Kerala Couple Who Traveled The World With Income From Tea Shop Set To Visit Their 26th Country
While a lot of us dream of traveling the world, it is often seen as a privilege of the rich who can afford to pay for it.
But an elderly couple from Kerala, whose meager income is from a small tea shop has proven with their life that this is a myth and if you really dream about travelling the world, nothing can stop you.
The couple, 71-year-old KR Vijayan and his 69-year-old wife Mohana who runs a small tea stall in Kochi have so far visited 25 countries and are all set for their next trip.
All these with the savings they have made from the income from their 'Sree Balaji Coffee House' which they started 27 years ago.
How it started
It all began in 2007 when they realised that they have saved enough money to travel the world.
So, for their first visit outside India, Vijayan and Mohana went to Israel.
Since then the couple has been to Britain, France, Austria, Egypt, UAE, the US and more.
As the news about their inspirational journey spread, in 2019, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra even offered to sponsor them a trip.
In December 2019, the couple went to Australia and New Zealand, which was their last foreign trip before the pandemic brought international travel to a standstill.
But as the world is slowly emerging out of the COVID-19 crisis, the couple is also packing their bags.
Next stop, Russia
On October 21, the couple will embark on their next foreign tour - this time to Russia, where they also hope to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The couple travels with travel agencies to help them as they have only a basic understanding of English.
"We read that the tourist destinations were opened after the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel agent called me and informed me that the next trip will be to Russia, I said please add our names first to the names of those going on that tour. The trip will start on October 21 and will end on October 28," Vijayan told ANI.
He further said that his grandchildren will also accompany the couple on the trip.
"Russia is a place I wish to go. We have had so much difficulty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the time has come to travel again," said Mohana.
According to Vijayan, it was his father's visits to temple towns across India in his childhood that introduced him to the world.
However, as the burden of taking care of the family fell on his shoulders at a young age, the passion took a backseat.
It was only some 15 years ago, Vijayan decided that it is time to reignite his passion and see the world.
Saving Rs 300 to travel
When asked about how they managed to fund all their travel, Vijayan said the couple was saving Rs 300 every day from their income. They also take some loans to meet the travel expenses, which they repay after completing the trip.
