How an adventurous duo travelled thousands of kilometres "" and through dozens of countries "" in their car? | |
| At a time when the trend is to notch up air-miles, this medico couple decided to do it differently "" notch up over 20,000 km on ground. It was a dream they nursed for nearly two years, before they could put it in action, having gathered enough money to set off on their own! |
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| So, off they set "" a 31-year-old physician from Hyderabad, Dr Justin Aryabhat Gopaldas, and a 29-year-old psychiatrist from Bangalore, Ashlesha Bagadia "" packing their entire household in a car (since they were also closing their UK chapter, having lived there for nearly four years!) to explore cultural, archaeological and historical sites, touching base with nearly 18 countries in the process. |
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| Backing their travel enthusiasm was a love for hardcore adventure "" from mountaineering and whitewater rafting to scuba diving, the duo claim to have done it all! |
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| "It's amazing to see the number of people travelling by road without having set any deadlines for themselves. These are real travellers. But it's only when you hit the road that you realise that there are so few Indians among them," says Gopaldas. |
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| After hours of research on the net and scanning though numerous travel guide books, they drew up a rough guide for themselves and sealed their budget at 100 pounds a day, covering all expenses, including food, fuel, parking and any tax (or fine) that came their way! |
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| But that, they say, was much easier than getting themselves visas to most countries. "We felt so cheated, as unlike Westerners who easily get visas at the borders and therefore are more free to take impromptu decisions as to what their next destination is to be, we (being Indian nationals) had to plan each move and apply accordingly," says Bagadia. |
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| Luckily, most countries granted them ample time on their territory, allowing a degree of flexibility to alter their route. "This was not regular travel. Our aim was to include as many ancient civilisations and cultures as possible, and we were on a mission..." says Gopaldas. |
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| The "mission" is their contribution towards the cause of under-privileged children. Before embarking on their journey, the couple set up a donation box to raise funds for UNICEF as they went along. |
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| To clear the burden of contributing to global warming, they offset the carbon emissions resulting from the drive through Climate Care: the deal was that Climate Care would calculate the carbon released and the couple would pay them the corresponding amount, which would be spent on environment-friendly projects. |
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| As they travelled through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iran, they captured it all on their camera. |
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| So be it the flower-fields in Holland, the feluccas (and the night life) on the river Nile, concentration camps in Auschwitz, the busy streets of Istanbul, the closed markets built by the Ottomans in Iran, the ruins of Petra, Acropolis, Pompei, the pyramids of Giza or their desert drive to Palmyra, they brought back colourful images with them. |
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| As in any long journey, there were hiccups. In Sweden, someone broke the rear window of their car and decamped with their guitar, iPod, camera lens and camping equipment. |
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| "It was a lesson that we must lug along whatever we think is valuable with us, and rearrange the stuff in the car to give an impression of emptiness!" says Gopaldas. |
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| In terms of red tape, Egypt made up for all the countries that they passed through. "We spent over six hours at Customs to get the paperwork sorted. Running from one window to another, paying endless fees, getting the locals to fill out Arabic forms, fixing Arabic registration plates to our car, emptying out our luggage for the sniffer dogs, the hot afternoon was endless..." remembers Gopaldas. |
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| Driving in Egypt was less harrowing though. Despite checkpoints at every corner, the locals were as friendly as those in Syria or Jordan. |
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| Now back in the country, the couple have put their pictures up on display. The show has been curated by a Delhi-based photographer, Sandeep Biswas, and presented by Ajay Rajgarhia of www.wonderwall.co.in, a site dedicated to fine art photography. As for the duo, this has definitely been a long road home! |
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