Breakdown! 8th May 2006

I woke up early feeling really refreshed and was all set to leave Orchha. I could see Angeli and Rishi outside my door through a gap in the curtains. It was 07:10! I had a shower and finished packing my rucksack and loaded up my bike. The two kids were hanging around and they asked me if I’m definitely coming back in June and I told them (again) that I would really try. I couldn’t give them an answer though, when they asked me the exact date that I was returning. Kumkum was sitting on the doorstep in her pyjamas looking forlorn. The uncles and parents were out in force to say goodbye to me, I called the two kids around the corner to say goodbye to them and gave Rishi 50 Rupees to get his spokes fixed and Angeli 15 Rupees to buy some sweets. They gave me a big hug and I had to pull myself away from them.

I was on the road by 07:50, the sun was already hot and the road was clear. I made good progress until I got near a town called Chhatarpur, which is about 100 km from Orchha. The bike started spluttering (technical term!) and I thought that I might have got some “dirty” fuel when I filled up about 30 km’s earlier, so I decided to carry on and hope that it would clear itself. As I entered the town I noticed dozens of mechanic shops, I’d never seen as many in one stretch. I had run out of water about half an hour before and was really thirsty and I didn’t see one shop other than mechanics or electrical shops in the main bit of the town, I decided to carry on and stop further up the road. The bike was still spluttering along and I noticed a shop selling cola, so I pulled in, and as I stopped the bike some guy walked over and asked me what was wrong with it. I told him that I thought it was a fuel problem, and that I was going to get a drink before I even thought about it. I sat there for half an hour and had two bottles of Fanta (600ml each) and a litre of water and then had a word with the guy.

Turns out that he is a mechanic and his workshop was right beside where I bought the water. I checked the oil (full) and the fuel line (seemed clear) and then asked him to have a look at it. He kicked the engine over once or twice and there was an audible “click” coming from it. He took off the tappet cover and told me that the push rod was bent. The mechanic who serviced my bike in Orchha had adjusted it and obviously didn’t do it right and it got damaged during my ride. He stripped the top of the engine down (took him about two minutes), took out the bent part and cycled off down the road to get a new part from the Enfield agent. I got myself another litre of water and chatted with the locals and a smooth looking guy in shades came up to me and introduced himself as the editor of the Something or other Express (the name escapes me at the moment) and he asked me if it was ok if he interviews me for the paper. He pointed out where his office was and I told him that I’d pop over once I got the bike sorted. About twenty minutes later the mechanic comes back and fits the part, the bike starts second kick and sounded much better that it has for a while. The bill came to 385 Rupees (which at the current rate is £4.81 GBP), not bad for an hour and a half’s breakdown, including parts.

I went over to see the editor and met the rest of the papers staff. I spent about an hour there and he asked me all sorts of questions about where I came from and what I thought about India. “What do you think of the people?”, “very nice but can be a bit intrusive at times”, “What do you think on the roads?”, “some of the roads are really good, especially the toll roads, but the drivers are crazy”. “What do you think of the women?”, “I get the feeling that I can look but can’t touch”, “What do you think of the food?”, “most of it is really nice, the nicest food I’ve had on my trip so far (white lie)”, “Can you tell me a funny story?”. Blah Blah Blah. They then took some photos of me reading the paper and some of me on my bike. They also want me to return to their offices and let them know what I thought of Khajuraho. And that’s how I became a roving reporter for the Something or other Express! The interview will be in the paper tomorrow, so I’ll buy a copy of it and take a photo of the article and put it on the blog. Did I mention that it’ll be all in Hindi?

I then hopped on my bike and missed my turn and ended up taking an 80 km detour, which I didn’t really need in the heat. I booked in at the Zen Hotel which Estelle recommend and had a lovely tuna pizza and a beer. I ventured out at in the evening and got an endless stream of hassle, I’m certainly not in Orchha any more. Maybe it was the two weeks spent in Orchha, maybe it was the tiring ride here today, but I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to any of the locals tonight.

As soon as I stepped out of the hotel I was hassled by someone wanting to “practice his English” (i.e. sell me something) and he wouldn’t leave me alone, I crossed the road and he followed me, I ended up turning around to him and telling him to leave me alone in a stern voice, and he took the hint. It didn’t stop the others though and I eventually turned around and went back to the hotel, maybe it won’t seem as bad tomorrow.