Pre Launch - Fort Kochi

I cried when I met everyone - of course! The blubbering mess because I’ve missed them so much!
I found Ross in Cochin airport, his first time in India! He was a little uncertain on all the roads and the crazy ass driving but we were chatting so I put his mind off it a little haha. We got to the hotel around 9pm, and surprise surprise we found the men drunk on the porch of the hotel!
The old Bristow lighthouse hotel didn’t know what they were in for!

We got eaten to death by mosquitos, drunk lots of kingfisher and had a catch up! It was all a little surreal.

We had two days of pimping, test driving and prepping everything for launch day on the 1st April.

We walked down to the Edward memorial School grounds where all our rickshaws were awaiting us and registration was done.

It was killing hot. The humidity was in real! The sweat just poured out of us, delightful I know. But my god! We were soaked by the time we walked 15 minutes down the road! It’s alright, it’s that weather where it’s acceptable to walk around with huge sweat patches all over you. - so it goes!

We spotted our rickshaws, already painted from the design Ross made. They looked awesome! Not being biased or anything but easily the best ones in the yard! Couldn’t wait to register to get the keys and test drive them. Had no idea how to do that mind, but the guys in yellow high vis jackets helped us out!

It was so unsteady! Probably dodnthelp we were driving in a circle on lumpy bumpy sand and grass..
we plucked up the courage to go into the town and try to find a mechanics shop to find our spares - that was a bloody chore. The team at the yard said that there are mechanics and shops everywhere! Yeah... if you can find them!

Managed to in the end, after a while! By thy time we nearly hit a cow, got hit by a bus, smashed over a tonne of bumps that weren’t painted so that we could see them and tried to play pedestrian bowls. Safe to say we were getting the hang of it all!

After a hard and sweaty day we were going back to get in the pool, little did they know that mum and aunty lynne were getting to the hotel two days before the mean thought. Surprise!! That’s been a long surprise coming, phwoar!

Skip the pool. Let’s all catch up and have some food!
A not so lovey surprise... Kerela is dry today because it’s Easter Sunday.. bloody great! We will have to make up for it tomorrow for sure! It’s wrong to not have a drink on your first night on holiday, an excuse for us because it was theirs. Haha!

Up and out Saturday, another morning at the yard to fix our flags on the tuk tuks and of course give the ladies a ride in them! We went to the petrol station to fill up ready for tomorrow, aunty lynne loves my driving, I’m not sure Mum was too keen on Ross’s or other drivers scared her! Haha. Either way when we stopped she left uncle terry’s flower trousers on the roof rack and of course they flew off!

Me and aunty lynne on the case driving back to get them, aunty lynne runs out to pick them up off the floor. Passers by wonder what the hell is going on haha!

We went for an afternoon dip and a well deserved beer(s) then for dinner and more drinks at the pre launch party organised by the advernturists! It was by boat, of which aunty lynne was first on and had the first seat (not even doing th rickshaw run!) haha! But a lovely location. The traditional band in their skirts playing he bongos. And a really fat man had a tiger painted on his body was just jumping around in one space welcoming us.
We were more interested in getting to the front of the beer queue quick enough and us having a table to grab a bite to eat. We soon got merry and me, lynne and mum all got up to dance. This little dance turned into an all night dance and by 11.30 we were ready to get on the bus. I think everyone thought we were bonkers just bouncing around all night like loonatics!
But they were enjoying themselves so that’s all that matters, even if we looked like we had just jumped out of the swimming pool!