JOIN USIt was always a dream of Elie’s, from Disney animated movie ‘Up’, to live near Paradise Falls. To make her dreams come true, Carl and Elie worked hard for several years and saved money. But unfortunately, that dream couldn’t be fulfilled. But when Elie passed away, Carl kept her dream alive by turning his house into a makeshift airship and flying to Paradise Falls.
While this may sound like a cute story of a fictional couple, real-life couples too are embarking on journeys to make their dreams come true.
Sindhu MV and Sharad Hebbar, a writer and banker respectively, love planning a vacation where they get to do the things they love the most. While Sharad is a trekking junkie, Sindhu likes travelling to villages and learning about their culture and lifestyle.
“We’ve been married for about five years now and every trip we have taken has been a great one. Though I have always loved trekking, Sharad wasn’t much of a backpacking person. But he’s gotten the hang of it now,” laughs Sindhu. The couple frequently goes on treks to Chikamagaluru and Dandeli, but their most recent, and favourite, one was to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan.
Says Sindhu, “The trek to Tiger’s Nest Monastery was a magical one as there is only one way to get there; even the King has to travel that way! I was also impressed by the cleanliness. Dustbins were placed everywhere and everyone fully utilised them.”
For Archana Suresh and Prateek Daga, it’s the bi-yearly trips that they look forward to the most. Prateek loves adventure sports and makes sure that these are a part of their itinerary. Archana, on the other hand, loves exploring the heritage and the food of the place.
She says, “We went to New Zealand recently where Prateek went bungee jumping twice from the highest point in the world. He also went skydiving. I am a little scared of heights, so I tried paragliding and hydro zorbing instead. It was a lot of fun but scary at the same time.”
On their way back to India, they stopped at Thailand where they stayed in a floating house. “It was a very unique experience as every time a boat passed by, the entire house would start shaking,” she exclaims.
While many people teach new things to their partners, there are a few who see the same dreams. For Sunita and Suhas Ramegowda, their dream is to leave behind everything and travel the world in a vehicle. They almost made this wish come true with a recent trip around the country for two months, along with their nine-year-old son Aarav.
Sunita explains, “We drove about 10,000 km in two months when we travelled the country in our Hyundai Verna. We were constantly posting about the trip on our Facebook page ‘Footloose Company’. If any of our friends lived in that city, we stayed over at their homes. Otherwise, we were mostly staying in the car. We also carried a mini-kitchen with us.”
The wanderlust couple have a long term plan of giving up their home in the city and continue travelling in a bigger vehicle.
“We want to volunteer at places and travel around the world. It may not sound very practical but we realised that if we think too much, we will lead the same monotonous life as everyone else. After all, life is an adventure that must be experienced to the fullest,” she concludes.