“Nothing can be done. Batchelors”. Its 4 a.m, the batchelors are
partying for the second night in a row. Squeezed 6 to a room, adjacent to ours,
they bang, shout, and scream their way through the night. Brandy is their
chosen late night fuel, glugged in quadruple measures topped up with water, and
helped down with cigarettes they party, bottles, empty packets, plates are
thrown with pleasure, strewn across the garden. Two interventions only get me
an invite to join them.
Its not every day you meet a World Record Holder but here in this
mountainous district of Kerala it’s a weekly occurrence. We have been on
friendly terms with the man who wrote the world’s longest letter for years now.
He regularly ambushes us as we ride into Vandiperiyar armed with a newspaper
article that records his mammoth task. A letter on world peace addressed to the
Pope and the U.S presidency it started under Jimmy Carter’s reign and finished
sometime during President Clinton’s 2nd term.
Yesterday at Peermade post office the counter clerk kindly
asked me where I was from and then told me he was a World Record Holder. He
produced a certificate from under his desk, which stated his achievements. The
Worlds longest continuous speech 30 hours and 6 minutes, world peace and
environmental issues were his topics. I asked him if he knew of the other World
Record Holder in the neighboring town of Vandiperyar. “ He has no certificate”
he said pointing proudly at his own replete with the Guinness label.
8 days riding here and we are in Munnar on what will be the
last tour of the season here in Kerala so savouring every bit of singltetrack,
relishing every Rava Dosa and cooling down the Kingfishers for post ride energy
drink.
