Picking the perfect travel companion

Are you one of those travel aficionados who, on occasion, take a bottle of water and sit behind a rock, hoping you are not mooning someone? Or are you one of those, who enjoy pushing the buttons on your throne, where warm water then tickles your backside, giving you a sweet wake up call? Don’t ask me just yet, I am a fence-sitter, no pun intended. I don’t mean to start off with this weird conundrum, but the idea is to put things into perspective for those who call themselves adventure seekers and enthusiasts. Yes, I call myself one but now I wonder, am I really the thrill-seeking wander nut that I portray myself to be? These thoughts arose during the pandemonium of work happening around the first all-women’s drive christened Authentic Zanskar. Where we had to pair women in teams of two, who had all registered as single participants. Together they would share Mahindra’s rugged SUVs for 10 days, sleeping in roofmounted tents, exploring the unknown, and truly living in the moment – what we at Mahindra call ‘the authentic SUV life’. This drive was organised by Mahindra Adventure along with Gul Panag – a travel and adventure seeker, who led the pack of enthusiastic women into the unknown, battling bad weather, circumventing landslides, tackling treacherous long detours and roughing it out in the mountains. Coming from different walks of life, at different stages in their lives (no I am not talking about their age), these women embarked on a gruelling journey to the Himalayas, to put to test, our rugged and sophisticated machines and one’s ability to battle against all odds. Hence my quest to search for an answer – what are the boxes that one checks before asking someone to accompany them on an adventurous expedition? I am sure you must have seen an array of articles and blogs that talk about how one should prepare for a road trip, but none harping on how one should choose the correct travel buddy. It might sound a little weird but choosing a correct travel partner is like choosing the right life partner – once the journey starts, it’s rather difficult to stop midway and move on. How does one choose the lucky one/ones – that is what I intend to share with you. Personally, I would choose someone who is fun-loving, an enthusiastic road tripper and is ready to rough it out – from changing a tyre, to sleeping on the roof of the car in a sleeping bag. Is this enough? Well, maybe it is, at least the intent seems to match – however this is just the tip of the iceberg.Are you one of those travel aficionados who, on occasion, take a bottle of water and sit behind a rock, hoping you are not mooning someone? Or are you one of those, who enjoy pushing the buttons on your throne, where warm water then tickles your backside, giving you a sweet wake up call? Don’t ask me just yet, I am a fence-sitter, no pun intended. I don’t mean to start off with this weird conundrum, but the idea is to put things into perspective for those who call themselves adventure seekers and enthusiasts. Yes, I call myself one but now I wonder, am I really the thrill-seeking wander nut that I portray myself to be? These thoughts arose during the pandemonium of work happening around the first all-women’s drive christened Authentic Zanskar. Where we had to pair women in teams of two, who had all registered as single participants. Together they would share Mahindra’s rugged SUVs for 10 days, sleeping in roofmounted tents, exploring the unknown, and truly living in the moment – what we at Mahindra call ‘the authentic SUV life’. This drive was organised by Mahindra Adventure along with Gul Panag – a travel and adventure seeker, who led the pack of enthusiastic women into the unknown, battling bad weather, circumventing landslides, tackling treacherous long detours and roughing it out in the mountains. Coming from different walks of life, at different stages in their lives (no I am not talking about their age), these women embarked on a gruelling journey to the Himalayas, to put to test, our rugged and sophisticated machines and one’s ability to battle against all odds.

. Hence my quest to search for an answer – what are the boxes that one checks before asking someone to accompany them on an adventurous expedition? I am sure you must have seen an array of articles and blogs that talk about how one should prepare for a road trip, but none harping on how one should choose the correct travel buddy. It might sound a little weird but choosing a correct travel partner is like choosing the right life partner – once the journey starts, it’s rather difficult to stop midway and move on. How does one choose the lucky one/ones – that is what I intend to share with you. Personally, I would choose someone who is fun-loving, an enthusiastic road tripper and is ready to rough it out – from changing a tyre, to sleeping on the roof of the car in a sleeping bag. Is this enough? Well, maybe it is, at least the intent seems to match – however this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Scrolling through my list of friends, sifting out the acquaintances, I almost gave up writing this article, as I was dumbstruck, that I am left with a handful of people who I assume I could go with on a 10-day adventure holiday. Is my life sad or is it just me? That I will keep for yet another discussion if Aatish does not take offence at my social wallowing. Now, if you travel as a family or as a couple, you've already made your choice. But I am talking about those who are still swiping right and wondering when the notification bell will go off. It is about those who have the bent of mind to explore the unknown and wish to find like-min ded wanderers to travel with.

To further delve into this matter – one which I have managed to make sound like a PhD, I have come to a rather unblemished solution. After the process of sifting and elimination of the friends lists, next stop – filtration. Searching for the one who is hungry for an adventure, outdoorsy and absolutely hates all other modes of modern transportation except driving. The next box to check would be a person who shares similar interests – a fondness for nature, music, new cultures and unexplored routes. Someone who can hold a conversation, enough to tickle your brain cells to contention and yet Adventurous women Mahindra Adventure organised an all-women expedition to the Zanskar valley along with Gul Panag “Personally, I would choose someone who is fun-loving, an enthusiastic road tripper and is ready to rough it out – from changing a tyre, to sleeping on the roof of the car in a sleeping bag” manages to correctly read Google Maps. Someone who is flexible, figuratively and practically to adapt to change, rough it out and is as passionate as you are to capture memories that will last a lifetime. Someone who will take the ’wheel only when you feel sleepy or tired, otherwise happy to be the DJ for the day. Apart from these characteristics, most of all, one should be comfortable with the other person’s driving. It should not come to the point where you are slamming the imaginary brakes and clenching your fists because the other person is tailgating too close and late-braking as if they are on a racetrack. Be it travelling with family – which for me is like filming a live soap opera on wheels, or travelling with a suitably chosen sidekick, road trips are therapeutic – they help us learn and open our mind to the outside world, away from our cocoon of city life.