GOA, INDIA: From Easy Rider to Ernesto Guvera’s Motorcycle Diaries, journeying across a continent on two wheels is a perennial fantasy for males coming of age, who yearn for an independent adventure, on the road, with no particular destination.
The latest demographic with the wind in their hair are Israeli’s aged twenty something. Just released from their three years of military service, they have one thing on their mind: to escape.
“You live in India like a king, said Manor Friedman, a 23-year-old from a village north of Tel Aviv, where his brothers are too young to understand why their hero is traveling around India on a 1979 Enfield motorbike and his mother too conscious of the dangers to be told.
“For three years as a paramedic in the Israeli Defence Forces I dreamt of traveling to Australia. That was my dream. I was given books for my birthday and every night I dreamt of Australia. This is what we talk about in the army, where you are going when it is all over. India, South America or Australia are the three main destinations.
“But in Australia it is expensive. You have to work part of the time. In India it is a year’s vacation. Everything is possible in India. All options are open to us.
Friedman is not alone. Various estimates suggest that the number of Israelis traveling in India at any one time exceeds 50,000.
“We call this the Homous Tour, Friedman said. “If you go north to the State of Himachal Pradesh, into the Kullu Valley, 80 percent of the people are Israelis. They are drawn by the scenery, the mountain hot springs and the availability and healing capacity of the indigenous herbs.
Friedman, who hadn’t shaved for a number of days, was living his dream. For the price of a one-way ticket and $470 for the bike, plus the money he saved selling oil paintings door to door in the UK prior to departure, he was free. Free from the army, free from expectations and free from decisions.
“I have been traveling now for six months. Apart from two weeks in Nepal, the rest of the time has been on my bike. You learn a lot about yourself on the bike. I have ridden 5,000 km, so you have a lot of time to think. Think about yourself, life, music and maybe the future.
“I don’t know what my plans are when I get home. I’ll go to university, but I don’t know what I’ll study. Maybe study medicine or become an emergency paramedic. Possibly law. I think I have a business head, so maybe I’ll study business, I haven’t decided. he said.
His budget for 12 months in India is a maximum $6,000, excluding the one-way ticket he purchased to the subcontinent. On this money he also hopes to go scuba diving on the Andaman Islands, which are halfway to Thailand, in the Indian Ocean.
On Palolem Beach, Goa, Friedman, plus three friends share a simple bamboo hut with a shower for $6 per night. “Goa is expensive compared to the north and other states in India. Petrol for the bike costs $1.20 per litre. It can be more in places. This is the same price as Israel.
Friedman wears a helmet when riding the Enfield. He took one spill when a truck forced him off the road, but he wasn’t hurt. Yet, he says, “many Israelis are hurt in India. There are crazy drivers everywhere, you must wear a helmet and always be checking your mirrors and be alert.
“Western style food is what I miss most from home, he said. “I don’t much like spicy food and when ever we see McDonalds, it doesn’t matter if we had eaten five minutes ago, we have to stop. In fact we run for it when we see McDonalds and they even have a McMaharaja Burger.
“The food is not important. It is the people. You meet good guys everywhere. Here in Goa on the beach, everywhere on the bike you are meeting people. We arrived at Palelom Beach, we were just two. Now we are 16, Friedman said, pointing towards the closely packed huts nestled in a quiet coconut grove.
“And they are my only problem, Friedman said pointing up at a coconut palm, “It is the only place in the world where you have to look up before parking.
