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Previous Events from the Same Team
The 2006 Himalaya Classic Rally
The Himalaya Classic Rally 2006 was a grand journey from Islamabad in Pakistan to Calcutta in West Bengal, via Nepal. Pakistan was an eye-opened for many people as it proved very friendly and scenic. We even took in a steam railway journey up the Khyber Pass!
The Rally crossed the IndoPak border at Wagah which was an experience in itself, before driving to nearby Amritsar, the home of the Golden Temple. Stops at the old Raj hill stations of Dharamsala, Shimla, Mussoorie, and Nainital were supplemented with a night at Rishikesh, the old haunt of the Beatles in the 60’s. Crossing into Nepal we visited Royal Bardia, Lumbini, beautiful Pokhara and Kathmandu. Once more in India the rally took in Darjeeling and Gangtok in Sikkim before heading for Calcutta via Siliguri, Malda and Murshidabad. A rousing welcome in Calcutta from people and press were the icing on the cake.
The 1st Jewel of India – 1999
The first Jewel of India was an epic journey covering 6,500 kilometres, taking a small but beautiful band of classic cars from Mumbai (Bombay) to Madras (Chennai) via Rajasthan. In Rajasthan we visited Udaipur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. The Rally then headed east to Agra and the Taj Mahal before turning south to Kipling country and the jungle camp of Khana. Continuing south we visited Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty, Madurai, Trichinopolli and Pondicherry before crossing the finishing line.
An exciting event saw Chris and Jill Wray win the Jewel of India Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the best combination of good humour, patience, reliability and Spirit. The 1936 4.5litre Bentley of the Wrays was not as rapid as the Jaguar XK120 of Paul and Mary Kane but its reliability was the deciding factor.
Highlights of the event proved to be the Tiger “hunts” in the forests, the tranquillity of the old English hill station of Ooty, the morning mist over the Taj Mahal, the desert city of Jaisalmer, the Polo match in Jaipur and the exhilaration of driving the shoreline on the Corramandel coast.
The 2nd Jewel of India - 2001
The 2nd Jewel of India was just as challenging with the cars starting and finishing in Udaipur. At the drop of the starters flag wielded by His Royal Highness Arvind Singh Mewar the cars headed east to Bhopal, Pachmarhi and Khana National Park before turning north to the holy of holy cities, Varanasi. The real fun started with the drive into Nepal and Kathmandu. Heading north the great Himalayan mountains grew taller and taller as we approached the border with Nepal. Kathmandu, the city in the clouds was an experience all of its own, with holy sites, great history and hippies in even number.
Leaving Nepal by its western border, the event took in some of the great hill stations of India, including Nainital, Shimla and Dharamsala. We even stopped at Rishikesh, the Beatles’ city of enlightenment. Breaking out of the hills the event dropped onto the desert landscape of Rajasthan and the oasis of Gajner before moving on to the great and ancient desert city of Jaisalmer. The event finished in Udaipur 23 days after setting off from the same city, thereby completing a unique circle of India.
Highlights of this event included the Ghats of Varanasi and Kathmandu, the safari camp of Royal Bardia, the tranquillity of Rishikesh, the holy town of Dharamsala, Camel Camp at Ossian and the magnificent fort of Kumbhalgarh.
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