Pondicherry to Tiruchirappalli

Chris' new party/riding shirt

RM Guesthouse came through with the goods. It was relatively quiet until about 7am which suited us just fine as we needed to get an early start on our trip inland.

Thanks to Chris' phone (with pre-downloaded road maps) we had a pretty good idea where we were going. Somehow, despite consulting said maps frequently along the journey, we managed to end up on a much less-direct route than that originally planned. We weren't too worried though as our roundabout route led us through some tiny villages and displayed rural India in all its glory. We cruised along roads that were scattered with eye-catching temples, and other landmarks, that are not mentioned in the guidebook but are very grand nonetheless. We saw houses made of mud with thatched roofs juxtaposed with the satellite dish that was planted on top of them. We passed both Tuk Tuks and cars with huge megaphones tied to their roofs and towns which blared music through the streets thanks to more megaphones, this time attached to telegraph poles. Indians like it loud.

To begin with we were gettng the feeling that the rural locals weren't as friendly as those we encountered in Sri Lanka who made us feel like royalty with all the waves we gave out. A few times today I waved and instead of receiving a wave in return I was met only with a blank stare. I needed a new game plan...the head wobble. I gave it a try...wobbling my head at a passing cyclist. Success! I was granted a head wobble in return. Apparently we just needed to find common ground. As a side note, head wobbling is made more fun and is easier to do when wearing a heavy helmet.

For a while we followed a river with steps leading down to it. People did laundry, bathed, washed dishes and swam as we cruised on by. Scattering the roadside in general were goats, lots and lots of goats, women in brightly coloured saris hunched over rice paddies and, in between, vast expanses of Indian's open plains. We stopped to enjoy one of the plains, and to relieve our bladders, and felt like we could have been in the middle of any great desert. A woman walked past and off into the distance towards nothingness dressed in her sari only. We have noticed many of the older women here going without the small under-top that is the norm.

Loving the yellow today

We stopped for a pre-packed lunch in the shade of a tree when some guys pulled over for a chat. Big Red had drawn them in. They asked us a bunch of the standard questions...where are you going, where are you from...before turning around and driving back in the direction from which they had come. Had they heard we were coming and driven down to meet us? As we rode kilometre after kilometre we began to notice that most people were wearing yellow today. A river of them flowed beside us as they walked toward some location unknown to us. Truck loads of yellow clad men, women and children, moved in the same direction, waving at us as they went.

A friendly truck load of locals

After missing the turnoff to Trichy and having to backtrack we finally rode into town with an exhausted Big Red. He was so exhausted he fell asleep mid-intersection. We thought he was thirsty so we got him some petrol. Nothing seemed to help much though. Thankfully, he woke up long enough to ride us around town for a couple of hours looking for a decent place to stay. Sadly, Lonely Planet was right...most of the hotel owners look at foreigners like they've just crawled out of a swamp. Eventually we settled on paying $34 AUD for the night, deciding we'd rather splurge than stay at some of the other dingy places that were on offer. We figured we'd take full advantage of their facilities, including the 'in-room wifi' that was advertised. After paying we realised such wifi did not exist. Chris gave the manager a piece of his mind and was responded to with a frustrating "this isn't Europe." We were more annoyed about the false advertising than the lack of wifi in the room and simply took advantage of the wifi in the lobby instead.

Down th road we found an el cheapo local establishment that served us up a delicious veg meal. We then let icecream in waffle cones wash away the frustrations and stresses of the day. As we lay down in bed, exhausted after 240-ish kilometres, it was quiet for the first time in a long time. The pillows were even comfortable. Despite these luxuries, Chris barely slept.

Roadside congregation