KOCHI: On a bright sunny morning recently, a group of Czech and Slovakian nationals was anxiously waiting outside the Cochin Port for their precious cargo of two Trabant cars, a Maluch (Polish version of the Fiat) and a Jawa motorcycle. As the cars were being wheeled out, a group of workers shouted with enthusiasm, ‘Hey, that’s Mr Bean’s car.’
“The Trabant - also known as a ‘Joke on Wheels’ back home - helps us to connect with people wherever we go. Some find it crazy to travel in such a small, funny vehicle with a plastic body,” said Czech national Dan Priban, who heads the motley Trans Trabant team globetrotting on Eastern Bloc vintage wheels for the past decade, doing hilarious travel documentaries.
Driving through 28 countries in Asia, Africa, South America, as well as Australia, and clocking 80,000 km, Dan has proved intercontinental travel is possible using small, old cars on a limited budget. The seven-member team is in Kochi, where the final leg of their odyssey through India into Central Asia will begin next week.
Apart from team leader Dan, who drives one of the Trabants, the group comprises cameraman Zdenek Kratky, photographer Vojta Duchoslav, Trabant driver Marek Duransky, actor-blogger Lukas Venclik, Maluch driver and fireman Honza Setvin and Jawa rider Marek Slobodnik. Except for two members, the rest of the team was part of the previous intercontinental sojourns - Europe and Central Asia (2007), Africa (2009), South America (2014) and Australia-Indonesia (2016).
“Why we chose Kochi for our trip is because it has a very comfortable ambience with lots of history and culture and the people are amazing. With its greenery and backwaters, it almost resembles a fairytale locale, making it a perfect place to start our adventure,” says Dan, a journalist-turned-documentary maker. “From Kochi, we travel to Varanasi and cross over into Kathmandu.
From Nepal, we will return to Agra and proceed to Kashmir and Punjab, experiencing the little-known facets of Indian culture and history and filming it to promote India as a safe, fascinating destination for Eastern European tourists,” says Dan.
After covering India, they will proceed to Pakistan via Amritsar and drive all the way to Kashgar in China. From there, they will travel to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, where the first leg of the trip ended. “From Samarkand, we retrace our steps to Europe, thus almost circling the globe,” he says.
Except for toiletries and a few sets of clothes, the bulk of their luggage comprises the cameras and shooting accessories. The whole endeavour is crowd-funded. “Though shipping charges don’t cost much, we have to pay a lot for permits to drive through some countries,” Dan says. The screening of their latest travel documentary was held at Uru Art Harbour in Mattancherry on Friday. During the event, the visitors had a chance to interact with the team and have a look at their vehicles as well.