According to a June 28 report, to celebrate his 85th birthday, renowned British backpacker Simon Gandolfi embarked on his Eurasian journey, accompanied only by a motorcycle. He documented his experiences in India through his diary. According to Simon’s diary, temperatures in India currently reach 46 degrees Celsius. India also has no so-called “road rules,” and thus there are no strictly defined “roads.” People ride bikes and drive cars wherever they please. Simon warns travelers that if you plan to ride a motorcycle in India, you must quickly adapt to the local traffic environment and road conditions; otherwise, you could “lose your life.”
After leaving the “terrifying” Indian city of Delhi, Simon finally reached the highway, where the road and country paths intertwine to create a visual delight, and massive billboards bearing the Nokia logo can be seen along the roadside. But overloaded trucks still speed past, and small motorcycles carrying three children and two adults can make your heart race. It’s clear that India’s traffic conditions are truly dreadful.
What left an even deeper impression on Simon was this: after a day of travel, he checked into a hotel by the highway—where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed back in 1961—for some rest. He found it to be nothing short of a “nightmare.” A night’s stay cost 9.5 euros, but the hotel offered neither air conditioning nor cold air, only wall fans and ceiling fans that roared loudly, making it feel like you were sleeping next to a railway track at night.
Early the next morning, Simon left the hotel and headed to the smaller Taj Mahal, a Persian-style structure famed for its pure white marble. In the fading light, sitting quietly by the river, a lone fisherman gazes at his net, lost in deep thought. The smaller Taj Mahal has a completely different charm compared to how it looks during the day.
The 85-year-old Simon said he plans to take time to go boating and swimming, wanting to fully enjoy the summer’s “coolness,” because in a few days, Simon will ride into the Betwa River in southern India, where an even stronger heatwave awaits him.