Driving 2000kms across Europe in a modern car is no challenge. Driving 2000kms across the Western Ghat mountain range and crossing the testing and diverse terrain of Goa, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in a 37hp Indian car is not to be taken lightly.
Date: November 2008
Vehicle: Hindu Ambassador supplied by the Hindustan Motor Company.
Spec: 37HP; Design based on the British 1948 Morris Oxford
Drivers: Chris & Richard
India is by far the most challenging, illuminating and fascinating place an adventurous person cn travel to. You simply never ever know what's around the corner - it could be a bison, a leopard, a tiger, an elephant, or God forbid, a bus driver high on amphetamines and cough syrup.
The Karma Enduro is not for the faint hearted - the challenge aims to test your limits, awareness and spirit.
The rally isn't a race and there are no prizes for coming first or last - this event is all about the end game, and getting back in one piece.
Participnts will be expected to tackle an arduous route of high mounatins, hot arid deserts, hectic city stages and wild remote tiger reserves and tribal forests. Driving a car for a day is easy, driving a car in India for 2 weeks is difficult. Combine the effects of long days of hard concentration in the car with local food and searing heat and you will be rightly proud, tired and emotional at the finish line.
As if that terrian isn't enough, throw into the equation a 1950's style car that handles like a drunken badger and it starts to get interesting, very interesting.
Then add to the mix the biggest population of wild elephants in Asia, the most chaotic road system on earth and a country that you have no frame of reference for at all and suddenly you are faced with a unique challenge that could possibly change the way you see things forever.
Source: Karma Enduro
Driving in India is not for beginners. If you do drive yourself, expect the unexpected, and count on other drivers taking what-ever liberties they can get away with. Traffic circulates on the left, but don’t expect road regulations to be obeyed. Traffic in the cities is heavy and undisciplined; vehicles cut in and out without warning, and pedestrians, cyclists and cows wander nonchalantly down the down the middle of the road as if you don’t exist.
In the country the roads are narrow, in terrible repair and hogged by overloaded Tata trucks that move aside for nobody, while something slow-moving like a bullock cart or a herd of goats can easily take up the whole road.
A huge number of pot holes don’t make for a smooth ride either.
Furthermore, during the monsoon, roads can become flooded and dangerous; rivers burst their banks and bridges get washed away.
Accident rates are high, and you should be on your guard at all times. It is very dangerous to drive at night – not everyone uses lights, and bullock carts don’t have any.
If you have an accident, it might be an idea to leave the scene quickly and go straight to the police to report it; mobs can assemble fast, especially if pedestrians or cows are involved.
Source: The Rough Guide to South India; October 2005
Website by Richard Moore
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