They are called the Sushi and Sambar couple on Social Media. Both of them quit their high profile jobs and they both hit the road on January 2016 from Thailand. So far they have been on the road for 7 months, travelling 10 countries with a budget of less than $5 a day.
The thought of going round the world seemed unrealistic initially for two reasons, the cost and secondly Indian passport which makes getting visa to most of the countries really hard. One of the important conditions they had was, the route had to touch Iran and Turkey as those were the two were their favourite countries. That is how they chose the silk route. When they started plugging in the numbers, with their style of travel, cost was not a big hurdle at all which was surprising. They spent more than 55% of our budget as a visa fee, if not it would be much cheaper. That is how they came up with the target of $5 a day. Having said that they still do not compromise on the To DO List. They eat the must eat food, see the must visit places which even the most luxury tourists fail to do at times.
They were practicing in their touring bikes for this trip but they knew in many countries it is going to be impossible to ride because of the time pressure and they had to carry the bikes in truck, train or some other mode of transport which would be expensive. That was when they really thought of folding bikes which can easily fit under the seat of a train or in the trunk of a car. In no time they did research on the best folding bikes that could be used for touring and then came across Brompton which was the best and also the most expensive one. They created a video proposal and the company agreed to provide the bikes
They also keep trying different odd jobs in every country. They worked as a chef in China, raspberry farm in Kyrgyzstan, taught in a school in Laos, did consulting for Iran Municipality, gave lecture in Universities and more. They were even hired as models for a resort advertisement in Kyrgyzstan.
They do not stay in hotels, but instead couch-surf or camp. That way the cost of accommodation is zero. They hardly have any transportation cost as they ride most of the time and hitch-hike. What remains is food which is not much if you stick to the local food and many times the hosts provide it for them.
They make their hosts wear Japanese kimono and Indian lungi and take a picture and give it to them as a thanking gift. At times they cook a meal for them. This way they give part of their culture as a souvenir and it makes them extremely happy and so are we. People are so generous that they just call them and offer food. At times they have so much food with them they donate it.
So far they have travelled Thailand, Lao Vietnam, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey.. "We have had a wonderful experiences right from sleeping in a police station in Vietnam, working on the Raspberry fields, watching the balloons in Cappadocia, camping under the friendship bridge between Thailand and Lao...etc but the best part has been the wonderful people we have been meeting on the road who are so generous and helpful"
Follow their trip on Facebook here