Scissors, Rock, Paper in India
Our journey feels a bit like the game „scissors, stone, paper“. One wins and one loses. Depending on the choice. Always a bit exciting, which choice, which decision is the right one. But in the end, it’s always the right one. We cannot lose. Indians like to say “Everything will fall into the right place”, but for that we still have to make some decisions.
Leaving Iran by plane, the recovery period in Oman for Klaus and finally decadently wallowing in full luxury crossing the sea from Muscat, Oman to Mumbai, India by ship.
We lost. The plan was to cycle through Iran and Pakistan to India.
We won. We are in India now anyway.
It is beautiful in India
Klaus is lying next to me, reading in his book and suddenly says: it is beautiful in India.
Yes, it really is.
We arrive in Mumbai at the port with the ship and fear the worst in this country full of bureaucratic hurdles. But already at the controls we are guided friendly and with warm smiles through all the necessary stages.
Now we have to concentrate. On the roads, everything now goes around to the left.
The cycle to our accommodation is of course an adventure, but actually we have less feelings of anxiety and fear than in the 3 countries before. Here, they are used to slow vehicles, the cars are smaller, the traffic narrower. We just roll along with the swarm.
Yes
This is my city! I will write about Mumbai in detail, because we did some interviews with people there, who live in probably the most densely populated areas of the country.
After 5 days we leave this lively, colorful, noisy city, and we write the year 2023. We wish you all a wonderful new year.
We drive south, along the coast. It suddenly turns green. The streets are lined with palm trees and all kinds of other trees. It smells of blossoms, the traffic is more like that on a small sleepy village street and again and again we pass through small villages. Colorful, more colorful and at its most colorful. Small snack bars everywhere, small markets and women. Yes, here they are again… not only the men. The women are back.
All of them in the most beautiful colorful dresses. Old and young. They are all there. The aromas of Indian cuisine are in the air at all times of the day. Already early in the morning it smells like garlic, cumin, turmeric and coriander. I can’t get enough of pictures and the smell. We are particularly fond of tea. Preferably with freshly grated ginger and of course plenty of sugar.
All Indians we meet are interested, friendly reserved and helpful.
Stop again
Already after 3 days journey from Mumbai it is called again stop: my gear shift cable is torn. The campsite we are looking for does not exist and so we end up at a homestay in a small town, which, as later turns out, a place of pilgrimage for the Indians. Thus full of small food stalls, many cheerful visitors, school classes and in addition still directly at the sea. So beautiful to see and hear all the joy.
Actually, it should not be so difficult to change the shift cable, even with a Rohloff gear system, but first it jams and we need 3h to loosen it and then we lack the tool to shorten the steel cable to the appropriate length. For installation, the cut must be very smooth. Finally we found help: sharp stone aged knife with hammer on wooden peg . Worked out.
Although the 14th gear is now the first and the 1st gear is the 14th, but my brain can handle it. I hope.
What else happened?
I don’t know why, but we got more things broken. Now it’s my inflatable mat’s turn. The welded seams are coming loose and my mat is getting bulgey. And the hose connection between the stove and the fuel bottle is defective. There gasoline runs out. So we can’t used it anymore.
But it doesn’t really matter and we will find a solution. The main thing is that Klaus is healthy and we can go on. Always further south along the coast. I am looking forward to the colorful ride.
But now I should go to help Klaus. The monkeys are racing. Klaus tries to scare them away but they like to play with him. And, they like our laundry. After 3 days full of sweat and dust now again good smelling hanging to dry on the balcony.
Tomorrow we will cycle on. I am really looking forward to it.
Well, we are still too old for this shit, but in this country it doesn’t hurt so much anymore.
