The Great Driving Challenge | User Application

shaleen bhatnagar & manipadma

Total Vote(s) : 129 | Total Testimonial(s) : 19

hi friends ! we are both doctors from delhi, myself working in a corporate sector (Artemis Hospital) while she is working with delhi govt. The travel bug or the driving bug got into me after our marriage( She insists that i insert the word love here before marriage) 4 and a half years back and since then there has been no looking back.Every 3-4 months we would be zipping off to himachal or uttaranchal for a short break (thanks to our cooperative and sweet colleagues) Our love for driving holidays has brought us here to have a go at some more adventure and fun

We are the best candidates because...

we are passionate about travelling. nothing new you might be thinking. Every body is here because of their love for travelling. Right!We have nothing much special to add either except these that- Indeed! we have had the time of our lives while on the go but, yes!..but sometimes things werent that sunny either. Part of life I guess! So I just want to add that we have survived some of the most harrowing travel experiences but we have not allowed them to dim our enthusiasm. Every experience has been a learning one and we are still learning(About the technicalitiesof driving like in Chamba near Dalhousie one local guy advised us to use our brakes sparingly while coming downhill as using it excessively heats up the tyres -and that may affect the brakes , see!, about photography, and the topography, like- I know more about Himalayas than my geography teacher was able to make me do so ! the people ,about having fun, about symmetry, about nature and nature's beauty. Did you know how tiger census is done. its done by the paw marks. its as unique as our fingerprints. thanks to the corbett guide who enlightened us)We believe rather than the destination, it is the journey taken which is more important.Every unknown route or detour we had taken has been an experiment. (which paid off thankfully). sometimes testing our endurance in extreme conditions......These travels and travails have brought us closer as a family and also closer to nature, to God. to the magnificient country called India...

Our Travel Plan

Travelling 3000 km needs some amount of planning. We have not made final plans as we are still researching. But tentatively -mumbai-panaji-bangalore-pondicherry-chennai--pune--mumbai. its just our rough plansand we are still working on it. and we have a back up as in - the mumbai- ahmedabad-bikaner-gwalior-mumbai route

Our Travelogue

Till date we have not travelled abroad but we have covered many places here in India. MoreExtensively in himachal and uttaranchal. 23 trips in 42 months! can you believe it?( I have published the list in our blog . Thelink is http://eyeswideopen-offthebeatentrack.blogspot.com/ )but that is the precise number of breaks or trips that we have made in the last 4 years.we have been to south, to rajasthan, to the northeast, but we have a soft corner for the foothills of himalayas due to our fascination for mountains. Every trip has been quite an experience but there are some real memorable ones like- our trip to spiti where the gear box of our car broke off and we had to travel in the first and third gear for around 10 kms before finding a mechanic. we were almost about to be stranded in the lonely land of spiti.Again there was the trip to keylong, where our side window was smashed by a truck ( we were static thankfully and outside the car)in rohtang and we had to travel in the dusk and chill with that smashed side. the biking accident in goa due to the rains and missing our flight back to delhi. ( I hope I am not scaring the organisers about their Mitsubishi Cedias coming into my contact. These were just stray incidents that just happened to me rather than other way round.Just Some memories to be preserved fondly and have a good laugh at times.) The trip to auli in holi- where we were robbed by the kids every 5 kms and missing the last skilift to auli and being stranded in joshimath in holi with almost nothihg to eat. getting lost on our way to sariska in the fog on new years eve and having to spend the night in the car .And many more. when i look back i have such fond memories and would never reverse any of the experiences even if I have the choice to do so . You will find more pictures of our trips on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/manishaleen/

27th June 2009

Mayank

27th June 2009

ratika

27th June 2009

Deepti Gohil

27th June 2009

Testimonials

KKR

Tell your friends and everyone to join the community "Cedia Great driving challenge" in orkut. You can also increase your vote bank through this community... http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=91293176

hemlata bhatnagar

you have taken me places shaleen, now i pray to God that he takes you places with this challenge

samara

best of luck. y

shanu

chacha ur a good driver . you have driven across the most difficult routes. i hope u win

ritu

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ratika

tohugh i havn't gone anywhere wid both of u but i really wish 2 go sumwhere wid u...moreover u both are really adventerous n are very passionate about travelling..i really hope u win n hav a lot f fun in d journey....(samaira mere paas rahegi??)

shinu

shaleen the chacha ek gadi me jab chale mere yaro sunlo sunlo dhoond rahe the ek nai jagah ka pata mere yaro sunlo sunlo sab ne kaha tha in paharo par jaana nahi mere yaro sunlo sunlo khuabo ke peeche jaake kuch bhi hai paana nahi mere yaaro sunlo sunlo vo apni hi dhun me rahe voho vo sunte the dill ka kaha voho unke the jo sapne vohi unke the apne aise the shaleen the chacha u r the best

sakshi

u r the best driver i had ever met in my life i hope you will win . best of luck

jatin ahuja

I SAW YOUR PROFILE AND I LIKED IT GOOD KEEP IT UP I HOPE YOU WILL WIN

Renu

Nice pictures! I have heard all of your traveling experiences personally, even before the marriage ;-). Hope you carry on with this itch caused by the travel bug and it takes you places. Hope you win, Best of Luck !

smriti bhatnagar

best of luck to you shaleen and mani i hope you will win

VIKAS

WOW ! IT WAS TOTALY UNIMAGINABLE THAT U R SO CRAZY FOR TRAVELLING. I FIND IT VERY INTURSTING. NICE FOTOGRAPHS INSIDE. HOPE AND PRAY THAT U MUST WIN THIS CONTEST. (DONT FORGET TO GIVE ME PARTY)

ritu

Wish you all The best .

Kshitij

they are cool, they are inteligent, they are stylish, no one weaken their crase of driving, they are children of every mom, they are verry special, they are verry nice people

rinku

I am a fan of yourse as you have drived from jaisalmair to Shinla in one night,,,,,.......and I know thar you did not changed the gare while driving to auli.... bbbbbb......eeeeee......ssssss......tttttt.............oooooo......ffffff..........llllll......uuuuuu......cccccc......kkkkkk :):):):):):):)

srajan

best of luck i hope you will win

akshay

best of luck shaleen and mani i hope you both will win . you both r the best

Mandeep

Best of Luck to Both of You !!

Priya

Two beautiful minds, enthusiast explorers of nature and landscapes, travelers of towns and habitats, for whom life itself is the journey to live and relish the sights and the sounds! I wish you luck! God be with you!

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