Wednesday 31 December 2014

Delhi onwards.




Assam


Delhi traffic was something  to be experienced and the type of riding was the same when we arrived in Guwahati. Guwahati is the capital of Assam it used to be Shillong until the British moved out. Assam is the tea growing area of India. It has the right climate to grow the best tea in the world. It is black and strong and better than any of the stuff you will get in the UK unless it is genuine Assam tea. My wife comes from Assam and we are there for a family visit so we had to meet everyone in Guwahati and anyone else in travelling distance requiring a visit to a tea plantation just a few kilometres from the Bhutan border.  I had never known how tea was produced. I just thought you picked some old leaves and dried them or could smoke them. This could not be further from the truth as here is a strictly controlled process of drying and preparation that attains the quality of tea that we have today. This tea plantations carries on the traditions that were in place when the British were managing them and that includes the “Club”. The hospitality from the family and everyone was amazing and we are invited to go back. It is a place to have quiet sanctuary and “dance with the elephants” as they go by the tea gardens or sometimes through them when they migrate.



 Back in Guwahati more family visits and a chance to talk with Pritam about how good Enfields are and what I ride and what the museum is like. We have a good bikers chat while the rest of the family talk about me! The next day we fly off to Dibrugarh in the heart of Assam. More family to see and I get to have a ride around on a Honda CBR , In India it is only 125cc.



 I have a chance to ride around the block with my cousin Rischi on the back directing me. I use the horn in the best Indian traditions and making the most of my advanced riding skills. I now felt I could handle some Indian city traffic. Sadly Delhi Belly and a bad cold prevented me doing much more while I was there.



 I did get a chance to talk to another cousin Chinmoi when he came to visit with a friend and there was lots more bikers talk. Before I left Dibrugarh I was invited back to be a celebrity at one of the Bihu (traditional dances) gala events. Back in Delhi the big chill had hit. Instead of being a comfortable 25C it was a chilling 8C. In the UK at the time it was a warm 14C.  I was so cold, even with heating that I had vest, shirt, pullover, fleeced waterproof, scarf and beanie on. I couldn’t put gloves on as I needed to hold a cup and that is difficult if you have gloves on. I did have a remedy to the cold and that was to put vast quantities if whisky in steaming hot tea. I also heard we had just missed snow at Shimla. I could have gone skiing! I had got out of Delhi to Goa as fog set in and enjoyed the warmth of being so far south. In my travels I have read the IAM autumn magazine, the LE club “On the Level” MAG’s Road and a book about a Mr Clancy who rode around the world in 1912 on a Henderson! Some feat that was! I have also gained a sun tan!

Tuesday 30 December 2014

India first Report




News from Delhi.

You may wonder why you have not seen postings for a while, but I have been planning a tour of India and this is my first opportunity to report back on what has been happening. Arriving in Delhi was an experience. The traffic is about seven times that of London, never stops and fills every inch of tarmac and where possible pavements too! I have seen bikes and cars trying to beat the traffic, most of the time unsuccessfully. I have spent many miles as a passenger in a taxi observing the antics of riders and drivers they have a different set of rules to those we use in the UK. The “safety bubble” and “keep your distance” do not apply. There is a level of closeness that would feel uncomfortable to most riders in the UK. I have more to comment on as the tour progresses. Playing chicken is normal with almost forcing other road users off the road and sometimes hitting them. No one seems to bother to stop unless the person doesn’t get up again. Even cows get in on the act.




The first adventure was a train trip to Shimla. Taking the train from Delhi to Kalka and an overnight stop before continuing on the narrow gauge railway up to the town rising more than 1800m. The railway was built by the British and completed in 1903. It was and still is a feat of engineering and an experience to be had. On the way I picked up a complementary paper that was reporting on the activities of the local police motorcycle display team showing off what they could do.




They are obviously short of Enfield motorcycles and I captured this image of them rushing to an incident after these other two guys had been showing off.

 
 It was cold in Shimla and I stayed at the Clarke’s Hotel. It is an amazing place with all the waiters in traditional costume; including hats that were so well done they looked like a very well dressed army ready for a ceremonial occasion. One day at Shimla then the return trip on the toy train and then back to Delhi that evening. I got back to my accommodation only to be told that my flight to Guwahati the next afternoon had been cancelled and the alternative  was now at 7:30am with no direct flight it was diverted through Calcutta making a 3hour flight into 5 hours having to disembark at Calcutta to get on another plane. This meant that I had to be up at 4:00 am to be ready for 5:00 am to take the taxi to the airport to catch the plane with time to spare. On arriving in Guwahati and taking a taxi to visit family I saw the first accident. A car was doing a creeping overtake of a tuc-tuc, as the drivers do even against oncoming traffic, he failed to see a car coming towards him swerved into the tuc-tuc bouncing it sideways and putting several dents in his car. The tuc-tuc looked no worse for wear and carried on slowly regaining some composure as the car sped off and did a swift left turn to escape from his misdemeanour. I have taken many rides in tuc-tucs, as they are called in Thailand, auto rickshaws in India and most other places call them more unpleasant names. In Thailand tuc-tuc comes from the sound that the diesel engine makes as the go along. Piagio make them as do Bajaj and Mahindra.



  They are extremely robust with a chassis that will not break. Ideal for taxiing and most other commercial uses. There are lightweight bikes and scooters everywhere and on every journey I could see different makes and models with the usual presence from Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki with only a few Kawasaki, but new to me were the Indian Hero Honda, Bajaj, Mahindra and TVS.