Namaste!

It is very hot and humid here in Panaji, coming down from the Deccan Plateau has an obvious temperature change and we have had to slow the pace a little to acclimatise and recover from pushing ourselves on Wednesday. We have spent the last few days walking in as much shade as possible and making our way around the Portuguese styled streets.

We have travelled a far distance over the last 4/5 days, having moved from Jalagon to Pune (Monday) onto Belgaum (Tuesday) and then finally here in Panaji (Wednesday). We covered 230 kms travelling to Pune on the NH4, this was a highly modernised road, it was fully paved, even had road markings and signs and we could easily accomplish an average of 80km/hr. We also reached the western Ghats for the first time, these truly remarkable hills that span a vast area on the Western side of India are covered in beautiful tropical flora and fauna. The road also became very windy but with a good quality surface it was really enjoyable to make our way up to the crest. Even though the road was one way it was very difficult to relax into the idea that it was safe to assume that there would be no traffic coming at you in the opposite direction, besides it is certainly never safe to make this assumption in India :-) In Pune our cottage at the back of the hotel was rather run down, it was very musty and much of the wooden structure was splitting and showing its age and the rampages of monsoons. Luckily we did not spend much time here, we spent some time walking about the city and even went into a very modern shopping plaza. Inside we could have been in any mall in the west, there was a Marks and Spencers, Macky D's (Which served a Panneer Tikka wrap), a Baskin Robbins, Levi store, Nike........ the list is endless. It was interesting to see a very different modernised face of India were there is prosperity for a minority who can afford the expenditure on items that are so highly priced compared to everything to be found in the shops elsewhere. Back into the streets we were faced with the shoe shiners, the beggars and the vendors. I remember at school singing a song about street sellers in medieval times crying out about their wares for sale and many times during the day we hear the song of cries of perhaps the pots and pans, ice creams, nuts etc that people carry on their heads as they walk looking for custom. I am intrigued by the modern shopping mall and how it represents a more affluent India and the image of the street seller with nothing more than a couple of fruits who represents a time long forgotten in our part of the world. In India it is easy to feel as though you are caught up in a time of many centuries ago whereby nothing has really changed in its process, if you look at how the buffalo and the Oxen are used as machines and how many times things are achieved by back breaking labour. Yet, we also see the roads which we have travelled on, these have bought about a vast change in environment for local people. The roads outside of Karnataka have "Highways" in a poor condition that have been churned up by overweight trucks who deliver goods from one state to another. I cannot help but think that many of these goods are destined for the West and how the speeding trucks through the once quiet villages and towns have bought danger and an end to more peaceful times. The roads in Maharastra have been thought through and planned better, there are slip roads off of the highway into the village/town, the prevents the traffic from speeding through and disrupting the life of the inhabitants, these roads were also clearer and the speed of traffic could increase and run smoother. It makes me reflect on the civil planning that we have at home and how well established it is. In fact akin to our own transport problems in the UK, the roads are over burdened by trucks transporting goods, apparently these were not so abundent 10 tears or so ago, perhaps this is how our demand for cheaper goods in the west is changing the face of India. Near Pune, there are many factories and it is obvious that you are moving into a more affluent region, industry fills the horizons for miles and miles. The air quality in Pune was particularly poor and it irritated our lungs more than anywhere else that we had been too so far.

From Pune we travelled onto Belgaum, we were highly optimistic at the distance that we could achieve as we found that the amazing NH4 increased in quality and also rewarded as with more Ghats over which to pass. It was an excellent day of riding and was our furthest so far, reaching around 350 kms. Belgaum was uneventful barring we had found a lovely hotel to stay in and were rewarded with a good nights sleep. We left the next morning feeling ambitious in taking some smaller roads and only having to cover 125 kms taking us to the coast. Unfortunatley for us the smaller roads lacked any sign in English and asking local people directions (Previously despite language differences) this had worked. We had a great time, the road was equivalent to our B roads at home but in better condition ;-) Using the sun as a guide we thought that we were travelling in the correct direction. We soon came to realise however when we came upon the NH4 again, somewhere between Pune and Belgaum that instead of having travelled West and then South, we had in fact travelled north north west. We decided to join the highway again covering the same road as the previous day and head back to Belgaum where we would rest and then continue on a quicker route that would atake us south then west. This also went wrong, we past Belgaum and stayed on the NH4 unaware that there was also an NH4a that we should have been on.... We were heading in the wrong direction again.... We had to make another U turn and slightly demoralised decided that if we went back north for another 30 kms, we should be able to pick up a smaller road that would takeus directly west. We stopped and asked for directions when we had found the right slip road and a helpful man gave us directions to Panaji and scribed the Hindi names for us of the places that we would pass through. This was a fantastic accomplishment as we could match them to the signs that we encountered or point to the name on the paper when asking for directions. Again we travelled on smaller roads that were one lane only but in fairly average condition. We still had to look out for trucks and buses.

We soon hooked up with the NH4a that we were meant to have been on and we felt high in spirits.......

We were fooled by the initial 5 minutes of a good road surface, soon we were on the highway to hell! The road looked as though it had been completely swept away, we were down to a speed of 10 kms/hr, as we navigated potholes, stones and loose dirt. It was tough and hard work to keep the bike upright. The road did not improve and even got worse in places, it was so ridiculously uneven and we still had to look out for trucks and buses, this was supposed to be a secondary highway. Even the road to Mandu was in a far better condition (Look at the last posting of photos to see K riding it). The sun had also begun to set and we were entering the twilight zone. Just when we thought that things were going to become too troublesome the road returned, we must have already speant about 3 hours travelling the crumbled NH4a. We were happy, we started to descend the Deccan Plateau and continued to ride through amazing jungle with brief views down steep long tropical valleys covered with palms and banyan trees. The road however once again diminished and now we had to navigate the twisty descents with a poor surface, coupled with an increased number of trucks. We really had entered the twilight zone, we listened to the squeal of metal on metal, the smell of metal on metal and the moaning of the trucks brakes as we feared for our safety and could not see an end to our plight! It did not help that many of the trucks only had one headlight working and no brake/ tail lights. It was very eerie.

We perserved and pushed on, we eventually reached civilisation, a great road surface and street lighting (but we were riding in the dark). We decided to push on with the last 50 kms to our final destination instead of stopping at the nearest hotel. We have been rewarded. We made it in one piece and had the most wild day of riding yet, totalling 430 kms and 10 hours in the saddle. We dug really deep that day and we are amazed by our patience and willingness to overcome problems, it was very trialling.

One last thought before I go and get a beer, we wonder where all the blue tarpualins have come from that people are using to roof their adobe or straw/ bamboo shacks that line the roads.....

Catch you soon...