TravelPod blogger Joanna Penny, aka jcbeep has just completed the Rickshaw Run, an ambitious adventure to traverse India in a small golf cart-like vehicle.
After traveling almost 3,000 kms the race is finally over. The rickshaw affectionately named Dolly crossed the finish line on Monday in Pondicherry, India.
Even though she didn’t win the race, Penny says it was a worthwhile experience.
TravelPod was a proud sponsor of Penny’s life-changing trip. Congratulations, and we wish you luck in all your future travels.
I asked Joanna to answer some questions about her epic rickshaw journey, and here they are, for your enjoyment:
How was the race?
It wasn’t a race per se, more of a rally and an utterly unique opportunity to experience Indian culture at close quarters in a humble Indian Bajaj three wheeled rickshaw designed for travelling short distances on roads, rather than the long haul and at times off road journeys we undertook. It absolutely was a once in a lifetime adventure!
What place did you come in?
As above, we weren’t racing the other teams, although some did take it more seriously than others. It was more of a race against time, battling the clock to make it to Pondicherry in time for the arrival party, two weeks after we set off from Kathmandu. And despite numerous breakdowns en route, we made it with a day to spare – and under our own steam too, which is more than can be said for some of the teams!
What was the best part of the trip?
Genuinely, I loved everything about the trip: the food, the crazy driving, the rickshaw itself, the people we met, the swapping of driving tales with other teams, the breakdowns… Even the one day where I felt unwell, turned out to be one of the most memorable of the trip – where we were invited to stay in the company dormitory of a local factory. The kindness of the people we met was overwhelming and I know how lucky I am to have taken part in such an amazing experience.
What was the worst part?
The obvious answer would be the frequent breakdowns, but I don’t think that is true. For example, had Dolly (this is what we christened the rickshaw, originally as Disco Dolly, but by the end it was more like Dolly the Diva) not broken down on Day 9, we would not have had the opportunity of visiting the UN funded project aimed at improving the healthcare of rural villages by educating them to grow medicinal plants which can be used to treat common ailments without the need to resort to expensive western remedies.
The weather was incredibly hot and humid, but we were lucky in terms of avoiding rain – we hardly saw any despite the impending monsoon season.
The worst thing was possibly when we handed back the rickshaw. I know I am not the only one who had grown very attached to their rickshaw so it was a huge wrench to say goodbye and watch as they were all pushed into storage.
How many times, exactly, did your tuk tuk breakdown?
We lost count, but including what we think towards the end were times when the rickshaw overheated, it was probably about 40 times! We only had a couple of ‘major’ issues – Day 4 when the exhaust fell off, Day 5 when piston seized and Day 11 when, for the second time, the exhaust fell off.
What’s the difference between a tuk tuk and say, a golf cart or a regular car?
I’m not altogether sure, but our three wheeled auto rickshaw had a two stroke, single cylinder 145.45cc engine, four forward and one reverse gears, a 7.5l (inclusive of 0.75l reserve) fuel tank – but no fuel gauge so running out of fuel was a very real problem! According to the manufacturer’s handbook, the top speed was 55km/hour, but I am sure in the early stages when we were leaving Kathmandu we managed to drive her faster than that!
Do you have a new appreciation of Indian culture since the race?
Absolutely! Everyone was so friendly and helpful to us, and I think we benefited from travelling on our own, whereas many teams travelled in convoy with other rickshaws. We saw at first hand the poverty which affects so much of this country.
In the state of Andhra Pradesh alone, around seventeen million people living in coastal areas are exposed to harmful, unsafe water and as many as 150 children die every day of diarrhoea. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit a village in Andhra Pradesh which was aided by FRANK Water (one of the two charities we were supporting).
The water filtration plant that was built there should hopefully mean that, as well as villagers having access to clean, safe drinking water, there may be a reduction in infant mortality as well as reduced expenditure on healthcare. The villagers gave us such a warm welcome and we genuinely felt humbled to visit them; I know how fortunate we were not only to visit them, but to see firsthand the difference that our fundraising has made. It was easy to forget while we were driving exactly what this trip was really about.
Did you meet with fierce competition or was it friendly?
We found it all to be very friendly. There were several occasions when we were parked up on the side of the road, usually with the door to the engine open when other teams stopped to see if we were ok when they passed us. It was very much appreciated, even though there wasn’t much they could do to help. I think most of the teams took part in the A
dventurist spirit, although there were definitely some who took it more seriously than others.
Besides your own team, what was your favourite team in the race?
It’s difficult to say, as we travelled on our own for so much of it, which in itself was a great experience. Needless to say, there were some absolute characters taking part, from a German woman who completed the race on her own (Team No Dharma No Karma) to the American teams (both called Winner Winner Chicken Dinner) who, from the sounds of it, hardly stopped driving and made the destination in around 9 days completing business deals along the way. One team, Team Wrong Turn, two American guys, managed to drive their rickshaw around 5,200km in fourteen days! Some teams travelled together in convoy, others like us saw no or hardly any other rickshaws from shortly after setting off until arriving in Pondicherry – but it was always a cause for cheer whenever any of our paths crossed.
What kind of crazy plans do you have next?
I haven’t started to think ahead to what I will do next. Suffice to say, it will have to be something out of the ordinary – lying on a beach for a couple of weeks just doesn’t appeal to me!!
. We hope to shake up some things, surprise a lot of people, and have a lot of fun. Stay tuned.
