Meenakshi Sai, 51, appears like any other Indian lady, worn a saree and sporting a bindi on her forehead.
But unlike lots of ladies in her nation, she’s been driving considering that she was 18 years of ages. As of 2020, less than 7% of India’s 236 million chauffeurs were ladies, according to the information site Statista.
“I have been driving since I was legally allowed to and have always enjoyed the freedom it afforded me and the feeling of being independent,” statedSai “After my only daughter went away to boarding school, I had a lot of time on my hands. I started traveling a lot, both solo and with friends.”
Sai was among a group of 8 Indians who drove 20,000 km (12,430 miles) throughout 5 nations from Coimbatore, India toSt Petersburg, Russia to spread out awareness about cervical cancer.
More Indians are taking trip nowadays– both within the nation and beyond, solo and in groups– as access to much better cars and much better roadways grows in the nation.
There’s likewise the increase of sluggish travel. However, Sai took her very first trip back in 2016, before it ended up being a pattern.
“I drove to Thailand with a group of 20 people,” she stated, “from Manipur in India’s northeast to Bangkok, which took us 13 days.”
Meenakshi Sai, on a journey from India to Russia to spread out awareness about cervical cancer.
Source: Meenakshi Sai
Her next huge trip was from India to London, which she called “complicated.”
“It took me six months to draw up the itinerary,” she stated. “It was difficult to find anyone in my own circle of friends and family who had the time or were willing to invest the money in this trip.”
In completion, she discovered 2 ladies through social networks– one from Mumbai, the other from Pollachi– who had an interest in joining her.
Tata Motors sponsored the journey, which extended for more than 14,900 miles and accompanied the 70 th anniversary of India’s self-reliance. The journey took 70 days, taking the 3 ladies throughout 24 nations, consisting of Russia, Poland and Uzbekistan.
“We drove around 600 kilometers a day,” Sai stated. “Many countries had given us date-specific visas so we could not afford to be delayed, even by a few hours.”
Sai, who is a vegetarian, stated she survived on “a lot of potatoes and bread” in nations where meat was a significant dietary staple.
Source: Meenakshi Sai
Road conditions integrated with altering weather condition and elevation levels made the journey tough, she stated– as did the truth that she’s vegetarian, that made ideal food alternatives challenging to discover in lots of nations.
“I ate a lot of potatoes and bread in countries like Kyrgyzstan where there was a lot of meat,” she stated.
Sai now runs an overland driving business that arranges trip throughout nations like Namibia, Georgia, Armenia, Nepal and Mongolia.
“Driving through a country is the way to see it, connecting with locals, stopping where you feel like, border crossings, and thriving on uncertainty. I also love the freedom that the open road gives me,” she stated.
100 trip, 50 nations
In 2001, Mumbai- based Rishad Saam Mehta, 51, drove from Delhi to the Nubra Valley, a location of Ladakh in northeast India.
“It was my first drive in the high Himalayas, and I didn’t know how dangerous and narrow and high the roads were, and the havoc that altitude can play on one physically. It was a lesson learnt the hard way,” stated the reporter and author.
Rishad Saam Mehta near the Great Wall of China.
Source: Rishad Saam Mehta,
Since then, Mehta has actually taken more than 100 trip throughout some 50 nations. One actually interesting one was the drive from Munich to Mumbai, which lasted 2 months and covered 8 nations, he stated.
He likewise drives various vehicles, depending upon the journey, he stated.
“I did a drive in a Ferrari through the Bavarian and Austrian Alps, then a snow drive in Spiti in Northern India in a Toyota Fortuner, then a fall drive in New England in a Ford Bronco,” he stated. “These were all favorites.”
His suggestions? “There are many great drives around the world, some I come across by chance, some I research beforehand … but the company has to be good, otherwise, it is a disaster,” he stated.
The ‘Great India World Trip’
Tushar Agarwal, a software application engineer, drove from London to Delhi in 2010.
He stated the journey of 51 days was life-altering and triggered him to resign from his task in London, return to Delhi, and co-found a business called Adventures Overland with his good friend Sanjay Madan in 2012.
A road-side drop in Jordan.
Source: Adventures Overland
“I felt that this was my purpose in life… there was no looking back,” stated Agarwal.
Today, Adventure Overland is among India’s greatest trip business. It arranges curated driving journeys around the world.
Agarwal has actually taken a trip to 92 nations and gone on trip in 6 continents. His most daring journey, called the “Great India World Trip,” is now a 10- episode series on DiscoveryChannel Along with his co-founder Madan, the journey took them throughout 6 continents and 50 nations, protecting them a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by cars and truck in a single nation for their 10,600- mile trek throughout Australia.
A 65- field trip from India to London with Adventures Overland expenses around $30,000 and consists of a hot air balloon trip and cruise, according to its site.
Source: Adventures Overland
Traversing lovely surfaces and driving through unidentified area, border crossings and competing with unknown food and severe weather condition might not be for everyone.
But as Mehta stated, “The sense of freedom and not being shackled to timetables and schedules … and also the spontaneity it affords, makes driving the ultimate adventure.”
