Discovering Us, on Our Journey

This is my India as I knew it.

I knew that India had twenty nine stats and seven union territories.

Majority us spoke a total of thirty languages

Each state had its own culture, tradition, food, dress, code a and folk arts., I was aware of the land knew the names of most mountain and rivers of my country. That was India as I knew it.

I am a retired officer of ASRTU New Delhi and after retirement settled down at Puri my home state. Odisha. I am a passionate bike rider and has travelled the length and breadth of the of India on my old  Royal Enfield with my wife as my constant companion. Here I share my highs and lows of travels.

What do you enjoy the best most in your road journey?

Our journeys on motorcycle help us to meet various kinds of people. It is a great way to discover different culture, opinions and mutual interests which a country like India offers. We also greatly enjoy India’s landscape with beautiful sea beaches and mountains.

 

Do you always travel as a couple or have taken solo rides of this kind ?

We always travel as a couple, My wife Jotshna Mishra is the best homemaker and my biggest supporter. I am very grateful for my wife. She is my friend, my support, my love, my everything. We always travel as a couple on our motorcycle expedition.  She has great experience of photography and it is most essential for us to take the pictures while we are running on bike. 

 

Why a motor cycle.. why not a car, trains or bus?

When you are in a car, you are confined within the “walls” of the vehicle, but on a bike, you are open. Riding a motorcycle like feeling of freedom, to feel the cold, the sun burning the face and the power of the wind fighting with body. It is also to get friend with the nature and learn to respect  it. All this experiences make me addicted of this way of life.

We love to drive car and travel by train and bus also. We achieved Guinness World Record two times.

1.              “Longest Journey by car in a single country” year 2014
2.      "Longest journey by scheduled public transport in a single country " year 2018 by train and bus public transport.
both the journeys are great achievements of our life.

 

The great Indian Train and Bus journey both are an exciting and colorful adventure. There’s just something about watching from the window that evokes a true sense of adventure, journeys in India by bus and train that are breathtakingly beautiful, stunning and picturesque.

Train and Bus journeys both are always an exciting endeavor if you are particularly interested in meeting a wide variety of people from different parts of our country.   Meeting some amusing and few interesting co-passengers the journey remains incomplete without such characters.

Please tell our readers about the plus and minus points of taking such cross country rides.

During our cross country rides, every journey brings with it a new set of people and unfolds a new set of stories. Although we meet them only for a couple of hours, yet in that time, they define a small world to us. And more often than not, their stories live with us forever.

 

The real critical factors are your own attitude and resolve. Ask yourself.. if you can cope up with the endless challenges like heavy rain, different temperature, climatic change, different type of roads including roadblocks and breakdowns., frustrations, mosquitoes, and food poisoning ? . if you have a very strong positive mental attitude, then only one should go for it.

You’re most difficult travel experience till date ?

Silchar to Imphal , the worst sections of the National Highway are found in Manipur. Our  well wishers had warned us about the dangers of driving in this region. The place of Jaribam is the entry point to Manipur. The prospect of entering Manipur had us both excited and bit nervous. The road was empty all day long. After 15 km ride from Jaribam, three fully inebriated youths suddenly stood in front of our bike and asked us to open our bags. They carried away things that they could lay their hands on. We could not react and stood still.

 

And the most interesting travel experience?

 Leh to kanyakumari on motorcycle (Limca Book of Records) year 2006.

We were the first couple to complete the ride from Leh to Kanyakumari . the expedition also covered 5 passes of Himalayas including  Highest and second highest pass of the world. As we went ahead on our bike towards Ladakh region we encountered a number of challenges. Travelling and climbing mountains on motorcycle is not a very tiring activity, but it also put you through the ultimate test of physical stamina and will power.

 

After coming down from Rohtang. The last pass, we reached Manli. From where we proceeded towards Kanyakumari covering Chandigarh, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Salem, Madurai. Ultimately we reached Kanyakumari in and covered 13 major states of India achieved  the Limca Book Record.

Your favorite destination  in your home state, Odisha?

Barkul, Chilika – the queen of natural beauty, with blue water on one side and green range of mountains on other side. it is the largest brackish water lake in Asia. Chilika Lake offers the largest gathering of migratory birds. It is a great attraction for tourists for fishing, bird watching, and boating.

Favorite ride destination  of India? 

Manali to Leh- 475 km long stretch gives a life time of memories.  There is no doubt that Manali – Leh Highway is easily the most adventurous as well as the most beautiful among all the Highways in India. Every adventure lover has a dream to travel on this long, Manali – Leh road once in his or her lifetime. 

 

From Barmer - Jaisalmer – Bikaner of Rajasthan’s desert cites a true feel of the sand dunes and the arid destination a great option, it is the  land of rich Rajasthani culture reflects in the tradition of hospitality of its people which is one of its own kind.

What planning a do you have for the future?

We are planning a long motorcycle trip mainly in the tribal and rural pars of India to know about life of simplicity and happiness.

 

Your life motto?

Living long. Live free.. ride forever..