the goan I network
VASCO
At a time when most motor enthusiasts settle for inter-state road trips, former Mormugao MLA Giovanni Karl Vaz’s passion for cars and motoring will see him embark on an adventure road trip from Goa to London on Tuesday morning.
Vaz (54), who is well-known in the port town for his love of cars, will use his Range Rover Sports HSE for the trip.
“This is an adventure trip created by a group ‘Adventures Overland’ from Gurgaon and a total of 12 cars from across India, including 2 from Goa, will be a part of this group road trip,” explained Vaz.
He added, “It has been my dream to achieve this road trip from Goa to London and it demands a lot of physical and mental preparation. The ‘Adventures Overland’ group had organised a similar trip last year, but unfortunately I could not go. But it was my dream to make this happen because I have practically travelled the whole of India by road.”
“I am 54 and it took me a lot of time to get physically fit for this expedition. I practically started training for this since August last year. I used to be 106 kgs and would wear 42-sized trousers, but today I fit into a size 34. This are some things you need to do once in a lifetime and one must be prepared to work towards it,” he said.
Vaz has happy to be part of a group, as he felt it to be a safer option.
“Some people have attempted solo expeditions and have succeeded, while some others have gone through bad times sometimes for security reasons. Safety is the only reason I chose to do this in a group,” said Vaz.
Narrating the route chosen for the trip, Vaz said their convoy would travel across 18 countries and two continents.
“During this trip, I will be driving across 10 time zones and our approximately 20,000 km trip could take around 60 days. We will pass through 18 countries, including Myanmar, Thailand, China, Uzbekistan, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Netherlands and France, till we reach London. It takes a lot of time for visas, vehicle visas and all these things.”
Talking about his inspiration, the former MLA said, “My eldest daughter has been my biggest inspiration. I have always undertaken challenges and she knows my passion for driving on tough roads throughout the country. I usually prefer driving to different parts of the country even for business trips.”
