5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences: Great Independence Day Ride Series

Travelling is often known as the best form of expression to one's freedom. People experience a different culture, food and hospitality when they travel to other places. While most choose a convenient way of travelling, for some the mode of transport matters as well.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

We have a story about five friends travelling to five different countries covering 5,000 kilometres in 21 days. Called ‘The Great Independence Day Ride', it was done by five friends who travelled from Singapore to India. Along the way, they covered different countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

The travelling team include Nikhil Kashyap, an independent producer and a marketing consultant; Bhanu Pratap Singh; an Entrepreneur and Aesthetic Consultant; Harkirat Singh, a commercial pilot; Divya Raghav, a psychologist and Enaaya, their 5-year-old super trooper.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

The 21-day journey aimed to define the scope of freedom for all these five people. Along the journey, they experienced different cultures, languages, customs and traditions with the intent of crossing boundaries, both physically and figuratively.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Speaking about the experience, Nikhil Kashyap, said, "The Great Independence Day Ride was an attempt to redefine perceptions across borders, to celebrate independence, savour food, and rejoice music. Road trips let you stop in every small town, learn the history and stories, feel the ground and capture the spirit of the place."

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

The Great Independence Day Ride was flagged off on August 15, 2016, at the Indian embassy in Singapore. However, their journey was halted due to the Myanmar earthquake in 2016. With a never-give-up attitude, these five riders started the journey again in 2018 on the Indian Independence day and completed the journey in 21 days.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Speaking to DriveSpark, Nikhil Kashyap, said, "We had a one-of-kind experience throughout the journey. We wanted to come back to the country, unlike most who move away for it. During our journey, we got to explore the ever secretive and unexplored territory of Burma. Also, crossing 69 bridges, which were built by Japnese during World War 2 was extremely delightful."

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

He further added, "We also travelled on Maynamar highways which have 20 lanes, which is among the most expensive highway to ride/drive on. Because we had to pay around Rs 1 lakh to enter the highway in Maynmar."

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Myanmar has limited access to people travelling into the city. Because of this, most of the country remains unexplored territory. However, these travellers were allowed to enter the city and got the change to experience a very different culture, with great hospitality.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Along their journey, they also came across various bikers packs who were also travelling to different places. Bhanu Pratap Singh, who was also part of the ride said, "The most memorable part of the trip was experiencing the feeling of fraternity and brotherhood within the biker communities that we met along the way. Their hospitality and warmth towards us went beyond our common love for motorcycles."

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Speaking of bikers, The Great Independence Day Ride was done using three KTM 390 Dukes and one Innova as a support vehicle. While speaking to us, Nikhil confirmed the reason behind choosing KTMs is because of its presence in all the countries that they travelled.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

This means easy availability of spares for repairs in case of a breakdown. As for the Innova, the MPV is known for its reliability across the world. Travelling in motorcycles has certainly made the journey even more special for the chosen five.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

The entire journey has been documented on phones with endless experiences from all five travellers throughout the journey. The team who have been on this great journey will be sharing their experience in detail in the form of a video web series.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

The travel series will be called the ‘Great Independence Day Ride' and will have 21 episodes. The length of these episodes will be between five and seven minutes long. The team has confirmed DriveSpark that they are expecting to launch the series within the next 20 days. They are also currently in talks with various (OTT) Over-The-Top media services to host the series.

Great Independence Day Ride: 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences

Thoughts About The Great Independence Day Ride Series Coming Up

During The Great Independence Day Ride, the team came home with tons of different experiences. As mentioned before, travelling is often known as the best form of expression to freedom. However, as most of us do not have the liberty to attain freedom, we certainly look at the experience of these travellers and cherish along with them. Kudos to the team!

Most Read Articles

English
Article Published On: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 20:24 [IST]
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X