A few top tips from the official manual provided for us by the august League of Adventurists…
- In India it is not offensive to honk your horn. It is the number one rule of road etiquette. It is applied more like a musical instrument to express various emotions as you drive along. It is applied to mobilize cows, dogs and humans. Please use it generously.
- Did anyone tell you your rickshaw is prone to Delhi Belly if you feed it carelessly? Ensure you feed it regular petrol, NOT diesel, mix oil is 2-stroke not 4-stroke.
- We don’t give spares as there seems to be absolutely no standard set of things that can go wrong so it has proved pretty pointless. Remember these vehicles are not designed for what you are about to do, so they break down and will fall apart. That is the point of the Rickshaw Run.
- Remember trucks and buses are at the top of the pecking order. You are at the bottom. Give them a wide berth or even a standing ovation especially on the highways
- Non-Indians driving decorated tuk tuks in India feature very high on the very long list that excite Indians into an uncontrollable frenzy. Expect to be mobbed often, if not always. Simply be nice and imagine you have just achieved celebrity status.
- Never have so many people been interested in you – and rightly so. There are literally hundreds of spoken languages in India – but only one everyone can understand and that’s cricket. Whilst you’re attempting to fix you carburettor in the middle of a busy junction, some helpful chap will more than likely try to enquire where you hail from. To save you time you can now with the magic of pictures point to one of these….
