Comscore Brand Crosses India

We, The Thamizh Siblings went into this trip not knowing what to expect and came out on the other side speechless. Everyone asks us : "Tell me all about the trip". "Awesome", we would say. But, you had to be there with us. Even the photos and mobile phone videos wouldn't do justice.

But that's not going to deter us from sharing a few tips from the road...!

A few words about blessings and thanks
We were so lucky to be able to do this trip. From the generous donations to our charities SOS Children’s Villages and FrankWater by our corporate sponsor Comscore, friends and family, to the rishis, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and so on, from home and on the road, we were blessed to reach the end safely. With these generous contributions we were able to support some charities who do brilliant work in India and therefore add meaning to our adventure. We thank everyone for that opportunity.

1. Get connected
We had an Airtel SIM card already - voice coverage about 95% of the time! Data coverage is available near big urban centres. We got our number in Chennai(Madras) and they have regional locks and so twitter wouldn't work. But hey we could text our fingers off!

2. Ride it like a pro
Roll on, roll off on the throttle. Take a 30 min break every 3-4 hours. It'll keep the piston, the engine from blowing up. Wear a kerchief around your neck. Curse every now and then. Pro.

3. Be prepared
With a 6 litre tank, we had to refuel quite often. Get a jerry can to take you across the desert. We left things to the last moment and had to suffice with a plastic 10L jar. This meant over the course of the trip petrol started eating the plastic and we’d spend our days sniffing petrol. Also get a funnel, or like us use plastic water bottles to make a ghetto funnel. Get simple spare parts and learn how to fix them so that you don’t have to try to find help late at night when the clutch breaks in the middle of Bihar after election day. Also stash most but not all money when that happens, but do ask how much they want for their services because very often we found Indians to say 1000 when they mean to say 100. They were very nice guys though!

4. Don’t try to squeeze too much before launch day
We decided to visit Delhi before getting to Shillong. It was really fun. India is big, it takes time to get places and it is also hot. Altogether tiring. When we got to Shillong we thought of taking a tiny nap. Woke up hours later into the next morning completely missing the launch party and the chance to meet fellow teams!

5. Enjoy the curiosity
Embrace the curiousity. India is definitely an incredible place to explore and learn. So are its people. We’d always be approached with the same questions “Where are you coming from?”, “Where are you going?”, “Is this your rickshaw”. Often it’ll be followed by peeking in and checking out us and our gear. And then before you know it there is a crowd and that leads to a group picture. You’ll see a lot of stares. It can be a bit intimidating at first, but its all good! Once we start talking (or trying to) before you know it there are tea snack and nuts going around!

6. Stay hydrated
There is a need for pure water in India. It’s so easy to get duped with refilled bottles to perfection and with the heat it is important to have stock. We learned a bit late but we got it down! Cucumber and watermelons really help too!

7. The gift of Karma
Over the course of this trip we gained so much positive karma, we are still trying hard to pass it forward. While the cities can be pretty corrupt, dusty and intense, the rural (most of the land mass) areas are very calm, comforting and inviting. The people are so quick to help us. The best experience is from Madhya Pradesh when a farmer refused to let us go back on the road until we rested at his place which involved a cool well water bath, tea with milk straight from a cow, and so on. Earlier that day we met three other farmers who gave us water to drink when we had ran out – this area was very dry so water is scarce and you have to travel very far to get it.

8. It's more than a race, it's a journey. Cherish it
We really liked Bodhgaya – the birthplace of Buddhism for its calm, international and exquisite. The Varanasi early morning boat ride was very nice, and the visit to Khajuraho was very revealing! The little kids and scene of Shillong were missed and so were the dense forests of Bengal, as we went into drier zones. Fantastic sunsets, camp cooking, dhabas, truck lodges, new foods, morning sweets and lifts were other things we cherished. Central India was kind and pleasant and then we reached the beautiful Goa and set our feet in the ocean

9. Whatever happens don’t lose your map
But we did lose our map! Which was awful. This meant we had to ask people not only for directions, but the route too. Using a Hindi/Urdu lonely planet phrasebook meant sort of communicating with the locals. The biggest problem we came across was that many Indians would prefer to show a random direction instead of saying “I don’t know”! We got a lost quite a bit after this.

10. Roadkill and accidents
With so much traffic on the highways, animals are very nervous when it comes to crossing the road and often end up getting run over. Dogs who aren’t very smart when it comes to road crossing! Drivers also over extend themselves which results in a lot of accidents due to drunk driving and mostly fatigue.

Read our unedited blog posts from the roadSee our pictures: from Shillong, Meghalaya to Colva Beach, GoaWe appeared in the Times of India | Goa.