My initial plan for India was to ride down to Mumbai to visit a friend, chill out at one of Goa’s beaches and then possibly ship the motorcycle from Chennai to Bangkok. But after I had a good look at the travel guide again, and after listening to what other overland travellers had to say, I realized that this was a somewhat crazy idea. After all, I only had about 5-6 weeks time, and India means huge distances and, as I was told before: crazy traffic. (I later found that ‘crazy’ is the wrong expression. ‘Homocidal’ comes to mind – at least when you’re on a motorcycle and therefore on the receiving end of the psychotic drivers’ style of steering a bus or truck).
So instead of going all the way down to Mumbai, I decided to take a 'short-cut' through the provinces Rajasthan and Uttar-Pradesh into Nepal... still a good 3000 km. That way I didn’t spend most of my time on the bike, but actually managed to actually see something of the country and spend a few days in each place. And I’ve got to say: India is beautiful, and I’ve got some fond memories from this country.
Two questions I asked myself towards the end, after I survived India without any accident, relentlessly dodging busses and trucks for 3000km: Would I come and visit again? – Yes. – On a motorcycle? – No. Maybe. But not unless it’s the right season to go up into the mountains around Ladakh.
For a more detailed report (including comments), have a look at my India Album on FlickR.
The full-screen slideshow version can be found here. (To read the report during the slideshow, click 'Show Info' in the top right).
Here are some samples from the album:
