long sleeved variety but locals who might
apparently jump in front of tourist vehicles
in the hope that they’ll get injured enough
to earn sympathy money, but not too injured
that they get funeral money. Thankfully the
“jumping” on this occasion was restricted
to cows and chickens, just at it had been
weeks, all but two of the sixteen teams were
still going strong, albeit patched up with the
usual quantity of duct tape and cable ties.
After consuming nearly 2,000 kms of tarmac,
mud and sand, and what seemed like the
Kannyakumari.
A huge monument marked the southernmost
tip. It was surprising to know that although we
were still in the Northern Hemisphere (just)
there was no more land immediately south
until the frozen wastes of Antarctica. If might
have left us feeling rather isolated had it not
been for the hordes of hawkers trying to sell
us sunglasses, sun tan lotion or a bottle of holy
the whole trip where we experienced any form
of begging or hassle and even then it wasn’t
it paid off in the end – a pair of genuine fake
(which is about how long the sunglasses lasted
until a lens fell out).
in Kannyakumari. Our hosts were full of
smiles and each of us in turn was blessed
and presented with an ornate necklace of
the perfect end to an epic trip and yet we still
had the closing party to look forward to. Later
a huge buffet was laid on for us outside in
light of charcoal burners. After a few speeches
and an awards ceremony for best crash, best
supporting bodge, and best fancy dress we
partied on in to the early hours. And where did
we end the night? In the swimming pool of
course.