DAY TEN - REWA TO VARANASI - 243km

Every tide has an ebb and flow, every mountain has a high and low and today it was time for our low.

The late nights, early starts and long driving hours have taken its toll on us and has hit us like a tonne of bricks. The rickshaw sucks in the air like a hoover when you’re sitting in the back, and if you’re driving round the countryside that’s a pleasant thing, if you’re driving through towns and cities or dusty roads, it’s not so great. All the pollution and noise along with the rickety ride on bad roads has caught up with us. We look like crap and no amount of make-up will disguise it!

Gordon’s eyes are withdrawn, Katie’s sinuses are playing up and I managed to get a rare migraine that held my left eye socket to ransom for just over eight hours. Add our longest drive yet; 270km to the equation and the result was three unhappy bunnies. Despite this we did hold it together even after poor Katie got her first ever wasp bite whilst on the road!

As we entered our fifth Indian state, Utter Pradesh, we realised we were indeed nearing the end of our visit in India and getting closer to the finish line. Another tell-tale sign that we were no longer in the sunny state of Goa, for example, was the fact it decided to absolutely pee it down and all we had was my ‘primarni’ raincoat to protect s! We pulled over and got some shelter underneath the tree and ate the box of maltesers that I had saved for,… well, a rainy day and eventually convinced the crew to give us the spare tarpaulin cover as Katie and I in particular were absolutely drenched! This was actually a perk of the day but despite the screams of the rain pouring over us we were still shattered and in need of a good rest.

Instead of having a late lunch, Katie and I decided to have a catnap in one of the crew cars hoping that would make us feel better. It didn’t really do much but it was better than falling asleep in a plate of dal and rice.

Katie did her first night drive in a city and the girl did good! Varanassi is one hell of a busy place and the noise, pollution, crowds and smells were overwhelming. Needless to say, our hotel was a welcome sight, being told that we had t get up at 4.30am the next day however, was not!