Reflections on the Run – Part 3
So when I left you we were just leaving Surat and almost ready to quit…I’m gald to say that didn’t last long…though neither were our Tuk’s…Canuk Tuk One was still having problems and the rest needed a service so we decided to find a mechanic (for time reference this was also Kie’s Birthday) and after hitting a few locals…wait…I’m missing something…ah yep…India road building…
…It’s one thing that really bugged me about India and it became pretty stark on this bit of the trip; the crazy way the Indians are building roads at the moment…they don’t build a bit and finish it, they start building the same bits everywhere and cause huge upsets in the road network…in one stretch from Surat to Vapi (150KM) we must have hit 15 bits of new flyover being built…all at the same stage, none completed; If the India minister in charge of highways reads my blog, please just finish a bit!…
…Anyway rant over, so after hitting a few Mechanics we were directed to a dealer in Vapi, when we arrived there were a couple of other teams there so we decided to haul on in and get some work done…by some work, we mean the full works…but this isn’t the end of the story…we also found a Pizza Hut! Where Grant, Lorne, Ted and myself shamelessly racked up the biggest meal bill of the entire trip…god I wish I had that receipt. So pizza eaten you would hope it would be wheels up right? Wrong…although the vehicles were mildly improved they weren’t fixed and there it was, the rub, 20KM from the border we were going to be stuck in a dry state on Kieran’s birthday.
I have to say that at this point we pretty much gave up, I found the most expensive hotel in town…after a little polite police dodging and although it was very nice we resigned ourselves to a beer-less birthday, then from next door there came a call…Ted’s melodious voice “Boy’s I’ve found beer” we ran, we hugged, we drank the night was saved.
The next day we set out through the mountains to Kalyan this for me was a great adventure…although after jumping out of the Tuk driving up a mountain I did almost get left behind (story redacted – hey I’ve gotta save something for my lectures)…but luckily Tamara saw and stopped everyone…note running up a steep hill when out of your Tuk Tuk is hard… but they got me back in and after this amazing day of travel we made it to Kalyan and were set up to drive past Mumbai.
Mumbai is the monster to which all roads point, we really didn’t want to go the wrong way here…so what did we do? Got it, we went the wrong way, but eventually we made out after: finding a guide, getting advice from a journalist, bribing a police officer (who was trying to extort us), countless other wrong turns and one mad dash for…Goa…but alas that, I am afraid will be the start of our next blog.
What did I learn on this bit of the trip…well not that much to be honest…this really was a few days off for my brain, but reflecting on it now I think I realised just how fast India is growing and changing; for hundreds of KM’s round Mumbai India is building at an astounding rate…we didn’t get close enough to see the city (luckily) just the smog cloud! but from seeing the other cities and all building you just have to be impressed at how they are embracing the 21st century.
While one method to achieve this might be rapid industrialisation and deregulation the other is an astounding commitment to education; across India we saw young children walking 4/5 KM’s to get to school all dressed in pristine uniforms…these kids don’t have the greatest opportunities but they have drive, determination and the understanding of where education could take them and that’s a real slice of power right there…so what did I learn from this section of the Run…that the India tiger is well and truly awake and its next generation are hungry to westernise and grow.
Peace
Matt
