Pearl D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Mar 5: It's not uncommon to see Europeans take road trips in India or even East-Asian tourists click away on the streets and alleys of our cities. Nor is it bizarre for Indian couples to travel the country and places abroad. But it's not every day that one finds an Indian couple, hovering around the age of 60, taking a 57,373 km road trip from Mumbai to London and back in eight months.
The exotic journey of a lifetime which Janet and Louis undertook along the roads least explored in parts of Europe and Asia "Tells the story of dreaming together in marriage, of seeing the world together, of reliving glorious moments of life in lands unseen," says the couple.
Louis (62), who grew up in Udupi, and Janet (56) who grew up in Mumbai, first met in 1978 and got married in 1982. But they signed their tryst with the 8-month long road journey across almost half the world on May 20, last year. They covered 52 countries in their new BMW X5, and were back home on January 26.
While being an inspiration to travellers across age brackets, the couple claims to have been inspired themselves by the 'Little Indian Family of Explorers' who traversed their way to Paris from Bengaluru.
Apart from the exploring, the couple raised funds and donated Rs 10 for every kilometre they travelled toward two social change organisations, the White Doves, Mangaluru and Muskaan, Mumbai. Additionally, all the money that came in from sponsors was donated to the two organisations.
The journey that began in India, continued to Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Prague, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Belgium, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan,Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and finally concluded back in India, in their own car.
The teacher called 'Road'
The couple learnt to use navigational tools and take professional-like pictures over the course of their journey. The car was equipped with details for the journey between Mumbai and London, along with social media links for travel convenience.
Besides enhancing technological skills, the couple enriched their experience when they encountered an array of cultures along the way. They met people of various cultures, speaking various dialects almost on a daily basis.
They did not go to the usual tourist spots in most countries. They explored some wonderful towns and cities in Croatia, Turkey and France.
The sheer joy of Indians in these countries when speaking with the couple was among 'proudest moments' for them in the journey. Some of the warmest moments for the couple was when people stopped them and invited them home.
Some of their cherished moments include being invited by the Indian Ambassadors in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to spend time with them and their families.
Roadblock meets grit
The couple was scheduled to come back home on December 18 last year. However, due to a conflict in the northern region of Myanmar, early December, they could not cross into Myanmar from the China. They considered the option of shipping their car back from Shenzhen. But they simply did not want to give up concluding the journey by road. So, they took a detour to Myanmar but were denied permissions and could cross over to India only in the New Year. They left their car in Myanmar and flew back to celebrate Christmas and new years with their family and friends.
"But The Lifetime Journey had a wonderful ending to its script. We flew back into Myanmar and resumed the Lifetime Journey in our car and came back to India," said Janet. The couple reached Mumbai on January 26 with a broad display of determination.
In a world moving rapidly towards a cultural cloister and closed national boundaries, the couple offers a ray of hope to fellow globetrotters regardless of their age.
Grand Homecoming
They were welcomed back with great fanfare and celebration in their locality of Powai in Mumbai. People who knew them, who came to know about them and ones who wanted to know about the Lifetime Journey came in numbers to welcome them. Some friends and ex-colleagues from Hughes joined them from Thane after garlanding amidst fire crackers and driving with them to Powai where family, friends and Rotary Lakers Powai organised a parade for them with the beats of drums and shower of rose petals. Children from Muskaan (one of the NGOs they supported during The Lifetime Journey) and a representative of White Doves brought flowers to welcome them.
Travelogue
Janet, beautifully encapsulates the blend of history and geography, in her travelogue on the website. The blogs walks the readers through rustic roads, museums, city streets from the lens of the couple.
The itinerary on the site can be used as a guide and reckoner for travellers. The itinerary incorporating unique places and settings was planned months in advance. There were strict timeframes to keep to and unforseen hiccups along the journey, but all worthwile.
The journey is an inspirational story of two people who said, “Why not us? Why can’t we?” when they first thought about this. They never hesitated, planned meticulously and most importantly, shared it with everyone. To understand the gravity of the huge journey they undertook and came back successfully travelling around almost half the world, and for more pictures and information of their journey visit the website www.thelifetimejourney.in. or The Lifetime Journey 2016 Facebook page.
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