EER048: An Epic Family Road Trip — 11 countries in 111days

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Family Road Trip of a Lifetime

The family road trip, for most people, is a day or two of driving to visit far-flung relatives. The Baid family, however, have taken family road trips to an entirely new level. In 2015, the Anand Baid, his wife Punita and their two children loaded up the car and left their hometown of Bangalore, India to drive all the way to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

I repeat: they drove. With no cell phone, no spare tires, and no jerrycan (spare fuel container). And it was the trip of a lifetime.

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This epic family road trip took them through 11 countries in 111 days, with a total driving distance of nearly 23,000 kilometers total. Known as Team L.I.F.E. (“Little Indian Family of Explorers”), the Baid family had their brushes with disaster, and yet despite these hurdles, they had an incredible experience. This is a fascinating but long interview — I’ve cut it from nearly 2 hours down to about 70 minutes. If you’re interested in hearing the full interview, let me know.

IN THIS EPISODE

• 03:03 Intro and stumbling onto the great Nepal Earthquake
• 13:55 Turning tragedy into a teaching moment
• 15:20 From Tibet to Kyrgyzstan and the warm welcome
• 17:45 The benefits of traveling with kids
• 19:18 Packing, traveling as a vegetarian, and space management
• 22:11 Researching, Planning & Forming a caravan
• 26:28 Dealing with police and the possibility of bribes
• 32:13 Iran, Speed limits and “Highway Hypnosis”
• 38:10 Education on the road
• 42:40 Turkey
• 46:17 Preconceived Notions & the kindness of strangers
• 49:55 The Greek Economic Crisis and (mis)handling money
• 54:04 Barcelona and Camp Nou
• 56:18 Arriving in Paris
• 59:34 The Kids’ experience and travel roles
• 61:40 Gear & apps

WHO THEY ARE

• Names: Anand Baid, his wife Punita and their son Yash (12) and daughter Dhriti (8)
• Hold passports from: India
• Type of travel: Drove overland (!) from Bangalore to Paris. 11 countries in 111 days.
• A few places they’ve been: Kyrgystan, Tibet, Iran, Turkey, Italy, and many others

FAMILY ROAD TRIP RECOMMENDATIONS

• Kyrgyzstan
• Turkey (especially Cappadocia)

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Horizons Unlimited (to form a driving group caravan in Nepal)
• WhatsApp (Especially for the “Share my Location” feature)
• Maps.Me
• Open Street Map (OSM)

FIND THEM ON

Overland Stories | Facebook | Youtube

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means, at no extra cost to you,  we might receive a small commission if you make a purchase or book using those links. My opinions are my own and I only recommend places/services that I believe will genuinely help your travel.