BONDS BEYOND BORDERS

They say travelling with someone teaches you a lot about them, and that’s how our correspondent rediscovered himself

- SUDIPTO CHAUDHURY

TRAVEL IS MORE THAN JUST GETTING from point A to point B. It involves excitement, even belonging; exactly what Mahindra Adventure stands for. Despite the brand's flourishing motorsport wing, the only brief here was creating memories for people from various backgrounds, all behind the wheel. And, for me, seeking the Thrill of Driving, the Mahindra Adventure TriNation 2019 was pure ecstacy, as I, who’s never been out of India’s borders, drove the massive (compared to my daily driver) Mahindra Scorpio, as part of a convoy, across three countries!

The expedition started from Lucknow, where we were flagged off by Raj Kapoor, founder, Northern Motorsports, and the good folks at Mahindra Adventure, from the Taj Mahal hotel, and headed for Lumbini, Nepal, 330km away. After lunch in Ayodhya (about 140km on), the convoy rolled on to Sanauli on the India-Nepal border. Entering Nepal was chaotic, with vehicles of all types (even pedal-operated!) vying for space on the narrow dual carriageway. The immigration formalities took about two hours, after which, bhansar (customs papers) in hand, we headed to Tiger’s Den hotel, our lodgings in Lumbini.

Day two started with a visit to the Maya Devi temple, the Buddha’s birthsite. Venerated by Buddhists worldwide, the UNESCO heritage site witnesses throngs of tourists day in and day out. Leaving Lumbini behind, we stopped for lunch at Tansen, over a kilometre above sea level with lush green valleys below. We then drove through twisty mountain roads, before reaching Pokhara just in time for dinner. The non-stop driving meant we were all pretty spent, so we hit the hay early.