WATERREFRESHING
TRIP!
Three friends took two months off work to explore coastal India, without a
plan. Heck, they didn’t even know how to swim. Meet Prakhar, Alshaar and
Kanaad. Theirs was the sort of dream every cubicle-captive heart secretly
harbours. Until, one day, they decided to live that dream. Their “planning”
involved tracing a finger along the jagged coastline on the map, starting
with Kolkata and ending at Koteshwar via Kanyakumari. The 7500 kilometre
journey would take them through 92 towns over 60 days, on a budget of just
about Rs 300 per person per day. Someone inspired them, and they inspire us
What pushed you off your office chair?
Prakhar: I think it was the longing to break the drudgery of daily life. The uncertainties
that lay ahead were actually a major push. Our inspiration came from a gentleman called
Riaan Manser, who had circumnavigated the Madagascar on a kayak. While we could
not do the same; either physically or financially, Kanaad came up with the idea of doing
a similar trip in India and shared it with me. After spending hours with the map of India
open, we pitched the idea to Alshaar, who we knew was already in.
Alshaar: For me, it was also about stepping out of my comfort zone with two of my
closest friends by my side; an opportunity to spend more than eight weeks with them
after post-college life had separated us.
How did your families react?
Alshaar: My father thought I had gone nuts! We argued at the dining table almost
every night. After supporting me with two career changes, he could not understand me
quitting a job to just “roam around” without a plan. Finally, he offered to pay for the trip
so I could travel in comfort, but that was not the idea, of course.
The nuts and bolts
• Mode(s) of transport: Public
transport—trains, buses, taxi,
ferries, water taxis
• Accommodation –
Unplanned. Wherever we
could roll out sleeping bags/
bed sheets, with some
couchsurfing. Smart thinking:
we took night trains & buses to
save on accommodation.
• Food: On the go. Cheap
street eats were the most fun.
46 Travel Secrets monsoon issue 2016
Kanaad: Surprisingly, my father was way more supportive than I had expected. After
seeing some of my Facebook posts from the trip, he wrote in:
“Wonderful photos. Learn through enjoyment, know the life
and lifestyles of the people,culture, food and food habits,
economy, and the beauty of the places. And keep posting
photos like this.”
I couldn’t have imagined that despite his orthodox upbringing and lifestyle, my old man
would have an outlook that I could only expect from friends.
travelsecretsmag.com