The highs and lows of a week with an Enfield Bullet

Our trusty steed

Hi all, its john here. Lindsay told me to get off my arse and write a bit in the blog so here is my bit about or week with a Royal Enfield.


Since we arrived in India we have talked about renting an Enfield and doing a trip. There is something quite romantic about heading off to the hills on a classic looking bike, but the reality is that there is nothing romantic about riding a bike in India. Instead its hard work, noisy, dirty, dangerous, but most of all great fun.


We hired the bike from a friendly guy called Ivon at I-Ones Two Wheeler's (get it? Ivon, I-Ones?) in Fort Kochin. At just under £6 a day we were more than happy with our a excellent looking 2005 model, 4 speed, single cylinder, 350cc, Enfield Bullet with luggage racks and importantly for Lindsay it was the right colour! The helmets that were offered to us looked more like builders helmets so with a 'buy back' deal arranged with Ivon we bought two full face helmets from the market which were surprisingly cheap. Fingers crossed we weren't going to check out how strong they were.


With a rough plan of heading to Periyar then Munnar we set off, the bike looked good with its panniers on - a real adventure bike. Our first stop was only 1km away at a petrol station. This is when we had our first problem - for some reason the bike would not start after re-fueling it. I kicked and kicked it over, occasionally it would fire up, but it wouldn't stay running. I was checking everything over, trying to get the bike going but nothing seemed to work. Before long we had a crowd of Indian men around us, fascinated, and all offering advice - I'm sure thinking, silly foreigners on our Indian bikes! One offered to give starting it a go and of course he got it going on the first kick, but to my pleasure it stopped again. A friendly man was soon on the phone to Ivon, who quickly turned up and started adjusting the timing. After only a few minutes our trusty steed was running again and we set off. Our steed however was not so trusty and only 15 km away it stopped never to start again. We pushed the bike for about a mile to a local engineer who had a look at it, but he was not too impressed and gave Ivon a call who arrived half an hour later with a newer, better looking Enfield with a back rest which Lindsay was more than happy about.


By the time we transferred the fuel and our luggage it was about 3pm and it was not looking like we would make Periyar, so we set off with a plan to stop around sunset. Riding the bike was more than tricky than I was used to. For a start the gear pedal and brake pedal are on the wrong side compared to most bikes and the gear selection is 1 up 3 down rather than 1 down 5 up. This took me a good few hours to get used to and Lindsay had to put up with some harsh gear changes. With a average speed of 40 miles a hour on the main highway the slow revving bike sounded lovely. Main highways in India are not like in the UK. We were often met with buses heading towards us in our lane (once causing us to do a bit of off roading before joining the tarmac again) and a few cows who prefer the highway to fields. Indian drivers do not use their rear view mirrors, but instead rely on the person overtaking to beep their horn to indicate they are there. Needless to say the roads are incredibly noisy.

Bit of off roading

Just after sunset we found a hotel in a small town half way towards Periyar which was clean and Rs450 a night. We were both knackered and covered in dust from the road so a warm shower and comfy bed was more than welcome, even if it was covered with suspect stains! After a great nights sleep and egg curry for breakfast in the only restaurant in town, we set off again to cover the last 50 miles to Periyar. The road was amazing, steadily climbing in altitude and passing through forests, tea plantations and over high mountain peaks. The bike sounded great as we slowly ate up the miles. We arrived in Periyar about 1pm and had lunch a very nice hotel before searching for accommodation for the next few nights. There are many homestays and guest houses in Periyar, but we settled on a very nice room at Mundakal Paradise for RS400 a night (Just over 5 pounds).


Periyar seems to be the spice capital of India. Every shop was selling spices of all kinds. Lindsay loved this and spent a good while examine all the different types. Our first afternoon in Periyar was spent looking at all the various tour packages to do in the wildlife sanctuary at the Eco-tourism office. After thinking it over with tea and cake we settled on a bamboo rafting trip and booked it up for the next day. That evening we went to see an Indian martial arts display, called Kalaripayattu. For one hour we were entertained with men fighting each other with knives, swords and fire. A really good show which should not be missed if you are ever in the area.

The trekking-rafting trip started at 7am with a walk through the forest. As we walked we could hear the sound of the black monkeys calling to each other which was amazing and we were lucky enough to see one jumping from tree to tree. After a 3 hour trek we boarded our bamboo rafts and were slowly paddled along the lake bank hoping to see some wild elephants, but it was not our lucky day. We did however see a tree that had recently been used by a tiger to keep its claws in shape, a couple of deer, some wild hogs and plenty of birds.


The next day we were back on the bike heading to Munnar, 70 miles away along another great road passing over various mountains with some great drops either side. Throughout the journey we could feel the temperature drop as we slowly climbed up to 1500 metres.  The local buses take 4.5 hours to do this so we thought it may take us a good 5/6 hours (anyone who has been on an Indian bus will know how crazy the drivers are). In fact we were due to get there in around 4 hours as the bike seemed to fly by the buses on the hills. However, accidentally taking a 20 mile detour put us back to 5 hours.

Tea plantations of Munnar

Munnar town was a bit of a dump, but the surrounding area is full of lush green tea plantations planted by the British back in 1880s. Keen to explore the surrounding mountains and countryside we booked a early morning mountain trek for the next day. The trek was a brilliant, we started early at 0630 and followed a river to a tea plantation where we slowly started to climb and reached a peak of 2100 metres. The view was amazing overlooking the town below and surrounding mountains. We were served a breakfast of boiled eggs and bread at the top by our guide who told us all about the history and people of Munnar, before heading back down to the town below.   


Our last day with our lovely Royal Enfield had arrived and we packed the panniers for the last time and set off for Fort Kochin. The journey to start with was perfect with quiet roads and gorgeous scenery, but it was not long before we found ourselves dealing with crazy city drivers and trying to find our way with next to no road signs. Eventually after 6.5 hours on the bike we arrived back at Ivons and sadly returned our two wheeled friend, happy however that it was running on fumes!


Despite the numb bums, near death experiences, dust filled lungs and ringing ears we had an amazing week and would recommend the freedom of touring India on a bike - but perhaps only for a week at a time!

Check out our map

We are trying to keep track of our travels via the Our Map page. We will add more details as and when we can (and figure out how!) but check it out so far! More blogs to come soon guys.

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Happy in Hampi

Hampi

Our last few days in Palolem were immense - more glorious sun, sea, food and ...dolpins! Our boat trip with Mr Max was amazing, up early at 7am we set sail as the sun was rising hopeful to see a glimpse of the local dolphins. We were not disappointed, spotting around 5 or 6 including a mother and calf playing just in front of the boat.


We could have easily stayed in Paloelm for many more days but feeling we should really move on we booked the sleeper bus to Hampi, a ruined Hindu city set amongst a landscape of huge erractic boulders in the next state, Karnataka.


We met the 'tourist' sleeper bus from the near by town of Chaudi, at Rs700 per person it is definitely not as good value as the sleeper train. The bus was extremely basic, noisy, cramped & toilet-less. Our bunk for 2 was incredibly small with little room for us both to lie down unless on our sides - thank goodness we could share together otherwise you would have to spoon a stranger! Despite this the bus was quite exciting & felt like an adventure! The road to Hampi was extremely bumpy and we were relieved we hadn't chosen to travel there ourselves on a motorbike as I am not sure our spines could have taken it. According to John at one point we were both airborne, needless to say I slept through most of the journey. That is with the exception of a midnight outing of my Whiz Freedom, quite a skilled operation as we thundered round the corners on two wheels. Too much information I am sure but any ladies reading this about to go travelling - take a Whiz!


As we drew closer to Hampi we realised we were being followed by an army of rickshaw drivers all calling out to us, trying to stake a claim on our business before the bus pulled up - 'Sir, madam, I am here, I saw you first...', as we fought through them to get off the bus we chose a young guy at the back waiting far more patiently than the rest and agreed on Rs10 to the main bazaar area to grab some breakfast - resisting his pleas to take us to see some rooms, where of course he would get some baksheesh (commission).


After some yummy breakfast of eggs, toast & masala chai at the New Shanti cafe we started to wander down to the get the small boat across the river. Hampi is split in to two main areas by the Tungabhadra River, the main temple & baazar area where we had arrived and the far quieter Virupapuragadda (also known locally as Hampi Island although part of the main land) where most of the chilled out guest houses are situated - they only get power for 4 hours a day at best which was quite appealing to us for a few super chilled days.

Lakshmi getting his morning bath

Our first glimpse of the river revealed a hive of activity - families washing clothes, children bathing and a small Indian man scrubbing his elephant, nothing is unusual in India! We later found out that this was Lakshmi the main temple elephant. After a quick crossing on the boat for Rs20 which we shared with a very colourful & jolly Indian man singing & playing an accordion type instrument we started looking for a room. We quickly found a gorgeous room at Bobby Guesthouse at the bargain price of Rs200 (under 3 quid).


That afternoon we got chatting to a couple of locals who told us about a gorgeous fresh water lake perfect for swimming only four kilometers away. Keen to check it out and cool off we hired 2 very classic looking single

Cliff jumping

speed push bikes. The cycle there was brilliant, taking us through a rural village with beautiful local children running after us and giving us high fives. At the top of an extremely steep hill (sweat fest with a single speed!)we finally found the stunning lake and joined a few people who were jumping off a bridge into the water ignoring the 'Beware of the crocodiles' sign. With an audience of locals we went for it - the water was gorgeous and jumping in was great fun! John even ventured up on to the high rocks to jump - I wasn't quite brave enough.

Our trusty steed

The next day we decided to hire a motorbike to explore the Hanuman (Monkey) Temple a little further a field. The bike was hilarious, a tiny little TVS Heavy Duty, which looked more like a push, pedal & pop bike and couldn't even make it up the hills without John using his legs to push too. I was providing moral support giggling on the back! I suppose at Rs100 for the day you can't expect too much power. The Monkey Temple perched high on the top of a hill had around 600 steep white washed steps to reach the top. The views on the walk up were stunning and we met lots of locals springing up with ease and wondered if the do this daily to worship at the temple? We met a couple of black faced monkeys en route before reaching the breathtaking summit.

Monkey Temple

Everyday between 12:00 - 14:30 the Hindu men who live at the shrine to Hanuman chant and play the drums, so our timing was perfect and the calming sounds made the temple extremely atmospheric. This was our favourite spot in Hampi.


The next few days were extremely chilled just wandering around the many ruins and temples, swimming in the lake and sitting playing cards eating delicious food in an amazing cafe called The Mango tree. A perfect spot on the banks of the river with sensational views and traditional thalis & coconut currys! A few days could easily turn to weeks in Hampi.

Getting blessed by Lakshmi

Our final day was one of the busiest & best - we visited the main Sri Virupaksha Temple which dominates the skyline of central Hampi. After paying Rs20 entry we explored the many rooms & shrines watching the hundreds of pilgrims pray & whisper to which ever god they favoured. One huge crowd revealed the location of the gorgeous temple elephant, Lakshmi, who we had watched get his morning bath just days before. The locals explained that if you pay a small donation Lakshmi will bless you...a much longer blessing for notes rather than coins. Clever elephant! True enough we stepped forward and passed him a Rs5 coin which was expertly passed to his keeper and then gently he blessed you on the head. We then passed him a Rs10 note which was followed by a much slower & lingering blessing, not before passing the cash to his keeper of course. I couldn't get over just how gentle he was.


After John's first Indian hair cutting experience, which only drew a little blood, we decided to explore some of the ruins which are only accessible from the river due to a flood in 1992. You do this on the local coracle boats which are basic bowl shaped boats made from woven grasses, slightly wobbly to get in and out of but cool looking boats. Our guide, a young local boy, was excellent and explained so much about Hampi & the Hindu faith. We were so relaxed at the end we didn't want to get off.


That night we had organised to move on from Hampi to Cochin (also known as Kochi) further south in Kerala by sleeper bus to Bangalore followed by the sleeper train the next night to Cochin. We were slightly disappointed to be leaving as it was the Diwali festival, the festival of light which to us basically meant hundreds of fireworks & firecrackers being exploded by every family & group of children on every street corner. Totally mental but quite exciting - I wonder how many kids burn themselves or worse! It was like being thrown in to a war zone as we boarded the bus, rockets shooting past us from every direction. I was a nervous wreck!


Next stop Cochin...