Day 4 Report: 2 wheels, cow pat and pizza!

Another day, another dollar! Or in this case, another 240kms covered and the team move a little closer to Nepal!

Day 4 proved to be another one tell the grand kids about. Market shopping Indian style, near misses on the road, afternoon naps and Domino’s pizza!

Highlight of the day, at least for the crew, was Katie’s maiden ride at the handlebars of the rickshaw. A virgin to the orange beast up to that point, the team quickly realized why it was better for them if someone else drove!

“With a convincing blend of enthusiasm and reluctance, Katie took to the road. But by repeatedly dropping the clutch between fourth and second, and almost throwing Gordon and Shelley over her shoulders through the Perspex windscreen, she masterfully relegated herself, after just four kilometres, to a blissful afternoon of sleep, nail-buffing and random ramblings as the rickshaw clattered its way north, winding through the sublime hills, valleys and meadows of central Maharashtra.” Said Jon, the Producer.

After a brief stop at a local Indian market, it was back on the road with Shelley and Gordon at the handlebars. The day saw them practicing their extreme driving technique which involved balancing the tuk-tuk on two wheels, whilst swerving to avoid cows and on coming traffic. The white line in the centre of the road seems to be purely for decoration. And if it’s perfectly fine and dandy to have ‘zebra crossings’ in the Western world, why cant we have ‘cow crossings’ in India?

Lunch was a throwback to the junk-food-world we normally inhabit - Domino’s Pizza in Aurangabad. Who said we’re not taking in all the sights?

Hats off to Gordon for pulling into the petrol station, proceeding to fill up the tuk tuk, only to realize he had no money. Nor did Shelley. Or Katie. Or the crew. Anyway, after a short stint pumping petrol for bemused Indian drivers, the petrol station manager finally let them go and off they went, on their merry way once again.

Commiserations to Shelley though, who not only managed to step in pee and cow s**t, but after leaving her camera and phone in the tuk-tuk overnight, wondered why it wasn’t there in the morning? Duh!

And that about concludes the antics for Day 4!