Past XPDtions

21700 kms across 5 Countries, 2 TATA Hexas, 8 people, and 52 days is no laughing matter. Across India into Tibet, via Nepal, this trip involved driving through the Roof Top Of The World. Then the team went on to reach the Everest Base Camp in Tibet, cross into Mainland China and finally reach Vladivostock. Here began the drive across the mighty and dangerous Trans-Siberian Highway which itself is 11000 kms! This has by far been Meenakshi’s most adventurous expedition.

Vanning was something Meenakshi wanted to try a hand at and she loved it. A 10-day trip across Portugal with 2 of her best travel buddies made for a fun trip.  Port tasting in the caves of Porto, chilling on camp sites, and sharing travel stories with people from across Europe is something she will do again in the near future. Meenakshi was sceptical about living in closed spaces with two other people, but realised that if the travel companions are like-minded and compatible it’ easy and fun

In Fall 2018 Meenakshi found herself driving solo across 5 provinces in Canada, in a Jeep Wrangler that she rented in New York. She says driving solo and travelling alone is meditative and addictive. She found solace in an obscure tiny rural community in Nova Scotia called Peggys Cove, where she felt a deep connect with the sea and the village that has only 30 year-round residents. She says Canada was unreal and longs to go back.

For this solo drive, Meenakshi set out with a rental Toyota Corolla from Tallinn to drive across a strange land. At the end of 2 weeks, she had covered almost 3000 kms, and had seen, learnt to savour and imbibe, the art, culture, history and personas of each and every place she visited in the Baltics. With no plan in hand she drove where her heart desired, stayed in some quirky Airbnbs and came back wealthy in experience and savoir-faire.

This was a challenging endurance winter drive which Meenakshi undertook with a couple of her close friends. She recounts how humbling the Himalayas can be and how minuscule and insignificant we humans are.

This drive covered 26000kms, 24 Countries in 72 days. With 2 other women in a TATA HEXA, Meenakshi begain this journey to commemorate 70 years of Indian Independence and to Promote Literacy In India, as she strongly believes that all of India’s problems, for example, population, sanitation and so on stem from lack of literacy and unawareness. The trip was a beginning for her, to undertake such challenging journeys and nurture her penchant for exploring the world by overlanding.

An organised trip with her family was Meenakshi’s first experience in crossing borders by land (not including Europe) and she was hooked. This 10-day fun trip is something she recalls very fondly.