A globetrotter in Oman, his 53rd destination
Travel has always been an undying passion for Suresh Joseph and at the age of 64, he is in Oman, visiting his 53rd destination from May 10 to 19 and underlines the fact that ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss.’ For him, there have been 15 editions of Record Drive in the past 12 years and 11 of these have been solo ones.
Chances are, one would accidentally bump into a car bearing the decals ‘Caution! Right Hand Drive’ and ‘Goodwill Knows No Boundaries’, which is the tagline of Record Drive these days on Oman roads and he wouldn’t mind sharing a smile with you.
Joseph, a seasoned traveller, has been on the roads of the world since 2010. The passion that first saw him conquer the roads of India soon saw him trekking across various roads around the world. So far, he is the only person on the planet to have driven on the four longest highways of the world, all alone. He makes it a point to travel at least two months a year and the contract with his employers is structured this way.
He received his first ‘Limca Book of Records’ certificate for his All India drive in 2010-11, after which he decided to attempt a record drive between Leh and Kanyakumari. He discussed the idea with Muthoot Group, Kochi and they readily agreed to sponsor the attempt, facilitate the logbook entries along the route and brand the drive. The branded Maruti Swift had the decals “Record Drive” stuck on its side. That was when Record Drive was born. He has been using it ever since because most road trips thereafter have been to better old records or set new ones.
Author of 8 books of which most are travelogues, Joseph holds MSC in Industrial Relations from London School of Economics & Social Science after his BA degree from Loyola College, Chennai and MA in Economics from the St Stephen’s College, New Delhi. After a brief stint with Malayalam Plantations in Munnar he joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service in 1981 and worked in Southern, South Eastern and South Western Railways before taking voluntary retirement in 2005. For the next five years, he helmed the development of the International Container Transshipment Terminal in Vallarpadam, Kerala and is currently engaged as a Consultant to the Genchi Global Group of Companies, based in Chennai.
In a tête-à-tête with the ‘Observer’, he is sharing some of his trysts with travel:
WHEN DID YOU START VISITING OTHER COUNTRIES? WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION?
My first visit abroad was to London in 1995, where I went as a student to the London School of Economics, on sabbatical from the Indian Railways. That is where the backpacking and driving bug bit me and I did a fair bit of it in Europe after scholastic work. Strangely, my first drive abroad was also to London where I drove in 2014. The conclusion of that drive was at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Tavistock Square, London, which I used to walk by for a year when I was in London from 1995 to 96.
The idea of driving from India to London first surfaced in 1997 when I had made elaborate plans to exchange letters between the then prime ministers of the two countries, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Tony Blair, on the occasion of India’s 50th year of independence. That fell through because of a job change. However, I was able to realise that dream after 17 years in 2014.
WHAT WERE THE BEST AND WORST EXPERIENCES THAT YOU HAVE HAD WITH RECORD DRIVE SO FAR?
The best experiences were on the drive to London in 2014. In the car park of the Petergof, in St Petersburg, a beefy Russian showed interest in the branding of the car. I gave him a bookmark which had details of the journey and we exchanged smiles. When I returned to the car a few hours later the car park attendant handed over a plastic bag with a traditional leather hat in it. On the cap was written, “St Petersburg, Russia, Summer of 2014. Welcome back anytime”. It was a gift from the person who I had met while parking the car. Moral of the story? That “Goodwill Knows No Boundaries”, which is the tagline of Record Drive and that a smile is the most universal language.
The worst part of my expeditions has to be the almost fatal accident I had near Srinagar (Uttar Pradesh) and the aftermath of it during the Trans Himalayan Expedition in 2015. The road beyond Srinagar consisted of sharp winding turns. While negotiating a jeep taxi full of passengers, coming from the opposite direction, rammed so heavily into me that I thought I would lose control of the steering. If I had, I would have gone down a gorge with zero chances of survival. The Ford Endeavour car had to be repaired before I could continue my journey because the damage was severe. Keen to find if I could locate a towing truck in Srinagar, I hitched a ride to the city. However, my search proved futile. I was shocked when I returned to the accident spot. The car had been moved and the left side front window had been broken in. A madman was sitting in the rear passenger seat eating my food and drinking orange juice that was in the car. He was also stuffing warm clothes that he had foraged from the suitcase in the car. I got him out of the car and surveyed the damage. Glass shrapnel was everywhere. The window had been smashed using a brick. To my chagrin, I discovered that the Samsung notepad, Gopro Camera, Samsung phone, batteries and chargers had all been stolen from the car. Vandalism had cost me over Rs 3 lakhs.
OF THE 52 COUNTRIES, YOU HAVE VISITED
WHICH WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE? AND WHY?
To be very honest, I have found every country and every place I have travelled to so far interesting and enjoyable. There is a little something everywhere to be flavoured, felt and absorbed. For instance, the recent visit to Africa was a template shattering experience. What I had in mind about the countries there and the people were different from what I experienced. However, South-east Asian countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore and Cambodia are my favourites. The warmth of the people, humaneness you feel around you, food and drink, spirituality and affordability, besides its history and geography, are the reasons for this. However, the most pristine place I have so far visited is New Zealand. If there is a Paradise on earth today, it is in New Zealand. The human species is just about 900 years old in this country and great care has been taken to preserve the environment. The relatively peaceful integration of the locals and the settlers is another case in point.
HOW ARE YOU DOCUMENTING YOUR TRIPS? DO DIGITAL PLATFORMS HELP YOU IN PLANNING & ORGANISING YOUR TRIPS?
Photos, videos and blogs are my means of documenting my trips and experiences. I religiously write a blog on The Travels of a Railwayman
http://railwaymansj.blogspot.com
WHICH IS THE NEXT COUNTRY YOU PLAN TO VISIT AFTER OMAN?
There are plenty on the bucket list. In the immediate future may be a tour of South America and Antarctica followed by visits to the Philippines, South Korea and Japan. When the neighbouring countries open up for self-drive — China is closed with no indication of when it will open — I have plans to drive from India to 50 countries across Central Asia and Europe.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG ASPIRING TRAVELLERS?
First and foremost of it is to keep an open mind, open your eyes wide and listen to local people. That is how you can learn, see and imbibe the best of every place. The second is to experience the cuisine, culture and history of the place. Thirdly, it would be useful to read up as much as you can before you travel to the country or place. The do’s and don’ts are sometimes lifesaving. The fourth is not to venture out in the dark unless you have a trusted local person with you. We won’t know if we are at the wrong place or when the wrong time is. Fifthly, if you are driving do avoid the use of alcohol. Not only does it impair judgement, but many countries also have zero tolerance for alcohol as is the case with Norway. Lastly, after your travel share your experiences with friends and others and never shy away from any opportunity to get your experiences to a wider audience.