WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005

... still in Nasik

... so how come I'm still in Nasik? Well, I've been feeling pretty smug for some time that I've not had a bad gut during my last 3 or 4 forays into South East Asia/ Asia, and that somehow cycling & drinking lots of coca cola was helpful. Rudely shattered last night, and since then I've been spending most of my time, when not on the loo, lying on my bed reading & watching TV & generally feeling sorry for myself. I've taken a bit of a gamble rushing out to the  internet cafe to write this.

I went for a test run yesterday on my bicycle to see if I could at least find the right road to Pardi. I enquired of a bunch of youths on the outskirts of Nasik whether it was indeed the Pardi road; they assured me it was & were very helpful - offered me a cup of chai, some food, invited me for dinner and drew me a map (unfortunately the usual map conventions of north, south and so on didn't seem to apply). Nevertheless they explained that there were 2 hotels between here & Pardi, showed me roughly where and even wrote me a note in Marathi (they don't use Hindi where I'm headed & are unlikely to speak any English) to show to people if I get stuck (hopefully it doesn't say "you get fucked mister!"... ). They also wrote the names of some of the towns in Hindi, including a number not listed on my maps, which may be helpful if I get lost - apparently there are a number of crossroads on the way (indicated by spirals on their map). They were a little discouraging in shaking their heads, saying that a lot of it was a forest area, quite hilly, and that it was a bad area at night that I was heading into ("you'll get robbed") and that the locals were into "black magic" and other bad things. Gulp.

Again, they wanted my personal details (and looked a bit sorry for me when I explained I had no 'issue') and were rapt when I took a photo of them all ... there must have been a dozen or so crowding around by the time I left.

You do begin to feel like a celebrity - a group of school kids cycled alongside me while I was out riding yesterday, asking the usual: "who is your favourite Australian cricketer?" and "what do you think of Tendulkar?". Me: "fantastic!", of course, although I have toyed with being mean and asking "who's he?". He's the number one sporting hero here for sure. And with all these autograph requests, I'm beginning to feel like Shane Warne. Luckily no-one's asked me to play cricket yet.

Well, gotta run, if you know what I mean.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2005

Thursday 20th - Nasik

Cycled 8km out to some Buddhist caves south of Nasik (Pandu Lena) as a test run after my apparent recovery from the bad gut & then had a masala dosa at the Annapoona guest house. Things seemed OK & the caves were reasonably interesting (although I felt a little cross being charged Rp100 whereas locals pay Rp5 - nearly a 2000% hike). At the caves, again crowded by students & other young blokes wanting to take my photo. The main, and probably only, benefit to me in all this is that I can then ask someone to take mine with my camera. So, I have heaps of photos with me in the midst of crowds of young men. Which also serves to highlight how there is almost a total lack of contact with female Indians here ... in fact, about the only one I've had any dealings with was with a bank-worker, when I changed a traveller's cheque.  I sort of think this strange interest the young men have in me may be related to this in some way.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2005

on the road again - Nasik to Daman

Day 4 cycling:

Nasik to Kaparda

Distance cycled: 100.59km

Ride time: 6:47 hours

Average speed = 15.37 km/hr

Overall total = 362 km

Max Speed: 45 km/hr

The first 30km out of Nasik were fine - road conditions were very good (decent surface, light traffic, fairly flat, and occasional road signs in English). There were lots of eucalyptus trees along the route (Australia gave them to India, & they gave us the mynah bird). It sometimes felt as if I were cycling some obscure road between Adelaide & Port Augusta. After 38km the surface was ... crap, although there was a nice downhill bit (which the bad surface managed to spoil). From my vipassana training of course, one should never be disappointed by uphill stretches or overjoyed by the downhill ones (but it's sure hard not to, especially with a good road surface & little traffic). The 45 km/hr section was rather fun. Funnily, when the road is steep and/or very awful, the truckies suddenly become very friendly, waving, smiling - I guess they feel some sense of common ground as we both struggle with the same difficult conditions. Out here, the locals don't seem quite so friendly, and tend to look blank when I cycle past saying "hi", "hello" or something similar. I later learnt that these words are unknown in these parts.

I arrived at Kaparda at about 4pm, utterly exhausted - 15.37 km/hr is not a great speed (I like it when I can hit at least 18) which reflects to some extent how bad the road was ( and a little bit my lack of cycling fitness). Allegedly there was a hotel in Kaparda - one of only two on the entire way between Nasik & Pardi. Only there wasn't - after going in this direction and that, given to me by helpful locals, I finally stopped & sat on a concrete slab ready to just weep, when a man crossed the road & took me to the local school hostel, where they agreed to put me up for the night. Such bliss! The conditions were pretty rough - squat loo, swarms of mossies, and so on, but I wasn't complaining. However I was a little unsure when given a cup, a bucket of water & towel, and taken into the middle of the school ground to make use of the equipment. I wasn't quite sure whether I was meant to strip off in front of the entire school or not ... but then sense arrived, and I just washed my exposed bits. Later that evening, I took the teacher to the local hotel/roadhouse for a meal - very tasty, and I'm sure much better than what any roadhouse in Australia would turn out. It was a little strained, as neither of us knew a word of the other's language, and I felt too exhausted to make any grand efforts at pantomime. I later slept like a log until 6am when the whole place came alive - morning chanting, washing, cleaning, sweeping, eating etc. The school's English teacher arrived, so we had a chat & he drew me a map showing how to cut about 15 km off my journey to Daman by taking roads not on my road atlas. (He explained that he's paid about Rp4500 a month (about $150 AUD), which is not great)

One thing that's been very tricky is that the names shown on my LP Travel Atlas, and also my map, bear little relationship to local reality - for instance, the town shown as "Peint" is called "Peth" by everyone - even the official signs, if in English, call it this. Even worse, "Chioli", on the map, is called "Nanaponda" locally --- and locals apparently would not know what I was talking about if I asked the way to "Chioli". Curious. The two maps drawn for me to date by locals have been very helpful & fairly accurate ... much more than so than my maps. So, thanks guys.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2005

Daman

Day 5 cycling:

Kaparda to Daman

Distance cycled: 53.83km

Average speed: 18.02 (that's more like it)

Ride time: 3:03 hours

Max speed: 47.9 km/hr

Overall total: 416km

The road, despite a few hilly and very rough patches, was very good. Daman is a reasonable little town, about 180 km north of Mumbai, on the coast and has a few forts, churches and beaches, although these are no good for swimming in. I'll most likely head off tomorrow, north, in the direction of Surat, but who knows, as the hotel I'm in is quite comfortable (in fact, one of the best I've stayed in in India - it costs about $20 per night.) The food so far has been pretty good, and I can recommend the local version of Chinese food if you begin to feel tired of just eating Indian food. The fried rice is delightfully hot, and is bright orange in appearance.

I'm happy to report that my bad gut was just a flash in the pan, and I'm in shipshape condition once again (unfortunately the immodium I took as a precaution resulted in not successfully going to the loo for the next 3 days... (is this too much detail for you dear readers?))). I have developed a bit of a cough and chest congestion, but I recall having the exact same issue the last time I cycled India, in 2000. It may well be a result of diesel and other nasty stuff from cycling the roads here. I went to a pharmacy to see if I could get something for it e.g lozenges, and they quite happily gave me a blister pack of antibiotics (amoxycillin) - no prescription needed. I figured probably not a great idea at this point.

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005

24th Jan

Daman is quite a nice & relaxed little town by the ocean. I walked today around the Moti Daman, the fort area on the south side, after taking a boat across the small stretch of water between (cost Rp2). The centre span of the bridge apparently collapsed a few years ago, which must be a boon for the boat owners. The Moti Daman area is a relatively quiet, clean and somewhat charming area, with a few interesting things to see, such as the Church of Baby Jesus and another church that is apparently very ornate inside, in the Portuguese style. This was closed and the caretakers couldn't open it for me when I asked, as the guy who had the key had gone off to visit his brother for the afternoon.

The food in India is great. I've had my fill of naan, paratha & rotis, as well as pakoras, puri bhaji, masala dosa, channa (chickpea) masala, murgh (chicken) makhani and of course thali, as well as gulab jamun and one or two other sweet dishes. Chai is always a delight to me, especially after stopping for a drink break during some heavy cycling. All this of course is likely to increase my bulk, but overall I'm losing weight due to the cycling. In fact, I might have to buy a pair of braces soon. And my buttocks, or "sitting bones" as yoga people cutely call them, are taking a hell of a beating (I was going to say "as sore as buggery" but thought better of it) what with sitting on them for 12 hours a day during the meditation course and then hours in the saddle cycling. Still, I reckon they'll be pretty taut and trim by the time I return to Australia.

Daman's such a peaceful place that I've stayed here a day longer than planned. I'll be off tomorrow though, heading northwards.

... hmm, I've just remembered that tomorrow is my birthday, so I guess it will be a low key affair on my own, who knows where. I was cycling in India in 2000 on my birthday and went to a restaurant for a nice meal with the plan of having some ice cream as a sort of celebration. Unfortunately they said they didn't have any when I ordered it ...

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2005

Surat

Day 6 Cycling:

Daman to Surat

Distance cycled: 127.86km

Ride time: 7.52 hrs

Average Speed: 16.57 km/hr

Max: 31

Total cycled (odometer reading): 559 km

Today was a pretty good cycling day - weather very pleasant (mid-20's), flat, good road surface most of the way, traffic tolerable. I cycled roughly north north east for about 15km before hitting the main highway. What was striking so early in the morning was all the spit on the road - Indians do so like a good gob. The road today was mostly a 2-lane divided highway (NH8), but roadworks were happening along most of it, and traffic kept being diverted along one side or other. This was good for me on the bike as I could usually continue cycling on the blocked-off section of road for quite some distance. The curious thing was the total lack of road signs or mileposts along the way, pretty much until I hit the turnoff to Surat. Still, no real problem here, as I was basically heading north all day, up the highway. The other curious thing was how friendly other motorists were - truckies, and others, smiling, waving, giving me the thumbs up sign. Very cheering.

I'm staying a night at the Hotel Central Excellency - a nightmare to find, as Surat is actually a rather big place - and a somewhat shabby and overpriced place (900 Rp a night - quite a lot more than the LP guide suggests), but I was too tired after cycling so far to even think about finding anything else. My buttocks really let me down today, otherwise the average speed above would've been a little faster. They were really sore, and I'm contemplating putting a big squirt of the marvellous Enac gel in my trousers for tomorrow's ride. Still, I can count myself lucky that I don't suffer from a numb or painful todger, as I know some cyclists do. I also have a bit of soreness developing in my right knee (is this getting too boring, dear reader...?). My friend Sue, who is in to these sorts of things, tells me that someone called Louise Hay reckons that a sore knee means an excess of pride. I reckon I'd be prouder if I didn't have the bloody pain. Well, a rather uneventful day on which to have a birthday and the nearby restaurants don't seem all that conducive to having much of a celebration. Tomorrow, as well as being Australia Day, is also Republic Day in India. I'm not sure how people celebrate this, or what it will be like on the roads. For me, I'll try & cycle to Bharuch (also known as Broach), a modest 86 km away.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2005

Surat to Bharuch (Broach)

Day 7 Cycling:

Surat to Bharuch (Broach):

Distance cycled: 81.06km

Average Speed: 17.16 km/hr

Ride time: 4:48

Maximum speed: 27.1 km/hr

Total Odometer reading: 640 km

As I pedalled off this morning I noticed that the bike was in a different gear to the one I left it in last night. This minor hazard tends to occur when you're not able to leave your bike in your room - Indians love to fiddle with things (a cycling log I read the other day nicely described them as "twiddlers"). I also belatedly discovered that my ex-wife Bhanu's family actually came from two neighbouring towns to Surat, but it would've been too awkward a detour at this stage to have had a look around. Would've been interesting though.

This stretch of road was dustier, smokier, smellier and rougher than yesterday's. I also had the wind against me for much of the time. But the road was flat, and a dual-lane divided highway all the way, so on the whole it was a fairly straightforward ride. Not especially interesting though - mostly chemical plants, brick works and the occasional village lined the road. Perhaps the most entertaining sight was the effort to remove a truck from a ditch by means of a crane and a big tow truck. I stood there and gawked at proceedings for a while, along with a crowd of other onlookers. 80 kilometres is a much happier distance to cycle than 100 km.

The buttocks seemed a lot better today - was it the Enac gel or perhaps habituation to the task? I did wonder about doing a controlled study - just applying Enac to one buttock, and seeing how it goes. A double-blind experiment would be harder to arrange, but possible (this, by the way, is just one example of the sorts of things the mind ponders as one cycles along for hours at a time ....). A potential road hazard here I'm beginning to notice is mobile-phone use - by motorcyclists!

The day started off well, with a 'complimentary' breakfast at the Hotel Central Excellency. While the place itself was pretty drab, breakfast was great - idlis, bhaji, cornflakes & milk and coffee. I also, unusually for me as I like to just keep on going, stopped and had lunch at a roadhouse. I'd stopped for a drink (and typically I'd consume several litres a day on the road) but was enticed into having masala papad (chopped-up tomato, onion and other bits and pieces, on a papadam), chai and some "Chinese" vegetable fried rice. Delicious!

I'm developing a great, if not unusual, suntan - face, legs from the knees down (with sandal markings on my feet) and lower forearms.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2005

Baroda (Vadodara)

Day 8 cycling:

Bharuch to Baroda: 

Distance: 85.54 km

Ride time: 5:21

Average speed: 16.31 km/hr

Max Speed: 27.0 km/hr

Total Odometer Reading: 726km

Today was much like yesterday - flat road, fine weather conditions, some parts of the road were quite rough & other parts just perfect. Again, the road was a 2-lane divided highway, so no major worries from oncoming traffic. Nevertheless, great vigilance is called for - I was daydreaming for about 2 seconds and nearly collided with a motorcyclist entering the highway on my left. I'm staying at the Hotel Surya in Baroda, allegedly a fairly classy mid-range accommodation, but it's been left to become a little rundown. After I arrived, at about 4pm, I had the delightfully-named high tea here - comprising masala dosa, idlis and a coffee. Very tasty after a day's cycling. Last night I had a meal at the restaurant attached to where I stayed (the Hotel Sethna Plaza Annexe) - the food was not so good there, and in fact I complained about what they gave me. This was changed to something a little better, but not a recommended restaurant. While waiting for my meal, there were some very loud voices coming from the kitchen - I guess the chef was having a bad day.

Baroda looks like an OK place, so I'll spend a day or so here. And frankly, I'm a bit fed up with cycling at present, having covered something like 350 km & cycled for five of the last six days. My buttocks & I need a rest!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2005

Baroda (Vadodara)

Had a really solid night's sleep after all that cycling - well, until 6am - incredibly noisy, with the sound of horns, phones ringing, shouting, penetrating through the walls of the hotel and into my eardrums. For some reason it was dead quiet when I awoke again at 8am, for a short time anyway when an amplified brass band started playing, and then several long chains of fire crackers started exploding. So I got up and had an excellent breakfast - cornflakes & milk, idliis, toast, jam and coffee, and read the Times of India. Later in the day I strolled around the Sayaji Baug park - a relaxing oasis. Inside the park are a planetarium, a zoo (comprising cyclone-fenced enclosures and some very dispirited-looking deer), the Museum (again, Rp 20 for locals and Rp 200 for 'foreigners') and the fabulous Health Museum. This had some pretty funky exhibits that seemed as if they were from the 1950's. There was a tall mirror with a sign above suggesting "look at yourself to correct your posture" and another exhibit entitled "woman's sufferings to bear during fertility" with all sorts of complicated diagrams, models, and explanations.

While out cycling this afternoon, a man with bad teeth sidled up beside me on his motorcycle. He asked a few questions than wondered if I had everything I needed. "Like what", I ventured. "Sex" he replied. "You're not my type" I answered but he didn't notice my attempt at humour. After a bit more banter, I thanked him for his interest in my well-being and cycled off. Mind you, I do feel pretty isolated at present - no other westerners to speak of, or with, for over a week.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2005

last day in Baroda

Visited the Baroda (Vadodara) Museum & Picture Gallery. In the museum, there were heaps of exhibits, mostly well-labelled and in English, which was nice. There were stuffed birds, cats, monkeys, and a mis-labelled koala (it looked like a heavy-set fox or perhaps a fat dingo), statues, pots, trinkets from different cultures, plaster casts of Egyptian statues and of fish from around the world, countless pieces of rock and shell, and strange things in bottles. It was primarily a natural museum - nothing interactive or scientific in nature - and reminded me of the Melbourne museum in the 1960's.

In the Picture Gallery, which was not very interesting, I met an English artist with his easel set up, making a copy, in oils, of a painting of a legal scene by the artist W.P Frith. He had been commissioned by Gray's Inn (one of the societies of barristers in the UK) and was spending 3 days in the gallery to do the job. We had a chat, but he was rather coy about revealing how much he was being paid, other than "lots". In some ways his effort, which was half the size of the original (that's all his employers could afford, he explained) looked better than the original.

When I returned to my room for a rest this afternoon after cycling around some of Baroda, there was loud hammering coming from the next room, and some other hammering from down the corridor. After about half an hour of this I'd had enough. I was offered a change of room which I accepted - without thinking. The change from the fourth floor to the first means of course that I'm much nearer the road .... noisy ⁺⁺⁺! I've tended to stay in mid-range hotels, which are generally pretty comfortable. I figure that it's hard on the road - no need for additional hardship at the end of a day's cycling. So, mostly I have hot water/geyser (i.e. hot shower), a flush loo, supplied towel, soap, toilet-paper etc and often a TV - such luxury. The TV tends to have about 40 channels, showing everything from Bollywood movies to this or that guru expounding his or her thoughts on things. The odious Sai Baba was on the other night, sitting on his throne while music played and his devotees looked on reverentially.

Tomorrow I set off for Ahmedabad. I trust the ride will be a little more comfortable, buttock-wise, as I purchased a foam-padded bike-seat cover from a street vendor today.

INDEX:

1. Melbourne, Mumbai, Shahapur, Igatpuri, Nasik

- this page -

3. Ahmedabad, Lothal/Utelia, Bhavnagar, Palitana, Rajula, Diu

4. Veraval (via Somnath),  Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Rajkot

5. Mount Abu, Gogunda

6. Udaipur, Ranakpur, Kumbhalgarh

7. Mumbai, Melbourne