Hearing about the world being a really small
place is a statement that has been done to
death and is ridiculously clichéd. However, in a
bid to prove the statement true, young Rohith
Subramanian from Chennai is set to traverse Asia
and Europe by motorcycle.
At 21 years of age, he is the youngest-ever
Indian to embark on a cross country and
continent solo bike ride. Rohith will be riding
his 500cc Royal Enfield across all states in India,
covering a sum total of 25,000 kilometres, of
which he has already traversed five states. From
there on, he will be riding across South East
Asia and Europe; a ride which will encompass
40 countries in all. He expects this trip to last at
least 18 months, covering approximately 80,000
kilometres.
What prompted this rather bizarre journey? “I
read the story of a man who, at 40, had worked
himself to the bone in the corporate sphere. From
there, he went on to live up to all of ‘society’s
expectations’ of him. But at that juncture, he
began to regret not having done all he had
wanted out of life himself and in doing so, had an
epiphany and began exploring more of what the
world had to offer. I didn’t want to be him at 40,
but rather the boy he was when he was younger,
with hopes and dreams. As I have time on my
side, I decided that there was no time like the
present to take this step,” Rohith says.
Rohith has gone on to categorise the tour into
three phases in near itinerary-like fashion. Starting
from Chennai, his ‘epic bike road saga’ has been
subdivided into: ‘The Grand Indian Tour’, ‘The
South East Asia Tour’ and ‘The European Tour’.
Of these, The Grand Indian Tour will span a
period of 150 days, and an area of 29 states and
6 union territories, covering 25,000 kilometres
in all. “My plan is to live a nomadic life during this
whole trip. If people take me in and host me in
their homes, then great! If not, I’ll find my way
around. There are times when I have, for want
of a roof, slept at a bus stop, petrol pump and
for that matter, in a jail cell at a police station. I
will be undertaking 35 different jobs in all 35
different states, and no job is too menial, whether
it requires my being a dishwasher or a peon,” he
says.
The South East Asia Tour will cover Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal and Bhutan in just
90 days. Also spanning 25,000 kilometres, this
segment will begin right after the Indian leg of
his journey. Highlighting how this segment of the
journey proves to be tricky, Rohith points out,
“I will be travelling across South East Asia and
capturing and getting the feel of the countries
there. However, it is possibly the most expensive
leg of the ride, with the cost of
travelling through Myanmar itself
proving to be prohibitive.”
The last part of his trip will
take him on what he has titled, The
European Tour. This 4-month-long
trip will begin after The South East
Asia Tour leg ends. “I will be flying to
Finland, from where I will start my
journey, before riding across Europe
for 120 days, which will cover more than 30,000
kilometres and 34 countries,” he adds.
Of course, the biggest question that arises is
how one funds a journey of such proportions. A
large part of the funding comes through Rohith’s
portal ‘fundmydream.in’. “Initially, I approached
a few larger-name brands to help with the
funding of my endeavour, but they weren’t too
receptive, which may be fair, given that I
am not a recognised name in this field by
a long shot. As such, I began a crowdfunding
campaign, which in turn gathered
a little momentum, and then, gradually
brands seemed to open up to the idea,” he
elucidates.
So what do all the investors get in return?
“During my journey, I will be documenting
all my rides with a GoPro and my camera.
I am releasing a documentary on the
same, and am also writing a book/
travelogue about the trip, in addition
to releasing a coffee table book. Apart from this,
I will also be doing live podcasts during the trip,
involving the various people that I meet, and I will
also be uploading a weekly blog. All the investors
will be credited on these fronts,” he points out.
So as Rohith wraps up his drive-through days
in Goa, one can’t help but wonder what lies in
store for the intrepid explorer. I suppose time (and
his blog) will tell.
