We landed in Amsterdam; the weather was cool and crisp. There was snow in
Moscow and Hamburg, but not in Holland so we were disappointed. But, we
were also here to search for the elusive `boerenkool', so perhaps we would
not be completely disappointed.
Why in this part of the world at this time of the year? Because we had just
been in India with Dutch friends and wanted a change in weather and food.
Traveling this time was different from our other moto trips. First, we did
not take our BMW moto, but rented an Enfield. Second, we did not travel
alone, but with others.
At the end of this report is a checklist which we developed based upon our
experience. We only spent three weeks in India and travelled only 2000k so
can not say that we are experts but, perhaps for the novice, our checklist
will prove helpful. We will begin with a short description of our trip so
you will understand how we made these choices for the checklist.
In about 1998, we were in New Zealand on our third moto trip in that
country before shipping our BMW to South America. We met Peter, from
Holland, who had ridden his moto to New Zealand from his home country and
had many interesting tales. After a few days together we split up but kept
in contact. Then in 2004 while taking our BMW from Germany to Norway, we
saw Peter again in Holland and he asked if we wanted to go motorcycling in
India. There could only be one answer. We would find that everything we
had read about India to be true, well, perhaps half true.
THE MOTO: The moto we rented was a 500 cc Enfield which is produced in
India but is somewhat different from our BMW. First, it is of an older
technology, with a kick starter which presented some problems. The seat
however, was more comfortable than the hard BMW ones. In our group there
were four rented Enfields. The rental agreement stated that if one broke
down within 500k of the shop, then it would be replaced. Sure enough, two
days from the end of the journey, one did develop a problem. The next day
one was ridden from Delhi, the problem one placed on a train and returned to
the shop. First rate service. BMW could learn from this. We had rented
these motos from Inder Motos of Delhi. During our short stay we saw moto
travellers doing the same as we, renting an Enfield. Others had actually
purchased Enfields to either sell later or shipped back to Europa. Outside
of those we saw no other international travelers. The newer Enfields do have
electric start. The rentals have large storage racks on the back for big
packs and racks for side storage of smaller backpacks. The dealer also
provides parts and tools which take up little space.
THE GROUP: Of the four Enfields in our group, three going two-up, so
those of you who are mathematically adept, will know there were 5 Dutch
people in addition to the two of us. Only Peter will be identified to
protect the innocent, Peter not being one of them. Of the five, two were
women and three were driving instructors, two of whom were also in the
military (as is Peter). These folks said that they had two Dutch
traits. First, they were tight with their money, which means they wanted
to travel using budget hotels, and second, they all pooled their money so
only one person paid. The "banker" was responsible for paying the bills,
gas, food, hotels, everything except beer and souvenirs. This really did
make things easier when we stopped for gas, checked out of hotels or ate
while on the road. Kept us from being hassled too. There were times when
we went our separate ways when in a town for one or two nights. Then each
person paid for food and drinks of their choice. Peter had been in India
several times so proved to be a great asset and a good "banker".
THE ROADS: The major roads were much better than we had expected. In
fact, just as in other countries, India may one day be all paved over.
What was a small country lane a few years ago, is now a four lane highway.
But the roads are not smooth, carry a lot of truck traffic and there are
numerous obstacles such as cows and various other animals on the roadway.
We always tried to find secondary roads where possible but then the moving
obstacles were more. As these four lane highways are being built they first
put in the bridges and then the pavement. Then, to finish up, they close
two lanes going one way and everyone travels on the remaining two lanes,
two directions as they complete the area between and the drainage system.
So, sometimes they will allow motorcycles on the closed lanes where it is
possible to travel with more ease. On these new four lane highways there
are toll booths but motorcycles do not have to pay.
The first day out, on the four lane highway from Delhi to Agar, we saw
elephants, bears, monkeys, a parade of nude men, and of course the usual
cows, goats and other domesticated animals. All these were tamed and
tortured. For example, the bears, when still young, had their teeth and
claws removed, and a hole made in their snouts so that a rope could be
placed therein to lead them around. We are not sure about the men.
After we returned to Delhi, the moto rental place tested the gas. They
said all the machines had a mixture of gas and diesel oil. It is very
common for gas stations, especially in the rural area to mix the two,
especially to sell to tourists. Before filling the tank one should dip
fingers into the gas and see if it quickly evaporates. If so, it is gas, if
it lingers, it has diesel oil in it. But the rental agency did not charge
us extra for the damage caused by this deception in part because they did
not tell us before the journey began.
Horns play an important role in moto driving. Many trucks have signs on
the back asking that one honk their horn, we assume before passing. Horns
in India alert drivers to your presence, not a "get out of the way" device.
Some trucks carry such huge loads that they cannot see around to the sides.
They usually have no mirros but will have a second person who helps. The
drivers are actually fairly polite. But there is a problem with the bus
drivers as they must adhere to their schedules or be penalized. So they
will pass anywhere even into your lane. Motorcycles are expected to divert
to the side. They do use their horns often.
HOTELS: As stated, our Dutch friends wanted to stay in budget hotels
which means bringing one's own sleeping bags or sheets/light cover as it
does get colder at night than expected. Also bring personal items needed
for cleanliness such as towels, soap, shampoo. Sometimes, upon request
clean sheets or towels would be provided but seldom soap or shampoo. One is
expected to buy these items on the street, along with toilet paper. The
units were basic and usually had parking for the motorcycles. Never TV,
except for the worst place we stayed, which did have cable. Peter learned
to ask "is there hot water?" and "Is it in the shower" because otherwise
it might be brought in a bucket as the heater might not be functioning or
nonexistent. Toilets were often the squat type with a small container for
water to the side.
PEOPLE: We were only in the state of Rasjastan plus Delhi and Agar so we
did not have an opportunity to meet the many different people who live in
this large nation. However, the ones we did meet, for the most part were
friendly and helpful. It also helped that many spoke English, since that
is the only language we speak. Yes, we did see poverty, people sleeping in
the streets, boys sniffing glue and other third nation things. Yet India
also has 300 million middle class people. On the whole, and remember that
we did not visit those alleged centers of poverty of Calcutta and Bombay,
the people we saw did not appear to be as bad off as say the Indians in Peru
or Bolivia. Here there seemed to be more of an opportunity for people.
One of the Dutch people brought along balloons for the children. The
children liked these but perhaps a more useful item might be toothbrushes
that you can get free from your dentist.
FOOD: Food was as expected, Indian, but our Dutch friends always wanted
Chinese food which almost always was available. We had expected to be
complete vegetarians during the trip, but we had forgotten about the
Moslems, who do supply meat dishes. Some places, being devote Hindi, had
no meat, eggs nor cheese. But we never went hungry and never became ill,
at least for a long period of time. We always drank bottled water, but we
were certain that the top was secured and that no one had poked a hole in
the bottom to fill the bottle with impure water. Beer was available but
some places served it behind a curtain or put it into a tea pot before
serving. The best food we had was from simple stalls found along the road.
We always avoided the recommendations in our guide book. These books
seemed to be written by people from England or their former colonies. Are
they really qualified to be food critics?
COSTS: We, all seven of us, spent a total of $230.00 per person on our
trip including moto rental, gas, food, and lodging. When we got to
Amsterdam, the two of us easily spent that much in two days.
Interestingly enough when we got to Amsterdam we exchanged our few rupees
for Euros. One Indian bill they would not accept for exchange. We were
told that they did not recognize the bill; was it counterfeit? So be
careful about the bills when changing in India and do not accept really
dirty, damaged bills. The one that was not exchanged makes an unusual
souvenir.
TOUTS, LOUTS, AND DOG FOOD.
As in all nations there are people who attempt to use the local religion for
self advancement and profit. Turn on your local TV and you will see one.
They are also in India. The scam is to give you a flower and then take
you to a temple or sacred lake, have you throw the flower into the water and
then press for a donation. They prey upon tourists but do leave when
asked. They are not as aggressive as ones in Morocco or other Arab
nations. Nor are they as irritating as the ones on TV.
We actually felt much safer than in North or South America. Not the same
kind of aggression. And they are polite on the roads while driving, not
like the drivers in South America who would rather run you down than
recognize that pedestrians might have some rights such as staying alive.
It is just that in these old cities of India, the roads were built for
animals, not machines, and are very crowded so sometime it is like driving
bumper cars. You will get bumped but these Enfields had a much lower center
of gravity than our BMW, so it was not much of a problem.
Soon after the moto journey started we saw a Pet Store. One of the things
we do is to collect "Beware of Dogs" signs in foreign languages. We got
one written in Hindi. You can see it when you come to visit. Also, they
carry a brand of dog food with a picture of a Samoyed on the bag. We had
never seen our favorite breed on a dog food package and so we purchased
one. We stored away the package and put the dog food in a plastic sack on
the back of the moto. Whenever we saw a dog we would give it some. Half
the dogs liked it, the other half naught. One night something tore into
the sack and ate a small amount of the food. But there was a lot left.
Several nights later when we stayed at the worst place ever where there
were many noisy families checking in, later getting drunk and making too
much noise to sleep. There were a lot of children. The next morning all
of the dog food was gone and the sack. So, we wondered, had the children
raided our sack and taken the food thinking it was a treat. Perhaps it was
for them?
SCENERY: What we saw? The normal tourist sites. Here are comments on
two. First the
TAj MAHAL: Better than the pictures. A guide we spoke to told us two
important facts. One should go there on Monday. It used to be closed on
Mondays and everyone still thinks it is. The guide books often say
nothing about this but these books are for those drug crazed bus riders who
don't know what day it is anyway. Don't go on Friday because it is now
closed on that day. The conclusion is that the worst day to visit is
Saturday as there are twice as many tourists as well as the local people
visiting. Tourists believing that it is open go on Fridays, and then find
that they have to stay over a day if they want to see it. The best time
to go is October or late January or February. Otherwise, the smog may be
so bad that one can not see the building from the entrance, where most
photos are taken. Plus, the heat and humidity are intense in other months.
Last fall some German friends mentioned that we should visit the Camel Fair.
Some Americans had said we should go to a Harley Rally. Leading
sheltered lives, we had done neither. We imagined that they were very
similar. Many variations on the same theme. A lot of spitting,
belching, eating and drinking. Some fighting. Plenty of noise, dust and
hustlers wanting to sell things. A lot of humps and humping. A smelly
event that might interest those who are interested in this particular
spectacle. While we would not be disappointed one soon grows tired of
seeing thousands upon thousands of the same variation repeated over and
over. So two days were enough. We only looked and did not buy.
AMSTERDAM: We discussed with our Dutch friends what it meant to be Dutch.
Wooden shoes, cheese and tulips? And, they said, BOERENKOOL. The
mysterious, elusive BOERENKOOL! It is actually a sort of farmers dish
served only in the winter. When we arrived on 23 November from India, we
were prepared. But not the Dutch. They all knew what it was but it was
not in the Dutch restaurants. And restaurants which specialize in Dutch
food are hard to find. In desperation we decided to return to such a
dining spot, only open in the evenings, but one that had the menu posted
outside. BOERENKOOL was not listed. Luck was with us, the special that
night was that famous dish, so Gail was pleased. A hearty dish that sticks
with one.
We also did some tourist things like going to museums and taking a canal
boat ride, which is one way to see parts of the city from below street
level. Some people live in these canal boats. One night in the old
district we found what we thought was the Moslem area. The lane was so
narrow that one could only walk down it. Only men were walking there, the
women were inside where they could be seen in small rooms. Some of these
rooms were dark, others well lighted. It must have been really warm in
there as they did not have many clothes on. They might be serving
another special Dutch dish, but we did not stay there long enough to find
out since there had recently been a shooting of a Dutch movie producer by
some Moslems. We understand that they did not like his movies nor his dog
which he had named Mohammed. If by chance you should name your dog Jesus
Christ, please be certain that we are named as heirs in your will. Maybe
when we return next year and things have cooled down, we can visit one of
these small exhibitions. So we left but will return.
Based upon the above ramblings, here is the checklist we developed.
CHECKLIST:
Helmet with visor due, to smog, & cleaner
Face mask due to smog/dirt
Gloves
Sleeping bag or sheets/light cover
Medicine for problems caused by smog, such as head colds, congestion,
headaches. Eye drops and nose drops. Also, the food and water can cause
problems. So, Imodium or some such should be carried.
Cleaning supplies for the body, such as handiwipes, soap, shampoo, lotion
for the skin.
Lip and sun protection.
Toilet paper unless you want to go native.
Ear plugs if you have problems with noise at night and in the early morning.
(4:00 call to prayer in the Moslem areas)
Fleece or warm jacket for night use or on moto during early hours. It is
cooler here than expected.
Locks, for moto and doors in hotels. The hotels give you locks but how many
people have the keys? Combination locks are best.
Mosquito protection, coils for the room at night.
Light walking shoes as the streets are dirty.
Dust proof bags for gear.
Small length of rope or clothesline.
Duct tape of course.
Note: All of these items can be bought in India so one can really travel to
India very lightly. If one has the money, everything is available.
However, we never did see moto gloves. Helmets with flip up chin and
visors we saw for anywhere from 600 to 2000 rupees. The quality is not the
same as in Europa, but one does not travel fast on the roads in India.
Medicines are also available but since the names may not be the same take
those that one is used to. Take what works for stomach upsets and headaches
Even sleeping bags can be purchased here for 300 or so rupees, buy one
and give it away when leaving.
If you enjoy reading in bed a flashlight that can serve as a reading light
is helpful.
Hope that you enjoyed our report.
Eric and Gail Haws for Tynda
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