OTHER Preparations

Friends,

Top of the heap was to register a Company so that we could build a brand and develop a niche segment in the travel industry. The object of the formation of the company was to carry on business of doing Adventure Tourism related activities, producing documentary films related to adventure and tourism, conducting Exhibitions and Events and management of the same, engaging in Hospitality Services, operating equipment shops, etc. it was also decided that contributions received for the journey would be received on behalf of the Company. The actual issue was with naming the Company. The three of us debated various names in Lal’s house one morning for quite some time and then adjourned to think some more. Then I went to meet Mary, of UPM Advertising, about branding, visibility, etc. It did not take her more than a few minutes to come up with ‘Nomadination’ when I told her about man’s inherent nomadic nature and travel across nations. The tag line was decided too on the spot: Indulge Your Imagination Across Every Nation. The Company was registered in that name and we decided to brand it too. Later, due to paucity of funds we decided against any major thrust on that front. Since Record Drive was already up on the Fb it was decided to go along with that.

There has to be an objective for travel. We felt that it would be most appropriate to take goodwill across nations, spread the word on Kerala tourism and celebrate 75 years of Malayalam cinema, with one of the most gifted artists travelling with us. Intolerance is spreading across societies and nations like an uncontrolled canker. Intolerance is the result of wanting to either preserve a status quo or to protect segmented and narrow interest. Travel, we believe, is one of the right means by which this can be sorted. When we travel we become more aware, more conscious of the thread that connects us as human beings. The Universality of man and the brotherhood of man alone can take us on the path of progress and human development. In this we have decided to make the London trip an annual affair, motivating youngsters and mature people, regardless of gender. This will be done through the Company that we have formed and will leverage the partnerships that we have built and will build.

After registering the Company it was necessary to open a bank account quickly as we were already dipping into our personal savings and the first installment of Coral Buiders was waiting to be handed over. I approached HDFC for I had been banking with them for nearly a decade. Despite the best follow up I had to face humongous delays and a totally non-responsive attitude. Therefore, I shifted my attention to the ICICI bank and its Thevara branch, due to its proximity to my residence. Things went smoother there, but certain delays could not be factored in.

When one goes on a trip as prolonged as this and that too across different countries a comprehensive packing list is a must. What has to be taken and what should be avoided is critical. Research and experience make for important companions when deciding this. Must we take oxygen cylinders? Would additional fuel tanks be required? What about chemical toilets? Should we have a tent and sleeping bags? Debates and discussions later I drew up a packing list and circulated for compliance. Certain common factors would be the responsibility of the team leader, such as First Aid kit, essential food items, etc. most important were copies of ID proof, International Driving Permits, etc. Of course, we could have left the originals behind. We also had to limit the size of personal baggage for we have so many other items, some voluminous, to carry in the boot of the car. When we aggregated the items for the journey we thanked our lucky stars that we had decided on a car with such a lot of luggage space.

It was my intention to meet up with high officials in London. Towards this end I sourced the email addresses of the Prime Minister of UK and the Mayor of London. I was unsure if my mails would receive any attention at all from these officials, given my experience with the worthies in India. I was in for a huge surprise. In a couple of weeks I had responses from both. Even though both requests were regretted, I was happy that I at least got a response. Then came my experience with Malayalee associations. The internet provided information of their email addresses. I addressed as many as I could, along our route. To this day not one has been responded to! Departure from that was my experience with the Indian Missions abroad. I have very encouraging responses from them – I even rerouted to go to Prague, thanks to the response from the Ambassador of that country. Mr. Ranjan Mathai was the first to respond from London. We look forward to meeting up with these high officials during the journey.

The rest of the arrangements included that for accommodation. In India my batch mates have booked us into Railway Officers’ GHs. The contribution of Sharat Jethi (CCM West Central Railway), Anup Dayanand (Sr. DOM, Bangalore), Arvind Kumar (CCM North Eastern Railway) and JN Jha (COM South Central Railway) are critical in this. Mohan, an old colleague from CONCOR, has taken on facilitation in Nepal, including border passage. The Chinese guide will assist us in China while accommodation was booked in Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Schengen as part of the visa procedures. This was facilitated by Mirus, our travel partner.

A VISA Odyssey

Friends,

Right at the beginning of the planning process I had identified the Chinese visa and permit to be the most time consuming. Hence, I started discussion with Navo, the tour agency recommended by Tushar Aggarwal (he and his wife had done London to Delhi by road), in 2013. That is when I realised that it is necessary, as per government regulations, to engage an approved tour operator and choose from among the itineraries provided by them to drive in Tibet/China. Google maps gave me an approximate driving distance of 3700 kilometers through Tibet/China. Though this distance could have been covered in about 7 days I had to choose between a 14 day and 18 day itinerary. The fascinating parts of the route would be visits to Mt Everest base camp, Lake Mansarovar and Mt Kailash. It is also a government stipulation that a guide accompanies the group in the car and virtually lives with you during the entire duration of the trio through Tibet/China. Navo was completely upfront with the fee and the anticipated expenses for various activities. It took my breath away when I realised that it would cost between Rs. 4 to 4.5 lakhs per person for the 14 day expedition through Tiber/China. Moreover, the Navo fee would be for a minimum of two persons in one car. Thus, by having two others with me the overheads would get split. The guide would have to be provided accommodation, food and a daily tip. Navo undertook to take care of the entire process for visas and permit efficiently and without any hidden costs. They suggested that the process be started in January 2014, after the Chinese New Year, for entry into Tibet/China in late May 2014.

Entry into Nepal can be obtained by Indian citizens by producing any identity stipulated by the government. A driving license will do. The difficult thing regarding Nepal is the requirement of Carnet the only country along the route that needed it. Once the route was decided in late 2013 the Visas to be obtained were identified as those for Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Schengen, UK and Ireland besides China. Most of the Central Asian countries have their visa processing centres in Delhi. I considered that it would be a logistical nightmare to handle visa and permits from Cochin. I started talking to Udaan, an established tour operator in Delhi. Though they gave me the confidence that they could do it I found responses from them extremely difficult to obtain. Therefore, I sought advice and suggestions from Akbar Travels and Air Travel Enterprises. The latter put me on to Mirus Lifestyle Events (P) Ltd. After a brief interaction I decided to hire them as our visa partner. Together we set a timeframe and fee structure. It involved many rounds of discussion. But little went as per plan!

Mirus laid before me a well structured visa application documentation process. First, I sent in the required documents for the Chinese visa. Mirus decided to partner Navo, since I passed on information and details I had obtained from them earlier. There was no application form to be filled in. Photographs of the car from four different angles, scanned passport details, scanned driving license, etc were transferred to Navo and the process for obtaining visas began in right earnest. Second, I painstakingly compiled all supporting documents for the three of us to put in the visa applications for Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Schengen – Ukraine was dropped from the route in January 2014 and the route was modified to enter Estonia, a Schengen State from Russia. Visa applications for UK and Ireland were to be filled on line. Mirus held discussion with all the visa processing centres in Delhi. What emerged was that none of the countries had handled a driving expedition from India – the process and time had to evolve through this experience. The timeframe and conditions they set started alarm bells in me. UK, for instance, insisted that the visa application could be inserted only 3 months prior to the entry date; without the destination visa Schengen was reluctant to issue visa. Kazakhstan wanted both the Kyrgyzstan and Russian visas in place before they acted on the application. The saving grace was that Mirus always looked positive about getting all visas and permits in place in time; they worked hard on them and it showed.

In the meanwhile Baiju found out that the VFS centre in Cochin accepts UK visa applications. Mirus organised online filing and scheduled appointments. At the time of the appointment for ascertaining documents we discovered that we could fast track the process through a special fee. Everything went better than planned and the stamped passports were received within four days. David at the VFS Germany centre in Cochin suggested meticulous documentation. I thought he was going overboard with his suggestion. In retrospect, however, it was his suggestions that were responsible for the quick disposal of our application by the Bangalore German Visa Processing Centre. Two visas in the bag in two weeks and another four to go; we had just three weeks. In the meanwhile, letters of invitation had been obtained for visits to Russia and Kyrgyzstan through agents that insisted on making hotel bookings and organizing guides. We paid more than double the rates available on the net for room bookings through the agents – beggars cannot be choosers, can they? However, the visas happened in quick succession. Then we hit a road block with Kazakhstan. They said that the ‘normal’ processing time would be a week, by which we would not be able to get our passports back in Cochin. The Consul gave two alternatives to ‘speed up’ the process; either get someone influential in the MEA to speak to them or pay $200 extra per passport without receipt to get the passport back in three days. I opted for the latter, even though we were heavily out of pocket. The passports were delivered as promised, stamped and ready to go. Then came the next blow. The Chinese entry may be delayed, I was told, due to certain unforeseen delays in the Tibetan permissions. The delay in entry into China would have a cascading effect on the Kazakhstan visa, which was issued for a tight 5 day window. Mirus applied for date change, which was refused. The embassy wanted the entire process to be gone over all over again. Delay, and more delay. In order to ensure that the passports are not delayed in transit MIrus has arranged to deliver them by hand in Gorakhpur.

The Chinese visas and permission to enter still remained. However, it has been confirmed that the formalities would be completed in a day by Navo representatives in Kathmandu, Nepal. The flip side is that we would have to prolong our stay in Nepal by a few days. Therefore, instead of travelling from the border directly to Kathmandu we have decided to visit Lumbini and Pokhara before travelling to Kathmandu. Once we get the visas and know the exact schedule through Tibet/China we will further tweak the itinerary and make confirmed arrangements down the route.

A PARTNERSHIP Drive

Friends,

Along with finalizing the route, sourcing the car and other preparatory work the search for sponsors  to partner the drive began in right earnest in December 2013. In the meeting held in November we identified Corporates that we could approach in Banking and Finance, Automobile Manufacturers, Jewelry and Textiles, Leisure, Retail, Construction & Building, Tyre Manufacturers and Accessories makers besides the Kerala Tourism Department. The essential idea was to source funds from companies in Kerala for it was a drive from Kerala by Keralites and more specifically, from Kochi by Kochiites.

Lal Jose suggested that we meet up with the Kerala Tourism Minister and present the case to him. In the preliminary discussions that Lal Jose had with him, Shri Anil Kumar sounded enthusiastic and positive about a partnership. Lal could open doors that would have otherwise remained firmly shut if the rest of us had approached them. This was a crucial and inalienable part of the planning process – leveraging the strengths of each of the partners. While Lal and Baiju identified possible sponsors I prepared the appeals and presentations. They were numerous and often times frustrating. The frustration is not so much in being turned down; it is that people even refuse to respond to mails, messages and phone calls. In this trait all Indians are equal – there is no segmentation or stratification; professionals right across the spectrum display total insensitivity. Even long standing friends were no exception, and that hurt very deep. Professionalism, I believe, is also about saying ‘No’ with a smile. Often times I wondered how such professionals engage their customers and mentor their subordinates. These one cannot do unless one walks the talk. 

The Tourism Minister asked us to meet him in Munnar on 30 Dec 2013 to discuss the journey and our proposal to the government. Accordingly we set out early morning in Lal’s car. We reached the appointed place and learnt that the Minister had cancelled his programme! However, we spent invaluable time together in an impromptu bonding event, which masked the disappointment of having missed the crucial meeting. After repeated attempts to get through to the Minister we finally got the missive to meet him at the Cochin International Airport at 8.30 pm. We reached in time and met the Minister in the VIP lounge. The plans were outlined and what we could do to further the cause of Kerala Tourism was detailed. The Minister expressed full support for the proposal and asked us to meet with the department officials and present the proposal. We did all that was asked and repeatedly followed up the proposal. Nothing fructified except renewed promises. At some point I gave up on the proposal even though Lal remained steadfast in the belief that the Tourism Department would extend their support.

The Joint Managing Partner of a leading Kochi based construction company, who has been a friend for years, warmly welcomed me and even asked if INR 75 lakhs was all that was needed for the trip. He promised to receive the team in London and requested me to give him a proposal, which I readily did. He insisted on sharing his lunch with me in his office café and gave me a branded umbrella and tissue boxes when he saw me off. What should one gather from such solicitous behaviour – sponsorship is just a click away? Farthest from that. Phone calls and messages went unanswered. Eventually I gave up wasting my time. Almost the same happened with Ford. I was asked to be in touch with two senior executives of Ford India in Chennai. Despite consistent follow up over 6 weeks they did not even have the courtesy to respond to a phone call, message or mail! A top executive of a finance company even jousted by saying, “So you want me to pay for your fun?” Trauma of rejection continued one after the other; we went through company after company. At times the levels of desperation were difficult to manage. During such times, I suspect, I passed on the stress to Lal and Baiju. I feel terrible about that; but I could not manage it without an external vent. Cash flow was needed and there was no source to manage that from. We started pitching in with personal funds, but it could not continue in that manner. It would, then, only be a matter of time before when we called it quits. However, the equanimity of Lal and Baiju and their cool heads saw me, more than them, through crises.

Sunil Sreedhar of Coral was the first to challenge the above mentioned prototype. In the very first meeting itself he committed to sponsoring the adventure partly. He met all the timelines for funding that we had decided upon in the meeting. Had it not been for that early support the journey would have been stillborn. Similar was the case with Johnson Mathew of Trans Asian Shipping Services. Not a second question was asked – the first was, “How can we pitch in?” The onerous task of liaising with the Bank and putting in place the documentation, etc was handled in supremely efficient fashion by the finance team. Alex K. Babu of Hedge Equities was another who was upfront with his support. Despite business challenges he wanted to be ‘part of the drive’. Thomas Cherukara of Kairali Ford agreed to get the car ready for an arduous journey ahead. The Kairali Ford team also supplied essential spares that could be required for the car. Kiran of Tyrex, the sole agent for Hankook in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, gave me valuable ‘lessons’ on tyre maintenance and suggested maintenance spares that could come in handy during the trip. He replaced all 5 tyres with brand new ones – his contribution to the adventure. Mary and Philip of UPM Advertising insisted that they would brand the car. They and their fabulously creative team turned out a beauty on 7 June – I could not take my eyes off the car when I went to pick her up. M100 contributed to the drive by giving us a compressor, automatic jack and few other essentials. Pete’s did a competent job with fine tuning the engine.

Despite all this support, at a point when we are ready to roll, we are woefully short of funds for the trip. However, the three of us decided, in a crucial meeting one evening mid-May on the set of Lal’s film, that come what may, money or no money, beg or borrow, we shall travel. That is when the passion for the journey reached criticality. It gave us confidence that the passion will lead on to success. We had to scale down our plans. The first was regarding accommodation and food. I had planned for single room accommodation at all overnight locations. The logic was that it was necessary to afford each other some private space during such a long journey. We compromised and decided on shared accommodation, and in some places, without even private toilet. As for food, it will have to be ‘dhabas’ and wayside eateries. The only precaution would be to ensure hygiene and clean water.

Looking back, I feel that I made a strategic mistake in just targetting the Kerala based companies. Since the journey was to be an international event I should have targeted multinationals with interests all over the globe. That would have built global interest in the drive and sustained its long term mission. Certain hard facts are driven home through mistakes, I console myself.

The Press Meet at the Ernakulam Press Club on 9 June and the coverage on Asianet the subsequent day dramatically changed the landscape. Offers of hospitality started pouring in from UK, Ireland, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Germany and even from Kazakhstan. Those who made the offers were huge Lal Jose fans and acquaintances. We decided to ‘shamelessly’ leverage any assistance and hospitality, for such was the financial situation.  Zulfi of DGL, Dubai offered to ship the car back to India at his cost. With a little persuasion he also agreed to foot the bill for our transfer from London to Kochi. At the close of my address of the family get together at the Grand Hotel the Builders’ Association of India, Cochin Chapter and Cherian Varkey Construction pledged financial support to the drive. And finally the Tourism Department of Kerala confirmed their participation in the epic journey. Thus, with all these we have been able to get about half of the budgeted amount in financial sponsorship and about 10 per cent in physical support. The gap we look to bridge from en route hospitality. 

A CAR Sourced

Friends,

While undertaking a journey of such magnitude one of the most important ingredients is most definitely the car. Baiju, being the automobile expert, provided critical inputs to this area. He suggested that we should source a car with automatic transmission and with as much comfort as it could provide, for which the suspension was crucial. To me the vehicle had to be roomy to carry the luggage of all three, accommodate guides in a couple of countries, provide shelter in times of dire need and capable of being serviced across Continents. Baiju was certain that we would be able to get automobile manufacturers interested in the venture for it would be value for money for them to partner in a never before done ‘ad’venture. We knocked on many doors – BMW, Toyota, Audi, Pajero, Isuzu, Mahindra, Ford, Volvo, etc. We test drove almost all of them. The shortlist comprised of the Pajero, Isuzu MU7 and Rexton. Almost daily interactions with interlocutors of auto manufacturers kept us interested and hopeful with the sponsorship of the car. We had a few conditions to take the car from the manufacturers – the car had to be registered in the name of one of the team members (a stipulation for obtaining the Carnet), the Company had to obtain the Carnet for us and also provide international insurance and service.

I had factored the Carnet as a critical component of the documentation to apply for visas. It would also attest to the fact that we would be driving into the countries rather than flying in; most visa authorities insist on confirmed flight bookings to consider visa applications. Hence, obtaining a car was higher up on the event sequence. Days, weeks and months were going by without any real progress with the automobile manufacturers. It was decided that we would wait till the Auto Expo in Delhi, during when Baiju was hopeful of getting the ‘deal done’. Well, to cut a long and agonizing story short, it did not happen. We were quite hopeful of Isuzu partnering us for they were to launch the MU7 in Cochin. Publicity of the partnership could have done much to promote the model, we felt; the feeling was enhanced in the light of its poor acceptance in the Kerala market thereafter. It was later confirmed that Isuzu was bothered about the impact to its brand in case something went wrong during the journey.

After prolonged discussions, presentations and pleading I decided in late February that it was time to put an end to all uncertainty regarding the vehicle. I decided to source a suitable used car in reasonable condition. Besides, it had to be pocket friendly; there was not a pie in the bank! Baiju and his colleague, Kuruvilla, got right into the action and started evaluating multiple options. In the end we were able to identify a 2010 Ford Endeavour in reasonably good condition. It had done nearly 56,000 kms but was owner driven and well maintained. Though it had a few ‘extra fittings’ all the tyres were due replacement. We struck a quick deal, arranged personal finance to temporarily fund the purchase and came in possession of it in less than a week. Thus, the first challenge was met; on March 10 I became the proud owner of a Ford Endeavour. We had something to show regarding the impending journey. It is interesting to observe how each event adds to excitement – once we started talking to people about the Ford Endeavour they started taking the journey more seriously. Of course, questions were asked as to why we went in for the car that we did. It was not possible to explain to most of them the travails and anguish. But the fact is that this was what we could do with the limitations of automobile manufacturers refusing to see value in the epic adventure.

While a person requires a visa to travel from one country to another a Carnet de Passage en Douane (CPD), a customs document that identifies the motor vehicle, is a sine qua non for taking a car through various foreign countries. The Carnet permits hassle free movement of vehicles across borders without cash deposits at the border. It is, in essence, a guarantee for temporary import and re-export of the private vehicle. Some countries like China do not participate in the Union and hence, the car permit has to be sought separately. European countries neither insist on the CPD nor on border deposits. Therefore, specific to this trip the Carnet is required for India and Nepal, not required for the European countries and to be obtained at the borders of the Central Asian countries. The Carnet is issued in India by the Automobile Associations. I approached the AA of Southern India in Chennai and got to know of the extremely rigorous conditions – the vehicle had to be in the name of one of the drivers (no borrowed vehicles), the vehicle had to be produced before the Association for certification and most importantly, a bank guarantee covering three and half times the original invoiced value of the car had to be deposited with the Association till the vehicle is returned to India. These regulations are irksome, but they are not show stoppers. Another restriction is that the route prescribed in the Carnet has to be followed. Any last minute or planned diversions could lead to problems en route. In addition, in case the car gets stolen or cannot be returned to India for some reason within 6 months of its exit from India, the bank guarantee will be cashed in by the Automobile Association to meet Customs demand. The Carnet has to be properly stamped at all the international borders to ensure that the bank guarantee is discharged upon return to India.

The issue of bank guarantee for the CPD had to be tackled urgently to even apply to the AASI. I asked Mr. Johnson Mathew of Trans Asia if the Company could assist me in the BG. He was spontaneously positive about it. The entire process was efficiently and promptly handled by the Finance team of the Company. AASI insisted that the BG should be drawn on a bank branch in Chennai. Even that was covered by Trans Asia. I got the ownership of the car changed within a week and applied for the CPD. The Secretary of AASI was extremely forthcoming in guiding me through the process and his team in Chennai handled the application efficiently and promptly. I drove the car to AASI Chennai on 24^th April, took a lifetime membership of the Association and within 24 hours of inspection of the car I had the CPD in hand – at least the car was ready for the trip, even though the sponsorship and visas were not! The co-operation of the Secretary and the rest of the AASI team was indeed a revelation. However, it made me wonder why the AASI chapter in Cochin was not empowered to do these jobs to a member. I was told that Kerala government was one of the few that did not empower the Automobile Associations to issue an International Driving Permit. Imagine a Keralite who has to drive his car outside the country – the person has to get the IDP from Kerala and the Carnet from Chennai. I wish this changes sometime soon. 

A ROUTE Emerges

Friends,

In some of the newspaper interviews, after I returned from Leh, I talked of my plans to drive to London from Cochin. It sparked interest in the friends’ circles and in gatherings that invited me to share my experience of the solo drives. I also got involved seriously in laying out the route plan. I got in touch with Sanjay Madan, who I met briefly near Rohtang Pass, to ‘unearth’ Tushar Aggarwal. I was able to obtain his web details and from the elaborate details given there I was able to trace their route from London to Delhi via France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China/Tibet and Nepal. It was a wonderful start. I took a virtual tour of the route thanks to Google Maps. As I did that the challenges that Aggarwal and his wife had faced, particularly in Tibet, stood out vividly.

While the traditional Eurasian route between London and Delhi passed through Afghanistan I knew that it was highly unsafe given the prevailing conditions. The critical portions of the route were also closed due to NATO troop deployment and arms movement. However, I mapped alternate routes via Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and UK. I worked on various alternative halt points. The more I studied the route the more I felt that I could do it as a speed exercise – 12000 kilometers in 12 days across 12 countries. The idea that I could get the Guinness team interested in the drive to set a record made me refine the route. Later I learnt that Guinness does not encourage such records, and the plan of setting a speed record was dropped. I scoured the Internet for information about the route – safety, condition of the roads, etc. Safety cropped up as a major concern in the Quetta region of Pakistan and Iran. I emailed a friend from my days in London School of Economics, who was resident in Rawalpindi, to get an idea of route safety. I specifically asked about ‘unsafe’ places on the Lahore-Multan-Quetta route to Iran. In a trice he responded thus: “He, He, which place in Pakistan is safe?” My friend also put me in touch with another of his who used to off road in Pakistan. Of him I asked if hiring of security guards in Pakistan would ensure safe passage. The response was even more direct: “They will be okay when there is no trouble; the minute it brews they could add to your problems.” It was even suggested that I should ship the car to Bunder Abbas (Iran) and drive on from there to London. But the objective was to drive from Cochin through to London – shipping did not enter the equation.

Even though I had worked on hotels along the route in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Bulgaria I abandoned the route and got back to the one through Tibet. It would not only be longer by about 6000 kilometers, the visa procedures would also be more cumbersome. However, the route had to be via Nepal and China. Then I interacted with Aggarwal to get a better idea of conditions en route, the visa procedures, etc. With the information I got from him I got in touch with a recommended tour company in China that would arrange visas and car permits. Through them I knew that travel through Tibet and China is serious business and involves many months of planning and documentation. Apart from it being expensive (about INR 4.5 lakhs per person) the route and time taken would be predetermined – in my case, 15 days – and a tour guide would have to be accommodated in the car for the entire duration of the journey through China. The costs of the tour company did not include the boarding, lodging and tips of the tour guide!

After many revisions I decided on a 60 day journey from Cochin to UK and Ireland. It would take more than 7 weeks to reach London; thereafter, a weeklong drive through UK and Ireland. The drive was to cover 18000 kilometers across 14 countries. 7 visas had to be obtained and the visa process itself would last 4 months; the toughest ones being the Central Asian countries. Well, this route which I thought would be it, had to be revised in the light of the wide spread protests in Ukraine since December 2013. In Jan 2014 I inspected a ship in Tarragona port in Spain. The Chief Mate of the ship, Vasily, was from Ukraine. He suggested that I avoid travelling through Ukraine due to troubles fanning across the country and its immediate neighborhood. I discussed this with Baiju on arrival and decided to re-route from Volgograd to St. Petersburg in Russia. From there we decided to get into Schengen territory via Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The original route would then be followed to get to Warsaw. To accommodate the revised route we economized on distances in India, Nepal and UK. Finally, it was to be 18,000 kilometers through 16 countries in 60 days.  Or so, I thought.

In the middle of the night of 17 April I woke up worried about the lack of positive response to sponsorship for the trip. I spend sometime dwelling on it and then decided to take another look at the route. The more I stared at the map the more I wondered why I was not doing more Schengen states, especially the Scandinavian countries. To do so would mean ferry crossings and extensive re-routing. Finally, after a few hours, by when sleep and worries got deeply buried in the sub-conscious, I emerged with a fascinating route covering 19 of the 26 Schengen member states, an exotic tour of Ireland and all constituents of the UK. The rotation would cover 24,000 kms across 27 countries in 2 Continents over 75 days. Thus, the journey which would start from Cochin will vend through Kanyakumari, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Jabalpur, and Gorakhpur in India, before entering Nepal and crossing over to Tibet. From there the route to Europe will go through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The European saga will include Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Ireland before terminating in London (UK).

Research is important in planning a trip of this magnitude. The more I researched, the more I learnt. The more I learnt, the more difficult it seemed. Anyway, the original schedule of doing the trip in the summer of 2013 had to be put back to 2014. I had initially decided on starting from Cochin on 14 May 2014. Even that changed, since Lal had to finish shooting and editing works of ‘Vikramadityan’. The ‘launch’ was reset for 16 June. However, as the days drew close uncertainties also started clouding the departure date. Well, that’s another story.

A TEAM Comes Together

Friends,

I had returned to Cochin after the tough round trip between Kanyakumari and Leh on 15 July 2012. Many milestones were established during the drive – existing record for one way solo drive of 146.5 hours was broken on both legs of the round trip, the final 1800 kilometers between Nagpur and Kanyakumari was done in a stretch of 27 hours without a halt and it was also the first round trip. Newspapers covered the record setting drive in detail, especially after the Press Meet organized by Muthoot Finance under the leadership of Mr. Padmakumar, Executive Director.

I suspected at the time that the press coverage, particularly the one in The Hindu captioned “Kochite plans drive to London by Car”, was what prompted Baiju to get in touch with me. He called me up one day asking for an appointment to meet with me. I vividly remember the date of the first meeting – 21 July 2012. He wanted me to speak at the function organized by Mathrubhoomi, during its literary fest, to release his book - Deshadanam”, which captured his experiences of travel to exotic lands. I was more than a bit apprehensive about the ‘assignment’ as the book was in Malayalam. However, the extremely amiable nature of Baiju and the manner in which he put across his request could not generate a negative response, even from me! Baiju N Nair is an extraordinary personality. His conduct and demeanor belie his astonishing achievements. He has to his credit more than 4500 test drives of all sorts of motor cars in India and abroad, has travelled to over 60 countries, published 3 books, is the owner-editor-publisher of the authoritative bilingual automobile monthly “Smart Drive” and anchors the popular weekly auto segment on Asianet television, also titled Smart Drive.

Vibes picked up in the first meeting generally tend to tailor ones reactions. It is his sincere nature and disarming approach that I first noticed in him. I did spend a lot of time trying out various excuses to avoid the function. Then would come a call from Baiju and I would steel myself to attend the function. This went on till the date of the book release on 16 Aug 2012. I spent the evening prior to the meeting at my brother’s house where my sister-in-law graciously read out the entire book, chapter by chapter, explaining words and phrases that flew miles beyond my comprehension. However, the session introduced Baiju to me most effectively. I met a person completely overcome by the passion to travel, a person so observant that it enhanced his joy of travel and a person unafraid of the challenges of travel. I used events described in the book to talk at the book release.

I do not remember when it was, during the meetings leading to the book release, that Baiju asked if he could be part of the London expedition. I had been, till then, resolute in the plan to go it alone. But I acquiesced when Baiju asked. He told me how he had planned a drive to Siberia with Santhosh George Kulangara, the Sanchari. That fell through for many reasons and now, he wanted to be part of the drive “From God’s Own Country to United Kingdom”. It was he who later captioned it as “From God’s Own Country to Queen’s Own Country”; the journalist in him showed. 

Baiju and I started exchanging regular notes on the intended drive. By August 2012 the plans to travel in the summer of 2013 was dropped considering the time it would take to organise such a humongous adventure. Thus, I had more months to plan. I started planning for the drive with a companion. After many solo drives, I had to mentally accept a co-passenger and a fellow traveller. And as if that was not enough, one day Baiju rang up to say that Lal Jose, the film director, was quite keen to make the trip with us. I was not at all inclined to increase the size of the team, for three reasons. One, it would mean increase in luggage and reduced per capita space availability. Two, I believed that two’s company and three’s a crowd – unless you get the right guy with the right vibes there could be ‘cabin fevers’. Three, while driving through China additional space would be taken up by the tour guide. In view of these I tried to put off meeting Lal. But, he was not to be shaken off. Finally his persistence paid; the goading from Baiju, in attendance too. I was to leave for the US on a holiday in the last week of September 2013. I fixed up to meet with Lal alongside Baiju on 23 September 2013 in Gokulam Inn, Cochin. It is said that first impression makes the best impression. With Lal it was that. He made an immediate impact. His down to earth attitude and simple style, despite his celebrity status, had a beguiling effect on me. I explained to him the features of the proposed journey and emphasized the fact that it was no joy ride – the terrain would be treacherous in many places and the environment hostile. That did not dampen his spirit; rather it aroused it. Lal, sure that he would be part of the journey, requested that the journey be postponed by a month to accommodate his film that would go on the floors in March 2014. To buy time and to, perhaps, change his mind I said we could meet after I got back from the US holiday mid-October.

During the month long sojourn in the US hardly any thought of the meeting in Gokulam Park entered my mind. I was not too uncertain that Lal would decide on skipping the trip due to the ‘treacherous paths’ that I had outlined to him. I could not have been more wrong. A Sunday after I got back from the US, on my way to Ootupura for the customary Sunday morning fare of Puttu and kadala, I got a call from Promod Thevanoor, Director of SCMS. He started by saying that he owns a Pajero which is in decent enough condition for a trip to London. He also mentioned that he had spoken to me about accompanying me on the trip to London many months back. I seemed to have, at the time, confirmed that I would be undertaking a solo drive. Now that I was going with two others I should have factored him in, he said. I told him that he could join the trip on the condition that his passport could be in circulation for over two months for getting various visas. He accepted that that would not be possible for a frequent traveler such as he. Almost immediately thereafter I had another call from George of Lifeway Solar. He talked quite vividly about the impending trip and details that few were privy to. The second call made me curious enough to ask George where he had collected all the information from. He was incredulous that I had not seen the Malayala Manorama which reported that Lal Jose would be undertaking a ‘world tour’ of 25 countries in a second hand Pajero. I was extremely upset with the report for two reasons – I had not confirmed Lal as a co-traveller (and here he was proclaiming to the world that he is planning a Europe car tour) and it contained factual errors (he had not even got the number of countries or days right). I felt like the central character in Udayananu Tharam and I let Baiju get the brunt of it. This was my thunder and I will have no one steal it from me, I said. All the hard work of planning and execution and the ownership getting transferred in one news report! Moreover, I came to know from a friend that Lal’s family, especially his older daughter, was shaken by his mention in the report that the trip is so dangerous that he would be writing his Will before setting out for the drive! I was so upset that I almost called off the team drive.

Baiju suggested an ice-breaker meeting at my residence on 17 November. Lal said that the interview was taken as an aside when he was shooting for “Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal”. He was responding to a question on his future plans and that was reported as a box item due to its star value. He also thought that it could go a long way in attracting well meaning sponsors. I understood then the sincerity of his purpose and shared the route and exact plans in that meeting with the ‘team’ to avoid confusion in future. Yes, in that meeting the team came together. However, the briefing did not deter Lal from continuing with his 25 countries spiel and making available to the press impossible routes! Later, I decided to change the route plan to suit his acceptable number of 25 countries so that he would be closer to the fact! Even now I am convinced that he will get lost if he were to be left behind in some country, by some quirk. He will not know where to join the rest of the team!

A DREAM Crystallizes

Friends,

The dream of a drive from India to London germinated in my mind sometime in July-August 1997 when newspapers were awash with pieces on India celebrating her Golden Jubilee Year of Independence. I thought it appropriate for an Indian – that Indian being me - to travel between New Delhi and London to carry a letter of greeting from Atal Behari Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister of India, to be delivered to Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister of UK. I was in a state of flux in the organization where I was working at the time, the Southern Railways in Chennai. Between September 1996 and June 1997 I was moved three times by a boss who wanted me to accept his suzerainty over me in typical feudal, or even colonial, style. I would have none of it, the untempered hot blood of youth still racing through the veins. The time was thus ripe to dream romantic journeys when the professional journey had encountered a few jagged road bumps. I remember spending many evenings after office in the decently lit bar of the Railway Club on Kothari Road jotting down possible routes – using a map, as Internet and Google Maps had not become as widespread or used as it is now – possible sponsors and even a packing list. The number of Old Monks that went down the hatch, along with the numerous packets of Wills Filter King that accompanied the thinking process, was disproportionately more than the pieces of paper I had at the end. The planning went on till mid-1998, when I surprisingly landed a deputation to Container Corporation of India. The dream and the few pieces of paper that were evidence of the crystallization of a dream got submerged in a deluge of work that greeted me in the new work environment. I thoroughly enjoyed the assignment and hence, any thought of taking a break from that did not enter my mind for the next couple of years.

The next travel dream spurted quite suddenly in the Millennium, when I tried to piece together a desire to travel to all the State Capitals of the Indian Union. I even named the proposed adventure “Capitalism”! Route planning was in an advanced stage when my mother fell ill and subsequently passed away. The emotional trauma, the mental fatigue and the physical blow as well as a sudden realization of “mortality” kept me distanced from ambitious travel plans. However, I made it a practice to take a couple of weeks off every year, and sometimes more frequently, to go off on backpacking trips on shoestring budgets. The destinations were mostly Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, aided by flying miles tickets of Air India.

Years rolled by. And then came the momentous decision to dust the old papers and revive the “Capitalism” dream. This time the planning process was limited to less than 4 weeks and more time was devoted to action. I estimated to travel 30,000 kilometers in 120 days. As it turned out, I covered the length and breadth of the country in 124 days between October 2010 and February 2011 travelling alone across 23,455 kilometers. The trip that covered all the State Capitals and Railway Headquarters earned me a Limca Book National Record in 2012. I also compiled my travel blogs into a book titled “Ek Swift Bharat Yatra – The Journey of a Railwayman Across India”, having used a borrowed Maruti Swift for the thoroughly enjoyable Indian Safari.

The minute I held the Limca certificate in my hands in January 2012 I was smitten by the travel bug to set more driving records. I first attempted a round trip between Kanyakumari and Leh in July 2012; then came the Coast to Coast and East West Expeditions in January and February 2013 and the piece de resistance – the Golden Quadrilateral Expedition in June 2013. Four expeditions in twelve months; all successful in setting new benchmarks and culminating in 7 certificates from the Limca Book of Records in December 2013. It was heady indeed, particularly because I was the first one to successfully attempt 4 solo expeditions in a year.

The dream of driving to London from India was reignited on the 11^th of July 2012, when I was nearing Rohtang Pass near Manali. It was the first day of the drive from Leh to Kanyakumari, when I was attempting to set a new record for the North South Expedition. I was on a high having done almost double the distance of what I had planned for the day. As I was negotiating a sharp curve ahead of the Rohtang Pass I caught sight of the driver of an SUV, coming in the opposite direction, waving at me to stop. As we neared each other I stopped the car, rolled down the window and shook hands. Sanjay Madan said that he had followed my drive on Facebook and anticipated meeting me. The vibrant branding of the car had helped Madan identify me from a distance. He wished me luck and told me that he was with Tushar Aggarwal who had driven from London to Delhi over land. Wow! My heart thumped and I felt the fire that reignited a dormant dream. I even named it “From God’s Own Country to the United Kingdom”.

It takes only a moment for something to strike a chord in you and for it to occupy the apex position in your hierarchy of wants. And when that happens, you tend to think logically and work towards making that reality. That’s what happened with me on the 11^th of July. The thought of a car journey to London from Cochin consumed most of the rest of the journey from Leh to Kanyakumari, which was completed in style with the last 1800 kilometers between Nagpur and Kanyakumari being done in 27 hours without rest en route. I started the planning process for the London drive in August 2012 and aimed to make the trip in the summer of 2013 – all by myself, of course; at least that’s the way it started.