Bodh Gaya to Kolkata

We were up at 6am this morning, and out the door not long after, knowing we had a huge final day of riding ahead of us.

Bodh Gaya was surprisingly busy considering it was so early but we got out with little fuss and rode the 22km back to the National Highway. For the record, this 22km of road is much easier to ride in daylight than at night when being blinded by the high beams of oncoming trucks and buses.

The National Highway was a smooth, uncluttered road for the most part and enabled us to ride 200km before breakfast. We stopped roadside to try and get some snacks but were refused the ones we wanted for a reason that remains unknown to us. We continued on another 50km or so before trying again, this time succeeding, and walking away with two samosas and two bajis for 20 rupees. Further down the road we found a place in the shade to sit, eat and strip off a layer of clothing as the sun was well and truly warming up. We rode hard all the way to the outskirts of Kolkata stopping only briefly twice or three times to rest our butts and backs momentarily. We knew getting through Kolkata city would be time consuming and were determined to get as much distance between us and Bodh Gaya as possible before our progress was slowed.

We were pleasantly surprised by the roads that led us on a route that skirted India's second largest city. The quality of the roads was close to the best we have seen and made a nice finale to our grand adventure. I navigated and took us through the first toll we have been required to pay. Good thing that we waited for another motorbike to go ahead of us and saw that he paid the toll otherwise we were about to ride right though as we have every other time on this journey. We paid the five rupees and continued on in the traffic which was reminiscent of Melbourne's CBD: congested and slow but bearable. We crossed tram tracks which made us feel right at home and hit only a few congested areas. We had entered Kolkata on Saturday afternoon and people weren't in as big a hurry as usual. We took note when everybody stopped at the red traffic lights and actually waited for the light to turn green before continuing. There even seemed to be less rubbish around than usual. And, there were footpaths! Actual paved footpaths! Kolkata was making a grand first impression.

There were a couple of moments that reminded us just where we were (India) but, for the most part, the ride into the city was much less stressful than anticipated. We stopped at Haravinda School, a landmarks we knew was close to Anando's house, and crossed our fingers that our old Tamil Nadu SIM cards might work for long enough so we could find out where to go next. It all went smoothly, we were directed to ride down a laneway and, as we rode down, we spotted a beaming Anando. He guided us to his home and introduced us to his lovely parents who were kind enough to be letting us stay with them.

The afternoon was to be a relaxing one which suited us very well. As we had arrived earlier than anticipated we were lucky enough to enjoy a delicious lunch, the first of many meals that we would eat around Anando's dining table. We soon realised that there would be a seemingly endless supply of food in this home and we would be fed mountains of the culinary delights for each meal. Spooned onto our plates by Anando's generous mum the food was refilled as soon as the stocks were looking low. I even got to enjoy some of the prized kopi luac coffee bought all the way from South East Asia.

When it came to the evening, I think Anando read Chris' mind too as he had a plan for takeout pizza, beers and sitting in front of the TV...something we had not done in a long time. We stuffed ourselves full of meaty Dominos pizza and cans of Scottish beer. It was a lovely evening of reminiscing and catching up and we were so, so pleased to be closing out our trip in such good company.