Automobile/travel enthusiast and digital content creator Emil George says he did not research too much when he embarked on a road trip that covered 28 States and six Union Territories, which comprises mainland India. It came with its surprises and rude shocks too. “We landed in Tripura at night, little realising there was a night curfew in the State. We were suddenly surrounded by cops asking us why we were out so late. Apparently, robberies are common during the night. We spent the whole night in the car waiting at their camp for daybreak!” says Emil, the India Book of Records for the Fastest Solo Car Expedition across the mainland of India record holder.
As part of his ‘Discover India’ trip, he traversed 19,426 kilometres in 97 days, setting out on September 20, 2022, and returning to Kochi on December. 26, 2022 He was awarded the certificate in late-April this year.
The experience in Tripura was one of the many he collected as he drove through the country. “I drove all the way, I had a friend who was there to give me company,” he clarifies. The intention of the drive was not a record, “it was only after a friend suggested that I apply for one, I realised I may have set a record!” As a digital creator of travel-based content, since 2018-19, he is not new to driving long distances. He once went more than 1,000 kilometres from Patna to Meerut, on the Purvanchal Expressway over 20-odd hours, “driving gives me immeasurable happiness” says the 35 year-old.
