KUMARAKOM: Oliver K and Corinna D, a couple in their 30s from Germany, on a quest to discover the world in its most pristine form, set out on a journey on their motorbikes from their home town near Berlin on May 11, 2013.
When the ‘Express’ team met them on Friday afternoon at the walkway beside Kumarakom canal leading to Punnamada lake, they had already covered over 23,000 km, covering 19 countries on road.
“We wanted to taste the local life in the local flavour beyond what is being served by the media,” said Oliver. They entered India on April 9, 2013, from Pakistan through Wagah border. They were in Pakistan for nearly four months.
“We were engaged in social work for disabled people in association with an agency in the Balochistan area and Lahore. Now we have a different idea about the place,” they said.
They go to local restaurants in search for local food and stay at economical places. A break from the bike ride came in the form of a train journey between Amritsar and Mumbai.
Their parents also flew down to Goa from Germany where they had a family reunion. Oliver, an engineer, and Corinna, a doctor, had started preparing for the journey nearly two years ago. Both bought Yamaha XT 600 by paying about 1000 euros each.
“Then we had to work on it. Except some countries like China, all were very cooperative,” Oliver said.
“We do not want to visit countries or spots as tourists. We want to have the real experience of life,” said Corinna. However, the size of India baffled them.
“Unlike other countries, it is too big to be experienced in full. It has a variety of lifestyles and cusines. But we want to have the best out of India,” she said.
The couple plans to carry on with their bike ride in India till the first week of July and then continue the journey as the road leads them to, most probably to Australia.