When I met my husband, he charmed me with his vague plan to buy a motorcycle in India and ride it across the country, filming the entire journey. Ravished as I was, I didn’t think he’d actually go through with it. This was 2009, there was no such thing as “vlogging” back then.
But there I was, ten months later, on a plane to India, ready to join the adventure: a ride from South to North India on a 1979 Royal Enfield Bullet.
It would take a short novel to share the whole story — so I’ll stick to the essentials.
Chaos from Day One
By the time I arrived, Douglas and his travel mate had already bought their bikes, survived insane traffic, suffered through tropical illnesses, and narrowly escaped death a few times.
Worst of all, they’d just been robbed of thousands of dollars’ worth of filming gear and the footage they had shot so far. That’s how we got acquainted with Indian police stations and red tape. I’ve blacked out most of the details — it really was that bad.
The silver lining?
The robbery happened in Varkala, a beachside backpacker haven perched on a cliff, dotted with bars, restaurants, and market stalls. While we spent our days navigating endless paperwork, our nights were filled with banana pancakes, cold beers, spontaneous campfire singalongs, and skinny-dipping under the full moon with new Scandinavian friends.
You know — the usual backpacker stuff.
After a week of frustration, we finally got our documents in order and left the tourist Shangri-La behind to dive into the “real†India.
With our backpacks strapped to the bike, we rode through palm-fringed Kerala and paused for a few days to drift along the backwaters on a houseboat.
We continued our journey by motorcyle and witnessed how the landscapes shifted constantly — lush, majestic, chaotic, or sometimes just plain dull.
We rode all day, taking frequent breaks.
When the sun began to set, we’d start looking for a place to stay. If we were lucky, we found a charming guesthouse with a view. More often, we ended up in crumbling rooms full of cockroaches, mysterious stains, rat droppings, broken fans in 40°C heat, or — worst of all — hotel staff showing up unannounced in our room at night with the excuse that they “needed something†from our room.
WTF indeed..
The Bullet tagged along with us where ever we went, giving us the freedom to stop when and where we wanted.
It also broke down a lot. If we were near a town, we’d find a mechanic. If not, we’d fix it ourselves — with tape and rope. Yep, that works sometimes.
Surprisingly, people would often spontaneously jump in to help, trying everything to get The Bullet back on the road.
Traffic near cities was absolute madness. You never know what you’ll encounter on the road. Anything goes — cows, trucks, rickshaws, elephants, kids…
We met some fascinating characters along the way.
We ate where the locals ate.
We tried to understand the essence of India. We were far off the tourist trail, deep in small-town life. Still, we knew we’d never truly make sense of how things work in this country— not fully. We were, and always would be, outsiders.
But to us, that was the beauty of traveling in India.
My leg of the journey ended in Delhi, after riding through Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Douglas continued solo through the Himalayas, all the way to Manali.
Countless insane things happened during those three months. As I mentioned earlier, it would take a novel to tell the full story.Â
This wasn’t a relaxing trip. It was challenging, dangerous, frustrating, and also utterly unforgettable.
I would definitely rank this trip under the category “hardcore travel”.
Tips for motorcycling through India:
1. Don’t. It’s dangerous. But if you really really must…
2. Travel India without a motorcycle first.Learn the ropes — how things work (or don’t), how to navigate the chaos — before adding a bike to the mix. Only when you find that you can handle the Indian chaos, should you start to consider driving the motorcycle.
3. Upgrade your motorcycle’s horn. Make sure it’s loud enough to overpower the other horns. On Indian roads, it’s survival of the loudest.
4. Pack light, very light. You’ll have such a smoother and more comfortable ride with a light backseat. You may have noticed I’m wearing the same outfits in almost all of the pictures in this post. Don’t forget: tape and rope are your best friends.
5. Avoid cities and crowds. They’re complete mayhem.
6. If you are pressed with time, head to North India. The mountainous area north of New Delhi is far more laid back to drive through.
7. Finally and most importantly: Go with the flow. You can’t control most of what happens on Indian roads. The sooner you surrender to that reality, the more you’ll enjoy the experience.
Motorcycling through India was tough, intense, and sometimes insane — but it was also one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives.
A story we’ll always carry with us.
An epic ride etched into memory.
Have you traveled by motorcycle? Where? Would you motorcycle India?
The post “Motorcycling India” first appeared on Travel Cake.
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