Arrival in Chandigarh

If anything it's hotter here, and the walk from the plane to the terminal is an ordeal, as is the walk on to the awaiting vans for the transfer to Simla.

The roads are as I remember in Bangalore, noisy, chaotic and clogged. I reach for the non existent seat belt after a few blocks, but settle for the handle above the door; it's better than nothing. The congestion eases up away from the centre, but not the chaos. There are labourers on the roads working in the heat; it must be unbearable. The speed picks up as we leave town, and my grip is adjusted as the white knuckle ride really gets going.

I'm beginning to look for picture opportunities now, but with the speed and bumps it's difficult to get a good shot. And now with cows wandering about it's worse.

One of the cars in our convoy has hit something. We stop and get out of the car for the first real picture opportunity since arriving. But the heat forces me back into the car sooner than I expected. I think I'll wait.

We have attracted a crowd and there's a really unpleasant guy trying to get money by holding up a crying girl. I think she's crying because she doesn't want to be there. If he's not careful he will get thumped by one of us! One of the guys gives a few coins for a photo op, but still they persist on clamouring around the car. It's not nice. The organisers did warn us about this.

Fortunately the accident was minor and about £50 from the other driver covered the damage. Nothing a hammer and some correction paste won't fix. And now we cross the border into Himachal Pradesh and the start of the Himalayas! .