Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, brought the curtain down on the first edition of the ‘India Myanmar Thailand’ Expedition held under the Mahindra Adventure umbrella brand in Guwahati.
The 20 vehicles that formed the Mahindra convoy consisting of the Mahindra Scorpio, the XUV500 and the Scorpio Getaway rolled into the Assamese capital, marking the end of an expedition that took them all the way to Thailand via Myanmar and back over 28 exhilarating days on the road. The drive was gruelling, pushing both man and machine to their limits as they wound their way over a total distance of 6000 km, making for a truly memorable once-in-a-lifetime experience for the participants.
The expedition was flagged off from Guwahati on November 24th 2017. The convoy first drove to Imphal, before crossing over into Myanmar at the Moreh border. In Myanmar, the expedition drove through the historic city of Mandalay, followed by Bagan and Yangon, with the rising pagodas, splendid vistas and exotic local cuisine providing a breath taking setting for the journey.The convoy then crossed over into Thailand where participants immersed themselves in the vibrant street life, marveled at the country’s ancient monuments and relaxed on its pristine beaches, as they steadily made their way towards the capital, Bangkok.
The expedition’s arrival in Bangkok marked the end of its opening leg as it turned back towards home. The entire expedition was a potpourri of historic border crossings and days of relaxation in some exotic locales. Driving across international borders while experiencing the rich cultural and ethnic diversity left the participants asking for more.
According to Veejay Nakra, Chief of Sales & Marketing, Auto Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., "We make tough machines but ardently believe that the human spirit is tougher and indomitable if spurred to its true potential. This exhilarating journey was an opportunity for adventure seekers to unleash their potential by finding adventure, becoming one with nature and pushing themselves to their limits. It isn’t merely a journey but a triumph over the challenges of the unknown.”
Apart from the adrenaline rush, the participants experienced the rich local culture at Kisama village, paid their respects to the brave hearts in Kohima’s war cemetery and visited the 18th century wooden monastery at Nat Tuang Kyuang. They also paid a visit to the tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, and stepped back in time as they wandered the once-majestic ruins of Sukho Thai.
About Mahindra Adventure
A unique concept to showcase the tough and rugged DNA of Mahindra vehicles, Mahindra Adventure functions as an umbrella brand with a series of self-drive overland adventure expeditions organized under its banner.
Mahindra Adventure was launched in 2011 as an independent entity for all adventurous activities and is headed by Bijoy Kumar Y who is Chief of Adventure Initiatives. He is a motoring enthusiast and the erstwhile editor of a popular motoring magazine.
The Mahindra Adventure calendar comprises a series of experiential marketing events throughout the year such as the popular off-roading event, the Great Escape, several Challenges (sportining events in keeping with the company’s promise of providing adrenaline pumping challenges), Multi-Day Special Escapes, such as the Monastery Escape (10 days), Royal Escape (6 days), Authentic Bhutan ( 6 days), Himalayan Spiti Escape (10 days), Authentic Myanmar Thailand (12 days) & Authentic North East Escape (Meghalaya, Assam & Arunachal Pradesh- 10 days).
To spread the DNA of off-roading, the Mahindra Adventure team has also recently launched the Mahindra Adventure Off-Road Training Academy in Igatpuri to encourage off-roading amongst the adventure seekers.
Mahindra Adventure Off-road Training Academy is a 28-acre facility and India’s first dedicated facility providing a one stop solution to learning everything about a Mahindra 4WD vehicle and how to use it to its full potential. Through this, we hope to leverage the brand’s off-road heritage, showcase the vehicle’s abilities and give the participants the confidence to explore the limits of their vehicles. Custom-made Mahindra Thars equipped with radio sets are exclusively used as training vehicles at the facility.
Team Mahindra Adventure’s has also been blazing the motorsport arena with their rally-prepared– Super XUV500, since its inception. Mahindra’s cheetah inspired XUV500 won the team championship at the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2016.
For more details on Mahindra Adventure, you can visit http://mahindraadventure.com/
About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group is a USD 19 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defense and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 200,000 people across 100 countries.
Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise