On a long road...

New high

Michael Peris met his wife Susanne in Israel in 1979 and since then, the couple has been travelling the world. Filled with wanderlust, they haven’t let anything stand in the way of them creating new experiences. Now, they are set to take their next vacation — a drive in a Toyota Landcruiser from Bengaluru, where they have been living since 2001, to Denmark, Susanne’s home country.

The 3-month journey will take them through India for 3 weeks, Myanmar for a week, China for the next 3 weeks and the rest of the days, in countries like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Finland, Sweden and Demark. This isn’t the first time the couple is driving through countries — “In 2009, we drove from Denmark to Bengaluru, but went through Turkey and Iran. This time we thought we’d take a different route,” says Susanne.

But even they admit that their current route is a bit long (not that they mind). “Initially the plan was to go through Nepal and Tibet but because of turmoil in the region, we weren’t given a green signal. So we have to drive all round,” says Michael. They even thought about heading to Mongolia and then, to Russia but decided against it as it’s a rough region.

The trip is mostly unplanned, except for the Myanmar and China leg of the journey, so they will decide how long to stay in each country when the time comes. “We had to plan the Myanmar and China drive because both countries require you to have an official guide with you at all times,” he says. Things get a bit more complicated in China as they have to also change their license plate to Chinese and get a driver’s license there. The strict travel regulations required them to plan their exact route in these countries. “But we are excited to take the Old Silk Route,” he adds.  Michael, a coffee planter from Chikkamagaluru and Susanne, a Danish photographer and homemaker, will be joined by another couple in Guwahati, who are also making a Euro-drive. “We were inspired to do this when we read about another couple in the papers who did something similar. The other couple will drive till Belgium,” says Michael.

Since they have spent close to 20 years of their married life in Europe, they can’t wait to get back.

“We want to see the Northern Lights in Finland and experience the European summer again,” he says. Aside from numerous Europe trips, they have also travelled to the northern and southern parts of Africa, South America and more. “We actually wanted to do another Africa trip, of the east coast, but maybe next time,” says Michael. Ask him what other places are on his bucketlist and he’ll say ‘nothing’; he and Susanne want to travel to wherever they can.

They have even raised their 2 sons while travelling. “Parenting was never a problem; we took them with us everywhere. Now that they are grown up, they also love to travel,” says Susanne. While they think that the world has gotten smaller because of technology, they don’t see much of a difference over the years. “It’s easier to travel now but that was never a concern for us,” says Michael.

And the best part is, all of their trips have been a private expenditure. “We don’t accept sponsorships. It’s a matter of prioritising. We manage to save and travel at the same time,” he says. Travel enthusiasts who worry about expenditure can learn a thing or two from the couple.