Neil and Liz Rudram – Thoughts on The India Coast to Coast Tour.
We arrived back in Taunton on Monday afternoon and had our usual routine things to deal with. Now we have time to ponder about our unique holiday in India, we both consider ourselves reasonably travelled but the Pride India tour must rank as one of our best holiday experiences to date.
I would be the first to admit that I was probably the most in-experienced member of the group and found some of the days quite challenging, however after a couple of “Kingfishers” at the end of the day my difficulties paled into insignificance and the sights and events of the day became exciting and a wonderful experience. In spite of some biking experience in India 18 months previously I had forgotten that the omnibus rules the road, while nominally they drive on the same side of the road as us but this is only an ad hoc rule, that dual carriageway is purely a means for the tut-tut drivers to return on the same bit of road as they started out on and contra flows can occur without warning or cones and doesn’t require a reduction in speed.
Our highlights were riding through the narrow busy town streets cheek by jowl with India and his wife (and his bullock and cart), the high mountain wooded roads, tea plantations, the chai stops, the glorious range of colours of India and her people, the souk like bazaar in Pundacherry, swimming in the Bay of Bengal, the huge temple in Tiruvannamali and surprise surprise The Royal Enfield Factory.
Congratulations to Gordon for masterminding the trip, to Sam for being Gordon’s right hand person and Ted for his tolerance of my riding who I am sure is profoundly thankful that I am not riding the return leg. Also thanks to Roger for taking Liz off my hands (!) when the riding got a bit onerous for me.
Finally Liz’s message to Graham she is sorry that she has brought home your jar of Arnica ointment which she used on her bruises – due to the rip tide on the Indian Ocean beach and the other due to a trip hazard at the MGM resort, also possibly associated with my entomological pursuits. She hopes Graham will have no requirement for the ointment this week.
Liz says thanks Gordon you’re a star and we both hope Becky is recovering from her Tamil Tummy. Wonder if you’re still getting Starters for Puddings and Main Course for Starters! Personally I thought it was hilarious and just added to the fun. No doubt Fran will try to sort the Chefs out but probably to no avail! Look forward to the debriefing and seeing you all soon.
Neil and Liz.
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