Bitten by the travel bug

He is an artist, art curator, agriculturist and traveller. Vinod George, a native of Koothattukulam, spends his time indulging in any of these activities. He has no regrets about quitting his job seven years ago to redesign his life like this. He does farming in the land close to his home to meet his daily expenses. And when wanderlust in him pops up, he takes his bike and goes for a trip.

His passion for travelling didn’t sprout overnight. It has been with him since childhood. “My father’s brother was in the army. His postings were in the north. When I was in high school, I would go there alone during summer vacation. My family would drop me at the railway station.  That was the beginning,” recalls Vinod.

His passion grew with him. In college, he started going for small rides on the bike. Meanwhile, although he did a course in business management, he turned to art later. “I started working as a graphic designer in Bengaluru, Malaysia, Chennai and Singapore. But, I was uncomfortable with the life in cubicles and eventually quit my job. I went straight to Nagaland after leaving the office instead of coming home,” he smiles.

He did a few small rides after that. “The extensive ride was in 2014. It was an all-India ride in 85 days. “The trip began from Koothattukulam and crossing states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab, finally reached Leh. I stayed in Srinagar for some days and took a route on the other side of the country (outside the country too) for the return journey. I took the Himachal-Bhutan-North East-Calcutta route,” says Vinod.

“I prefer staying in tents during the trip. In cities, I usually stay in dargahs and gurudwaras.” During his pan-India journey, he crossed Srinagar during the flood time. “I was unaware of that. It was from the Army personnel on the India-China border, with whom I stayed for a few days, I came to know about the situation. I couldn’t reach my family over the phone. And, they got panicked. Also, in Bhutan, I stayed inside a cave in a valley at night. It was freezing. That was quite an experience,” says Vinod, who is now travelling to Manipur on his bike to attend the Forest Conservation programme there.

He tries to explore the culture and art of each place during journeys. After the Manipur trip, Vinod is planning to do a bicycle ride through five countries — Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.