Rickshaw Challenge Malabar Rampage 2016 – Day 4: Alleppey to Calicut

The second day on the streets of Southern India has passed for our brave adventurers. By now, the teams are one with their rickshaws and know all their little flaws and knacks. This was especially important for Team Flying Birds, who had a hard time learning on Day 1 and they ran out of gas three times during the run. Finally, however, they built up a great set of skills and acquired a whole lot of knowledge about the limits of their rickshaw.

Our participants had to cover 235 kilometers from Alleppey to Calicut. Although this may seem like a comfy two-hour ride, in India, it is easy to run into a day full of crazy surprises, adventure and unpredictable traffic.

First stop was the city of Kochi, famous for the use of Chinese fisher nets, spices and the Jewish quarter. The Jews of Kochi are said to have arrived in Kerala already in 70 CE after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, establishing a strong Jewish community.

The first challenge of the day was all about diving into the smell and the taste of Kerala and getting to know at least five spices typical of the Southern Indian cuisine. Team Butt, Sweat and Ears added a little extra touch and made some ladies in the spice shop very happy with their handsome appearance –  and thankfully, they managed to capture the special moment. The team also had enough time to get their rickshaw pimped a little more and have a relaxed cricket match with the locals while waiting. It seems they have perfectly adapted to the laid back, unrushed Indian way of living already!

Task 2 was easy enough: taking a picture of the Kerala Backwaters with a team member and a Rickshaw on it. The task was also the perfect excuse to take a photo, which, if used wisely, would guarantee some jealous friends and family members back home. The last teams arrived late into the night, but we can’t account for any losses yet and there are still 21 of them.