Fitting in

Sparkly thongs are inexpensive and surprisingly comfortable.  Plus, sparkly!!

But wait!  Something is missing!!!

That's better J

How to transport soil sampling equipment from Brisbane, Australia to Pundibari, India

You may need to do soil testing in India.  In case this ever happens to you, here is a handy guide to escorting bulky semi-valuable soil sampling equipment to India.  

Aim

To take to India the equipment necessary to extract soil cores of up to 2m which will be difficult to source in region.

Materials

I traveled with a 2m long hollow metal tube (about 5cm diameter) with specialised tips to each end (approx weight 5kg) and a mallet with a neoprene-coated contact end (AKA a donger, approx weight 10kg).  

All packages ready to leave home!

Method
1. Wrap your gear up well before you leave home.
For the coring tube I taped together 2.25 poster tubes, packed the core well with packing peanuts, and wrapped the whole lot up with packing tape.  The donger I wrapped in an inner layer of bubble wrap, with extra on the neoprene business end, then a middle layer of butchers' paper and an outer layer of packing tape.

Donger and soil corer ready to travel.  Magazine included for scale

2. Adjust your suitcase to ensure that your total weight is still below 25kg, making sure not to omit the first aid kit, DEET supplies, bedsheet, etc, with which you must travel.  The good part about travelling "light" now is that you will have additional space and weight available on the return journey J

 3. Order a maxi taxi to get to the airport.  Expect surprise and bemusement from driver as he sees you struggling to the car with your suitcase, donger and tube; don't worry, you will be used to this reaction by the time you get to Pundibari

On the way to the airport at crack of dawn you may be in the mood to appreciate the start of another fine winter's day in Brisbane.  Or you may be thinking about coffee

Maxi taxi...simple and comfortable for passengers

4. Once you've checked in your suitcase and got boarding passes, take the corer and donger to the Oversized Luggage drop off area.  Wait for it to get x-rayed and wave it farewell.  You'll probably have mixed feelings, given its bulk, about whether you DO actually want to see it again in Delhi.  Of course, that might be the lack of coffee.

Donger being accepted by Brisbane OS luggage handlers

5. Once you've landed and cleared immigration you'll have a bit of a search to find the OS luggage collection point.  You'll know it by the bored man supervising people frantically rescuing their XL TVs and righting the boxes which appear to have traveled upside down without much heed being paid to the "Fragile" and "This way up" stickers.  And the occasional package which, thrillingly (it's been at least 15 hours since you left home), looks like a gun but turns out to be an extremely well wrapped umbrella.

Collect donger, corer and your suitcase, and head to the emigration gates.

Delhi OS luggage collection

Some people must really love their umbrellas

6. Traveling is harder on soil equipment than it is on people: you'll probably find that you need more packing tape before you can go any further.  This is an excellent opportunity to go shopping!  India is a wonderful country: where there is packing tape there are also shoes.  Get both.  Encase donger and corer in an additional layer of tape.  Enjoy shoes.

7. When you head back to Delhi airport (BTW Delhi domestic is a surprisingly good place to shop...allow extra time for potential delays clearing security AND for browsing before boarding) you'll find that the soldiers posted outside are surprisingly relaxed about letting you in with what looks like a couple of large, heavy (well wrapped) weapons.  They might be slightly confused ("A hammer, Madam?  Not a sitar?  No problem, Madam, enter please,") but very cool about letting you in.

Donger being accepted at general OS luggage collection point

After you check your suitcase you will have at least FOUR extra people to assist you and take you to the OS luggage drop off.  You'll be able to drop the donger there, but will find that the standard OS luggage drop off is only for (relatively) small OS luggage, and a 2m corer is too large for OS luggage.

We search for the XL OS luggage department

Most people (including most of those who work there) at Delhi airport don't know that there is a second OS luggage drop off point, for XL OS luggage.  It is good to make sure that your assistants don't all melt away at this point as you search for XL OS.

Do not be alarmed if the XL OS collection people seem surprised that you are hoping to see your luggage again in a few hours.

Soil corer eventually delivered into the care of XL OS luggage 

8. When you arrive into Bagdogra airport you'll have a mentally stimulating quarter hour between collecting your suitcase off the carousel and seeing your donger and corer appear.  This will give you an opportunity to reflect on all the ways luggage can be lost or damaged in transit,on how easy it will be to claim a donger and corer on travel insurance, and on the meaning of life.

It really is worth waiting close to the carousel entrance, as both donger and corer are too large to stay on the carousel as it bends around.

Donger arriving into Bagdogra at last

9. It turns out it IS possible to put a 2.2m long package, and a donger, and two suitcases (only one mine!) into a small hatchback with four people in it for the four hour drive from Bagdogra to Cooch Behar.  However you will not be able to travel in comfort: probably two of you at any one time will be sharing space with the corer.  It is particularly desirable that the driver is not impeded by the corer: insist on this, even if it means contradicting your very kind Indian colleagues.

10.  Once you have the equipment at Cooch Behar you'll need to transfer it to the world's smallest minivan to drive to Pundibari.  This is only a 30 minute drive, which is a Good Thing as the road is falling apart fast and small minivans do not have much in the way of suspension.

11.  Store your equipment in a spare corner of the university you've delivered them to, and reflect on the fact that you'll have to repeat the process a couple more times in the next six months.

Discussion and conclusion
Packing tape was vital to the success of this enterprise.  Initial estimates of the amount required were insufficient however it is very easy to buy packing tape in Delhi.

Look for packing tape in a market.  Markets give you a wide range of shopping options all in one handy location.