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Member Interview – From Germany to India by car with Mathias Vatterodt

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to leave everything, hop in a car and travel for about one year and 56,000 kilometres? That’s exactly what Mathias Vatterodt – member of the Travel Massive Berlin chapter – did.

Mathias has been a passionate traveler since he was just eleven years old. He spent over two years living in Latin America, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Brazil. After working in Berlin for some years, he started his biggest journey. From Germany to India and back. By car.

In this Q&A, Mathias shares the highlights of his journey, as well as some tourism industry insights he has learned from the countries he visited.

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How did you decide to take on a car journey all the way from Germany to India?

I always wanted to travel to India. One cold winter day, I was standing in my room in front of my world map and I asked myself whether it is possible to travel by road in a car to India.

It started as a stupid idea but it came to life. Soon after I bought a second hand off-road car, modified it to a light camper jeep and started my journey from Germany to India.

What were the highlights of your trip?

The trip was full of highlights.

Surviving the military coup in Istanbul. Driving crazy off-road tracks in Georgia. Enjoying the hospitality of Iran. Seeing traces of the silk road between the Pamir and the Hindukush. Parking in front of Mount Everest. Reaching India and see it with different eyes. Being overwhelmed by the Karakorum in Pakistan.

The best moment was the pilgrimage around the holy mountain Kailash in Tibet.

The feeling can be hardly described when standing on the highest point on 5,634m altitude. It was magical!

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You’ve been to many countries in the world. What are the main challenges tourism faces nowadays?

If you ask people for their hobbies, traveling is the most common answer. Everyone loves to travel and many people value experiences more than having a nice car or a house.

But many people also travel just to show off, they pose for nice pictures that are on their bucket list. They don’t care about the history of the country, don’t respect the local culture. Many tourists want to have the same experiences abroad as they have at home.

When you look to Thailand or Indonesia, what does mass tourism leave for their culture?

It has been slowly destroyed by the tourist. We need more responsibility, more eco-friendly forms of tourism.

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How can travelers be more responsible?

Travelers can, for instance, read something about the countries they go. Study the culture and try to follow the traditional rules. Try to speak with the people and also share the good things from our culture without teaching the locals that we are better. Eat from the locals instead of in restaurants made for tourists.

Support eco-friendly tourism and small companies.

Go with open eyes through the different countries and see the journey as a big life lesson.

Where can people find out more about your trip?

I wrote about my adventures on my blog (www.alongwideroads.com). The articles are in German and in English. I am also about to finish a book of the journey to India which will be published in March 2019 (in German).

I am organizing presentations about different countries across Germany. I am also about to create a regular event format in Berlin where people can share their special travel stories.

During the journey to India, I shared one picture every day on my Instagram account. It is very interesting to see how the world changes when traveling by road instead of jumping in the plane to your next destination.

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Follow Mathias’ journeys on his Facebook page The Long Way. You can also connect with Mathias on Travel Massive. 


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