Road trip day 2

Wake up to a flat tyre and frantic ack'ing and hacking, Ack assures me there is a pump in the town so I don't worry. Am not surprised about tyre as the roads had to take their toll.

Sue and I do our morning yoga with Ack looking on intently, for the first time he is silent, during session I catch his eye and he meets mine with a sincere nod of approval. The silence is only broken by the birds in the trees and Ack's frequent hacking up of flem. He sits through the whole 2 hours watching intently.

After yoga its back to the serious business of getting back on the road so I head into town for pump. As is the way in India everything is more complicated then you would imagine.

The whole town knows who we are and our business. I head to the main shop, luckily puncture is the same in Hindi so that messages get through no problem, I ask about a pump and I get a head wobble and "yes sir, no problem. Would you like Chai?"

I sit back and have my tea and have the customary conversation and buy a few bits and pieces. After 30 mins I ask about pump again and I get a head wobble and "yes sir, no problem."

I cant rush these people as they have stuff to do, I'm sure besides stand round watching me drink chai and have the same conversation with everybody in turn.

Another 30 mins goes by and still no pump and I ask again "The pump is coming yes?", I get a head wobble and "yes sir, no problem." Am getting a bit restless now as it is getting past 9am and we need to get going.

After another 30 mins I decide to get to the bottom of the situation as the ambiguity of this help I'm getting is beginning to get on my nerves. I brush off another conversation and start pressing about pump and I'm informed there is no pump but I can take a jeep to next town that is about 20km with the wheel, 400rs or I can pay a guy to take wheel to next town for 100rs. Now it is 55rs to the euro so it is not allot of money but on principal I don't like gouging. Eventually a guy joins the onlookers that is a bit more proactive and assures me that I can get to next town and back for 15rs each way no prob in shared jeep, get bike down from hill and bring wheel. Okay, flurry of action and I'm back up the hill. Bringing the bike down is perilous as it is very heavy and the tyre is totally flat.

Back to town where everybody is out and has to come poke the tyre in turn and chat about it. In the mean time I'm miming away that I don't have the tools to blank faces, the heat is coming and sweat is already pouring.

I'm really getting tired of this charade (pun intended) and my frustration is beginning to show.

Eventually my proactive friend comes back and is on the case, with some grunting, turning, sweating, pulling and banging we eventually get the wheel off to a cheer from the whole village.

Into the jeep on its way to Kotdawar and a 40 minute drive to next town, puncture fixed in 20mins and am just about to hope into another jeep on its way back to Kandy when I check my pocket to find my keys are gone. They must have fallen out of my pocket in the jeep that is by now speeding in the opposite direction to where the bike is and no way to contact it, even if the keys are in the jeep or not pocketed or lost along the way.

There have been only 2 times in my life that I have really lost it, this was the 3rd. The locals must have thought me a mad man as I rushed around the town pulling at my hair in a last ditch attempt to find keys in case they fell out in tyre place or at a shop I stopped in. I ask about the jeep and they say it will be back tomorrow. In a mountain village in India with no keys!!!!!! It has been 10 years since I have been so pissed, angry and ashamed, punching and kicking the air and pulling at my hair. Needless to say the 40 minute trip back to Kandy was a long tormented trip with the scenery so nice on the way there just turning my spit to acid in my mouth.

Needless to say the whole town gets a great laugh out of my predicament (at least something good comes from it).

After an attempt to hot wire bike which only manages to blow the fuse with everybody in town taking their turn to offer the same suggestions. At this stage my rage has turned to resignation, I do manage I think to get message to driver of jeep but I get no confirmation on the keys just head wobbles and "yes sir, keys".

Then I have to go break the news to Sue and Ack.

After a few excited Ack's I just get a resigned "ack" with a rise of eye brows and shoulders. Sue is very understanding also as we contemplate the fact that we have to spend another night here till the jeep returns, keeping the hope alive that the jeep driver will turn up with the keys and a big knowing smile at any moment.

As the afternoon turns into evening we have really resigned to the fact that we will be here forever when I hear a distant roar of a familiar Enfield engine. My ears perk up but I think it is just my mind teasing me and we get back to our Sudoku championship. Again I hear an engine so I head out to investigate. At the gate is an Indian on his motorbike and he informs me he has gotten the my bike started! With a click of my heals I hop on the back of his bike and head down the hill.
It turns out he was just passing through with his junior engineer, the locals told him the story and he tried the key of his juniors Honda Hero and it fit! and it turned!! and it started!!! What are the chances of him passing with a key that matches my ignition?!!!! They only catch is that we have to follow him right now to the town we where planning to be at today anyway! So that we can get a key cut. The mind boggles but I don't hang around, straight back up to the bungalow where we pack in record time, found farewell to Ack and we're on the road again. With a cheer from village we're beeping and waving at the locals with the biggest grins on our faces.
The road is like a dream compared to the way up there and we speed along.
As we start our descent on the other side of the mountain the landscape changes to pine forest. Into the evening we drive
passing through the occasional forest fire that burns along the edge of the road. We just keep going though, following our saviours, sometimes loosing site of them in the thick smoke.
As night falls we get to Kotdawar, where our excited saviours hand me a cold beer (I have no idea where they got it), book us into a hotel, bring us to get the puncture fixed (as it has gone flat again) and brings us to dinner (As I have not eaten all day this almost brings tears to my eyes).
It turns out he is a contractor that is responsible for building the roads! Saved by the guy responsible for the roads that punctured my tyre that led me to lose my keys that he just happened to have the exact duplicate of.