Meenakshi Sai, 51, looks like any other Indian woman, wearing a sari and a bindi on her forehead.
But unlike many women in her country, she has been driving since she was 18. According to data website Statista, as of 2020, less than 7% of India’s 236 million drivers were female drivers.
“I have been driving since I was legally allowed to drive and have always enjoyed the sense of freedom and independence it has given me,” Sai said. “After my only daughter went to boarding school, I had a lot of free time. I started traveling a lot, either alone or with friends.”
Sai was part of a team of eight Indians who traveled 20,000 kilometers (12,430 miles) across five countries from Coimbatore, India, to St. Petersburg, Russia Spread awareness about cervical cancer.
Today, as more Indians have access to better vehicles and better roads, more and more Indians are embarking on road trips—both domestically and abroad, individually and in groups.
Slow travel is also on the rise. However, Sai took her first road trip in 2016, before it became a trend.
“I drove to Thailand with 20 people,” she said. “It took 13 days to get from Manipur to Bangkok.”
Meenakshi Sai spreads awareness about cervical cancer on a road trip from India to Russia.
Source: Meenakshi Sai
Her next big road trip is from India to London, which she calls “complicated.”
“I spent six months planning the trip,” she said. “Within my own circle of friends and family, it was difficult to find anyone who had the time or willingness to invest money in this trip.”
Eventually, she used social media to find two women – one from Mumbai and the other from Pollachi – who were interested in joining her.
Tata Motors sponsored the trip The journey spanned over 14,900 miles and coincided with the 70th anniversary of India’s independence. The journey lasted 70 days and took the three women through 24 countries, including Russia, Poland and Uzbekistan.
“We drive about 600 kilometers every day,” Sai said. “Many countries have given us visas for a specific date, so we cannot delay, even for a few hours.”
Sai, a vegetarian, said she survived on “a lot of potatoes and bread” in a country where meat is the main diet.
Source: Meenakshi Sai
She said road conditions combined with changing weather and altitude made the trip difficult, and she was vegetarian, which made it difficult to find suitable food options in many countries.
“I eat a lot of potatoes and bread in countries like Kyrgyzstan, where there’s a lot of meat,” she said.
Sai now runs a land driving company that organizes road trips to countries including Namibia, Georgia, Armenia, Nepal and Mongolia.
“Driving across a country is a way to see it, interact with locals, stop where you want, cross borders and thrive in uncertainty. I also love the freedom that the open road gives me,” she explain.
100 road trips, 50 countries
In 2001, 51-year-old Rishad Saam Mehta from Mumbai was driving from Delhi to the Nubra Valley in the Ladakh region of northeastern India.
“This was my first time driving in the high altitudes of the Himalayas. I had no idea how dangerous, narrow and high the roads were, nor how much damage the altitude could cause to the human body. It was a hard lesson, “Journalist and author.
Rishad Saam Mehta near the Great Wall of China.
Source: Rishad Saam Mehta,
Since then, Mehta has taken more than 100 road trips, traveling through some 50 countries. One of the real thrills, he said, was the drive from Munich to Mumbai, which lasted two months and crossed eight countries.
He said he also drives different cars depending on the trip.
“I drove a Ferrari through the Bavarian and Austrian Alps, then did some snow driving in Spiti in northern India in a Toyota Fortuner, and then did fall driving in New England in a Ford Mustang,” he said. “Those are my favorites.”
His advice? “There are a lot of great drives in the world, some I came across by chance, some I researched beforehand… but the company has to be good, otherwise, it’s a disaster,” he said.
“Great Indian World Tour”
Software engineer Tushar Agarwal drove from London to Delhi in 2010.
He says the 51-day journey changed his life, prompting him to quit his job in London, move back to Delhi and co-found a company called Adventures Overland in 2012 with his friend Sanjay Madan.
A roadside stop in Jordan.
Source: Overland Adventures
“I felt like this was my purpose in life… there was no turning back,” Agarwal said.
Today, Adventure Overland is one of the largest road trip companies in India. It organizes curated driving tours around the world.
Agarwal has visited 92 countries and conducted road trips across six continents. his The most adventurous trip, known as “Great India World Tour,” is now a 10-episode series on the Discovery Channel. Together with his co-founder Madan, Their journey spanned six continents and 50 countries, culminating in a 10,600-mile trek across Australia, setting the Guinness World Record for the longest drive in a single country.
According to its website, Adventures Overland costs about $30,000 for a 65-day trip from India to London, including hot air balloon rides and boat rides.
Source: Overland Adventures
Traversing beautiful terrain, driving through uncharted territory, crossing borders, dealing with unfamiliar foods and harsh weather may not be for everyone.
But as Mehta says, “The sense of freedom, not being tied to schedules and timelines…and the spontaneity it provides makes driving the ultimate adventure.”
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