Another day, another Jaisalmer adventure. From the mechanical talk yesterday we came away with a list of items that will likely break, fall off or simply disappear during course of our trip.  Among the items on our shopping list: spark plugs, light bulbs, brake cable, gear cable, accelerator cable, spare petrol can, a funnel to replace petrol while traveling, oil, a bucket, rags, and a measuring cup for the oil (30-35ml/L). Who will actually know how to use most of these items is still a bit of a mystery, but we will have the parts on hand for whoever can help.

Because in India you go basically have to go to a different shop for each item on the list, this morning we hired a rickshaw wallah who helped us scout the market stalls for the items on our list.  Near the end of the shopping adventure, Jason had a bit of a panic that his passport had gone missing — complete meltdown averted when we found it in the room safe.  Whew!

After that it was time to wash and pimp our ride… Hillary was looking a little ragged from her many years on the trail.  We took a few NC-related items with us from home and plastered them on her body.  We tested out the bluetooth sound system that we brought and that is going to work out very well.  After some time on the road we are certain we will want to hear something other than each other speak!

Once Hillary was all decked out we took her for a couple of spins around the test track to get a better feel to get a little more experience driving.  We probably could have used another couple of hours of practice, but the wind blew without mercy and the hot air was filled with sand.  It made the perfect excuse to spend the rest of the afternoon indoors enjoying the AC and some beers.

Unfortunately we have not been allowed on the actual streets of India.  We won’t be able to drive on real roads until we depart for Shillong on Monday morning…sort of a sink or swim experience!!

Cheers,

Jason and Brian