Sharell Cook – Rickshaw Challenge

India Monsoon Season

admin — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:12:46 +0000

The monsoon season can make traveling more difficult in India, however there’s much you can do to stay comfortable, and enjoy yourself during the rain. Here’s a suggested monsoon packing list for India from Sharell Cook.
Items to Pack for the Monsoon in India.
• A heavy duty umbrella.
• A raincoat. Long trench style coats work best.
• Knee length pants and pants in dark colors. This will help you avoid getting the bottoms of your pants wet, and will also hide splashed mud.
• Suitable wet weather shoes, such as rubber sandals and flip-flops. Wellington boots/gumboots are very useful, although they can be cumbersome to carry in your luggage.
• First aid supplies, particularly disinfectant scrubs and adhesive bandages/plaster.
• A small, absorbent hand towel.
• A small, waterproof backpack to carry a change of clothes in (just in case you get caught in the rain!) and other emergency items.
• A hairdryer, not just to help you avoid catching a cold from wet hair but also to quickly dry underwear.
• Mosquito repellent.
• A mosquito net, if you plan on staying in budget places where mosquitoes are unavoidable.
• For ladies, water proof makeup!

Insane in India

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:01:05 +0000

Recently back in Mumbai after a gruelling auto rickshaw driving odyssey, Australian travel writer Sharell Cook narrates her experiences in an exclusive to domain-b
My flight to Chennai, where the Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge would be starting from, was delayed nearly an hour. This gave me plenty of time to think about what the next couple of weeks, participating in the Rickshaw Challenge, might bring.
I felt totally unprepared. Even more troublesome, couldn’t help fearing what I’d suspected for quite a while India had finally sent me insane. What other explanation could there be for me agreeing to take part in an event that’s billed as a rally for the “clinically insane”? An event that would require me and my team mate to drive an auto rickshaw for 13 days, over 1,900 kilometers and through four states, from Chennai to Mumbai.
Despite living in India for over three years, I hadn’t been game enough to drive a car, let alone an auto rickshaw that I didn’t know how to operate. What’s more, as little as 30 minutes spent in one of those noisy three-wheeled contraptions was enough to irritate my ears and turn my hair into a knotted mess. How would I cope with 13 days in one? I had absolutely no idea. All I knew was that the opportunity was too hilarious and extraordinary to turn down.
Full article here

Tag Along to the 2009 Mumbai Xpress

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:42:59 +0000

Go on a ride with Sharell Cook, as she takes on the 2009 Mumbai Xpress with a vengeance!
“I have no idea how I’ll cope. I haven’t been brave enough to drive a car — which I know how to operate — in India yet, let alone an auto rickshaw! What’s more, merely spending 30 minutes in one of these noisy three wheeled contraptions is enough to irritate my ears and turn my hair into a knotted mess. However, without a doubt, it’s going to be one heck of an hilarious adventure.”
Daily Updates here