August 22, 2004
Roads here in India are ridiculous. The going is slow, because obstacles are rampant. Hazards include bomb-crater-sized potholes, speed bumps, bicycles, ox carts, sacred cows, goats, tuk-tuks, pedicabs, kids, people pooping on the road, buses and trucks and cars coming right at you in YOUR lane, and people drying corn in the middle of the road.
Journal by Take Me With You! guest Matt Candelaria
Hello all, this is Matt Candelaria, drive around the world take me with you guest Number 13. Lucky me. The drive around the world team instructed me to head for Guwahati, India, on the 18th of August. They tell me they should arrive to pick me up on that day at the earliest, but probably a few days later. Turns out a few days later is more correct. I guess they have been having a hard time driving through Myanmar and the Manipur/Assam states of India. They have warned me they might not be able to get to Guwahati because of all the monsoon flooding, so I am of course worried. My only way of contacting them is via email every day, so the Internet cafe is my friend. It is also a way for
me to reach back to the world old world I knew only a few days ago. This is my first trip to India, and it is truly a different place. I am also very afraid of strange foods, so I am not happy. I seem to have found comfort in Lays potato chips and Coca Cola. The last few days have been chips and Coke for breakfast/lunch, and a roll of the dice for dinner at the various "nicest" hotels that seem to have some attempts at international cuisine. One has some Chinese food that I am finding tasty. I continued my wait, and finally three
days later on Sunday evening the team arrived. The car doors slamming in the parking area below my hotel room woke me, and now this wonderful journey is about to begin for me. I can't wait!
| Logbook for Aug 22nd, Day 296 | ||
|
Start: Guwahati, India Time: 6:20 a.m. N: 26* 103.798 E: 91* 44.898 |
Finish: Siliguri, India Time: 8:37 p.m. N: 26* 43.969 E: 88* 24.716 | Mileage: 276 |
| Notes: Team rolled early to begin marathon haul to Varanasi. Team made good time in the early morning, but pace slowed later in the day. At one point, we mistook a man sleeping on the road for a dead body. Nick led a small team to the border of Bhutan while others drove on to Guwanat. Team witnessed recent flood damage in Assam, including villages underwater and displaced civilians living in makeshift shacks along the roadside. (N.O.) | ||
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