From Nile to Israel: How a chaiwallah and his wife travelled to 16 countries

A 65-year-old chaiwallah in Kerala, Vijayan’s, only source of income for the past 40 years has been his nondescript tea shop in Kochi. However this has not stopped him and his wife from travelling all over the world. From cruising along the Nile, vacationing in Israel to exploring the sand dunes of  the emirates he has managed to fund his passion and has notched up his tally to about 16 countries so far. [caption id=“attachment_1824797” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Screen grab: Being Indian Facebook page[/caption] Every time he decides to go a foreign destination, he takes a loan from the bank. Once back, he spends the next three years repaying the debt. His wife Mohana told thenewsminute.com,  “I was really excited when we first travelled abroad. Belonging to a very poor family, I never dreamt of a life like this. Later along with him I too became obsessed with the journeys. Switzerland is my favorite among the places we visited”, she says.  Switzerland may have been her favourite but she was completely stunned when she saw the statue of Jesus in Israel and she was mesmerised by it completely. Vijayan follows a very simple money saving strategy, “I save rupees 300 a day for our tickets and spend just 10 dollars or less on picking up some tiny souvenirs from the places of visit. We don’t spend anything more.” However his dream destination, the United States of America still needs to be struck off his list.  He has recently been facing a lot of difficulties in trying to get a loan for his next trip. But he refuses to  be disheartened. “Once I was completely stuck without money, then one of my old acquaintances who resides in South Africa offered me stay and food there. Then I somehow managed the ticket fare and visited the country. So am sure that somehow I will be able to visit the US”, he said. However, he refuses to travel without his wife.  “I can’t travel without her, I will be happy only when she is around”.