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“Every time we achieve something, life gives us new inspiration.”
In 1987 at the age of 43, he drove for 46 hours straight from Oslo to Nordkapp. At 44, he drove from Mumbai to Badrinath. At 60, climbed to an altitude of over 19,000 feet to perform the Mt. Kailash parikrama. At 61, he lived in the dense forests of Amazon and touched down at Antarctica. At 63, he trekked to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, and at age 65, he organised a group of 90 pilgrims to Kailash-Mansarovar for charity. Meet Mr. Badri Baldawa, who at 72 drove all the way from Mumbai to London with his wife and 9-year-old granddaughter. Now, at age 73, he is still young at heart with many more adventures coming his way.
The first thing I notice as soon as I walk into his posh office in Goregaon is the huge, vibrant world map framed on the wall. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he has been a first-generation entrepreneur for most of his life. In 1986, he quit his then 18-year-old career in the Middle East to come back to India and start his own company. With the day to day operations managed by his son, Mr. Badri now has the time and resources to be able to travel and he funds all his expeditions himself.
Having visited 65+ countries so far, Mr. Badri’s experiences range far from conventional. When asked why he often chooses destinations not frequented by travellers he explains it to me with this example. “I studied about the midnight sun in school. I did not believe how the sun could only rise and set once a year. I could not afford to travel back then. When I could, I used it as an opportunity to satiate my curiousness.” His expedition to the Mount Everest base camp was inspired by Sir Peter Hillary, son of Edmund Hillary who he spent 22 days with, on a cruise to Antarctica.
With sleek black hair and a fit, lean stature, Mr. Badri looks young for his age, the secret of which, he shares with me, is yoga. His nostalgic eyes give away much more than stories, as he passionately recounts hundreds of experiences from his travels. The most recent one being his drive from Mumbai to London with his 9-year-old granddaughter, Nishi along with his 63-year-old life cum travel partner, Ms. Pushpa. In a long, once-in-a-lifetime journey, Mr. Badri drove his BMW X-5, which he fondly refers to as Soham, across 22,000 kilometres in 72 days.
The thought of driving all the way from Mumbai to London came to him when he was on a flight back from the UK. Through the window seat, he saw the snow-capped peaks of the Alps glistening in the night sky. He yearned to drive through them, rather than fly over them. Turning to his wife, he expressed his desire to her, who at that moment dismissed it as a joke. But Mr. Badri seriously considering the idea, returned to India and started looking at tour and travel companies that execute such drives. In the past, he would only travel with his wife, plan and execute all their journeys himself. But this time, he chose to do the cross-continental drive with a group only so that the legal and logistical formalities could be taken care of. He spent many months planning and researching for one, and when he finally found one, he immediately called his wife.
In his blog, he states,
“ ‘Pushpa, there is this road-trip, self-drive to London from India. It is about two and a half months long. Should we?’ I called Pushpa within moments of getting an email to the effect on 20th May 2016. She was on a train from Rishikesh.
‘Yes! Let’s do it!’ she said without waiting even for a second.”
“A green signal from my better half and I was confident of convincing other members of my family. Within a few minutes I gave our provisional confirmation to join the expedition – ‘Road to London’ organized by Adventures Overland,” he says.
After months of planning, booking and remaking itineraries, their expedition began on March 23 and cut across India, West to East, crossing about 10 states. This was followed by Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and finally, the UK. Covering off-beat tracks, rugged mountains, deserts, forests, snow, high altitudes, heritage sites, highways and cities, they experienced a variety of cultures and tasted exotic cuisines. “The longest we drove in a day by distance was 930 kms in Europe. We had breakfast at Czech, lunch in Germany and dinner in Belgium. The longest driving time was 19 hours in China where he traversed through the other side of Himalayas,” he tells me.
“Age is no bar if your mind is determined and your body taken care of” That, if one keeps themselves fit, age cannot hold you from extra-ordinary feats – be a grandmother at 63 a grandfather at 72, or a child at 9. This is especially why I chose to take my granddaughter, so I could encourage the youngsters of my family to travel and push through their comfort zone. Nishi, who lives in Chelmsford, UK was thrilled. Her school was very supportive and encouraging and easily granted her leave,” he says.
The 72-day-long road trip must have come with hundreds of experiences, possibly a few bad ones. “What were some of the worst?” I ask him. “First, there are no worst experiences,” he says. “They are all challenges. We were taken to the police station in China, just because of a misunderstanding that occurred due to the language barrier. There was a time when a pebble hit our windshield and created a hole in Russia. We were driving at a speed of 120km/hr when a stork hit our car and shattered the windshield. I lost my phone in China. Sometimes the places we lived in weren’t too great. The food wasn’t to our taste. Nishi had problems adjusting to the Indian loo. We went from 24-degree Celsius in Dunhang to zero degree Celsius in Xining in just a matter of 4 hours. But travel is all about adjustments, so we tackled each issue as it came. Before the trip, Nishi feared heights. But 3 ropeway journeys later; she overcame her fear,” he adds. “It’s you who decide, if you want to dominate the problem or let the problems dominate you.”
Talking about his most emotional moment on the trip, he fondly tells me an incident. “Being strict vegetarians and having exhausted all our supply of theplas, we asked our son to send some to the hotel that we were staying in, in China. One night, I was surprised to see him at my door, at midnight. I would never have imagined that would personally come to deliver them. That was truly a very emotional moment for me.”
For Mr. Badri, having completed the drive itself was a wonderful feeling. Experiencing the landscape and the cultures of 19 countries, from the unique architecture of Uzbekistan to the drive through the beautiful mountains of Kyrgyzstan; exploring the canyons in China, and watching gymnasts perform in Russia. Receiving the warmth and cooperation of people, especially on the borders, it has been an overwhelming experience for him. He claims to have become more confident, and all his travel tales have been all beautiful documented on his blog.
So where are his adventures taking him next? He smiles and thinks for a while, before he answers – a trek through South America and a space walk! “I am still planning it with my wife. Let’s see,” he says. “I have my whole life in front of me.”
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