Saturday 10th December 2011

Mumbai to Igatpuri 80 miles

Well I survived my first day on the roads of India! They weren’t as bad as I thought, in fact I thought they were worse in Turkey! Only noticed this morning they drive on the left.
Managed to negotiate my way out of Mumbai surprisingly easy despite there not being any signs, just followed the traffic and my compass. Bit of change in the temperature to what I’ve got used to in europe, the biggest problem I’ve had is keeping hydrated can’t carry too much water, it just gets so hot it’s not nice drinking hot water, luckily there are loads of places to buy water along the road and it’s nice and cold! Stopped at one place had a bottle of coke, bottle of water and something to eat for 90 pence! Have to have a few beers tonight to stock up on my fluids!
The bell was good today, I kept using it all the time, think if I was in England people would think I was special keep ringing the bell. Going up a big hill towards the end of the day was quite good I was having a bit of banter with the trucks they were trying to get me to hold on and get a lift up the hill, but I was fine. I even managed to overtake a couple of really slow lorries.
By the end of the day I think I looked like an Indian, I was so dirty from the fumes and dust and because your sweating so much, it just all sticks to you! Perhaps thats why the first hotel I stopped at said they were full! Can’t get used to them shaking there head in a no gesture but saying yes, most bizarre to an English man!

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