Raising over £2000 for Mind, Cool Earth, and, as ever, St. George's Charity, my regular tropical-adventure buddy Fred and I embarked on another motorised endurance race in October 2019.

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Seeing as traversing India in 2012 hadn't inflicted enough punishment, we decided to race against 40 other teams, solo and unsupported, urging our small but mighty rickshaw (or autorickshaw) over mountains, through endless tea farms, steamy jungles, rugged wilderness, nature-rich national parks, rural local towns, sleepy roadside villages, and chaotic but vibrant cities.

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Over 10 days of continuous driving with only map and compass for navigation, we circumnavigated the stunning and remote island, driving for 12 hours a day, every day through melting sun, thick humidity and unpredictable, violent tropical storms. Temperatures (with no fan or aircon available) easily reached 43 °C, and daily mileages regularly exceeded 300 miles.

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A male elephant charging at us for food, stumbling upon 100 crocodiles sunning themselves, bribing an elephant with biscuits, swarmed and attacked by leeches, turning taxi driver in Kandi, sleeping by an abandoned beach and hotel resort, passing military checkpoints full of waving soldiers, drinking secret beers, surfing in the sunset, rum and playing cards, almost falling down a remote ravine, chasing storms and running from them... Some of the moments that made up this short, intense but really fun and wacky expedition.

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The most amazing part? Our rickshaw never once broke down or complained. It went through it all and when you compare that to the daily breakdowns our Indian rickshaw had...well, for Fred and me, it was amazing.

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Fred and I have our eye on a similar expedition for the future. Let's see what transpires!​​​