Epic Indus river journey beckons

Motorcycling is behind him but India is still very much on Peter Riordan's mind.

"We're definitely going to go back but I couldn't bear it if it was just for two weeks," says Riordan, a newspaper sub-editor, who lives in Wellington with Stephanie and their son Tim, aged 5.

At one stage they were going to buy a motorbike, with a sidecar for Tim, but after two failed attempts in Australia to get a licence, Riordan flagged that idea.

For now he's enjoying the "big vote of confidence" he gained in winning a $A21,000 ($26,000) travel writing award and dreams of making another epic journey by following the course of the Indus River, from Tibet to the Arabian Sea.

He has some advice for anyone taking on the challenge of motorcycling in India. "Focus on a couple of states and don't exhaust yourself trying to see everything.

"Rajasthan and Gujarat, which are often overlooked, would be a good start and the roads round the [Pakistan] border are well maintained."

Forget any fears about food. "Initially you think 'my God, I'm not eating in there.' But in a few weeks we'd be going to equally vile [looking] places and tucking in," says Riordan.

The one thing that scared Riordan in India, the second most populous place on Earth after China, was the crowds. "Keep away from mass gatherings. The crowds seem to take on a life of their own."