Okay, so this is definitely NOT how I'd do a RTW!!
This is quite a long way in a tuk-tuk!! That said, I think it's a worthy cause! I imagine the winter months are going to be especially challenging, as will terrain, road conditions, etc.
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There is a website, TukTukTravels.com, that will chart the teachers’ progress and will feature films about the small projects and charities they meet along the way.
__________________ 2013 TATL/TPAC: DL: 12; AA: 6 U/G: DL: 5/7 AA: 3/3 Have you seen Floyd the Flamingo?!
Not so crazy really. People have ridden bikes around the world, driven around the world, walked around the world, flown around the world and sailed around the world. What's so crazy about an auto-rickshaw? Perhaps the fact that they have no mechanical skills. The auto-rickshaw is an urban/sub-urban blight duty vehicle. It would require maintenance along the route in 37000 plus miles. At the very least, they should know how to Replace and lubricate clutch, brake and accelerator cables,
Change the wheels/tyres,
Be able to kick/push start it,
Know how to deal with flooded engine, measure/adjust spark plug gap, test spark plugs and replace them.
Know about its ignition system, whether it's the traditional coil based, or capacitative discharge.
Almost everything can be done by two people, including lifting the whole vehicle.
Their route is odd, as it deviates from what used to be the traditional around the world route to avoid Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the 60's and the 70's, the usual around the world routes went via Turkey-Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India.......... The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan changed that and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan sealed it.
It will be a long time before that route becomes popular again.
When we were visiting Ellora caves in India, the auto rickshaw driver let my son stand in front of him holding the handle bars in an area with little to no traffic. My son loved it. He had a big grin on his face and felt as if he was driving it.
I read about their early experience. They had made no provision for rain. They should have talked to real auto drivers or people who have travelled in auto-rickshaws.
Alo, for a more authentic experience and claim, they should use an auto-rickshaw made in SE Asia or South Asia, such as a Bajaj. A Piaggio, made in Italy is probably more advanced.
Someone told them that it's a lawnmower engine. I hope they don't think it's as simple as the non self propelled, non-riding kind.
It will be interesting to follow their progress.
based on my attempt at a real cycle rickshaw, I think three wheels is more challenging than two wheels. Crowning of the road surface makes it difficult to keep the vehicle straight.
Although it has nothing to do with flying, thanks OP for bringing it to our attention.
Not so crazy really. People have ridden bikes around the world, driven around the world, walked around the world, flown around the world and sailed around the world. What's so crazy about an auto-rickshaw? Perhaps the fact that they have no mechanical skills. The auto-rickshaw is an urban/sub-urban blight duty vehicle. It would require maintenance along the route in 37000 plus miles. At the very least, they should know how to Replace and lubricate clutch, brake and accelerator cables,
Change the wheels/tyres,
Be able to kick/push start it,
Know how to deal with flooded engine, measure/adjust spark plug gap, test spark plugs and replace them.
Know about its ignition system, whether it's the traditional coil based, or capacitative discharge.
Almost everything can be done by two people, including lifting the whole vehicle.
Their route is odd, as it deviates from what used to be the traditional around the world route to avoid Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the 60's and the 70's, the usual around the world routes went via Turkey-Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India.......... The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan changed that and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan sealed it.
It will be a long time before that route becomes popular again.
When we were visiting Ellora caves in India, the auto rickshaw driver let my son stand in front of him holding the handle bars in an area with little to no traffic. My son loved it. He had a big grin on his face and felt as if he was driving it.
I read about their early experience. They had made no provision for rain. They should have talked to real auto drivers or people who have travelled in auto-rickshaws.
Alo, for a more authentic experience and claim, they should use an auto-rickshaw made in SE Asia or South Asia, such as a Bajaj. A Piaggio, made in Italy is probably more advanced.
Someone told them that it's a lawnmower engine. I hope they don't think it's as simple as the non self propelled, non-riding kind.
It will be interesting to follow their progress.
based on my attempt at a real cycle rickshaw, I think three wheels is more challenging than two wheels. Crowning of the road surface makes it difficult to keep the vehicle straight.
Although it has nothing to do with flying, thanks OP for bringing it to our attention.
I wandered through the Ben-Hil neighborhood in Jakarta, and spoke with a bajaj driver (the ones there are a little more cockroach-y than in India). I joked with him and asked how much it would be to get to Surabaya-he said, completely seriously, Rp. 2 million (at the time, about US$200). Who needs a cig when you've got a bajaj...
I wandered through the Ben-Hil neighborhood in Jakarta, and spoke with a bajaj driver (the ones there are a little more cockroach-y than in India). I joked with him and asked how much it would be to get to Surabaya-he said, completely seriously, Rp. 2 million (at the time, about US$200). Who needs a cig when you've got a bajaj...
Why are they more cockroachy than in India. surely, it's the same vehicle.
Bajaj started assembling under license various Vespa models in India. By the time licensing agreement expired, about the early 1970's, the Indian Vespa had been Indianised and began to be sold under Bajaj's own badge.
Lambretta also assembled auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuks) in India.
Smoking a cigarette, more so lighting, is not easy in a Bajaj.
Why are they more cockroachy than in India. surely, it's the same vehicle.
Bajaj started assembling under license various Vespa models in India. By the time licensing agreement expired, about the early 1970's, the Indian Vespa had been Indianised and began to be sold under Bajaj's own badge.
Lambretta also assembled auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuks) in India.
Smoking a cigarette, more so lighting, is not easy in a Bajaj.
Surely, you aren't too familiar with Jakarta then? The ones I recall from India are generally black and yellow, no (or was that just Delhi?)?
The Jakartan bajaj might as well be Quasimodo on wheels, although many of the more recent entrants have a decent coat of paint and are better taken care of (possibly because they are newer). The old orange and blue types, er...just a different feel from their (native) cousins in India.
Additionally, in Jakarta, nothing is less difficult than lighting a Dji Sam Soe (local brand), though pundits would retort, first you need the "duit" to buy a pack...
I love this story. I thought it'd be fun to buy a rickshaw and drive it around India. Kudos to these guys for driving it around the world. Even if they seem awfully clueless about the whole thing. I meet people doing crazy around the world bike rides and such from time to time. Many of them seem pretty worn out from it.
I love this story. I thought it'd be fun to buy a rickshaw and drive it around India. Kudos to these guys for driving it around the world. Even if they seem awfully clueless about the whole thing. I meet people doing crazy around the world bike rides and such from time to time. Many of them seem pretty worn out from it.
I don't know about auto rickshaw, but riding a cycle rickshaw was not easy on roads that were crowned. The front wheel pulls the rickshaw down the grade, to one side or the other. It took some training to keep it straight, almost like tight rope walking. Since auto rickshaw wheel turns at higher rpms, due to higher translational speed, as well as due to a smaller diameter, than a bicycle wheel, it has a higher angular momentum, which will probably make it easier to keep it straight.
