A Last Chance PowerDrive Part 1 Highways and Highlights
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About this ebook
In October 2011 a burnt out teacher decided to change his life. Benedict Beaumont quit his job as a secondary school teacher, flew to Delhi, bought a Royal Enfield Motorbike and drove through the Himalayas.
Part 1 of A Last Chance Powerdrive is the start of his adventures in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Along the way he narrowly avoids turning his Enfield into a firebomb, meets travelling divinities, watches Buddhist Llamas dance, is guided to a lost village by a stray dog and crosses the haunted passes of Kunzum-La and Rohtang.
It weaves the stories of the people he meets with the mythical narrative of the landscape and his own personal history as he takes his bike Carmen over some of the highest passes in the world.
Benedict Beaumont
Benedict Beaumont has led several lives; IT engineer, Secondary School Teacher and Chef to name but three. He grew up in the south of England, but has travelled extensively. He divides his time between Asia, the Alps and Brighton.
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Reviews for A Last Chance PowerDrive Part 1 Highways and Highlights
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Not bad what’s there, but stops abruptly and leaves you hanging. No link to Part 2, if it ever existed.
Book preview
A Last Chance PowerDrive Part 1 Highways and Highlights - Benedict Beaumont
A Last Chance Powerdrive
Part 1 Gods on Tour and Dreaming in High Places
Highways and Highlights
By Benedict Beaumont
Copyright 2012 Benedict Beaumont
Published by Benedict Beaumont at Smashwords
Cover by http://peterwoolf.com
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author
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Authors Note
This e-book is an edited version of ‘A Last Chance Powerdrive Part 1 Gods on Tour and Dreaming in High Places’. It is based on the online diary I kept as I travelled round India in October 2011. If you enjoy it, please buy the full version from Amazon here .
More downloads, other stories, news of other publications, photos and videos are available on my website http://benedictbeaumont.wordpress.com and on facebook.com/alastchancepowerdrive.
Table of Contents
Forward
Cradled in the Afterglow of a hot Delhi day
A Few Firsts
Pyrrhic Battles and Kisses of Fate
Gods on Tour and Dreaming in Wild Places
Dan and the Road ahead
Childhood Thrills and Jamaica’s Inn
Taming the Landscape with Laughter
The Legend of Kunzum-La and Rohtang
The Road to Kunzum-La
About the Author
~~~~
Forward
In my head the trailer for the Hollywood film of this story starts something like this:
[In a deep American drawl]
In a land of mystery, in a time of change, one man's discovery leads to the journey of a lifetime
. Or perhaps, He was a man on the edge, he had nothing to lose. In a land far away, he found something that would change his life forever
. This story would be cinematic, have a chiselled hero, a bit Indiana Jones, a bit Ewan McGregor in a montage of stunning shots of mountains, closeup's of emotional faces (laughter, tears, anger, joy), pictures of exotic people and places, all in glorious saturated, cinematic 35mm colour.
However the likelihood is that it is more like:
[In a middle English slightly sarcastic accent]
Middle aged geezer gets neurotic about getting old and losing his hair, jacks in his teaching job and tries to regain his youth by motorcycling round India
. This would have much smaller production values, perhaps an odd looking comedy character actor, shot in sets built in TV studios, but maybe with some pathos, irony and a bittersweet and painful, self awareness and comedy.
Truth is though, we never know exactly what the strapline or the summary of our adventures or even our life will be whilst we are there. I will let you make up your mind if it is either of these.
~~~~
Part 1
Gods on Tour and Dreaming in Wild Places
Cradled in the Afterglow of a hot Delhi day
The first day was easy. The flight from London had a two hour stopover in Dubai, before we landed in Delhi. The food was good and I watched a film and read. A driver with my name on a card was waiting for me in the arrival hall, ready to take me to the hotel. My cash card worked in the atm at the airport and I had money in my pocket. Simple, straightforward and easy.
The hotel was in a traditional backpacker area; a