We Need A Valium :-S

Day 2: Narayanghat to Ayodhya

Now we really know what we have taken on.

We covered 344km today which sounds quite good doesn't it?....But in 15 hours?.....Maybe NOT!

To entertain ourselves during today's mammoth drive, and because we like to pass on a little information for you folks back home, we came up with a witty infomercial entitled:

"8 Ways to know that you've driven a Rickshaw in Nepal and India"

1) Have you been forced off the road by oncoming lorries in your lane? (Yes, too many times to count.)
2) Have you gone through any official checkpoints and been asked to pay a "fine"? (No, they just wanted to chat.)
3) Have you gone through any "official" checkpoints and been asked to pay a "fine"? (Yes, but we did a runner and left them in our dust ha ha haaaa.)
4) Have you eaten unidentified fried food from the street stalls by the side of the side of the road? (Yes, and it was delicious.)
5) Have you got lost and had to rely on local directions? (Yes, it got even worse! On the upside we found out that a Rickshaw DOES make the perfect off road vehicle. Four wheel drive and suspension are mere luxuries.)
6) Have you got lost and persuaded a local to show you the way? (Yes, twice. Some people have gone out of their way to be helpful.)
7) Has your Rickshaw broken down in the middle of 8 lanes of downtown city traffic during rush hour? (This is just a guess as drivers here haven't really grasped the concept of lanes - imagine the worst congestion and multiply that by 10 to get somewhere near what it was like.) (Yes, but after Fred Flintstoning it to the side of the carriageway, we found out we'd actually just run out of petrol!!!!)
8) Have you raced the sun to your next destination because you really don't want to be driving on these roads in the dark? (Yes, and we lost big time.)

The day started well, albeit a lot earlier than I ever imagined it would, at 5am. A quick check of our fuel situation revealed a stark truth - either we manage to purchase some more or we would have to leave Nepal by the nearest border crossing and a lot earlier than planned.

Buying petrol isn't the sort of thing you usually worry about no matter where in the world you are it being about as ubiquitous as Coca-cola and Starbucks. However Nepal is in the middle of a severe fuel crisis and the Army had to be drafted in just to ensure we all started with a full tank. The petrol stations we passed resembled Wembley Stadium on match day and despite the best attempts of one team we were travelling with we were unable to get black market supplies from an eight year old girl so we headed for the border at Sunauli.



Once across the border things took a turn for the worse. In an attempt to save ourselves a few km we set off on a road that wasn't marked on our map. The locals assured us it was the way to Faizabad, our planned overnight stop.

The reason for the road's absence from our map soon became clear as within a few miles it disintegrated into little more than a dust track with the occasional large rock to liven it up a bit. It was so rural the only locals we came across were washing their water buffalo in a lake. Rather than the usual chimes of "hello" they just froze solid when they saw us, their mouths wide open.

Eventually we came upon a settlement that was marked on our map and we estimated we were only 50km from the National Highway and Faizabad was only another 80km from there. Still a good two and a half hours driving but it was still the middle of the day and so our confidence improved.

India, as always, had other ideas however. The road began to infuriatingly alternate between dirt track and a covering of rubble akin to large, rough cobbles. Neither of which allowed us to make good progress so it took three hours and a guided detour around a town called Basti to get us on to the National Highway.

It was getting late with only a couple of hours daylight left but surely now, on a dual carriageway, we would find out what the Rickshaw was really capable of. Again the roads let us down.

Although marked as a dual carriageway on our map the road appeared to be still under construction with only two lanes available most of the time. Bizarrely the two lanes that were complete alternated every 500m or so which meant frequently having to slow down to cross a narrow section of the central reservation. With no obvious priorities competition for the right of way was particularly cutthroat and on a number of occasions we were faced with the unappealing choice of ditching the Rickshaw off the side of the road or being sideswiped by a bus.

Deciding that we'd had enough for one day we stopped at the first town and asked around for the nearest lodgings. We were pointed to Ayodhya, only 10km short of Faizabad!

As dusk settled we fired up the headlights and gunned the engine as much as we dared. Driving after dark was truly terrifying. Many Indians do not use their lights and ours were only powerful enough to see a few feet in front of us. Those that do use their lights have them on full beam permanently. Either way it was like driving blind in a vehicle which was definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.

After a few bowel loosening encounters we came up with a last gasp plan. We found the biggest, meanest looking truck we could that was managing a reasonable speed and tailgated it all the way to Ayodhya.

Still alive, just!

Current location: Ayodhya, India, 26N 47'22.7" 82E 12'07.8" 76m