A Kiwi and a Chilean are riding on a 500 cc Royal Enfield bike across India. And yes,
it is a bike with a sidecar which make several people looking at the
contraption lose their mind. And yes, it makes them start yelling “Sholay”.
Well it’s that kind odd amusing adventure. He is an electrician, the soft
spoken Kiwi who now lives in Australia and she a teacher who used to teach kids
in the primary section back home in Chile.
Well let’s start from the beginning. How
did they meet? Our kiwi hero is quite the traveller. Greg Zwarenkant has
travelled across the world having visited India when he was 21. He met Natalia
Jorquera in Peru at Machu Picchu. Eight years ago. And they have travelled the
world. Greg first came to India at 21. He was in Delhi and was scheduled to go
on to Nepal and then Thailand but then; hey he was very young and decided to
travel all the way down to Goa.
This visit to India was always in the
offing. Natalia was interested in visiting the country. She said “There are no
Indians in Chile and no Indian restaurants in the country. It is something that
is so different and exotic for us. This visit has been an eye opener for me.
The crowds can be a bit too much at times but it is always so exciting”. For
Greg watching her reaction to India as well as watching the country react to
her has been interesting. Natalia said “There are days when it can get so
exhausting and tiring and then you will see something magical. I have gotten
used to the food. I could never eat spicy food but now I can manage”.
The duo is always looking to enhance their experience. They never travel more than a few hours every day and early starts are not their goals. On an average they ride for a couple of hours and then look for a good decent convenient hotel. A trip to Mumbai from Goa may be a road trip lasting twelve hours but for the two of them it could mean a road trip that could last a couple of days. As Greg put it” It is about learning about the place and meeting new people. Since I ride a Enfield, it can be repaired anywhere easily and I am shocked at the number of free services I have received. When I offer to pay they turn me down saying they have never repaired the bike of a foreigner”. Natalia smiled and said it was a great experience but it would be nice if young Indian men would understand that at times young girls travelling alone did not want to be hassled with requests for photographs and a no really meant a no. When they exit India in January they will leave with wonderful memories.