Bharat Express 2 Blog

Welcome to the official blog for the Bharat Express 2 team, the team that will be taking the epic journey throughout India, from Cochin to Shillong.

Be sure to read this blog on a regular basis to keep on top of our progress. Be sure to check the site out for our partner team too, Bharat Express One.

Back in UK

As you can see from the dates I only just managed to get them published as been just lazy to be honest. Getting withdrawal symtoms as nothing major to aim for today. Just unpacking and putting things back to where they belong ready for the next adventure. I have been told by Raj NEVER to call him again as spontaneous decisions are made and we find ourselves in hot, dusty, dirty, smelly places where its not normal to visit unless absolutly neccessary. I dont see how its my fault as he is just as responisible for the trips but give him 2 days and the next trip will get mentioned.

Day 15 The Finish!

It seemed like we were finished as we all got up late and in a leisurely manner got ready and had breakfast. Finally managing to leave Guwahati at 10.30 and hit the GS road to Shillong. This is a major route connecting the Southern part of the North Eastern states of India and therefore an important road for all the traders. The state has decided to make it a 4 lane carriageway and most of the way we were avoiding not only the crazies coming down fast but the works trucks all over the road. The views were great and we did have a few Kodak moments to make the most of the last few hours with our rickshaws which we had become very attached to.

We had to make several unscheduled stops as the gradient and terrain were hard on the wagons and we didn’t wish to have to drag them in at the last mile. Four and a bit hours later we went round the corner and saw the familiar screen with the Rickshaw Run and the pouncing tiger on it. What a relief it was to have made it to the end actually driving the rickshaws in to the finish line instead of towing them. We were welcomed by some of the staff and the other teams who had made it before us, that was most of them as we put our names down as team 60 and 61 to arrive and put a comment on the chart. The official finish party was last night and we had missed it but there was another party arranged in our honour, that’s what I believe and we had a great time. It was very touching to see how much the other teams were gunning for us and were so pleased to see us finish. We have driven across 7 states, 4047 km, had 4 pistons changed, many 4-5 hour sleeps and had a great time doing it. No major dramas with officials or others accept the little thing just before Chennai on day 3. If you are looking to have adventure then this is something that will give you a lot of opportunities to get them as when it goes wrong you will go through hell. One lady got spat at when asked for a room and another had their rickshaw break in two and had to abandon it half way through and then get a taxi to the finish at some considerate cost. I’m sure there is more to come but the team have been ribbing me about writing a novel and it feels like I got so much more to tell.

Day 14

Everyone was up and ready to go by 5am. We got our rickshaws out onto the road ready for the crazy road ahead. The road which is a national highway was practically undriveable and we moved along at a snail’s pace trying to avoid the ruts but with the small tyres and high tyre pressures every bump was felt through the seat of our pants. Progress was very slow and we had only managed  20km in 1.5hrs. The roads did not improve even when we passed into Assam. Every 100m of solid road was joined to the opposite carriageway by a stretch of dirt track. This went on till we got to a fuel station 15km short of Howley and were informed by a local of a short cut to Guwahati which would save us 40km and probably an hour’s driving. We managed to pick up another local who misunderstood me asking for directions and jumped in thinking I was offering him a lift. Luckily we were going the same way so took him to Barpeta where he put us on the right track which was a rough single lane road. Slower than the highway but also quieter so it worked well.  We managed to get into Guwahati by 5.30pm and then spent 2hrs finding a hotel. Fortunately a friend of a friend who’s brother in law had a cousin in town met us and helped us get into a good hotel for the night. We were trying to get to Shillong by end of play but the road is uphill and slow. Seeing that it was dark we chose not to push it and leave the partying till tomorrow.

Day 13

Left Raigunj around 7am and made it out of town with rickshaw 1 still having clutch issues. We headed up the NH34 with its poor road conditions and made it eventually to NH31 from Dalkhola. It went well till then as no sooner had i handed over the rickshaw to Subhash it once again screamed for mercy and refused to go on. We nursed it to the fuel station 500m ahead and found a mechanic to have a look at Rickshaw 1 and the clutch problem. Rickshaw 2 just needed to be cooled down and was having a few starting problems as Gautam was finally in the driving seat after a week in the sick note. Had dirt in the carb which got sorted by Harry and we were on our way again.

 We made it to Shiliguri where while driving we spotted a KFC and got excited about it. Everyone in the team was informed over the walkie-talkies only to have Subhash point out to us there was a KFC over there, 2mins after we had parked up. He is so much fun to have around. 

We had lunch and then managed to find a mechanic to have a look at the clutch problem. The last garage that had done the engine rebuild had not put any oil in the clutch system and therefore it made a grinding noise every time we were trying to change gears and pull away. The guy sorted that out and we headed off up the hills to get as far as we could. The roads were pretty good and we made up some distance. When we stopped for fuel the attendant informed us of the very poor road conditions ahead and the fact that it was not advisable to go ahead at night, especially in a rickshaw. We were pointed in the direction of a lodge in the next town and got a room there for the few hours’ sleep we were going to get, again.

Day 12

Today Raj got us up and had arranged breakfast in his room. Must have been the guilt of being late yesterday. We managed to get out and went across the road to get fuelled up only to be told power cut meant no fuel till it returned. We wanted to move on to the next pump so as not to waste any time but Harry being all efficient had already put the 2T oil into the fuel tanks and that meant we had to get the fuel in before we drove off. The wait soon ended and we did set off but as with the day before less than a km away Rickshaw 1 stopped. This time we had the too much oil in the fuel and had to drain some out to get going again.  The progress was slow as we had to let the piston run in and were limited to 40 kph for the next 1000 km but that will only be 500 km as I for sure struggle driving slow. The evening finished with us in Raigunj and trying to find a garage to fix the clutch problem on Rickshaw 1 AGAIN.  We blame it on Raj’s driving but he thinks otherwise. There are no small rickshaws in this town and therefore no mechanics wanted to touch it. Into the hotel and dinner then bed with the next days plan set.

Day 11

Got up ready and out to the Rickshaws ready to go. Subhash was there with Harry and told me they had loaded the luggage and refuelled for the day ahead. So what are we waiting for? Raj and Kish were still asleep!! So that was the ammunition we needed for today’s banter.

We set off an hour later than planned and managed a whole km when rickshaw 1 said no more. The head was blowing from the gasket and losing power. We attempted to reseal it with a make shift gasket out of some cardboard we found but it failed. The next plan was auctioned. We towed it to a garage and waited 1.5hrs for it to open only to be told haven’t got one. A fellow rickshaw driver(local) assisted by taking Harry to another shop to get the gasket which he then fitted and we were rolling again at 9.30. it took us 1.5hrs to get out of Kolkata and onto National Highway 34 which is actually a rough broken single carriageway which is nothing like all the other highways we had been on so far. Average speed was 20-30 kph and traffic was heavy. We stopped frequently and paid a visit to a Iskon temple in Habibpur which is approx 20km away from Mayapur which is having a big Hare Krishna temple being built there. No time to go and visit as we had too many delays but shortly after Bethuaduhari Rickshaw 2 being driven by Subhash-AGAIN, broke down. Fortunately as with previous breakdowns we were only a short distance from a garage and got the good news of another piston failure. So another 12hrs of waiting around for the repair and a return visit as it was seizing up the rickshaw was back in the game. We went to the next guest house and got our bags off the vehicle and ready to crash out only to be told we could not stay as we had British passports!!!! It was late, we were tired but had to move on to the next town and finally made it to Baharampur and get a hotel room for the few hours we had to rest.

Day 10

Harry and Subhash went to collect the rickshaw from the garage while we got the luggage and ourselves ready to leave. Managed to set off at 6.45am but only made it 2km before a breather pipe fell off Rickshaw 1. We went back and retrieved it while Harry checked the oil level and found it had been overfilled.  Setting off again had another issue some 70km further with the spark plug fouling up. Replaced that one and made some more progress. We had to go from village to town trying to find replacement spark plugs but even that was proving difficult as no one had them. There were many other stops to keep cleaning or replacing plugs till we managed to get some new ones from Kharagpur. This lasted till we reached the outskirts of Kolkata before the plug needed cleaning again. All through these last two days have to say Rickshaw 2 has been faultless.

We managed to cover over 400km today and ended up in Kolkata. Another hour and a half looking for somewhere to stay and then finally a guest house was located and occupied for the few hours we were getting to sleep. Usual chitchat with the team and then dinner and bed to get back on it in the morning.  

We are now 1 day behind schedule and are hoping to catch up but let’s not tempt fate as the vehicles are fragile.

Day 9

Left Bhubaneshwar at 7am to try and make it to Kharagpur in West Bengal. We made good progress for the first 2 hours and then we had a small issue of Rickshaw 1 holding back and missing. We stopped and checked it out with Harry fixing it with a new spark plug. 1 km down the road past Chandikhol we had to stop again. This time with a little more invasive diagnosis realised the engine had seized! The local mechanic stripped it to a bare shell and sent the con rod off to Cuttuck about 30 km back where we had just come from to get a new bearing fitted. There goes the plan to make up some mileage after the leisure day yesterday.

Day 8

We left Panth Nivas early to get to Puri on time but the highway is not complete so we had to deviate through some smaller towns on the banks on Lake Chilka. The roads were poor and the trucks were aggressive. We managed to get ahead and onto the decent part of NH5 and finally got to Puri at 1pm. Only 2 hours behind schedule. Little faf around trying to leave the Rickshaws somewhere safe with all the kit still intact. We got moved on by a policeman and struck a deal with a Pan vendor. Went and paid our respects at the Jaganath Temple and returned to our wagons a hour later to find the policeman who moved us along asking for payment for parking. I was beginning to see red and assertively let him know that his lack of assistance with the parking got him brushed off here and duly paid the vendor for his help. Fortunately all the kit was still there, hooray!!

We took Marine road to Konark to see the sun temple . The drive was 35km long and the roads were beautiful. Tree’s lined both sides shading us from the sun with a wildlife sanctuary on the right between us and the coast. Made me wish I had my bike with me. We stopped to get some snaps but the beach and then went to see the Sun Temple of Konark. Got hustled by a guide who spoke English well enough so we used him to get us around and explain the significance of the temple. Kishor desperately needed to have an ice cream so we had an emergency stop outside the temple and then had bhajiya’s after.

70 km from Konark is Bhubaneshwar which was our end point for the day. We made it there by  6.30 and went to Lingaraj Temple but missed the darshan. We again managed to wrangle a good deal at the hotel and got a decent bed unlike the last night. Managed a few drinks and food before crashing out in the lovely A/C room.  

Day 7

Having missed the beach the evening before we decided to get to the beach in the morning so left early and made for Rishikonda where the beach was to be enjoyed.  Driving along the coast we came across a submarine museum and navel hardware dotted along our route. As we have on many occasions we took the opportunity to take some good snaps and in our excitement missed the beach all together. Finally finding our bearings and getting the route re-adjusted by, believe it or not a road sign that read Master Plan Road we carried on hoping to come across another spot to bath in but came up onto the NH5 so just headed north and carried on into Odihsa and a Chilka Lake, the biggest lake in Odhisa. We were guided to a government guest house called Panth Nivas. We managed to bag 2 rooms but no A/C so another night under a fan in the hope the power held out. There were three other teams there. So had a little social with them and swapped stories before having dinner, late again and bed.

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