In the words of Polish journalist and poet Ryszard Kapuściński, “A journey, after all, neither begins in the instant we set out, nor ends when we have reached our door step once again. It starts much earlier and is really never over, because the film of memory continues running on inside of us long after we have come to a physical standstill.” How true, and now when I watch MTV Drive with Nano Season 2 being aired on TV, Kapuściński’s words ring even louder in my ears. It’s like there are two films running parallel – one on the TV screen and one inside me. I was a part of this show in this season, travelling a part of our country I had only distantly thpught about exploring.
It all started with an enticing post by one of India’s leading bloggers’ network, Blogadda.com that asked Blogadda bloggers to blog about their memorable road trip and tell the world why they love travelling. Up for grabs was a chance to be a part of the second season of MTV’s exciting travel show Nano Drive with MTV – India’s first social show featuring the journey of 4 teams in their Tata Nano cars going across the country for 3 weeks, telling the story of their adventures and sharing their experiences every day.
Wow, now that was something worth coveting! What more could a travel junkie ask for! 21 days of sponsored travel, a road trip across the country in a brand new Tata Nano – driving across some part of the country, traversing the famous and the not-so-famous towns and cities, meeting new people, making new friends, eating new food, experience new culture – all the essentials that get travel enthusiasts like me all dreamy eyed.
And then as the cliché goes, the universe conspired to get me what I had started yearning for. My blog posts were appreciated and I was selected by Blogadda.com to be among the 24 contestants shortlisted for the show. Furthermore, generous votes and support from family and friends sealed my presence in the final 12 contestants and there I was, all set to experience a road trip that was tailor made by passionate travellers from across the country, for it was the twitter fans of MTV India that had pinned down the pits stops in our travel map.
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| The Winners |
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| Some of the cities on the different routes |
And now, I am back from the trip. Yes, that’s how fast the time flies. The epic road trip is done with. An incredible 21 days on the road – full of exciting, thrilling, funny and scary experiences, so many new friends and many firsts! Memories from this road trip are going to be cherished forever. And now through my posts here on my blog, I will be reliving those memories, travelling to those places again. These posts are not just going to be about places, but also people, food, culture, music, thoughts and experiences – because that’s what travelling is all about. Here’s hoping that you all enjoy reading the posts and share your thoughts about them. Cheers to travelling! Cheers to road trips!
