Deccan Odyssey Day 9

 

The final day euphoria struck all the teams; I do not know how they all made it to the maddening traffic of Mumbai in such a record time. All the teams made it to Mumbai before 5 pm and we made our finish ceremony at 5.30pm at base hotel. All during the day we got just one service call, regarding a broken clutch cable for Team 9. Team 6 N Gold was judged the Champions for their extra effort on doing all that was recommended in the day sheet and for their absolute stunning photography.
 

The Mad Brits Team 5 ‘The Rickshaw RAMraiders’ won the Bonkers award for their crazy stunts.
 

Team 4 ‘What can go Wrong’ won the charity for their effort in fund raising.
 

All teams were given medals for their achievement which shouldn’t be thought of as inferior. Driving Indian roads for 1000 km in various stages is a champion act and by that criterion all the teams that finished the rally are champions. See you for the next adventure and until then, bye!
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 8

 
If you had read the final update on Day 7, I mentioned about the Team 12 ‘Dushi’ and their wish to continuing the rally. On the 8th morning when I sat down in the reception before the start of the briefing, I was casually chatting with the teams who had assembled early there. One such team was Team 12 and Adam narrated a story which was horrifying to an Indian. Yes, the day we came to Aurangabad they had a good hotel booked by themselves, as they had not taken accommodation with us. They had their prescription from their doctor, back home and wanted a clinic to execute the medicine for them. Their search brought them to a small clinic close to the place where they planned to stay. The place was dingy and they decided it’s all right and wanted to finish the prescribed stuff and leave. To theie surprise they were not permitted out of the clinic till next day afternoon, with various reasons cited. It was a nightmare from Adam and they finally had to spend an exuberant amount of Rs.8, 000/- as the stay rent and Rs.3,000/- for the advocated drips. That is almost a hostage situation.
 

 
Getting back to the rally story, we had our briefing at 8 am that morning and all the teams were there. The day plans were explained and all the teams left in 15 minutes. As usual the luggage and support teams had their breakfast and started from the base hotel at 9 am. At around 12 noon I wanted to check the whereabouts and I found out that we took a different route than that of the official route. So I made adjustments to get to the official route and that took an hour and then I got a call from Team 2 for service; they were 40 Km further down in the official route. It took us one hour to reach them. By that time a local had invited them home, serviced the rickshaw and cultural exchange pictures had happened. However, the service they rendered was not up to the mark and we had to do it again after another half an hour of driving. After that it was pretty much a straight drive to Nashik. The vineyard tour was enjoyed by all and Team 9 had to be reminded that they had to drive back to the hotel. The penultimate day came to an end.
 
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 6

 

 
Another long day but we had our usual timing for the start. That was because Aurangabad is not a town like Pune. Aurangabad is relatively easy to navigate. The day was filled with many service calls. During the briefing we celebrated the birthday of Najwa Bowman of Team 3 ‘Alice in Rickshawland’. Following the celebration, we had a bad news as one of the Team members of Team 12 ‘Dushi’, Miyoung Ryu had fallen ill and incidentally both the teams are friends who signed up together. Quickly they were advised to take a taxi and the rickshaw was driven by the support crew to the next station. Team 5 were the first to call and it was near Ahmednagar ‘Cavalry tank museum’. They had spark plug issue and it was sorted out in no time.

 
After that me and the team stopped for the lunch and continued our plan to the destination. By 3 pm I received a call from Team 2 that they had the clutch cable broken and they were at the same museum place mentioned earlier. By the time we were 30 km ahead of them. So to reach them it took 4 pm and the repair took no time. Before that the team was surrounded by 4 to 5 locals helping them in every possible way. If we had delayed for another 10 minutes they would have got fixed and started. Such is India and that is what the participants relish. Then it was pretty much a smooth drive to the base hotel. All the teams made in time and were excited about the rest day in Aurangabad.
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 7

 

 
Even though it is considered a rest day, the mysterious Ellora caves did not allow me to pronounce it as such. Aurangabad has such many things to see around. Even though we did not had any briefing, we had day sheet and challenges to do. The teams were informed about the late start and all of them came to the reception around 10 am. They day went without any issues and it is evident from the photos that all had a great time in the caves. Team 11 had also messaged me that they are ready for the next day trip to Nasik. More to come, until then it’s bye from me and the teams.
 

 
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 4!

 
A short drive of 130 km to Kolhapur did not go without many exiting stories. Team 10’s jinxed luck continued for a second day. Despite a few new parts the vehicle still did not run smoothly. Most of the teams came straight to the base hotel and then they went inside Kolhapur to complete the day’s challenge. Team 4, Team 7 and Team 6 ‘N Gold’ did the water falls which were recommended in the day sheet. They explained it was some tough drive with a mix of bad roads and steep climbs. However, the amazing tuk tuks mastered it perfectly and all of them came in to the base hotel around 6 pm. The short day had gone well and everyone was looking forward to another exiting day and beautiful surprises.
 

Deccan Odyssey Day 5!

 

The departure from Kolhapur was planned as an early start due the long distance; the challengers needed to drive all day. By 7.30am the briefing was done and before 8 am all the teams left the base hotel. I had no calls till I reached the Auga Khan palace. Team 9 ‘Txikas tikka’ were the first team to reach the palace to do the challenge for the day. Team 10 ‘Double Deccan’ followed them. It was a great relief to see them reach Pune without any issues, as they had so many problems after problems the previous day. After couple of hours the Palace entry was closed and we had to leave the parking of the palace. By the time I reached the base hotel there were 5 teams which had to make it to the hotel.
 

Then I had a call from Team 5 ‘The Rickshaw RAMraiders’ that they had broken down and they were just 3 km from the hotel. But it took more than an hour to negotiate Pune traffic, finding them, make it ready and to get back to the hotel for the mechanic team. By 7.30 pm all the teams arrived. The previous day there was an incident I would like to mention here. Team 11 ‘Bocholt Sunrise’ went to a restaurant for food in Kholapur and one of the three member left their hand bag there. The hotel people collected the bag and found out  rickshaw challenge shirt and called our office in Chennai and informed them about the missing bag. In turn my office people gave my number and the restaurant people contacted me and I collected the bag from them. It was given to them in the morning and they were super overwhelmed by the Indian honesty. To my mind they were just lucky.
 

 
 

The Deccan Odyssey 2018 Day 3!

 

 
Belgaum is 130 km from Goa and is in the state of Karnataka. The real test of adventure is the mountain roads en route to Belgaum. The day started at 7.30 am when the teams dropped their bags and had breakfast. The briefing was at 8 am and we had photo session at 8.20 am. The costumes and colourful outfits ofthe  participants created an energetic environment. The day started out smoothly. The first call was from Team 9. I started from the hotel at 9.30 am and after crossing Ponda I saw team 9 were talking to police and the same police officer stopped me to check  documents. Luckily for Team 9 my visit helped the officer understand our adventure and he waved us off with good luck.
 

 
Before I reached Ramnagar, I met Team 7 ‘Flying High’ and they were worried about their fuel condition. They guessed the kilometres wrong and the uphill consumed more petrol than they predicted. Luckily I remembered a spot where we could get petrol in bottles. The team was guided to the spot and they resumed their journey further. The real trouble started after this incident.
 

 
Simultaneously two things happened which made the day tedious for the next two hours. One was that the luggage van had some problem and got stranded on a different route. Secondly, Team 9 called for service at the place called Mollem. The service team were 30 km ahead of them and they needed to cover the mountain path again to catch them up. I went in search of the Genio to make a recovery or plan an alternative. The time was 2 pm and the next two hours I went completely out of coverage area. When I came in to coverage area there were couple of mixed news. Happy news is that the Genio got back limping to the hotel in Belgaum. Bad news was it was then that the service team reached Team 9. By calculations I know it will take at least 7 pm for the team 9 to reach the base hotel.

 
Meantime Team 10 ‘Double Deccan’ had broken down at Belgaum and they could not reach me. So the available call reached Aravind and he had to call all the available sources to reach me. But it was only after I got to the coverage area all things slowly settled down. As expected the Team 9 reached the base hotel at 7.30. Team 10 had some kind hearted Indians to help them and made their way to base hotel They were in very bad mood as they expected all to be smooth and their frustration increased due to non-reachable mobile help line situation. Finally all of the teams sat down for dinner and they all the tough times were laughed out with “King of good times” – Kingfisher beer.

Deccan Odyssey 2018 Day 2!

 

 
Team 11 Bocholt Sunrise came late on the first day and they missed all the session. So on the second day a special training was planned to make them drive the rickshaw. It was planned at 10 am to start their training session. By 11 am rest of the teams gathered to do the Mini challenge: drive to St. Francis Xavier Church, take a team photo, and report back with the answer to a testing triva question. Team 9 ‘Txikas tikka’ was still one person short until the other team member was cleared to visit India and it was happy news for the all-female team.

 
By 5.00 pm all the teams finished the mini challenge and got back to base hotel. Second member of Team 9 joined her team mate at 6.00 pm. The day was not uneventful, however. Team 1 were the first to call for service; there was some block in petrol tank which was cleared by the mechanics. Team 4 ‘WHAT CAN GO WRONG!!!’ went to a wrong place which was 30 km away from the original pin! That’s the problem of blindly following Google Maps. Check and recheck till you are sure the place you visit is the key and finding place by human positioning system is the fun way which is missing nowadays in the rickshaw challenge. Technology kills our imagination by spoon feeding information.
 

 
 

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.
 

 

Deccan Odyssey 2017: Day 1

Deccan Odyssey 2017: Day 2

 

 
I dropped myself at the base hotel at around 10 am. At that time, a couple of teams were having their breakfast and getting ready for the mini challenge. By 11 am everyone started to explore old Goa, as mentioned in the mini challenge. All the teams had no issues except team 1. The vehicle was starting and then stopping within a short distance. James (the younger Flintstone) has a lot of interest in mechanics so tried himself for some time, but eventually he had to call me for help. The Chennai Garage team reached them and rectified the fault in the fuel supply from tank. All ended well and teams went to hit the bed early, to be fit for the first day on road.
 

Deccan Odyssey 2017: Day 3

 

 
This was the most exciting day for the teams, as it is the first day they are travelling to another town. The teams were briefed at 8 am. Immediately after that we flagged them all off. The first incident on road was a small accident between team 1 and a two wheeler. I was on the scene before they could call me. The two wheeler person was behaving cool. The only damage to the vehicle was the head light dome. Only a few minutes later, I saw the guy taking a selfie with the teams! Debora (the elder sibling of the cousins) was totally awestruck to see what was happening. She said that if that would have happened in England, it would have been a serious issue. Immediately came a message that Team French connections were having a break down, just 7 km ahead of us. Minutes later I received a call from them informing me that they had just ran out of fuel. Even before we could reach them they were helped by the locals and got back on driving. When we caught up with them, their kick start was broken and it was just a 5 minutes work by the CG mechanics.
 

 
The funniest of all activity on that day was the petrol station mentioned in the petrol challenge was closed and all of them had to buy petrol from retails in bottle. Then again I got a call from Team Bhaji Boys with the same issue. It was also sorted out by the help given by team 3, who reached them before the service guys could get them. One by one the teams started reaching the base hotel at Belgaum. Belgaum was colorful as the town is preparing for the Ramzan. In the night teams sat for beers and they were sharing the lighter side of things on road. The most amazing stories were again from team 1, as they had to wait for 45 minutes in police station, as the cops wanted them to have tea. Team 2 got beers from out of who knows where: they felt like beer angel is following them. With that note I will end this first edition of Deccan odyssey 2017. See you at Aurangabad.
 

 
 

Goa

 
The Union territory of Goa is the smallest state in India, but one of the most popular to visit, and it’s immediately easy to see why. The coast is lined with golden sands, home to beaches of every variety: secret coves and luxury resorts, hippy hangouts and party paradise. But Goa isn’t just beaches. The territory has a rich history, due to centuries of trade and colonialism, and the state is a mix of Islamic, Hindu, and Portuguese elements, and more.
 

 
Nowhere is the incredible cultural history more evident than Goa’s incredible cuisine. Eating some of best food in India is a great way to start the Deccan Odyssey Rickshaw Challenge: with freshly-caught seafood and fiery spices, what more can you want? Colonial history is also visible in the architecture and atmospheric streets. Panaji’s latin quarter, lined with cobbled streets and colourful buildings, is like nowhere else in India. If amazing buildings aren’t your thing, head inland to Goa’s lush countryside.
 

Karnataka

 

 
The Deccan Odyssey Rickshaw Challenge doesn’t visit Karnataka for long, only spending one night there: in the city of Belagavi. Karnataka is fascinating and large, though, extending hundreds of miles inland, dominating much of Southern India. Places of note include Hampi, which was once the second largest city of earth, and Mysuru, the grand palace city. Karnataka also include modern cities like Bangalore and Mangalore, sites of religious pilgrimage like Murudeshwara, and beautiful countryside of rolling hills, jungles, and national parks.
 
 
 

Maharashtra

 

 
Maharashtra is where teams on the Deccan Odyssey will spend most of their time, but they will only scratch the surface of India’s third-largest, and second-most-populous state. Luckily, there’s quite the surface: including Mumbai, one of the greatest cities on earth.  There’s also Pune, the ninth largest city in India, and Nagpur, not far behind. For city life, there aren’t many places better than Maharashtra. However, there’s so much more to the state than urban living.
 

 
There is supreme nature: luscious vineyards, myriad beaches, and incredible natural park filled with exotic wildlife. And there’s an incredible amount of history. Look out for religious monuments, colonial relics, and best of all, the astonishing caves of Ellora and Ajanta, which the Deccan Odyssey will visit. You can even find a mini Taj Mahal, pictured above, in Aurangabad.

 

Charity

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
A big part of any rickshaw challenge is giving back to local communities and this year’s Malabar Rampage was no different. The event raised money for Round Table India’s Freedom Through Education programme, and participants also had a great time visiting schools and getting to know the young students.
 
 
 

Going the Extra Mile

 

 
 

 
 
One of the many challenges on this year’s challenge was to take photos with people with impressive moustaches. Many succeeded, but a couple of teams went one step further, and got moustaches themselves. Impressive work.
 
 

Beaches

 

 
 

 
The Malabar Coast is famous for its incredible beaches: here is just a taster of the golden sands that teams visited last week.
 
 

Great Sights

 

 
 
 

 
 
Here are two fantastic sights on the Malabar Rampage. First, the giant statue of Shiva at Mudureshwara. Secondly, lots of our rickshaws lined up. Both beautiful in their own way.
 
 

The Award Ceremony

 

 
 
Sadly, the Malabar Rampage had to finish sometime. However, the end of a Travel Scientists‘ event means one thing: time for the finishing party. There were three prizes awarded: the Bonkers trophy (for the craziest team), the Charity trophy (for the participants who raised most for charitable causes) and the overall trophy, for the team who, well, deserved it.