I've got just back from a months trip in India. I wanted to give back packing a proper try.

Anyway.. It really sucked. Trains, buses, taxis etc are fun for a couple of days but OH MAN, how I missed the freedom of my bike.

For one, It's really hard to get off the gringo trail. Being stuck with hoards of other back packers in places made for tourists doesn't feel like travelling at all..
All the waiting around for cramped, dirty buses in back packer tourist towns made me want to scream. I'd have to get up HOURS before my bus and try and work out where I was meant to be only then to be herded into a tin box and seeing practically nothing of the country I was travelling though.. So So limiting.
I could only really go where the trains and tourist buses went until I really put some major effort in. Where usually I could just jump on my bike and go somewhere on a whim, any excursion off the back packer routes would be a major hassle.

Anyway, any time I'm having a long hard day on the bike, I'll now think about how worse it could be.. I could be backpacking. Perspective is a great thing..

Moral of the story is... Having your own wheels (2, 3 or 4) is DEFINITELY the only way to travel.

Carry on..

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

So did you have nice weather then?

30c and clear blue skies everyday.....

Can't complain really

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted,

Most probably why the Hindi are into..... Re "in car" nation. (4 wheels)

In our case it might be..... Re "on bike" nation, (2 wheels) but then

again we can only share such inane meanderings among friends here at the bar

Ted, Always happy to hear your observations. Good you are O K, some

friends recently toured India and concur with you about backpacking they

ended up pony trekking, and getting very sick.

I think the good fresh air we

breath while riding stimulates the immune system.

xfiltrate

__________________
Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com
Discover how to legally Buy, Tour and Sell a motorcycle in Argentina

What was the average age of your co-travellers Ted? Did you feel that you 'fitted-in'? [the 'psyche' etc .. thinking of this satire take].

cheers

KEITH

ps - you still thinking of coming down to Cornwall next month?

.

__________________
Right Way Round ...

Well.. There is a good mix of travellers but as always, the back packers are always 18-25 ish. That's okay though as I'm pretty immature

Where I was in Goa, it was REALLY REALLY touristic. Loads of couples on package holidays and even more Russians doing trance parties. It was really hard to find solo travellers. Lots of Israelis in groups who as always didn't want to talk to anyone.....I didn't like Goa that much at all really. It's really quickly turning into the Costa del Sol

Further south though and it all gets lovely again... Paradise beaches and laid back living. A few travellers knocking about but no hostels to meet at. It's all beach huts and bars so very hard to congregate. I was told by others that this was just a 'beach' thing and that's not the case in the rest of India. I met LOADS of people in the hostel in Bombay..

I was only there a month and only really saw Bombay and the west coast. I only had a snap shot and probably didn't see the real India at all.

I am totally inspired to go back and do it all on 2 or 4 wheels. The roads are pretty nuts and just MANIC in the cities but no worse African cities or roads..

Everyone goes on about how dangerous Indian driving is but I hired bikes and scooters for a few days at a time and I found it no different to Egypt for example.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Hi Ted
Have I missed any of your previous threads somewhere? I thought you brought Dazzers berlingo and was driving round Europe with a GF ?

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

I tried to buy his Van but he never replied to my messages. I ended up buying a Berlingo on Ebay to travel with the now EX.....

Yeah, relationship all went pear shaped when she realised that I wasn't going to settle down and be a good little boy after our Euro trip. So she had a major kick off and we broke up in December. I went to India for a month to cheer myself up.

So, I've still got the Berlingo which I'll be using for Surfing/camping trips and it will be really handy for buying/selling bikes etc.

So yeah.. Plans all up in the air. I'm looking to Canoe the Yukon this Summer then flying to San Francisco then to Hawaii in August with my new lady friend.

After that I'm heading to Aus to do a lap of the continent on a bike/camper (aint decided yet).

All I need to do is win the lottery or sell a Kidney to pay for it all

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

[QUOTE=*Touring Ted*;365062 with my new lady friend.
[/QUOTE]

d'uh! he don't learn so good does he? Good luck with new victim dude! ah erm.... I mean girlie! djee complaning about a month in India- that sux why not be happy ? many only dream of going there

It's a case of being with the right person. My ex wasn't the right person as we didn't share the same dreams, hobbies etc etc.

My new lady friend is uber keen to travel the whole world, she loves motorbikes and she's an award winning tattooist...

And I ain't complaining about India... I'm just saying how much better it would of been with my own wheels

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Totally agree about having your own means (or rented or whatever, but that you can yourself "steer").

What I still don't get is the completely misleading image about backpacking India as a laid-back, spiritual experience, take-it-easy-man, no worries, no hurries, no plans ahead, Rishikesh's yoga, Pushkar's grass, etc.

Transport (when backpacking) is an absolute pain: before you arrive to a place you should "book" your train ticket to leave... and I just cannot. What if you like the place and want to stay longer? What if you want to leave earlier? Then go for a bus, and they are a pain. Flights? Sorry, what if you like to stay in contact with the ground? Other places may be harder to move around than India, but much more rewarding. May I say that in general I didn't like the people there who "loved" India and said "you didn't find the soul of India"? Don't like them in India, nor at home. Sorry, I still don't get it, I couldn't find that karma, that soul (not "smoking" doesn't help, it seems).

Congrats that you found a right partner (your "spares" supplier was very efficient! ). Good luck with all the projects and keep in mind that OZ is reeeeally expensive, consider working there (and if selling the kidney, do it there, you'll get more $$$)!

I told you so, well maybe I didn't but that is no excuse someone of your age should know better.
You should have bought a couple of bicycles, they might be further down the pecking order than motorcycles but in terms of travel are up on buses and taxis.

You have to try things for yourself don't you....

I already did know but since I'd never really tried the whole bus/train/taxi thing PROPERLY in a 3rd world country, I couldn't know for sure.

Once can't preach about which mode of transport is better until they've tried them all really...

I'm not stranger to the bicycle. I used to race and tour on them and plan to do so again. With only a month though, it wasn't practical. I did hire plenty of scooters and smaller bikes to zip around the places I was staying which was great fun.


As to estebangc's comment..... I have to agree also. There is a lot of all that hippy and yoga hype about and most of it is totally transparently fake.

People on two week Yoga retreats calling themselves "Moon" and "Starshine" when you just know they're down the pub when they get back swearing at the football..

As all travel... It is what it is to yourself. It's all a state of mind.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Ted, the title says it all and I think I can speak for most people on this forum when I say, that is no surprise, elementary my dear Watson!

This is very true and we shouldn't forget it. Because without a (functional) bike then we would all be backpackers with way too much kit!

__________________
TurboCharger + Francois (our BMW R1200gs) '07
www.riding2up.net, blog.riding2up.net

ahhhh come on - its not all that bad! I backpacked around for 5 years -even hauling 2 surfboards around on planes, trains and buses to add to the hassle!

I've found that when I've been without independent transport I was forced into various situations that I never would have chosen but ended up being some of the most unique experiences I had. I remember the trains in India were certainly a hassle, but man what a radical scene to be in the middle of!

Staying on or getting off of the tourist trail just depends what you're up for I think.

__________________
bugsonmyboard.org
two wheeled wave hunting dispatches