Sunday 30 September 2012

The Worst Bits are the Bouncy Bits.

When you get on a bus the worst bits are the bouncy bits and they can be really, really bouncy.  My bike is bungied to the roof and I am squeezed into a seat next to a guy who is in training for the Indian Olympic snoring team.  It's 8pm and there are 10 hours of this to do.  I had spent my afternoon in a small town 30kms along the road from Khemmen in a bid to avoid the Ghanesh festival which was going on.  This has been building for some days, but has now reached a peak.  The frenzy of some of the participants is a little unsettling and the fun bit seems to be dying everybody purple.  I am greeted enthusiastically when ever spotted and invited to join the heaving purple throng.  I decline and/or accelerate away.  A really nice young teacher has befriended me and helped me book my bus ticket.  I have a shave and a change of shirt so feel better even if I am still incredibly grubby.  The afternoon passes reasonably quietly at an APTDC restaurant where I eat rice and later pakora. Time is approaching to get on the bus.  A brief stressful minute as I tie down my bike among the sacks of onions and we're off.. If the bouncy bits we had to put up with for the next 10 hours are anything to go with, I am almost glad I didn't have to do it on the bike.  I also seem to have acquired a bit of a belly ache which precipitated a trip to one of the worst toilets India has to offer.

I am now in Visakhapatnam in an OK hotel on the sea front.  The day has been stormy but I intend to repair to my room with some snacks and then get a 4am start.  Going north along the coast and this time surely in the right direction....

Oh, and looking at the stats for this blog I have had quite a lot of unknown hits from around the world and 14 from Russia.  So Mr or Ms Russian person leave me a comment I would love to hear from you.

Lord Ganesh.

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