Car is not problem. Driver is just not good enough (Day 31 of the world trip)

05.10.2019

The night was good and the breakfast was okay too. There was toast with butter (besides the warm dishes of course ^^), of which I managed to eat 3 doubles until I felt sick again. But at least :D Jonas ate a little more and we were actually fine! Maybe it was also the anticipation of the night in Dehradun, in an AirBnB and since Dehradun is a big city, we hoped for Western food, e.g. Pizza <3

We were supposed to leave at 7:30 a.m. (we asked beforehand if "Indian 7:30 a.m." = 9:00 a.m. or real ^^) and actually we left at 8:00 a.m. This time there was no bus but again one of those jeeps where there are side benches in the trunk. Gaurav and the driver sat in the front, Ashka and Bobby on the back seats, and Jonas and I in the "trunk". So we had a little bench, which sounds great at first, but with the roads and the shaking without a seatbelt it was not quite relaxing :D (the bump on my forehead today is an indication ^^) Jonas lay down flat, I held onto the back seat and off we went. We were glad that we were not on the bus, because it was heavily smoked in the morning and therefore did not seem very reliable.

After the first hour, we suddenly stopped and the car made strange noises. Our driver and a second guy (who had joined us in the front shortly before departure in Sankri. Two people in the front? Pff! The car will certainly break down. Three is the minimum :p) got out and frowned at the contents of the hood. But the huge scratch on the windshield or the red oil warning light were completely uninteresting. Gaurav and Ashka got out and immediately started laughing. They showed us a photo of one of the tires and we didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So if this tire ever had a profile, we couldn't see it :D

But the most absurd thing about the situation was yet to come. Instead of changing the tire or doing anything else with the car, we waited for the next jeep driver. Our driver got out, talked to the other driver, and they exchanged. I thought the new driver would just help us, but he got in the driver's seat and just drove on.

A little confused by our lack of Hindi knowledge, we turned to our friends, who explained the situation to us: The car was not the problem. Our original driver was not good enough. Oh, I see! Everything's clear ;-) :D :D :D

So we drove like this for a while until we came across approximately the 73rd jeep and suddenly stopped and exchanged the driver again. Apparently, that's how it works in India? Whether the driver of one of these jeeps ends up in Dehradun or Sankri at the end of the day seems to be completely irrelevant to his private life ;-) Jonas and I couldn't stop laughing :D

The third driver accompanied us at least to Dehradun, where our friends then organized a rickshaw for us to our AirBnB. Saying goodbye to the three of them was really sad :O Gaurav offered that when we are in Delhi, we can do something with him, which would be really cool :) The guys definitely upgraded the trip.

Har Ki Dun Trek - a trip we will probably never forget :D

The weather was really bad, the path was muddy and disgusting, we both lost several kilos and I can't smell or see Indian food anymore.

On the other hand, we had real contact with Indians. We were in the Himalayas!!! We saw super beautiful valleys, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls. We got to "get to know" the villagers (even if only by observation, but it was like a little time travel to villages without road connections, electricity, or running water) and we also personally benefited from it as a couple. It was an experience that we wouldn't want to miss. We can still tell our grandchildren about it ;-)