We are in Delhi...and bikeless :(

We have one day left in India and we are taking it easy, doing our final bits of shopping and then heading to the airport.

We left McLeod Ganj on the 7th and headed back to Delhi, giving ourselves 2 days to do the 500kms.

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I started this last night and then we lost power - all the sudden we were sitting in the dark :) So we went back to the hotel, had a snack and then went to bed.

Today we have been busy!!! But, back to what I was saying yesterday - we gave ourselves 2 days to get back to Delhi as we wanted to take it easy...and I also was thinking that the Enfield had something else up it's sleeve :) We left the mountains for the heat of the flats, it was well signposted to Chandigarh and Delhi, so there was no problem route finding, but the roads were giving us a proper farewell and were under construction...bring it on, we love it :)

Further along on our ride, when we were coming up to the next town, we were passed by another Enfield. He waved us by a few kms later and when we got into the town he pulled up next to me at the light and leaned over to say something to me...I didn't hear it - I wear earplugs and my hearing is not the best :) So when he said whatever it was twice, I did what most people do (in the experience of our recent travels) and just assumed what he might be asking and answer accordingly - this does make for some interesting conversations! :) - and I told him we were going to Delhi. He replied..."you're not Indian!". That was amusing! We are *totally* geared up, compared to most motorcycle riders in India - we wear jackets and boots (not shirtsleeves and sandals!) and our helmets are usually a total give away as to us being not from this place. He told me to go straight on to get to Delhi and pointed the way forward and then made his own turn and sped off.

Later on we arrived at the outskirts of Chandigarh at the worst time - about 5pm - and we didn't want to deal with the traffic so we had a look at the map and took a detour. It was a great choice and we zoomed by on the back roads.

Soon is was starting to get dark and we were shooting for Ambala to stay the night...the Enfield knew it was running out of time to give me the days trouble so just as we had been burning it up it decided to lose power! I pulled over to the side of the road and a petrol station appeared so we pulled in. I checked the bike over and it had plenty of gas in the tank - I have always thought it had a fuel problem so it was the first thing I checked. There were bubbles again in the fuel line and I suspect that the fuel filter is not filtering fast enough when you are really burning it up :) The engine was very hot (not surprising for an air cooled engine, but I am used to liquid cooled, so I was concerned) and the oil leak was leaking a lot more than it did before (it's in the tappet cover and it was checked so many times in the previous weeks that I could see that the o-ring on the bolt got damaged) so I checked the oil - I didn't have much!

So we went into the attached cafe and got a lime soda while the bike cooled enough to add some oil. Once the bike was sorted we headed on our way - very carefully!!!! :) We rode into Ambala, spotted one hotel that we decided to give a miss to without even going inside and then we spotted another one - a very nice one, but we would rather have nice than scary :) They had a room and we lugged our stuff in - we had done 300kms and we were tired. The room boy was a bit pushy and kept coming back - if we didn't lock the door he just walked in! First it was towels, then he came back with the menu, then he delivered some soap...then he came to ask if we wanted to order any food...then they called us (when I didn't answer the door the next time they knocked :) to ask us if we wanted any food. It was outrageous! I didn't know if it was a money making scheme or if it was because we were foreigners or women...who knows.

We didn't sleep all that well and we were on our way early the next morning. The ride in was eventful! We had to find an ATM to get some cash - that took us about 10kms out of our way and it was nice to have to ask directions of the locals. We stopped for some coffee and paratha and only minutes after we had gotten back on the bikes it started to shell it down! The rain on my face was painful! but not even a half hour later, after we had gotten completely soaked through, the rain stopped and the sun came out :) We were, for the most part, dry by the time we hit the ring road (despite the terrible signage we found our way :) and we made it back to Manju ka Tilla. We dropped our gear and sorted the bikes and headed into Karol Bagh - it was Sunday and the shops in Karol Bagh are closed on Mondays so we needed to get the bikes sold. We rode down to see Rajesh at Tony Bikes and he wasn't around...they called him and we arranged to meet at 4pm. That was nice for us - our feet were on the verge of getting jungle rot having been in our wet boots all day so we went to Connaught Place and sat in the park and dried our socks, boots and feet in the warm sun :)

We headed back over to Tony Bikes and started the process of handing over the bikes. There was a bit of negotiation and then we agreed on a price. We originally paid about GBP900 for the 2 bikes and we got back about GBP600 (including the exchange of my Pulsar for the Enfield) so basically it works out to 150GBP each for the "rental" of a motorbike for 7 months and just under 15,000kms - that is not a bad deal! We were very happy...but we miss the bikes :(

Then it was back on the metro for us and time to sort the rest of our stuff out. On Monday we got some packing done and had our boots polished by the local shoe shine boy (he cheekily asked for 500 rupees for both pairs of boots - that is over GBP6! He got 10% of that and a mango - I like to feed the hungry boys :) and then headed in on the metro to do a bit of shopping and get some photos printed for Arun and his family (our hosts when Rana was replacing the piston and valves on the Enfield). We had a wonderful, final, masala dosa at one of our regular places :) and headed back up to Manju ka Tilla and the internet cafe...which is where I started at the top of this post :)

This morning we got moving early and headed into town for more final shopping (tea, pickle and ParleGs :), to sell some books that we have acquired/finished/don't want to carry home and to get A one last coffee :). It was hot today, but we realized that we are getting used to the heat (finally!). We hopped the metro back and picked up our laundry (we wanted to wash some of the clothes that we are leaving behind - the hotel people said they can make sure it gets donated where it is needed) and did the final packing. We get our cab at 2am tonight/tomorrow morning to catch our early flight.

We will finish up here - our last post from India :( - and get some dinner. A will have her last plate of steamed veg momos from Wongdhen House - these have set the standard for the entire trip...until we went to a small place in Manali where they make wonderful momos that are half-steamed and half pan-fried - YUM YUM YUM. Then it will be a nap and then a shower and then the taxi to the airport to wing our way back to the UK...and a pint of Broadside and a pint of Guinness and a lamb and mint pasty from Morris' in the mall at MK Centre, a jacket potato with beans and cheese, a full English breakfast (no fried slice or sausage, please :), sushi at Asa Kusa, a hummus salad roll (maybe with falafel :) from Woody's in Camden Town, a pint of Abbott Ale, a pint of Old Bob, a pint of Wadworth 6X (in Aldbourne :), fish and chips from Toff's in Muswell Hill, a visit to Neal's Yard Dairy for some Colston Bassett Stilton, a pint of Everard's Tiger...not all at once, of course :) It is nice to be going home, but realize that when I get back I will miss all the thalis, the various kinds of dals, the masala dosas...the New Lucky in Ahmedabad!

The one other thing I really can hardly wait for is to get on my bicycles that have been locked away in storage for so many months (missing me terribly, I am sure :) and get pedaling! I also have some clothes that I would like to wear (if they still fit - we have lost a lot of weight) and it is going to be so strange not to have so few clothes to choose from every morning...it might take me ages to get out of the house :) And going back to the UK means we are going to lose our tans!!!....oh well, it will be good to be home :)

Catch you al later....after I have had a few pints of real ale and made myself at home again, of course :)