extraordinary world tour by an ordinary couple

7/24/2019 Extraordinary World tour by an ordinary couple

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"If you really wish to chase your dreams, nothingcan stop you from it," a line like this may soundtacky in isolation, but when Vijayan , a 65-year-oldwayside tea-seller owning a tiny tea shop in Kochi

says it , a decades worth of stories echoing hardwork, sweat and con!uered dreams tumble out

Vijayan has been a tea-seller for o$er forty years,howe$er, that hasnt stopped him and his wife from

touring almost e$ery scenic destination in Indiaalong with a whopping %6 other countries- &ritain,'rance, (ustria, )gypt, *(), the list goes on


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+is tea-stall is his only source of income, something thathas ne$er been an obstacle in fullling his dream oftra$elling all o$er the world "I got the obsession in tra$elingfrom my dad he took me to di.erent places since I was 6year old /e went to 0adurai, 1alani and many otherplaces 2hose tra$el memories with my dad helped meunleash my dreams", says Vijayan

3ife was not easy on Vijayan while he was growing up 2ripswith his father to almost all temples in Kerala triggered hispassion for tra$elling howe$er his fathers death brought allpossibilities of tra$elling to a standstill as he took up allfamily responsibilities It was only in %4 that he resumedtra$elling when he accompanied a man as his cook on apilgrimage to the +imalayas


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/hat is the point of fullling your dreams if you ha$enobody to share it with, says Vijayan as he refers to his wife0ohana, who joined him forty years ago &ack then her lifere$ol$ed around Kochi, but post marriage, the couple ha$eeplored eotic cities, all on their own )citement lights upher face as 0ohana eplains her most enjoyable journeys

"I was really ecited when we rst tra$elled abroad&elonging to a $ery poor family, I ne$er dreamt of a life likethis 3ater along with him I too became obsessed with thejourneys 7wit8erland is my fa$orite among the places we$isited" , she says 7wit8erland may ha$e been herfa$ourite but according to her, seeing the statue of 9esus inIsrael left her rooted to her spot for a long time


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'or Vijayan, on the other hand, e$eryeperience was di.erent, right from trudgingthrough the deserts of *() to heading down

the magnicent :ile ri$er in )gypt, :ile beingone of the spots he wishes to $isit again

It hasnt been easy for the couple to sustainsuch a lifestyle /ith their sole source of

income coming from their tea-shop, the onlyway out for them to pursue their lo$e fortra$elling was $ia help through bank loans


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;espite all nancial insecurities, thecouple would take a loan, tra$el to aforeign destination, come back and spend

the net three years repaying the debtthey owed, and the cycle would go on

+as toiling and working so hard helpedhim< "2here will be many hurdles, but we

can o$ercome that through hard work Ifyou really wish to chase your dreams,nothing can stop you from it," he says


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Vijayan follows a $ery simple fundafor sa$ing money, "I sa$e rupees =>>a day for our tickets and spend just

%> dollars or less on picking up sometiny sou$enirs from the places of$isit /e dont spend anything more"

2here is no !uestion of spendingla$ishly for this couple


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2hey may ha$e tra$elled to %6 countries, but one countryon their to-go-list still eludes them is the *nited 7tates of

(merica, a place they ha$e been wishing to go for a longtime now since their last trip to )urope in ?>%?

@onsidering their age, the couple in recent times ha$efaced diAculties in getting loans to nance a loan to their

net dream destination &ut all is not lost, saysVijayan"Bnce I was completely stuck without money,

then one of my old ac!uaintances who resides in 7outh

(frica o.ered me stay and food there 2hen I somehowmanaged the ticket fare and $isited the country 7o am

sure that somehow I will be able to $isit the *7" , hesaid


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;espite the nancial burden the couple willha$e to sustain, Vijayan is steadfastly stubborn

about one thing, about not lea$ing his wifebehind "I cant tra$el without her, I will happyonly when she is around" , says Vijayan smiling

7ome dreams are worth going all out for, andVijayans story sounds like one of those few

- 7ee more atChttpCDDwwwthenewsminutecomDli$esD5>=EsthashFlF:giG(dpuf


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extraordinary world tour by an ordinary couple

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