Our first steps as youth to learn about India first hand was through an overland expedition to India.
We
left Toronto in October 1965, drove to Montreal where we put our car and all
our gear and luggage onto a ship from the Cunard Line and sailed for
Liverpool. When we landed in Liverpool,
we met a wonderful man who brought us to stay with his family in Oldham. We decided to stay a while and earn some
money and newly-found friends, Roy and Iris hosted us until just before
Christmas. We then drove to Dover and
crossed over by ferry to Calais. We
drove through the south of France, camped out in the Swiss Alps, travelled
through the Italian Alps into Venice and across the north of Italy to Trieste
from where we entered into Yugoslavia and drove along the Adriatic coast. It was in Yugoslavia where we began to have
car trouble and had to leave the car behind and take the trains. We travelled by train through Yugoslavia and
Greece, reaching Istambul, from where we picked up some cars and drove to
Tehran. In Tehran, our group split. Of
the three young men, two headed for India by land separately and one returned
to Toronto. The three young women met
Swamiji and travelled with him from Tehran through the Iranian desert, into
Pakistan to Quetta. It was the time after the 1965 war between India and
Pakistan and there were still land mines around the borders making land travel
unsafe. Some restrictions were still in force on commercial flights but we
managed to get a flight to Calcutta.
We
left Toronto in October 1965, drove to Montreal where we put our car and all
our gear and luggage onto a ship from the Cunard Line and sailed for
Liverpool. When we landed in Liverpool,
we met a wonderful man who brought us to stay with his family in Oldham. We decided to stay a while and earn some
money and newly-found friends, Roy and Iris hosted us until just before
Christmas. We then drove to Dover and
crossed over by ferry to Calais. We
drove through the south of France, camped out in the Swiss Alps, travelled
through the Italian Alps into Venice and across the north of Italy to Trieste
from where we entered into Yugoslavia and drove along the Adriatic coast. It was in Yugoslavia where we began to have
car trouble and had to leave the car behind and take the trains. We travelled by train through Yugoslavia and
Greece, reaching Istambul, from where we picked up some cars and drove to
Tehran. In Tehran, our group split. Of
the three young men, two headed for India by land separately and one returned
to Toronto. The three young women met
Swamiji and travelled with him from Tehran through the Iranian desert, into
Pakistan to Quetta. It was the time after the 1965 war between India and
Pakistan and there were still land mines around the borders making land travel
unsafe. Some restrictions were still in force on commercial flights but we
managed to get a flight to Calcutta. 
