This also happened unexpectedly. Though I always nurtured the dream to travel the world, I never had much time to think about it. Like most Indians, I was busy building a life of my own. But an unexpected disaster struck and I lost everything I had and became bankrupt. One day I was wandering aimlessly and happened to see an international travel advertisement. That ignited a spark and woke up my slumbering soul with a jolt. And I said to myself “Now I have all the time in the world, why not go around the world? I may never get another chance like this!”  The old saying *everything happens for a reason proved very true for me.

Energized by the thought I immediately bought a world map and stared at it all night. I never knew which is Europe on the map, seriously. But I do have one essential quality – I know how to get the knowledge when I need it. In just a few days, I finished my research about the countries I wanted to visit and fixed up a route.  I was always sure I wanted to do it on a motorcycle, not by flight. I wanted to travel in a continuous line, not dots. I announced my tour to the public at the motorcycle Riders Meet Rider Mania 2004. All listened intently, none made a joke of it, but no one believed it either.

Being the first in any field has its own disadvantages. You have to invent the wheel not reinvent it. And when you are a dumb-looking Indian, your difficulties will multiply. The Internet was in its nascent stages and painfully slow and the information available was not really useful. No one to look at and no one to guide me as no one did it before me from India. I ran from pillar to post to do the simplest things.  If you start planning for a world tour without the internet then you will understand.

My biggest problems were funds and permissions. Till then I didn’t even have a passport. All the biggest visa agents in India rejected my case saying I won’t get a single visa on a fresh passport except for a group tour to Singapore. They were right, I cannot furnish any requisites like return flight tickets, confirmed hotel bookings, funds, and sponsors. I am going on a motorcycle and I don’t know exactly when and where I am going to be. But by then I had become deaf to the word ‘NO’. I went to each and every embassy and got all the visas on my own. There is a big story behind getting each visa. Now I am an expert on Visa procedures.

Then there is the insurmountable hurdle of finding sponsors. In the West, even well-known companies sponsor such rides even though there is no direct gain for them. They do it to support and for prestige. Whereas in India, I still don’t see such support from the corporate sector. Sure they spend hundreds of crores of rupees on advertising and celebrities but they don’t feel they get enough value from these expeditions even if someone is doing it for the first time.  From their point of view, they are right. A film hero would surely get more eyeballs than I can. But I am sure that I can add great value and prestige to their products which even ten heroes cannot. Finally, I could not get any kind of sponsorship except for offers like a cheap helmet or a waterproof raincoat full of
stickers saying ‘sponsored by…’. So I had no sponsors. I along with two close friends Dr. D. Gopichand and Dr. M.S. Sharma pooled in the money and we did it. But nowadays the big companies are recognizing the value of such events and are more positive to sponsor. 

There were so many lonely and depressing moments when I really got dejected and thought of quitting. But that’s the easiest thing to do. I persisted and pushed myself in spite of adversity from all quarters. I had to postpone the dates many times, change the routes, and had to re-apply for visas. Knowing that the temptation to quit is greatest just before you are about to succeed, I continued to trudge.

So finally on 2nd  April 2006, I launched my world tour on my Pushpak, the yellow Karizma from Visakhapatnam. The then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy flagged off my tour. A small group of friends followed me all over India. I reached Mumbai to ship my bike to Iran.

CUSTOMS AND CLEARANCES

Another hindrance for Indians to ride in foreign countries is – we can’t get out of the country on the road. It seems silly but true. You can go into Bhutan and Nepal but no further than that. Pakistan won’t allow you because you are a big headache for them. I was told that even if I ride with a Pakistan flag I will be shot just for my motorcycle and the kind of gear I was wearing.

China is almost impossible. To ride in China, you need to have a Chinese driving license. To have a Chinese license you must be a resident for one year and your bike must be registered in China. It is possible if you have loads of money. You can hire a Chinese guide who will follow you in a four-wheeler wherever you want to go and you have to bear all these costs, roughly about $400 a day! It was beyond my limits. You can
go into Myanmar but just for a day trip and not further. So the only way is to ship your bike to the next country and start riding from there. Nowadays Myanmar is opening borders and China is also relaxing rules. 

Thus, I landed in Tehran, Iran, and my bike landed three days later. I was expecting to see sand dunes, but I saw snow-capped mountains even in mid-April. The city was huge beyond my imagination. Welcome to the real world. What we see on television can never equal seeing it in reality.  I had become dumb from that day till I reached the UK. No one spoke English including the highest officials in departments like Customs where they have to deal with other countries. They can’t even read English. It was really frustrating. My customs clearance took about 7 days. According to them, it was a record time. I saw many imported BMWs and Hondas rusting in the garage. I finally started riding with my fully loaded bike for the first time.

I must say a few things about my bike Pushpak. It is a stock 2006 model Hero Honda Karizma with no modifications on the engine side. I had to disfigure it to add a lot of ugly boxes to carry my luggage. The bike was not really meant for such use and load. But I needed to carry a lot of things including spares, camping gear, and whatnot. Until you become an expert in traveling you are tempted to carry too much. You don’t really need all that stuff. I was still inexperienced so I carried a mini Walmart on my bike. Now I can start off with spare underwear.

I never had the time to fix all the boxes and load-test them. I was running busily to get my permissions until the last minute. The bike was ready only an hour before my departure. But I hesitated to load the bike fully fearing it might topple. So till Mumbai, I carried the stuff in a car that followed. Another Legendary motorcycle Journalist friend Dilip Bam from Pune tested the bike with all the boxes sans weight and said ‘this bike won’t go with a lot of concern. But remember, I became deaf for the word ‘NO’ So I ‘DID’ go ahead. But when I loaded it for the first time, Oh my God! it was like riding a wild horse. And to test my nerves it started raining heavily on the first day of my international ride. With great difficulty, I reached a city called Qhom. That’s how it all began.

LIVING MY DREAM

Soon after I started my world tour, I fell in love with my bike. No matter how many times I looked at it, it still looked beautiful and faithful. It never let me down on the road. I never suffered an accident. Even when the major breakdowns happened I was safe at some place. It had become my true life partner.

THE PLACES

I can’t really write a detailed account of the places I visited or the foods I tasted as this article will become a book (I think it already is).  So I will just give you a few highlights of my trip.

Doesn’t it look like a picture from a previous era or an Indiana Jones film set? This is Imam Square in one of my favorite cities, Esfahan. It is a bustling place for tourists and businesses. Its bazaars are filled with antiques and colorful rugs. I loved the Middle East for its rich history, heritage, and raw beauty. But now it has become almost impossible to travel to these places.

Esfahan is the place where carpets are exported all over the world. You can see some really expensive stuff here.

So I and my bike wandered around the world like we were on a honeymoon. Going to all those dreamy destinations and doing all the crazy things that we do only in our dreams.

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

A journey like this will not only take you to places and people but also expose you to multiple cultures, cuisines, music, festivals, customs, and adventure sports. It will leave you with a lifetime experience with plenty of stories to tell. When I was young I loved listening to Lionel Ritchie and on my tour, I had this wonderful opportunity to attend his live concert at the world-famous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, USA. Here he is singing my favorite song Hello…

This is the place where Moses received his 10 COMMANDMENTS! This is called Mount Musa/Moses in the Sinai Province of Egypt. Just like Moses, I started climbing this treacherous mountain at 1 AM  to see the sunrise from the top and Jesus! I received the 11 Commandments, the last one being ‘never stop traveling’.

While waiting to cross the Red Sea from Egypt to Jordan, I slept on the beach that night. And when I got up in the morning I was amazed to see the sun rising from Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea separating us.