Category Archives: Inspirations

ABC Trekking -# 1 Excitement Ahead!

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Come 16th November, I will be out for for my next expedition. This time it will be a a trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) in Himalayas in Nepal which will last till 26 Nov 2018. The Annapurna region is regarded as one of the best trekking destinations on the planet.

Three years back, in end April 2015, I planned for this expedition. But just a week before I was to leave, there was a severe earthquake in Nepal, killing almost 10,000 people. All tourist activities were closed. Next 3 years kept me busy in other expeditions like Drive from Road to London, solo drives to Iceland, Yellowstones in USA and Candian Rockies. I am now attempting to trek ABC again. Like the trek to Mt Everest BC, again I will be trekking all alone, of course with a Sherpa as a guide.

I wish the various authorities consider the energy level as a criteria to assess the abilities of a person rather than the age. Some of the initial challenges I am facing are due to my age factor of 73+. I expect to resolve these issues in the next 2-3 days and be ready to commence my journey on time.

I hope to share my excitements and anxious moments with you as I keep moving.

In the meanwhile I certainly need your good wishes and blessings for smooth completion of my dream.

Canadian Rockies and Yellow Stone Drive #2 – Why ?

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Why Canadian Rockies and Yellowstone NP? 

On one of my business trips to the U.S.IN 2008, a prospective customer asked me about my recent trek to the Mount Everest Basecamp. It turns out he was a regular trekker. He told me about his favourite hike-and-drive: the Canadian Rockies. That’s what created the spark to explore this Range.

Research revealed that it would be thrilling to go from Vancouver to Alaska via the Canadian Rockies. However, I had other trips lined up, so the Rockies had to wait.

In 2014, I went to Alaska. Though I wanted to drive to Alaska, I soon realised that taking a cruise to Alaska would be an equally exhilarating experience. So, we took a ship, and once more, the Rockies were put in the back seat.

After Alaska, I drove in Iceland, and completed the epic 22,000 kilometer ‘Road to London’ drive, I began to contemplate the big question: what’s next? I didn’t want to stop. This world is too beautiful to not explore!  After some research, three options presented themselves: Egypt and Jordan, an African Safari, or the Canadian Rockies.  Pushpa and I also desired to take some of our grandchildren on this trip.

Nishi, who was with us for the ‘Road to London’ drive, was going to begin her 5th standard in a new school. She didn’t want to miss the last few days in her current school, so she passed on this trip. Aarya is just 4, so she was out of the question. That left my other two grandchildren Arsh and Ruhi, who instantly consented to join.

I presented the options to them. Arsh was totally indifferent. Ruhi, however, was all for the Rockies, owing to the abundance of snow. She said, “I just love snow. Traveling in snow sounds really exciting to me.” The grandchildren had spoken. Rockies.  Looking to their other educational commitments, early May appeared to be the only possibility.

Normal season for Rockies is July to October.  May is an odd season as some of the roads would still be blocked with snow and the lakes at higher altitudes would still be in frozen state.  But the month of May gives us an advantage.  More of snow everywhere.  Hiking and trekking on snow covered mountains, frozen lakes and river glaciers would be a real fun.  Driving around these mountains during that period would be an added excitement.

Bingo! The plan was set. Pushpa, Arsh, Ruhi, and I were going drive around the Canadian Rockies. But as the title of this blog suggests, we are also going to Yellowstone National Park. Where did that come from?

Arsh and Ruhi’s educational commitments in India were very complicated. After factoring in these commitments, and the correct season, this is what we came up with: we had to start the trip on any day between the 1st and 3rd of May and continue for two weeks before returning to the motherland. For the Rockies, 8 to 10 days were adequate, but we wanted to spend the maximum of available time with the grandchildren. So, we had a few more days in hand. Hence, I decided to put in the Yellowstone National Park. That takes 7 days. We’d be done 3 or 4 days too late. I dropped Vancouver, and instead we would land in Calgary, and do a sort of circle, south into the U.S., to visit Yellowstone, and then back up north into the Rockies, making the most efficient use of our time. That was it!   A drive through the Canadian Rockies and Yellowstone National Park was decided.

I will try to keep you updated on this trip.  If you would like to receive more frequent (almost daily) updates here are the social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Canadian Rockies & Yellowstone NP Drive #1

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It is time, once again, to leave the comforts of home, and venture into the hills. On the first of May, 2018, Pushpa and I will be going to the Rockies in Canada, and Yellowstone National Park, in the USA on a solo self-drive. We will be travelling with our two grandchildren, Arsh and Ruhi, who will be 16 and 14 respectively on the day of our departure. I hope to share everything from planning to execution, including pictures of the best-looking snow capped mountains (apart from the Himalayas, which always hold a special place in my heart), frozen lakes, glaciers, high rising geysers, hot sulphur springs, and wild animals in their natural habitats. Stay tuned for further updates.

Road to London # 8 – The Influential Hidden Character

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 7 – The Route Across India

It is not the first time that she influenced me to take on an adventure. She has supported all my crazy endeavours. She may not initiate the trips. But if I proposed one, she would be enthusiastic about the tour, even for the most complicated and risky ones.  Pushpa, the wife, is not my better half, she is the first half!

In fact, she just might be better qualified to undertake adventure and risky trips. She takes over the gadgetry, which I have never understood.  It is a family joke, particularly by Anand, that it is  because of her I can handle my mobile.

Pushpa Sliding on Australian Sand Dunes 2011

She maintains her cool during testing times of the tours. She accepts that adventure trips have inbuilt calculated risks.  There were times when we had no shelter, but she had no problems. No food, it hardly made a difference to her. She has understood and adjusted to the whatever the situation has demanded.   There have been occasions in our trips together when we had no water to drink, but she didn’t complain.  She prefers tap water to bottled, mineral water wherever she is.  You and I fall ill, not her!

Once when we were in Tibet, our vehicle stalled in a murky place.  It was the dark hour of midnight.   There were no villages for 20 kilometers in any direction. The temperature was minus 10-15 degrees Celsius. And there was a slight drizzle. Every drop of rain felt like a needle piercing your skin.  Boots were getting stuck in mud with every step. And here she was helping me push the vehicle out of the muck.   Ultimately,  we had to walk cold and wet for about a km, in complete darkness. We rested in a road side godown (if we could call it that!) where even a beast would be scared.  The place had a strong stink. It was badly maintained alcohol den, full of beer and was scattered with used cans and bottles.  She has never tasted onion or garlic, let alone alcohol.  But she didn’t even wrinkle her nose when she had to lie down there for a couple of hours of much needed rest.

And oh! That place was owned by a man in his 80s or so. He looked like he was straight out of a western movie, a cowboy, only with horrible, excessive make-up.  He had a spear in his left hand, instead of a gun. Long salt-and-pepper hair and beard – probably unwashed for a long time. He covered it with a cowboy hat.   He was probably wearing new clothes, only that they were bought years ago. His face showed his age in wrinkles. He had extra skin hanging from his cheeks, large red eyes set just above them. Sharp long grey eye-brows.  The place had no lights, it was almost all dark. Just a small dim lamp gave the scene a horror movie feel.  I was outside, in that freezing rain with a driver-guide to see if the car could get on the road. When I returned, the face of the owner, with extra wide eyes, was almost a foot from Pushpa’s face. She was speechless. I dropped in and engaged our host in slow motion, sign language. Pushpa did not complain even about that day ever.

The moment I ask her opinion about a trip, she always has a positive answer. To the extent that some times I take her for granted and forget to even take her consent. Ghar ki murgi daal barabar!

Once in 2012, on a flight to London I mentioned to her that I wanted to drive one day from home to London. She just replied with a “hmmm”, that too forcibly, knowing that it was one of those improbable dreams. However, I knew it is not unachievable, particularly since she would be with me.  She used to drive way back in the 80s when we lived in the Middle East.Quad Driving in Tangalooma Island 2011 With Pushpa as Co-driver

 

A few months ago, she was travelling elsewhere, I called her, “we have a chance to drive to London. Are you interested?”  Her reply was the as quickest as it can be “Grab it”.  It is all through now to make the dream come true.   She is not my better half, she my best half,  Pushpa!  I am really lucky to have such a lady as my companion for these exotic journeys.  She would be my co-driver for “Road To London”!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

                                                                                                To be continued …………………

Road to London # 10 – Setting New Records Adds Thrill

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 9 – My Brave Bachchus

Once I decided to go for this journey, I was reading through the experiences of people who had been through similar journeys, in the past.

There are a few who have driven from London to Delhi.  There is also the story of three friends who started from London and got stuck in Afghanistan – they were sent back after a week’s experience in an Afghan prison. There are some who had to return halfway due to health or political problems.

Tushar Agarwal has a series of Guinness and Limca records for his driving achievements.  Amongst several others, he drove from London to Delhi with his wife.  He and his friend Sanjay Madan also have to their credit,  a 70,000 kms self-driving trip through 51 countries in 6 continents!  Whoa!

I wanted to make a record too!  But it is absolutely difficult to beat their records.  But I am heads up on one factor.  Being senior in age has its advantages.  I beat them hollow in age. While interacting with Tushar, he realised and hinted that I would be the senior most person to take up such a long self-driving trip.  That aside, Pushpa and I could be the senior most couple to achieve this.  That we could attempt to establish these new records added to our excitement.  Yes, if I am fit and confident enough to do it and face the problem in the process of achieving it!

That would be another record for us!

When Nishi agreed to join the expedition, I realised that it would be an another record.  She would be the youngest to take such a journey. We should be celebrating her 10th birthday on the way, if all goes well, in China.

Possibilities of setting these three new records – (a) senior-most individual  (b) senior-most couple and (c) youngest individual boosted our spirits even further.

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

To be continued…………………..

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Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 11 – Driving Duration a Day…..

On such a strenuous driving expedition, our physical and mental fitness aside, it is equally important to have a right and reliable vehicle. A comfortable car surely enhances the level of satisfaction of driving. Very affectionately I named our car, “Soham”. “Soham” is a chant popularised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, of The Art of Living foundation. It means, “I am He”. I acknowledge the presence of the Almighty in the vehicle that takes me around.

The varied terrain requires a safer 4-wheel drive car with ground clearance of at least 190mm, if not more.

Anand’s “consent” to the trip was on the condition that I should take the vehicle of his choice!   Smart on his part to have discovered what I was trying to hide.  Both our current cars are fairly new with about 25K and 15K km on them. “Pappa, you certainly should not undertake this journey in your favourite Skoda Superb. Yes, the  BMW-X1 SUV is better.  But still not good enough.  After all, you would be driving through some of the places where roads hardly exist.”

Anand was right.   Under such situations, my Skoda Superb, with a ground clearance of only 164 mm, is far below the minimum safety need of 190 mm.   Further, Chinese authorities do not give road entry permit for sedans.  They demand the pictures from all sides of the car.  For them, the vehicle should have SUV looks.  They consider SUV more reliable.  They don’t want me to have a vehicle breakdown and get stuck in their country for any reason!  Fair enough.

I had the option of taking the BMW-X1, compact SUV.  It has a better ground clearance of 179mm.  Though not good enough. I checked with some of my contacts who have driven on the worst of the stretches we would be passing through. I was told X-1 would be just about ok.     Arguably, it is just good enough for two of us.

Neither Pushpa nor I understand much of car mechanism.  A few years earlier, I was capable of attending to any minor car-related problems. But now I have become lethargic and have developed the habit to look for assistance even to change a flat tyre.  Habits hardly die!  I decided that  at least for the first 3 weeks of my journey, till the time I drive within India, I can have an assistant with us.  So I decided to have our household assistant, Shiva with us.  He is like a younger brother or son to me.  Once we reach Manipur, the border city of India, he can fly back home!  Our count of passengers in the car increased to three.

And then, my 9 year old granddaughter Nishi decided to join us for the entire tour. We would now be four for the Indian part of journey and three for the overseas drive.

We need to carry baggage to last us three months.  We would be crossing through all types of climatic conditions – normal, cold, very cold, wet, warm, hot and very hot.  Therefore we need  to carry all types of garments.   That aside, extras like food and water, a jerrycan for spare fuel, etc were also essential for such long journeys. Anand wanted me to play safe.  He proposed that I take a bigger, better and safer vehicle than BMW X1.

Anand has reasonably good knowledge about vehicles.  He shortlisted a vehicle each from Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Land Rover and Toyota.  Land rover is expensive and  even its 3-year used model without warranty was almost same cost as a new vehicle of other brands with warranty.  Also, Land Rover has a more sophisticated mechanism.  In case of a breakdown, we might not find knowledgeable mechanics or spare parts. Hence we gave up the idea of second-hand Rover.  We further narrowed the selection down to either Toyota Land Cruiser or BMW X-5.  We had a series of meetings with the marketing executives of these brands.  Dealers of BMW offered to provide certain facilities.  Trusting them, we selected to go ahead with X-5. The trailer however

Badri Pushpa with Soham

Badri Pushpa with Soham

was slightly different than the movie we saw / are seeing … the post-sales service was drastically different to earlier promises, up to a point where, in one case, it had put our entire expedition at risk of cancellation. Without dwelling into the details, we decided to continue with BMW.

By coincidence, this is the type of car Anand wanted to buy for two years now. But since our current cars were not even a year old then, the decision was deferred.

One by one, items got checked on the to-do list: Itinerary, timings, hotel bookings, vehicle.  Years ago when I dreamt of such an expedition, I wondered “How To Do It?”.  Now, I have removed the “How To” and “?” and am left with “Do It!”

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To be continued………………

Road to London # 11 – Driving Duration a Day

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # …………………………

Having decided to make this trip, I had to plan my itinerary.  Once a date is frozen, planning various aspects of the travel becomes even more energised.  It inspires you to study and enjoy planning.  We would cross the Indian border from Manipur to Myanmar  on 16 April 2017.  Keeping a buffer for unexpected events, we plan to reach there a day in advance.  I back-calculated to fix a departure date from home.  I laid down some basic principles:

  • No night-driving.   Of course, we drive carefully.  But we cannot control how others on the road drive. It is said that the highest number of drunk drivers are on road between midnight and 3AM. Supposedly, fatal crashes are four times higher at night than during the day. Right from the time I started driving in 1973, I have preferred to drive only in daylight.   On rare occasions,  I drive at night, that too only on well lit roads that have dividers.  For long drives, I make it a point to start early in the morning and break for the day by 3 or 4PM. So, you safely reach the destination by sunset, even if there is any delay due to congestion.
  • Comfortable number of hours per day. I initially considered driving 8 hours a day.     Normally, for a full day’s drive you need an extra 30-35% of drive time for rest and food breaks.

    Pushpa Getting Ready to Drive to London

    That would mean a total travelling time of 10 to 11 hours a day.   A 6AM start gets you to the destination by 4 or 5 pm.  This is not difficult.  Especially, with Pushpa taking up a couple of hours of driving, it seemed quite comfortable.

Once Nishi confirmed to join us, I revised the drive time.  8 hours in the car for two and a half months is a bit much. To maintain excitement till the end, I had to make it interesting and not tiring for the child. Till we reach the Indian border, I revised the drive time to an average of about 6 hours per day. Including breaks, it would still add up to 8 hours a day.  A little delayed start every morning, say at 7 or even 8AM would take us to the revised destination by 3AM. That gives us enough time for a comfortable breakfast, have lunch on the way and reach the destination by the time we are ready for a mid-afternoon snack.  It also left scope to spend about 2-3 hours to visit interesting places around the destination or on the way.  Or just relax.

  • Break from driving. After every 3-4 days, I scheduled a day’s rest. At most, we could go for nominal sight-seeing.  I’ve made a list of interesting sites on the route.
  • Booking accommodation – tricky business. Our dates of travel coincide with peak holiday season: March-June.  Choice hotels during this period are booked well in advance particularly at tourist cities, forest resorts and sanctuaries.  It is important to have right spots to stay in places like Darjeeling, Gangtok, Cherrapunjee, Kaziranga etc.  The earlier one books, the better the options.
    • Selecting accommodation for the 24 nights in India was a little tricky.  It was necessary to consider certain important factors.   I prefer hotels on the highway rather than those in the city. That would save time of negotiating downtown streets.
    • If we find out about spots worth visiting but unknown to me as of now, we should have the flexibility to change the itinerary.  That would mean changing hotel bookings. Therefore, even if it meant paying a little more, I opted for bookings that allowed cancellation or changes free of cost.
    • We need a decent hotel each day. If we are tempted by a good hotel, and cut our journey short on a particular day, it will be difficult to cover the extra distance, the next day.  At the same time stretching longer on a particular day to get to an attractive hotel can make the journey tiring.
    • We know many people who live in towns that are on our route. They have graciously asked us to stay with them. It is always a pleasure to stay with relatives and friends.  Staying with them give us time to interact on the local conditions, activities and culture.  But many a time, a lot of time is lost in formalities.   Excessive insistence in eating is a problem that disrupts the digestion system – which we cannot afford.  Hence, we have chosen to decline some of these offers.

After considering these parameters, I booked accommodation.  I had a real tough time to fix locations on certain stretches like Mumbai to Ayodhya and Varnasi to Darjeeling.

Of course, there have been many revisions in the itinerary.    And every change in itinerary, even it is of a single day resulted in a series of changes in accommodation.  With every change, I changed hotel bookings.  I don’t want to miss out on any sites, just because I had to put in some extra effort. I did not lose my patience. Though confusing and complicated, I started enjoying and learning out of it. It is good I had ‘free cancellation’  terms in my bookings!

I have revised my itinerary almost 10 times and I had to change hotel bookings on all 10 revisions!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To be continued……………..

Road To London # 9 – My Brave Bachchus

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 8 – The Influential Hidden Character

The route I planned for my route within India, from Mumbai to Imphal would pass through places of historical and religious importance, national parks and sanctuaries, entertainment centers and caves, toy trains and ropeways etc.  These are the places which would be of special interest to children.  We would also be embracing through some of the most beautiful places in the world.  Any one passing through these would develop a special relation with nature.

Generally the inbuilt dangers of adventure travel are hyped.  They are projected as much more dangerous than they actually are.  This discourages youngsters to take such trips.

One of my grandchildren Nishi was with us in the 9-day Iceland driving trip.  Inspite of

all the known fears, Nishi joined us for Iceland.  During problematic situations there, Nishi proved to be the calmest and bravest amongst the three of us.  Any problem we had, whether it was on top of a lava or an ice mountain, mobiling on glacier, running around huge waterfalls, she smilingly enjoyed facing them, as if she was playing a new game. I realised during that trip that kids are in fact, more mature in handling problems!  I was wondering if I could create some interest in such travels in the youngsters of our family.

I have four grandchildren.  One is just 3 years old and the other three are in the 9-14 age range.   I thought it would be great if the children joined the journey.  It would be a life-time experience for them at such a young age.

I sent a message to my children, inviting any one grandchild to join us.

Yes, “any one” was for a good reason. The travel is scheduled at exam season. Naturally they hesitated.  We got “no” as an answer from all of them. Never mind!

After a week or so, Nishi and her parents, Nilesh and Seema, probably re-thought about the opportunity. They asked if it was too late to for Nishi to join us, subject to her permissions from her school.

Nishi lives in Chelmsford, Essex, UK.   Her school authorities were extremely excited about the experience she would get in this trip!  They were thrilled in an instant and granted her special permission. The Head of Academics wrote, “What a fantastic experience (it would be)! Nishi’s teachers are aware that she will be absent and nearer the time I will liaise with them in order to ensure work is provided for Nishi whilst she is away…..We very much look forward to hearing all about Nishi’s travels when she returns!”.  Fantastic!  What a positive approach and support from the school! Nishi confirmed to take the journey with us.

Once I had the confirmation from Nishi, I added a few places en-route which would be of special interest to her.  But I did not extend beyond 21 days. I deleted some of the places of lesser importance.  I revised my itinerary.  Probably, by now it has had 10+ revisions.  I back-calculated and provisionally fixed 26th March 2017 as the day for departure from Mumbai.

Thereafter my other grand daughter Ruhi, settled in Pune, also expressed her interest to

join us.  We reconsidered, if we could accommodate her too.  But, then we had to be practical.  It was a long journey.  We weren’t comfortable with the idea of more than three persons + luggage to survive for that duration, in one car!  Pushpa and I are in our 60s and 70s.  Managing ourselves and our health itself is a good enough challenge!  We could manage one child.  Managing two children and their health could potentially become difficult on a long journey. Against our own wishes, we had to restrict to one child only.

A week after, I sought the blessings of our Guruji, Jagathguru Sri Sridharacharyaji of Ayodhya.  I explained our plans.  He called back to say that I should change the date of departure.    I could not have shortened the number of days as it was already hectic.  Nor did I want to miss any of the selected places.  Undoubtedly, leaving a day or two earlier would provide a slight relief to the itinerary.  Guruji therefore, fixed the flag off time as 10 am on Friday, 24th March 2017 as auspicious!

So it is now 23 days of travel from West to East of India, before we cross Indian borders.

That is not all,,,,,, abhi picture baaki hai!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

  To be continued …………………

Road to London # 13 – The Route

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                            Continued from Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion….

Right from the beginning, we knew that driving to London through the Western borders would mean going through Pakistan and Afghanistan, which might not be the safest route. The Himalayan mountain range on the North and oceans on the South rule out those routes. That left only the Eastern route through China.  There are roads linking from Nepal and North-Eastern parts of the Indian border, but entry is restricted only for the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.   Thus we had to cross China, some parts of the old USSR, now countries like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, certain European countries before we reach United Kingdom. This is a drive of about 45 days from the time we cross the Indian border.  This itinerary was considered as almost final for the tour.

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Myanmar is a country I have been wanting to visit for long.  I heard of it as Burmah where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) to fight for independence. The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.

However there was an update that though the entry point in Myanmar is safe, the exit point, Muse was not very peaceful.  Therefore the route to China had to be changed.  The best practical alternative was to drive to Thailand, cut across Laos and then enter China. This added two countries to the itinerary and increased the overseas travel from 45 to 47 days and the number of countries from 14 to 16.

We need to drive for a fortnight to cross the Chinese territory and reach Kyrgyzstan.  I was very happy when I realised our next destination country was Uzbekistan. It would give us an opportunity to visit Tashkent where our former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri breathed his last. From there on to Kazhakstan before we touch the border of Russia.

As per the original plans we planned to enter Belarus through the Kurgan border from Moscow. It

From Mumbai - Road to London

From Mumbai – Road to London

was not possible to get vehicle permits for Belarus from Russia.  In October 2016, the Belarus–Russia border was closed to foreigners.  Therefore, the itinerary had to be re-routed again.   Instead of entering through Belarus, we would now drive further north and enter European Union through Latvia and Lithuania.  The onward drive thereafter is easy through Czechoslovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally to The United Kingdom.  Once we enter UK at its South East, we would drive to London.  This revision added two more days to the itinerary.

However this created another technical problem.  If we left the Indian border as per original schedule on 16 April 2017, we reach the China border on a Sunday.  The border is closed on Sundays. Hence the departure from India was postponed to 17 April 2017.

All these changes made the total countries visited from the original 15 to 18 (excluding Bhutan).   The total number of overseas driving days increased from 45 to 49.   Add to that the 23 days drive to reach the Indian border. The total duration of the tour now is at a total of 72 days!

The action begins in less than 10 days on 24th March 2017. We would love to see you all cheer us when we leave at a small flag-off event. Please do come!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To Be Continued ………….

Road Trip to London # 6 – Family Consent

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL #5 Fitness Matters……...

I was worried that when I express my desire to do a Mumbai-London driving trip, I will have to go through a bout of medical exams.

Way back in 2008, I had proposed to trek Mt. Everest base camp.  My wife is too good a lady and encourages me to do whatever I like!  My daughters were excited and slightly hesitant respectively.  But the son resisted,  “Mt. Everest is not for senior citizens.  It is considered very risky.”  I appreciate my children for their love!  I had to undergo a series of medical and stress tests as prescribed by my daughter, Seema and son-in-law, Nilesh, both doctors by profession, practicing in the UK. I passed these tests with flying colours!

On my trek to Mt Everest in 2008

I had lower spondylitis and syncope problems.  They did not make that an issue.  I did not highlight it to them either.  But they probably did not know the details of four cervical slip discs and a misaligned toe.   Except these, I did not hide anything from them! Other than these, I was physically fit.   Even in academic examinations 40% is considered pass.  So I thought I have passed my physical fitness exams.

It was only during this Mt Everest trek that I learned from the guide that it was vital that even the slightest of health problems like headache or lack of appetite or sleep ought to be revealed to the organisers.  Thereafter, I have been more transparent about my health matters with my family.

I was 63 then.  Now I am 72.

Their love continues to flow with even more intensity.  My son, Anand probably loves me the most and hence is the most cautious.  His was the first resistance I had to pass through for my Road To London adventure. It is a long trip with a lot of inbuilt risks.He was not in town when I had made the decision to go on this trip.  Since, it was an impromptu decision, I could not wait for him to be back in 3-4 days. I sent Anand the details I had. This time too I did not hide anything from him except…….!  I was anxiously waiting for his reaction.

“Enjoy the trip – it should be good fun” was Anand’s response. I was surprised by his support. But it was a conditional “yes”. I am a little carefree about trip gear, in general. I didn’t even carry trekking poles for the Mt. Everest trek! But Anand extra-cautious about any of our journeys, even the local ones, and rightly so. I wanted to drive the distance in my favourite Skoda Superb.  Anand’s condition was that the vehicle I would use would be of his choice!  He had traced what I was trying to hide.

No one else had any concerns. Everyone was thrilled at the thought of such a venture.

                                          To  be continued ….RTL # 7 – Route Across India………………….

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra