Before we get inside of what happened during the Malabar Rampage, I would like to talk a little bit about what Rickshaw Challenge had brought the expectation of. People sign up for various reason, birthdays, stag party, after university get together, family outing, honeymoon, marriage proposal and most importantly to break the monotony.

This adventure hits the bucket list of many people around the word equated with bungee jumping and other such similar adventure. The adrenaline rush which you get when you drive in an unfamiliar vehicle in the toughest traffic in the world is not second to anything. It’s really hard to bring out the translation of the feeling in any language, what you experience. I am repeatedly trying to improvise my sense of translation of what the participants go through, it is a tough job as the filters of memory and expression would spew out only a part of what crude I would be getting. Excusing myself on my lack of language skills and ardent writing skills. This is an experience which no one can justify only other than you participate in it.

Day 1 – Love at first sight

April 6th was a Saturday and it is the first day of the Malabar Rampage 2019. The roasting summer has just started in all parts of India and people are warned in newspapers to avoid direct exposure to sun. As usual the organizers drive from Chennai to Trivandrum, check list of preparation, preparing a place for practice and finally the charged swiping machine, are all the mandatory stuff.

The registration was well on time, myself, Vishakh and Arun were ready with the merchandize and paper work. When we arrived at the reception of the base hotel, I could see some of the faces I saw in the profile page of road book, in the breakfast area. Many of them were staying for the past couple of days to avoid the last minute rush and jet lag.

Team 3, Flair Force One and Team 4, The Fast and Flairious were the first teams to register. The father and son duo of Dinish and Neel  has made their own teams of Team 3 and Team 4 respectively. Flair is their company name and they are into interiors in Britain. Dinesh an ever young person pulled up Shekhar, his Indian associate who lives in Varanasi and Neel teamed up with his relative Ram.

Team 8, The Chutney Chariot and Team 9, Cool Runnings were other two teams which followed for the registration. Rick wanted to throw a stag party and Rickshaw Challenge made it to fulfill the idea. But his father and father in law accompanied him with the teams. Now we need to think again was the stag party idea right? Rather I would call a family get together with only David is the outsider from the family.

Team 5, NYC -50 and Flaming 50 consisted of another friends group who wanted their 50^th year birthdays memorable. Ashley was a Bangalore based working person who brought his friends from America, Singapore and England to celebrate his 50^th birthday.

Team 7, Jamaican Me Crazy, had their reggae theme and consisted of father and daughter. Paul, who is working in China as an English teacher, brought his daughter for her birthday and graduation celebration.

Team 1, Adventure for Dementia, wanted to spread the awareness of Dementia. The team consisted of three members and in that Sarah is a Yoga teacher back in England, who had been to India before, teamed up and came for fun and purpose.

Last but not the least, Team 2, Breaking Wind had just Susanne during the registration as the rest of the members were all on their way. Incidentally Team 2 and Team 7 know each other as Paul from team 7 and Josette from Team 2 know each other from Vietnam where they were working in the same school. Thus the registration got over with a lengthy introduction of teams we shall enter in to the event.

Briefing was done in the bar at the base hotel. At 11 am we just introduced ourselves to each other and discussed how connected we need to be during the next 9 days an what everybody was expecting from the incredible country called India. Malabar Rampage is a 3 state rally starting from Kerala, we cross Karnataka and finish it in Goa.

Then the most important session of practice started at 2.30 pm. Before this, a small drama of cat and mouse game started. Team 8 and Team 9 were there in the training ground at 2 pm and they started to drive with the help of Chennai Garage support team. Without no time they became professionals just like a fish in the water.

Team 3 and Team 4 also had no issues to drive it. Same wise Team 5 and Team 6 also started well. The all women team of Team 1 and Team 2 faced more difficulty and they were honest that they were not expecting it to be tough. Starting the engine was the tough part. Many hands were blistered. Some of them got cycling glove and smartly escaped the first day blistering.

Final challenge for the day was to tank up and drive to the hotel. All so smooth, that one by one all the teams drove up to the base hotel and had a finish feeling for that, even though they were aware of the drive which they are making it to Goa.

Finally for the day, all the teams joined the welcome drink at the base hotel bar. Rest is too loud to hear and the final set of teams were literally begged to go to sleep. Thus an eventful day came to the end.

Day 2 – Shopping time in Trivandrum

In Trivandrum, Chennai Garage got a small parking place which they use for the preparation as well. The owner of the spot, Deepak suggested a plan to a mall in Trivandrum where they set a surprise for the teams. As usual our mini challenge was added with the extra task of driving to the mall and back. When they arrived in mall they had the surprise of media coverage.

The first team to call for support for the day was Team 7 and it was right before the Trivandrum railway station, in no time the problem was fixed by the support staff and rest is all just a cake walk to all the teams. Some of them even travelled to Kovallam (a beach, 25 km away from Trivandrum) and got back well before 6.30 pm.

This day works well as a practice day on road before they take the main traffic on Monday morning on the way to Alleppey.

Day 3 – Beach surprise at Varkala

The day broke with color and fun as many teams walked out with their costumes for the rally. It was such a colorful morning the feel of start became a celebration at the base hotel. With 9 teams and 23 members, Malabar rampage was flagged off from Trivandrum.

Our Destination for the day was Alleppey, also known as Alappuzha, known for its backwaters and houseboats. The days challenge was to click pictures with the teams making chai. What fun the teams had doing such task. The conversation with the locals and how they were looked on when they asked that were all priceless. You need to live that movement to understand what I am talking about.

What was looking like an easy and uneventful day came to a sudden jolt. Town Alleppey was in festive mood for the upcoming Vishu in Kerala. So many roads were closed. We are just finding our way to the hotel. Team 2, Breaking Wind called me for the service and they told us that they are in some house. The owner of the house spoke to me and with the understanding of the spot my support team had to walk back to get the teams as all the roads were closed for procession.

Eventually, they spotted the Rickshaw and repaired it. It took more time to get back to the hotel as the roads were all blocked and the service team had to row through that crazy traffic. Thus the first day came to the end. The highlight of the day was the visit of the beach Varkala. Many teams had a solid one hour to stay there and some even swam in the waves. Getting wet and getting dried up in the rickshaw was like a trick to escape the crouching sun. You all need to understand what the salt sea would do to your body.

Day 4 – Relaxed and easy day to Fort Kochi

The day’s drive was just 80 km and most of the teams were ready to go check the boat house raid in the backwaters. The Challenge of the day was also related with boathouse. Team 8, The Chutney Chariot and Team 9, Cool Running, planned a different route through the backwaters to Kochi. Eventually they lost count on how many boat rides they had to do with the rickshaw. The trip turned amphibian hopping from land to water and getting back to land.

The base hotel in Kochi was also a soother. Fort Kochi had many more things to offer. The question on spices also spiced up the day. Some spa activity was happening and there was such a rush form all our teams. Eventually the spa consultant had tough time handling the bookings.

Day 5 – The most congested drive to Calicut

Today I planned no briefing as that would delay the process of handling the most challenging drive of the whole trip. Crossing the phase one is the whole stuff is all about. I hardly saw any team that day. They had to put use all their energy to navigate the crazy traffic. All the teams had their own fun with plenty of remote beaches and some ferry in the beginning and the finish. Such a great and tiring day came to a peaceful finish.

Day 6 – Crossing borders for Mangalore

We had 8 am briefing at the breakfast area and the surprise was an offline recommendation of Mullapzhangadu drive in beach. Drive a passenger was the day’s challenge.

The absolute normal day came to the support mode when I hit the same beach. I received a support call from Team 1, Adventure for Dementia. They had their clutch burnt out and it needed a replacement. Actually the first place they broke down had such crazy traffic that we could hardly do any work there. So second time they called up and the work was done at around 4 pm. Mangalore had 100 km from the spot and we know there is going to be a delay. The team 1 was worried a bit but the advice of enjoying the journey, rather than  being worried about the destination worked and they moved to the destination with motivation and support.

The excess heat brought rain and thunder at around 6.30 pm. Team 4 were the first people to report about that and later we found from google maps that a thick read strain is there for couple of kilometers around that. Only couple of teams finished the day within the stipulated 6.30 flag off time. The last team to sail in was Team 1 at around 7.30 pm with the support following them. Thus the longest drive came to end and we reached the next state Karnataka.

Day 7 – To the serenity of Murudeshwara

The briefing was planned for 8.30 am and the teams were informed about the Udupi town. The Day was filled with surprise beach pictures from Team 5 and Team 6. They also had their lunch at the mass feeding at the Udupi temple.

Another no problem day came to the sleepy town of Murudeshwara. The beach and the Shiva statue, is a popular background of numerous Rickshaw Challenge participants. The town went dry (no alcohol…) and that was broken by Team 3 and Team 4 with their purchase from Magalore. Together all had the dinner time. Plenty of stories and loads of fun. This was the night were I got the proper connections of the teams and their stories behind the theme.

The mustache challenge, made me popular as every team wanted a picture with me to finish of their challenge.

Day 8 – Go Go Goa

The final morning briefing was over, Team 8 and Team 9 and gave me couple of challenges to finish. I made a small effort and it was fun. Team 1, did not want to take any chance as the Kilometers were 230km to Panaj.  Rest of the teams formed convoy for some. Same wise, all teams turned towards Gokarna, Om beach. When I reached the spot in Gokarna couple of teams were already in the sea to swim.

The final day had no hurry as all the teams reached the hotel only after 5.30 pm. Stopped at most of the beaches and detours which all of them lost count. Thus the official 1000 km drive would have extended above 100 more km on detour and getting lost.

Such an amazing journey has to finish and the finish was also in a bar. All started at a bar came to close at the bar. Team 1 was awarded the Charity award as they raised more than 5000 pounds for the cause they support (Dementia). Team 4 took the bonkers, as they were the most entertaining team and they served the shots at the beginning to the shots to finish at Panaji bar. With the theme of Statue of Liberty, to their total dedication to the points score and the most important VSOP Brandy for the bribe made the Team 5, NYC-50 the champions.

The party began with the birthday celebration of 4 people, Ashely, Stephen, from the champion team, Adam from Team 8, The chutney chariot and the youngest participant Charlotte from Team 7, Jamaican Me Crazy. The party came to a finish at around 11 pm due to election restriction. But nothing could restrict our after party at the hotel, clearing all the minibar drink options.

Such a crazy journey came to a finish and let us all team up for the next rally from Goa to Mumbai the Deccan odyssey 2019. See you all then, bye.

Why did you decide to sign up for the Rickshaw Challenge Malabar Rampage 2019?

A friend who had been living in Goa mentioned it and it sounded a suitably ridiculous way to introduce myself to India. I’ve always wanted to do a rally and had been thinking of signing up to do The Adventurist’s ‘Mongol Rally’; after doing this however, those grandiose plans are on hold as it isn’t called a Challenge for no reason!

What did you expect and what did you get?

I expected the tuk tuk to be like driving a motorbike and to have plenty of time to meander around the roads enjoying the countryside and the people. Clearly, my rational and irrational mind need to have a chat because the reality was a cantankerous tin can that did not want to get into gear, needed biceps of steel to crank the engine into life and my team mates and I must have been pretty slow and faffy because we never felt we had time to meander and enjoy the countryside; every day was a race to make flag down with some hurried stop offs on the way to at least try and take part in the challenges. I still don’t know why we were so slow!

What was your scariest experience on the road?

Getting caught in the late afternoon rain that led into a storm that led into lightning hitting a tree that fell and blocked the road. This meant one very long traffic jam that meant we were late for flag down and had to drive in the dark with one insipid front light, one tiny little windscreen wiper that tried its best to give a clear view but without street lamps, it was frightening to drive along still with people running across the road dressed in dark clothing, cows still ambling about and the buses that still careered along with no concept of others being on the road too.

What was your most positive experience during the Malabar Rampage?

The people. We had a spectacular first day breakdown that meant standing around in the dark in some back alley (thank you google GPS for that helpful detour). The residents were initially bemused by our arrival, dressed as we were in our ‘Breaking Bad’ yellow jumpsuits but they soon came out with tool kits, phones and offers for us to sit inside their houses with a fan, have a drink and meet their families. Coming from London where even making eye contact on the tube is a faux pas, this was a refreshing change and a lovely one too.

How many breakdowns did you have and what did you learn about fixing a rickshaw?

I think our tuk tuk was broken from day one (and I’m not just saying that to excuse our bad driving) but the clutch was incredibly difficult to use on the first day and we broke down countless times – usually in the middle of a busy junction. Eventually it was a local man who came to our rescue and pointed out our clutch needed fixing. The mechanics from the Rickshaw Challenge were called out and they fixed it and all was well until we came across a festival in Alleppey which meant GPS took us on a weird and wonderful back alley detour that involved paths of sand – which the engine took a dislike to and then conked out. I learned absolutely nothing about fixing a rickshaw except it would appear you can take the odd screw from random parts of it in order to fix certain things…like the clutch. When it comes to the engine having a hissy fit – game over. It’s time to call for help!

Describe India in one word or sentence, which doesn’t include coconut or coconut tree!

Sensory. All five senses enjoy India – whether it is smelling spices in the air (or petrol), seeing the colourful silks and beautiful landscapes, touching the food on your plate (no cutlery in many places), hearing the strains of that glorified lawnmower you’re driving and tasting what is essentially an Indian takeaway twice a day every day.

What is your most “only in India” experience?

We captured a wonderful moment whereby we were coasting along NH66 with the sounds of Kylie and Jason warbling ‘Especially for You’ when we came across a cow walking up ahead. Now, I don’t know whether it was the love song playing at the time or delirium from spending so many hours cooped up in that sweatbox but we all thought the back end of the cow had a certain sensual swagger about it which seemed fitting with the song. Maybe you had to be there. Maybe we should have drunk more water that day.

Do you have any recommendations, any good advice for future participants?

Pack lots of those horrible ‘traveller trousers’ (you know the type all the Gap Yar students wear) and cotton tops. You will SWEAT and then SWEAT SOME MORE. Also, pack gloves as those sweaty hands of yours will struggle to grip the handlebars, patience (maybe xanax?) and ensure you take along team mates whom you love greatly, can be honest with and with whom there are no cracks in your relationship. This is an incredible experience – you will learn a lot about yourself and others, see and do wonderful things but it is challenging (or maybe that was just us) and if you are tired and can’t get the tuk tuk to start on a hill, you need people around you who will stay calm and be supportive – not scream at the gods for giving you the foolish idea that this was a good way to spend a week. Because I didn’t do that. No siree.

Day 1 – Initialization in Chennai

Welcome you all for this crazy adventure and our Rickshaw Challenge’s annual event Classic Run. This event had crossed 11 years and stepping in to the 12th year with minor tweak in the route. The total number of teams were 32 and total number of participants were 80. Our organization team had set up two counters to deal with the crowd and time.
Even though it’s not unusual we had many people who grouped themselves before they could register themselves in the rally participation. Team 21 Tinky Winky, Team 22 Dipsy, Team 23 Lala and Team 24 Po is the biggest of the group with 10 members. Likewise, Team 2  Woohoo!! , Team 13  Carpe Diem, Team 14 Freddie’s Folie and Team 27 Alpine Dingoes consisting of 8 members is very interesting combination of sons and mothers drawn by Regan Worley, the hair dresser, of Team 2 with a soul aim to rejuvenate the people who hit the monotony in their life. Furthermore Team 7 and Team 8 Getthatindia 2 and 1 respectively, then it is Team 3 The Flying Kiwi, Team 6 – Bon Vivant and Team 9 AFLO formed another group.
Rest of the teams were new to each other and formed a formidable army of 80 people and that has created a hype right before the rally could start. Yes, I mean the call I received from the Immigration Office to check whether this Rickshaw Challenge is illusion or reality. Thus with the reality check, we will step in to the events which followed one by one to make it a complete life changing experience.
By 11 am exact the briefing started, I did not opt the luxury of microphone and I felt the mistake in the last stage of the speech. Holding up and finishing it successfully and in a purposeful manner, the event moved on to the practice ground. Even before I could enter the ground I saw almost 10 to 15 teams on the move. Then I had to purposefully hold on to them to teach them the basics of fuel mixture. I think some of the people didn’t pay any attention as that was the main reason for the break down even on the last day of the journey.
Whatever is said and done, at the end of the day it is only the numbers that speak. When we count 32 in the hotel then its all fine. The practice did not go without the essential excitement. Team 14 Freedie’s Folie was the first team to break down. An interesting journey by Judith Ham who got a muscle breaking down syndrome but she is a gallant fighter. Her son Geoffrey, who is a music teacher by profession, had taken up the challenge for his mom – an inspiring story to go through. Their Vehicle broke down with electrical failure within half an hour of the start. The mechanics could not find the suitable system and they eventually had to swap the engine. It was done within half an hour and to everyone’s amusement and indirectly increased the confidence of the teams in the Chennai Garage.
At the first junction on the way back to the hotel, on the busy Indian road, Team 4 RickShawn of the Dead faced the challenge of a technical snare in the vehicle and the Chennai Garage showed all their experience to navigate the team out of the chaos and fixing their problem in that sea of traffic was another booster of confidence.
Thus the first day’s program came to end. The finish was the welcome drink for the teams, which was arranged at the pool side. The great crowd sat together with beers, just like a mighty congregation of battle leaders. Even the Gods were among them, listening to the stories and laughing their heads out. Thus a smooth start become evident, which additionally motivated the support crew and organization team.

Day 2 – Culture and Cheap Booze

The day started at 7 am when the teams started dropping the bags and went for the breakfast. Handling 80 people’s bags was much easier than what I thought about. We had a strong team of 3 people to handle the situation with a smart kid of new age from Manipal University, Mr. Sowmeyan. Round Table 42 chairman Mr. Piyush came for the flag off. Before that, he introduced their projects and made an appeal to the participants for their noble case of ‘Freedom through Education’.
At 8.30 am all the participants gathered for a group photograph and then it’s just go after that.  Our Chennai Garage team was split with two teams in two different vehicle and it all went well for an hour or so. The first team to call up the support was Team 13 Carpe Diem. We met them outside of Mahabalipuram and rectified the carburetor issue. Then after this I received a call from Team 2 and they called for support. Interestingly it took the support crew two hours to find them. This adventure brought the human element of the rally, even though we have the most advanced technological system of maps and location. Just don’t think that you had overcome all. Wait there is still more to come.
Team 4 Rickshawn of the Dead faced a challenge which they shared with me during the flag down at the hotel reception. They bumped in to a two wheeler and they settled it with money and negotiation skills.
Then it’s all a cruise down to Pondicherry. There were 5 teams who got already settled in the base hotel much before I could enter the reception. One by one all the teams drive in to the base hotel and the night got settled early. There were couple of more calls for support and the support truck had it easily sorted out without much hassle.

Day 3 – Road to Hell

All went well and the participants were well briefed for the second day of anticipated long drive and bad roads. Everyone was aware of the fact that the last bit of the drive to Tanjavur was a bit more crazy than expected. The Round Table had arranged a project visit and at the briefing we had egged a plan to make it to the hotel. The plan was a crapper and only 10 teams made it to the project. But that was the only story I can remember for the whole day. It was around 6 pm all the vehicles, were in the base hotel except one. There was no call for support on that day. Would you believe it, what expected to be a nightmare day went in so smooth without any issues. But hold on a second, not before I heard stories from many teams how the private bus drivers behaved on road. It is one of a hell of an experience. So many close calls. Team 19 AWE (Awesome Wild Estonians), did not turn up before 7 pm to the base hotel. I tried calling them and find out and that did not serve the purpose. Finally they arrived at the base hotel and told me that they were immersed in a conversation at a food place that they lost soo much of time.
Then Thanjavur night is hell with a big pool and unending serve of beer, were no devils could complain.

Day 3 – New Year’s Eve

The day’s drive started with the recommended visit of  Thanjavur’s big temple, the Brihadishvara Temple. It never failed to surprise no one. The grandeur of the temple and its magnanimity is simply a whavoo!-factor. The first call came from Team 13 and it was bit of a delay to attend them before the support team could make sure they are on the right way. Tirumayam Fort is another pit stop where the second support crew staff Babu had a busy time with a couple of vehicles. Team 5 Coworking were another bunch of guys who were not interested in getting their oil mixture right. They did not use the water bottle trick and they failed completely. They might have broken down like at least once a day and every time the mechanic team needs to clean the carburetor and set them again. Team 6 Bon Vivant broke down for the first time, but they got fixed in no time and they did not lose time as well. All teams reaching Madurai and then taking them to the retro party for New Year’s Eve was fun. Don’t ask me how did it ended and how the teams reached the base hotel… Rest is all history and I need investigator Aravind, the Chief Scientist, to have another blog on that.

Day 4 – Deserved rest

The demons of party wanted the angels to quench their thirst and heal the head which was banging from the previous night’s retro party. But even on this hungover day we had a small success story: Team 29 That’s what she said from Spain and Team 31 Surprise from Hungary had lost their bags in airport transit. Even though the Team 31 recovered it early, the Spanish team of three dudes had to wait till Madurai to pick up their luggage. But today they got their bags and could finally put on some clean underwear! And for us it’s just another three additional bags the next day to Rajapalayam.

Day 5 Ayyanar’s (name of a local guarding God) Bliss

A new route to Rajapalaym is the twist in this year’s trip and blended as divine element for the teams. At Srivilliputur, teams went to the famous Andal Temple and picked up the palm leaf made parrot and used it as a good charm for the rest of their journey. After a short detour of Ayyanar temple, which was attended by most of the teams, they were already on their way to the base hotel. The small drive came as a breather and the base hotel pool was like flooded with so many people and overflowing beers.

Day 6 Driving to the Founder’s Home

 

Another short day is fit for a finale with a surprise celebration in Thoothukudi. The day had a different set of surprise for me as organizer. Because of politicians and the social issue of pollution in Thoothukudi, a big riot had happened. Being foreigners doing some crazy activity of driving a tuk tuk caught the attention of local police and they immediately related this to that previous issue. I had almost my day gone before explaining every officer on what we do, the details and all the events briefing. That become by heart and that was useful for me for the next day events in Bhramajothi Farms. I had some serious issues with double bed of twin separate beds and king size bed. Judith of Team 14 Freddie’s Folie sat with me and gave me time of advice in many ways. I took it in a very positive sense and that sensed me that the evolution has not yet completed. In a sense it will never get completed till its activated time.

Day 7 Local Culture and Pongal celebration.

To be precise, Aravind, the founder of the Rickshaw challenge and king of craziness, is a native of Thoothukudi and the Pongal Festival we are celebrating for every Classic Run happens on his father Mr. Bhramanadam’s farm.  The farm is a one man’s interest in gardening since 1983.  That was not all that day, the first activity for the teams was to drive to Manapad, a picturesque town on the cost about 60 km away from Thoothukudi. All went on fantastic, the farm surprised many people, a small walk around the garden, making pongal, media glare, dinner at farm and convoy to the base hotel. All the activities followed one by one and there was no incident except a flat tyre for Team 13 at the start of the convoy. The Chennai Garage team needs to be appreciated for their precision this time as well.

Day 8 – To the Meeting Point of Trinity

The drive to Kanyakumari was made interesting with the suggested route of Papanasam Dam and Manimuthar Falls. Even though the entry to the Manimuthar falls was closed due to heavy rain and heavy water flow in the falls, teams enjoyed the route. The mountain passes and the water way stood as major reason to photograph. Yes, we had couple of calls for support and the best was the call from the police station of Pannakudi as the activity of the day (find the police station and find out the name of the inspector-in-charge) failed to amuse the police man on duty.
Meeting of the Indian Ocean with Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal with a perfect sunset is the highlight of the day.

Day 9 – Drive to the Finish Line

By a blink of an eye all the events got bundled up and came to the final drive. The final drive was another uneventful day. All said and done, the surprise element is that 32 teams and 80 participants all are fine and found the destination in Trivandrum. Team 1 Savills Surveyors won the charity award for their contribution in raising money for Round Table India. Team 21 Tinky Winky was judged the Bonkers, because of Paul Furber, man with an offensive water gun and crazy man who brought all his friends to enjoy the crazy stuff in India. Finally the world championship was won by Team 24 The super Marios, for their perfect score on every aspect of the rally. Thus, the great epic drive of the Rickshaw Challenge, Classic Run 2019 came to an end in the bar of the base hotel. Where the flag was ceremoniously dropped by Aravind and that marked the finish of the tour. The Good time continues, come join us in further rallies to enjoy the moment and definitely one of the most life changing activities you would ever remember.
See you for an adventure and until then bye from me and the organization.

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.
 

 
 

It had been a crazy event but the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge 2018 eventually had to draw to a close. All teams had impressed by surviving despite the floods, the road closures, and the hangovers! Here is Princely’s review of the final two days:

Day 13

The destination on Day 16, Vellore, was only a cruise on highway away. The six lane highway provided a relaxing day in contrast to the drama that had come before! Drive-in Mc Donalds, Ambur Briyani was all they could taste in that day. The day was bright with the sun back to its usual cruelty. Vellore fort and bar in the base hotel were the rest of the scene in Vellore. The local wedding season gave the participates lot of stories and the innumerable selfie experience will not be able to narrate to all.

Day 14

The final day went by in a blink of an eye. The final destination was Chennai, and we started early from Vellore, first visiting a project of Round table. Everything went well. We had the flag-down ceremony at the school project at 3.30 pm in a suburb of Chennai. Team 14 was awarded championship for their tremendous job they did coordinating the teams to pull out of the Western Ghats and eventually reach the destination. The Crazy team was Team 6 for the innumerable times they broke down. The Charity award went to Team 3 Yorkshire for their great contribution towards the organizers of expensive brandy and vodka!

That is all the fun time we had from Mumbai Xpress. Hope you all to join us in the upcoming events of Rickshaw and Ambassador Cars. Until then, it’s a big bye from me Princely and my entire team.

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.
 
 

 
 

The Deccan Odyssey 2018!

 

Welcome to the new edition of Deccan odyssey, the rally in to the heart of Deccan plateau. The first week of every June is considered as the start of Monsoon in the west cost of India. The 2018 Monsoon has started a week earlier than its normal start and by the time I landed in Goa it was raining cats and dogs. The prediction of more rain for the coming days dampen my mood a bit. But the enthusiasm of the participants from 10 different countries during the registration kept the spirits high.
 

As punctuality is habit of Rickshaw Challenge, we started the registration exactly at 9 am in the lobby of base hotel in Panaji, Goa. Team after team finished their registration except team 11 and one member of Team 9. The briefing started at 11 am and as usual some introduction to what to expect and explained the arrangements for the next 10 days were briefed. Participants were warned enough about driving on Indian roads. All this was happening inside the hotel but outside the rain kept pouring.
 

At 2 pm training was scheduled in a parking lot at Mercers church. Miraculously, the rain stopped. Training went well and all the teams had some quality time behind the wheels to take the treacherous Indian traffic. The first challenge was to find the base hotel from the practice ground. Team tcano. 12 was the first one to call. Their first fueling had bad mix of oil to petrol and that blocked the carburetor. It was fixed in no time as the mechanics were close to them. Thus the whole day came to finish with welcome party at local goan specialty restaurant. All the teams unwind their day with beers and loosened up after an anxious day of training and driving on the Indian road.
 

 

Setting Off

The most important task on the final day: get the perfect photos of your team, and rickshaws, to remember the event by!
 

Gokarna

Before Goa, Gokarna. This beach in Karnataka was the perfect spot for some rest, some lunch, and maybe a quick dip.
 

Hill Racing

After a week of learning the ropes, teams were now rickshaw experts. The hilly route made for a great challenge, with lots of chances (gladly taken) for adventurous overtaking.
 

Going, Going, Goa

And we made it to Goa! Here are Team Ice Road Truckers, who would later receive the Charity award.
 

Outlaw Trouble

Some teams made it to the hotel nice and early. As ever, though, the Outlaws were in trouble. One of their rickshaws needed an entirely new engine. For a while, we wondered if they’d even make it. Miraculously they did; and, best of all, not even in last place…
 

Better Late than Never!

The girls from Tuktukarama had been some of the day’s earliest risers, and had ‘decorated’ the rickshaws of Team Midlife Crisis. Karma paid them back, and in some style, though, as their first serious breakdowns of the week hit them not far from the finish line. They arrived 3 hours late, but they were quickly compensated when awarded the Bonkers Trophy.
 

The Winners!

Finally, when everyone had arrived, it was time for speeches, beers, and the final ceremony. Mostly importantly, the event winners were announced: The Tukkle Brothers, and it was richly deserved win. Afterwards, many of the teams went to explore the famous Anjuna night market — before a night celebrating the end of a great event. Till next year!
 

 
 

Sore Dino

“Did you guys ever get your dinosaur out of the pool last night? Yeah, it’s down here, no idea what happened!”
Luckily, the dinosaur recovered from its hangover to wow local kids throughout the day.
 

Superman Required

Team Kraken, or rather Superman and Wonder Women, had the most impressive costumes for the day, but their vehicle wasn’t quite in such an agreeable mode. All the better for us, though, as we love nothing more than photos of Superman broken down by the side of the road. To Team 3’s credit, they fixed their rickshaw without having to call up the real supermen (the support team).
 

The Right Kind of Wrong Turn

The long route wasn’t enough to stop teams from going their own way. And when a wrong turn leads here… who can blame them?
 

Taxi Drivers

One of the days challenges was to offer taxi rides to locals. Several teams took up the challenge, and locals were only too happy to accept!
 

Signs

The second challenge of the day was to photograph any funny or unusual signs along the road. This was an easy task, as Indian road signs are often hilarious, weird, and usually downright confusing. Team 17 snapped this rather disconcerting warning, for what we are none the wiser…
 

Train Track Breakdown

It wasn’t planned, but the Outlaws endured the biggest challenge of all. As they got closer to our destination for the day, Calicut, they noticed one of their vehicles acting up. They tried to carry on, but the rickshaw finally gave up the ghost… while crossing train tracks. Luckily they managed to push the vehicle to safety before any train could turn this crazy anecdote into a sad story.
 

Eating Together

And at the end of the day, many of the teams joined up for dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. And a fine meal it was too.
 

 
 

Making Headlines

The event hadn’t even really got going, but we’d already made the paper. The Midlife Crisis lads made a trip to beautiful Kovalam Beach on Sunday, and somehow the local paper got wind of it. The participants came across very well, emphasizing the charitable aspect of the event, rather than the drinking; great job boys!
 

And TV!

One sniff of fame wasn’t enough for us. Local TV turned up to our flag-off celebration, and interviewed many of the teams. Whether it was shown? Who knows.
 

Costumes

The first day on the road is when teams pull out all the stops on their finest costumes, and today was no different. Better yet, the teams don’t just look cool, but they are representing their roots. Team Golden Turtle dressed as pirates in honour of where they live, the Cayman islands, while the Outlaws, from Nottingham, are celebrating local hero Robin Hood.
 

Holy Cow

The first photo challenge of the day was to get a picture of team and rickshaw with a cow. Team Tukkle Brothers (and most others) managed with aplomb.

Making Chai

A tougher challenge was to get a photo of the team making (making, not drinking) chai. Everyone did amazingly well: above, Team 1 demonstrate the stages of the process. It’s hard to beat Team 3’s effort, though. Tracy and Ian were invited into a strangers home, fed breakfast, invited to visit their family in Chennai, and (weirdly) encouraged to hold their rooster. That’s what the Rickshaw Challenge is all about.
 

Spot the Rickshaw

Selfies with strangers aren’t unusual on the Rickshaw Challenge, but this effort by Mitch of Team 2 has a great story behind it. Struggling to find a place to eat, their team somehow ended up blagging an invite to a housewarming party with forty college students, who taught Mitch and the gang to eat with their hands. Great times.
 

Varkala

Our route passed one of Kerala’s best beaches, Varkala, famous for its red cliffs and golden sand. Many teams were eager to make the most of it, not least The Outlaws, pictured above.

Fuel Trouble

India is unpredictable. For example, on Day 3 it turned out that a major strike was occurring in Kerala, meaning the closure of restaurants, shops and (problematically) filling stations. After passing a succession of closed stations, the Outlaws were getting concerned. However, Swiss team Father and Son came to the rescue, and shared some their spare supply. Fate quickly repaid them for their kindness: a local gifted Karl a tin of delicious cashews, while Christian enjoyed his first ever coconut.
 

Lots of Water in a Dry Town

And then it was time for Alleppey (/Alappuzha). It’s famous for its backwaters, and teams were encouraged to check out its many canals, best seen by taking a trip on a boat. However, the one downside of the town is that it’s not the easiest place to find alcohol. Luckily, Princely was on hand to save the day: he persuaded our hotel to provide a secret stash of beer, available via room service. Day (or, rather, evening) saved.