Day 22: Thimpu – Phuntsholing

Thimpu – Phuntsholing

This shortish drive turned out to be one of the most eventful days of rally so far. Shortly into the convey journey Martyn and Jenny broke down. The water from their engine had disappeared and the fan wasn’t working hard enough so the engine was over heating. Bunty and his crew fitted a rather dodgy looking fan but it seemed to do the trick and they were soon on the road. An hour or so down the road Morna and Peter were just stopped in the middle of a hairpin. This seemed rather strange until we walked down to check they were alright. The whole right wing of the car had come in contact with an oncoming lorry. Luckily the damage had been only cosmetic and after bashing out the worst of the damage we were able to drive slowly down to Phuentsholing. Later that evening we realized that one of the jeeps hadn’t made it in. It later emerged that they had taken a wrong turning at one of the junctions and hadn’t realized. They then encountered 2 punctures which meant they were stuck in themiddle fo nowhere. Luckily Tandi (entertainment officer, workshop finder, Thinlys friend and all round handyman) offered to find Rashid, Jaime, Colin and Becca in their jeep. They eventually made I back to the hotel at 230am!

Day 20/21: Paro- Thimpu + Rest Day

Paro- Thimpu

Early morning there was the option to either walk or ride a mule up a mountain to see a Buddhist monastery. Many started out but only 6 made it all the way in the end! The walk up was very top was testing and I personally did not expect it to be so hard but the monks who live up there have to do the walk nearly everyday!

Paro also had its very own festival on so everyone paid a visit there. It involved a distinctively Bhutanese style of dancing which involved masks and a very weird village fete kind of stall set up. Everyone was dressed in their national dress. The national dress for the men creates a huge pocket at their chest which they carry all their personal belongings in!

The drive onto Thimpu was only an hour. However Jean Paul broke down shortly after Paro. This time his fuel pump had packed up and the mechanics needed to either fit a new one or fix the present one. With darkness falling the only option was to tow the car to Thimpu and fix it the next day. The road condition had worsened since the recce so the route which was meant to take an hour actually took double the time. Meaning that Jean-Paul, Conrad, John and the mechanics were not in until very late!

The rest of the group went for a meal at a restaurant called ‘Bhutan Kitchen’ where we all sat on cushions on the ground and ate a traditional Bhutanese meal.

The next day was used by most people as a shopping day. Some decided to go to the local zoo, which had just one animal- The Tarkin. This is the national animal of Bhutan. It is an endangered species that lives only in the Bhutanese mountains and in the Southern parts of China. In the evening there was a cocktail party arranged for us by Thinly again. There were Bhutanese singers and dancers there to entertain us all. It was also John Noble and Sverre Berge’s birthday. Both their partners presented them with a Bhutanese national costume which they put on in front of an amused crowd.

Day 19: Phuntsholing – Paro

Phuntsholing – Paro
This being the first international classic car rally to go through Bhutan made the whole even rather spectacular. Thinly the MD of BTCL (the number 1 travel company within Bhutan) had arranged for the 2nd Kings daughter HRH Ashi Deki Yangzom Wangchuk to present all involved with the rally a scarf and to flag off the start of the rally. It had also been arranged for the whole rally group to be able to skip past the road blocks (caused by the blowing up of rocks at the side of the road!). In the road block many cars congregated and we ended up following in convoy to the hotel in Paro.

Day 18: Kalimpong – Phuntsholing(Bhutan)

Kalimpong – Phuntsholing(Bhutan)
This drive dropped down out of the mountains of India and more onto the tea plantations again. A short drive but probably the most beautiful. All arrived at Bhutan very quickly and caught John and myself unaware. We were just heading down to immigration and we happened to catch a few people going in! All the forms were already dilled in so the cross over the border was very easy!

Day 17: Koshi Tappu- Kalimpong

Koshi Tappu- Kalimpong

Michael and David began the journey to the Nepal/India border but stopped soon after, realizing that the automatic gearbox fluid was leaking. This took a few hours to fix but they were over the border in the mid afternoon. Jean-Paul had an ignition problem in between the two border towns. Luckily John Brigden was able to solve the problem by hitting the fuel pump and the blockage was dislodged. The rest of the drive was very beautiful-past many tea plantations and factories.

Day 16: Kathmandu- Koshi Tappu

Kathmandu- Koshi Tappu

With a very long day ahead (nearly 11 hours driving in total) the cars all left extremely early, many even before the crew were up! Yves-Marie in a Mercedes had a problem with over heating only a little way from Kathmandu. This was quickly resolved and didn’t cause any problems later on. The windy but pretty route was only disturbed later by Giancarlo breaking down. Once again with the exhaust muffler causing problems; the welding was not quite done accurately enough! The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. The 11km was some of the bumpiest roads but all the village children were so friendly always saying ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ that the drive was fairly pleasant and very few people complained about the state of the road.

The evening’s accommodation was safari tents. These were very simple but were quite a novelty after the hotels we have stayed in.

Day 15: Kathmandu Rest Day

Kathmandu Rest Day

The petrol trouble continued into the next day. This meant there was a lot of waiting around for everyone involved. The initial plan to take the cars to a local petrol station was abandoned when the owner of the station said he feared that there may be riots. Over the afternoon plans were made for a small tank of petrol to be delivered directly to the cars in the hotel forecourt, but with no mention of time this proved to be a long afternoon. Many took advantage of the long waiting to go and do some shopping in the market.

Morna and Peter and Will and Wilhelm drove part way to Koshi Tappu that evening to make the next days drive a bit shorter, giving them hope they may arrive in the light. This stop is also known to be one of the best viewing points for Mount Everest.

Lotus Update

Allison and Peter are convinced they have acheived a world record by being the first pople to bring a Lotus to Nepal.
The car is coping well with the fuel, which is one factor not tohave affected its performance. The problems with suspension and ground clearance were compounded on wednesday when the brake servo packed up and had to be disconnnected. It is not everyone's idea of fun to reuce braking capability when driving in the Himalayas but that's a rally for you!!

Day 14: Pokhara – Kathmandu

Day 14: Pokhara – Kathmandu
A short drive between the two big cities in Nepal. The only worry being about the lack of petrol within Kathmandu itself. David Moffat and Mike Barnes needed to be refueled along the way. The route itself was very easy with a lovely tea stop marked which looks over a very deep valley. The drive trough Kathmandu city took a long time and a lot of concentration as cars were just everywhere.

Day 12/13: Bardia – Pokhara + Pokhara Rest Day

Day 12/13: Bardia – Pokhara + Pokhara Rest Day

A pretty drive through the valleys and hill of Nepal. The Rolls belonging to Peter and Morna stayed being for some repairs to the transmission along with the green Bentley owned by Willem. The route through up very few problems and everyone was enjoying the drive. Giancarlo suddenly heard a very loud noise and on arriving at the next town parked up at the local mechanics, where they fixed the broken exhaust muffler in a few hours for the equivalent of 5 pounds. The hotel is on an island in Lake Fewa so we were required to use very old, rickety, unbalanced boats to reach the hotel!
In the morning we all finally see Martyn, Jenni, Rashid and the mechanic team after a few days. Many of the cars need a good service and lots of small jobs to be done by the mechanics. The cars were all washed by the Nepali boys in the area. The ladies used the day as an opportunity to go shopping. The jewelry and clothes were very cheap!
We were also alerted to the fact that there was a petrol strike within Nepal so the day was spent by John and Conrad searching frantically any petrol stations which may be able to provide with even a few litres. In the evening 100 litres was delivered to s so the panic was over!

Day 11: Binsar – Royal Bardia

Day 11: Binsar – Royal Bardia

The Lotus and the Bently that broke the day before had to stay behind in the morning to repair the problems from the day before. With a deadline the meet there was a bit of a rush onto the border between India and Nepal which only opens between 12-2 for cars. The windy mountainous roads made this deadline seem impossible but on arrival Olivia and Conrad had organized so that any car from the rally could pass through at anytime of the day with very little paper work to fill out. The roads through Nepal were a lot straighter, faster and emptier than those in India which meant that after an
John and Jean Noble, Ginacarlo and Agneta Puddu along with 2 other cars were ‘held up’ by some Maoists (a Nepali communist movement) along the route for 1½ hrs whilst the group held a talks and lectures. They all arrived safely though.
early start arrival was at a reasonable time.

Day 10: Corbett National Park – Binsar

Day 10: Corbett National Park – Binsar

The drive was supposed to be a short 3 ½ hour climb up to Binsar however the road conditions was bad and one waypoint was 23km wrong which fooled many people in particular David Moffat and Mike Barnes. The bad roads caused problems with the cars- Patrcik Helfer and Vanda Keel had the exhaust pipe break off their Sunbeam, Peter and Allison Coates had brake problems with their lotus, Rod and Cathy in the Sunbeam suffered clutch problems and Martyn and Jenni in the Bentley broke down with problems similar to those previously. In the end everyone arrived to the very secluded hotel in the footills of the Himalayas which had views of the mountain range.

Day 8/9: Rishiskesh – Corbett National Park+ Rest Day

Day 8/9: Rishiskesh – Corbett National Park+ Rest Day

Being only a 5 hour drive it gave the participants an opportunity to take in the beautiful landscape that changed from a mountain hill side into a jungle. The road out of Rishikesh followed the Ganges River for a short while. Once again there were no major incidences along the route. On arrival every sat on the balcony with a view over a river eating pokharas and drinking beer
The hotel arranged for elephant rides and jeep rides to begin at dawn in order to search for tigers within the park. Only one lucky group saw one walk out in front of their elephant! However for everyone else all we saw was a few monkeys and few insects. Nevertheless it was a really fun experience. In the afternoon there were more jeeps and elephant rides as well as the meachnanics fixing up any problems that ahd occured over the past few days. The evening eneded in a compettive Ping Pong championship. In the end it was won by John Brigden and Yves-Marie after many gruelling matches.

Day 7: Shimla-Rishikesh

Day 7: Shimla-Rishikesh

The journey was expected to be long so many people left extremely early in the morning. The mountainous roads were very bumpy as usual but there was only one problem. Walter Graber’s Mercedes. In the engine there was a small ‘poof’ that seemed at first to be a potentially serious problem. However after examining the situation it was as airlock in the new radiator that had been fitted a few days before. Then later that day he suffered a puncture in Nahan and on the other side of the town there was an accident blocking the route so they were diverted around the town. Finally they arrived, very late that evening. The group had a few drinks together overlooking the valley before dinner.

Day 6: Shimla Rest Day.

Day 6: Shimla Rest Day.

This rest day was well and truly needed after a coupe of long driving days. Everyone took full advantage of the Spa and pool facilities as well as taking time to fix any problems with the cars of which there were no major problems! Many stories and pictures appeared in the local paper. At 5pm most of the group sat down to have tea and chocolate cake to celebrate the birthdays of Peter Noble and Olivia Lacey, one of the organizers.

Day 5: Dharamsala – Shimla

Day 5: Dharamsala – Shimla
The road continued to be hilly and windy. Many of cars left early but not as early as days before. The road condition continued to be quite poor so many cars became a little more damaged. Rod and Cathy in the Sunbeam Alpine had a puncture and the Bentley gearbox went again. When John and I stopped to check all was ok the bonnet of our Jeep started smoking. It had a slightly over heated engine which was easily sorted out with 2 and half bottles of engine coolant and over a litre of water. With a rest day tomorrow many participants are planning work that needs to be done on the cars and a bit of a lie in too.

Please leave comments in the mesage board and I will try to reply more often now that I'm up to date and more in the swing of things!

Jessy

Pictures - On the road

Cars on route to Jodphur





David Inns & Pamela Wallis in their 1966 Volvo 144S








Peter Weber & Morna Milton in the 1935 Rolls Royce 20-25 Sedanca de Ville







The Bentley Derby Special and Sunbeam Alpine







Rod Medew & Cathy Zanella use an airjack to fit new tyre on the 1962 Sunbeam Alpine

Day 4: Amritsar- Dharamsala

An easy few hours to begin with but as we hit the Himalayas the roads became a lot more windy and more tricky to drive. Most people made it into the hotel with time to spare. Giancarlo and Agneta Puddu in the Volvo has a slight problem at the beginning of the day with their exhaust but this was quickly cleared up by our wonderful Indian mechanic and his team – other than that no major problems along the route. The hotel was close to a town called McLoed Ganj -the home to the Dalai Lama and many Tibetan monks. The pot holes and bad quality road surface have started to affect a few of the cars, with shock abosorbing leaking and a lose screw in a radiator caused the far to smash through it. The view from the hotel was amazing across a huge valley and the mountains behind.

Picture shows Martyn Godfrey & Jennie Robbie setting off from Dharamsala in the 1948 Bentley Special

Day 3: Gajner-Amritsar

A really long day, everyone was out very early and very few incidences on the road so nothing much to report. Very long, straight roads meant a very tiring drive but it picked up a huge distance and we made good progress towards the Himalayas. The prospect of seeing the golden temple at dusk was encouraging. Was a spiritual visit for those who made it one time. Early night all road due to long day after a lovely buffet dinner.

Picture shows The Golden Temple in Amritsar

Day 2: Jodhpur-Gajner

For Martyn and Jenny this was the start of the rally. Everything was going fine until part way along the route when their enigine cut out. This occurred a few times but was sorted out. The then brakes lock and the car needs a whole new whhel bearing, which could have taken a few hours to fix it took all day. This happened as our Jeep suffered a nasty puncture only 1km behind. After along day in the jeep and several near misses with cows later we arrived at Gajner Palace Hotel to meet all the other participants at a meal in the desert. Finally Jenny and Martyn arrive a 430 am after being on the road for nearly 21 hours!
This day also accruded the highest number of roadkill. Currently stading at: 4 birds, a donkey, and an antelope

Picture shows cars at Gajner Palace Hotel

Pictures Day 1- The Flag Off

Pictures from top :

- Event organiser John Brigden with the Maharana of Udaipur
- Peter & Sue Noble in the 1955 Bentley Continental as the Maharana starts the Rally
- Allison & Peter Cotes in the 1967 Lotus Elan S3 are flagged off
- David Moffatt & Michael Barnes in the 1961 Bentley S2 leave through the Palace Gates
- Richard Fenhalls & Heather Milne-Taylor in the 1964 Mercedes Benz 280 SL

Pictures Day 1

Picture from top :

- Cars at the Maharana's Palace
- Final Preparations at the Maharana's Garage
- Richard Fenhalls & Heather Milne-Taylor and the 1964 Mercedes Benz 280 S
- Cars await the start of the Rally at the Palace Gates
- Giancarlo & Agneta Puddu and the 1965 Volvo PV at Bunti's Garage opening

Day 1: The flag off. Udaipur- Jodhpur

The cars and their drivers were waved off successfully by the Maharana of Udaipur. The start of the event was big news in India with both loacal and national papers turning up to interview John Brigden (event organiser) and take photos of all the classic cars and the participants in them. The flag off attracted both the locals and tourists to come and watch.
As said before the flagging off event was a success however the Bentley driven by Martyn Godfrey and Jenny Robbie was driven straight to Bunty’s garage where it had a full service to try and determine the mystery problem that had been holding the car back all weekend. In the end the problem with the car took so long to diagnose it meant staying an extra night in Udaipur for them. Martyn was with the car until 1am. After looking at many possibilities the true problem was dirty fuel in the fuel tank. All other cars arrived safe and sound without major incidences on the first day to the very striking Jodphur Palace Hotel. The route was fairly easy and it accounted for a stop off in Ranakpur to see an ancient Jain temple.

Picture shows Martyn and Jenny meeting the Maharana at the Flag off.

A Lotus Update

from Peter and Allison Cotes

Lotus is behaving its self and showing a clean pair of heels to most local traffic.
The nosiest car on the rally having squashed its silencer on the speed bumps. Now in need of new shock absorber after some rather enthusiastic driving.

Lake Palace Pool

Lake Palace

As you can see by the picture everyone is staying at the beautiful Lake Palace in Udaipur.

The city itself is a very vibrant and bustling city even though it is one of the smallest in India. Being in Rajasthan all the colours used in the clothing are very bright making the Sari's more beautiful than they already are. The architecture here is very distincitve and the attention to detail is outstanding. One thing I personally have noticed is the friendliness of the staff at the hotels and the general public-they are always so willing to work and offer their services.

The contestants have ben tkaing advantage of all the wonderful Spa treaments offered by the hotel as well as embracing the richness and diversity of the shopping outside the hotel complex. These pastimes were very much appreactiater after the long flights that many endured from all over the world.This year we have participants from a wide variety of countries including Italy, Norway and Australia to name a few.

On the first evening the participants were formally greeted by the crew at a small drinks 'do' on the Sunset Terrace of the Lake Palace before retiring early to bed to recover. The terrace, as suggested by the name, is in the perfect position to watch the sun fall behind the hotel. The white walls of the building sometimes turns a yellowy tint from the sunlight which, we have been assured looks wonderful.

The following day (Saturday) was more for looking at and repairing many of the cars. These were kept in the Maharana's classic car garage, who in the evening invited the rally party and crew up to his private rooms in the palace where he hosted a cocktail party. We also met his family and his pride and joy - His MG car... I dont know the model but it was classic and beautiful. After this we slowly made our way to a group meal in the most majestic of settings. Flowers lined our entrance and the food was divine and plentiful. This whole evening provided a great oppurtunity for the group(contestants and crew) to chat to one another and get to know everyone a bit better.

Sunday started off with the official opening of our Indian mechanic Bunti's car garage. The whole event turned out to be much larger than he expected but he was so greatful to all the cars that turned up and for the sheer volume of people and press who also appeared. The cars attemped to follow in convey on the way there but the Indian roads were so packed with people, scooters, tuk tuk's, jeeps, cars, cows, sheep, dogs... i could go on. it was so hard to follow the car in front. Eventually we all made it and the event involved many members of Bunti's family, an Indian cake and many photos with the infamous mechanic himself. A truly Indian event but alot of fun!

The afternoon was set side for last minute preparation be that for the cars or for oneself in the Spa.

Everyone is lovely and we all seem to be getting on so well that we are really looking forward to setting off tomorrow.

Jessy

Hello! And welcome to the Himalaya Rally 2007! Just over a week to go and this will be the place where all the news and pictures from the rally will be updated as and when an internet connection can be found. If you scroll down you will see a map-this pinpoints where we are stopping and hotel names if you click on the numbers. I will try and write a new post for each stop to keep you updated!

If it is not already possible I will try and create a spcae on this site where you can leave messages for people on the rally or you can ask any questions!

I will write back again soon!

Jessy