Rajasthan

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Udaipur.

Puri and Bhubaneswar had not been a pleasant experience. The best bit about it was seeing a Royal Enfield motorcycle club parade down the sea front, with a police escort. The thunder of the exhaust from about fifty bikes was a thrill to hear. They all came back again after a couple of hours and I could hear them come and go as I lay in bed. Delhi was still cold. I was getting used to the traffic and after the manic atmosphere of Puri the manic driving in Delhi seemed almost sane. We spent only a few days in the Delhi cold to fly out again to Udaipur. The flight was delayed and it turned out to be a very expensive delay as there was little else to do while we waited. Udaipur is in Rajasthan in the west of India and renowned for being a progressive state. We could see this as soon as we landed. A pleasant drive from the airport with reasonably sensible driving into a clean city. Udaipur is so different surrounded by hills it seems cut off from the rest of India. We did the touristy stuff and visited the palace and had a boat trip around the hotel in the lake. 
 

We were hoping to have tea within its splendour but now you can only do that if you are a resident. The main reason for me visiting this city was to be able to get to Chotila some 250km away. Other ways to get there were proving difficult with the distances from Jodhpur and Jaipur even greater and with limited time available this seemed the best option. After a day in the city we had an early start to travel by car to Chotila. The route included some very smooth dual carriageway, narrow roads through villages and over the hills. We even saw a group riders on Enfields obviously doing a tour. They did not look like locals as they were well kitted out. I have many photos of the route through the hills and even a short video taken from the rear passenger seat of the car. This is on YouTube the link is http://youtu.be/VRz8G1WHAz0 . I can understand why the tours use this area as the roads are well paved and mostly smooth tarmac. I will need to do this another time as having driven over them it would be great to do it on a bike (between nice hotels of course). It took all morning to get there and I wondered if it would be worth the effort. I was not disappointed. What is at Chotila is the Royal Enfield shrine. It is the place where Om Bana was tragically killed in a collision with a truck. I learned more of the story from the car driver who took us there and we were the first visitors he had to visit this shrine. 

 Entrance to the shrine.

 I will relay the story in the next instalment but this is about my visit and not the story. As with all temples and shrines you take your shoes off as a sign of respect then if you wish to raise the spirits to listen to you must ring the bell. I proceed on to the next stage you get a mark on your forehead called a bindi to show you are receiving a blessing for which you are required to donate something.  I moved on solemnly to see the Shrine of the Enfield. The motorcycle has been encased in a glass cover to protect it from the weather but you are still able to reach in and touch it at the front.

 I spent some time looking at it walking around it and taking photos. There was a kind of reverence about what was represented here. I took more photos of the front of the shrine which was raised by about a metre where incense was burning along with an eternal flame and there were photos of Om Bana in his wedding attire. The sign of respect is to pass your hand over the flame and incense smoke and run your hand over your face and hair. At this point I passed over more money for this privilege and took more photos. As I left this dais I felt quite emotional. It was like paying your respects not only to the man who died but all the other lost bikers everywhere. I received for my gift some confection that I am bringing home as a memory of this reverend place. The story of the accident comes next.

A place to remember

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Puri

Having had a really good experience in Chennai we embarked upon having some culture. This we thought we just might get at the Jagannath temple in Puri. Puri is on the coast and we booked a hotel on the sea front. 

 

 Puri beach. No sun  loungers or brollies here!

On arriving things were fine but our first trip in a tuc-tuc to see the town resulted on being rammed in the side by a stupid taxi driver in a 4 by 4. The tuc-tuc rocked a bit and seemed undamaged. The 4 by 4 had a very second hand front bumper. No one was hurt as it was a very slow speed shunt. After some heated exchanges between the drivers our tuc-tuc was on its way to go shopping. Unfortunately for us there was little to be had and we returned to our hotel early. The next day we fared no better. Having got to the temple, being forced to walk for ages past open sewers and vast numbers of cow pats still steaming, because the tuc-tuc driver didn’t want to go any nearer, I was not  permitted to enter the Temple as I was not Hindu. 

An Enfield parked near the temple.

We tried more shopping and again unsuccessful. A walk along the beach was pleasant enough but it was less tidy than the average refuse tip. We were woken up early in the morning to be told that we should have checked out from the hotel 5 minutes ago and would have to pay a supplement! Our complimentary breakfast was not available until after 7:00 am after checking out! You could not have it if you had checked out! You may gather we were not impressed! We took a taxi to Bhubaneswar to get our flight to Delhi leaving plenty of time to visit more temples. Once again I was not permitted to enter the main one. I was also asked to remove my shoes  in the car park too that was well away from the Temple. You do not wear any footwear in a temple anyway, but before you get there! My response was emphatic! We then headed off to a big market and found nothing to buy. The nearest Enfield shop was 40km away too far to visit in the time available so I have the picture of the one from Trivandrum instead.

 

Lunch in a nice restaurant and so early at the airport that I have time to write this and reflect on our visit to this religious centre. We did visit a Buddhist temple on the way and surprisingly it was a very uplifting experience. I have now a little time to reflect on the events of the last few days and I am still trying to reconcile the respect that people have for their families but none for anyone else and this is well represented by their driving and lack of courtesy and arrogance. A society that gives so much to their religion gives so little to their fellow man. You have generosity in the UK that gives millions to children and with the cold snap in Delhi a charity drive only managed 30,000 blankets for the poor from tens of millions of people I think it is around 80 million population in and around Delhi! I have seen such beautiful workmanship from craftsmen that is seems impossible to believe that even the simplest task is made impossible by thoughtlessness. Sometimes there seems to be the idea only to do the job they are told to do and not what is required. An example would be that your meal would be served but you would not have any plates to eat it from until they were asked for. I now have to do some postings on Trip Advisor. Moving on to nicer thoughts so far with so much travelling I’ve not had chance to get on a bike and have some fun since Dibrughar weeks ago. I still have time providing it is warm enough, Delhi Belly or my persistent cold gets in the way! 

 

  Diesel Enfield!

Royal Enfields are fixed in my mind and now having posted the photos to Ram of the Flying Flea and Greg Staves Enfield I found a photo I had taken in Cochin of a diesel Enfield that was over 25 years old. Lucky for us emissions in India have forced production to stop. Mind you 80km on a litre of fuel is immensely attractive but you will only be doing 40 kph! That is the speed that most people drive or ride at so getting anywhere is incredibly slow. The Enfield engine was redesigned in 2008 to have unit gearbox and conform to USA and European emissions with EFI. In India it is predominantly a carburretored motor. They produce around 7500 per year with a waiting time of between 3 to 8 months depending on model. They have made over 3,000,000 bikes since production started in India in 1955. I did get asked the question by Ram about what is the most popular bike in the UK and it does come down to adventure bikes. I asked about the “twin” and there is something in the pipeline. I do hope they follow the example of Triumph and the Bonneville. It would be sad if the twin could not compete on performance. More thoughts to come and more bike shops to visit.

Chennai: at the Factory

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Royal Enfield Factory Visit.

After leaving Cochin and the Lemmon Tree resort there was a stop off in Trivandrum at the Fortune Hotel. Just a little way up the road was a Royal Enfield showroom. This needed a visit and on the morning before we left for a day trip I walked around to see them. Sadly to say there was a language barrier and after a short conversation I left a few fliers, took some photos and went on my way. I did get to see the local beaches and a trip up the coast to Verkala where I did see a few European faces riding Enfields.

 Mamallapuram beach.

Heading towards the east coast we stayed for a few days at the Sea Breeze Resort Hotel  in Mamallampuram where one afternoon a few guys who were sitting on the table next to us were talking about boots and jeans. I was eaves dropping, I wanted to know more! The more they talked the more the story unfolded. There a question from one about riding techniques and of “life savers” and using mirrors. It has to be a motorcycling experience! There were nerve racking traffic encounters coming from Chennai that did not want to be repeated. A question was asked about what the rules are. The response was a little different from mine but I was hooked and avidly listening while sipping at a beer. The response was interesting, there are no rules!  Keep your eyes on the road ahead and let those behind avoid you; don’t bother with mirrors or “life savers”. Go at a steady pace and ride predictably. No sudden manoeuvres. Big has right of way and use your horn! Good advice I thought but there was no real answer to what you do at junctions. The conversation moved on and a request to avoid towns where possible. I didn’t introduce myself but if you guys do read this then you will have survived India on an Enfield.

 
 Ram presenting.

Chennai is an amazing place with a beach that would do justice to any speed record as long as you avoided all the discarded Durex. It gives a new meaning to rubber side down! Taxi organised and heading on Saturday 10^th January for the factory visit. Unfortunately traffic and our taxi driver conspired against us. I phoned the reception to say we were late, it was OK provide we were not too late. We had been requested to be at the factory at 09:00 prompt. It was closer to 09:30 by the time we had signed in. The receptionist assured me it was still alright. We were taken to the boardroom entering it was full! Everyone was sitting around talking, waiting for the tour to start. Sitting next to me were a couple of guys from the Netherlands and as it happens they were in Verkala at the same time I was. Coincidence or what? It was not long before our tour guide, Ram, came in and we all introduced ourselves and where we came from.

 Some of the visitors and the Royal Enfield history.

Good start but I was now the historian and called about to confirm information and add to it. Ram was good at coaxing information from people and the whole group was quite cordial. I even managed a pigeon English with signing conversation with a guy from Sweden. It was a very international group with people from France and America too. The guy from America started out his working life in Acton and knew Greenford well. Our tour progressed with going around the machine shop then the engine assembly room with an engine coming off the production line every 4.5 minutes.

 

Production line.

This was followed by the paint shop, line painting and assembly line. There were so many people doing jobs there was only just enough room for us visitors to squeeze by within our path between yellow lines. Parts being delivered to the assembly point used this as well. I didn’t hear a great deal of what was said by Ram but to me it was obvious about what was being done. The noise and smells of a factory producing something is so different from what you would do in your workshop when you work on a bike.

 Hand painting the lines.

 At the end of the line the bikes are checked and tested, first on a rolling road, then around the car park. What a job riding the same route hundreds of times a day! You are doing it in 25C sunshine though! I could think of worse jobs. All too quickly the tour comes to an end and with few questions to answer Ram has time to spend with me. I have my laptop with me and I show him some pictures of the bikes in the Museum. He doesn’t have a memory stick available so I promise to pass on all the pictures through Google. I hand over a picture of the Enfield and a copy of Greg Staves diary of his fund rising Arctic to Antarctic adventure. We discussed what was selling in the UK and the image Royal Enfield has.

 Roling road before a whizz around the car park.

They are changing their image building on their name and setting up shops like most other large manufacturers with big shops that you can buy into the motorcycling experience as you want. Ram was busy and I was aware that Gita was waiting for me we bade our farewells and promised to keep in touch. I enjoyed the experience and appreciated the culture of the people who make India’s biggest bike and the old motorcycling name in the world.

After Goa

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Kerala Next.

We made attempts to leave Goa but all was thwarted by the fog in Delhi. We were at the airport in plenty of time and had to go to Cochin via Mumbai as there were no direct flights or available train seats on the day we wanted to travel. We waited for hours for the plane to escape the fog wondering if we would have to spend the night in Mumbai because we had missed the connection. It was an unnecessary worry as the connecting flight was delayed even longer so instead of having our evening meal in the booked hotel we had a KFC at Mumbai instead. We finally arrived at our hotel just after midnight and everything was all right in the end. The next day was not as good as we found you could only get anywhere by taxi. The hotel was on a main road that was being improved so it was a building site!

The view from the hotel bar on the roof was much better!

There was a bonus in that within walking distance was a Bajaj showroom and just a few more yards was a Honda showroom. Both said that there was a Triumph dealer just around the corner. I left there in search of Triumph showroom with no success and as it was getting dark I went back to the hotel. I would try again in the morning before we left for Allepy by train. As you can imagine I did my PR bit and left a flier at the Bajaj shop. I didn’t have one for the Honda shop but no one seemed to understand me anyway. In the morning I flagged down a passing Tuc-tuc and went in search of Triumph. I found a KTM/Kawasaki showroom and from them found out there where Triumph was. The building was across the main road and in sight. There was no easy access from where I was standing. There was an elevated dual carriageway in the way and there was a bit of a detour to get around it. I left a few fliers and then went across the road by Tuc-tuc to the Triumph showroom. It was not long before I was explaining who I was to the team there and I appreciated their patience. 

 The manager at the showroom is Shyamakrishna Ghosh. I left a flier there and downloaded the pictures I had on my laptop of Bruce Anstey’s 2003 TT winning Super Sports bike and some photos of the Museum. Today I had it with me as we had checked out of the hotel and were carrying some of our luggage. I enjoyed every minute of my time with them discussing my test rides and their impressions of the bikes they sell. Would you believe there are only 2 Street Triples in India! This particular shop was the third one set up in India and they seem to sell bikes all over the country. I asked about a factory visit from Shyam and he said he would support me in trying to see the people at the factory. I didn’t need to see what they did only to talk to them, so I’ll see how this turns out. My visit to Cochin was quite short but I still had the most fun going down to the beach and around the town in the Tuc-tuc going down some back streets that cars could never go and seeing another side of India.

Beyond Assam

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Goa is Warmer.

On the beach for Christmas and enjoying the sunshine I discover that Yorkshire has also had snowfalls. I wonder how warm it is at the Museum. I’m still on the case and at the resort I am staying at I meet up with a guy from Leicester who is a member of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club.

 He said he was just crazy about anything on two wheels. I have frequently just stopped and looked at the vast array of lightweight machinery parked around everywhere. Enfields’ are about too and their burbling exhaust is very distinctive within the hubbub of traffic. Most bikes have Sari guards and the Enfield one is very artistic.

 

 It is here in Goa that I see the aftermath of a bike accident with a scooter on its side and a gathering of bikers assisting. I had watching the traffic as we progressed by taxi from the airport. There were no cars involved in this incident so I gather that it was a close manoeuvre that went wrong and one bike clipped another resulting in a spill. This comes as no surprise as the antics of undertaking and overtaking make me cringe. I have seen people going at a steady pace with a little room on their left and riding sensibly only to be undertaken by someone at speed almost knocking them out of the way and almost into the path of someone overtaking. The result was swift actions by everyone near to avoid collisions. The riders and drivers give little room for error. They have transferred their bicycling techniques of go anywhere to motorcycles and then to cars. The result is mayhem and complete disregard to any rules that apply. It is not for the feint hearted. Normally India drives on the left as we do in the UK. This is not always the case as on some dual carriageways a continuous central reservation stops access to the other side of the road. To get around this traffic just goes the wrong way up the road to get to where they need to be. Sometimes directly towards you or the timid ones in the nearside gutter. It is all a bit disconcerting.

 

 Some people stick to the rules and go to the left of roundabouts others just treat it as an obstacle and go the shortest route. It all amounts to seeing a space and moving toward it. No great speed is involved even with overtaking, creeping by with an indecisive manoeuvre frequently forcing the overtook vehicle to slow to allow room of misjudged distances especially when there is something coming towards you. This results in much blowing of horns and flashing of lights. It seems that drivers and riders don’t plan their moves only seeing a space and trying to go for it even against a flow of oncoming traffic. I have talked people about how they ride and drive and all seem to have no real idea about gears and revs and acceleration. Quite happy to creep along in too high a gear labouring the engine and getting nowhere. It also appears all they want to do is get ahead of the person who is in front on any space available and not always the road! One lane becomes two and three becomes five as motorcycles, cars and tuc-tucs jostle for position. I would recommend tuc-tucs for any short taxiing around. They get through places cars can never go being almost as narrow as a bike. There will be more observations of riding in India as time goes on. In the mean time I’ll just keep topping up my sun tan.