Page 29a

Wednesday Oct 23^rd

We walked along to the Post Office to post Letters to Brenda, Mum & Nar Singh.

In my letter to Nar Singh I told him of the Varanasi Road house & their

demands & asked him to report it if he thought that way. I told him that

we were collecting any mail from Madras Post Office & if he cared to

write his letter would be welcomed. The rain had cleared & although

on the cloudy side it was drying.   The Post Office is a dirty place but

Places in India are like that. Children were asleep in the doorway it is

Obvious that they had sheltered from the rain during the night.

Thursday 24^th Oct

After having breakfast in the State Guest House we proceeded to pack our belongings

into the Van. We paid the Bill which was very reasonable & left it was then 10AM

We had no difficulty in finding our way to the N.H.5.    The road was good for a

quite a few miles but then it went back to the single line road & things became a

but difficult for driving. Traffic started to increase. It was obvious that it

was a holiday.  All Shops & Stalls were open and Music was just Blasting out

from Loud Speakers.    In the Villiages the roads are terrible. Water lay in

Ponds not pools, each Village is densley populated both with people and cattle

this made our progress very slow, but the people were very helpful and obliging.

As we left these villiage we always found we were back to the Single

line traffic and Twice we had to leave the road and make diversions, we

had to follow a track that had been made through a field, it was mud and

the centre mould was scraping under the Van, in another diversion we

were held up in the road by a Flock of Sheep.   Level Crossings were

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frequent and it appeared that we were crossing & re crossing the same

track of Railway lines each time, but only once were the gates closed

this gave us time to have a cool drink.  As the time got on the Sun was

sinking & driving against the Sun was hard work. A Coach broke

down in the most awkward place & completely blocked the road for a

considerable time.    As we got on, we saw a building with a

large piece of ground & we stopped to ask if we could park there for the

night.  Again we were fortunate, a Young man in the audience was

able to speak English and told us that he would direct us to a Rest

House nearby, this he did.    We were made welcome here, we

could still hear the music blasting out from the near by Village.  One Rest

House along the road had offered us only an hours stop. the milage

at this place where we did rest for the night was 10537

Friday 25^th Oct

The gaity of the Holiday caused us to lose a bit of sleep. The Music just

went on till the early hours but after a brief stop it started up again &

continued on and on.   This Rest House was very clean, and the

children here were those of the Family and proved very helpful, this

Rest House was at NORASANNAPETO.  It is one which can be recommended

to any Traveller.  We left after filling up with water, which was obtained from

a large well & it obviously supplied the Villiagers as they all came with

Pots on their heads to fill.  As we got on the road the conditions became

very bad, the road was full of large holes & to describe it would

be impossible but it took 4¹/₂ hours to cover 100 miles this was in

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2^nd & 3^rd gear.  The Price of Petrol throughout India is between

75 & 80p per gallon.   It is sold in Litres, but when you take into

consideration the amount of low gear work that you do, It

would be fair to say that Petrol in India costs around £1

per gallon.   Women working in the fields were carrying baskets

on their heads and each basket was full of Ground nuts.   These

Women come in a continuous line from the field. Rice, we have

seen that growing in every part of the Country that we have been

through.   All the Traffic that we have seen today whether it

be Coach, Lorry, Car Bus & Horse & Bullock Carts is gaily decorated

just like the Town Carnivals of England.   All the people wear gay

Colours.   Yesterday the Music played but today we had more of it

Indeed it was a first Class Gala Day in this Part of India. Roads were

still bad and after making several diversions through fields of Mud we

finally stopped to let the Engine cool off.   Level crossings were still

frequent, we reached a PWD Rest house although it was only 3PM

we decided to stop here. The villiage children made quite a nuisance

of themselves Shouting at us and Throwing stones but when the Head

of the place arrived they went.   In one Villiage that we came to the

crowds were heading towards it on foot from about 3-4 miles out

some had just a Goat whilst others were bringing Herds of Bullocks,

Sheep & Goats, after we had passed this Villiage we met Hundreds

of People coming towards it from the other direction with Herds of

Cattle.  That Villiage was certainly packed during that afternoon.

Page 30b

 

 

We settled down in an Air Conditioned room had a meal & retired.

It gets dark in these parts just before 6PM.  Our milage 10657

 

Saturday 26^th Oct

We started off just before 8AM and again the very bad road

conditions held us to a low speed.  It must be emphasized time

& time again that the roads in India are more than in a

disgusting state.  The Pot holds and ditches are tremendous and

one has to be careful to keep on to that Single stretch of read despite

the condition of it, there is a drop on each side of the road.

It was certainly Mothers Washing day because for miles and miles

we saw washing being done & dried.   They lay the clothes out on

the grass, on the Shrubs & even on the road.   We were held up

at one point where two Lorries had gone off that single line stretch of

road, evidently in trying to overtake & they were stuck in the Mud

the road was completely blocked, we had to reverse and take a

diversion which although we did finally manage to get through. I

must confess that I never thought it possible. We went on and

then crossed the Godavari bridge which is nearly a mile long. It

is obvious that the R.A.C. have no knowledge of this bridge being

built as they advise us to Ferry the Van across this River. On the

other side of the bridge it appeared that a vehicle had left the road and

plunged over the bank. Crowds of People just gazing over the Top

Further along the road we saw Two Lorries overturned at different

places they had gone off the single track of the road, sank into

 

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the mud and overturned.    We saw a few Donkeys at this stage

It was the first signs of Donkeys we had seen since we left

Pakistan.   Cattle still cross this Highway at will & this is

dangerous for the driver but I must add that as one gets

further towards the South of India, the Cattle seem to be better

controlled & again the driving standard of most drivers

is much better, but the Horn is still used frequently. We did

stop and watch the goats on the mountain side, but then found

a Rest House at 3PM & will stay until Monday, we travelled

167 miles today & our Total reading is now 10824. Level crossing

along these roads are extremely dangerous, at one point you have a

sharp right turn & within 50 yards a crossing, no signs, no warnings.

We did see quite a number of women walking along the road with

Shoes balance on their heads, but they were barefooted.

 

Sunday 27^th Oct

We were compelled to stay at this Rest House because we were short

of Currency, so as the Bank will not open until 10AM tomorrow we

have to wait here.   It has been Bank holidays on Thurs, Fri &

Sat, today being Sunday we have been unable to exchange

money and as we need Petrol we shall have to wait, but we are

now within Two or Three days of reaching Madras.   This place in

itself is quiet but we have the Main road and the Railway just near

by and in India it is Steam Engine type so rather noisy at

intervals.   We have found that Lizards are common in these

 

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parts but they are harmless, they run up and down the walls

and windows. Around this area are vast plantations of Bananas

and Coconuts

 

Monday 28^th Oct

            The Rest House that we stayed at overnight was in ERULU. It

was overrun with ants and there were plenty of Lizards on the walls

and windows but they are quite harmless.   The charge here was

30 Rupees for the two nights which I thought was excessive and will

query it when we visit the India Tourist Office, also I will

report the Vananassi affair.   We waited in the grounds because

the Bank did not open until 10.30 so I cleaned the Van.  After Elsie

had finished in the Bank we started off it was now 11.15. The road

was good for the first 90 miles, but after that it was the usual Single

line road with plenty of Pot holes. We had 2 diversions but at

the second was where a Lorry had missed the diversion & plunged into

the water.   The Towns that we passed through were very busy and

there appeared to be more women folk about then we have seen in

India before.   We reached a Rest House but as it had only one

bed we decided to use the Van.  It was a dirty looking place

& we were even refused permission to wash. Milage 10973

 

Tuesday 29^th Oct

We took an early leave of this place after just having a cup of Tea

after driving about Twelve miles we saw the first batch of

Monkeys just hopping & playing in the road.   The road was

 

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good and I should say that apart from a stretch of about 20 miles

and another of five miles we had quite a good run and did the

remaining 170 miles to Madras by 3PM.   We had sorted out

a Hotel but the job was to locate it, this took the usual time

of about one hour, we had assistance and Booked in for three

days with Full Board.   There were more Monkeys along the

road as we neared Madras.   Traffic here is what the

Police have no control over.  There are no Traffic Lights, but

the Policeman just holds a little round board in his hand, and

on that board is STOP, but Traffic comes from all directions and

overtakes from all angles.    We intend to do what business we

can in Madras driving the next Two or Three days.   As you near

Madras you notice that there are not so many herds of Bullocks & Goats

but Plenty of Cattle are driven through the streets of this Town during

the busy hours and this adds to the driving troubles.  This Hotel

is Claridges Hotel and we have a suite here    Bedroom, Lounge and

Bathroom, no Bath just a Shower, plus Toilet and Washbasin. It is

Air Conditioned throughout   our Milage at Madras is 11143.

 

Wednesday 30^th Oct.

    We had quite a good nights rest at this Hotel because it was so

quiet to what we had been use to, when we went to the Dining Room

& were having Breakfast, we were advised by, I took him to be

the Owner, to move to a smaller suite which would be cheaper for us

after it was shown and we had inspected it we decided to move in

 

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It has a Bath plus the other essentials and another advantage

was that we could Park the Van in the shade of the Trees outside

the door.   We went to the India Shipping Co by Taxi to find

out all the details of shipping the Van and ourselves to Penang

We had ‘Booked’ whilst in Delhi and that Office had notified this

one at Madras and it was already entered into their Books. We

were told the prices and told we required drafts from the Bank

Paying in Foreign Currency is an advantage and it is what

brings the price down.   We paid £68 each for ourselves with all

Food and First Class Cabin.   The Van was a bit more expensive

than quoted in Delhi and Cost £130 but these prices are far

below any quotation in England.   Our Bank had quoted

the 13^th Nov for the account to commence so as we are two days

ahead of schedule we will have to return on Friday to complete

Elsie has now written to the Bank at Falmouth to notify them

to bring the Singapore account forward one month as we are not

prepared to wait until Jan 1^st to make a booking for crossing to

Australia. We have written to Nell, Brenda, Mum, Bank, Hugh

and Iain and these will be Posted in Madras on Thursday.

 

Thursday 31^st Oct

Leaving the Hotel about 10AM we got a Taxi to Mount Rd our object was

to contact the AASI and make arrangements for them to attend to all the

Customs work and also to the loading of the Van on to the Boat on 17^th Nov

After several enquiries it was agreed that we should get all the Tickets

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on the morning of Friday 1^st Nov and attend the same Office at 3PM

where the correct official would be in attendance to deal with all the

matters concerned.    We then walked along to the Tourist Office to

obtain information about spending a few days in Bangalore & that

part of Southern India, we were told there that the roads in these

parts are good.   Then across to the Victoria Technical Institute

where we bought Salad Spoons and Forks for Soveniers for Brenda

and Nell, then along to Spencers where we bought First Books

for Loraine and Grace, we also bought other oddments which were

rather expensive.   Upstairs to the Post Office where the letters were

posted also were two Picture cards for Hugh and Iain, back to

the Hotel for Lunch, we did not go out again but had a rest during

the afternoon.

 

Thursday Oct 17^th

This P.W.D. Resthouse is one which every traveller should avoid. We

were not allowed to use the Beds & I slept outside whilst Elsie used

the Van. There were about 12 men talking loudly & laughing

till very late, this was disturbing & again they were about

early & woke us up.    Well we had had something to eat we

Page 26b

 

asked the fellow who had told us that he was the Works Supervisor

for the Bill, he said the charge was 2.75. I gave him 3 rupees

and the amount of 2.75 was entered into the Book. Then he

demanded that I pay the Gateman 10 Rupees & also He wanted

5 Rupees.   I demanded that he signed for this but he would

not do this. He opened another book & I wrote in this, but

he would not sign.   Whilst I argued about the amount the

Gateman stood by his side with a length of Cycle chain &

Padlock.    For the 18 Rupees paid we could get nothing other

than the 2.75 that was entered into the Book.   I have the

address of this Road House & also the name of the Works

Supervisor & intend to write to our Police Officer friend at

New Delhi & also report it later to a Tourist Information

Centre, after leaving we hoped to travel along this road

as far as Barhi, then divert away from the R.A.C. route &

thus avoid Culcutta by doing this we would save about

150 miles. All the way along the road to Barhi the road was in a

terrible condition, at one stage we were behind a lorry when it had to

pull over into the mud to allow another lorry from the opposite direction to

pass, it went down into a Pot hole & I braked hard because it all but

fell over on to its side. Another lorry carrying coal had hit the side of a bridge

and overturned, it blocked the road but the oncoming lorries just drove

straight through the Coal which covered the road. Other Lorries had

broken down & thus caused havoc. We had to stop at 2.30PM because

Page 27a

the driving in 2^nd Gear had caused the engine to overheat. We stayed for

just over an hour to let it cool down. The Temperature was in the 90^s . We had

the usual audience at this Stop, Women beggars pester you, but my

advice is to ignore them, because if you give to one then you must expect the

whole of India to feed.            It is obvious that the Transport Minister of India

does not use the road, he certainly has no idea of the conditions under

which the Tourist has to drive. We did not reach Barhi so decided to stop at

a Rest House. This overland journey from England to Australia was to have

been a holiday for us, but it had become real hard work because of the

appalling state of the roads, it was 5.30 & we found a P.W.D & stayed the

night the milage 9908

Friday 18^th Oct

We were quite satisfied with this Rest house & they charged 2.50. This is about

the correct amount to be charged as we did use the Beds & had the benefit of Air

Conditioners. We left about 8AM and struggled along the roads, to emphasis the

poor quality of the roads it took 1 hour & 20 minutes to cover 22 miles, at long

last we reached the crossroad at Barhi and turned left. This road was very

good and we were able to keep the speed of 40 M.P.H.  When driving conditions

improve such as this the engine has a chance to keep cool despite the

Temperature. In my previous notes I have quoted about Lorries being unfit

for the road & one passed us with a piece of Outer Cover Tyre bolted on through

the original. I just wonder how far he would get with that in Britain.  It was

evident, all along the road, that today was a Public holiday. Music

Dancing Gay Colour Dresses & Bunting.   Another smash up with 2

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Lorries, it was evident that neither would give way along a single

stretch of road & they had collided almost Head on, one driver was laid

out on the road which was blocked.   I managed to only just get past but

was dangerously near the edge. Traffic from the other direction was

being diverted across a field & to get back on to the road they had a 6 ft

climb. This in the Insurance books would go down as “Knock for Knock” because

it was evident that both drivers were to blame.   We pulled in at a Daf Bungalow

although it was early only 3.30   the Milage was now 10044.

Sat Oct 19^th

Children woke us at 5.30 there was about six of them around the Van at that

time, so we rushed through breakfast and got on our way.  The comment

passed at this Rest house, which did not charge, was No Bed No Charge

This road which we decided to take proved to be the best road we had driven

on in the whole of India. It continued to be good apart from a few Road repairs

we drove along as far as the State Barrier at 12.30 we had by then covered

139 miles. We had difficulty to find a place to park for a while. The Trees

were part of the Villiage & that meant that if we stopped there where the people were

we would have the whole population Trying to View inside the Van. We found a

spot marked No Parking & took a chance. After a Cup of Tea we drove on & saw

a Rest House we decided on it as we had covered 182 miles if the 6 hours of

travelling Milage now is 10226

Sunday 20^th Oct

This Rest House was not to be praised. Some of these places are really good

Page 28a

whilst others are deplorable, this was one of the bad ones.  It is the very

first time in my life I have slept on a Straw mattress which was thin & dirty.

The Pillows were so dirty that we discarded them and used our own from the

Van.   We soon had the onlookers from the Villiage.  I did pass a remark

that if the girl was to go and wash here Dress instead of just staring at us she

would do something useful.    These men & women wear clothes that are really

dirty. Almost every girl appears to have a baby no matter how young they appear to be.

I spent the evening giving the Van a wash. The Indian brought out the

Book and demanded 5 Rupees but I refused to pay that. I gave him 3.50 and

told him to be satisfied. We had no trouble & went on our way  after we had

done 111 miles we stopped at a Police Station to make enquiries about changing

money. It was Sunday so we were trying to find a Hotel that would change

because we were in need of Petrol and getting short of Currency.

A Policeman came with us to the Rajmahar [Rajmahal] Hotel in Bhubaneswar. They

would not change & as we did not like the Place, we were told by a

Student of the Tourist Guest House, he came with us and after having a

drink we took him back. He had made offers to show us around this

Town but we declined.    We ‘booked’ in at this State Guest House

for four nights deciding that as we now had 24 day in which

to reach Madras [now Chennai] which is under 800 miles we would rest. This

Guest House is not mentioned by the R.A.C. but is should be placed very

high on the recommended List.  The charge for a double room is 61 Rps

per night & this includes: Early morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch,

Afternoon Tea & Evening meal, the charge of 61 Rps is for 2 people

Page 28b

 sharing a double room, this is a big difference to the Imperial & Clarkes

Hotels where we paid 160 Rps just for a double room each night.

This Guest House states No Tipping but will accept a donation towards

Staff benevelant Fund, but it is natural that a tip will improve the

Service & that here is to be commended

Monday 21^st Oct

I was thankful that we were here for a few day rest. It was relief for

Elsie not to have cooking to do, because in India the Temperature is in

the 80-90^s & with the Stove on in the Van it does get terribly hot

Motor Caravans like this one we have are ideal for Touring around Britain and

on the Continent but when you reach places as near to the Equator they tend

to hold the heat & life inside becomes uncomfortable.   We were asked today

at Reception whether we preferred Indian or Western cooking. Western was

our choice.  Each room is fully Air Conditioned & quite cool, the only trouble

we have experienced is Power Cuts, sometimes for two minutes somtimes for an

hour, but the Staff rush out with Candles. We went to the Bank in a

Rickshaw, first time we have ever been in one, changed our money and are now

satisfied that we have enough to see us to Madras.

Tuesday 22^nd Oct

We are taking it easy at this State Guest House and are quite comfortable

it is a place to fully recommend to any Traveller.  It is raining heavily

and I mended the Puncture that we had at Agra, we did not leave this

place at any time during the day because of the Rain