We had breakfast at a local restaurant. No one spoke any English and there was no one else in the cafe to point at their food and say "one of those" therefore we just pointed at random things on the menu card and got curried stuff. The fashion of the locals is really different here to the South: very much more colourful. Even the men wear lots of jewelry. It looks almost pirate or gypsy like....
We just sat and watched people for a while. We walked through town and used the internet for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I spent 1 hour trying to get my laptop to work on their network and so I did not get as much done as I wanted too. I am always behind on my blog right now - arrgggg. Finished on the net at midday and I went to the station and managed to get 2 train tickets from Agra to Varanasi - one on the night of the 18th (waiting list but a better class of ticket and on my preferred date of travel) and another one on the night of the 19th of April (confirmed - sleeper class - my back up plan). It only took about 40 mins to get the ticket - very good for India.
We were all packed up and on our bikes by about 1ish. We decided to take the national highway to Abu Road and then turn off after 52km and take the country road up to Mt Abu.I am quite enjoying having someone else in the decision making process for the route to Agra. Alan has a guide book and has spent time reading it. I have always been the one making all the decisions since I left the UK - so I was happy just to go with the flow. It was strange to be following someone else on a bike as we headed out of town.
We lost each other within 5 minutes in the busy traffic and after that came up with rules for getting through towns: if we go straight on at a junction, no need to stop. If we are turning left or right then we will wait for the other person. Sorted. Although I am now in the habit of nipping through traffic in India, Alan is faster at it and I found it difficult to watch where he was going and the traffic in front. We were out of town and on the high way within 20 minutes.
The highway is newly built and really good quality (much better than most of the roads down south). Within 30 minutes Alan passed me holding on to the back of a truck. I could not believe it! I laughed for about 5 minutes. When I eventually caught him up and chatted with him it turned out that he had been "tractor and truck surfing" all the time in the South when the road were good enough quality. Awesome! They generally travel faster than you do when bike touring but if you push as they pass then you can easily grab a chain at the back. It is easy just to let go when you want. Only in India! The truck drivers did not seem to mind. In fact, most thought that it was very funny. Over the course of the afternoon I managed to surf on about 5 trucks/tractors. It was brilliant fun. I would not have done this on my own without Alan about. Not for the safety of the surfing but I did not really want any hassle/unwanted attention from truck drivers and surfing was kind of inviting it.
I only really realised how much I had been on my guard on the South when I then relaxed some more and was traveling with Alan. Today there was a big difference in the attitude of the people, they were less friendly than in the South. We had been told to expect this by other travelers and the guide books.
We stopped off at the side of the road for me to sort out a problem with my brakes and all of a sudden I noticed this baby rat had jumped on to my bike and was having a good old wander round. He was not at all scared of us. Alan hates rats and so I tried to suggest that it could be a mouse. The more we looked though the more you could see that it was a baby rat! I thought it was very funny and very cute but I was not so happy when it started crawling around in my helmet.....
After a couple of hours of riding we passed from Gujarat into Rajasthan. We could have been imaging it but we felt that there was a change in peoples attitude towards us straight away. People seemed more friendly in Rajasthan. The boarder crossing was great as the trucks had to slow down to pass through.... It was easy to truck surf :-)
By the time we got to Abu Road it was getting on for 5 and we would not have time to do the 23km 1000m assent before dark and so tried to get a Rickshaw or jeep up. Rickshaws do not go because it is too steep. It actually turned out really well and we caught the bus just as it was leaving town. We put the bikes on the top of the bus and all of our bags traveled with us. It is so much easier to do these sorts of things as a couple. One can watch the bags and bikes while the other carts them about.
It was a good job that we decided to stop when we did as when I was loading up my bike I noticed that my back brake cable casing has broken and so I had no working back brake. I thought I had the replacement part but I was not sure and so I was worrying all the way before we got to our guest house and I could check.
The bus ride up to town was really fantastic. It is a reasonably steep road (nothing like the road to Ooty) and the bus was climbing for about 40 minutes. The views of the plains below were fantastic. Rajasthan is a desert! The terrain I had been cycling through North of Pune had been similar but not quite as extreme as this and so I was used to it and so it was not such a contrast for me as it was for Alan (who had been in Kerala 3 days before).
We arrived at Mt Abu at about 6 with just enough time to have a look around and find a Coffee Day (India's equivalent of Starbucks). It was fantastic to sit and have a proper coffee and a cake. I have not been staying in tourist areas at all in the last few weeks and there were loads of western restaurants and hotels in town and so I was happy :-) Going without things for a while really does make you appreciate them more when you get them.
I liked Mt Abu as a town. It has lots of character but a tourist town rather than real India. In fact they have a tourist tax which you have to pay on entry. Indians do not have to pay the tax but there are loads of Indian tourists too. They mostly come to visit the famous temples.
It is definitely colder here than on the plains. I was actually cold in the evening had had to find a top to wear.
We checked into a guest house that was recommended in Alan's guide book. It was clean and fine but nothing special. We did not want a shared bathroom and so ended up getting the only other room available which was a family room with 4 beds and huge.
I spent a couple of hours in the room fixing up my bike while Alan went off and used the net. Fortunately, I did have the spare component that I needed to fix my brakes. The part that had broken was the end of the cable case which slots into the V-brakes. I also fitted my new tyres. It took a while as I had folded them to fit them into my bags and so they were slightly bent. It needed a lot of faffing to fit them so that the wheels ran true and where not buckled.
We had a late meal at the hotel restaurant.
I had a really enjoyable day traveling with Alan. It is really lovely to chat with someone that understands bike touring especially in India.
We just sat and watched people for a while. We walked through town and used the internet for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I spent 1 hour trying to get my laptop to work on their network and so I did not get as much done as I wanted too. I am always behind on my blog right now - arrgggg. Finished on the net at midday and I went to the station and managed to get 2 train tickets from Agra to Varanasi - one on the night of the 18th (waiting list but a better class of ticket and on my preferred date of travel) and another one on the night of the 19th of April (confirmed - sleeper class - my back up plan). It only took about 40 mins to get the ticket - very good for India.
We were all packed up and on our bikes by about 1ish. We decided to take the national highway to Abu Road and then turn off after 52km and take the country road up to Mt Abu.I am quite enjoying having someone else in the decision making process for the route to Agra. Alan has a guide book and has spent time reading it. I have always been the one making all the decisions since I left the UK - so I was happy just to go with the flow. It was strange to be following someone else on a bike as we headed out of town.
We lost each other within 5 minutes in the busy traffic and after that came up with rules for getting through towns: if we go straight on at a junction, no need to stop. If we are turning left or right then we will wait for the other person. Sorted. Although I am now in the habit of nipping through traffic in India, Alan is faster at it and I found it difficult to watch where he was going and the traffic in front. We were out of town and on the high way within 20 minutes.
The highway is newly built and really good quality (much better than most of the roads down south). Within 30 minutes Alan passed me holding on to the back of a truck. I could not believe it! I laughed for about 5 minutes. When I eventually caught him up and chatted with him it turned out that he had been "tractor and truck surfing" all the time in the South when the road were good enough quality. Awesome! They generally travel faster than you do when bike touring but if you push as they pass then you can easily grab a chain at the back. It is easy just to let go when you want. Only in India! The truck drivers did not seem to mind. In fact, most thought that it was very funny. Over the course of the afternoon I managed to surf on about 5 trucks/tractors. It was brilliant fun. I would not have done this on my own without Alan about. Not for the safety of the surfing but I did not really want any hassle/unwanted attention from truck drivers and surfing was kind of inviting it.
I only really realised how much I had been on my guard on the South when I then relaxed some more and was traveling with Alan. Today there was a big difference in the attitude of the people, they were less friendly than in the South. We had been told to expect this by other travelers and the guide books.
We stopped off at the side of the road for me to sort out a problem with my brakes and all of a sudden I noticed this baby rat had jumped on to my bike and was having a good old wander round. He was not at all scared of us. Alan hates rats and so I tried to suggest that it could be a mouse. The more we looked though the more you could see that it was a baby rat! I thought it was very funny and very cute but I was not so happy when it started crawling around in my helmet.....After a couple of hours of riding we passed from Gujarat into Rajasthan. We could have been imaging it but we felt that there was a change in peoples attitude towards us straight away. People seemed more friendly in Rajasthan. The boarder crossing was great as the trucks had to slow down to pass through.... It was easy to truck surf :-)
By the time we got to Abu Road it was getting on for 5 and we would not have time to do the 23km 1000m assent before dark and so tried to get a Rickshaw or jeep up. Rickshaws do not go because it is too steep. It actually turned out really well and we caught the bus just as it was leaving town. We put the bikes on the top of the bus and all of our bags traveled with us. It is so much easier to do these sorts of things as a couple. One can watch the bags and bikes while the other carts them about.It was a good job that we decided to stop when we did as when I was loading up my bike I noticed that my back brake cable casing has broken and so I had no working back brake. I thought I had the replacement part but I was not sure and so I was worrying all the way before we got to our guest house and I could check.
The bus ride up to town was really fantastic. It is a reasonably steep road (nothing like the road to Ooty) and the bus was climbing for about 40 minutes. The views of the plains below were fantastic. Rajasthan is a desert! The terrain I had been cycling through North of Pune had been similar but not quite as extreme as this and so I was used to it and so it was not such a contrast for me as it was for Alan (who had been in Kerala 3 days before).
We arrived at Mt Abu at about 6 with just enough time to have a look around and find a Coffee Day (India's equivalent of Starbucks). It was fantastic to sit and have a proper coffee and a cake. I have not been staying in tourist areas at all in the last few weeks and there were loads of western restaurants and hotels in town and so I was happy :-) Going without things for a while really does make you appreciate them more when you get them. I liked Mt Abu as a town. It has lots of character but a tourist town rather than real India. In fact they have a tourist tax which you have to pay on entry. Indians do not have to pay the tax but there are loads of Indian tourists too. They mostly come to visit the famous temples.
It is definitely colder here than on the plains. I was actually cold in the evening had had to find a top to wear.
We checked into a guest house that was recommended in Alan's guide book. It was clean and fine but nothing special. We did not want a shared bathroom and so ended up getting the only other room available which was a family room with 4 beds and huge.
I spent a couple of hours in the room fixing up my bike while Alan went off and used the net. Fortunately, I did have the spare component that I needed to fix my brakes. The part that had broken was the end of the cable case which slots into the V-brakes. I also fitted my new tyres. It took a while as I had folded them to fit them into my bags and so they were slightly bent. It needed a lot of faffing to fit them so that the wheels ran true and where not buckled.We had a late meal at the hotel restaurant.
I had a really enjoyable day traveling with Alan. It is really lovely to chat with someone that understands bike touring especially in India.
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