“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

For many of us this is an inspirational quote but some of us have taken it quite sincerely. On a serious note, what is our definition for car lovers? The ones who own a fleet of luxury cars or are passionate about cars and their details? Well, in this race we are completely underestimating those who have gone beyond the line to show how much crazy they are. There are people who love cars and then there are people who love travelling, but have you ever imagined what the outcome will be if both of them are combined?

Are any names or images of famous celebs coming to your mind? We hope not, because this field entirely belongs to those who do not go for popularity but to satiate their love for car and travelling. We have prepared of list of such crazy petrolheads who have created histories in their own way. Let’s meet them:

Team L.I.F.E – The Baids

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11 Countries, 50 cities, 111 days, 14,154 miles

Let’s start the list with our own countrymen. Yes, the Baid family from Bangalore, Anand, Punita and their two kids – Yash (12) and Dhriti (8), went to a trip of their lifetime. From India to France their by-road journey was full of adventure and risks but trusting their will, the family didn’t give up. They named their team as L.I.F.E. which means Little Indian Family of Explorers.

The family drove across 11 countries and 50 cities in their trusty Fiat Linea Tjet, a sedan, survived an earthquake, passed the Himalayas in Tibet, witnessed the largest burning cater of the world, Door to Hell, in Turkmenistan, mounted the sand-dunes.

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Here’s the route they took – from India -> Nepal -> China -> Kyrgyzstan -> Uzbekistan -> Turkmenistan -> Iran -> Turkey -> Greece -> Italy -> Spain and finally to their destination, France.

Punita Baid shared her experience about the planning of this long trip and said, “At first I thought Anand was joking when he mentioned Bangalore to Paris by road. Little did I know he would return back in couple months with a bunch of papers in hand with everything charted out explaining how it could be done.” She further added, “As much as I love going on long family drives, this for me was unheard of and with kids onboard – you never know what kind of unexpected challenges can occur.”

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According to the family, the best part of travelling by car is that they have the flexibility of spending as much time as they wanted to at a particular place. On top of it, their car became their best assistant and did not behave at all like a spoiled brat.

The moment when they were driving past the Nepal-China border was the scariest one because they got stuck there due to the earthquake tremors. All this forced them to sleep in their car for 5 nights because of the damaged roads.

Another challenge for the hardcore vegetarians was finding the vegetarian food. At some places, people were even unaware of the term – vegetarian.

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Facing all the odds and absorbing all the mesmerizing moments and sceneries in their mind, the Baid family flew back to India from Paris and got their Fiat Linea shipped from there. The Baids were warmly welcomed at the Bangalore airport by their family and friends. For the next adventurous trip, the Baids are hopeful of exploring the East. You can experience their complete voyage at overlandstories.

The list hasn’t ended yet as few more crazy travelers are in the pipeline. Till then, find out the traveler inside you!

To Be Continued…