Boris Kanev and Marta Samalea did something that most of us just spend our lives contemplating about. This couple from Bulgaria hitchhiked their way to India. Taking 511 days to reach India, Boris and Marta also crossed a lot of other countries on their way – Iran, Turkmenistan, China.
Most importantly, they did this without using a Smartphone! The only gadgets they carried were a DSLR, a net-book, an e-book and a simple Nokia phone to help them keep an account of their travels and to update their families about their whereabouts.
In their blog, they have described how they managed their way through different countries, meeting new people, figuring their way out without online maps. The longest the couple stayed totally deserted from the internet was for 2 weeks -while hiking in Turkey, hitchhiking in Myanmar, and walking from Manipur to Mizoram. Otherwise, they would go online to update their blog and connect with family every second or third day. They even made updates on Twitter.
The couple has made everyone think about the real experience of travelling, without the use of planes. Relying only on an actual map and their sense of adventure, Marta writes on her blog, “We wanted to reach the subcontinent overland, to take every step, and cross each border, to fill the map with pictures of real places, flavours and faces. An old map of Asia, invisible routes and more imagination than certainty set the travel plan in motion.”
Their blog, where they write about their adventures of meeting new people, fellow travellers, stranded animals and lost routes, has gathered a lot of attention from travellers round the world.
Going off on a journey like this can be the much needed break we all need from technology. The Bulgarian couple can serve as a source of inspiration to thousands of people around the world who have been thinking and planning for years that they would like to embark on a similar journey, full of adventure and uncertainty.
