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 19th?) 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
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