The Great Driving Challenge | User Application

Hina Rajpal & Santosh Santhanam

Total Vote(s) : 297 | Total Testimonial(s) : 14

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! We are Santosh and Hina, neighbours from Bangalore, management consultants by profession and mega travel enthusiasts on a mission to experience 1,000 new places before we die! We'll cut out the jazz about loving travel - that's obviously why we are here :-) What we would like you to know is how much we love travelling in India - with so many different languages, foods, skin colors, beliefs, practices - it offers the most diverse experiences possible! and what better way to taste the ilish in Calcutta, the vada pav in Bombay, the kapi in Chennai or the mouthwatering aloo parathas and rajmah chawal in Punjab than to take a road journey. so, there we are - living, as Bill Bryson so rightly remarked, for the greatest reward and luxury of travel, which is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

We are the best candidates because...

Well, we could say a zillion things here - how we love travel (we do!), how many places we have experienced (over 20 countries and countless places in India) how many road miles we have gathered (a few thousands, but still a lot more to do!), how we love adventure and soaking in new sights and sounds....but the overwhelming feeling when we got to know about this contest was - WOW, this is what I'd been waiting for all these years!!! You'd think a road is just a strip of concrete, but every road has it's own tale to tell. And what lends character and distinction to driving in India is the numerous sights and sounds that you encounter on the way. When you drive in other parts of the world – US, Europe, others – you are at best an observer of beauty. The landscape is like a beautiful ice maiden that holds you at arm’s length – to be admired from afar. In India, you are the actor and the spectator. You wave at the numerous children and adults cramped into a three-wheeled vehicle, and they respond with joy. You curse at the bike driving on the wrong side of the highway, but you make way for him. You recognize the right of way of the bullock cart and the odd cow. You stop for tea at Reddy’s Punjabi Dhaba, smiling at the attempt at all-inclusion. You laugh at restaurants that go by the names of Cup and Up and Roots and Shoots, and try to stomach Drive and Digest with unending glasses of fresh nimbu-paani. You smile when the chai-wala calls you back to return the 50 paisa left over from your bill of 4 rupees 50 paisa for four, steaming hot cups of delicious tea. You make a stop to take in a breathtaking sunset, and are amused to see Fair and Lovely amongst other emergency items in a small tea stall. You run around with the kids (and the goat and the dog), even as you show them ‘magic’ by opening and closing your car door from 50 meters afar. Driving in India is not just about getting from place A to B. It is getting to know all that lies in between – the people, the places, the sounds - the good and sometimes the ugly. In a way, it is descriptive of Hindu philosophy – the journey is much more fulfilling than the destination. And we hope to share this wonderful journey with you.

Our Travel Plan

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” We'll update plans of our exotic road trip soon :-)

Our Travelogue

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” There's a particular thrill about strapping yourself into the driver's seat and gently pressing the accelerator - the start of a journey, full of anticipation. Driving is a great de-stresser for us, and "Shall we drive" would be our first response were you suggest a trip to Timbuktoo. We have countless fond memories of the numerous road trips that we have undertaken in India - the big one from Bangalore to Goa, with the disappointment of our car's hub caps being stolen at Durga Lodge forgotten when we drove through the breathtaking beautiful Sharavathi valley, the non-existent roads on the way to Coorg (apparently undergoing road widening), the bright red gulmohars and shimmering paddy fields en route to Doddamakali and Sakleshpur, the smell of coffee in Chikamaglur, the hairpin bends on the way to Ooty and having our path blocked by a mom elephant guarding her baby right after Bandipur, the awesome golden quadrilateral stretch between Bangalore & Chennai, the twists and turns to Shimla & Kasauli, the dry, arid land running through countless forts and havelis in Rajasthan...and many, many more Both of us have travelled abroad extensively, and whenever possible, we try to drive there too - somehow, the trip seems to be incomplete without one! One of my most memorable holidays is a four day road trip through the Normandy region of France - driving without knowing a word of French is a completely crazy & novel experience (Bon Apetit does not help when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere!)...so we repeatedly got lost (our map said Deauville but we were sent off to Heauville), somehow managed to find the Chateau de Livet (what breathtaking grounds) and the cheese village of Camembert, drove along the English Channel, and went round and round trying to find our way out of a little French town before realizing that we had to drive our car INTO the steamer that would take us across the river! One of the prettiest road journeys I have undertaken is from San Jose in Costa Rica to the hill towns of Grecia & Saarchi, along the scenic Pan Amercian Highway that connects all Central American countries before climbing the gentle hills while listening to English rock to the company of gentle rain outside. En route I also stopped at a small homely restaurant to catch the world cup finals - I was just in time to catch the Zizou head-butt! And then there was the highly eventful drive from San Jose again to Arenal, a live volcano & a tourist hot spot in Costa Rica - after an unsuccessful attempt to bungee jump from a 200ft bridge on the Colorado river, I had my luggage stolen from the boot of my car as I was happily munching away on my nachos and chicken!

People who voted for us

Vijaya Ghosh

15th July 2009

radhika himatsingka

15th July 2009

Rathin

15th July 2009

Raghav Mimani

15th July 2009

Nita Nambiar

15th July 2009

Gaurav Narang

15th July 2009

Mumtaz

15th July 2009

NALESH NAIDU NZ

15th July 2009

Chirag Kantharia

15th July 2009

rashmi

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kerry nz

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Nicola

15th July 2009

Carey MccCollum NZ

15th July 2009

Ashwin Ali NZ

15th July 2009

Prabhav

15th July 2009

Ravinesh Reddy

15th July 2009

monica panda

15th July 2009

Mark L

14th July 2009

santhi

14th July 2009

Soumya Bali

14th July 2009

Hemant Kumar

14th July 2009

sathishkumar

14th July 2009

sathishkumar

14th July 2009

ameetaa sahni

14th July 2009

Goldie Srivastava

14th July 2009

Avinash Kumar

14th July 2009

ANTON

14th July 2009

AC

14th July 2009

ankit kejriwal

14th July 2009

Jayati

14th July 2009

Elisa Satpathy

14th July 2009

Gazal Taneja

14th July 2009

Naveen Singal

14th July 2009

Shweta Tyagi

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Lakshmi NR

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Sumay Baig

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Vineetha

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Devz

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Pravin Agarwal

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Alesya

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John NZ

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Beverly Millar (NZ)

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sarahnz

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Brijesh

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Akash Bajaj

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Merlyn

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Deena

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rajneesh

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Darshana

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anurag vaish

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Shibu Warrier

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Anand MP

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Nikhil Gurjer

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Sowmiya Rajen

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ranjini

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Charu Pandey

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Sweta Bohra

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Sheetal Thomas

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Juma

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Samantha Siow

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swati sahu

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Kalyani Prasher

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Meghala

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Avinash

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BHPian Apurva

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suchita

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Jalpa

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Dr. Prateep Sen

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Janani

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sukhvinderw

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Santosh

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Sharda Rao

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SUMANT

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Hina

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Heenz

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bikram khurana

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ajnavi rani kumar

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santhanam

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Savio

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SHARDA ARORA

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NZ Bhakoos

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Avinash Luthria

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Gargi

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Sharon Thomas

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dushyant rajpal

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Reena

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Naman

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Pals

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mayank

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Medha

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mel sellick

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uday

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Punni

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Sarita

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Chetan

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radhika

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Kalyan

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sabuj

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Taniya

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Anuja

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Anshika Kulshreshtha

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Arnab

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Daljit

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Vikrant

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Gautham

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Vikrant

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Payal

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Karan Malik

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Ho Sook May

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Jayanta

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Amit

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Nidhi

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kushmeet

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dipika

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Jorgen Kohln

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Pankaj Badlani

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Soumya Choudhur

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rajinder passi

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Eva

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Upasana

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Hina Rajpal

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Sachin

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Mehul

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shivendra

10th July 2009

roy

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Harsh Kapoor

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shivam sharma

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Suman

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Leana Savenkova

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Ira

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Mehak Taneja

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Mehak

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Ravinder Rajpal

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Sarada

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Kousthub

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chanika handa

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yogesh rai

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Vivek Tiwari

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Biju Varghese

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Kanishka

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Sukrit Singh

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P

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Suchitra

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Anu NZ

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Dinesh Agawal

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Ashok

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Shalini

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Ashu (NZ)

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Ronit (NZ)

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Anju

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Sukriti

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Alexei

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Hritika (NZ)

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Mahima

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Anastasia

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Mallika Luthra

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Gaurav tyagi

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Ashwini Yelne

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Rajat Malhotra (NZ)

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farhana haque

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Nivea

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ishita

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Ankit Srivastava

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prita

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Nikhil Lasrado

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Ashish

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Vaishak

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gaurav

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Neerav

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radhika unni

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Vijay

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Suku

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sree

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Monangku

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Prakriti

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Stuti Chatterjee

10th July 2009

Nilanjan Choudhury

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carl

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Raj Subramaniam

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Susan Prakasam

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Susan Khan

10th July 2009

Binny

10th July 2009

DpkMona

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United Cricket Club

10th July 2009

Deepak Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Archna Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Pulkit Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Chirag Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Monika Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Deepak Bhakoo

10th July 2009

Navz

10th July 2009

somnath basu

10th July 2009

Madhur

10th July 2009

Shubhojoy Mitra

10th July 2009

Dharmendra Tolani

10th July 2009

Rajiv

10th July 2009

Prashant

10th July 2009

Arun George

9th July 2009

Oddnari

9th July 2009

Hema Sampath

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Krutika

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Radhika Raj

9th July 2009

revathi

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Apoorva Mathur

9th July 2009

SRIRAM ANANTHAKRISHNAN

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Mayank

9th July 2009

akita somani

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Uday

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Gauri

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Vinay

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Anky

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Anky

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Pritha

9th July 2009

Ankit

9th July 2009

Deeksha Rajpal

9th July 2009

Elina Da'Silva

9th July 2009

Abhishek Chatterjee

9th July 2009

Bret

9th July 2009

Rach

9th July 2009

Sukanya

9th July 2009

Testimonials

Revathi Raghavan

Good luck! I hope you guys win this thing and take the road less travelled by.

Sarada

Good luck! I hope to see a lot of exotic places and pics through you. All the best!

Medha

Good luck to both of you...this is awesome...waiting to get some vicarious pleasure through your ramblings on the road...all the best!

Elina Da'Silva

Take Me On A Trip Upon A Magic Swirling .....Mitsubishi..... Apologies To Dylan..But these are the little diversions which make life..and the Hina Santosh Team so right for this challenge! They are both people who look at life with an alternative lens of offbeat kwirks and little known agenda..I dont know another combination of people who take pleasure in swinging across the Costa Rican forests on a trampoline for the Superman experience, or sitting in the middle of the highway high counting perspective...or driving through the wine countries of Bordeux and Normandy on the Not So Heard Of Wine and Cheese Driving Chase.. So please put your hearts together and click on that vote button..because my pals deserve to get on that highway to build another route on their Stairway To Heaven.

Manoj

Couldn't wish more for you guys. really really hope u guys get to this, I so much know you really want this and wish you get this.

Tejas

Good luck to both of you.Have fun all along.!!!!! Cheers...

Serene Samuel

They say when you really really really want something, the entire world conspires for you to have it... I guess I havent met a single soul so dedicated for travels and counting experiences thru it, as them. I am just being a part of the conspiracy to help them achieve what they really really really want, as I feel they are the best deserving couple to be in it and will bring back some real good reads of their journey.

Diana

Wow! This is simply Exciting!! Wat a facinating idea... i will wait for the pics... talk about wanderlust!! Good Luck and Enjoy yourselves!

Apurva BHPian

Yo BHPian ! Journey is our destination. No time and distance estimation. Groom and bride, road and ride, thats what I call a Combination ! All the best !

Apurva BHPian

Yo BHPian ! Ride... and ride well ! All the best !

Deepak Bhakoo

*"The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready." --Henry David Thoreau Hina & Santosh, you don't need to wait any longer as both of you are ready & so are your numerous supporters spread all over the globe. Go for it ! *"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey." --Babs Hoffman *"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." --Augustine (354-430) *"I am one of those who never knows the direction of my journey until I have almost arrived." --Anna Louise Strong You guys seem to share Anna Louise Strong's philosophy, which is fine as long as you share your exploits with not only your supporters, but the whole world, & BEING EXPERT BLOGGERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS-PAR-EXCELLENCE, YOU ARE CUT FOR IT, AS THESE THINGS COME NATURALLY & EFFORTLESSLY TO YOU. I, along with your other supporters, will be keenly looking forward to your interesting blogs, remarkable pictures & encapturing travelogues that make the reader experience impatient to undertake the same path as you without much delay. *"Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it." --Eudora Welty *"The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor." --Unknown *"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway." --Henry Boye Your charisma & the ability to make friends wherever you go will make sure that you'll be a lot richer after this experience - its hard to put any value on value on friends, they are priceless! *"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." --Confucius (also attributed to Lao-Tzu) You have taken the first step, your numerous supporters will go all out to enable you to take the next step & then, I'm sure, there won't be any looking back ! So, JUST GO FOR IT & WIN HEARTS WHEREVER YOU GO ! GOOD LUCK TO BOTH OF YOU !!!

Sukesh

Santosh and photography are inseparable. He makes the most mundane sight beautiful the moment he captures it and knows his craft very well. He is a excellent navigator and seems to have the topography of the globe mapped in his skull. A perfect contender to this opportunity. Hina compliments him well with an eye for detailing and the enthusiasm that usually would make the most difficult terrains great fun. Both of them are travellers who embrance every nuance of a place and breathe in it unlike a tourist who runs helter skelter to just tick off the destinations.

Susan

With your love for travel and your superiority behind the lens...I can only but imagine that the two of you are going to go places. Wish you luck to remain the last ones standing and enjoy a journey of a lifetime!

pritha

Hey guys - best of luck with this. The open road, the smooth-crunchy-pothole-y-feel of the road under your wheels, and the general quirkiness of our country's highways - i cant think of anyone who would enjoy this more than you would! May you discover many more Reddy Punjabi Dhabas and Mr & Mrs Idly Sambars! Good luck guys, and drive safe.

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