There was a singer, a chef, a photographer, an actor and an auto writer and a long road trip. They had 30 days in hand but they had to cover 4,325 km through three nations. The journey was on the much touted, still unexplored Asian Highway 1, from Delhi to Bangkok, crossing the borders of three countries. It certainly appeared fascinating but proved to be tiring. Organised by Nexa, the journey turned out to be life-changing for all the participants. Each had a different learning experience: The photographer came up with beautiful shots of the amazing landscape, the chef learnt and served many different cuisine, the singer composed new songs and the actor had a new world experience.
"Nexa Journey is meant to provide a new travel experience for people. Therefore, we chose people from different walks of lives and five common people," informed R S Kalsi, executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki. The great ride started from Delhi. Their first stop was Varanasi, where they explored the treasure trove of culture. In Jorhat (Assam) the participants crossed the serene tea gardens and continued to Majuli, the biggest river island in the world, situated in the Brahmaputra. They took the ferry to Majuli, met an almost new culture and people. Their journey then gave them a North-East flavour at Kohima, the hilly capital city of Nagaland, where they learnt about the indigenous tribes, their music and the matriarchal society. Their last stoppage in India was Moreh in Manipur, located on the India-Myanmar border.
Stepping into foreign land, the first stop was at Bagan in Myanmar, an unexplored picturesque city, which many call a fairy-tale town. The Bagan Archaeological Area houses more than 2,000 Buddhist monuments that tower over the pristine green plain. This land also provided a sneak peek into the Buddhist culture. The final leg of the trip took the travellers from Myanmar to Bangkok in Thailand, which marked the completion of this epic journey.
"This route is becoming popular in this part of the world but the less explored territory has raised curiosity among the discerning travellers," said Kalsi. "If we had chosen some other terrain like Europe, there would have been nothing new in it. One is fatigued seeing the same familiar terrain again and again. This route has scenic beauty, natural beauty unspoilt by civilization. And of course, a bit of adventure."
One can also relive their journey as Discovery will showcase this beautiful journey in seven episodes. The show, which will go on air from 21 May (7.30 pm) on all Discovery channels (Discovery, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD) , will highlight the beauty, problems, adventure and food one can find on this route.