NEW DELHI: From a tiny New Delhi storefront decorated with Tibetan prayer flags, blond-haired Balu rents and repairs bikes, and more importantly, advises western biker tourists how not to lose it while travelling in India.
“I’ve watched people lose their mind,” says the unflappable, blue-eyed Balu, 41, who uses only one name like many locals even though he hails from New Mexico in the United States.
“When you take off on your bike” don’t get angry, Balu tells two English tourists who visit his Bulletwalas shop in the tourist area Paharganj to plan a trip.
The shop’s name is a reference to the Royal Enfield motorcycle, popularly known as the Bullet, which is favoured by Balu and by many motorcycle aficionados in India.
The shaggy-haired burly American started his shop, which doubles as a travel and life advice agency, in March 2004 after years of being approached by strangers who wanted to ride with him as he biked around India.
“Someone was always coming to our hotel door to get information, being told ‘go and see Balu and Laura’ about travelling here and there,” he says, referring to his travel partner and girlfriend, who is Italian.
Two years later, Balu has tied up with some 24 hotels and garages in tourist hot spots, allowing them to use the Bulletwalas name and sending bikers their way.
“Now when foreigners are trying to start a business, people say ‘Go see Balu’,” he says.
As friends hang out in his shop, Balu, who worked as a ranch hand in the American west before arriving in India to travel in 1999, talks to the two Englishmen about their plans.
“I don’t want to ride a bike for more than a week,” Richard Blackburn, 31, tells Balu.
“Uh ... right,” says Balu, staring at a map of India stuck with pink flags to highlight places worth visiting.
A few hours later, Blackburn and his pal leave Bulletwalas with plans to ride down to beach resort Goa, approximately 1,510 kilometres away.—AFP
