After 9 years of success with the Rickshaw Challenge, named by Lonely Planet as one of the “World’s Greatest Adventures” in 2012, we conjured up a brand new adventure embracing India’s vibrant car culture. Headed up by the beloved Ambassador, the inaugural India’s Cup kicked off 20 January 2015 on an epic journey round South India for over 3600km! We covered 6 Indian states in 13 days, with a lot of driving, a few breakdowns and saw the best South India has to offer! Our 5 teams with 14 participants from 5 countries kicked off in their brightly coloured cars from Chennai to Vijayawada for the first day, which posed quite the challenge initially. Our beloved Ambassador cars are not known for being the marvel of engineering so we had a couple of breakdowns at the very beginning of the adventure, which adds to the fun. The iconic Hindustan Ambassador was the first car manufactured in India, and was once called the “king of the Indian roads” before it ceased production in May 2014, Top Gear also declared it the “best taxi in the world” in 2002. It’s great for short distances, challenging for longer ones. Once we broke the journey on the first day, it was then onto Hyderabad which presented us with the tough task of navigating through Indian traffic. We already battled our way out of Chennai, but getting into Hyderabad felt like an odyssey in itself. Because of the traffic, some of the teams opted to leave at the crack of dawn, while the rest of us tried to make the most and saw a bit of the city with a detour to Golconda Fort. This is India’s second largest fort and is located just outside the Hyderabad. After a small break to see the sites,
After 9 years of success with the Rickshaw Challenge, named by Lonely Planet as one of the “World’s Greatest Adventures” in 2012, we conjured up a brand new adventure embracing India’s vibrant car culture. Headed up by the beloved Ambassador, the inaugural India’s Cup kicked off 20 January 2015 on an epic journey round South
With the winter holidays over, there was not much to do besides sit in front of the television feeling like you’re about to burst from all the food, getting ready to see in the New Year with the new resolutions to lead a healthier life. However, for this very reason, we decided it’s the perfect time for an adventure. For those looking for warmer climes, we offered the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run, but for those looking to keep in with the seasonal winter theme, we launched a brand new rally up in the Baltic States. Five teams and nine participants from four countries took part in the inaugural event that kicked off from Krakow, Poland on December 29, 2014, which finished up in Tallinn, Estonia on January 6, 2015 after a snow-clad adventure spanning 2600km across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Stops on the way included a number of Soviet relics, such as Karosta jail and a secret nuclear bunker in Latvia, a visit to a nuclear silo and a night in Hitler’s Eastern Front Military headquarters “Wolf’s Lair” in Poland. But perhaps one of the main highlights of the event was spending New Year with the locals in the Lithuanian spa town of Druskininkai. It was a historic moment for the Baltic country, since they switched from using the Lithuanian Litas to the Euro. Druskininkai was also the perfect place to recover, since it’s famous for its spas. The huge aquapark and indoor ski centre certainly wowed the participants on the Baltic Run! There was a lot of celebration on this icy, minimal assistance rally. Dirk from team One Life Live It celebrated his birthday in a sauna in a remote country house in Latvia. This was somewhere in between the time when the teams spent a lot of time
With the winter holidays over, there was not much to do besides sit in front of the television feeling like you’re about to burst from all the food, getting ready to see in the New Year with the new resolutions to lead a healthier life. However, for this very reason, we decided it’s the perfect time
Kicking off on the 29 December 2014, 21 teams made up of 48 participants from 14 different nationalities began their journey in Chennai and revved down the Coromandel Coast in South India to Trivandrum in auto rickshaws. With the tail end of a cyclone to battle in the first few days, the teams didn’t get the easiest start on their journey along the coast to Pondicherry, but with some spectacular costumes and a whole load of enthusiasm - everyone kept their spirits and and got to know their trusty three-wheeled steeds on the first leg of their journey. From Pondicherry to Thanjavur the terrible Indian country roads linking up small villages between ancient temple towns made the Rickshaw Challenge live up to its name. Many teams got lost on the way and had to get rescued by Princely, the trip manager, and we actually had over 20 breakdowns on the way to Thanjavur. Before the teams could kick back and bring in the New Year in Madurai, and welcome in the 9th year of the Rickshaw Challenge, they had to tackle the road ahead, which was not without its own drama. One of the teams, Dukes of the Green, who became infamous on the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run 2015 for their crazy antics. The participants of the Classic Run 2015 saw in the New Year in Madurai, where everyone got the chance to drink in heavy rain after tail end of a cyclone which came back to haunt everyone after leaving Pondicherry. However, most of the Challengers made it to the famous, brightly coloured Meenakshi Amman Temple the day after, even though most people partied late into the night! Once everyone recovered from the toughest days of the Classic Run and the New Year’s festivities, it was time to go
Kicking off on the 29 December 2014, 21 teams made up of 48 participants from 14 different nationalities began their journey in Chennai and revved down the Coromandel Coast in South India to Trivandrum in auto rickshaws. With the tail end of a cyclone to battle in the first few days, the teams didn’t get
