Driving in India

A video speaks a thousand words. Click on the title.

Simple equation => Sum all bad drivers in all the countries upto India = One Indian truck or bus driver.

Crossing Paths

One of the unexpected pleasures of driving half way around the world is meeting the same people in different countries as we each follow our own path. I have meet Dutch riding bicycles to Melbourne, people driving 4x4s around the world and backpackers flying, busing and training their way on a similar path to me. It’s great to hear each person’s experience of a town, country and culture - amazing it can be so different. The best part is developing a friendship over time instead of meeting people once over dinner or a beer – which can be like ground hog day…. the same conversation.

South India – a different world

On my Christmas break all warm clothes were left behind because now only hot days and warms nights were ahead of me. In northern India I was forced to wear all my clothes to stay warm, so I was excited to step off the train into warm weather. Bangalore is a modern city with footpaths, booze shops and wi-fi cafes…just what I like.

I drove south down the center of India through old British hill stations, tiger reserves, national parks and winding roads with little traffic, fantastic riding conditions. I was reminded how unfit, inflexible and a little fat I am after a few yoga classes and made the resolution to continue yoga for my duration in India, but a yoga classroom was never to be seen again. Instead I visited two western beach resorts, one in Kerala and one in Goa, where I swam for 30min every morning, explored the coastal towns and read my books, I was super chilled after this week.

Gurus

Arriving in Bangalore, I contacted a friend and former colleague, Suresh, from my last contract in London. It was good to meet his family, learn about South Indian culture and drive around the technology parks, which make Bangalore the I.T. outsourcing capital of India.
Suresh’s son attends the free Sai Baba School about 140 km north of Bangalore. After learning about the ashram from the Russians, I had to take up Suresh’s offer to visit with his family on Sunday. The ashram is a living city, 15 tower blocks of dormitories, hospital, restaurants, supermarkets and cafes. It has a real buzz with thousands of people visiting for the day or staying for months. I estimated about a tenth of the people there were western which explains 114 Sai Baba centers around the world.
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others. This explains the description of him from his devotees as an avatar, godman, spiritual teacher and miracle worker. It was explained to me that in Hinduism a god can take many forms, this would explain the many Guru's in India.

The Sai Baba’s organisation has made a big contribution to people around the Ashram, with free health care in modern state of the art hospitals. I was impressed with the ashram setup, generosity of devotees and the benefits provided to ordinary Indians but being a devotee is not for me.

New mode of transport

To save some time, wear and tear on the bike and petrol cost on my wallet we jumped on the train for a 40 hour ride from New Delhi to Bangalore. I went for the premier way to ride, 2 AC sleeper, which means 2 bunks in a compartment with air-conditioning. I was lucky enough to share the compartment with 3 Russian ladies on their way to spend a month at Sai Baba Ashram (but that’s another story). Only one lady spoke a little English….so a quiet 40 hours for me.