A Ridiculous Road Trip: Crossing India in a Three-Wheeled Rickshaw With Simon Parker

Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration

This week, we're digging into the Armchair Explorer archives to bring you one of our favorite - and most ridiculous - stories.

If Monty Python went on a road trip, this is what it would be. Follow along with journalist Simon Parker as he travels 2,500-miles and two weeks across the length of India …

...in a rickshaw.

You read that right.

The rickshaw is perhaps the least suitable vehicle on the planet for long distance travel. Used commonly across many parts of Asia, it’s basically a three-wheeled moped with a roof on it and room for a couple of passengers to squash in the backseat. It has no sides. It falls over often. It's essentially a glorified lawn mower.

Dreamt up by a load of nutters called The Adventurists, the Rickshaw Run is all about challenging yourself with proper adventure, whilst belly-laughing at your own ridiculousness at the same time. Simon and four of his friends traveled from the far reaches of northern India, in the shadow of the Himalayas, all the way to the steamy jungles of Kerala on the southern coast. There was no set route. No pre-planned stops or hotels. No convoy or safety car or back up of any kind. Smart phones are scoffed at; Google maps are barred. They simply set off with a pocket map of India and a vague sense of where the finish line was. What would happen in between? Nobody was certain - that was the point.

FIND SIMON AND THE ADVENTURISTS

Follow Simon's work and see his photography on his website, SimonWParker.co.uk, or on Instagram and social media @SimonWiParker. Considering a rickshaw run yourself? Learn more about all the crazy exploits of the Adventurists at TheAdventurists.com.

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