It was the one thing Adam Branford was advised not to do: drive at night.
But coming into the Indian city of Agra, he had no choice.
“That was incredibly scary because all the buses and trucks are coming towards you with their high beams on,” Adam says.
“You’re just sitting at their light height completely stunned, you can’t see.
Adam’s decision to travel 3,000 kilometres across the Indian subcontinent in a three-wheeled tuk-tuk — notoriously known for being unreliable — wouldn’t appeal to most people.
It traditionally wouldn’t have appealed to him either.
“Unknown” is a good way to describe a Rickshaw Run, the brainchild of English adventure group The Adventurists, in which thrill-seeking teams drive rickshaws [tuk-tuks] across India.
“We had two weeks to do Jaisalmer and Rajasthan to Shillong in Meghalaya … they get you to the start and they say, ‘We’ll see you at the end,'” Adam says.
It’s dangerous and unpredictable, exactly what the former teacher and mine worker was looking for in 2015.
“Australia’s pretty sanitary and almost boring in some ways, if that’s the right word,” Adam says.
While once afraid of travelling to places like India, the airport compliance officer from Mount Gambier has since fallen in love with the unknown. Breakdowns, dust storms, dodgy curries and all.
Even if it took him 45 years.
“There’s just something about it. I don’t know,” Adam says.
Seeing India in a tuk-tuk
There’s travelling in a tuk-tuk and then there’s driving one. The latter was Adam’s responsibility in his three-man team with two friends.
Bear in mind that the fatal road toll in India is one death every four minutes.
At flat-out pace, the 145cc vehicles can travel at 45 kilometres per hour.
“They’re a handbrake start. They’ve very underpowered. They leak. They don’t stop well. Driving conditions are very cramped,” Adam says.
Breakdowns are common.
“You can’t plan your accommodation because you don’t know where you’re going to end up because the thing could break down,” Adam says.
Fortunately they’d never have to stop for long.
“When we’d had enough for the day we’d just try to find somewhere to stay.
“Some were really crusty $5-dollar-a-night beds in the crappiest places you could imagine. And some were really nice.”
The upside of course being what they’d see in the daytime winding their way through tea fields of Darjeeling, breaking for lunch at the Taj Mahal, and exploring the cremation ghats at Varanasi.
Itchy feet
After two weeks on the road and a month in India, Adam was well and truly ready to come home.
Six months later he knew he needed to go back.
This time he and Tim, a friend from the first trip, opted for a 1,000km trip across the Himalayas, travelling on some of India’s most remote roads.
They arrived a week early to acclimatise to the 5,500-metre elevation, Everest-base-camp height. Despite their efforts, Adam still got altitude sickness.
Unlike in India, where they could pull over anywhere and receive help, in the Himalayas they were on their own.
Travelling along the Chinese-Tibetan border, there was an increased military presence, requiring them to pass a series of checkpoints.
“We were up very near to where that physical fight between Chinese and Indian soldiers was a year or two ago,” Adam says.
Not getting too comfortable
Had it not been for the pandemic, Adam would have bashed around the Baltic Sea in a “crappy old car” by now.
“We’ve got tickets for next year. But with what’s happening in Europe now, who knows what will happen,” Adam says.
He used the time grounded to write a book, Cows, Curries and Chaos: An Indian Odyssey on three wheels, which details his ventures and near-death experiences on his first Rickshaw Run.
He has also tried to feed his itch by reading lots of travel books and mapping out potential trips, like a tuk-tuk venture across Sri Lanka.
As time passes, he’s increasingly conscious of his stint on earth.
“You could have big flash cars and houses but when you go it all stays behind. I’d rather have memories of adventures.”
“You only get one shot at [life]. You might as well have the best go that you can.”