What an adventure: Team L.I.F.E!

All photos included in this post via Facebook/Overload Stories

Earlier this week my friend (thanks Kav! ☺️) sent me this story, and it's just SO incredible - I have to share it with you guys!

Basically, this family of four (who call themselves Team L.I.F.E - Little Indian Family of Explorers) went on a road trip from Bangalore in India, to Paris, France. 

You know, casually.
Dhriti (8), Punita (36), Anand (38), Yash (12).

111 days.

11 countries.

50 cities.

22, 780 kilometres.

One car.

One family of explorers.

Absolutely insane!!!

India àNepal àChina àKyrgyzstan àUzbekistan àTurkmenistan àIran àTurkey àGreece 
àItaly àSwitzerland (Alps)àSpain àFrance.



Anand had just quit his job, his wife had two months of holidays and they were able to convince the kids' school for some extra time off.

It started as a joke on the way back from a within-India road trip they had done, saying that that was just preparation for their world tour ;) 

And then they thought of what an actual learning experience something like that would be for them and their kids - they worked on making it a reality.

Before they began they said, 

"I'm a believer of transcending and not arriving at a destination. We want to see different landscapes, and meet people. We hope they'll hear our story and invite us to stay with them. Language is a barrier, which makes it more exciting. And all this is happening live in front of the kids - that's the adventure"."From the beginning I was clear that this is not a trip to tick things off on a checklist; we didn't want to have an agenda. We are going to see what we like and enjoy it."

Eight months of meticulous planning and organisation, reading travelogues, contacting travel agencies and embassies for visas, and over 2,500 emails later - they were off!

"You know that saying, when you want something, the universe conspires in helping you achieve it? It might seem cheesy, but this trip was something we were destined to do".

I mean there are so many factors at play with a journey like this! 
Firstly, how many of us could even say we could sit in a small car with our family on a 111 day road trip? Yeahhh, me neither. 
I love my family beyond but, I would probably want out after 2 hours.     

But, chuck in two young kids, such an array of different countries, crossing borders, visas, safety, weather - craziness!!!

So, it was inevitable that a trip like this didn't come without its challenges...

They got stuck in their car at the Nepal-China border, with lots of army personnel around, for 5 days due to an earthquake (which frustratingly pushed their plans back by 15 days).

 Boulders the size of trucks were normal for those few days.


The vegetarian family carried their own cooking equipment (which they made good use of!), as they knew not every country would be able to meet their dietary requirements.



However, from making friends in China.


To visiting the "Door to Hell" in Turkmenistan.




Going from sunny skies to sheets of snow, within hours in Kyrgyzstan.


And passing through just a couple other countries on their casual drive :P

Uzbekistan.

Iran.

Turkey.

Greece.

They reached Paris! ☺️

Understandably they decided to fly back to India and have their car shipped home :P
Didn't feel like another 111 day road trip? #arewethereyet?

The intelligence and planning, and the physical and mental strength that went into this,
SO MUCH RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR THEM - it's absolutely insane!

The sheer amount of exposure that these kids would have gotten to countries, cities, cultures and, just life, before even becoming teenagers, I bow down to their parents!

An experience of a lifetime, for sure!

To see more of their adventure, visit Facebook: Overland Stories☺️

If you couldn't already tell by how inundated this post is with exclamation points, I still can't get over this and just really wanted to share it.
 I hope you enjoyed seeing and reading about this amazing story.

New blog post will be up next Tuesday!!! 

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

Have a great rest of the week!

❤️Raashi



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46 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It really is so amazing! :) Thank you for reading, Taislany!

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  2. Oh my goodness, I love they're story! And isn't Dhriti the cutest ♥

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  3. This is such an incredible journey! I'm so happy they reached their goal. Thanks for sharing :)

    Laura

    http://thefoxtrails.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Right? A tremendous effort on their part to be able to reach that goal for sure! Thanks for reading Laura :)

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  4. Yes .. I did read about their adventurous trip and boy was I stunned! Wow.. such a lovely bunch of explorers

    Diwali OOTD on Style.. A Pastiche

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    1. I was absolutely blown away too, Chaithra! So amazing of them! :)

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  5. Wow, what an amazing story! Thanks so much for sharing Raashi. xxx

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  7. That is so amazing! What an awesome adventure!
    www.amemoryofus.com

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    1. So incredible on their part to think of it (and to actually execute it!). Thanks for reading, Darcy! :)

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  8. Oh wow, such a cool inspiration! Something the kids will look back on forever!
    Aleeha xXx

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    Replies
    1. It truly would have been SUCH an experience for those kids - amazing for their family to undertake! Thanks for reading, Aleeha! :)

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  9. This is so amazing! I always feel inspired by people who do things like this! It takes a lot of courage to do something like travelling across the globe :D I am definitely challenging myself to travel more and not letting obstacles stop me from exploring the world :)

    aluminah.wordpress.com

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    1. It's absolutely incredible what they accomplished! Travelling is such an amazing learning experience. Like you Rory, I can't wait to do the same soon! :)

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  10. This is such an inspiring story, I love how travelling can empower and strengthen you!

    http://www.notesofglam95.blogspot.it/

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    1. You're so right, Vanessa! It is such a learning experience, so much personal growth! :)

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  11. Thats looks so adventurous. I love road trips as I get sick in the plane.

    xoxo


    http://ksabeautyhaul.blogspot.com

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    1. SO adventurous! Oh really that's inconvenient :/ But road trips are definitely much better then! I love them because you get to really take in all the scenery as you drive! :)

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  12. This is such an awesome story, thank you for sharing! Me and my boyfriend talk about that sometimes - just quitting our jobs and getting away, travelling the world for a year. :D Obviously, that couldn't realistically happen, but I'd love to travel like that and see the world someday! x

    Kay
    http://shoesandglitter.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Thank you for reading, Kay! How good would that be, hey! But like you said, any travelling that anyone can accomplish is an experience :)

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  13. WOW! That is an amazing adventure. Thanks for sharing this. I had not seen this at all. I understand all the exclamation points!!! ♡♡
    xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com

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    1. Thank you, Bella! I'm so glad you enjoyed hearing about it! I was so blown away and surprised when I saw it that I had to do a post on it! :)

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  14. This is such an amazing thing to do! I wish to have a similar road trip as that would be an experience of a lifetime :)

    Sarah | What Sarah Writes

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    1. It's quite incredible to read about, and I love that this family is giving so many of us the idea that it is possible to do a roadtrip like this! :) Definitely an experience of a lifetime!

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  15. Wha an absolutely amazing experience! Those kids are so lucky that their parents made this trip happen for them. Thanks for sharing this amazing story with us!
    xo Kiki
    http://colormekiki.com/

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    1. Right, Kiki!?! I was SO incredibly impressed by the parents - and it would not have been an easy task to do such a long, intense road trip with young kids! Thanks for reading! :)

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  16. This is so amazing and inspiring!! I would die to go on a trip like this, but I would definitely get sick of my family after a few week lol. It truly is the trip of a lifetime, and these pictures are breathtaking.Thanks for sharing, Raashi!

    xoxo, Caroline
    http://carolinevsworld.blogspot.com/

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    1. Haha oh Caroline, I'm totally right there with you - that is one LONG road trip! Haha, thank you so much for reading! :)

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  17. Thanks for sharing the post!

    irenethayer.com

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  18. Thank you, Dominica! Will check it out! :)

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  19. Wow this was an amazing post, I really enjoyed reading about their adventure, I would love to go on a trip like that!

    Best Wishes,

    Camille xo

    www.cococami.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about it Camille, I really wanted to share it! :)

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  20. This sounds amazing! I'd love to go travelling properly.

    Kirstie | www.kimamelybeauty.com

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    1. Travelling is such an experience, and this one in particular is definitely quite the experience :)

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  21. DeckedUp Beauties17 November 2015 at 04:16

    I read about Team LIFE last week..Really liked the way they planned out everything :)

    http://www.deckedupbeauties.com/2015/11/review-mac-strobe-cream/

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    1. It's amazing how much planning and organisation would have gone into this, a true credit to them!

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  22. This is such an inspiring story! I love how they all took the adventure and most importantly made some memories they will never forget <3
    Ramsha | Rose
    xxx

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    1. So insanely cool, hey! Definitely unforgettable by the looks of it, Ramsha! :)

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  23. Replies
    1. Not gonna lie, Sasha - I thought they were pretty epic to not only come up with the idea of this, but to plan and actually execute it! Credit to them! Haha.

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  24. That is amazing! Wow, these kids will grow up leading the most fun and adventorous life after experiencing such a cool world road trip at such early age.
    Props to all of them! 111 days, 3 days from turkey to Germany was too much for me to handle already, they are amazing!

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    1. I most definitely agree! I was so impressed with the parents for daring to do something like this, such an incredible learning experience for those kids! Haha, I am definitely in the same boat as you Rose - we had a 12 hour bus ride in our India trip this time and I was so done with it :P

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