THIS GUY DID 549 DAY MOTORCYCLE TRIP SPENDING ZERO MONEY ON STAY – MEET BALAJI SURESH
ARE YOU A LONG MOTORCYCLE TRIP FREAK?
Would you believe if we tell you about a damn long motorcycle trip spanning over 549 days and some 57800 odd kms in which rider did not spend even a single penny on stay!
MEET BALAJI SURESH
There are many travellers, many tourists, and many motorcycle riders. However, not all of them have made it as much a part of their life as breathing!
Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Balaji Suresh, comes into the category of those who lives for such breath-taking experiences on his motorcycle.
A mechanical engineer and farmer, Balaji Suresh, has been biking across the country and beyond for over four and a half year!
In 2015, having been working in corporate field for some time, he decided to take a break for a 4 month long trip. He rode across the seven states of the North East and that experience changed his mind forever!
Funnily enough on the 60th day of his trip he received an email from his office that he has been fired. There began a new life for him, and he knew what he lived for!
Soon after that trip ended he took upon the mega road trip exploring the India and beyond in depth on his beloved motorcycle spending actually nothing on the stay for 549 days and 57800 kilometers.
SWETA MISHRA from HMRA caught up with him for an interview where he shared a lot of details from his motorcycle riding experiences in the Himalayas, and the priceless lessons he learnt on the way.
Here’s an excerpt:
HMRA: First of all, what inspired you to travel?
BALAJI: It has to be my North East trip, because once you’ve been there, you are no longer the same person. I have always been a biker, but something snapped after I rode through the tough terrains of Himalayas in the North East. It was not the most detailed and intensive trips, of course, but long enough to have sowed the seed of travelling in me.
HMRA: Tell us how did it all start?
BALAJI: After I was fired from my job, and the wonderful trip, I was sure of not doing a corporate job. I started farming. One of my friends taught me farming, and simultaneously, I planned for the bike trip I had to do across the country. I also worked with Royal Enfield to earn some money so I could save for the travel. Within six months, I could save about 30,000 rupees and I had decided to use it for three months.
HMRA: How did you manage with it?
BALAJI: Oh, there were a lot of things! I made a lot of mistakes as well. Now, I had to cut down on my stay expenses because I had too little money. So, I slept just about anywhere- from benches, to petrol pumps, to army base camps even. I struggled the most due to my language, as I did not know Hindi. However, North East was quite smooth since people spoke English. I learnt a lot from every experience, every mistake, and every move.
HMRA: Tell us about your all India bike trip?
BALAJI: It was a 549 days trip that I started in July 2017. I started from Tamil Nadu and went through Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal and Uttrakhand. It was the most thrilling, life-changing, exhilarating, and inexplicable part of my life. I did not use Google map during the whole trip and trusted people, and my own gut.
HMRA: We have always heard Kashmir is not the safest place to travel. What was your experience?
BALAJI: I had heard the same. Let me share an incident to change people’s mind though. At around 4 pm, I remember, I was crossing this tunnel in Kashmir and I realized a car is flashing its lights at me. There was a tall guy in beard. I stopped, and he did as well. He came towards me and I was scared, but to my surprise, he brought his hand out for a handshake and greeted me in Tamil language. He was a medical officer from Tamil Nadu. There was another incident when it got too late riding around, and some CRP officers caught me seeing my beard and all. They started enquiring and other officers came. They asked for ID and when I showed them the same, they apologized. They even provided me shelter at their camp. You are not allowed to roam there after 7 pm. I even witnessed people smuggling diamonds and people were very cool about me knowing about that. There was one particular incident, that left a deep imprint, when I was going to Gulmarg, I lost my way. I asked an old man standing there and he expressed his concern as it was very late. He brought me to his place, gave me dinner, and place to sleep. I couldn’t sleep, it was so scary! However, they were best of people. Next morning, he woke me up for namaaz reading but being a Hindu I refused, so he asked me to sleep back. After waking up, he asked me to share all my stories and life to him. He even gave me some money and gave me the way! There was another golden opportunity when I got a chance to visit the border of Pakistan, and even have food at a Pakistani family’s home. They were so courteous, genuine, and warm. It was authentic Pahadi food.
HMRA: Were there any bad experiences?
BALAJI: Not bad experiences as such, but people in Leh were very rigid in their approach. They were quite commercial, maybe because of people constantly treating them that way. They looked like Mongolians there but were Muslims. It was very difficult to win their trust, as they would charge even for fixing my tent around. I observed for sometime and realized they do not have firewood. I started helping them with the firewood, and in no time, we were friends!
HMRA: What were the Himalayas like?
BALAJI: Is there anything more beautiful? Riding through the terrains is definitely challenging, but nothing is as magnificent as Himalayas. From the Devbhoomi at Himachal, to the kaccha roads in Nepal, and the hard, tough roads at India’s highest altitudes, they are all equally mesmerizing. Mountains transform you. They teach you perseverance, patience, and strengthen your will power.
HMRA: You mentioned Nepal. Tell us about your trip there.
BALAJI: Nepal was very memorable, but really difficult. I went there with a friend and spent about 21 days. The mountains are stunning but roads are terrible! The state of Nepal is not very good either. People are either too rich, or too poor. It is also very expensive, especially food. It would take about 200% of our energy to reach any place. We carried our own utensils and essentials to cook food so we did not have to pay for food anywhere. We went to one particular village- Kulti- that had no road. Absolutely abandoned village somewhere on the other side of the mountain. Curious creatures that we were, we decided to head on! It was extraordinary. There was a river we had to cross, and the road was only good enough for trekkers. Bikes would probably slip and fall. Some villagers helped us get past the river . Our bike even got stuck at one place. It took so much effort that we did not understand how we were still alive but trust me, the view was worth it! Never in my life have I ever seen a beauty of such measure.
On my way to Ra Ra, we stopped at a restaurant and saw that a festival was going on. There was bonfire, and people sitting around and drinking. We went and joined them. One of them asked us about what we do and were surprised to know we were engineers. It was huge thing! When he got to know I was unmarried, he brought a girl to me and asked to get married. We were all terribly drunk. I decided to run away the next morning, as soon as possible. When I found the right moment, I just ran! However, it is important to be careful there as men are mostly drunk and women work. About 80% population there is suffering from HIV AIDS, and there are many thugs! We also went on a hike, by the way, to take a glance of the Everest peak early in the morning. After coming back to SIliguri, I went to North East again. It was some 18,200 km ride.
HMRA: Tell us about the food you had tried?
BALAJI: We tasted crazy food items. Craziest has to be Yak blood. Besides, I tried local meat, local vegetables and everything I found locally wherever I went. I even drank local water. It kept me really well, actually.
HMRA: Any particular beautiful memory you would like to share?
BALAJI: You know, when on road in the Himalayan region, on your bike, you have to be prepared for the worst. When I was returning from Siachen, I could not climb Khardung La. I had to go to Leh so I took a diversion and I really did not want to climb any other mountain. I was exhausted to the point of death. However, I chanced upon Verta Pass, on the way to Shakti village. It was a completely isolated village. I had totally given up physically and mentally but I pushed myself with that 0.01% of will power and guess what? There stood this village, like a kingdom, breath taking and extraordinary. I stayed there for sometime and had maggi.
HMRA: What are things to keep in mind while biking?
BALAJI: Biking can take you anywhere! That is the beauty it has. You need not ask anyone. All you got to do is see a mechanic, ask him about the problems that might arise, and get proper gears. I had about 14 crashes and several falls, but because I knew my bike very well, I could mend it myself. You have to understand the headings, they are of four kinds- offroad, onroad, camping, and snowgears. Also, keep in mind about the permits. The absolute essentials you must carry should be spares, backpack, fire lighter, aluminium sheets, knife, linen ropes, sleeping bags and tent, and cooking essentials.
HMRA: What are the three major life lessons you learnt during the travel journey?
BALAJI: One, travel will always be an integral part of life because it adds value to my soul; two, it teaches me to be responsible; three, it gives me a planning perspective. It is so important to plan! For my North East trip, I had planned since three years. Planning is very, very important. Also, never give up. Even in hardest of times, remember that everthing will work out in the end.
HMRA: What was your parents’ reaction when they got to know about this?
BALAJI: Honestly, I lied to them initially. I told them I was in Kolkata. They did not talk much to me so, I was safe. When they did learn what I was upto, my father wanted to burn my bike to ashes and mom did not talk to me for about two weeks. But with time, they changed and accepted my passion and dream. We need to give them time and perspective. Now, my mom defends me when anyone speaks ill of me.
HMRA: What did you travelling give you?
BALAJI: It gave me a beautiful smile, and lots of memories. Smiling bridges the gap. When I got back to cities, after my mountain journey, I hated it. I wanted to go back to the simplicity, cleanliness, and warmth. I think, it gave me the art of kindness and simplicity as well.
Suresh Balaji is next planning a world tour and we hope he gets through the same and amasses a lot more crazier moments and memories to inspire many of us!
What an inspiration!
Let us know your views or questions in comments.
