant room (Rp 300), although the traffic is pretty noisy.

Sasan Gir

Day 16 cycling: Veraval to Sasan Gir
Distance cycled: 43.03 km
Ride time: 2:58
Average speed: 14.64 km/hr
Max. speed: 25.9
Total odometer reading: 1537 km
Total Distance between towns: 1353 km

The first 13km to Sasan were OK, but then the road degenerated, wind arose, making the whole day quite arduous. Sasan Gir is the main town near the Gir National Park & Sanctuary, which is the "only abode of the "Asiatic lion" in the world ..." and houses a little over 300 of these lions, which are at great risk of extinction. I'd be lying if I said I felt no disquiet on entering the gates of the Lion Sanctuary on my bicycle (approximately 37km from Veraval). I reminded myself as I pedalled on that the risk would have to be much less than that posed by cycling on Indian roads.

Hotel Utsav, where I stayed in Veraval, comprised 5 rooms on the 4th floor of a building opposite the local bus station. Cheap but probably fairly priced at Rp 200, given how run down it was. Still, there was bucket hot water & towel provided - I'm beginning to quite like using the bucket method of washing myself, but I'm not sure my bathroom at home could handle this innovation. While in Veraval had an excellent thali at Prakash Dining Hall, which was a very clean & simple place. Recommended. On the whole though, Veraval didn't grab me as the sort of place that I'd choose to linger in for long.

Veraval

Day 15 cycling: Diu to Veraval, via Somnath
Distance: 94.20km
Ride time: 5:35
Maximum speed: 25.6km/hr
Total cycled: 1494km
Total between towns: 1310km

On the whole, the road was fine - terrific for the first bit, awful for a while & then good again. The sun has quite a bite to it, and I now have sunburnt arms (as well as the gaps between the straps on my sandals & a strip across both hands,j ust below my knuckles ...). I detoured to the temple at Somnath on the way to Veraval but didn't find it all that enthralling. Curious to see that it was patrolled by soldiers, with one of them in a turret, with machine gun behind a sandbag. Expecting trouble perhaps? It was disquietly amusing to notice that two of the soldiers had left their rifles (they looked like the old Boer war .303 rifles) leaning against a column, with neither owner to be seen. I suppose that if I had ventured to pick one up the soldiers might well have reappeared, or maybe the guy in the turret would have sprung into action. For some reason I gave a totally voluntary donation to the restoration fund, before reminding myself with a small tinge of horror that I'd contributed to the maintenance of a religion - not something that I'm generally happy to do. The older I get, the less I can relate to or have time for religion of any sort ... perhaps a topic for another blog.

Diu II

Diu really is a laid-back & relaxed place, and it's very quiet at night (although the silence is punctuated at times (eg 4 am) by sudden outbursts of frenzied barking by the packs of dogs that inhabit the place, and last night a bunch of Indian blokes were partying in the adjacent room until very late. There were also some tremendous bangs at 1am last night - they sounded like cannons, and the whole hotel seemed to shake with each blast (turned out they were large fireworks - part of a wedding celebration somewhere nearby)... other than all this, it's quiet at night!)

One of the workers in the restaurant attached to Hotel Apana told me he earned Rp 2500 a month [about $75 AUD] (he takes the orders, which is one up from being a waiter, and hence gets paid a little more, but doesn't get tips as do the waiters). For this, he worked a six day week,and a ten hour day - from 11am to 4pm & then 7pm to 12 midnight. He also explained that his wife & child lived in Rajasthan - several hundred kilometres away,and hence he only sees them a few times a year. He said he liked the job & was thus prepared to live with this. Another waiter said his family lived in Nepal ...

I spent some time cycling around Diu - I passed through an area that was purportedly an Industrial Zone, but not much seemed to be happening. Along the northern stretch of road were a few bars, and it wasn't all that clean & tidy compared with the tourist area. I discovered that there are actually two bridges that connect the island to the mainland - this is not at all clear from the various maps of Diu. The western part of the island was curious - Vanakbara, a fishing village, which stank of fish & shit. I've never seen such a concentration of children - you get the impression that all the folk do there is fish & fuck. Nearly every kid wanted to do a sort of sideways "high-five" as I cycled past, and I've never heard so many requests for "pen" as here. It was a very friendly town,and one of the few places in India where even the women would greet you as you cycled past. Gomptimaka Beach, on the southern coast, was a delightfully secluded stretch of golden sand - quite idyllic & not a shred of tourist development there.

DIU

Day 14 cycling: Rajula to Diu
Distance cycled: 70.17km
Time: 3:36
Average speed: 19.82
Max. speed: 31.1
Total distance cycled: 1348km
Total distance en route: 1216 km

I was feeling a little queasy in the morning & thought that I'd ordered toast with jam. The jam sandwich that arrived wasn't quite what I'd expected. The ride itself started off delightfully; the road to Una was excellent & it was easy to maintain a pace of 22 km/hr or more. Most of the way from Una onwards was ghastly - either very rocky or else potholed & bumpy. It was nice to arrive at the Hotel Apana in Diu & freshen up after 2 days cycling. My room at the hotel is tiled from floor to ceiling (and including floor & ceiling). Theoretically, I guess it would make cleaning easy. I suspect the tiling also enhances rather than dampens any ambient noise, as the first morning here would have to be one of the noisiest starts to the day I've had in India - the usual banging, bellowing & dogs barking, with the addition of some of the loudest clearing of nasal & other passages I've ever heard. It sounded as if someone was being murdered down the corridor. I'm sure it could not be good to do whatever it was he was doing. The other sound that floated into my subconscious mind was the repetitive 'ding' of a bell being rung - which I slowly realised was my bike's, which was locked up out the front of the hotel, below my window. I don't think my yelling out the window at the perpetrators did much for the morning's harmony. In fact, at every single hotel I've stayed at, with the exception of Hotel Palace Utelia, my bike's gears have been changed from those I've left it in. This can be especially annoying when you start cycling in the morning & find your gears all out of whack, and slipping. The big question after "what is your country?" or "from where are you coming?" is to ask how much the bike cost. I'm usually pretty coy about this, and if pressed give a value of a fraction of what it cost.

India! You have to love it (otherwise you'd go mad here....).

For breakfast this morning I had utappa - like a big vegetable pancake, with associated sauces in small tin tubs, and for lunch channa chaat - chick peas with chopped up salad. The food certainly is one of the delights of India, and I'm working way through all the different food that I can.

Diu (pronounced "dew") comprises an island about 11km by 3km & a few bits on the mainland, and along with Daman, which I visited earlier, were ruled by Portugal between the 1530's and, surprisingly, 1961 when India kicked them out, using their armed forces (a few people died in the process). Daman & Diu are not part of Gujurat, but are both governed centrally, from Delhi. It also means that alcohol is available here, unlike in the rest of Gujurat, which is a 'dry' state, largely due to the influence of Ghandi. Typically, restaurants in Gujurat are vegetarian, and alcohol is not available.

Uhoh ... gotta go ... I can hear my bike bell ringing ..

RAJULA

Day 13 cycling: Palitana to Rajula
Distance: 104.58 km
Ride time: 6:30
Average speed: 16.41 km/hr
Max: 29
Total distance: 1278 km
Distance between towns: 1146 km

My original plan had been to cycle to the port town of Mahuva, stay overnight there and then cycle on to Diu. However a worker in the Hotel Sumeru persuaded me to go via Jesar (not in the Lonely Planet atlas - it might have been the town labelled Dunghapur) to Rajula, which I did. I don't think he was aware of what an awful road it would be to cycle. The turnoff to Jesar was about 12km from Palitana. The road was slightly hilly, but it was quite scenic compared to many other roads I've cycled on the journey. Mt Shatrunjaya remained visible for at least the first 20km, and then another mountain with a huge temple on top took its place for some while. It was a laborious ride - the road seemed to really drag, and the wind was a hindrance. The road between Jesar and Rajula was bloody awful - full of craters and attempts at remediation i.e big clumps of tar. The average speed above contains a lot of variation - a few sections were reasonably speedy. Overall, the scenery varied quite a bit also - brown & dry in some parts; green, lush, fertile in others. Onions, cotton & other crops (corn? wheat?) were being grown, and the gentle sound of irrigation pumps was a nice accompaniement to the ride. Other motorists & their passengers were exceedingly friendly, and my face & arm became sore at all the waving & smiling I found myself doing. Many of the men were dressed head-to-toe in white - with white turbans, stove-pipe trousers that billowed out above the knee (jodhpurs I guess), and usually a big moustache. In fact, I had the uneasy feeling that it was the same damn bloke popping up in all these villages I cycled through.

One small oddity was that the Gujurat map I recently acquired showed two Rajulas, about 13 km apart. Luckily the one I arrived at had somewhere to stay (Hotel White House - which it certainly was - it felt like I was staying in a sanitorium). Very few roadsigns or mileposts were in English, and so I found myself doing what the worker at the hotel in Palitana recommended: stopping in front of a few people while shouting "Rajula! Rajula!" & emphatically pointing to my map . It seemed to work. I had one small mishap on the way. I'd stopped to jot something down in my notebook when a gust of wind blew all the loose leaves down an embankment alongside the road. As I went after them I took a bit of a tumble & drew a little blood. Luckily, nothing serious.

India is such a vast & fascinating place. So often I find myself exclaiming "what the ...!" or "how the ...?" or just "wow!". And I think I might generate this for a few Indians, who often struggle to comprehend why a Westerner would want to cycle through India. They'll often stick their hand out, moving their upturned palm up or down or sideways with a quizzical raising of the eyebrows.

Rajula itself did not seem all that captivating, but admittedly this was based on a short walk of one or two kilometers into the town.

Palitana

Day 12 cycling: Bhavnagar to Palitana
Distance: 65.22km
Ride time: 3:42
Average speed: 17.85 km/hr
Max: 37.3
Total distance: 1173
Distance between towns: 1042

The road to Palitana was generally good, although became fair in parts, and there were several hilly bits. The traffic was challenging at times as the road was quite narrow. I stayed at a place called Hotel Sumeru, run by Gujurat Tourism. It was adequate, as was the attached restaurant, where I had vegetable makhanwalla, aloo mutter, dal fried, vegetable pulao and roti.

Many of these hotels & guest hotels amaze me by their utter obliviousness to the fact that people staying there might want to sleep at times. From 6.30 am onwards, doors slam, staff roam the corridors singing and shouting to one another, and it often continues late into the night. It's also interesting to ponder the obvious cultural differences in concepts of hygiene & grubbiness. Many rooms will appear pretty bloody awful to me eg muck all over the bathroom but this has clearly not registered with staff who've cleaned it. Kitchen and waiting staff will often have uniforms so grubby that you'd look askance at your local car mechanic if their overalls were as messy. Still, I notice my own sensibilities drifting - I typically don't react to things as I did earlier on e.g strange black items in my yoghurt drink, dried crap on the toilet seat, etc.

My Western sensibilities are also put to the test when I occasionally read the newspapers. One example: a woman became pregant after being raped by the son of her boss. Her family were demanding that he marry her or else they would have him charged.

There's a strange phenomenon I've noticed a few times: other westerners often seem to studiously avoid making eye contact when you pass them in the street or see them in shops & cafes. I even had this with an entire bus load of American tourists who arrived at Hotel Sumeru. What's this about? People's protective mechanism in managing India? (I don't think it's me)

Today, from Palitana, I climbed Shatrunjaya mountain, one of the Jain religion's holiest pilgrimage sites - it contains over 800 temples. The view in all directions was fabulous. It's a 600 metre ascent, comprising over 3000 steps, and took several hours up & back.

Lothal/Utelia to Bhavnagar

Day 11 cycling: Lothal/Utelia to Bhavnagar
Distance cycled: 111.73km
Ride time: 6:32 hrs
Average Speed: 17.35
Maximum speed: 25
Grand total: 1108km
Total between towns: 976km

Well, I've hit the 1000km milestone on my travels (if I just count city-to-city travel, then I've cycled 976km). Yesterday was really hard - the road surface was quite good, but I just felt buggered, and the wind at times seemed quite strong as it blew into my face for much of the trip. It was also very arid country, with mudflats, a few shrubs and not much else. I'll rest up for maybe 5 days when I get to Diu, on the southern bit of Gujurat where it juts out into the ocean.

Bhavnagar's not such a bad town to wander around, despite the Lonely Planet guide saying there wasn't much to see. I also went & checked out the local museum & took some photographs which apparently I was not meant to do. The exhibits were just great - many of them looked like something a Grade 5 pupil would bang out for a school project. I particularly liked the stuffed lion & the skeleton.

India feels quite a safe place to travel in (the roads, and what you read in the newspapers notwithstanding) - probably the scariest moment occurred today when a cow tried to eat my guidebook as I stopped to check something out in it.

Ahmedabad to Lothal/Utelia

Day 10 cycling: Ahmedabad to Lothal/Utelia
Distance cycled: 94.72km
Ridetime: 4:49hrs
Average Speed: 19.96 km/hr
Maximum speed: 32.4
Total odometer reading: 973km

It's always difficult cycling out of a big city - "am I going the right way?" - and very cheering when you discover you are. Ahmedabad was surprisingly easy to get out of. It's also mentally taxing - can't let your attention waver for much more than 2 or 3 seconds. The times I have, I've invariably & suddenly spotted something e.g. a tractor, goat or motorcycle on the wrong side of the road, heading straight toward me.

Today's road was very good (mostly Highway 8A) - dual-laned divided highway, flat, excellent surface, light traffic. Scenery was mainly fields & factories (petrochemical, pharmaceutical). There were few refeshement stops.

Ahmedabad to Utelia is actually about 81km but I cycled an extra 14km to Lothal and back. While asking directions, people obviously thought that I was asking "Lothal?" when in fact I was asking "Hotel? ... Utelia". Utelia, where I expected to find Hotel Palace Utelia, was unsigned and doesn't appear on maps, even the local Gujarati one I bought in Ahmedabad. I eventually found it - a large mansion or palace in the middle of the small village of Utelia - seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I was prepared for a difficult time as the Lonely Planet describes it as being "ridiculously overpriced" (but "unusual") and a website by two cyclists ("Bike Brats") was quite negative about it. It was expensive - the tariff was Rp 2400 which I easily negotiated down to Rp 2000, dinner Rp400 an breakfast Rp200. Nevertheless, I had some sympathy for the owner's (Yuvaraj Bhagirath Sinhji) point that it was expensive to run, given its isolation, that tourists only arrived there sporadically, and that it had been damaged by the earthquake that hit Gujarat some years ago. I enjoyed my stay, and the host struck me as quite a pleasant fellow. The palace has 20 rooms, only 10 of them usuable at this stage for tourists, with fantastic views in both directions of the surrounding village and beyond, from the room I stayed in on the top floor. Hot water, soap, towels, toilet paper were all supplied & the food was pretty good - certainly much more than I or the other guest, a Frenchman, could possibly eat. It was also very quiet at night, which is a rarity in India. I'd recommend the place, despite its cost.

Ahmedabad II

Well, I think I may have experienced the "ecma" that Hotel Serena boasts of. I ordered boiled eggs for breakfast via room service, after having had the ghastly idlis that the Nutan Restaurant dished me up yesterday. The 2 eggs arrived - soft-boiled & helpfully cut up for me into 8 pieces, arranged sunnyside up on a plate, and doused in ground pepper. After the none-too-clean looking room-service guy put his hands all over the tines of the fork before giving it to me, my appetite seemd to evaporate and - I feel embarrassed to admit this - I flushed them down the loo.

This was planned to be a very early breakfast so I could get to the rendevous point for the "Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad" by 8am. I duly arrived, as did a couple from South Africa (Mo & Acacia). Unfortunately for us the guide didn't - we were told he'd gone away for the day. What a drag. However, the 3 of us managed to get a copy of the map of the walk & decided to do a self-guided tour. Mo was a whiz with the map & at asking locals where things were, and the resulting tour was a fascinating look at the side of Ahmedabad that had thus far eluded me. We walked through numerous pols - local micro-neighbourhoods - and saw Jain & Hindu temples, Muslim tombs, striking architecture. The walk left me feeling that Ahmedabad was a pretty interesting town. After that, we paid a visit to the Calico Museum of Textiles - an absolute mecca for those interested in textiles & weaving, I'd reckon - and I later cycled out to Ghandi's Ashram, about 5km out of town. It was an exhausting day, and it took some self-control to not flip-out on finding that my pants had been replaced by a pair of green socks when my laundry was returned to me. Luckily, they were found. (It is amusing to see all the numbers appearing on my clothes so laundries can identify them - so far, my white shirt has 133, 406 and 303 written on the inside collar.) Acacia, Mo & I caught up again that evening for a meal. They were a nice couple & it was good to spend time with them looking at stuff & chatting.