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2003-12-22 - Ochha - Agra (Day 249)

Today has a sense of completion and comparison to it. Eight months ago, almost to the day, I was setting out in the morning, later then I had planned for my first ride on The Mule to Agra. At that point, though she did not have a name, The Mule was starting her orneriness with the gears not working and the heat of the Indian plains made the trip down miserable. This morning I also set out a bit late as a cold front moved in giving me the first truly cold morning since I left Ladakh and really letting me know it is winter.

I am all bundled up in my down and Gore-Tex to try to keep the chill off with double layers of gloves but by noon, I am still blue with cold. I also realize that I have broken the iron support for the seat on the horrible road from Calcutta, which threatens to come through the seat in the most inappropriate of places at any time. The road had also broken the support for my horn - it is amazing that I have broken three iron supports for the horn just because of the vibration from the roads but my computer is still working! - and I broke a mirror playing on the goat paths to the temples yesterday. So again, I have a stop to fix The Mule in some small town and it turns into the typical situation - the parts are cheap but I get screwed a little somewhere. In this case, the horn support and mirror were replaced and come to US$ 1.20 and then I find a welding shop to fix the seat. They can't get the seat off though so another shopkeeper comes over with his tools and between us, we finagle it off. It is soon welded and we put it back on, with a cost of US$ 0.90. However, the other shopkeeper also wants a tip for his time and since the smallest bill I have is a 50-rupee note (US$ 1.05) he gets much more then he expected. On the other hand, I am thinking that I just paid a one-dollar tip to protect the family jewels as it were and in terms of value, it was a steal.

I ride on into the evening and again I cannot believe the insanity of driving at night. Of course, it is the old situation of all oncoming cars having their brights on, half the vehicles having no lights or reflectors, etc.etc. but tonight I had a first class example of my conjecture that someone is always going to do something unbelievably stupid on these roads. In this case, I have a truck behind me with his brights on, and another coming at me with his brights also up - so I can't see a thing. From out of the glare just in front of me, I see a line of rocks directly just ahead - keep in mind that the Bullet can do nothing that even partially resembles the concept of "swerve" as it handles like a bus - to my amazement I manage to swing just clear of the rock line and see behind them a small fire and next to that a cow! Someone had made a fire and a circle of boulders in the middle of a lane on National Highway #3 in order to keep their cow warm. Of course, all of this is practically invisible at night with no streetlights and the cow being black and all. It seems more probably to me that the person is signing the death warrant for the cow more then keeping it warm as someone is bound to hit the stones fire and him if they do not flip over their overloaded Tata truck or bus first trying to swerve and miss the stones.

Even with the insanity, I make it into Agra, again passing the Red Fort at night and remembering the path to the Siddhartha Hotel. At the beginning of the year, I was guest #25 in the register and tonight I am guest #991, eight months later. I also looked back at that journal entry to see what has changed. I still have a bit of the traveler's blues but in this case, it is because the trip is ending. I have gotten used to the food, learned what to order and how to get things done this time and in many ways, the traveling in India has become pretty easy - though it did take a while to figure it all out.

I have a hot shower, wash the road grime and cold out of my bones, and smile at the symbolism of completion. I have come full circle with my first trip being to this guesthouse and at least for this tour, also my last. There is so much that has happened in these few short months and if nothing else, I have amazed and surprised myself by being able to get through it all and with all that I have done. It is not nearly often enough that I have had that feeling of being impressed with something attempted and completed, and it certainly feels good.

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