Las Vegas Review-Journal - Drive

When the novice road adventurers shut down their British-registered -- and virtually stock -- 2005 Jeep Liberty, they didn't smash any world records or score a breaking news segment on CNN. The streets were not rife with cheering masses and there was no ticker tape parade past India Gate. No one handed them a trophy for their efforts either.

But the affable couple, born in India and educated and employed in England, had done what they said they would do by living up to their personal commitment. Even though their seven-week road trip into the unknown was not paved with corporate sponsorship and Tushar and Pooja have not become household names, they managed to pull off a motoring event many might dream of, few would consider but hardly anyone would attempt.

"All I can say is we couldn't believe the car that we drove in London was with us in Delhi." Pooja wrote. "It took us a while to realize that the Jeep, Tushar and I had arrived in Delhi in one piece.

When I started to follow Tushar and Pooja Agarwal's epic road adventure through their website, www.LondonDelhi ByRoad.com, I was apprehensive about their safety but at the same time riveted to the updates and curious about the outcome.

After all, there were many parallels to a road trip my partner Ken Langley and I strapped on at their age when we attempted to secure a spot in the 1980 Guinness Book of Records for the quickest circumnavigation of the world by car.

In reflection, who knows if that extravaganza was worth the diversion in my life and career path, but that road adventure has influenced everything I've done professionally for the past 30 years.

Like Ken and I, Tushar and Pooja quit secure jobs, spent a year or so planning, then let their enthusiasm fuel a plan to take a trip through Europe, the former Soviet Union, China and Nepal. When, in the midst of a global economic meltdown, the computer-network specialist and insurance broker were unable to secure corporate sponsorship, they bought a used Jeep, did plenty of budget revisions then hit the road from London on April 17.

First they aligned themselves with Friendicoes SECA (www.friendicoes.org), an India-based animal charity operating in the city of Delhi. By the time their drive was over, they had raised $6,000 for the registered nonprofit operation that has been feeding, medicating and providing care for up to 1,000 animals at any given time since 1979.

The voyage, which took in Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (and the other 'stans), China, Tibet and Nepal was an exercise in determination, negotiation, good planning and obviously a healthy serving of good luck.

"The scariest part was definitely the night in Aksai Chin region of Tibet where Pooja fell ill," Tushar wrote from Delhi before shipping the Jeep back to London.

"We were at an altitude of 5,200 meters (about 16,000 feet) and at midnight Pooja complained of short breath. We motored through the night in one of the remotest and the highest parts of Tibet with no one in sight and an oxygen mask on Pooja's mouth."

For the couple, Nepal, was their entry back into civilization. After the isolation of Tibet, the gravel tracks, extreme altitudes, unhygienic conditions and altitude sickness, the remote land-locked country was a welcome change.

In Nepal, they were back on the left-hand side of the road, which took a bit of getting used to as most of the journey had been on the right side of the road.

After a day's rest in Kathmandu, the drive to the Indian border was an emotional one.

"From a distance, we saw the Indian flag and my heart skipped a beat," Tushar recalled. "I drove faster and as we reached the barrier, I stopped the car and admired the uniforms of the Indian border guards. My heart was beating faster. I was getting emotional looking at India behind that barrier facing a huge sign that said, 'Welcome to India.' "

With a bit of rest under their belts, the intrepid duo is already looking ahead. They have plans to write a book on their experience and have another dream: to drive around all the seven continents of the world.

No doubt, Tushar and Pooja AgarwaI have caught the road-trip bug, big time. And I can't help but wonder, if after 30 years, like myself, they will still be juggling a life of the road, cars, travel and the folks out there on the endless highway.

Garry Sowerby, author of "Sowerby's Road: Adventures of a Driven Mind," is a four-time Guinness World Record holder for long-distance driving. His exploits, good, bad and just plain harrowing, are the subject of World Odyssey, produced in conjunction with Wheelbase Media. You can send Garry a note online at www.wheelbase.ws/media using the contact link. Wheelbase Media is a worldwide provider of automotive news and features stories.