Today was our first proper day in india. It was also a chance to get to know some of the other teams that are going to be taking part in the rickshaw run. The day started off with lunch at 'the best biriyani place in the world', so described by the tour guru Tom. Maybe it was my unwillingness to eat the dodgy looking chicken, or maybe it had simply been overhyped-but i just dont see it as the best biryani in the world. Maybe the best in kochi-although i couldnt really comment too much on that seeing as it was the FIRST biriyani i had eaten in cochin.

We met up with most the other teams at this point, and then myself and andy went on a backwater tour of the local area. This was really good fun and dirt cheap. We got driven to this little village where our young guide met us and took us onto a small canoe type boat, whereby we then travlled across the river to a small inlet and then proceeded to travel down the canals of the kerala backwaters. We stopped off to see these little old ladies make rope out of coconut hair-and were shocked when we learnt that they earnt the equivelent of 40 pence per day...for making 100 long lengths of rope. We then visited a place that had lots of spices growing. It was quite fun to smell the spices freshly picked rather than out of a spice jar brought from tesco's! Following a snack of some fresh coconut juice and some coconut flesh, we headed back for some drinks and a chat with the other teams.

We learnt that the rickshaws are arriving throughout the night as they have to be individually driven in to the city due to the fact that a van which can hold 40 rickshaws, is unlikely to be able to fit into a city where rickshaws can barely fit down the streets!

The ride starts tomorrow after a game of cricket and a cup of tea!