Day 68: Panipat - Shahabad (110km) -Distance travelled so far 3,320 km "Noise..Noise and more noise"
These days on the roads and since we arrived in India, we have been plagued with many annoying things but the one that sticks in our guts as being the most perstering is truck "hooters"....Each one as lenghty and as annoying as the next....Everyone here uses them...from motorbikes to autorickshaws....If they horns ever make it onto bicycles it will be a sad day....We live in hope...
A truck which somehow managed to perch itself smack bang in the middle of a dual carriageway....
Here Paddy...Have you still got that Massey Ferguson of yours!!!!
This truck driver seemed like he wanted to cross over to the otherside of the road...but got stuck....Truck drivers are absolutely crazy here.....They have on numerous occasions tried to run us over coming on the wrong side of the road.....they have pinned us into hard shoulders and nudged off our bikes passing us out. The above pictures serve to illustrate how "Karma" will ordinarily catch up on someone....fortunatelty for us...it was these truck drivers who suffered.....
We past out these stone statues outside some of the many military camps on route to Pakistan
Nice shot of the bikes stopping up for the night in Shahabad....
We have been feeling a little tired since leaving Dehli....We figure that "Dehli belly" is finally catching up on us. Dehli belly is pure and simple a mixture of being bloated and tired with an spititty poop anxiousnous that aches heavily in your mind. Toilet roll is something which Inida is devoid of, so we now have our own supply, albeit "sandpaperesque" in texture...No Kitten soft for our bums ladies and gentlemen!!!!....
We have been clocking up some serious mileage in the past weeks (especially from the Nepalese/Indian border of Banbassa) so we have decided to ensure that we are not passing too many cultural/fun spots on our daily routes and to enjoy much more along the way. We feel that we are currently running well according to a proposed return date of early July 2011 (Just kidding!!!) 2009..ha ha....so why not enjoy the fruits of some great countries ahead of us...Pakistan, Iran and Turkey....afterall, we can go to pretty much anywhere in Europe relatively easily and "Ryanair" style at the drop of a hat....
Day 69: Shahabad - Khanna(113km) -Distance travelled so far 3,433 km "The sneaky break in and camp at dusk"
We hit the road after a light breakfast of tea and eggs. We are very cautious these days and at the moment the stomachs are not inclined to the sights of traditional Indian cuisine.....
Paul gearing up for another mornings cycle...
This people told Paul not to travel to Pakistan...."India safe place..Pakistan..terrorists...bad people"...Slightly biased I suppose...
Road bridge to the front with with railway line behind leading all the way from Dehli to Amristar....
My name is Roger and I love being an Indian Buffalo!!!!....This buffalo wanders deep into a swamp....
The roadside is littered with fruit stalls....Great supply of fresh fruit here...Lovely!!!
This guys gave gave Mike and Paul oranges whilst we cycled...Fruit on the go...We are now masters peeling fruit on the bikes....
A possible life-line for some greasy, non Indian based food...Alas The Golden Arches....Behold its beauty!!!
Drive thru anyone???..The staff got a fair shock seeing us roll in....The food here was very palletable...Yummy!!
We met this Scottish man (Mikes right) at a Floating Restaurant outside Khanna...
The pollution here is ridiculous though....People toss rubbish into rivers without batting an eye-lid....We also find it very difficult to dispose of our own rubbish, and when we enquire about bins we are pointed/redirected to the ground.....Its an aweful sight to be honest.....
Up till now and as you all have been reading, we have been staying in ridulously inexpensive accomodation. India has not proved to be the case however, with hotel rooms costing close on quadrouple what we were normally used of paying. We also have the problem of Indian hotel owners telling us there is nothing cheaper for 50 miles and giving us delibertely inaccurate/misleading impressions of towns ahead of us....a ploy by them to force us to book into their hotel....Tonight we have had enough of this "crap" so we camped....by cycling into dusk, avoiding the hoards of people that would possibly chase us/watch us/stare at us etc etc....Basically we have to be as covert as possible to get a good peaceful night sleep...
We thus gently "opened" a gate to a industrial estate and camped at the back of a knitting factory....Tonight Brian is not feeling at all well and the mood is a "tired one".....We didnt have much food in our bags..so we settle for some oranges and bread with peanut butter (our remaining stocks from New Dehli)....Our sleep was pretty crap...aside from Paul (he still has his luxurious blow up air-bed...such a clever fox is our Paul!!!)...
