Tourism message on their lips, she-bikers cover 17,000 km

After vrooming through six South Asian countries to promote Telangana tourism, four women bikers of the State rode into the city on Sunday to celebrate the completion of their 17,000-km journey.

Over almost two months, the foursome covered several parts of India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Addressing a gathering, which included students of State sports school, Hakkimpet, the team — Jai Bharathi, Shanthi, Shilpa Balakrishnan and Piya Bahadur, — labelled the trip as the ‘best adventure of their lives’.

Two-month adventure

The journey had been flagged off at Paryatak Bhavan on February 11.

Their first international border crossing was on February 25 as they entered Myanmar after crossing Manipur. In India, the women bikers journeyed through Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.

During the trip, the women held media conferences in each of the cities they halted at to speak about Telangana tourism.

The team focused on explaining Buddhist history of Telangana as they travelled across South Asian countries where the religion was popular.

“We interacted with local people in each of the countries who welcomed us with open arms,” Ms. Bharathi said. Despite being an all-women group, the riders seldom faced trouble, they admitted.

The team was accompanied by a four-member production crew from Raasta Films that documented the trip. Telangana tourism had also provided a mini couch with two drivers to accompany the riders.

Road of challenges

The bikers, who reached Hyderabad at 6 p.m. on Sunday, said they often rode for hours together without a break. “There were times when we finished the ride for the day at 1 a.m. There were also days when we started riding at 3 am. In between, we rested at petrol pumps and even slept there at night,” Ms. Shanthi said during the felicitation event.

Videos of the trip were screened during the event. Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Bharathi advised women to go on group trips to rejuvenate themselves. “All of us are in our thirties and we found comfort and happiness in each other’s company. Women should take adventure or leisure trips together,” she explained.

Students,who had gathered at Paryatak Bhavan, jostled for selfies with the team. Managing Director of Telangana Tourism B. Manohar also felicitated the women riders.