High times on three wheels. More on the Autorickshaw challenge

Now in its third round of edits, the story I am writing for Wired Magazine about the rickshaw race across Tamil Nadu has generated more material than I know what to do with. Over the weekend I am taking the whole thing back to the drawing board and restarting from scratch. In the meanwhile I realize that a lot of people want to know about the little adventure so I am posting a few more photos and a video that was put together by Simon Laidlaw, a british journalist whose best known work to date was a hit UK tv series called Topless Darts, a show whose title says it all. It is a big download, but in the end I think it is worth it.

I've been told that bus drivers in Tamil Nadu are paid on the basis on how quickly they can complete their route. While that could be an urban legend, busses drive quite recklessly and sometimes end up bloody and on the side of the road. When we came upon this wrecked chasis we thought it would be a good photo op and snapped a few photos before we looked inside and saw it soaked in blood.

Rickshaws are beautiful things when they aren't breaking down. In some cases, even the breaking down can be beautiful. We took this shortly after the white rickshaw had a bit of an overheating problem.

Oz of Extreme Trifle wasn't really all that upset that he smashed into the rickshaw in front of him and lost his headlight in the process. As he says on his website, it is not if you win or lose, it's the breaking down that counts.
This is me and a goat that I found along the way. It isn't the goat that walked in front of my enfield and was tragically run over and most likely eaten that night, rather this is the one that I took it upon myself to shower with love and affection. I still feel bad for the goat I hit.

The race took us to a lot of interesting places that I had never been before. This is a Tsunami Relief project that is being constructed by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Habitat for Humanity. The homes are almost complete, but not yet occupied. The planned area looks a lot like the early scenes in City of God about a slum in Rio Brazil before it descended into disrepair. From what I understand projects like this are doomed to failure since the concrete materials the government uses make the homes too hot to live in. Most people who are alocated these shelters immediately rent them out to other low income people and build grass huts adjoining the premsis that are more habitable.