Two Wheels in the Dust: From Kathmandu to Kandy

by Anne Mustoe

India is no place for the faint-hearted cyclist. The streets are jammed with cars, buses, rickshaws, animals, fortune-tellers, barbers, beggars and people sleeping or cooking. In this hectic environment, Anne Mustoe found a pocket of calm - a man praying to Hanuman at a roadside shrine. Her curiosity about this magical Hindu monkey-god was to lead her through the entire Indian subcontinent and back three millennia - to the origins of the Sanskrit epc, the Ramayana.

Beginning in Kathmandu in Nepal, and ending in the tranquil hill town of Kandy in Sri Lanka, Anne Mustoe's amazing journey by bicycle is told with keen observation and the relish of the open road. Following the paths of the Ramayana's characters, Rama, Sita, and Hanuman, the intrepid Ms Mustoe's rich experiences really bring the journey alive, and the Indian subcontinent is explored in all its cultural and spiritual diversity.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, India, Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Anne Mustoe was an English schoolteacher, a touring cyclist, author of travel books and former headmistress of Saint Felix School, Southwold, Suffolk.

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third Anne Mustoe book I've read and, frankly, I didn't like it as much as the other two. In this one she travels in India, following the route of 'The Ramayana' (Rama's Journey). Throughout the book she mixes the tale of Rama with tales of her own experiences. I can't quite put my finger on it, but for some reason, this book just didn't engage me as a travel book usually would. She seemed to have fallen into that trap of just reciting "I did this. I saw that. I ate here." and so forth. I never felt drawn into her travels. She never made me wish I were there with her ... and for me, that is what a good travel book should do. It's really just a 2.5 Stars book, but I'll round it up, since I did learn a bit, and I always appreciate that.

3 Stars = Okay. It was worth reading.

[H. Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author cycles the route of the Ramayana epic, from Nepal to Sri Lanka. I found it interesting, though "purists" may feel a tad cheated in that Mustoe presents the journey in piecemeal fashion, concentrating more on the travel narrative aspect then cycling matters; she didn't do the entire thing at once. As much as one-third of the text consists of (italicized) Ranayana plot summary at the end of each chapter.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened across this book on my parents book case while visiting them recently and it accompanied me on my return flights home while also successfully resurrecting my travel bug.

Although having visited India in 2014 as a naive 16 year old, now at 26 this book revealed that I still remained somewhat ignorant to the colourful yet clashing chaos that India is as a nation. With minimal life experience at 16, caste systems, social norms and Hindu epics just weren’t within my scope of understanding so I am extremely grateful to have re visited India this way through Anne’s travels with a few more world understandings under my belt.

While at times I did struggle to make sense of the overall purpose and her occasional off kilter opinions, I found it to be extremely informative and a beautiful insight into India (during the 90’s), the Hindu religion and pilgrimages both the religious and bike packing kind.

Passport has been ordered.

[Mr P G Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read by Anne Mustoe but I’ve read several cycle touring books by other authors. I bought this book based on a good review I read. It’s not a bad read and I quite enjoyed all the parts about cycle touring. However, the book is interspersed with fairly lengthy sections about Hindu mythology - specifically Rama and Sita. I wasn’t prepared for this and this wasn’t really what I was after.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.... not the greatest. She bikes around India to follow the central characters of the Ramayana, which is told alternately throughout her memoir. But I get no sense of how these locations really impacted her nor the story, it all felt very surface level and biking hardly played a role. I've heard her other books are better but this was the only one I could get through the library.

[Mohan Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant
All about Ramayana the epic Hindu text.
Mustoe traces the route in the epuc from Nepal to Sri lanka.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more "joined up" than the previous 2 books.
I still got annoyed with her attitude sometimes though.

[Ape · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made pretty interesting reading, and very good armchair travelling, as I don't suppose I'm ever likely to visit all of the places she visits here. I think I actually enjoyed this book a wee bit more than her Cleopatra's Needle book that I read a few years ago.

This is the tale of bicycle English lady Anne Mustoe travelling all the way through Nepal, India, and on to Sri Lanka, following the journey of famous Indian epic the Ramayana, visiting the places where the action took place, and where temples and murals about this ancient story are in India. It's actually a journey that she made in bits over many years, and not in the order of the actual epic, so it can occasionally feel a wee bit... well, bitty! Some parts she enjoyed more than others - she didn't seem to be a fan of Nepal, liked parts of India, and Sri Lanka was a very mixed bag. Colombo, the capital, doesn't come out of it well at all, but Kandy sounds lovely. She meets a real ecletic mix of characters on her travels, gets frustrated by Indian attitudes and the caste system - to be fair, it would drive me nuts as well. Everyone has their own little niche and job and won't take any responsibility or gumption to deal with anything outside of it. Such as when she was visiting a place... was it a school? I forget. And a bike had fallen over and was lying in the path. As it was no one's job, they all ignored it, but had to clamber over the thing; and she had to suggest to them, why don't we pick it up and prop it against the wall?

She'd orginally decided to make this journey upon finding out about Hamuman, the monkey god in Ramayana, and hey, that's a good enough reason to go on a journey for me! As well as the travels she does also tell the summarised version of the Ramayana. Rama is the main protagionist, along with his wife Sita, whom he treats like crap on a couple of occasions towards the end - I appreciate it's a child of its time (ie very ancient) and a product of the culture (caste system, lack of rights for women etc) but even so, I can't say it ends with him in the best of lights as far as I see it. Did like the monkey gods and monkey armies though.

I love this idea of cycling about, taking weeks over travelling and just beetling about, exploring the little corners of randomness here and there. I just real life didn't get in the way!!!

[Reena · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you turn your head quickly, you may just catch a fleeting glimpse of him now, listening quietly in the corner.

Last line from Two Wheels in the Dust.

This book seemed confused between a travelogue and an introduction into Hindu mythology. The author tried to explain her choice of root, tracing the journey in the Ramayana but myths are inserted awkwardly at intervals during the journey rather than smoothly integrated into it. They would have been fascinating if I didn’t already know them. What made this worth a read was the other more recent history, which was interesting as I didn’t already know about it.

Liked the roadside safety poster slogans:

Do not zoom
To your doom.

Impatient on the road
Patient in the hospital.

Better be called Mr Late
than the Late Mr.

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable account of an older British woman's trek through India. I appreciated her open-minded and adventurous spirit, and her genuine attempts to learn and understand Indian culture. She handles many frustrations and setbacks with grace and ingenuity. This book has certainly increased my desire to see the country for myself!

[Janice Bridger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, loved the link to the story of Rama and Sita and Hanuman the monkey god. I also learned about the Hindu religion including the caste system. The disappointing aspect was the journey- the map and description were both confusing- half the time I didn't really get where she was and how it linked up. A better map and clearer details and I would have given it more stars.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining background to Indian mythology and how much it still influences current culture.

[Marty Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem from Ms. Mustoe. A wonderful book for anyone interested in Indian history, culture, religion...as well as bicycle touring. Mustoe is truly one of a kind!

[Jessica Feinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best descriptions of the caste system I've read.

[Selva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good travelogue !