One often hears and to an extent, believes that having money is really important if you want to live your dreams, especially if they are as expensive as travelling the world. I wouldn’t have thought otherwise if I hadn’t seen this small documentary on YouTube.
A small tea-stall owners from Kerala, Vijayan and his wife Mohana have travelled 17 countries so far, and he is not yet done. They have rather humble lifestyle and only source of income is from this small tea-stall that sells few snacks for under ₹ 25 (less than 0.5 USD). He saves some money, borrows from bank and then travels to the destinations that he desires. He repays his loans when he returns over the 2-3 years.
This is what he says:
“I want to see the world. That is my desire. My only desire!”
“If I worry about all this (money/debts), I will be never able to take a day off from work, till the day I die. If money is our only concern, we will not be able to do anything.”
“We have only one lifetime to do everything. You cannot create extra time for it!”
~ Vijayan (Kerala, India)
When I saw this documentary, two things stood out immediately:
- His genuine passion to see the world, to travel.
- His gratitude, when he says: “God has blessed me with more than what I deserved, dreamt of, or wished for.”
I think what pushes Vijayan to work hard and save whatever he can from his meagre earning is his burning desire to travel to the next country in his list. Interestingly, his wife had not travelled much before they got married and now she is also travelling the world with him. It’s heartening to see her joining his journey, his dream wholeheartedly!
For all those of us who believe money is essential for this passion called world-travel, Vijayan, a humble tea-seller from Kerala exemplifies how your own dream can fuel you to fulfil itself.
Here is the complete documentary filmed by Hari M Mohanan:
Though the spoken language of the documentary is Malyalam, the English subtitles are available for the documentary.
Update: 13 Feb 2019
Vijayan and his wife Mohana’s traveling story was recently covered by famous traveller Drew Binsky (Instagram: @drewbinsky) who is travelling the world and making daily videos.
When I wrote about them on MyZenPath in 2015, they had travelled 17 countries, the count is 23 now. Wonderful to see how they keep following their dream in their 70’s.
Update: 19 Nov 2021
As the news says, he expired due to heart attac today on Nov 19, 2021.
K.R. Vijayan, 71, who made his journeys with his wife Mohana around the world as newsworthy as the couple made their tea a magnet for many in Kochi, died on Friday, following a heart attack.
….For a change, on their trip to Russia which turned out to be their last one together, the couple was accompanied by their two daughters and their families.
~ Excerpt from Gulf News
All the images used in this article are screenshots from the documentary.
K.R. Vijayan, 71, who made his journeys with his wife Mohana around the world as newsworthy as the couple made their tea a magnet for many in Kochi, died on Friday (19 Nov 2021), following a heart attack.
News: https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/india-kerala-tea-seller-renowned-for-touring-the-world-with-wife-dies-of-heart-attack-1.83810316