City couple makes a road trip from Bangalore Palace to Buckingham Palace

We’re almost teary-eyed when we reached Central London and caught a glance of the Big Ben for the first time in our life through the windscreen of our car,” says

Nishith Jois

, who has just completed a 55-day road trip from

Bangalore Palace

to

Buckingham Palace

with his wife, Priyanka. The travel-loving couple embarked on the trip on April 9, and drove through 18 countries, covering 20,000 kilometres, to reach their destination on June 2.

“From Bengaluru, we drove to Imphal where we were joined by 12 other cars. The convoy was flagged off by Manipur’s Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh. After leaving the Indian border, we reached Myanmar and then travelled through Thailand, Laos, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally the UK,” says Nishith, an entrepreneur and a former model. After reaching France, they ferried their SUV through the English Channel to the Port of Dover, in England.

Their entire journey has been one of adventure and positive awakening. “One day while on the trip, we had breakfast in Czech Republic, lunch at Germany, evening tea at the Netherlands and dinner at Belgium. We drove through the Autobahn freeway, where there is no speed limit; negotiated our way through tricky terrains, went off-roading; and enjoyed rain showers in almost every country. More than a road trip, it was a life-changing experience that taught us the importance of believing in our dreams. We realized that when you are out there, human language is all that matters,” he adds. To meet more people and get a flavour of the indigenous lifestyle in every country, Nishith and Priyanka — who is also a playback singer and Carnatic music artist — mostly opted for the local modes of transport, interacted with passerbys and sampled at quirky dishes at roadside food stalls. “My wife is a vegetarian. And we figured that, contrary to the popular belief, it is actually not very difficult to find good non-meat options,” he says.

In the whole journey, the couple exchanged some 13 different currencies, while they halted at around 40 fuel stations. They started preparing for the trip three months before they hit the road.

Tag a trip
Incredible India

Mystical Myanmar

Tantalizing Thailand

Likeable Laos

Captivating China

Kempt Kyrgyzstan

Unbelievable Uzbekistan

Kinetic Kazakhstan

Radiant Russia

Laudatory Latvia

Love-some Lithuania

Polished Poland

Charming Czech Republic

Generous Germany

Noble Netherlands

Blissful Belgium

Fascinating France

Ultimate UK