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Wednesday Oct 23rd
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 24th 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 25th 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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2nd & 3rd 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.
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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 26th 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 27th 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 28th 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 29th 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 30th 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 13th 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 1st 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 31st 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 17th Nov
After several enquiries it was agreed that we should get all the Tickets
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on the morning of Friday 1st 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.
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