SHILLONG WAY TO GO....


What makes a just turned fifty, overweight, library technician decide she can race fron one end of India to the other?
Frankly I have no idea but do intend to find out.
Yes, The Other Half and myself will be travelling from Cochin in the south east to the mountainous north west of Shillong.
Hard to tell exactly where on this map but you get the general idea. It is a large country and we will be heading, hopefully, north east-ish. Going in the right direction is always a good start.

This is part of an adventure put on by a group called The Adventurists . We are doing the Rickshaw Run. Roughly 4500 kms in 14 days....with no support vehicles, no maps, no mechanics to help when our transport breaks down - in of course the comfort and dignity of...a rickshaw.

We have 'pimped' our mode of transport- that is we have created a design---water and bubbles seemed appropriate- and have left the Indian artisans to interpretate it. The finished product will/ may be very interesting. As you can see we have air conditioning - no doors ---- all safety cons------ no seat belts so you can jump out fast when necessary.

One of my main concerns of course is traffic....some days when winding our way through a small village in rural India, we may meet a cow, or two...other days....


A huge learning curve I'm sure. Do you give way to the camel on your right? What happens at roundabouts?  Which side of the road do we travel on---is there a side of the road to travel on?



So why are we doing this? It's the adventure, I mean who gets the chance to see India on the back of a 3 wheeled 7 horse powered rickshaw? Not many of us. What an opportunity.

And of course we are raising money---for something we all take for granted. Clean, fresh water available for all.  Please go to our site - http://www.justgiving.com/ShillongWayBack- and donate.  All monies raised make such a big difference.

I will be writing about this adventure-  in fact I have begun - working title Shillong Way to Go.

I hope to capture all that I experience. The good, and the bad, the sad and the awe inspiring.

Like a carrot dangling at the end of a string I have the Taj Mahal....


No matter what happens on our trip, I will see this wonderful place at the end. It is one of my goals.
Apart from making it to Shillong, with the Rickshaw and ourselves in tact.

I am going with my mind open, my senses alerted and my taste buds tingling. With camera in one hand, pen and paper in the other, and perhaps having a map somewhere on my person so I can help navigate (you should have turned left at Albuquerque).

And hopefully we will still be talking to each other at the end of the trip...



Wish us luck. I hope to post occasionally while away, and to put up photos when given the chance. There will also be a site to follow so you can actually trace our route (and see if we have wandered off the face of the earth).


So the countdown is on. We have a few weeks left before we head off.
And remember to donate - http://www.justgiving.com/ShillongWayBack- its for a great cause. And we want to raise as much money as we can.

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