Meenakshi Sai - The Traveler and not a Tourist

Meenakshi Sai is truly a Wonder Woman with an invisible cape. She is a passionate traveler, an entrepreneur, an animal lover, a political figure, a mother, a free soul, all in all, a beautiful person with a golden heart. When I first approached her regarding the blog I was not only amazed by her humbleness but even found inspiration from her various achievements.
She is fascinated with travel and is always ready to explore within and outside India. Meenakshi Sai has done some unbelievable road trips as well as solo trips. With the type of traveling experience she has gathered over the years I wouldn’t be surprised if now she can plan a journey without a map.

Her first overseas road trip was from Imphal (Manipur) to Bangkok (Thailand) This was an organized trip with a group of people where she was the only woman traveler. They were the first ones to travel through the trilateral highway which was built to connect India - Imphal - Thailand. It was definitely an achievement and so at the end of the journey, the entire team was welcomed and felicitated by the top officials of Thailand tourism. Since then she believes that nothing can replace the feeling of a thrilling and adventurous road trip. Which kind of led her to plan an epic road trip from Coimbatore to London.

It was an all-women trip, dedicated to a significant cause, to promote women’s education. The trip was also in honor of India’s 70 years of Independence. The trip was called XPD2470 and It was a 70 days trip in which they covered more than 26000 kilometers while crossing 24 countries. The trip was flagged off at three stages in India by some famous and influential women of India like Kiran Bedi and Najma Heptulla. The vehicle these incredible ladies were driving was also named “Dhanno”.This trip was totally fitting the line, “of the women by the women and for the women”. 

They began their journey from Coimbatore on 26th March 2017 and reached their final destination London on the 5th of June 2017. The vehicle used by them for traveling was a modified Tata Hexa with built-in storage to carry extra fuel. The team was also provided with special hands-on training on vehicle repair and tire changing.

The countries they traveled on this trip are Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and will end at London. It was definitely a journey of a lifetime that did get a lot of attention from the media as well. 

 

There was no stopping for the globetrotter, she planned another historical trip from Coimbatore to St. Petersburg. The XPD Beyond Asia- Trans Siberian 2019, a drive of 20000km which was covered in 52 days. The mission of this trip was to promote the awareness of cervical cancer. A total of 8 people including her brother was also a part of this trip. 

On the 6th of August 2019, they started their drive from Coimbatore and reached their last destination St. Petersburg on 27th September 2019. The team of 8 was divided into two Tata Hexa’s and made it a point to drive 600 km everyday traveling through Nepal, China, and Russia. 

They made their way through the beautiful mountains of Everest and also drove on the longest highway in the world “Trans Siberian Highway” which is 11000km. The journey had its ups and downs but determination was never in shortage.

So when I decided to write about this Iconic traveler, I honestly didn’t know where to start. Her social media pages are filled with travel pictures and posts. With her active travel, she definitely has made friends in every corner of the world. She has also done some solo trips around Canada and Portugal.

I was simply amazed to see that this lady is so much more than just a traveler. She would account for her daily travel with pictures and an elaborate description of the day. She loves to write and gives an insight into the places she visits. Back in childhood, the US was her first overseas trip at the age of 10. She was there for 3 months. It was the most memorable trip for her. Since then, the US became her favorite destination.

Meenakshi Sai is truly an inspiration for every woman who thinks travel is difficult after a certain age. While talking to her she did mention her solo trip to Canada in 2018 and Portugal in 2019. She drove in and around Canada for 17 days. Meeting her friends, making some new friends, exploring the city via a bus tour, relaxing on the Island. Enjoying her drive with some country music, trying out new food, and was also invited by one of the University to give a talk and inspire people around the world.

 

Her road trip in and around the city of Portugal was for 15 days. For the first time, she drove in a Camper Van with two more friends. A new experience of camping in a camper van, cooking meals in the open area, enjoying a local chilled beer, trying the traditional liqueur of the country, relaxing by the beautiful beach, and shopping of some local unique looking ceramic crockeries. 
She has traveled to many such beautiful and gorgeous looking places. Honestly, such kind of travel requires lots of planning. Traveling to different places also brings some challenges along.

It is not easy to plan and pack for the trip. It does take a lot of effort to plan for such kind of travel. And while researching about her I also found out that she is vegetarian, so finding veg meals has been a challenge in the past. One such instance was on XPD Beyond Asia in Russia, where she had to eat tomatoes because she couldn’t find veg food. Making sure of paperwork such as Visa and driver license formality of every country. Mapping out of the entire trip and executing it in order to reach the desired destination at the estimated time. Language is definitely a barrier plus following the traffic law and order of every country while passing. And the challenges are endless. 

But as per Meenakshi Sai, these are the exciting parts that make a journey worth a while. Not to forget the love and affection you receive from the lovely people around the world. And lastly experiencing the beauty of nature at its best. 

Her travel list is endless and we wish her all the best for her future expeditions. It definitely was an honor to know and write about this Iconic Woman. Follow her on Instagram to get your dose of inspiration from her travel posts.