Grand Tour of India October/November 2007

Latest News - July 30th

2007-12-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Over the past week I have had the Landcruiser checked over by my co-driver from our Great Tour of China trip in 2004, Chris Cooper, while it was being stored in New York State.

Chris has fitted the new Garmin navigator onto which I will download all the waypoints that John Brown has taken from the route survey. This will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to set up the route on the Garmin. New brake front brake pads have been fitted The car needed a steering geometry check because of uneven wear on the front tyres which occurred whilst driving across the States. We've switched the front tyres to the rear to even up the wear. New bushes have been fitted to the rear anti-roll bar and hopefully the rattle from the offside rear handbrake mechanism has been sorted out.

Last Friday Chris drove the car down from Jim Taylor's garage, where the car has been stored for the past three months, to the US shipping company's warehouse next to Newark International Airport, New Jersey. The car will be shipped to Mumbai, India in the middle of August. The shipping time is about four weeks, giving us plenty of time for any delays, as the start of the Great Tour Of India is not until early October.

Finally, a great a big thank you to Jim and Leejun Taylor for their generosity in allowing me to store the car with them as well as their hospitality to Chris and for letting us to use their magnificent garage facilities to prepare the car.

I'll start posting to this site on a regular basis in September and on a daily basis once we leave the UK for India on October 3rd.

August 18th - Shipping from the US to Mumbai

2007-12-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

The US shipping agent has just confirmed that the car will be shipped from Newark, New Jersey to Mumbai, leaving on August 22nd.

It will be nearly ten months since the car arrived in San Pedro, California last October for the Panamericana tour. Since then we have driven through Central America to the Panama Canal, then shipped the car back to California for our fantastic drive across the States from Los Angeles to New York. A lot of miles have been travelled and with the Indian tour less than two months away we are about to travel many more.

We have just heard that HERO 4x4xplore are planning their next tour, this time through South-East Asia starting in Singapore and finishing in Hong Kong. The tour is set to take place in February 2009.

September 16th - Landcruiser arrival in Mumbai

2007-12-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

I've just looked on the Hapag Lloyd website to see when they are delivering my car to Mumbai. The container is scheduled for delivery to NHAVA SHEVA, the principal port of Mumbai, today. Let's hope that's correct! This coming Thursday it will be trucked from the port into the warehouse in central Mumbai.

With just over two weeks to go until we fly out, our final preparations are taking place. We have received from HERO a complete set of waypoints and tracks, via e-mail and these have now been downloaded onto my Garmin navigator, a total of over 400 waypoints and 18 tracks. This should make our navigation much easier as we travel around India. The Indian road maps are not particularly detailed, so having a route for the tour downloaded onto the Garmin will really help.

We've heard that the monsoon weather is late this year, so there is a good chance of heavy showers when we start the tour. I just hope it's not too bad and the monsoon ends quickly, as I really don't fancy driving through floods as we head off!

September 17th - Please send me your comments

2007-12-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

I always like to hear from readers to my blogs, so please send me your comments by clicking onto the comment link at the bottom of each post. The blog has been set up so that I am automatically e-mailed when a reader posts a blog.

I look forward to reading what people think about our great adventure around the Sub-continent.

I've just added a map of India to the title page of the blog. The route is shown in black. As the space on the title page is limited, the small size of the map means you cannot read the names of the towns we are visiting, but hopefully it gives a good idea of the areas of India we are visiting.

September 19th - Container unloaded in Mumbai

2007-12-26T04:26:00.000-08:00

Just checked the Hapag Lloyd website and at 01.20am this morning the container with my Landcruiser was unloaded from the ship. Now it is being trucked to the warehouse in downtown Mumbai for customs clearance and then for me to pick it up in two weeks time.

All I have to hope for is that everything I packed in the car in New York is still in it!

September 27th - T minus 6 and counting!

2007-12-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Less than a week until we fly out from London to Mumbai. There isn't much left to do other than pack our personal belongings. I'm taking a replacement rear light as one of the lights was broken whilst the car was in the States. Apart from that we have to hope that everything I packed into the car in New York is still in it when we collect it a week tomorrow.

I've been checking the weather in Mumbai and at the moment it is still quite wet. The end of the monsoon is apparently late this year. With temperatures in the thirties it will be quite a change from here.

I'll start posting photos as soon as we arrive.

October 2nd - Less than 24 hours to go

2007-12-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

It is approaching nearly a year since we first decided to do the Indian tour. Now there is less than 24 hours to go before we fly out to Mumbai. The weather there appears to have improved and at the moment it's partly cloudy, a whole lot better than the rain of a few days ago. Delhi is scorching with temperatures of 100 degrees! Let's hope it has cooled down a bit by the time we get there in just over a week.

Chris Cooper who has been such a help in maintaining the car for me, has just sent me the picture below of the car in the garage in Gloversville, New York. As I said to him when I saw the photo, I hope the car has four wheels on it when I collect it in Mumbai!

October 3rd - Leaving London

2007-12-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

It's great to have an evening flight as it leaves the whole day to finish all the things you need to do when you are going away for five weeks. I've packed away all my electronic goods: cameras, laptop, GPS, mobile phones and an external disc drive to back up all my video in case the camera fails on the trip. I hope I've thought of everything but now typing this at Heathrow waiting for the 21.50 BA flight to Mumbai, it's too late to do anything about it if something has been left behind.

An eight hour flight to Mumbai and we will arrive around midday. Hopefully I'll post my first photos tomorrow.

The adventure begins!

October 4th - Mumbai!

2007-12-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention in yesterday's postings that as we were boarding the plane in London we met up with friends from previous rallies: Roger and Sarah Lucas, Terence English, Pedro Roca and Angela Flaque from Barcelona.

After a very smooth flight of 8 hours we landed at Mumbai International airport at 11am. India is 4.5 hours in front of the UK during BST. Apparently the Indian time zone was set at GMT plus 5.5 hours at the time of Indian independence to differentiate India from Pakistan.

We arrived in glorious sunshine and a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. A wait of forty minutes for our bags was the only delay of the journey. As we emerged into the sunshine the sign below welcomed us to Mumbai.

Our driver was waiting for us and we headed off for the hour's drive south to our hotel, the Taj Mahal which is next to The Gateway to India. What a drive it turned out to be. The Mumbai traffic is horrendous.

Cars jammed all the way from the airport to downtown Mumbai. Horns blasting at you all the time as cars and small three wheeler taxis pushed their way forward trying to swap lanes whenever they could. It reminded me very much of Chinese roads but without the thousands of bicycles. The drive took nearly twice as long as the driver said it would.

As we drove up to the hotel we saw for the first time The Gateway to India monument built in 1916 to celebrate the visit to India of George V and Queen Mary. It was from here in 1947 that the British finally left India after independence.

The Gateway taken from our 6th floor room in the hotel.

At the hotel reception we were given garlands of flowers and the hotel receptionist painted red dots on us. No doubt about it, we have arrived in India!

The afternoon was spent meeting old friends who were arriving from all over the world. Kenny and DeeAnne Croucher from El Paso, Texas, John and Elaine Chambers from London, Greg Stanley from Sussex and various members of the HERO team, including Joanne Brown.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, a symbol of the British Raj, built in the late 19th century.

Tomorrow we should collect our car, though with the customs computer down this afternoon, that may be delayed.

October 5th - Mumbai - A day of disappointment

2007-12-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

We rose with the expectation that by this afternoon we would have picked up the car, sorted out all the jobs we needed to do on it and be ready for tomorrow's signing-in. Well, it didn't work out that way!

After several delays, due to customs clearance problems, the pick up time was put back from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and then finally 5.30pm. We went from one Mumbai dock gate to another trying to find where our cars were being released. The Indian agent who was helping with the customs clearance didn't seem to know and in the end we walked to the third port entrance gate and found some of the cars parked amongst a huge crowd milling around in the area in front of the gates. There was no security and the cars were left with their windows down and unlocked. Our car was not there, but then we saw it being towed out of the port. It turned out that the batteries were flat and it wouldn't start!

We had several attempts to jump start it using Bob Howells' Landcruiser, but to no avail. We couldn't leave the car by the gates, so it was towed by Bob to the main road, about 200 hundred yards away. The locals were very helpful and a repair man tried to start the car with batteries he had collected on his bicycle, but without success. In the end we decided we needed to buy new batteries and, leaving Wendy, Thelma and Mike Johnson with the car, Bob Howells drove me to a garage that the Indian agent had said sold batteries. When we got there they didn't have any! In desperation I called another one of the competitors, Richard Smith who also drove a Landcruiser, and he offered to lend me his batteries to get the car started and then drive to our hotel. So, leaving my flat batteries with the garage to re-charge, we headed to where Richard's car was parked. We unbolted the batteries and back to my car we went. Now it was getting dark and driving in Mumbai in the rush hour and in the dark is a pretty terrifying ordeal. Cars, bicycles, motorbikes, pedestrians, trucks and even children sleeping in the gutter at the edge of the road, makes driving very difficult and dangerous. Bob negotiated all these hazards magnificently and we soon arrived back at my car. A few minutes later the batteries were installed and the car started and we drove to the hotel and parked up for the night.

What a start to the tour! Tomorrow I will return Richard's batteries and hopefully buy two new ones. If I can't locate new batteries I'll try the re-charged batteries and hopefully they will get us going again.

After all these problems I was reluctant to go to the Bombay Gymkhana for a buffet supper which HERO had laid on for us all. In the end we went and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Tomorrow we sign on to the event and then we have the car checked over at a scrutineering session held at the hotel. I need to sort the battery problems out before I will be able to do that.

October 6th - Mumbai - Indian help and generosity

2007-12-18T01:05:00.000-08:00

A quick post to thank all those as Swastik Automobiles in Colaba, Mumbai who worked like Trojans to get me back on the road ready for the start of the tour tomorrow.

After signing-on at the Taj Mahal Hotel, I took a taxi to Colaba and was told that one of the batteries I had left with them was useless and the other was suspect. So it had to be two new batteries.

I took one of the guys from the workshops to the hotel car park, where we refitted Richard's batteries to his car and fitted the two new batteries to my car. I found out that the new batteries were slightly different from the Toyota ones and the brackets to hold them down needed altering. So, it was back to the workshops where the brackets were altered in a matter of minutes. One man welded new strapping onto each bracket and then a second man fitted and painted the brackets so they looked brand new! What service!

I couldn't leave without thanking them all, especially the proprietor, Jayesh Ruparel who is standing in the middle of the photo below. Thanks Jayesh for the fantastic service you, and all your staff, gave me. Hopefully we will see him when we finish at The Gateway to India on November 5th.

Well, our second day in Mumbai is coming to a close and sadly we have seen very little of this vast city. Apparently it is one of the largest cities in the world with over 15 million inhabitants. The whole day has been spent getting the car ready. We filled up with diesel at the great rate of 35 rupees per litre, which equates to about 40p/litre! We then bought a large quantity of bottled water and snacks to keep us going whilst we drive about 250 miles to Aurangabad.

This evening we had the final briefing from John Brown before the start tomorrow morning at 6.30am. We will all be flagged off from in front of the Gateway to India. Our adventure in India is about to start.

Finally to the man who posted a comment on the site, that he thought we had caught measles, I can only say he should read the text and not just look at the pictures!

October 7th - The Start from The Gateway to India and a 430 kms drive to Aurangabad

2007-12-17T04:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the sending-off party held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel had an added dimension after we had watched England beat Australia in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Much celebrating was done and we went to bed without knowing the result of the New Zealand v France match. So, when we rose at 5am for the 6.30am start, we were astonished to learn that France had won.

Returning to the little matter of the start of The Great Tour of India. The cars lined up in front of the Gateway to India as the dawn was breaking.

A shot of the car with our Tour of India car number (No.6)in the windscreen and the map of the route above the map of our Central American tour of last year.

Two Indian horn players gave shrill blasts as each car was waved away by John Brown.

We were sixth away at 6.36am. Our destination today was the town of Aurangabad, about 400 kms north-east of Mumbai.

Driving out of Mumbai you see some of the really terrible living conditions of the poor. Tarpaulins are the principle form of roofing and many seem to live in the open. It is all very depressing when you think how well we live in the West. This was our first real experience of driving on Indian roads and within half an hour we saw our first major accident. On the other side of the dual carriageway were the remains of a truck that had been hit head-on. There was virtually nothing left of the cab. We wondered how the accident had happened as there was no sign of any other vehicle involved in the collision. You learn very quickly that Indian driving is all about being aware of vehicles that come at you from every direction and the best way of keeping out of trouble is to continually blow your horn. Indians accept that a blow of the horn is a sign that you are coming through and they must give way. Ninety per cent of the time this works but you still get drivers who fail to heed the warning and drive at you as though you are not there! Time and again today I thought of our driving in China in 2004. It is very similar indeed.

As we headed east we drove through lush agricultural land. Most of the farming seemed to be done by farmers working their own land rather than big corporate farming. Only once or twice did I see large scale operations. About 30 kms before Aurangabad we stopped at one of the main attractions in the area, the Ellora Caves. These are Buddhist and Hindu temples carved out of solid rock.

They were constructed between the 5th and 11th century AD. Thirty four caves were constructed with some being four stories high. It was staggering to think that this was all done without machinery and just hammers and chisels. All the walls, ceilings and entrances are adorned with religious sculptures hewn out of the rock. As with most Indian tourist attractions you are pestered from the moment you get out of your car by people trying to sell you things. At first you just put up with it but you have to be very forceful to stop them from spoiling your enjoyment. Up to now we have never felt threatened by the crowds who come up to us, in fact everyone is very friendly and courteous. Two of the Macaque monkeys outside the caves.

We left the caves at about 3.30pm and drove the remaining 30 kms to our hotel. When we met up with the others on the tour everyone agreed it had been a very successful day.

October 8th - Aurangabad to Indore

2007-12-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

As with all the one night stopovers, it's simply impossible to visit the town you are staying in as you arrive after a long day and then leave early the next morning. As a result we didn't have the time to see Aurangabad, which apparently is the centre for manufacturing Hindu prayer shawls. Our hotel Taj Regency was on the outskirts of the town. A five star hotel with a magnificent pool and gardens. They laid on a great buffet on the lawns, during which a cake was presented to Do and Els Meeus to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

We left the hotel at 7.30am for a drive of just over 400 kms to the city of Indore, the motor manufacturing centre of India. I took the photo below of my navigator with Jingers our ace mechanic, who up to now I have not needed to call upon. Let's hope that continues.

Sadly, our first stop at the Ajanta Caves had to be cancelled as they are closed on a Monday. The caves are another of India's religious sites dating back more than a thousand years.

We drove on until we came to the hilltop fort, Asirgarth. As we arrived me met Tom and Rosalie Gatsonides who had been to the top and said it was a difficult and very narrow drive to the top. We decided to take photos from the bottom, one of which is below.

We then drove on to the Hindu temples at Omakareshwar where pilgrims bathe in the waters of the rivers that run in front of the temples.

A huge hydro-electric scheme has been built with a giant aqueduct taking the water through huge concrete canals for irrigation.

We finished the day arriving in Indore before dark, which was extremely fortunate as the driving on the road into Indore was the worst we have seen so far. Several horrendous truck accidents and at one point I was forced off the road by a lorry overtaking another coming up to the blind crest of a hill. Fortunately there was sufficient room on the side of the road for me to take evasive action.

October 9th - Indore to Udaipur

2007-12-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

After the problems of driving on Indian roads, virtually everyone decided to have an early start so that the 400 kms drive to Udaipur would be completed well before dark. Also, tonight we are staying at one of the great hotels of the world, The Lake Palace Hotel and to see it properly you must be there before the sunsets.

The first 150 kms of the drive north from Indore were simply horrendous. The roads were diabolical with giant potholes everywhere. When you did have a decent section of tarmac you could not be certain that you wouldn't suddenly hit a pothole. We had one moment of pure India. There on the side of the road was an elephant with its rider (mahout?) and a man in a turban leading it along the road.

We stopped and I remembered that we had half a water melon left from the day before which I gave to the elephant who took it with its trunk and swallowed it whole! We took our photos and headed on for our first planned stop at a former maharajah's palace that had seen distinctly better times.

We had taken over four hours to do under half our trip so we were very relieved when the roads improved and we drove on good smooth tarmac roads with very few trucks. The next 200 kms took only 3 hours and we arrived in Udaipur at 3.30pm.

It is very difficult to describe how stunningly beautiful the Lake Palace Hotel is. It was built by a maharajah in the 18th century. The palace was built on a man made island and became a hotel in 1963.

I hope the photos give some idea of how beautiful the hotel is. In the evening we took a boat ride around the lake as the sunset. A fitting way to end another great day in India.

October 10th - Udaipur to Jodhpur

2007-12-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

We decided to leave as late as possible to enjoy the early morning at the Lake Palace Hotel. Our suite was simply unbelievable. It included a whirlpool bath that had windows on three sides overlooking the lake! It was such a shame that we were only spending one night there. It has to be one of our top five hotels in the world. Another photo of this unbelievable hotel as we took the boat back to our car.

We left soon after 8am for the 325 kms drive to Jodhpur. We had decided to skip the optional off road section so that we could spend time at two places on the route. The first is the magnificent and awesome Kumbalgarh Fort and the second a Jains temple at Ranakpur. Both these sites were constructed in the 15th century.

The fort is perched on top of a hill, miles from any large town.

The walls extend for thirty-six kilometres! The place reminded me so much of the Great Wall of China. A view looking down on the walls.

We spent a couple of hours there, climbing to the very top from where the views across the Indian countryside were fantastic. It is difficult to comprehend the work that went into constructing such a huge fortification.

About 50 kms north we came to the marble temple of the Jains religion. The temple has 1,144 columns, all intricately carved, supporting its many domes.

Each dome is wonderfully carved on the inside.

The construction of the temple apparently took 60 years.

We then drove the 120 kms to Jodhpur, stopping on the way at a carpet weaving stall and buying a beautiful hand made carpet. A short-cut from the official route took us up the main highway due north and we arrived at the Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel on the outskirts of Jodhpur around 4pm. The hotel recently made the headlines as the venue for Elizabeth Hurley's wedding. Our dinner this evening will be on the lawns where the wedding ceremony was held.

October 11th - Jodhpur to Jaipur

2007-12-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Our hotel in Jodhpur was the vast Umaid Bhawan Palace built in the 1920's.

We had breakfast on the terrace of the the hotel overlooking the lawns where the Hurley wedding took place and in the background we could see the magnificent walled fort of Jodhpur. Our schedule didn't permit a visit to the fort as it didn't open until 10am and we have another 400kms to drive to our next stop at Jaipur.

We drove on fast roads more or less due east, making our first stop at Pushkar which has a lake that the Hindu pilgrims bath in and is surrounded by magnificent temples.

A drive round the lake took about half an hour and then we moved on into much drier countryside. We went past several forts which stand on hilltops looking out over the surrounding countryside.

Below is a scene typical when you drive in rural India. One that has not changed over centuries. The use of camels as a beast of burden is still widely used.

Our drive then took us on empty roads into a very remote part of the region and after another three hours of driving we arrived in Jaipur at the Rambagh Palace Hotel, another palace built by a maharajah in the 19th century as his hunting lodge. It is simply exquisite in all respects. Tomorrow I will post some photos of the hotel and show everyone how tough this type of 4x4 touring is!

Finally, to the readers of this blog who posted a comment that the hotels we have been staying in, are not a patch on a 'hotel' in Sussex, I say 'believe me they are!'.

October 12th - Jaipur (Rest day)

2007-12-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Our first rest day of the tour. We have now been driving for five days, so everyone was looking forward to a day to chill out. Our hotel, The Rambagh Palace is quite simply one of the most luxurious hotels we have ever stayed at.

To have a day when we didn't have to get up at 6 am and leave by 7 am, was very welcome indeed. We decided to have a late breakfast and then have a car and driver give us a tour of Jaipur. Before that I just had to check the car over. We have now travelled nearly 2,000 kms and it was time to make sure everything was OK; tyres, water, oil, washer fluids and finally re-arrange our luggage so that some of the rattles in the rear will cease!

We left the hotel at 11 am and drove into the centre of Jaipur, known as the Pink City. The old fortified walls are painted in a lovely red ochre, and we drove through one of the gates to the City Palace, the residence of the Maharajah of Jaipur and his family. We spent half an hour looking at the public areas and bought one or two items from local craftsmen for our grandchildren.

We then headed out of the city to the summer residence of the Maharajah. The palace is very similar to the Lake Palace in Udaipur, as it is an island in the middle of a lake.

The palace is no longer used but is being restored.

Close to the the palace was a vast antiques warehouse where we spent a fun hour looking at a huge array of Indian craftsmanship. In the end we bought a 2ft high painted teak elephant which we are having shipped back to England.

We then returned to the centre but were caught up in the call to prayers of the Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan. The roads were jammed by thousands of white capped Muslims and we took over an hour to find a way back to our hotel.

The afternoon was spent by the pool before we were taken by coach to a very special party given by the Maharajah at the City Palace. HERO had arranged for us all to have traditional Indian clothes which added to the occasion. When we arrived at the palace we were greeted by dancers, camels, riders on horses and elephants. The photo below is of one of the magnificently decorated elephants with one of our group, Alvaro de la Macorra from Mexico City, in the Indian dress.

We then all went in a long procession into the private areas of the palace. A special elephant polo match had been arranged, with members of the group riding the elephants. A mahout controlled the elephant whilst the passenger attempted to hit the ball with the polo stick. At the end of the match the elephants lined up with Julie Brogan riding the principal elephant as it was her birthday

We were then entertained by traditional Indian dancing and a wonderful meal in the Maharajah's private courtyard. It was a very special evening, which we will all remember.

Tomorrow we head for Delhi, some 300 kms north of Jaipur. We will be spending two nights there before the long drive to the Punjab and Amritsar.

October 13th - Jaipur to Delhi

2007-12-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

We found it very difficult to leave the Rambagh Palace. The service, the rooms, the facilities are all of an unbelievably high standard and we made a promise to ourselves to come back to this special place.

We had two options today. We could either drive on a country route to Delhi or leave late and see the Amber Palace, just outside Jaipur and then take the expressway to Delhi. A late start, as the Amber Palace doesn't open till 9am and is just 12 kms from Jaipur.

We had heard a lot about the palace and wanted to spend some time there. We arrived about 8.30am and were immediately besieged by hoards of locals trying to sell us a whole variety of tourist items. It is extremely difficult to stop them from pestering you. Saying no, simply is no good at all! You feel mean not buying something but once you do others then take up the 'attack' and your visit can soon become very stressful. We managed to leave the majority behind us as we walked up the road to the palace. It is a huge construction built in the late 16th century. It is surrounded by 16 kms of walls, with the Jaigarh Fort high above the palace. The fort housed the army and the palace was for the royal family. Below are a selection of photos I took as we approached the palace and then climbed to the top.

We had decided to walk up to the palace, but you could take an elephant ride. As we walked down we saw the mahouts washing the elephants in the lake below the palace.

We left the palace after an hour and a half and headed north on the expressway to Delhi, some 250 kms away. Indian expressways are NOT motorways. They are dual carriageways with many intersections where locals drive onto the wrong carriageway without a second thought! We saw many trucks, camel carts, motorbikes and cars heading straight at us. It was no surprise when we came across our first major truck accident. In all we saw at least ten serious truck crashes. Some were overturned, whilst others had driven into bridges, ditches and into the central reservation. It was a very sobering drive to Delhi.

A typically overloaded trailer parked on the side of the road partially blocking the slow lane. A real hazard at night.

This next shot is of a truck coming at us driving up the fast lane in the wrong direction! You can see on the right of the picture a coach on the other carriageway.

Another truck driving on the wrong carriageway this time coming at us on the hard shoulder and half in the slow lane.

We arrived on the outskirts of the capital at about 1pm and our drive in to the city was remarkably easy as the Indians are building multi-lane highways. Still, it never ceases to amaze me that on an eight lane highway you will find a three wheeled bicycle in the fast lane!

Delhi was designed by the British architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, in the 1920's. The centre has wonderfully wide roads and avenues with large art deco government buildings. I am posting just one photo of Delhi today which is of the India Gate that Lutyens designed as a memorial to 70,000 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War.

Tonight we are up late to watch England play France in the rugby semi-final of the World Cup. It starts here at 12.30am and a group of us are going to the Shangri-La Hotel where they are showing the match in their Island bar. Let's hope we have something to celebrate tomorrow!

October 14th - SPECIAL RUGBY WORLD CUP POSTING

2007-12-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

This is a special blog being posted just 7 hours after the incredible victory of England over France in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup.

About 20 of us went by taxi to the Shangri-La Hotel where they were showing the the match on large TV screens, in the Island bar. With India being four and a half hours earlier than BST, the match started at 12.30am.The night got off to a great start when the pre-match national anthems were sung. A group of French sang La Marseillaise in response to our God Save the Queen. It was a fantastic atmosphere and set the scene for a wonderful night for English rugby. For nearly two hours there were loud cheers, and boos, as the match ebbed and flowed. When Jonny Wilkinson kicked the goal to take us into the lead just a few minutes before the end of the match a cheer went up that could be heard throughout the hotel.

After the match was over one of the French came up to me and congratulated us on a fine England victory. We headed back to our hotel with the feeling that we had been part of something rather special; watching our national side win whilst we were thousands of miles away in a foreign land.

October 14th - Delhi (rest day)

2007-12-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

A late start for us today after the partying following the England victory in the World Cup. We met several of the others who had been with us last night and and they all looked slightly worse for wear!

We made the decision to hire a car and driver for a two hour tour of the city. Bob and Thelma Howells came along with us. First of all we headed for the political centre of Delhi where all the government buildings are located. It is a wonderfully laid out area and below are some of the magnificent buildings that were built by the British in the 1920's.

A shot taken looking down the Rajpath towards the India Gate in the far distance.

One of the canons outside the President's residence.

A group of Ambassador cars outside one of the Government buildings. The car is based on the Morris Oxford built in the UK in the 1950's.

From the Government buildings area we drove a short distance to Connaught Place in the centre of Delhi where the principle shops are located. As it was Sunday everything was closed, even the markets. From Connaught Place we went to Old Delhi, which is where the majority of the Muslim population live. As today is Eid (the end of Ramadan) everyone was out on the streets and when we arrived at the Red Fort the crowds were milling everywhere. The Red Fort was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jehan when he moved his capital from Agra to Delhi. The main gates into the Red Fort.

Our time was limited so we didn't go into the Red Fort but drove to another famous location in Delhi, and now a World Heritage Site, Humayun's Tomb. Humayun was the second Mughal ruler, the son of Babur. The tomb site is truly beautiful with large areas of gardens surrounding his tomb building, a massive domed structure. A photo of Bob, Thelma and Wendy walking towards the tomb. The gateway to the tomb and then the tomb itself.

From the tomb we made our last port of call at the India Gate, the memorial to all the Indian men and women who died in the First World War. There is an eternal flame burning at the base of the arch and the two massive piers are carved with the names of those who died.

Part of the inscription at the top of the India Gate.

We arrived back at the hotel with enough time to have a drink and meet up with several of the others in our group. We have made so many friends on these events and it is always interesting to find out about the new participants. Sadly, two of the group leave us tomorrow, Suzanne Rimmer in Car 10 and Grace van der Vis in Car 23, both first-time participants.

For those that might be interested, I thought I should give a few statistics/facts about the participants and their cars.

There are 28 cars on the tour, coming from seven countries. We have four control cars and one 24 hour car that drives the route a day ahead of us to report back any changes to the route. Of the twenty-eight cars, 10 are rental cars (Ford Endeavours). The participants come from nine countries (UK, NL, MEX, ESP, CH, NOR, USA, FIN,SA). Of the 28 cars, six are doing their first HERO event. The most popular vehicle, apart from the rental cars, is the Toyota Landcruiser (8), followed by four Land Rover/Range Rovers. Other cars include, Mitsubishi L220 & Pajero, Jeep Cherokee, Mercedes Benz G wagon (the oldest car on the event - 1983).

Tomorrow we drive nearly 500 kms to the Punjabi city of Amritsar This is the site of the holiest Sikh temple, the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Another exciting day beckons.

October 18th - Manali - Special Update

2007-12-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

Apologies to the hundreds, no thousands of readers to my blog that there have been no posts since Delhi on the 14th October.

When we arrived at Amritsar there was no Internet connection at our hotel and we went to the border crossing ceremony that takes place each evening with Pakistan, so I had no chance to get to an Internet cafe. The next night in Mcleodganj, the location of the Dalai Lama's residence in exile from Tibet, the same thing happened.

Last night we arrived in Manali at the Holiday Inn, and even though there was meant to be Internet service, there wasn't! I am now posting this at 6.30am in the morning using the hotel manager's computer. We head for Shimla today and I am assured we have good wi-fi services there. All the posts are done on my computer and ready to download to the site. This evening there should be four days of posting to the blog.

October 15th - Delhi to Amritsar

2007-12-07T03:27:00.000-08:00

The longest drive of the tour, nearly 500 kms along the expressway from Delhi heading north-west into the Punjab. The Punjab was split by the British at independence and caused much upheaval and loss of life. Once again our drive was not an easy one. This time major construction works of a new Metro line slowed us down as we left Delhi.

Further on widening of the expressway from two to three lanes made travel very slow for the first 100 kms. After that even though the road was better the driving habits of the Indian truck and car drivers wasn't! On several occasions we faced trucks driving at us on the wrong side of the carriageway. Once this happened with a police car in front of us who drove on as though there was nothing wrong! Many of the vehicles are chronically overloaded as shown in the photo below.

Sadly, we have had our first accident involving one of the participants. No one was hurt but the car now has only one headlight and a badly buckled bonnet and wing. Apparently a farm tractor and trailer pulled out onto the expressway with no warning at all. Another example of how unpredictable it can be driving in India. Do you think English bus passengers would like to travel on a motorway carried like this??? On the left in front of us is one of the white Ford Endeavour rental vehicles that many of the group are using.

Our drive to Amritsar took nearly 8 hours and wasn't helped by further roadworks as we approached the city. Our hotel, the Ritz Plaza, didn't live up to its name or rating. The Indians said it was a 4 star, everyone on the tour said 2 star at best. Our bathroom had a leaking toilet which flooded the floor!

Amritsar is just 25 kms from the Pakistan border and at Wagah there is the only land crossing point between the two countries. Each evening they have a ceremonial closing of the border. It has become a great tourist and nationalistic event. The border is opened at 6am for pedestrians and then at 10am for trucks. The border closes at 4pm but not officially until 5.30pm when several thousand people sit in open stands on each side of the border and watch a military ceremony that involves soldiers strutting and posturing. The ceremony has become a very nationalistic event with great cheers and chants from each side to announcers proclaiming how great their country is. The Indian soldiers who take part in the ceremony have the most impressive uniforms I have ever seen.

Their head dress has a large fan on top.

The Pakistani soldiers have similar uniforms.

I was reminded of John Cleese's Ministry of Silly Walks, when I watched the soldiers marching with the highest steps imaginable, to and from the border gates. The gates with Pakistan in the background.

When they are at the gates they stamp and posture at the soldiers across the border. It is all very strange, although an unforgettable experience to watch. The gates were officially closed as the national flags of India and Pakistan were lowered to great cheers and shouts from both crowds.

We returned to the hotel and had a 2 star mediocre meal. Tomorrow we visit the Golden Temple and then head for the Himalayan foothills.

October 16th - Amritsar to Mcleodganj

2007-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Amritsar is the location of the Sikh religion's holiest site, the Golden Temple. We took a tuk-tuk for the two mile ride to the temple. As required by Sikh law we had to remove our shoes and socks and wear a scarf on our heads. These were being sold for 10 rupees. Nothing can prepare you for the magnificence of the Golden Temple. It is quite simply one of the most beautiful places we have seen.

The Temple itself is located at the centre of a square pool of water surrounded by white marble buildings and other temples. You walk clockwise around the pool and at one end of the pool is a causeway along which you walk to the temple. All the time Sikh prayers are being chanted and accompanied by music and broadcast on loudspeakers. All around the pool Sikhs are bathing themselves in the holy waters. We queued up with hundreds of pilgrims to see the temple. The temple is wonderfully decorated, both inside and out, with the dome, walls and ceiling, covered in gold and silver. The Sikh priests were seated and reading the prayers from one of their holy books, whilst others were chanting and playing their musical instruments. Pilgrims were seated on the floor reading from prayer books; others were covering themselves in water from the pool. I hope the photos below do justice to this incredibly beautiful place.

In all we spent nearly an hour at the temple before we headed for the site of one of the grimmest occurrences in British colonial rule, the massacre at Jallianwala, just a short distance from the Golden Temple. This occurred in 1919, when General Dyer opened fire on a group of unarmed Indian protesters and slaughtered either 2,000 according to the Indians or 379 according to the British. Either way, it was a terrible event.

There is a memorial to the victims, including an eternal flame, set in a large garden. I took a photo of the notice at the entrance to the memorial which tells the story of the massacre from the Indian viewpoint. I hope it is readable.

We returned to our hotel, collected our car, and then drove 200 kms up into the Himalayan foothills for our stay at Mcleodganj. On the way we encountered much evidence of rain damage from the monsoon. One bridge was so badly damaged that we were forced to ford the river. With water up to 2 feet deep it was quite a challenge. The first picture below is of Bob and Thelma Howells ploughing through the water creating quite a bow wave!

The second photo is of Jim Carr with his 'slightly' damaged Range Rover.

One surreal sight on the journey was in one of the many small towns we drove through - a MiG 15 fighter jet on a stand at the side of the road. Why it was there I don't know, just another memory to treasure of our tour of India.

The view from our hotel room down into the valley as the sun was setting.

Finally, at the meal this evening we celebrated the birthday of Alan Crisp. From the photo you can see how silly some of the participants are!!

Happy birthday Alan, I didn't mean it!

October 17th - Mcleodganj to Manali

2007-12-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

Our drive today was just over 200 kms through some magnificent Himalayan mountain scenery, ending at the town of Manali. As we left our hotel in Macleodganj we passed by the Dalai Lama's residence in exile. This area of India is the home to tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees and everywhere you go you see Buddhist monks dressed in red robes. It brought back memories of our trip through Tibet in 2004. We passed several military installations with tanks outside the gates.

As we rounded one corner the photo below shows what we saw!

On closer inspection we learnt it was in fact an artificial insemination centre for livestock. Shortly after we had our first views of the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas.

Some 55 kms further on we turned off the main road onto small side roads leading into an area known as Little Tibet. We passed several brightly coloured monasteries.

Shortly after we came across a set of 8 magnificent stuppas, each with a giant prayer wheel inside.

There were Buddhist prayer flags strung up between the stuppas and also in the trees which surrounded the site. In the fields there were terraces of rice and on the slopes tea was being grown. After 15 kms of beautiful driving we returned to the main road for about 30 kms and then we turned off into the mountains for what was to be one the best drives of the tour so far. How John Brown finds these roads is a mystery to me. Almost always they are not on any road map and they always take you into regions of a country that very few, if any, foreigners have ever been to. We rose quickly up a very narrow mountain pass to over 6,000 ft.

Often we had precipitous drops on the side of the road, and the edge was unguarded. Here on the descent was one of the few places we had concrete barriers but often these were broken as in this picture.

This carried on for nearly 80 kms, with about 20 kms on rough, but smooth, gravel. We descended from the first pass into a beautiful valley and then rose to climb another pass. As we descended the pass we came across the two all lady cars, Car No. 27 with Eileen Ainscough and Tommy Black and Car 10 with Carol Steljes and Wendy Picken having a picnic on the side of the road. We snapped the photo below as we drove past, and apologies to Carol and Wendy as you are both obscured by your car!

A few kilometres on we joined the main road again for the final 50 kms into Manali.

As we approached our destination the weather changed and for the first time on the tour we experienced rain. Very quickly this turned to quite a downpour and rivers of mud were washed across the road off the mountain slopes. We were very pleased to arrive at our hotel, The Holiday Inn, before it became dark. I took the photo below from our bedroom where we could see that snow was falling on the mountain peaks high above us.

Another great day of touring in India. Tomorrow we head for Shimla, which was the summer administrative capital for the British when it was too hot to remain in Delhi.

October 18th - Manali to Shimla

2007-12-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Another simply superb day of driving through the wilds of the Himalayas. Wonderful twisty mountain roads rising to the highest point of the tour at 3,140 metres, over 10,500 ft.

We left Manali at 7.30am on a bright and cold morning. After all the rain of the previous evening it was a relief to be driving in the dry. I have been asked by one reader of the blog to give more information on the weather and the food. I will deal with the weather now and later with Indian cuisine. Today was the coldest we have had on the entire trip with the temperature falling below 6 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature we have had was about 40 degrees just before we reached Delhi. On the whole it has been clear blue skies with very little wind. I'm not sure if we are lucky, but it certainly feels like it after the vagaries of the English weather.

Our drive took us due south back down the Kullu Valley, but this time on the western side of the river. On the way we came across a large flock of sheep being herded down the main road. Some of the sheep had magnificent curved horns.Herding of livestock down main roads is a common occurrence in India, and a hazard that you have to be on the alert for at every bend!

We turned off for the Jalori La Pass after about 100 kms from Manali. We really were in the wild. A narrow mountain road took us up and often you met buses coming down and you can see from the photo below how tight it could be getting past them. This time its Jim Carr in Car 4 trying to avoid the bus!

As we rose up into the mountains the drops on either side of the road became quite spectacular and you could see for miles across the valleys. We soon rose into the snowy areas, although not much snow had fallen during the night. Some slush on the track but nothing to bother us. We reached the summit at about 11 am and a whole group of us congregated at the top, some throwing snowballs. Below Ernie Nelan, one of our great friends from the States (Texas) and Thelma Howells, with snow on the ground in the background.

Some of the group at the summit.

The drive down was through some beautiful mountain scenery with rushing rivers and dense pine forests and lower down the slopes were terraced with crops growing. The fields had farmers working in them and we passed through many small villages which had houses that had their roofs covered in corn that, I presume, was being dried for the winter. Then incredibly we came across a Belgian cyclist coming the other way. He told us he had cycled 100 kms from Shimla that morning and was heading over the Jalori La Pass! To think that someone could manage to ride a bike over the pass with the rough tracks, mud and slush was quite something. Towards the end of the pass we drove along a mighty river in a large valley with rapids at regular intervals.

Whilst driving along this river we were stopped by a digger clearing a landslide.

We spent about twenty minutes waiting for the road to be opened before we drove on towards Shimla.

Our final 80 kms of driving into Shimla was over another pass, this time reaching 8,000 ft. At the summit there is the Indian ski resort of Narkanda. We arrived at our hotel, the Oberoi Wildflower Hall at just after 3 pm. Seven hours of truly great driving. We are staying here for two nights and tomorrow we take the famous Shimla narrow gauge mountain railway for an hour and a half ride.

October 19th - Shimla (rest day)

2007-12-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today was meant to be a rest day but in fact it turned out to be quite a hectic day of visiting Shimla and going on its famous narrow gauge railway.

Our bedroom overlooks a wonderful valley and in the distance are range after range of Himalayan mountains. We rose early and were able to watch the sunrise over the mountains, which was really very beautiful.

Our breakfast was on the hotel terrace and we could now see the furthest range of mountains, towards Tibet, were covered in snow.

At 9 am, forty-four of us were taken by a fleet of taxis into Shimla to catch the 10.30 am train. The drive from our hotel to Shimla was along a very busy road choked with dozens of buses dropping off and picking up passengers. Finally, we arrived at Shimla station to catch the train. The carriages were very old and basic and looked as though they were leftovers from the British. The diesel powered engine wasn't much better than the coaches!

The line has 103 tunnels and numerous bridges and viaducts. It is a great engineering achievement. The line was built in 1903 for the East India Railways and was part of the Delhi to Ambala to Kalka railway line. Our trip took about two hours. We disembarked and were picked up by our taxis to return to Shimla for lunch. Following lunch we visited the old part of Shimla, where one of Shimla's most famous landmarks is located, Christ Church, which was established in 1844.

We walked up the Mall where the main shops are located. During British rule Indians were not allowed in the Mall. How times have changed! Just off the Mall is the Gaiety Theatre and Shimla Town Hall, both designed by a Scottish architect. Shimla Town Hall.

India is a country of such contrasts. As we walked along the Mall we saw both modern, western dressed Indians talking on their mobile phones and at the same time men carrying huge loads on their backs.

I was following a group of young Indian women and was struck by the contrasting dress styles. A young girl in western jeans and the others dressed in traditional shalwar kameez. Another example of the contrasts between old and new in India.

After about two hours we took our taxi back to the hotel.

When we returned we learnt that Hugh and Julie Brogan, in Car No.1, have had to return to England. Everyone was saddened by the news. They have been such an integral part of the group that it will not be the same without them. We all wish them well and hope to see them when we return to the UK in November.

Tomorrow we drive about 300 kms to the Ananda resort. This is also located in the Himalayan foothills, but further south than Shimla.

For those interested, we have now driven more than 2,000 miles, we have climbed to the highest point of the tour the Jalori La Pass at 10,500 feet and been to the northernmost point at Manali. From now, until we get to Goa, we will be heading south.

October 20th - Shimla to Ananda

2007-12-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

We have two more days driving in the Himalayas and if they are anywhere near as good as the hundreds of kilometres we have already driven through the mountains we will both be very satisfied customers!

Yesterday our route book told us that today there was no fuel for the first 106 kms. I thought we had sufficient fuel to reach the first petrol station, but within 10 kms of leaving the hotel the fuel warning light came on. As I have two fuel tanks the gauge no longer reads accurately and so I cannot be absolutely certain how much fuel is remaining in the tanks. The drive took us through magnificently wild country with narrow twisting roads of tarmac and gravel and deep valleys and virtually no other traffic apart from the occasional farm vehicle.

We drove high above a river with huge drops down into the valley below.

The driving was very slow and the longer the journey went on the more concerned I became about our fuel. I then came up behind one of the Crew Cars, CC3, with Mike Johnson and Pat Griffiths, when they had stopped by a group of school children and their teachers. Mike asked them to stand in front of our cars so that we could take a group photo of them and us.

I then told Mike about my shortage of fuel and he kindly offered to stay behind us and, if necessary, tow me to the next garage. As it turned out we reached the garage with a few litres of diesel in the tank. In future I will make sure I do not run the tank so empty. Towards then end of the really mountainous terrain we crossed yet another beautiful river.

The drive continued through lush green and, increasingly tropical, vegetation. The roads were free from trucks, which made driving a real pleasure. Shimla is at an altitude of over 8,000 feet, now we were down to not much more than 3,000 feet and the traffic started to increase. Once again we saw how dangerous Indian roads can be. A motor cyclist hit a tuk-tuk in front of me, fell off the motorbike and slid across the road to end up near my front wheel. Amazingly he managed to stagger to his feet, but his bike was badly damaged.

Not long after we passed Rishikesh, the town made famous by the Beatles when they came to India in the late 60's. Our drive then took us back up into the hills to our hotel, Ananda in the Himalayas, where we arrived at about 3 pm. The front of the Ananda in the Himalayas Hotel.

Tonight we are all staying up late to watch England play in the final of the Rugby World Cup. James Walker, one of the HERO team has arranged with the hotel for them to have a big screen TV set up so that we all can watch the match. Thank you James.

October 21st - Ananda (Rest day)

2007-12-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

A whole group of us sat down in the bar at midnight to watch England in the Final of the Rugby World Cup. A big screen had been set up in the bar and we waited for the start of the match. As the time for kick off approached we couldn't find any of the satellite channels broadcasting the game. Then, a couple of minutes after the start we came across a French channel that was showing it. So, we watched the game with a French commentary. Sadly, the game did not end up as we all had hoped for. England were well beaten by South Africa in a close fought game. It definitely was not a repeat of the thrashing South Africa gave us in the qualifying stages of the tournament. We got to bed at nearly 3 am, so the rest day we are having here at Ananda, will be very much needed. I'll post more about the hotel, as well as some of my thoughts of India, and the Great Tour now that we are halfway through the trip later today.

Today was our first 'proper' rest day of the tour. A chance to chill out by the pool and enjoy this wonderful resort hotel. The main building of the hotel is a Maharajah's palace

The current Maharajah lives in Delhi. The majority of guest rooms are in a six story building that overlooks the Ganges River, as well as the town of Rishikesh, where there are numerous Hindu temples. Rishikesh is one of the Hindu religion's holiest places and thousands of pilgrims come here to bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges. It was really relaxing to be able to swim in the pool and not have to think about immediately leaving for another long drive. The marvellous pool at Ananda.

It also gave us a chance to get over the disappointment of the England defeat! Wendy, DeeAnne Croucher and Ernie Nelan enjoying the gardens at Ananda.

At the end of the day we walked through the gardens and as the sun set over the hills we took this photo.

A few thoughts on our tour of India and India itself. The tour so far has exceeded most people's expectations. We have seen so much of the Sub-continent and its wonderful scenery. We have seen at first hand the great strides India is taking to modernise, whilst at the same time a huge number of people live in terrible poverty. As with China four years ago we have seen the huge contrast between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Even though so many people live below the poverty line, everywhere we have gone we have seen smiling faces. The Indians certainly know how to make you feel at home. The religious influence on Indian culture is profound, with Hinduism and Islam responsible for some of the most beautiful architecture imaginable. I hope the next two weeks are just as good as the first two.

Tomorrow we have our last day of driving in the Himalayas and our destination is the Corbett Tiger Reserve, which is where we will have our first chance of seeing the elusive Indian tiger.

October 22nd - Ananda to Corbett

2007-11-30T07:35:00.000-08:00

Our route today was to take us on a 280 kms drive through the Himalayan mountains through which the Ganges River runs. We looked at the route and made the decision that we would do the first half of the mountain drive and then, after 120 kms, take a road south that would lead us to a small road at the edge of the mountains and then to our hotel at the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The plan seemed good but it wasn't how it turned out!

We left the hotel at 6.15 am and drove down into Rishikesh, where we crossed the Ganges. Rishikesh is a centre of Hinduism and we saw many pilgrims making their way to the river. When we drove up the eastern bank of the Ganges we stopped at a pedestrian suspension bridge and looked down on the pilgrims bathing in the fast flowing waters. Right in the middle of the bridge, on its own, was a monkey!

A view up the Ganges gorge at Rishikesh.

We continued on up the river and the road, I should say track, climbed higher and higher and then after another 12 kms we reached the peak and looked down into the Ganges gorge. A truly impressive sight.

We continued on this narrow and, at times, quite hair-raising dirt road for another 50 kms. Just before the junction where we were parting from the group we came across Jeremy and Felicity in Car 25, a Mitsubishi Pajero, parked on the side of the road with a flat front tyre. We stopped and gave a hand, and in about twenty minutes we were all back on the go. Tim and Jeremy changing the wheel of Jeremy's and Felicity's car.

Shortly after we came to the junction where we had chosen to head south while the rest of the group continued on the mountain track. We were now on our own. A beautiful winding mountain road descended through lush green tropical vegetation. With very little traffic we made quick progress on our way to our first town, Kotdwara. Just south of the town we intended to turn left onto the road we had seen on the map which would take us all the way to the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Then we rounded a bend and found the road blocked by a queue of cars and buses. There were a large number of people milling around. We made our way forward driving around the parked vehicles, to the front of the queue. We were immediately confronted by people shouting at us to turn back. I thought at first it was due to a landslide but then I looked down the road and saw a group of elephants pulling bushes and small trees down with their trunks! One of the Indians told me that as there were babies in the group it was dangerous to go past them and we would have to wait till they went back into the jungle. Unfortunately, I now find that I only took video of the elephants and no still pictures.

Car 23, Car 28 and Car 21 had also decided not to take the 'official' route. Their route was slightly different from ours, but we had agreed to call them when we arrived at Kotdwara. They were running about an hour in front of us and when we spoke to them they told us that they had been told the road we had planned to drive along, was either closed or not suitable for us. A quick decision was made to go about 25 kms further south and then take one of the main roads, the NH 74, to Najibabad, Nagina, Dhampur, Kashipur and finally Ramnagar. The roads were all good fast highways with remarkably little traffic. Once again we saw several examples of driving, with what we have come to call, the Indian Death Wish! Motorbikes coming straight out from side turnings without a look in either direction and cars and buses overtaking straight at you. Even with these hazards we made good progress and arrived at our hotel at 2.30pm.

Tomorrow we go on a tiger safari, leaving from the hotel at 5.30am! When we return to the hotel we will set off for our next stop at Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal.

October 23rd - Corbett to Agra

2007-11-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

Today brings us to Agra and one of the highlights of the tour, The Taj Mahal. Before we left Corbett we had a very early start to take a Jeep safari into the Corbett Tiger Reserve, to hopefully see the Indian tiger. The Corbett Reserve was set up by an Anglo Irishman who lived in India until Independence when he moved to South Africa and died in 1955. Initially he was a hunter but then he turned to conservation of wildlife and he set the park up, which is now named after him. We were with Wolbrand and Robert, both from Holland. Whilst everyone else had decided to take an hour's elephant ride, we four had decided it would be better to see the park in a Jeep. We entered the park at about 6.15 am and while we were waiting for the park to open I saw this notice in typical Indian English.

We took a two hour drive through a mixture of dense tropical vegetation and open deep grassland. We crossed several rivers and at one point the Jeep became stuck in deep mud. We all got out and waited while the driver managed to get the vehicle free.

Sadly, we didn't see any tigers but we had one exciting moment when we came upon the paw marks of of a big cat (panther/tiger?) and an area of flattened grass where the animal had laid down in the night. We stopped and listened for any warning sounds from birds or monkeys that could indicate the animal was still in the area. When we heard nothing we moved on through the park. We saw several different varieties of deer, here is a spotted deer.

The Sambhal the largest deer in India:

and the Barking, which is the smallest in India. Several groups of monkeys high up in the trees and a beautifully coloured kingfisher, that flew away before I could take a photo! The whole trip was very good fun and we all enjoyed ourselves. We returned to the hotel, had a late breakfast and we were the last to leave for the 360 kms drive, more or less due south to Agra, at 9.20 am.

We have now left the mountains behind and the driving was along quite fast flat and open roads. Not a huge number of trucks but lots of local traffic as we went through one small town and village after another. We are now in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most densely populated regions of India. This is rural India at its best. Very green and fertile farming land with large numbers working in the fields. At one point we went through a small village where they were having a cattle market. Livestock of all sorts was being herded along the road to and from the market. When we were at the market there were hundreds, possibly thousands of farmers with their animals - goats, bullocks, cows, and water buffalo. It was a fascinating sight to see. Shortly we after we passed this young girl herding her flock of goats.

And then we came upon a sight that is pure India. A group of workers operating an antiquated steam driven machine that was crushing the sugar cane.

In one of the many villages a sight you see time and again, woman carrying piles of grass on their heads.

We then came to a new bridge across the Ganges and as we crossed we saw hundreds of Hindu pilgrims bathing in the waters. It was a wonderful sight as we stopped on the bridge and took photos and video.

Our drive to Agra took us just over seven hours and as we approached the city we were held up in a massive traffic jam on the expressway. We were lucky as we were only held up for about 30 minutes, others in the group took 2 hours to get through it! We arrived at our hotel at 4.30 pm and took the decision that we would go immediately to the Taj Mahal, rather than seeing it at dawn tomorrow. We took a tuk-tuk for the 10 minute ride to the Taj. We paid our 1500 Rupee entry fee and went through the gates to, what is undoubtedly one of the great wonders of the world. Nothing can prepare you for the stunning beauty and magnitude of the Taj Mahal. I hope the photos below do some justice to this incredible place.

The sun setting at the Taj.

We just had time, as it was getting dark, to enter the tomb where Mumtaz, the favourite wife of Shah Jehan who died when giving birth to his fourteenth child, is buried. When we exited the tomb it was really quite dark but there was nearly a full moon and the whole place took on a ghostly glow as the white marble reflected the moonlight. What a wonderful way to end the day.

October 24th - Agra to Gwalior

2007-11-28T05:12:00.000-08:00

Having been to the Taj Mahal yesterday evening, we did not join the majority of the group who went at 6 am to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Instead we went to see the Red Fort. It was following the decision by Akbar to make Agra his capital that the construction of the fort was started in 1570. It was then continued by Shah Jahan who built his palace within the fort in white marble. Shah Jahan was then imprisoned for the last seven years of his life in the Red Fort by his son, Aurangzeb. The Red Fort gets its name from the red sandstone used to make the huge walls as well as the first palace.

It has always been used as a military garrison and following the end of Moghul rule the British and then the Indian army, have occupied the majority of the fort. The palaces and other royal buildings take up less than 30% of the total area. As we walked up to the gates we were approached by a guide who, for 150 rupees (£2), said he would show us around. We decided to do this and Rashid then proceeded to give us a detailed history of the fort and show us how magnificent this building was, and is to this day.

The terrace from where Shah Jahan, whilst imprisoned in the Red Fort, looked out across Agra to the Taj Mahal.

Whilst walking around we saw these four Sikhs in wonderful dress.

A close up of a magnificent Sikh face.

At the end of the tour Wendy took this photo of me and our guide, Rashid.

Below are a series of photos of the Red Fort, starting with the main gates.

The massive walls of the fort.

Exquisite marble decoration inside Shah Jahan's palace.

A detail showing the Pietra Dura work on one of the dozens of columns supporting the myriad of roofs.

We spent about an hour there and then took our tuk-tuk back to the hotel, but not before calling at a marble shop to see some wonderful examples of Indian Pietra Dura craftsmanship. We were shown a small round white marble table with the inlaid design taken from one of the Taj Mahal's intricate patterns. It didn't take us long to decide to buy it and have it shipped back to England. Another memento of India for us to treasure when we return. We returned to our hotel, packed the car and left for the shortest drive of the tour, just 136 kms to the city of Gwalior. As we drove out of Agra we passed some road works where the road was being 'repaired'. On the way we passed through a village that was having a cattle market and we snapped the picture below showing some of the crowd with their livestock.

The road south was mainly on expressway and it took us just over two hours to arrive. Our hotel here is the Maharajah of Gwalior's guest house. It was built in the late 19th century and was used by George V and Queen Mary on their visit to India in 1906. When we arrived we learnt that Mick Jagger had just left the hotel after a night's stay. Apparently he is on holiday here. Later on we were taken to see the Maharajah's palace which was next door to the hotel. On the way we passed these three little tots sitting in a horse dawn carriage.

I showed them the photos of themselves and the happiness on their faces when they saw themselves was great to see. A few yards further on and we entered the palace gates. The palace is a huge building with a colossal bronze canon mounted in front of it.

Tomorrow we continue our drive south to the city of Khajuraho, which is the site of a deserted capital.

October 25th – Gwalior to Khajuraho

2007-11-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

A wonderful day's drive through Uttar Pradesh and then into Madhya Pradesh and finishing in Khajuraho, famous for its Hindu temples that were built over a thousand years ago and are now a World Heritage Site.

We left Gwalior and drove 70 kms to Sonagiri, a hill holy to Jains that is covered with over 80 white temples. The Jains have been building temples on this hill for over three hundred years, with the latest only just completed. We walked through the temple site and it is an extraordinary place with temples everywhere.

We walked past about a dozen and then came across these strange white elephant sculptures at the entrance to the newest temple.

The newest temple.

Inside it there are 52 individual shrines and 5 larger ones. The building was domed in shape and our guide told us that the five shrines are for the religions of the Jains, Buddhists, Islamics, Hindus, Sikhs and the dome represents the Christian faith.

We left the temples and walked back to our car and were besieged by children and beggars. There were four very elderly women sitting on the ground by our car and we gave them a few rupees each.

It is very difficult to know what to do when you are asked for money. Most times we attempt to ignore the begging, but sometimes you feel you must do something to help, as in this situation.

We drove a further 40 kms to the abandoned city of Orchha. This is truly an amazing place to visit and is one of the highlights of the tour. The city was abandoned in the late 18th century when the inhabitants were defeated by the Moguls. The city was founded in 1531 as a Rajput capital and was a thriving capital for two and a half centuries. When you drive into the city you cannot believe that such magnificent buildings were abandoned by their inhabitants. The palace complex at Orchha.

Another huge building at Orchha.

The site stretches over a large area with the River Bewar running through it. As we drove over the bridge up to the palace we were approached by this man playing a musical instrument.

We left Orchha after about an hour and drove another 150 kms to Khajuraho, the site of 25 Hindu temples that were built over a thousand years ago.

The temples were discovered by the British in the middle of the 19th century. They are a marvel of Hindu architecture and construction. Each temple is intricately carved with thousands of sculptures, many of them erotic. One of the facades completely covered in exquisite sculptures.

One simply cannot comprehend how the ancients were capable of doing such fine work with the very basic tools they used. We spent a very enjoyable hour at the temples before heading back to our hotel on a bicycle rickshaw.

October 26th – Khajuraho – Bandhavgarh

2007-11-26T04:26:00.000-08:00

As we had seen the temples at Khajuraho yesterday afternoon we did not have to leave the hotel before 9am for the 300 kms drive to the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve. We had to say goodbye to Wolbrand van der Vis who is leaving the tour today.

His place is being taken by Laurette, the wife of Robert, his co-driver.

It was an uneventful drive through some wonderful Indian countryside. Remote villages and busy small towns have become the norm for the tour. As is usual when driving in India you see numerous examples of overloaded vehicles, this one a tuk-tuk with people hanging on to every available place.

Then, out of the blue, we came across another example of the contrasts you see in India. One moment we were passing a bullock cart and the next a massive hydro-electric scheme!

The weather continues to be absolutely perfect. The temperature is in the high twenties, and occasionally, just over thirty degrees. We have had virtually no clouds since we left the Himalayas, with non-stop sunshine from morning to night.

We arrived at our hotel, The Jungle Lodge, before 2 pm and within an hour we were all loading up into jeeps for our game drive through the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. The two all-American crews in one of the jeeps.

According to the naturalist on our jeep there are approximately 30 tigers in the tourist area of the park, which accounts for about one third of the total area. We headed into the park on dirt tracks and I was quickly taken by the magnificent countryside. Quite dense bamboo and tropical vegetation, with mighty Sal trees, and then open meadows with deep grass. In the background were wonderful mountains.

Very soon we came across tiger tracks in the sand and we stopped to listen for 'alarm' calls from deer and monkeys.

After about ten minutes we moved on. The rest of the drive sadly did not produce a sighting of a tiger. We are having an early morning game drive tomorrow, which hopefully will be more successful.

When we returned to the Jungle Lodge, the hotel laid on a 'starlight' barbecue. It was a great way to end the day

October 27th – Bandhavgarh to Kanha

2007-11-25T04:42:00.000-08:00

A very early start of 5 am to make sure we were at the park gates for the opening at 6 am. Everyone, or nearly everyone, was loaded into a dozen jeeps. Waiting for the gates to open.

We drove into the park as the sun was starting to rise. It was quite cold and we needed the blanket we had taken with us. After about half an hour we saw a few jeeps parked on the side of the track , with everyone looking into the jungle. We pulled up and our guide shouted to us to look up on the rocks above us. There walking slowly was a female tiger. She was about 100 yards away and walking behind trees and rocks, so it wasn't possible to take still photos, but I did manage to take some video which, with luck, will show the tiger. I played the footage back but on my small display it isn't possible to distinguish the tiger from the back ground. If we do not see another tiger we will be satisfied that we have seen one of the remaining 1200 tigers in the wild. The tiger then moved to much higher ground and deeper into the jungle. Unlike South African reserves, where you can follow the animals into the bush,you are not allowed to drive off the tracks, so the tiger disappeared from view.

We continued on our drive and saw numerous deer as well as packs of monkeys and then came upon this family of wild boar.

We saw many beautiful birds, including this magnificent stork.

Towards the end of the drive we saw a large number of jeeps and the guide told us that a tiger was resting in a dense thicket. In India you can only see tigers when they are away from the roads by transferring to elephants which take you to the tiger. The tigers are used to the elephants and are not disturbed by them. Several of the group went on the elephants but their view was not good as the undergrowth was so thick. Below is a shot of Terence English, his co-driver Billy and Bob & Thelma Howells heading for the undergrowth where the tiger was resting.

Our game drive came to an end and we returned to the hotel to pack and drive the 236 kms to the Kanha Tiger Reserve. On the way we came across Renger and Gerda Guliker who were stopped by the side of the road with a broken shock absorber. We stopped and lent them a hand to remove the shock absorber, so that he could continue to Kanha.

We arrived at our hotel, the Tulli Tiger Resort, at around 3 pm. There were no afternoon game drives so we could relax and get ready for the early morning drive into the park. When Renger arrived at the hotel I asked him how he had managed the drive without one of the rear shock absorbers, and he said OK. I had two spares for my Landcruiser and offered one to him. Amazingly it fitted, and now for the rest of the tour his will be the only Mercedes with a Toyota shock!

October 28th - Kanha (rest day)

2007-11-24T04:44:00.000-08:00

Today has turned out to be one of the highlights of the tour. We saw one of India's few remaining wild tigers at close hand.

But first, we were lucky enough to see a rare sighting of a pack of Indian wild dogs. They are roaming animals so it is quite unusual to see them. The tiger on the other had is territorial, so with any luck you have a reasonable chance of seeing one.

As we drove on our guide told us that a tiger had been located. It had been tracked by the park elephants. We drove for about 45 minutes to the place. There were several elephants being used to take people to see the tiger. We climbed up onto one of the elephants and were carried to within a few feet of this magnificent predator. It was lying close to the track in a bamboo thicket.

Two close ups of the tigers head from just 10 feet away.

The mahout manoeuvred the elephant so that we could take photos from both in front of it and from behind it. As we did so the tiger lifted its head and growled at us! What a moment to remember!

The rest of the drive was very interesting, but all I'll remember is being so close to such a beautiful animal.

I decided to stay at the hotel for the remainder of the day, whilst Wendy is going on the afternoon game drive. I haven't mentioned much about the tour group for a few days. We have 'lost' two of the group who have decided to move on from here. Hopefully we will meet up with them towards the end of the tour. Richard Smith (Car 20) is, we think, heading for Goa and Nick Thake (Car 18) is heading for Hyderabad. One of the great things about these events is that you are free to do what you want and are not constrained by the organisers in any way. The only thing about 'going it alone' is that you do not have the support of HERO.

Tomorrow we drive to the city of Nagpur for one night and then on to one of India's principal cities, Hyderabad.

October 29th - Kanha Tiger Reserve

2007-11-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Apologies to all those following the blog but for the past three days, at the two tiger reserves we have been staying at, there has been no Internet access, hence the lack of posts.

I have just managed to get a GPRS connection here in Kanha which is incredibly slow, so there are no photos at the moment. We are driving to our next stop at Nagpur today where there is a connection. I will then post all that has happened over the past four days. Until then I'll keep everyone in suspense about what we have seen!

October 29th - Kanha to Nagpur

2007-11-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

After all the excitement of yesterday we decided not to go on another early morning game drive. When those who had gone on the morning drive returned they told us that they had seen two tigers, a mother and her three year old male cub. Perhaps we should have gone! No, we are both very satisfied with our time here in India's tiger reserves and we will leave feeling that we have been very lucky to have seen such wonderful creatures in their natural setting: the Indian jungle. We had breakfast in the hotel and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the sign at the breakfast buffet!

Before we left we said goodbye to our marvellous Indian naturalist, Sanjay. He was tremendously informative on our drive through the park and he added an additional dimension to the experience of seeing tigers in the wild. Thanks Sanjay for making our stay a memorable one. Sanjay outside the Tuli Resort Hotel, Kanha.

Our drive today was only about 260 kms, a six hour drive to Nagpur. As we left the hotel John Brown had selected an 'interesting' track to lead us back to the main road. Within a couple of hundred yards we were fording streams and going through quite deep mud and water!

Then we had three hours of driving through beautiful green tropical Indian countryside with lots of children going to school. It will be one of our lasting memories of India, the children in their magnificent school uniforms walking and cycling to and from school. It never ceases to amaze us how smart the children are. English children could learn something from the way Indian school children dress! Below are some of the children going to school this morning.

We stopped by a group of boys and they were so happy that we couldn't leave without taking a photo of them.

Another sight that we have become used to seeing are women walking along the road with large bundles of sticks on their heads. How they manage to stay so upright with such large loads is a mystery to me.

We then came across a huge flock of egrets and flying foxes - fruit bats. You could see the bats landing in the trees and then hanging upside down from the branches. Here is one in flight and you can just see others hanging from the branches.

The rest of the drive was comparatively easy and we arrived in Nagpur before 3 pm. This afternoon has been spent trying to get the blog up to date and now I think it is!

Tomorrow we continue our drive south for over 500 kms to Hyderabad where we spend two nights. We are rapidly approaching the last week of the tour and neither of us wants it to end!!

October 30th - Nagpur to Hyderabad

2007-11-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

Today was the longest drive of the tour, over 500 kms, taking us more or less due south from Nagpur to the capital of Andrha Pradesh, Hyderabad.

So, it was an early start and we checked out of the hotel at 6.30 am. About 100 kms south of Nagpur we took a detour off the state highway to see Gandhi's ashram (spiritual community) at Sewagram. This was where Gandhi lived from 1936 until his assassination in Delhi in 1948. The ashram was Gandhi's 'experiment in living'. The complex is in a very peaceful setting with a collection of small buildings that included Gandhi's house, dining hall, kitchen, office and the open prayer ground. You could see how simple life was for Gandhi and his followers who lived with him. We spent about 45 minutes there and then headed off for the 400 kms drive to Hyderabad.

The prayer ground and in the background the last house that Gandhi lived in.

Gandhi's typically basic and spartan bed.

The kitchens.

The drive was uneventful except for the numerous horrendous accidents that we came across. Trucks upside down, crashed through stone walls, lying on their side and burnt out, littered the road. It was all very sobering, especially when we passed a truck that was upside down in a ditch, with a crane attempting to lift it. There were lots of people surrounding the cab. It seemed to me that someone was still inside.

At one point we passed a group of school girls waiting for a bus. As we slowed down they all waved and then stood in a group for us to take their photo. Indian children always seem to be happy.

Not long after the children we saw this group of women all carrying loads on their heads. As we slowed down they turned and smiled at us. They looked stunning in their wonderfully coloured outfits.

One of the great things about India is that there is always something going on that catches your eye. How about this for an overloaded lorry?

When we arrived at the hotel we found that the members of the group I termed as 'lost' a few days ago, were already here in Hyderabad.

Tomorrow is a rest day and I'll post more about this predominantly Muslim city.

October 31st - Hyderabad (rest day)

2007-11-21T04:34:00.000-08:00

We are staying at the Taj Krishna Hotel in the centre of Hyderabad. The weather has changed and we are having a mix of drizzle and then heavy showers. We are on the fringe of a cyclone that is affecting the Bay of Bengal and large parts of southern India. We have been reading about the terrible flooding and large loss of life that has occurred just a few hundred kilometres south of us. We just have to hope that as we travel south to Hospet (the southernmost point of our trip) that we don't hit flooding and blocked roads.

Our day has consisted of touring a part of this very large city of over 6 million inhabitants, and then shopping. Hyderabad is famous for its bazaars and multitude of small shops selling clothes and jewellery. It is also famous for its pearls. The city was is one of India's six largest metropolitan areas. The grid pattern of its roads was laid out by the Muslim ruler, the Nizam of Hyderabad in the 16th century.

We took our taxi to see the the famous Charminar Monument that was built in 1591 to celebrate the eradication of the plague.

The monument is surrounded by bazaars in a myriad of crowded streets. The traffic in the city is simply horrendous and everywhere you go there are thousands of cars, bikes, motor bikes and pedestrians all trying to push their way through the jams. It is a free for all, and I cannot get to grips with the fact that there never seem to be any accidents. We must have driven for about two hours and at no time did we see any incidents - quite amazing. We then went to one of Hyderabad's many clothing shops to buy clothes. Wendy wanted something for this evening's dinner organised by HERO where Indian dress is required.

As we returned to the hotel the heavens opened and we had a torrential downpour. I hope the weather improves for this evening's drive to our restaurant and then for tomorrow's drive to the city of Hospet.

November 1st - Hyderabad to Hospet

2007-11-20T06:49:00.000-08:00

The third longest drive of the tour took us over 450 kms south-west to the southernmost point of the tour, the city of Hospet. Yesterday evening we had the most torrential downpour. Coaches had been laid on to take us for a dinner at an arts centre about 30 minutes from the hotel. The journey took nearly an hour and a half as all the roads were jammed with traffic. Roads became flooded and we were forced to return to the hotel.

This morning we rose to grey skies but little rain. We drove out of Hyderabad going past the Golconda Fort. The first 200 kms were on fast and traffic free roads, such a change from the traffic chaos in Hyderabad. Our first place to visit was Yadgir Rock, a fortified hill that looks, from afar, very similar to the Rock of Gibraltar.

The rock is covered with old fortifications. From there we drove about 60 kms to the small village of Mudgal. Mudgal has an old ruined fort which is being restored. We were able to drive through the fort and then through the centre of the village. It was a really interesting and enjoyable detour off the main road. As we passed one house a large group of children ran out cheering and waving. We stopped and they grouped together so that we could take a photo. A great moment to cherish.

A little further on we had to drive through one of the old gates to the fort, where we saw this elderly blind man sitting on a wall.

As we took a photo of him two young men on a motor bike stopped and, in perfect English, started asking us where we were from and where we were going. It was another example of the contrasts you experience all the time in India. Here was an old blind man begging, whilst two young Indians were driving a motorbike.

We left Mudgal and then stopped for a break by some massive granite stone blocks.

From there we had a long drive to the abandoned city of Hampi. The road now became much rougher with many sections of bad potholes. Potholes on Indian roads are an ever present hazard. You can be driving on a very smooth tarmac road and then suddenly you come across deep potholes that are a serious hazard. How Indian drivers cope at night I do not know? We passed through a small town where they were celebrating Diwali, and hundreds of children were walking in a parade through the main street of the town. There was a float with a festival queen. A band played and everyone came up to us wanting to say hello and try out their English! Another great moment.

The festival queen on her float.

We arrived at Hampi around 2 pm. Hampi is a World Heritage Site and covers an area of 25 square kilometres. Everywhere you go there are ruined temples and palaces. It truly is one of India's great wonders.The city was abandoned in the 16th century after the Muslim sultans defeated the Hindu inhabitants. The Lotus Mahal at Hampi.
The great stone chariot with granite wheels that used to turn on granite axles.

Finally, the giant Virupaksha Temple built in the 7th century that rises to almost 50 metres!

We drove the final 12 kms into Hospet where we stayed at Hotel Malligi, a pretty basic hotel but with very friendly and helpful service.

November 2nd – Hospet to Goa

2007-11-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

Every day we have an amendment sheet which is produced by the advance car driven by Arne Hertz. Arne notes any changes to the road book that have happened since the route survey was carried out earlier this year. Examples of changes are: road works, exceptional road conditions, altered signs. These changes are faxed to us every evening. Today's amendments noted that certain sections of the route were very poor, as a result of the monsoons. Consequently many left very early. We decided to leave at 7 am, when the control opened officially. The first part of the journey out of Hospet was reasonably easy, though we did have quite heavy truck traffic. Once we had turned off the main road onto minor roads we left the trucks behind. Pot holes continued to be quite a big problem and slowed down every one's progress.

The drive today was just under 350 kms and was taking us back to the Arabian Sea that we had last seen when we were in Mumbai, nearly a month ago. On the way we had to take a photo of this driving school car. This is only the second such car we have seen in nearly 7,000 kms of driving around India. Having seen how ALL Indians drive, we wonder what on earth can the instructor be telling the pupil! One suggestion was that the lessons only last a couple of minutes!!

We also started to pass fields of sunflowers. We presume they are being grown for seed and sunflower oil. You could see the fields from a long way off with the flowers all facing towards the sun.

As we headed west we were stopped at a railway crossing by an enormous goods train. I didn't count the trucks but there could easily have been a hundred.

As soon as the train had passed we started on a seriously bad section of road which had been damaged by the monsoon rains. Following Tom & Rosalie Gatsonides in their Toyota FJ Cruiser on the rough section of road.

The rough road lasted for over 30 kms and ended just before the descent from the Western Ghats mountains down to the coastal plain around Goa.

We arrived in Old Goa at about 2 pm, about seven hours after leaving Hospet. We spent an hour looking at some of the old buildings of Old Goa, especially the 17th century cathedral.

Inside the cathedral with its golden altar.

Whilst walking past the cathedral we saw these three men using small hand scythes to cut the grass! The lawn was large and it must take them days to cut it, but I suppose it is one way to employ people when you have over a billion inhabitants.

Our drive then took us to the coast and past this banner on a roundabout welcoming the tour to Goa.

Our hotel, the Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort looks out over the Arabian Sea and as the sun set I took this photo sowing one of the many ships anchored out at sea. We have two nights here before our final two days of driving, due north, to Mumbai.

November 3rd - Goa (rest day)

2007-11-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Our final rest day of the tour, with just two days of driving remaining. Our wonderful tour of India is coming to an end. Everyone we have spoken to has said how much they have enjoyed the trip and how sad they are to think we are nearing the finishing line.

The weather here is simply glorious. Beautiful sunshine with the temperature in the high eighties and a breeze blowing off the sea. It simply couldn't be any better and a perfect way to rest for a day. We walked along the beach to take a swim in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea.

My guess for the sea temperature was in the low eighties! On the way we looked back at our hotel which is set into the side of a small hill.

Just off the beach is a stranded tanker, the River Princess.

It apparently had engine failure and ran aground in 2000. As it has sunk deeper and deeper into the sand (8 -10 metres) and sand has been washed into the hull through holes, it has become more and more difficult, if not impossible, to salvage the ship. The Goa government has said on several occasions that attempts would be made to remove the ship but nothing has been done so far. At night the ship is lit up and there are crew on board.

We went for our swim, but with quite big breakers rolling in and a powerful undertow, we didn't swim for long, just enough to enjoy it. We returned to the hotel and swam in the infinity pool, with great views out over the sea.

I've now had a chance to start the final packing and stowing in the car ready for shipping back to the UK. We arrive back in Mumbai on Monday morning and we have to be in the port in the afternoon, following the finishing ceremony at the Gateway of India, to get clearance from Indian customs for the car to be shipped to the UK. The very tight schedule is as a result of our leaving Mumbai on the Tuesday BA flight at 13.40.

This evening we are eating at a beach side restaurant and we will be celebrating Thelma Howells' birthday. With a beautiful sunset it should be a fun evening.

November 4th – Goa to Chiplun

2007-11-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

With just two driving days left of the Great Tour of India, today we had a comparatively short drive of under 350 kms. Our route took us on minor roads running parallel with the coast for about 150 kms. We then turned inland and joined a main highway for the next 200 kms to our hotel in Chiplun.

Goa and the surrounding area is quite different from the rest of India. The Portuguese influence still remains with small churches in many villages and towns and old colonial buildings.

Whereas most of the rural India we have driven through has been very poor today we saw a much wealthier area. Though, on occasions, you could see back in time as when we saw these fishermen fishing in one of the many rivers we crossed. Each time we rose up from the rivers the vegetation changed from tropical to grassland.

It was quite a surprise to have such a change when the areas were so close together. Not long after we left the coastal zone we came up behind two of our group who travel in convoy, Karen and Mike Perry and Leif Inge and Siri Slethei from Norway in Cars No. 21 and 28.

One interesting sight, that is particular to this area, are the haystacks. They reminded us of Monet's paintings.

We wanted to arrive reasonably early so we could do the final sorting of our luggage and the car, making it ready for shipping in 48 hours. Before that I had a swim in the hotel pool and then we enjoyed another wonderful sunset.

Our room looks out across the valley with the Vashishti River winding its way through the hills.

We are up early tomorrow as we need to be in Mumbai by noon. The finishing ceremony is at 2pm in front of the Gateway of India and then I have to take the car to the port, about 10 minutes away, for shipping back to the UK.

PS Blogger wouldn't download all the photos for today, I'll try again later.

November 5th – Chiplun to Mumbai - the end of the Grand Tour of India

2007-11-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

As we might have expected there is always a sting in the tail! Our last day of driving took us the final 250 kms from Chiplun more or less due north to the finish at the Gateway of India, Mumbai. Because we were delivering the car to the docks this afternoon, immediately after the finishing ceremony, we had to leave early. We set off at 6 am just before dawn. There was mist and low cloud for the first half an hour of driving as we wound our way through the Western Ghats for the last time. I will miss these mountains with their beautiful green scenery. They were the first mountains of the trip and now they are the last.

I haven't posted many pictures of the painted trucks. They have all sorts of multi-coloured decorations and signs on them. This one says it all,'India is Great and 'I love India'!

Everything was going fine for the first 100 kms and then I heard the first warning signs of my front disc pads wearing out. A scraping sound came as each time I braked. It steadily got worse over the next 50 kms. By now we were only a couple of hours out from Mumbai and I decided that it was possible to make the rest of the journey by braking very gently and nurse the car home. Being an automatic trying to use the engine for braking is not that easy but we managed it. By the time we reaching the Taj Mahal Hotel in down town Mumbai the noise from the brakes was terrible. It is funny to think that we have driven over 7,500 kms, just under 5,000 miles, and the brake pads finally gave up on us a mere 150 kms from the end.

We rapidly unpacked our bags and waited for the finishing ceremony in front of the Gateway of India. When we went down to the lobby of the hotel, who should we see but Suzanne, who had only been able to do the first third of the tour as she had to return for her young family. She had made a second journey to India to be there for the finish with her co-drivers, Carol & Wendy. Here's a photo of all three just before the finishing ceremony started.

At 2 o'clock precisely we all lined up in number order and were waved across the finishing line by John Brown, whilst a group of Indian dancers performed in front of a giant banner of The Grand Tour of India.

Here are a few of the photos we took as the cars went across the finishing line.

Now, a special thank you to my wife and fantastic navigator for all her wonderful photos. Ninety percent of the photos I've posted to the blog have been taken by her. Many were taken when we were driving, and with my driving, that's no mean feat!

A great adventure had come to an end. A trip around a continent that has brought us so many surprises and happy memories. I'll sum up the trip with a final posting after we return to the UK.

Once the ceremony was over we had to drive, with seven other cars, straight to the docks to deliver the cars for shipping. As usual with Indian bureaucracy the place we were directed to would only deal with imports, so we had to drive in convoy through the Mumbai traffic to the export area of the docks, some 8 kms away. Once again we had to drive past some of the terrible slum areas of Mumbai. It certainly brought home to us how lucky we are and how terrible the living conditions are for so many Indians. With my brakes sounding worse and worse we finally arrived at the container base and I said goodbye to my trusty vehicle.

We all took taxis back to the hotel to get ready for the final dinner at a waterfront restaurant in Mumbai. It was a chance for everyone to celebrate a truly amazing trip around India. We all feel very lucky and privileged to have done the tour. As we left the dinner many were talking about the plans to do a south-eastern Asia tour in 2009. I for one can't wait!

November 14th - The final posting - Summing up and thanks

2007-11-14T01:36:00.000-08:00

It has taken a week to get back to the 'normality' of life in the UK, after nearly five weeks of India. We are already missing the Indian way of life which, for a month, enabled us to enjoy ourselves with very few rules and regulations. Every time we go on one of our adventure drives, to third world areas of the globe, we realise how restricted our lives in the West have become.

Now, 'getting off my soap box', this last posting is all about our impressions of India as well as thanking everyone who helped make the drive such a wonderful experience.

Where do I start? It has to be the Indian people. We were totally unprepared for the unbelievable friendliness of the Indian people. We will always remember how, when driving through the poorest of villages, young and old would come out of their homes, which were often nothing more than a mud hut and straw roof, to wave and smile at us. Whenever we stopped, the car would be surrounded by children wanting us to take their photo. The look on their faces, and the laughs, as we then showed them the camera display, will remain with us forever. The Indians have an outlook on life that is completely different to ours. They are always courteous and never exhibit any sign of anger. This was particularly noticeable when we were driving. We watched numerous horrendous overtaking manoeuvres where we thought a serious accident would happen, but somehow never did. We were often amazed to see a smiling driver coming towards us who had nearly been killed! In England this would have been another case of 'road rage'. The same happened in traffic jams. Everyone would be pushing and blowing their horns. Cars, tuk-tuks, motor cycles and bicycles would all be trying to force their way through and somehow people would give way, even when they had to do an emergency stop, and we never saw any anger. How refreshing, and a sure way of keeping stress levels down. We have a lot to learn from the Indians in this respect.

We had been told a lot about the poverty in India. Some of our friends from previous events had told us they wouldn't come on the tour because of this. So, we were expecting the worst when we arrived in Mumbai. Mumbai definitely had the worst living conditions that we saw on the whole tour. There are terrible slums on the sides of the roads in Mumbai. People living, sleeping, washing out in the open on the edge of the road. I drove along one such road at the beginning of the tour at night. I could see naked children sleeping in the kerb! I wondered how many get run over by the trucks thundering past. We saw very poor villages in rural areas of India but the one thing that struck me was that the people, young and old, always look well fed. We saw no malnutrition whatsoever. Somehow the Indians are managing to feed their 1.1 billion population.

I mentioned in my blogs the Indian school children and their marvellous uniforms. Driving through the poorest of villages you would see these incredibly clean, smart and impeccably dressed children. Each school had a different multi-coloured uniform and each morning we would see children walking, often miles, to their schools. We could never understand how they managed to look so smart, knowing how poor were their living conditions. It is one of the mysteries of India that will remain with us.

Next, I must mention the history of India. We saw examples of India's glorious past on every day of the tour, often in really remote places that were more or less deserted. Fantastic forts perched high on hills, unbelievable temples and incredibly lavish palaces, are spread all over India. A history that goes back over two thousand years. Below are my 'top five', with reasons why I thought they were so special:

1. Kumbalgarh Fort

I've picked this as my No. 1 historical site because it was so completely unexpected. In the middle of nowhere, on a narrow winding road, we turned a corner and there was Kumbalgarh! Sitting high on a hill, with walls looking just like the Great Wall of China. Climbing to the top of the fort you could see the walls snaking away over the surrounding hills for 36 kms. It was a beautiful and overwhelming sight.

2. The Golden Temple at Amritsar

Even though we had seen photos of the Golden Temple, nothing does it justice. You need to be there to 'feel' the beauty of the place. As we walked through the arch to see the Golden Temple for the first time, it really does 'take your breath away'. Built in the centre of the holy pool, with the morning sun glinting off the roof and a mirror image of the golden temple reflected in the pool, it is quite simply one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. All the time music and chanting was being played over loudspeakers, whilst Sikhs were bathing in the holy waters. I can understand how people experience mystical feelings in this beautiful place.

3. The Taj Mahal

This was the one place on the tour that I expected to be a disappointment, but it wasn't! I have read, and seen, so much about the Taj Mahal

4. The Red Fort, Agra

I have selected this, not because it looks any different from the outside to other forts we have seen, but because of its history. I had no idea that Shah Jihan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, was put under house arrest in the Red Fort, by his son, Aurangzeb. For the last the seven years of his life he could only look at the Taj Mahal from the terrace in his prison. It was the combination of the beauty of the interior of the Red Fort and its history that made this so memorable for me.

5. Orcha, the abandoned city.

Another totally unexpected gem hidden away in the Indian countryside. To find these huge deserted buildings, abandoned centuries ago, was such a surprise. The setting by the river added to the magnificence of the city. We both preferred Orcha to the other abandoned city we visited, Hampi, mainly because of its isolation and lack of 'exploitation’ as a tourist attraction.

Moving on from the people and history of India to the topography and the scenery. We drove through arid, regions, wonderfully green and fertile areas and the mighty Himalayas. The Himalayas were interesting for us as we had driven through them in Tibet. The contrast with the Tibetan side of the range is very marked. Tibet is high desert, as the Himalayas block the moist air from the south, whereas on the Indian side it is green and forested. Much of the terrain is similar to the Alps. Everywhere we went agriculture dominated the land. Feeding such a huge population requires a huge agricultural output. Most farming is done by hand and ox/bullock. Tractors are used but my guess would be that at least 50% of farms do not have one. Once again we were reminded of our trip to China in 2004, where agricultural methods are very similar to those in India.

Now our thanks. First and foremost it must be to all those Indians who extended such wonderful hospitality to us throughout the tour. Everyone we met, from the mechanics who helped me sort out my battery problems at the start in Mumbai to the Go-India tour guides who came with the group, were always helpful and courteous. Thank you, one and all. Next it must be to the other participants of the tour. Many we had met from previous events, but many were new to a HERO event. Thanks for making the trip such fun. Wendy and I hope to meet many of you on the next event. Finally it is a thank you to the organisers and their team. John & Joanna Brown, once again you have surpassed yourselves in organising an event which everyone agreed was the best so far. Thanks then to James, Kurt, Jingers, Mike, Terry, Don and Pat for helping us all the way round. Without your support these events would never succeed.

Wendy and I are looking forward to going on our next event which may be as soon as June 2008. Several of us are trying to organise a trip which will include a week in the UK and then two/three weeks in Sweden, Norway, Finland, If this doesn’t come off then it will be South-East Asia in February 2009