GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, a Journey of India

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

“Longest journey by car in a single country”

18,458 km (11,469 miles)

23rd February, 2014 - 1st  April, 2014

Life is a journey filled with lessons and challenges. Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith that will ultimately lead us to our destination.

New challenges excite and inspire us. Since 1999, I, and my wife, have achieved several records under our belt, National Record, Limca Book of Record and World Record, in which we drove our Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. This year, 2014, we undertook the challenge to create a New Guinness World Record in the category –‘Longest Journey by Car in a Single Country’.

I am 62 years old and my wife is 53. We are very proud to be the first couple to earn this feat.

Each and every moment spent on this expedition has been a memorable one. The expedition was not just about travelling in a car but about planning and discovering routes and executing accordingly, appreciating the beauty, diversity and the challenges laid in front of us every single day. We met many interesting people, their curiosity and hospitality has lead to new friendships made on the trip.

We completed all the formalities required by the Guinness World Records and got an approval for officially attempting for this record. We chose our Maruti Wagon R for greatest trip of our life.

This long-distance trip put our skills and endurance to the test and it required a great deal of knowledge and preparation to help us achieve our goal. We were prepared for endless challenges.

Next concern was our vehicle. A complete engine servicing and tools to tackle quick repairs kept our worries at rest. We had to install a vehicle tracking device which kept a log of time, distance and speed. It was a mandatory requirement by the Guinness World Records. We carried a map, but as we had traveled many times in our earlier tours on Royal Enfield, our memories served as the best map.

The journey started on 23 February, 2014 at 8.15 am from Puri, Orissa and covered almost all parts of the India, as guide line given by the Guinness World Records. 

From Puri we proceeded towards Rourkela , Ranchi- Guwahati-Nagaland- Gorakhpur- Allahabad- Nagpur- Raipur- Hyderabad- Madurai-Kanyakumari- Bangalore- Hasan- Pune- Aurangabad- Mumbai- Ahmedabad- Jaisalmer- Jodhpur- Jhansi- Jaipur- Amritsar- Delhi- Varanasi- Durgapur- Kharagpur. 

The vehicle GPS Track system was fitted on our car and a logbook which asked us to get an entry at several Police stations on our way every day.

While we love driving and being on the road, but driving a car to achieve such a record, where Time, Speed and Distance is main factor, we feel it was slightly difficult on Indian roads. Road conditions across India are not a secret. Many highways are still in poor condition while some are perfect. Therefore, some days driving was quite harrowing.

Driving etiquette  in India are not well defined. All sorts of vehicles, bullock carts, cycles, rickshaws, two-wheeler, three-wheeler, cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, etc. would drive at their own will, crowding the lanes and turn without signaling or without switching on the indicator. 

We faced quite a number of breakdowns due to condition of the road. South part of India and Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab have very good roads but roads in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh need more attention. Although challenging, our travel experience in India is ‘great’. 

We reached Puri, Orissa on 1^st April, 2014 at 12.45 pm after a long drive of 18,458 km (11,469 miles) and successfully achieved the new Guinness World Record in the category of –“Longest Journey by Car in a Single Country”.

We broke the existing  Guinness World Record of  15,793 km (9,813.3 miles) which was by Gennadij paramonov (Russia), and Rainer Zietlow (Germany) who drove three Volkswangen from  Moscow to Petropavlovsk (Russia) from 8 February to 8 April 2013.

During our journey, we feel it is good way to meet some nice people. We learn of our mutual interests about 



different culture and opinions. During our journey we celebrated Maha Shivaratri on 27^th February with the people of West Bengal and Assam, Holi on 17^th March with the children of Maharashtra. Celebrating together provided opportunities for us to explore the cultural diversity of communities within India.

We consider our good health did contribute a lot to this success. We had researched and found some health tips to keep us fit throughout the trip. We ate a lot of fruits and especially dates to keep us alert while driving. We ate less simple carbohydrates during the day, that means we steered clear of regular food available at the roadside restaurants on our trip. We ate regional special food, which mostly included rice, roti dal and sabzi, for our dinner.

The Indian food varies from region to region. North Indian cooking, specifically  Tandoori roti, Paratha, Dal fry, Alo matar, Palak Paner and a variety of snacks like Samosa ,Kachori, Jalabi, Halwa. Mughal-style cooking Biryani, Kabab Rumali roti mostly available in old mughal cities like Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Hyderabad etc. In South India  the food is mostly rice-based includes Sambhar , Rasam and, some great 

breakfast like Idli , Dosa,  Vada, and Uttapam with Sambhar and Chuntney Coffee is the preferred drink in South India, but you will find tea everywhere else. On the West Gujarat to Rajastani food is mostly vegetarian. Their best snack item is Dhokla.  In the North East and Eastern part Rice and Fish are their favorite. Eastern India is also famous for its sweets: Rasgulla and Sondesh. Indo-Chinese food, like Chowmen , chilli chicken, is available in many parts of the country and is worth a try. Pizza is favored by the young and is easily available in the urban cities of India.

We found night stay during our travel depending on budget and location from Rs. 400 to Rs. 800. Now a days hotels and inns are available on the highway which made our trip more convenient. Two important factors we kept in our mind when choosing a place to stay was safety and  cleanliness. We even stayed at youth hostels that exist in many areas with moderate fee, safe, clean and comfortable.

As a country of cultural beauty and vibrant character, India has become one of the most desirable destinations. We are the most frequent traveler of our country and feel its people and sites, the language and food is rich historically and culturally significant. One is assured to return with a multitude of memories after experiencing this wide range of experience India has to offer.
  

We feel very content after receiving this recognition by Guinness World Record. Our arduous efforts towards achieving our dream has been a rewarding and enriching experience for us both. The richest moments were the ones when we worked against our despair and took it as a challenge, one day at a time.

We have always worked towards doing something passionate and challenging. We are on this planet for a very short time and we deserve to what makes us happy.  The Journey we have taken since 1999 has filled us with freedom, happiness and positive sense of life.

Lastly, we have faith in Lord Jagannath and believe that Lord Jagannath, and all the best wishes of people around us, along with our determination and courage, removed all our obstacles and transformed them into opportunities.

Success is not the key to happiness; happiness is the key to success

A World Series Certificate like  GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS is a wonderful thing to behold

This is not the end, this not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the journey of endless.....