After a successful weekend of practice and first day on the road, the Tamilnadu Run had more exploring to do. Here is Princely’s final Rickshaw Challenge report until the Classic Run begins in more than two months!

Long Distance to Thanjavur

On the Pondicherry morning we had briefing at 8 am on the dot. Being long distance and with bad roads to navigate, I warned all the tree teams beforehand. As expected the teams immediately started and left. As we had a beach spot in Cuddalore town as a challenge for the day, I instructed the mechanic team to get the detour and check whether any team is there on the spot. So by the time the Mechanic team called up, it was 10 am. By the word of the shop keeper there we got the information that two teams came to the beach and left. Then the mechanic team was in hot pursuit to catch them before the next town called Chidambaram. But no, the mechanics could not catch the teams there.

In our day sheet we had marked a lunch recommendation at Puthur, called Jayaram mess, and known for its good fish. I reached the place at 12.30 pm and within half an hour all the teams arrived. Oh what a site to watch 6 foreigners having meals at the thatched roof eating spot. It was a show of amusement to the locals and the serving team there was super exited and they were asking them whether the spice was ok giving them the very best service. Then it was pretty much a straight drive to Thanjavur. Somewhere after Kumbkonam town the sky got absolute crazy dark. Within five minutes the rain started pelting down heavily. The rain was there until 20 km and when I started approaching Thanjavur the sun started shining brightly again. Teams came in to the hotel around 5.30 pm. The gorgeous looking swimming pool in Tanjavur base hotel become the spot for the teams. Probably they settled there till 10 pm and stories after stories were evident from their roaring sound of laughter.

The Way to Yercaud

Thanjur morning was again an early morning start. The day drive was a straight drive for me without any call and surprisingly not bumping in to any team for the whole day. I was in Yercaud at 3 pm after a good lunch at the recommended hotel in day sheet called Selvi mess near the Salem new bus stand. All the while the mechanic team could not work out where the teams were. It was around 4.30 pm the mechanic team reached the foot hills of Yercaud and started waiting. Till 5 pm there was no trace of teams. Then I messaged the teams to know about the where about. Then I hurried them by warning them about the last stretch will take about an hour and half and to start immediately to claim the hills. Still Team 1 made it to the foot hills at around 5.45 pm. Then the mechanics tailed them. The first team to reach the base hotel was Team 2 ‘Keep Karma and Carry Omm’ and it was 6 pm. The next team was team 3 ‘The Coxes’ to reach the hotel and they came at around 6.30 pm. It became pitch dark. Team 1 ‘One-Eyed Wonder weasels’ had tough time driving the hill in the dark. They had to literally push the vehicle a couple of times and Darrell refused to take the mechanic help as he wants the full credit to doing it by himself. Yeh! They did it. It was around 7 pm that they made it to the hotel. The lit up Salem view from the hills was amazing. And the bar was occupied only with the three teams bragging about the drive on few beers and cocktails.

Lazy Day to the Holy City of Tiruvanamalai

Yercaud morning was misty. Being a hill station the life comes alive only after 8 in the spot. I was ready at 7.30 am and came to the reception. Arun the Chennai garage leader of mechanic team came there as well. It was Darrell who came at 7.45 there. Dropping his bags checking his vehicle he went for the breakfast and it was not ready. It was 8 am that they started the breakfast spread at the base hotel. The briefing was held at 8.30 am and the teams immediately left to the next destination. The routes were discussed and the challenge was explained to them. That was absolutely a no-nonsense day and I crossed the teams at Uthangarai a town before 60 km to the destination. The base hotel had many activities, most notably milking a cow. David Smith of Team 2 ‘Keep Karma and carry on’ had his fortune checked by a parrot. Thus the non-eventful day came to an end in a village set up resort in Thiuvanamalai.

Reaching Chennai

The last day drive started early at 8 am from Tiruvanamalai. Some of the teams visited the amazing temple complex which is considered huge in Indian standards of temple. Then the teams did the Chengi fort before catching the main highway to Chennai. The recommended hotel for the lunch in Thindivanam was visited by two teams except team no.2. The mechanics had no clue till the finish of the day where these teams were. About 80 km before Chennai the rain showed a sign of scare. I had to drive slow and I could only imagine those three wheeled open-ventilated rickshaw. They would have had a tough time negotiating that for sure. My family had bid goodbye to the teams that morning as the plan was to drop them home before I concluded the rally at the base hotel and then washing down at the flag off planed at Elements hostel. All the 3 teams made it well in time and at 7.30 pm we had the finish ceremony at our Elements hostel.

At the finish, I heard a lot of interesting stories from the team about their fuelling experiences. Many head wobbles, fewer suggestions to light up the activities. Team 2 knocked a two wheeler when they tried reversing and paid 300 rupees for the damage. Alesha of Team 1 is a safety inspector in Canada who mainly inspects building sites. She was amazed by the absolute violation of safety measures in India. Life of the working class in India is taken for granted and I pacified her by my silly statement of citing the population as the reason. One or two life sacrifice is ok for the most densely populated country in the world. That was definitely a tongue in cheek statement which took the serious concern to a laughing material. I was also amused to learn the the meaning of the team name ‘One-eyed wonder Weasels’. The Champions were decided by the makeover and Team 3 ‘The coxes’ were awarded for their Halloween theme make over. Such came the end to all exciting Tamilnadu Run 2018. See you for another adventure soon. Until then its ‘bye’ from me and the entire team.

Meet-Up

 

 
The last rally in the calendar year is compact, starting and finishing in Chennai. Covering the states Tamilnadu and (briefly) Pondicherry, this is an amazing rally for participants who want a more relaxed experience than is possible on some of our other events. This rally has three teams of couples from Canada and UK. There is one participant from Polond, but even she is residing in London for a long period of time. Beginning from Chennai is a great advantage for me as I can start from home for the registration. Mentioning 3 teams does not mean that my work will be any easier, as all the remaining elements of rally are intact and punctuality is no less priority than in any other events. Sharp at 9 the organization team set up the registration counter in the lobby of the base hotel.
 

 
The first team to arrive at the registration was ‘The Coxes’. The Canadian Team ‘One-Eye wonder weasels’ was the next to follow. The third team ‘Keep Karma and Carry Omm’ had their pick-up from airport scheduled at 10.45 am. By calculating the time, we could presume that they would not make it to the hotel until 11.30 am. Thus the briefing was scheduled at 11 am was postponed to half an hour. Our staff kept tracking the pickup driver and to our relief everything went on smooth and the team arrived at 11.45 am, only 15 minutes later than we anticipated. The briefing went smoothly in spite of the delay. Straight from the airport and having just completed some 20 hour of journey did not slow down Team 2. Just a shower freshened both the members of the team but by the time they came for the practice they were absolutely enthusiastic and rocking.
 

Practice

 

 
The second session, at the Practice ground, went as smoothly as the briefing. The only let down was learning that none of the female compatriots are going to drive. It was just three drivers to teach. As all had done bikes and manual gears, it was only a very short time before they learnt the art of driving three wheels. After teaching them the basics, teams were let loose on the crazy Indian traffic. Then it’s like taking the bull by its horn. All the teams were brave enough and they were raring to go. First drive was to fuel and then to the base hotel. All went well except for Team 2, who had some issue, finding the rickshaw kept rolling and they needed a little support to reach the hotel. Thus the first day came to a close at the fellowship, arranged in Elements hostel. The second day involved a mini challenge, which Teams started at 11 am. I sat at the lobby of the base hotel and the support crew was kept ready at the same place. There was no call to attend that day as all the teams finished their task and reached the base hotel safely.
 

Hitting the Road!

 

 
On Day 3 of the Tamilnadu Run, the real journey started. I had decided to take my family with the trip as it coincided with the holiday for my kids. So the first thing at the day brief was introduction of my family to the participants. Then it was time to give information on the road, the weather and potential dangers for the teams. We flagged of from the base hotel at 8.30 am, without any hitch. The only break down on the whole day was Team 2 running out of fuel. Reaching Pondicherry well in time teams enjoyed beach and all of them settled early as they were tired by the drive in the hot sun.
All photos in this blog are the property of the Travel Scientists.
 

 
 

Day 9

 

My remembrance of Mumbai Xpress rallies are always much memorable than all the other scheduled rallies because the real challenge of the Western Ghats faced with monsoon rain is in this rally. After we left Goa it had always an adventure mode, the fury of rain played a major role since we left Goa.
On Sunday morning, the sunrise was gloomed with dark clouds as if they were going to swallow the day. The rain started pelting from 6.30 am. We were due to travel from the Goan capital Panaji to a lazy fishing village called Murudeshwara. Before we could cross the Goan border team 6 Hobbshall Express had a bit of trouble. It was all set within no time and everything went on schedule other than the rain playing the spoil sport. The in-between recommendation of Gokarna beach was well attended by many of the teams. The scenic folly of Om beach is a definite treat for the tiring drive. The day ended smoothly with a view of Murudeshwara shiva statue and a beach of our own. The luggage team had a rough day as the rain threatened to drench all the bags, but a new coversaved the day for all. All the participants who had done the Murudeshwara will understand the Naveen times. It’s nothing but some great table with beers and stories.
 

Day 10

 

The next day morning was a casual start and all the teams left the hotel by 8.30 a.m. It was day 10 and we were scheduled to a busy town called Mangalore. Mangalore is the surfing capital of India and it is known for its industrial activity. Heavy rain had dampened the spirits of this town for quite a while since the start of the monsoon. It had reeled under water for several days and even on the day we travelled there the schools and colleges were closed anticipating heavy rain. The in-between recommendation of Udupi temple was a hit. Many teams went for the lunch in the temple, as Indian call it as Prashad. There was not much call for service that day except a call from Team 9 Bottomless Samosas. The Girls, who did expect a stick gear shift, were doing excellentlu. Manglore has many fancy pubs and without saying the teams planned a loosener for their tedious and drenched drive.
 
 

 
 

Day 5

 
Day 5 was planned for a school visit and out of 16, 13 teams made it to the school. It was fun time with kids and the Roundtable members took them around to show the project. After finishing we had to find the way out of Pune to the next destination at Mahabaleshwar. There were a couple of service calls with some niggles but they were sorted out very fast and all of the teams arrived at the hotel well within the time. Mahabaleshwar is a hill station, and the challenge of the day was to take photograph with the local tuk tuk taxi drivers. That fun experience was the main topic of conversation at dinner.
 

Day 6

 
Day 6 had a surprise element as there was a state wide protest on political issue. It was fun listening to all of the stories how they ferried the protest to the destination. There was couple of service calls, except that the day was a long distance day. All the teams were tired. A beer and good sleep to recharge was the mantra. The view of Ratnagiri was a soother for all of them.
 

Day 7

Day 7 was the drive to Goa. The party place made the teams go for it and at the start there were a couple of break downs. As usual it was all fixed immediately and all the teams had reached Goa. Some of the teams paid some fine that they do not understand at the Goan border. It only happens in Goa. They have different rule from all the other states. Long party at night was the finish.
 

Day 8

Day 8 is the rest day at Goa and all the teams were hailing Travel Scientists for the meticulous planning.
It’s Good bye from Goa.
 

 
 

Train Tickets

The first challenge of the day was to visit the nearby train station, and buy a ticket, any ticket. It might sound simple (and well, it was, since everyone managed it) but the event was not without drama. Team 8 “Namaste 6” ended up bumping into the back of a stranger’s car. Our first crash of trip — but everyone came off unscathed, so we can count it as a success. And, somehow, the car ended up in worse shape than the rickshaw. The driver was a little upset, and called his sister to negotiate. She drove a hard bargain (or Namaste 6 are just too nice) and a generous compensation was agreed. So, everyone ended up smiling. Not for the first time we learned that on Travel Scientists events, the only people happier than the participants… are the lucky strangers they crash into.
 

Temple Time

The day’s second challenge was a little trickier. Teams were instructed to capture a photo of themselves, their rickshaw, and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Simple enough you might think: the temple is very grand, very gold, and very big. However, two problems awaited the teams: firstly, guards do not allow photography near the temple; secondly, there are seemingly endless lanes nearby, with only very few allowing access. Many teams drove into narrow alleys, having to reverse, only to have their way blocked by… other Malabar Rampage teams, also lost! Above, the Namaste teams pose in front of the back entrance.
 

Meeting the Locals

Many teams did make it to the main entrance, though, or at least close to it. And bringing brightly coloured rickshaws to popular places means one thing… requests for selfies. Team 2 didn’t help themselves: they had made their vehicle even more interesting with the addition of a Tyrannosaurus Rex on top. They were approached by a local who wanted to join their photo, and (for some reason) to touch the blow-up dinosaur. Afterwards, he wasn’t keen to let it go, and kept holding on. Eventually he relented, but to be fair to the man, he did truly appreciate the moment: he gave the team 10 rupees, and refused to take no for an answer. Team 1 had another classic lost-in-translation conversation earlier in the day. Upon noticing their out-of-state license plates, a local repeated “TN, TN, TN”, with no explanation, much to their confusion. Eventually, she where they were from, which led to the the immortal question “You’re from America and you don’t speak English?”
 

Kovalam and Beyond

For Teams 7 and 18, the challenges weren’t nearly enough. They decided to go on an adventure to Kovalom beach (a lovely spot)… and beyond. They drove for the whole day, exploring churches of various colours, beaches and bays, and picturesque fishing villages. However, later in the afternoon team 7 bit off a little more than they could chew ascending one hill, and spluttered to a stop, out of fuel. Luckily, Team 18 came to the rescue — great teamwork. It seems like teams are ready for the real adventure: day 3, bright and early, we set off for Alleppey.
 
 

 
 

General Silliness

When 007 met 007.
 

Nothing unusual, just two bees surfing a boat…
 

“Smile for the camera!”
 

Good Signs

Sometimes the spelling might be a little unusual…
 

But sometimes we can only agree!
 

Pongal

Pongal is always a highlight of the Classic Run.
 

It’s important to get dressed up for the occasion.
 

Or you can be more relaxed…
 

But you should take the cooking challenge seriously…
 

Because the judges certainly do!
 

And, the next day, you might become celebrities!
 

The Final Party

No Rickshaw Challenge is complete without a medal ceremony.
 

As ever, in addition to medals, there was a Charity Award — which went to the B-Team.
 

The ‘Bonkers’ Trophy went to Team Death Shaw.
 

And the well-deserved overall champions: The Tuktators!
 

And with that, it was time to say goodbye, with some beers, and some cake!
 

 
 

Let’s Start at the Beginning…

 

 
Some teams were making friends even before the event!
 
 

 
But it was soon time for Training Day.
 

 
Where teams had to quickly learn how to drive a rickshaw…
 

 
Before being let loose on the road!
 

 
Everyone was excited for an important Rickshaw Challenge tradition: flag-off.
 

Crazy Costumes

 

 
Now we have to celebrate some of the fantastic costumes our Classic Run participants wore.
 

Sometimes with incredible matching rickshaws!

 
And props…
 

Some costumes were so good strangers couldn’t resist taking a sly selfie.
 

 
While this team helpfully used their lightsaber to point the way to the Health Spa!
 

Making Friends

 

 
A big part of any Rickshaw Challenge event is making friends with locals you meet along the way.
 

 
Some teams distribute toys.
 

 
While others see how many kids can fit it one rickshaw. [Answer: a lot!]
 

 
Teams always get a lot of requests for selfies.
 

 
Finally, Team ‘Vibe Spice’ managed to complete the ultimate Rickshaw Challenge tradition: a selfie with policemen!
Okay, it turns out we had so much fun we’ll need a Part 2 for the rest of our favourite highlights…

 
 

Day 2: Chennai to Puducherry

 

The costumes of the participants made the first day extraordinarily colorful and gave a happy mood for the first day on road. Again the briefing was done by Aravind and teams left the base hotel within half an hour after we finished the briefing. There we go, Classic Run 2018 was officially flagged off and we were off on road. All went fine for the first day and I saw a couple of teams in Mahabalipuram, mentioned in day sheet. Alambari fort was closed as there were some issues with the locals.
 

Team 15 (Temoji), had no clue how they had to navigate in spite of briefing and they came as the last team and it was 7.30 pm when we finished the day in Puducherry. The other teams strolled to the beach to enjoy the end of the day. Over beers some stories of running out of fuel and minor break downs were discussed. The mechanics attended the overnight complaints and preparation for the next day went smoothly.
 

Day 3: Puducherry to Thanjavur

 

Being the longest day of the entire rally, teams were warned enough and the highlight of the day was again Team Temoji. At around 4.30 PM, I received a call from them and they had completely lost their way and detoured more than 40km. But everything fell into place as they were guided by some locals and the Chennai Garage team lead them after the town of Kumbakonam. Yet another day finished in the base hotel which had an extraordinary swimming pool. Beers by the pool, that’s sounds luxurious, doesn’t it?
 

Day 4 Thanjavur to Madurai

 

The big temple in Thanjavur was the first challenge for the participants. On my drive I met few teams at Tirumayam fort and the pictures taken at there were awesome. Special mention to Teams 11 (the B – Team) and 14 (Ripped and wrecked). Another no problem day ended up at Madurai and teams had their new year’s party… it was a long night for most of the teams! Let the fun begin. I would like to wish all the readers and regular followers of Rickshaw Challenge a Happy New Year!!!
 

 

Day 1 — Practice in Chennai

 
In the Rickshaw Challenge calendar the all-new 2018 started on 28th December 2017. Before we move on to the events, I would like to share a few interesting facts as to why the Classic Run is special. In 2006 when the founder of the Rickshaw challenge conceived the idea of taking his friends to an event like this, his primary focus was party for 10 days. So the basic element of this rickshaw challenge is built on is fun and party. However, driving on Indian roads is not a party. It’s very stressful especially if you are from the developed nations of Europe and America. Having said that, after 12 years Rickshaw challenge remains one of the most well organized trips in India. The evidence is the happy participants!
 

 
This particular event is also most special because we get to visit Tuticorin, the birthplace of Aravind Bremanadam founder of Rickshaw Challenge. His extended family gives the special treatment to all the participants of Classic Run, the element we will be missing in all the other rallies in the calendar. This year we had a slight dip in the overall participants, as we have only 15 teams compared to 20 last year. Even though there is no specific reason for this, the smaller number will give us good opportunity to take care of the participants more personally.

 

 
On the first day, the registration table is laid at the base hotel at 8am and the teams started registration at  am. Within no time, all the teams fell in place and registration was over before 10.30 am. The lone contender Pushkar Mitra of Team 13 Mitra firm, who participated in the Tamilnadu Run 2017, did not turn up and he planned for the start day on 29th from Chennai. The rest of the teams had briefing at 11am and it was done by Aravind himself. Once the briefing was over the teams headed to the practice ground and as usual we had our training session for 3 hours and all the teams were confident enough to take the Indian road.
 

 
The first drive on Indian roads from practice ground to Base hotel was successful for everyone, but there was some drama as Team 15 were a little late to the hotel. They had got a little lost, but they managed to navigate their way back eventually. All had gone well on the day and everyone had a great time at the welcome party at Elements Hostel. All teams had left on time responsibly as they were sensibly focused on being ready to face the next day, where they would hit the road for real!
 

 

Incredible Nature

Like these fields of green.

Often the best views are of plantations, like this spot in Western Tamil Nadu.
 

Pristine Beaches

Chennai, where the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run begins, has the longest natural urban beach in the country.

Fishing is an important industry in ports like Tuticorin.

Sometimes the clear white sand has to be seen to be believed.
 

Amazing Temples

The gopurams of Madurai are astonishing.

While Rajarajeswaram has been astonishing visitors for over one thousand years.
 

India’s Southern Tip

Your reward for making it all the way to the very south of the subcontinent is the stunning ocean views of Kanyakumari.