India is not a newly made friend,
but a loved one we can never let go.
We keep returning, loving it, hating
it and indulging all it has to offer. It's
not just a country, it is many different
worlds coming together, mingling into
a blast of colours, smells and experi-
ences. We were thoroughly warned of
the traffic in India, even called a little
crazy from time to time, for wanting
to drive there, but honestly, give us a
bike and we wouldn't hesitate to tra-
verse the country again from Kanya-
kumari, the Southernmost point of In-
dia up to Nepal, and next time, further
up North.
With a little (read: a lot!) help from
our amazing friends in Kovalam, Ker-
ala, we were able to buy two lovely
bikes. Not the all-time beauty, the
Royal Enfield, as this was out of our
budget for this journey, but a Yamaha
FZ and a Honda Unicorn, both with
150cc engines.
Two old bikes with their own char-
acter and own past, but ready to steal
our hearts throughout the journey.
The Yamaha FZ flying through the cor-
ners in the mountains and the Honda
Unicorn perfectly keeping up due to
a little more torque. Both light bikes,
much lighter than what we were used
to. They never disappointed taking us
through crazy city traffic, along wind-
ing mountain roads, across cooling
rivers and carrying us on sandy roads.
Looking back at it, we couldn't have
made a better choice!
To everybody we have met along
the way we describe India as a coun-
try that will never bore you. You could
sit somewhere all day, simply watch-
ing life go by and you will keep seeing
something new, something different
and something surprising. A river of
life, of colours and of smells pulling
you along.
No brakes, no holding back, just go!
Is it hard to drive? Well, yes! It will
probably drive you crazy the first 100
kilometres. Driving on the left-hand
side of the road, crazy traffic, enor-
mous buses and hardly any rules ex-
cept those that are there to be broken.
Sounding horns easily becomes
more important than using your indi-
cators.
Huge roads suddenly go straight
through cities and villages and those
last 10 kilometres of the day take 2
hours instead of the few minutes you
had in mind.
No fight, just struggle. In turn, you
may end up in a place where they have
never seen a foreigner, let alone a girl
riding a motorbike! Or that is at least
the impression we got when 30 people
crowded around us taking pictures in
Shirpur, giggling like little children
that wanted to be our friend.
In our experience, Indian peo-
ple are rather inquisitive, wanting to
know all about you. In exchange they
may invite you for chai, the amazing
Indian milk tea, offer you something
to eat or directly invite you into their
TRAVERSE 90
home for dinner. In no other country
in Asia have we experienced kind ob-
trusiveness in such a manner. India is
overwhelming in every way.
The traffic is one of the factors, but
the beauty is another. Thousands of
coconut trees, sparkling rays of sun-
shine reflecting their light in the dust.
Foods with tastes that tickle and burn
your taste buds.
Speaking of coconut trees reminds
me of a lesson we learned in Kera-
la. Apparently, coconut trees always
mean well. They don't want to hurt
humans. For that reason, they will
never drop a coconut on your head,
or directly on your motorbike. Maybe
they will hit your shoulder or mirror,
but hey, nobody is perfect, right?
Anyhow, if you are planning a trip to
India soon, say 'hey' to those lovely co-
conut trees from us. And be prepared
for some time-travel! Farmers pull-
ing a plough by hand, bamboo huts
and roads suddenly disappearing into
gravel, sand or true off-road tracks in-
cluding the obligatory river crossing.
So, what's not to love? Many things,
but I am sure you will discover that
for yourself one day. And compared
to many other countries, we should
give India a little more credit than we
sometimes do. They like to increase
prices when they see you coming, but
bargaining is often done with a smile,
or at least with a lot of show. To be
fair, prices sometimes are ridiculously
low compared to the rest of Asia. Not