The television and the internet have, over the years, increased our appetite for vicarious living. In fact, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that we’ve been overfed on armchair adventuring, thanks to the magical powers of broadcasting. Armchair adventure and vicarious living are clearly unacceptable to a lot of us, especially to off-roading enthusiast Sanjay Madan and travel writer Tushar Agarwal, who pooled their collective resources to fund a titanic intercontinental road trip, with a route allowing them to travel through Southeast Asia, Australia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. This officially makes them your two best friends if you’re a driving enthusiast and won’t settle for any other mode through which you see unexplored, exotic locations. This is where Adventures Overland comes in. The self-driven adventure touring company previously held drives across places like Rajasthan, the Rann of Kutch, Madhya Pradesh and Ladakh, before adding several other countries to their annual calendar.

The completion of their epic adventure, dubbed, “The Great Indian World Trip” allowed them to expand their portfolio by offering self-driven expeditions in countries like Iceland, South Africa, Russia and Thailand. As exotic as these locations are, they pose considerable logistical challenges and come with constantly changing variables. These include the time taken to acclimatise to higher altitudes and freezing temperatures, having fully equipped off-roaders with constant on-site mechanical support, first-aid kits and so on. Adventures Overland arranges all these — all you need to do is fly to any one of these countries (their annual calendar has fixed departure dates) and Adventure Overland sorts out everything else. You will be accompanied by a team of travel experts who know the routes and the local languages, and who are (importantly) skilled at clearing roadblocks and negotiating with border officials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, if you don’t want to adhere to specific schedules and dates, you can sign up for any of their several bespoke self-drives. Adventures Overland conducts drives and corporate tours for large groups. A fleet of 4×4- equipped Toyota Fortuners will take you through Southeast Asian jewels like Myanmar and Thailand, where dusty inroads and World War II bridges lead to some of the oldest temples and panoramic views of valleys. Bespoke drives can also be arranged for local tourism hotspots such as Ladakh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

GAME PLAN

 

• Obtaining temporary driving license where required

 

 

• Accomodation in luxurious properties

 

 

• You can take your own vehicle too

 

 

• Hiking, trekking, wildlife tracking and bike riding are a part of schedules as well