Donations raised so far....£5,282.61

We have now exceeded our target for £1000 for Frank Water Projects (£610) and Mercy Corps (£575), so we are now aiming to raise as much money as possible for Education for All 

Thank you for your donations!!

This Is Where Your Money Has Gone - Well Done YOU

Today we loaded a 40 foot container with enough equipment for a primary and secondary school. The container is now destined for Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Thank you all for your donations, as you can see it is going a very long way. 

Now to the race line... 2 sleeps till we gone. 

SMS Update

Day1: Started with a stall, ran out of fuel on the celebration lap of Cochin, then got lost! All got easier from there..Headed straight east leaving the humid sunshine to climb up through rubber plantations and into tea estates - beautiful & dramatic landscape. A late start & windy roads so only managed 156km to Munnar where its much cooler. 1 monkey. Absolutely loving driving the rickshaw, a LOT of horn usage!

Day 2

Namaste!! (thats hello for all you non locals)

So day 2......Started off early and wound up through some of the highest tea estates in the world with the rising sun cutting through the mist - stunning!  Then we had to turn back as Si forgot his phone in the hotel.  The people were lovely and it was waiting at reception.

Luckily we have a pretty new rickshaw that drives like a beast so we made up lost time quickly.  We're can go a good 5-10kph faster than other teams. So we do. But then we also get forget stuff too which adds time.   

Crossed into Tamil Nadu high in the mountains then had the most amazing hair pin filled descent onto the plains. Picked up our second passenger today - the local rickshaw drivers are probably thinking "they come over here stealing our jobs!".

Stopped for lunch in a dusty town called Dindigul and had thali served on a banana leaf, luckily we got schooled on banana leaf washing etiquette by some friendly guys.

Tons of smiles and waves, confused looks and enormous smiles along the way to Trichy where we're blogging from the hottest filthiest little cyber hole, dripping witth sweat at 10pm!  

Getting chcked out so more later....x Dyl & Si

SMS Update

Early start to get to a religious festival in a temple complex covering 60 hectares. Got lost (obviously) down back allies & Dyl dinted a .......a back wheel arch on a motorbikefront wheel.  Got a police escort through narrow lanes and ornate temple arches to Hindu festivities where wordshippers celebrating Vishnu dragged an enormous shrine meters ata time with thick ropes.  Got interviewed and photographed by a few newspapers (New India Exprwess and Tamil Nadu Times).  Hectic drive leaving the complex through narrow lanes packed with traffic and people.  All very colourful.   The we hit the highway hard and got up to Mamallapuram which is on the East coast - crossing from one side of the country to the other feels pretty good!  Theres a beach her, although a bit skanky, it was still good to get into the sea after a long hot drive.  

From Cochin to Munnar and over the top

End of the first day...welcome to Munnar

This is'nt suppossed to be monsoon season.  The rickshaw takes on water from all angles, roof cover seams included. 

Say Paneer!!

A great winding road through tea plantations..

The most mental road in the world...great for racing a motorbike down....we won, of course.  It was around a 25km downhill - fun times!

"Why are you covered in drawings Mr Englishman??"

Our first customer in the Rick Shaw & Ed Win taxi business

The race is ON !!!!!!

Inside the rickshaw and festival in Trichy

The boys come along for the ride

10 litres of fuel at your feet...sometimes you forget, then you notice it again...and start sweating some more

Sound system, toilet roll and map...we'll be fine.

Hanging with the local Tuk Tuk drivers

rush hour at a festival...going nowhere fast.

SMS Update

Just drove straight through the centre of Chennai - it was absolutely mental!! The Italians could learn a lot from these guys.