GETTING HIGH

A trio of friends, the navigation set for Leh... and a Volkswagen bus from 1978

- Karl Bhote

As an impressionable lad in 2007, voraciously reading through my new issue of (what was then) Business Standard Motoring, I read about the adventures of a 1970s VW Beetle, making a brave drive up the passes to Ladakh. That's impossible,' I thought to myself; bear in mind this was at a time when most of us hadn't yet worn cheap T-shirts that said 'Got Leh'd'. I had barely even heard of the region at the time. A couple of years later, the hit film Three Idiots would soon make Leh and Ladakh household names, and inspire an entire generation.

So who are the three idiots on this particular adventure? Gautam B, from Hyderabad, is your poster-child VW enthusiast. He's carefully put together an impressive collection of very special VWs, each one lovingly restored to authentic original condition. His Veedubs are regularly seen touring long distance, too, so they're not just garage showpieces. The second is Nathan Fernandez, who epitomises Goan warmth and hospitality. Besides being the fourth generation running his 100-year-old family bakery, Nathan is a die-hard car guy and is slowly building up an eclectic collection, collecting more stories and experiences on the way.

And then there's me, who doesn't know anything outside of old cars. What united us was Gautam's 1978 Volkswagen Westfalia Baywindow camper van. Volkswagen's second mainstay model after the Beetle goes by many names the Bus, the van, the Kombi or station wagon, depending on who you ask. This is the second generation after the iconic split-screen bus, so named because of its distinctive two-piece front windscreen. It was but natural that the successor also earned a nickname, the Baywindow, given its large one-piece front windscreen.