When you have a list of 250 items to pack, you might forget your moustache trimmer. The good thing is, India or Bhutan, Bhutan or China – every man needs a moustache trimmer. So, in Hami, China,  we were trying to cross a huge intersection to get to a store on the other side of the road. There was heavy traffic and crossing the road was confusing. Fortunately, we saw a couple of policemen at the corner who we reached out for help. Unfortunately, we didn’t speak each other’s language and we were swiftly taken to the police station. A couple of hours and intervention by our ever-helpful guide later, we were out of the police station. We are yet to understand the exact reason but what we know is any uncommon behaviour is treated with suspicion and the police play it safe. It is a rather sensitive area and they are extra careful there. Who knew a moustache trimmer would take me to the insides of a Chinese police station.

Anyway, on the road we were next morning.

Packed lunch because there is no restaurant for a 400 kilometer stretch! And off we went again at a speed of 120-170 km/hour.

The Police in China are friendly but they are very wary of strangers and foreigners. There is a lot of checking on the road and each major stop took about 30-45 minutes extending the day by that much longer. On Sunday, one of the cars in our group, found itself stuck on the road and we waited for it to be cleared. By then it was 10 PM, and we had a good couple hours to drive to our destination. The car was cleared but since it was night the police got stricter with its checking.

The roads became plainer and straighter and we took to speeds of 140 to 180 km/hour. As is possible with speed a bunch of us ran into the risk of meeting with a bad accident, after which we decided to restrict speed to a steady 120 km/hour.

And we stop for gas under surveillance.

This day, 10^th May started at 8.30AM. We drove 12-13 hours and had a 8-hour stopover for exit from China and entry into Kyrgyzstan.  We reached our destination at 2AM local time (4AM China time!). But what a beautiful welcome it was. Not by hotels, but by mother nature!

And now we are enjoying a rest day!

Looking back at how far we have come! 47 of 72 days, 7 of 10+ weeks, 13,500 of 21,000 kilometers…

You would think the best thing after 9 days of driving 10-12 hours without break would be the “rest day”. No, sir! The best thing that can happen to a parent who is on a long, long drive is a surprise visit from the son!! We just stood there at the room door in the middle of the night, unable to believe it was him. Were we missing him so much that he is in our dreams? No! It was him!

Oh and look what Anand brought along. The much looked-forward to batch of theplas! We can’t remember the last time we ate a chapati. Who knew the Chinese for “thepla” is, “a bright ray of sunshine.”

The rest day took Pushpa and Nishi to panda park while Anand and I took Sohum out for servicing.

Meanwhile, along with Sohum, I went for an over-alling too.

Rest day done, we visited a park which exhibited the oldest irrigation system known.

This sight-seeing meant an additional 3 hours to our usual 12-hour drives. So, we reached 1 AM of the next calendar day, after having left at 8 AM. A lot of fun, challenge and thrill was added to the dark-night drive with winding roads … and … wait for it … snowfall!

This is what most days this week were like. Through a variety of landscapes …

through snow, snow, and more snow …

and did I mention winding roads? Not enough.

Some times a picture just isn’t enough.

10+ days in China and no “Great Wall of China”, you must wonder where did the wall disappear. It is there, alright!

Along the way we crossed the halfway distance mark, 10,500 kms up!

Equally mesmerizing is landscape of this area…

That’s most of what we have been upto this week. Let us leave you with this merriment on the road side. Our group was singing and soon enough we gathered some bystanders. And India or China, everyone needs just a little push to join in the fun. And join he did!

Oh, just in case you are wondering if all is going well. We had a little bit of an upset – I lost my phone. Just in case, anyone is trying to get in touch, that’s why I haven’t responded. Oh well…only a small hiccup!

~ ~ ~

If you would like to receive more frequent (almost daily) updates here are the social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you would like weekly updates, please send an e-mail to badribaldawa@gmail.com.

Looks like it is right out of a Rohit Shetty film, doesn’t it? But, that’s us. This is the “Road to London”ers on the 20 lane road mentioned last week. You can’s see all 20, but we could and boy, what a sight it was!

Little did we know that, this would be just one of the many incredible sights we would see this week. First off, each of the first four nights, we spent in four different countries.

4 days 4 countries…in a car! From left-hand-side driving to right and back. Can’t say this enough – this is what we thought a real road trip is all about!

And isn’t this what a milestone should really look like?

And we had a birthday in the gang! Our own Ninni turned all of 10 this week! Words like these (her latest blog post) don’t really sound like they are from a 10 year old, right? Or they maybe do 🙂

Now that we are in China we are going to be here for a bit – 6,000 kms. We are quite literally driving through the ins and ins of China. Chiangkong, Kunming, Jing Hong, Jinghonj, Kunming, Xichen and you thought China was only Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou!

Those earth formations look like man-made cathedrals, don’t they!?

We have picked quite some pace now. We are driving at 100-120 kmph on winding mountain roads. The Chinese ghat roads have good surface and are divided. Such a new experience!

It is getting colder too. In a way, this is the other side of the Himalayas.

Oh by the way, just in case you are wondering, our staple diet these days is rice and mango pickle or groundnut chutney. Thankfully breakfast buffets have abundant fruits, cheese and breads for us! But when the company is so much fun, who cares about food. Presenting to you, “The United Colours of #RoadToLondon”

We leave you with some abstract fun for you. Not always, does everything need to make sense. Like, does it make sense that we are already done with half the trip! By the end of today, we would have finished half the number of days and weeks and yet we would have covered 41% of the distance. A lot of fast driving on our way! By God’s grace all is well and as per schedule so far…

If you would like to receive more frequent (almost daily) updates here are the social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you would like weekly updates, please send an e-mail to badribaldawa@gmail.com.

Week 3 started with a 2 day stint in Bhutan. After overcoming a few “permit-related” challenges, we were well on our way to Thimpu, Bhutan. After having been through some internal parts of the country, days in the city seem … well … lame. While Thimpu was a shade better Darjeeling was quite disappointing. There are only so many ways modern buildings can be made interesting.

 Bhutan and India – this week we saw a handful of animals. An unusual crocodile park in Phuentsoling, Bhutan crocodiles are breeded for distribution to zoos. Elephants along the road in a forest and rarities like One-horned Rhinos at the Kaziranga National Park.

Crocodile Park, Phuentsoling

Rhinocerous, Kaziranga National Park

Deer, Kaziranga National Park

Elephant, Kaziranga National Park

Ninni, Kaziranga National Park

Speaking of animals, you should read a bit about Ninni’s tryst with the insect folk of Buxa forest on her blog. “As many insects as there are leaves in a dense forest”, was the description. Top it off with no power, closed windows because there weren’t netted. It was a restless night in the forest.

Buxa Forest

We next made our way to Mawlynong. Here’s a “Did you know?” for you. Did you know that Mawlynong, Meghalaya is known as the cleanest village in Asia.

 Imagine this! A foot bridge made with roots! Can carry elephants too!

Foot Root Bridge, Mawlynong

The rest of the week was full of caves and waterfalls.

Buxa Waterfall

Mewsmai Caves, Meghalaya

Arwah Caves, Meghalaya

Nogkalikai Falls, Meghalaya

On the roads of Assam, we also saw a disciplined protest by NGO representatives and women workers who were raising a voice against an unauthorised protection fee of Rs. 10 per week being charged.

Bongaigaon, Assam

This is something we have seen through and through. No matter what their problems. Genuinie smiles to welcome you, everywhere.

Local from Mawlynong

Local from Buxa

We made it to Cherapunjee! You know what that is, right? Pushpa’s dream come true! Yes, it was raining when we got there. But we saw a clear sky too.

We are now going to spend a few days in Nagaland and Manipur before we join Adventure Overland to head out of the country. There is limited connectivity in these areas, so updates are sparse.

Know we are safe and you keep safe too!

Until next week, then…if you would like to receive more frequent (almost daily) updates here are the social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you would like weekly updates, please send an e-mail to badribaldawa@gmail.com.

Day turns into night, night turns into day. Road leads to hotel, hotel leads to another road. The roads have begun to get winding now as we go up the Himalayas. And yet it is to sink in – this is actually happening.

In the day-to-day drives, media engagements, family visits, we don’t realise how far we have come.

If last week’s highlights were temples, this week’s highlight is universities and rope-ways.

An impressive school in Darjeeling                               Nalanda University Excavations

So, Ninni is scared of heights and was unwilling to sit on the open-bucket type, single rope-way seats at one of the spots. After a lot of convincing, she very nervously agreed.

Before                ————->                During           ————->      After

And here is “after ka after” for you – Ninni after her next ride. Our seasoned rope-way traveller has now lost all fear of height.

This week we also saw the real adventure begin. So here we are, driving along down the road from one destination to another, just another day in this road trip. And we find ourselves at the head of a very narrow bridge. Broad enough for just one car. And the bridge was long, really long. Suddenly we stopped and leaned forward. Ninni yelped. “What happened?”

“Uh oh.” I said. “Ayyo.” muttered Pushpa. “What?” asked Ninni.

“Bus.” I said, which made Ninni say, “Oh.” I’m pretty sure she still didn’t understand the situation.

A bus had shown up in the middle of the bridge – facing us. It was unpredicted and caught us all off guard. I looked behind me. From the back window I could see the vast expanse of the bridge behind with a line of vehicles on it. As if it were a competition, vehicles lined up behind the bus too. I sighed, and allowed myself to slump a little. We were going to spend a lot more than just a long time on this bridge.

Ultimately we crossed and escaped dropping down in the river by an inch or so.

Worry not, that is behind us and all ended well. But it was amusing to see a single line traffic jam.

No, no photos. Our hands were occupied biting our nails.

And now here we are 14 out of 72 days spent with nature, buildings, temples, media, family and so much more. 3,000+ out of 21,000+ kms driven through the ins and outs of North and North-Eash India. And yet, it feels like just the beginning because only 1 out of 18 countries have been visited.

We are experiencing Bhutan as we speak right now. The Himalayas are the same. The trees lush green. The rivers gurgle like they do in India too. But it still feels like a different place. Maybe because we passed this grand gate that’s called the border. Maybe because we were asked for official documents identifying the country we come from. Maybe because the soldiers wear different uniforms. Nothing takes away from how serene this place is.

Until next week, then…if you would like to receive more frequent (almost daily) updates here are the social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you would like weekly updates, please send an e-mail to badribaldawa@gmail.com.