Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 10, Sep 28

The weather was nice, the roads were good and the car was behaving beautifully. I had got the clutch redone yesterday and I was a little apprehensive that I had not tested it before leaving. But it was certainly an improvement over what it was. On the way in to Delhi from Hyderabad and Mumbai, sometimes the gears would just not engage. That problem had certainly got sorted out. We sped on towards the mountains. The six lane highway between Delhi and Chandigarh has really speeded up traffic and lessened congestion. And the grid lock that was par for the course at places like Panipat and Ambala were a thing of the past. One could just clip through.

A stop over for a cup of tea and we were on the road again. I was hoping to hit Manali early morning, latest by about ten. And we were doing pretty decent time, till we had our second tea break. I wanted to do some video diaries and before we knew it, it was five in the morning. And we were yet to reach even Ambala. And Radhey Shyam, the driver of the support vehicle started getting concerned about a rattling sound coming from the alternator. We decided to have it checked at the next town.

As dawn was breaking, we headed north. The sky started taking on a crimson hue and the colours were playing with the clouds. Photography commenced of capturing the changing colours of dawn. I am not at all a morning person and I guess the sight of the sunrise got me moved. The cars were parked and the camera aimed at the rising disc of the orange ball of fire.

Looking back we found a huge pool of oil under the bonnet of the support vehicle. Something had gone bust. Hmmm. We had a problem. Fortunately I had a tow rope and my Gypuzu was pressed into service to pull the stranded vehicle into some sort of workshop at six in the morning. A few kilometres laters we were pointed to a person who happened to be home sleeping. He was risen from his slumber and we waited. And then we waited some more. He refused to materialise. Then we went for a recce and found a decent sized workshop. And there we were for the most part of the day. It took almost till four in the evening to get everything fixed and sorted and by the time we hit Mandi it was ten at night.

I often spend the night at Mandi before heading to Kullu and then Manali. It is just about an hour’s drive to Kullu and the drive is spectacular. I did not want to miss out on the filming opportunities on this route. My only concern was that due to the vehicle breakdown, we were already behind by one day. Nevertheless, it was better that the breakdown happened near civilisation and not at the top of the Gata Loops. Like it happened to me in 2008!

Dinner completed, email checked, files transferred, it was time to crash. Which I did. And slept like a baby. And yes, this log is being written the next morning, there was just no way I could keep my eyes open to be able to complete this diary yesterday.

You guys take care. And I’ll see you when I’ll see you. Cheers. 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 9, Sep 27

 

Today was busy to say the least. There was so much that had piled up, stuff that had to be completed before I pushed off for the mountains. And if the stuff did not get done, then I could not leave. It was that hectic and that serious. And the item on top of my list was to pick up a laptop for my daughter. She had mentioned her desire once and never again. She had then spoken to all and sundry wondering if I would remember to get her the promised laptop. And yes I did. One check box ticked away.

There was so much to do as far as the Trilogy was concerned and I was out from home bright and early and by the time I came back it was past sundown. And I was supposed to flag off at ten.

One major job got done in the afternoon was the permit to enter Arunachal Pradesh. The whole State is a restricted area and everyone requires an Inner Line Permit to enter. It did not take long, about a couple of hours, but I did not have a couple of hours to spare. Nonetheless, the permit was acquired.

And while I was waiting for the Arunachal permit, I spoke to the Nepalese Embassy enquiring about the formalities of taking my own vehicle into the country. Piece of cake as I came to know. Just carry your vehicle papers – registration, insurance and pollution – pay the requisite daily fee for the duration you would like to drive around Nepal, and bingo, drive straight through. The other advantage is that since it is such a busy border, the entry formalities can be completed any time of the day ... or night.

That leaves Bhutan. It should take me more than a day and a bit to cross over from Phuentsholing to Samdrup Zongkhar. I guess I will apply for the permit when I enter Bhutan. Having already ridden there on my bike, I kind of know the procedure. Quick and hassle free, without any of the red tape that we seem to have gotten used to and taken for granted.

By the time I got back home, Shams and Nadeem were waiting for me. We were supposed to yap together on the journey, trying to figure out how best to document it. Sushil too joined us, but I was too pooped to think straight. We just yapped about everything in general. Stuff was packed and segregated. I would carry on alone from Manali on the Trans Himalayan expedition while the support vehicle along with Nadeem would come back to Delhi. I had to make sure that everything I required for the solo trip would fit into my vehicle. It did, and quite admirably.

A bath and some very very brief relaxation later, I walked up the stairs of the house to seek the customary blessings from my mother and say bye to the picture frame that carried his photograph. Seven minutes after midnight and we were off for a tryst with destiny. I was looking forward to being back in the mountains and I was hoping that this time round, our luck would not as rotten as it was during our 2008 Cliff Riders attempt.

Wishing the entire team Godspeed, I will now see you from the road. Cheers.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 8, Sep 26

Today was supposed to have been a busy day. What with things left over from the job list, and the list getting longer as I remembered more and more things to do. And there was a meeting at Gurgaon at 2pm. Nothing much was accomplished pre lunch, till the time I left for the meeting. Mails were checked, some responses given, jobs were followed with the office back in Hyderabad, sundry changes were made on the website and Facebook pages and soon I took the long road to Gurgaon.

Kapil from Delhi office joined me for the meeting which went off quite well I thought. Lots of work still to do before we could initiate much of what was discussed. Made my first visit to the Travel Trendz Delhi office ... well Gurgaon actually ... had lunch and peeled off at around five. Wanted to go to the Arunachal Bhavan and Bhutan Embassy to get my permits, but they would have closed by the time I reached, so I gave that a go by and pushed it to tomorrow.

Went to meet my good friend Mohit Oberoi of Adventure18 who was kind enough to give me a scarf. But being the dufus that I am, I lost it somewhere in the darkness. I have used a similar scarf before and it is really good. I feel like kicking myself. Should have been a lot more careful.

Some logistics were tied up, the camera bag was repacked, divided into two bags and that was that. So much work still left to do tomorrow and we would have to leave by around ten at night.

Charged all the batteries, one battery at a time and there are lots – camera batteries, light batteries, pencil batteries, AAA batteries, GoPro batteries. Just putting all the batteries and cords on the table can make the head spin. How I am going to find the right cord when I need it is something I do not want to think about right now. I will wrestle with that problem when I get to it.

Another good piece of news that I received was that one of my father’s regiments has just been posted to Ladakh and they were looking forward to my visiting their location. Any amount of help that I can receive from anyone will be more than helpful and the kind of support I expect to receive from the regiment is unfathomable. Kudos to the Indian Army and its soldiers. It is the family of brother officers who really know what the term means and how to look after the families of people who have served under the same crest. Jai Hind to every person in uniform.

As I write this update, it is nearly one in the morning and I have a long drive awaiting me tomorrow night. So I shall bid you adieu and hope to see you tomorrow, or more likely the day after with an update on how the drive was to Manali.

Good night and sleep tight.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 7, Sep 25

I had hoped to have a relaxed morning, but the habit of the past few months took its toll and I was up and about pretty soon. Had a job list that was staring me in the face, the vehicle clutch was having sundry niggling issues which had to be addressed, some gear had to be picked up, etc, etc, etc.

One thing that was worrying me was the fact that I had just a single camera. Well I had three but only one decent one – the Canon 5D. The other two were a Sony Handycam and a GoPro, both of which are at best support cameras. If there was something wrong with the 5D, I would be up the creek without the proverbial paddle. And I need to pick up spare batteries, a suction mount for the GoPro and storage devices. So off I went to Chandni Chowk and it was a disaster. Parking wise. There was complete grid lock all the way, the parking area had been demolished and even a fly could not have breezed into the Chandni Chowk lane. I had to park the vehicle at the Railway Station and then take a rickshaw to the shop. The person who was supposed to have delivered the suction mount was stuck in traffic too and I had all the time in the world. Financially that meant invested in a second camera. I did not want the lens that came with it, but ended up buying that too. Good investment, but took me down more than thirty thousand bucks. My budget for the expedition is going berserk. Just yesterday I had picked up a tripod and a head that put me down by 16,000 bucks.

Anyway all these were required and it is always a better idea to be over prepared and have stuff that you may not need than not have the one little thing that you will need. That reminds me, I have to carry a spare set of clutch plates and travel chargers.

In the evening the family and I went off to meet a close family friend, in fact more of a cousin to me. He was also helping me with logistics for the Trilogy and I owed him a visit. We spent a couple of hours there and at the turn of midnight landed up at my cousin sister’s place for a visit that lasted another couple of hours. I was asleep at the wheel by the time we reached home and I promptly crashed into bed and was snoring even before the lights were switched off.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 6, Sep 24

The road to Delhi was surprisingly clear of traffic. The stretch near Manesar is infamous for its gridlocks and I was surprised to have just sailed through. But just before the first Gurgaon flyover, there were some 20,000 trucks lined up one behind the other, not going anywhere. This was bad. Fortunately there was a service road that one could take and we sailed right beside the gridlocked vehicles and by the time I parked the Gypuzu in front of my house in Delhi, it was past three in the morning. About six hours behind schedule, and that I suspect was due to the unscheduled sleep near Ahmedabad and the problems with the car.

I picked up the phone and called home with the statement, “If you open the door maybe I can come in.” At first my wife thought I was joking and then realised I was standing outside the door. We had spoke a couple of hours back and I did not even mention that I was on my way. This was a nice surprise. Woke the kids up to say hello. I would give anything for the smile I received! Made my day and more than made up for all the fatigue.

A cup of tea and a cold shower later, I hit the bed and promptly fell asleep. It was good to be sleeping in my own bed again after more than three months.

The morning happened early. I was up and about and left home around ten to finish up chores. My job list for the expedition is an arm long and there is just so much to do. Starting from tweaking the vehicle itself. Then there was equipment to be bought, GPS systems to be acquired, people to be met, gear to be organised, etc etc etc. The list is endless. A start had to be made which was done at the garage. Next stop was at my friend’s office in Patel Nagar. He is the importer for GPS systems, altimeters, telescopes, spotters, footwear, etc. I needed him to become a c0-partner in the Trilogy and had to go convince him. He had not replied to my earlier mail and I had to do this in person. So off I went. The conversation lasted a couple of hours at the end of which I got almost 50% of what I expected. It could and should have been what I was proposing, but then cash flow realities forbade him to commit more than he did.

Yipee, now we had a couple of co-partners in SUUNTO and Salomon. My job list went up a wee bit since now I had to get stickers printed of their logos to be pasted on the vehicle. Small problem compared to the larger picture of getting hold of another partner. Thanks Sumit for believing in me.

Came back home, met a few friends from yesteryears, had the Old Monk join us in the conversation and soon enough it was time to hit the bed.

Time is coming close when we will need to head for the mountains. I can’t wait to smell the fresh mountain air again. Soon. Soon. Soon.

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 5, Sep 23

I woke up from my cramped bed spread across the only two seats of the car which just about managed to squeeze me in the limited space there is to find the sun starting to paint the sky an orange glow. It was yet sunrise and I decided to catch a little more shut eye. The procession of people continued. Many were stopping and staring. Right through the windows. This six foot two inch apparition bundled up inside a vehicle that probably looked like nothing they had seen before. I consoled myself that they were staring at the vehicle, marvelling at it physical beauty (ugliness?), and not at me. I shut my eyes disregarding the stares and went right back to sleep. The price of fame, I tell you, we have to disregard public attention and adulation at times!

Woke up a couple of hours later but sleep did not abandon me. The eyelids refuse to give up each others company and despite my desperate efforts, I realised it was becoming a losing battle. There is just no point in driving when sleepy. A few kilometres down the road I stopped at an eatery and decided to grab a meal. Dinner had skipped me by and this was a good time to stock up my stomach for the long day ahead and give sleep a chance to find another residence. It worked. Half an hour or so later, I was fit and raring to go. Made very good time on some very good roads and gave myself sunset to hit Delhi. Fat chance.

About a hundred kilometres later, driving on another fine stretch of tarma, I smelt the familiar smell again. This time I did not wait for the smoke to fill in the cockpit, promptly shut the engine down, opened the bonnet and promptly proceeded to refill the radiator with coolant. Almost a litre through the bottle I realised that though the coolant was going straight in through the hole, my feet were getting wet at the same time. Looking down I found my feet, and the road around me, green with (which I hoped was) envy. No dice. It was the other end of the radiator that had busted a leak and what was going in at one end was promptly flowing out the other end. What a waste of a litre of good coolant when not only did not have enough to go around, there wasn’t enough water either to pour into the radiator. Not that that would do any good ... I had to plug the leak. I kicked myself at not having stocked up on sealant. I did the next best thing and tried to make do with the resources that I had ...  a bar of chocolate. Again, no dice. The area became all gooey and did not stop the leakage. I had to pour some more water to find this out ... expensive habit this was becoming.

A village lass strolled by and gave me a nasty look when I started making conversation. She probably thought I was trying to flirt with her, city boy and all that, but all I was trying to figure out was the distance to the next town.

For people who have seldom travelled outside our busy city streets, this may come as a surprise, but there was scant traffic on the road except a few trucks that roared by. Soon enough though there was a man in a scooter who I flagged down and he encouraging told me that I could have access to a a mechanic twelve kilometres down the road. Great, but twelve kilometres on a dry radiator could lead to a whole lot of other problems.

I kept shoving my finger into the hole left by the busted end of the pipe, probably hoping that it would miraculously plug itself, Of course, that did not happen. The experiment with the chocolate was a disaster too. But I had to go the twelve kilometres to find the mechanic. Fortunately I was carrying zip ties and I took one out and somehow managed to reduce the volume of leakage. This experiment kind of finished off all the water I was carrying and with a song on my lips (what else was there to do?) I headed down in search of a friendly neighbourhood mechanic. Sure enough, there he was, though not as far as twelve kilometres away. I stopped to realise that was no mechanic but a tyre puncture repair wallah. That was not what I was looking for. But thank God for small mercies, there was a large container full of water. I filled all my empty bottles, a couple of which were poured into the radiator and with the promise that I would a mechanic a couple of kilometres down, I headed on. The engine was hydrated and happy, though draining fast. But sure enough, I came across the mechanic and after one look under the hood proclaimed that he did not have the spares. But, he would plug the hole to make the vehicle serviceable again ... at least till Udaipur which was less than 100km away. So far so good.

Udaipur happened and mechanic happened and workshops happened. But they were all for trucks and none of them knew what the problem was or how it could be rectified. And it was a Sunday, so no shops would be open in the city which was to the right. Left I turned and headed for Jaipur hoping I would find some mechanic en route.

Nah. Did not happen. But fortunately the first aid applied held on and the hydration remained intact. I drive on. Ajmer happened and it was time for a quick cup of tea. Which was preceded by a bottle of soda and followed up with a plate full of pakoras. Delhi was in striking distance.

Nothing eventful happened along the way except that my hopes of knocking on the door at my house around midnight stretched on for a couple of hours more. Folks did not know I was coming and I was giving them a surprise. It would have been nice though not to have woken them up. Anyway, it was after three in the morning when I parked and walked up the short flight of stairs and almost straight into bed after scrubbing my body of the grime and dirt of the past three days.

You think about my day today while I say good bye to you. Day 5 was over and done with.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 4, Sep 22

Today was the big day. Well, the first of many big days. Today I was flagged off from IITM grounds. That was later in the afternoon. The day went off as expected from participation in an exhibition like this one ... busy. Divya Mohan and Anil Reddy from Via.com had flown in from Bangalore in the morning to flag me off, as had Tajamul Hussain from Hyderabad. Time went by looking at the car, generally yapping about the expedition, smoke breaks and then we went for lunch. Flag off was scheduled at 3:30 but by the time we came back from lunch, that time had come and gone. Flag off was almost an hour later. Divya did the honours while Anil sat shotgun with me. Anil will be joining me in Leh around the 2^nd or 3^rd of October. He will represent Via.com, one of India’s largest travel resources. They are also Travel Trendz partners for hotel and air bookings. The association with the Trilogy was our first foray towards the long term association. So far it looks like we are two peas in a pod and the relationship will be mutually beneficial to us both. Fingers crossed! 

Drove out of the venue and pointed the car in the direction of Delhi. I would be taking the road to Ahmedabad and then through Udaipur to Jaipur and finally Delhi. The distance was almost 1500km and it was already past six in the evening by the time I hit the highway. I was hoping to reach Delhi by next evening. Possible, given that people who consider themselves endurance drivers should be able to cover 1500km in a day!

The roads were fabulous and the miles were getting eaten up. I was still not entirely confident of how the Gypuzu would hold up driving non stop and I was not pushing it. In any case it does not have a great top speed and I was comfortably cruising at around 85 to 90 kilometres per hour. Traffic was decent, not too heavy and the roads were gorgeous. The landscape too was quite good.

By nightfall I was crossing Vadodara and then came Ahmedabad. Sleep was knocking boldly at the door and after driving a few kilometres, I realised that I better take a break. It was past one at night, the weather was a little muggy and the last few days had taken their toll. The excitement of flagg off had worn of and I was sinking into fatigue. It is never a good idea to drive when sleepy and I decided to grab some shut eye. Two to three hours was what I planned for. Snuggled up on the passenger seat with my feet spread out on the driver’s seat and under the steering wheel. The windows were rolled down just a wee bit for ventilation (my Gypuzu does not have an A/C) and I need some fresh air. Not that it made any difference since I was out like a light even before I could realise how uncomfortable I was.

There was some festival going on in the area and there were hordes of people walking towards something. There were langars set up every few kilometres, people were decked up for religious festivities and men women and children were all walking towards something, many of them barefeet. Don’t know what it was, but certainly something big with so many people out on the streets.

I did not care. I just dozed off and slept like there was no tomorrow. Tomorrow was another day.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 3, Sep 21

Hello again. Today is International Day of Peace and the day dawned bright and early. Very peaceful outside the hotel room compared to last night with all the revelry going on due to the Ganesh Festival. That is one worry we had, how many people would compromise on the festival to visit the exhibition. All we could hope is that there are some ardent travellers who would find the time to get more information from an exhibition that was dedicated to travel. All we could do is our job right, set up the stall and be ready to interact and network. The IITM exhibition is the biggest in the country on travel and tourism and there are great opportunities for everyone in the industry to solicit partnerships. Which is why Travel Trendz was participating. And not only participating, but was the channel partner too. Anyway, after a lovely breakfast we moved on to the exhibition grounds to set up the last of the stall. Television sets were put up, laptops were connected, contests went live, the hostesses were briefed, goody bags were all on the ready to be distributed to prospective prospects. The Gypuzu was given another rub down and pictures taken. It was looking good and it was a proud feeling to be here in these august surroundings from where the Trilogy would be flagged off.

The day was busy, people coming and people going, lots of meetings. Mustafa was there from the Hyderabad office while Soumen, Kamalinee and Gunjan from the Mumbai office were busy extolling the many virtues of Travel Trendz Television.

The day went off quite peacefully and nothing eventful happened, except we made a fair number of contacts. Met some very interesting people, some of who came looking for advertising opportunities, while others wanted to know if there was any way they could produce programmes for us. Met another person who presented an idea on promoting the seven sisters of the North East. There is an idea in that and I hope they can come up with a good proposal.

Afternoon came and went, and soon it was time to wrap up for the day. Everyone went their own way, visiting friends and family, while I sat back in the hotel room, checking mail, planning for the weeks ahead, making calls and slowly drifted off into slumberland.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 2, Sep 20

Surprisingly no one was hungry. It was nearly dawn and when you are on the road and the darkness starts playing a losing battle with the rising sun, most people want to grab a bite to eat. Well, that’s been my experience. But here we were, with only Rajesh demanding a pack of biscuits. Other had their tea in miniscule cups. I was not going to partake in that ritual. I had four cups of tea poured into a tall glass and only then consented to imbibe the spirit laced with tannin.

I checked the luggage bin to see if there was any leakage into the compartment. It had fortunately held up pretty well with not a drop to be felt inside. That was a relief since there were so many things stored in there that would be disastrous if wet – cameras primarily.

We sped on towards Pune. My cousin stays there and we had told him to expect us for breakfast, around seven is when I had told him to expect us. When he called me around eight, we were still a fair distance away. I upped the arrival time to ten.

Once people got wind of the fact that breakfast was going to be delayed, hunger pangs started. Rajesh promised us the staple breakfast of Maharashtra and soon enough he spotted a roadside eatery making the delicious vada paos. Cars were parked and the vada paos just kept on coming. Along with missal pao and poori bhaji ... and of course tea. The guys had never ever had vada paos before and they gorged. I suspect hunger had only a slight part in the amount all of us gorged.

Breakfast done, we hit the road anger, stomachs happy and contented. The cameras started rolling and Rajesh who was sitting in the Gypsy became the cameraman. He soon gave up, said that the two eyelids of his were desperate to meet, changed vehicles, dropped the seat and dozed off like there was no tomorrow. The others had had their fill of sleep and were taking in the wonders of driving through the Maharashtrian heartland.

By the time we hit my cousin’s place (that took us an hour to find his house) it was past noon. Realising we were going to be late, he had taken the time out and the effort to cook some fantastic chicken curry and rice. The vada paos were still active in all our stomachs and none of us did any justice to the fantastic food that was laid in front of us. That was sad, but unavoidable. Quietly everyone made their way into the washroom to clean up. I have a sneaky feeling that they wanted to do more than just wash up, but felt embarrassed to make their intention openly known. Mumbai was a couple of hours away and the pressures building up in the nether regions could wait. No one complained of the odour in the vehicle so I guess God was in His Heaven all the way to Mumbai.

The expressway was a dream to drive on and we did just that ... enjoy. The Gypuzu is not known to do great speeds and we were cruising at around 85 kmph when the rain started to come down. And it was starting to pelt. After the wonderful Hyderabadi weather and the rising humidity as we headed towards to Mumbai was partially offset by the coolness of the breeze wafting between the raindrops. 

A few kilometres short of Mumbai, thankfully before we hit the infamous traffic, I smelt something not so happy a split second before the cockpit filled up with smoke. That was one worry I had had for the past two days and my apprehension was coming true. Something had happened to the radiator and I was about to begin my voyage down the creek without a paddle. Gingerly I got out of the vehicle (fortunately I had parked it under a bridge), opened the bonnet to find that indeed something had happened, though not half as serious as I had expected. After the vehicle was serviced, the mechanic had put in just water in the radiator and no coolant. The water had heated and evaporated over the past 600km and the radiator said sorry. My other five well wishers were up there to help immediately. The radiator cap was opened and what water we had was promptly poured in. Little did they realise that due to the heat, all the water was instantly evaporating. Good sense prevailed and everyone waited for the engine to cool down before pouring in the additional water. Fortunately there was no leakage and nothing had gone bust. Driving slowly thereafter, we reached the hotel a while later and checked in.

While the others relaxed, freshened up and did what they wanted to Rajesh, Mustafa and me went off to the Mumbai office to catch up with Soumen and Kamalinee. Tomorrow was International Peace Day and Travel Trendz was the Global Broadcast Partner. There was a concert being staged in Mumbai and Rajesh had the responsibility of filming it. He had been going this way and that for the past couple of days getting the production organised and he had yet to see the venue to decide on logistics. Soumen would be working with him on this and I left the two of them to decide what to do next.

Soon enough we were back in the hotel, dinner was a scrumptious affair and the comfort of the bed beckoned us all. But there was work yet ... we were here for the exhibition and all of us trotted off to the venue to see what was up. The stall had to be installed, the Gypuzu had to be placed, the TV sets put up, the storage areas identified ... a whole lot of work. When we arrived work was on at full swing. But that did not mean that we could just park the Gypuzu and head on home. The area had to be cleaned, carpets pasted, platform constructed, etc, etc, etc. Home was some time away yet. Which came soon enough.

Hussain was sleeping in the car and he did not know when or how or at what time we came back to the hotel or how and when he went up the elevator and crashed into bed. This was his first ever long distance journey and he was pooped. In fact we all were. We sank into our respective beds and did not even realise when sleep overtook us ... probably even before we hit the bed.

That was how the day ended. A long drive, a taste of vada pao followed by a lovely lunch and then setting up of the stall and placement of the Trilogy vehicle. An eventful day indeed and quite satisfying.

So ended Day 2. I’ll see you when I’ll see you. Keep following the Trilogy for more.

 

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Travel Trendz Trilogy Update: Day 1, Sep 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D-Day. Well almost. D-Day because I finally left Hyderabad to embark on the Travel Trendz Trilogy. It was past midnight and there was just the team that was travelling with me to Mumbai. It was late, it was raining, and it was not possible for people to see me off and wish me Godspeed. Nonetheless, there was Mustafa, Rajesh, Teja, Irfan and Hussain, all off who were travelling with me to Mumbai for the India International Travel Mart, where Travel Trendz was a co sponsor, and where the expedition would finally flag off from.

I was just a little bit apprehensive. It was after more than a year that I was again going to the heights of Ladakh and more than four years later that I was attempting another expedition, another world record. There were thoughts that kept coming back to me about the chances of success, about the possible pitfalls, about the fact that this time there were sponsors whose hopes and dreams of a successful outcome of the Travel Trendz Trilogy were lying squarely on my shoulders. It is a heavy burden to carry, the outcome of which lay entirely on me. Travel Trendz and Via.com did all that they possibly could ... support me psychologically and financially. I was not too worried about the other two co-partners – OutThere Adventurers and the OTA Survival School for obvious reasons. These companies were not outsiders, though the onus of success and failure lay as heavy on them as they did on the others.

Anyway, a little after midnight (so does this update qualify for the 19^th?) the six op us shook our respective hands and off we were for a tryst with destiny. First stop, Mumbai for the IITM exhibition. I was the Project Manager for this event and apart from making sure that I did what I had to do for the Trilogy, I had to ensure that all was well and ran smoothly at the exhibition. There had been a major goof up a couple of days back and that did not sit well with me. But as I keep telling myself, butterflies are always good, they keep you on your toes, making you more aware of the things that need to get done.

Off we went northwards. It was drizzling. Rajesh joined me in my two-seater Gypuzu, while the other four were comfortable ensconced in a ten-seater Winger ... albeit with lots of luggage. We hot the highway and soon thereafter Hussain promised us a cup of tea, the likes of which we had not tasted ever. Sure enough it tasted good. Just off the highway on the road to Mumbai, after sipping some gorgeous tea, we headed on. I was leading all the way while Hussain kept on my tail. I preferred it that way since I had not driven long distance with him before and I like the fact that he was right there on my rear view mirror.

And we drove on into the night. As people slowly dozed off, the only ones to hear the drone of the engines was Hussain and me. So ended the rest of the night and then we stopped for a cuppa just before dawn and a wayside dhaba that was just about starting to clean up for the next day’s business.

A quiet day ... or night as it turns out, after a hard day’s work, and the drive was uneventful apart from the constant drizzle that for a short while turned into a virtual downpour.

I’ll see you when I’ll see you. Till then take care, work hard, play harder and sleep tight.

 

Follow my journey here ... http://traveltrendztv.com/traveltrendztrilogy.php and here https://www.facebook.com/traveltrendztv