Hitchhiking in India

Thing that is Constant - The Change

Going by the Omnipresent adage “The Thing that’s always Constant is The Change” this blog is also undergoing a complete Metamorphosis in coming weeks.

We started this blog as a Travelogue for our Maiden Hitchhiking trip to the North East India on a shoestring budget of Rs.150 per day.The trip was a great success though we couldn’t cover all the places we initially planned to.

Now that the trip is over, What’s Next?

We plan to Transform hitchhikingindia.com into something which is more than just a travelogue. A place intended ‘for Travelers by Travelers’ bringing content for avid and novice travelers alike. We are still in the process of charting out future Road map. We hope to get some innovative and creative stuff on board.

The plan is to get up and running by September 2010 if everything goes according to plan.

We’d like to thank all our readers for supporting us and following us through our crazy trip.

Do tell us if you have any suggestions as to what kind of avatar you would like to see us in and if you are crazy travelers like us and want to be part of the project, then do send me a mail at indersen[at]gmail[dot]com and we can meet over coffee or chat over internet.

-Adios,

Inder

The end of an adventure

Over a period of one month, we explored the North East of India. A region usually considered remote and often times, dangerous. Tourism has picked up only recently here, after a long period of insurgency and political turmoil. That may be a blessing in disguise however, as most places are untouched by touristy commercialism.

Our trip was not just about visiting the touristy destinations; our plan was to do the trip on a very tight budget. Our target was to spend no more than Rs. 150 per day – a ridiculously low amount in these days. If we had to achieve this target, we would have to get ingenious – we would have to hitch rides and get the cheapest possible accommodation and food. Hitching rides is something our few friends in the north east had not heard of while they were there. Also, with things the way these days are, it is considered extremely unsafe to pick up a stranger along the road. We had no idea where we would stay or what we would eat though. It was a challenge unlike any other.

In the one month we were traveling in the north east, we have lived in homes big and small; ridden trucks, buses and every other kind of surface transport; eaten simple and rich food; faced danger at times and were treated royally at other times. We never knew what the next day would bring but we learned to adapt quickly and coped with surprises.

Our trip may have been about adventure travel, but we ended up discovering the abundance of human generosity and making friends where we hardly had any. The people in the North East are beautiful not just in appearance but they are equally beautiful inside. We have been welcomed into homes very warmly and have been helped by complete strangers many a time. We had never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would not be paying for accommodation for 26 of the 31 days we were in the North East.

What has also helped us is the support we had from the hundreds of folks following our travels from across the world. They have encouraged us, given us advice and tips and motivated us to do more. 

Our final expense figure of Rs. 221 per day may have been higher than what we had our target expense and we may not have hitchhiked all the way as we aimed to but we achieved much more – exposing the better side of the North East to the world and proving that budget (shoestring in fact) travel in India is possible. And that is what made our trip successful.

Do leave your comments and let us know what you thought of our journey or if you have any ideas/brickbats/suggestions/etc.

Update: If you are on Indiblogger, do vote for us in this travel related contest - http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=21967

So long and thanks for all the fish

After exactly one month of starting, our hitchhiking trip comes to an official end today. Official end for #150aday, not our travels. We will be traveling separately for some time before going back to Hyderabad, albeit without the restrictions we had placed as part of #150aday. Our blog posts will continue for some time too.

In case anyone is planning a backpacking or hitchhiking trip in India, let us know and we will try to help in whatever way we can. 

This trip would not have been possible without the help of friends we made. The following list may not be comprehensive, but is an attempt to thank all those who helped us -

Silchar

•  Mr. Suvashish Paul
• Mr. Suman Dey

Guwahati

• Mr. Changakakoti
• Mr. Mirza (Gypsyfeet)
• Mr. Neilo

Nagaland

• Ms. Phejin Konyak

Shillong-

• Mr. Paramvir Singh
• Mr. Subrojyoti
• Mr. Sanjeeb
• Mr. Arindam Sarma

Agartala

• Pastor Aharun

Mizoram

• Mr. Kima (Mumbai)
• Ms. Mazami
• Ms. Ruth 
• Mr. Ngaihtea

Guwahati

• Mr. Krish Chanda
• Mr. Reetam Chanda
• Mr. Altaf Mazid

Bomdila

• Mr. Riyazul (an enterprising entrepreneur from Tezpur)
• Himalaya (aka Bhai), Anil, Tapas, Rahul

We have been helped by many a truck drivers in many different ways, we do not however know all their names - a big thanks to the truck driver community.

Of course, we would not have been able to even start our journey without help from our sponsors and endorsers.

So the big question - what were our final average expenses per day? Here is the final average amount per day per person (including food, travel, accommodation and miscellaneous items like permits, etc) -

                                     Rs. 221.64

Which makes our daily average Rs. 443.2813. 50% Above our target expense, but still not an easy task. 

Here’s a breakup of category wise expenses.

P.S - Unlike the dolphins in the novel whose title this post borrows, we are not saying goodbye forever.

Ajay and Inder

Expenses

Total expenses till today (starting May 5th) - Rs. 4995

Expenses per day - Rs. 416.25

Target expense per day - Rs. 300

Announcing another of our backpacking sponsor!

Wildcraft recognizes adventure enthusiasts and it has been their commitment to promote adventure sports in India for over a decade now. Wildcraft is sponsoring our backpacks and helping us prove adventure travel in India is possible!

They have been providing quality adventure sports and outdoor equipment for India’s young and the restless for over 10 years now. Wildcraft currently has 25 exclusive stores in 10 cities and an extensive network of multi-brand stores across India.

Wildcraft is now poised to take a giant leap to become an international brand that promises aesthetic, durable, ergonomic and functional outdoor and adventure gear. And the expertise for all this comes from within. They are available online at their blog, on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube too.

Meet our camping equipment sponsor!

While on our trip, our stay will be courtesy friendly locals and our resourceful ways, but we are prepared to sleep out in the open too! We needed some good backpacking stuff and On the Rocks is helping us out with it.

They are lending us almost all the expensive backpacking equipment including a tent, sleeping bags etc and whats more, we even get to keep some of the stuff :).

About Adventure on the Rocks:

‘On the Rocks’ is a store which rents and sells adventure gear in Hyderabad. Ritesh (who owns On the Rocks) is himself an ardent motorcycle rider and stocks gear for hikers, camping, motorcycle riders and so on. Being and avid biker and hiker himself, Ritesh’s advice is personal and authentic. On The Rocks is an Exclusive Adventure Store for all you adventure fanatics who love riding, traveling, camping, trekking and exploring nature. It is a store that provides all accessories for an adventure freak. 

Go check them out and get yourself all geared up for your next adventure. You can Contact them for any queries.