We leave our big petrol station early for a long day
of driving, first on the motorway to Indore and then a minor highway. This
proves to be a colossal mistake. The traffic is busy, and crazy as usual, but
when we reach the town of Barwah the traffic comes to a grinding halt. It is
total gridlock. The next 3 hours we move all of one kilometre and watch the
most appalling driving behavior we have seen anywhere in the world. Picture
this: we are on a two-lane road going through a village full of market stalls
on both sides. The drivers simply cannot wait their turn. They must make more
lanes – one on each side of us, and they don’t back off, they simply think they
can squeeze through anywhere. Then of course oncoming traffic is now gridlocked
too. Add to the mix motorbikes and tuk tuks squeezing through all the tiny
gaps. And of course, the horns are blasting.
It is nearly dusk, and we don’t want to be driving
after dark. When we finally move a bit, we see a Hotel sign with a big gate, so
I hop out to check. It is a housing estate with a few empty blocks where buses
are parked. I call John on the two way and say “come in. It’s perfect for the
night.” We camp on an empty block and chat to all the people who live here. Apparently,
this road is a traffic hotspot and is particularly bad during Diwali! While I
cook dinner John plays cricket and gets a guided tour. Later we join the boys in their firework
frenzy. A fun night after hours of stress. I’m sure we lost a few layers of
paint off GR2 today!
At first light we are off before the traffic builds up,
stopping only for breakfast. We pass lots of banana plantations and more
interestingly lots of ox cart convoys full of gypsy people. Soon after midday we reach the town of Ajanta
and head to the caves only to discover that they are closed today. Bother! So,
we head to the lovely Ajanta Hills Hotel where we can camp and enjoy a relaxing
afternoon, and later an awesome dinner in their restaurant. The friendly owner
suggests that tomorrow we catch a tuk-tuk to the lookout and walk down (my
favorite way to walk!) to the caves and explore them, starting at the far end
and so avoid the crowds. This is exactly what we do, and we get to see most of
the Temple Caves that were hewn out of the rock face in the 14th
century without the huge noisy crowds that are arriving by the busload. Finally,
hot and pooped we head back to GR2. It is tempting to stay another night. The
owner has been bribing us with promises of beef for dinner and suggesting
visiting a traditional village, but we head to Ellora today so we can visit the
caves there first thing tomorrow morning, hopefully before the masses arrive. By
late afternoon we locate The Ellora Heritage Resort where we can stay in their
parking area. Again, lots of people stop to chat. At times we are swamped!
By 6.30am the next morning we head into Ellora Caves
and straight to the stunning Kailasa Temple. It has been hewn completely out of
rock like the ones we saw in Ethiopia, and the carvings are incredible. And
it’s not too crowded. We admire many of the other caves, but hands down the
Kailasa Temple is the best. All caved
out we head out of town towards Goa and the beach. It’s too far in one day so
we find a dead petrol station to camp for the night. Bonus tonight is finding a
farmer with a few cows who will sell us some milk. Supermarkets and long-life
milk are proving elusive.
We are keen to get to the ocean, so spend most of the
day driving, first on motorways where we see strings of pilgrims out walking, then
we wind down an amazing mountain range/ghat and finally smaller back roads
through tight narrow villages. We reach Querim beach, and what a magic spot. We
can camp beneath the trees right beside the sand. We stay 3 nights enjoying swimming,
relaxing and not getting hassled. It’s awesome.
All good things come to an end. We continue south
towards Panaji, the main city in Goa, but first detour out to Old Goa. The
place is crawling with local tourists (it is Sunday after all) and there is a
cluster of amazing old Portuguese Churches to explore. The main cathedral is in
use for the Sunday service so we are denied entry, but we can follow a long
line through the Basilia Bom Jesus to admire it. No photos allowed. Then it’s
on to the city of Panaji and a slow drive down the main street that hugs the
riverfront and then the ocean. We fancy
another beach spot for the night, but it is not to be, every parking area we
look at is crammed with local cars. We reach our turn and head inland and start
looking for a spot to camp. After the first toll booth there is a cluster of
trucks and a large open area. This will be fine for the night.
Today we are heading over the ghats/hills to the
ancient empire of Hampi. The road is broken and there are rows of slow-moving
trucks, but the scenery is lush and green. As the landscape flattens out the
crops spread for miles. It is harvest time, and the corn has been laid out on
the side of the road to dry. In places whole lanes are taken up with the grain.
As we get closer to Hampi the landscape changes again. There are huge piles of honey
coloured granite boulders, smooth granite hillsides, fields full of gorgeously
green rice paddies and miles of bananas and coconuts. It’s gorgeous. We head to
our camp spot, but discover it is at the end of a village with tiny streets and
low draping wires. A very friendly local
rings a few of the nearby Hotels and as a result we find ourselves camping at
the Hampi Belmont Hotel on a lovely patch of grass with the bonus of a water tap.
Awesome. Our friendly helper is a musician, and he comes over to sing for us –
yet another interesting experience. Later
we chat to the helpful staff about touring the huge Hampi site. They suggest
hiring a scooter!
The next morning our scooter arrives, and we set off –
two oldies on a bike. The site is massive with little tracks heading off
everywhere so it’s perfect with a scooter. In its heyday Hampi was a massive
city with over 500,000 people, between 1336 to 1565AD by all accounts bigger
than Rome. The ruins are incredible, and the carving in the Temples just amazing.
My favorite is the stone chariot complete with stone wheels that could roll. It
has taken us all day and we are now “ruined out.” We sit outside with a cool
drink before wandering to a nearby restaurant rather than eat in our hotel with
the 130 students that are staying.
Time to move on for the long drive to Bengaluru. We
are due to fly out from here soon and want to check out storage for GR2. We
already have a contact who promised indoor storage so we will head there first.
A lot of driving before plunging into the maze of the city. We find the
storage, but its outside, so decide to look at other options. A helpful guy
shows John a yard where buses are stored, and they will build a cover. We stay
there the night to get a feel of it. Hmmm I’m not impressed. It is a very small
dirty block with trucks and buses arriving at all hours and just down the road is
a squatter camp. So, we head to the airport to hunt down carparks. In the meantime,
the very helpful Nikhil we met yesterday is also hunting. The official airport car
parks turn us away, but we can use one just down the road. It’s safe and clean
but has no cover. John goes and buys a tarp and ropes. As Murphys Law would have it Nikhil rings. He
has found undercover parking in the city. Sadly, we tell him we have booked one
here. Thank you so much for your help Nikhil.
Now we can head off to enjoy our final days. We skirt
around the huge city of Bengaluru, but that doesn’t mean we miss all the
traffic mayhem. Then the rain comes down in torrents, but at least that means
the scooters head for cover leaving clearer roads. Fortunately,
the next motorway bans scooters, tractors and tuk-tuks!
Later that day we reach the city of Mysuru and head
straight to the massive carpark opposite the Palace where we can camp. It’s too
late to tour it now so we settle in and walk to the Mall. Annoyingly there are
no groceries here, but a tuk-tuk drivers takes us to the biggest and best Supermarket
we have seen in India! What a way to make our day! Back at camp we see the Expo area next door is
ablaze with lights and buzzing with people. We can’t resist heading over for a
look. There are fairy lights, market stalls, kids dancing, amusement park rides
and hundreds of people having a great time all for 55cents Then of course we
wander over to look at the Palace that is also lit up. We wait a bit longer to
catch glimpses of the light show that is going on inside.
It’s a surprisingly quiet night in the middle of the
city, and when we wake, we wander to the famous markets. Love all the flowers
being made into garlands, the mounds of brightly coloured powder (used for face
painting) and mounds of fresh veges. Later we head into the Palace with
thousands of local tourists who are arriving by the busload. Despite the crowds it is truly amazing. Then we
have one more place to visit before we leave town – the Payana Car Museum. We spend
a few hours wandering around before heading
towards the Bandipur National Park & Tiger Reserve. No, we aren’t
doing another game drive. The main road runs right through the centre of the
Park for miles and miles, so it will be our own game drive. There are numerous
signs saying “No Stopping, No Picnics, No getting out of your vehicle, No
Parking and No Photos.” Of course everyone takes photos!! No tigers in sight,
but plenty of lovely Chitral Deer and a few elephants.
When we see signs for Elephant Camp we decide to head
there for the night, but as I open the gate so we can drive in a guy rushes
over, “No, no, no. This is an elephant feeding place and you must exit the park
before you can camp”. It’s nearly 5pm as we leave the last gate and John spies
a restaurant with a large carpark. That will be fine for the night. We are
especially glad we have stopped when the rain comes down in bucketloads.
Our drive continues with a narrow and windy road with
long rows of traffic coming towards us and it continues this way for miles, but
as a bonus the scenery is spectacular. Gorgeous eucalypt forests towering over
us, slopes covered with glossy green tea plantations and brightly coloured
villages spilling down the hillsides. We finally reach the very congested town
of Ooty and score the last park in the bus area. A very tight squeeze. By now
it’s drizzling so we grab our jackets and head up the hill to the Hebron
School. John’s best man Dave went there and we want to check it out so we can
send him some photos. As a bonus we meet one of the staff walking in and she
gives us a guided tour of this lovely old school. What an amazing time!
Later in the
day we come down the hills and reach the city of Coimbatore. Phew. The main
road winds right through the centre of the city along narrow streets. There
must be a truck route, but we didn’t find it! By now it’s late so we find ourselves a large
petrol station and tuck in between a row of trucks. In the morning, we stick to
the highway all the way to Cochin. The drive is all large modern shops,
restaurants and busy towns. Cochin is a huge city set on a maze of waterways
and massive inlets, so we skirt around the main city and head to the coast at
Fort Cochin, find a spot to park with the buses and head out to explore. The
place is buzzing with locals, and we discover there is hardly any fort left. A
tuktuk driver convinces us to use him to look around, and we do see some
churches (easily walked too!), an old laundry area and then shops. We are a tad
disappointed. Then head to a local soccer field where we can camp (police
approved) and chat to locals. Later we head to the Kathalki Theatre only 3 mins
walk away. There is no talking, just
telling the story with facial expressions. At least they tell us the story
first, so we get the gist of it. The performers are only men. Then onto local
martial arts followed by a scary section using a large face and lighting. I
enjoy the experience and John endures it!
Early the next morning we walk to the beach to watch
the fish markets. The catch is being auctioned off and the huge nets are still
out over the water. Time to move on following small backroads that hug the
beach or the canals. It certainly is a watery wonderland full of overhanging
trees and busy villages. When John gets tired of squeezing past buses we find
our way back to the highway, only to find miles of roadworks. A slow,
frustrating drive. Finally, we turn off to head to Veraka Beach, as recommended
by locals. We can camp on a paid parking lot and walk down the hill to the
lovely beach, and join the locals, foreigners and pilgrims (more about them
later) for a swim.
In the morning, we continue south down the coast, but
the road gets smaller so again we detour back to the highway. When we spy an
old Hindu Temple, we stop to look. We can’t go inside, but the outside is more
interesting anyway. Further down the highway a policeman won’t let us drive
through the city and points to a side road. This turns into a crazy drive along
the narrow tracks with oncoming trucks, huge boggy patches, narrow tracks
between rice paddies and finally an unfinished highway. Not a sign is sight! We are glad to reach the
very bottom of India and drive to Sunset Point to admire the view and then
continue to the main, and congested, lookout area. We park and explore. Hundreds
of locals are here including many pilgrims, men only, in black wraps with bare
chests, beads and painted faces. We discover they have 40 days with no comforts
during which they go on tour to see how many temples they can visit. (Looks
like an excuse for a boy’s time away) Anyway after duly admiring the huge
statue at the Southern tip of India we ask the police if we can stay for the
night. Yes that’s fine, and we assume the crowds will vanish once it gets
dark. But NO we are so wrong. Hundreds
more buses, minibuses and cars arrive full of pilgrims. It rains in the night,
so we assume they sleep in the buses! And golly it is noisy!!
We have another place to visit as we head north back
to Bangalore. It is the Prince of Peace Church and associated Orphanage run by
the amazing Israel in the city of Madurai. We learnt about this place from Ian Mayberry
who goes to our Church at home. He has been associated with this place for over
40 years. Israel has sent us a google spot
where we meet and from there we follow his car to the Church. After admiring
the new building and meeting the staff we follow him out to the orphanage to
meet his family and the children. What a fun time we have with the children,
and then time with Israel & his family over dinner. In the morning it’s a
guided tour of our truck for all the boys before they head off to school. Thank
you, Ian and Israel, we had an amazing time. These experiences are the
highlight of our travels.
It’s now nearly time to fly home so we head north to
Bangalore, stopping the first night at a petrol station and the next 2 at the
gorgeous Crossroads Camping in the middle of nowhere, but only 65km from the
city. Dave & Monica are incredibly welcoming, and they invite us to an
amazing lunch with their friends. What a way to end our stay this year. But
it’s finally time to clean, tidy and pack GR2 and then pop her into the storage
yard. I am looking forward to seeing the family very soon while John is heading
to Austria to collect GR3. Exciting times are ahead next year.
