By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Driving a heavy German Army truck, equipped with a kitchen, refrigerator, bedroom, bathroom and cooling system, a British national has set out on a journey across Europe and Asia to gain first hand experience of diverse cultures and is now in India to see the places his father spoke about when he was part of the British Army.
Sam, 35, accompanied by his wife Becky, 31 and son Isaac, 3, began the journey in April.
“Starting from England, I have covered various countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan and India in the last four and a half months,” Sam told IANS when he was visiting the Rock Garden in Chandigarh.
“My father, Captain Crossley, stayed in Agra in Uttar Pradesh for 20 years when he was part of the British Army. The stories that I heard from him regarding India motivated me to come here. I wanted to experience the rich culture existing in this part of the world,” said Sam.
Sam had bought the four-wheel truck from Germany, costing euro 2,700. The truck weighs 18.2 tonnes and has a fuel capacity of one tonne. The ultra modern truck also has a central heating and cooling system.
“There is an extra wheel and an additional fuel tank in case of any emergency. We also have two motor bikes and one child bike to roam inside the main city,” said Sam.
After covering the two continents, they will be off to Africa.
In India, besides Chandigarh, they have visited Leh, Ladakh, Dharamsala, Shimla, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi.
“Sometime back I had seen a documentary on the Rock Garden and how its curator Nek Chand has metamorphosed waste material into useful and beautiful things. At that very moment I had made up my mind to visit Rock Garden and it is the only reason for our coming here,” said a beaming Becky.
“People are very generous here and always willing to help. We also love the spicy street food available in Chandigarh,” she said.
“Now we are going to Delhi to extend our visas as still there are many places left in India that we want to see. We will go to Uttarakhand next where we will be joined by some of our family members,” said Becky.