PANJIM, DEC 6
The German tourist who has left a mark of travelling countries via land route, reached Goa today morning to mark the arrival of first hippie of German origin on the beach of Anjuna, in the 60s.
Niels Melves (50) along with his wife Anka and two children – Maya and Florian arrived in Vox Wagen VW Bulli – cargo-passenger van that Hippies then drove to reach Goa via road.
The family will lead the symbolic motorcade drive from Panjim to Anjuna on December 8 as a part of 3rd Indo-German Cultural week in Goa.
During an interaction with journalists, Niels said that he used the old-traditional route to reach Goa, which Hippie Germans explored during their times.
“The route is the same to reach Goa…We want to tell people there is a land route that connects Goa-India to Germany,” he said.
The family started their journey on July 3, 2010 from Hamburg and crossed various European and Asian countries to reach Goa via Wagah border.
“We could not go to Afghanistan for reasons known to all. But we will go there when situations are peaceful,” he added.
The adventurers recalled their experience in Iran and Pakistan when they were escorted by police squad until they crossed their border. “We did not have dramatic encounters but it was quite an interesting experience soon as we entered Iranian border,” he reiterated.
So also, they were asked to produce their visas even though the family travelled sans visas from Germany to Iran.
Melves family expressed amusement as they witnessed a change soon after entering Iranian country as not a single woman was figured on the streets.
“It was dramatic on the Iranian borders as we did not see a single woman on the streets, and if we did see, they all wore burkhas,” Niels, a teacher by profession, said adding that the Iranians expressed apathy over the crisis they are facing.
His wife Anka compared Pakistan is a much safer place for women than Iran. “It is not a nice place to be in Iran. We felt liberated in Pakistan. The best thing of Iran is when you get out of that place,” she stated.
The round travel was however not easy, as the family had to abide by diverse traffic rules in every country and vehicle drivers. “I prefer Indian roads to Iran. Iranian drivers are killers on the streets,” he quipped.
Niels, who started the adventure more than a decade ago, smirked that when his son was born in Margao, he had to pay fine for “bringing him illegally.”
He said, “Florian was born in Margao and we had to pay a fine of Rs 3000 because his arrival was illegal. So my wife flew to Germany, arranged a passport and visa and returned back with documents,” he laughed.
Asked on what could be the motive for such an adventure, he replied that it was to know the open world and that his children should get accustomed to things around the globe.
To a question on his experience while in neighbouring countries of Pakistan and India, Neils opined that Pakistan is a peace loving country and that he aims to build bridges between the two countries via his journey.
“Not all Pakistanis are terrorists and violent. Certain population in India and Pakistan are tutored that they are enemies of each other. India is a vast and a united nation,” he said.
Recalling further he said his daughter without any fear played with bearded-men who almost looked like Talibans.
Niels was accidentally roped into the Indo-German Friendship Society, Goa (IGFSG) because of his innovative activity. The society has planned week-long celebrations which will include discussions, seminars, workshops on issues of India-Germany interests and entertainment sessions.
