Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur   

Across the world in a motor home

G. Srinivasan

HOME ON WHEELS: Gunilla and Wilfried Gosslau who have been travelling around the world in their motorised custom-built home `Gunwiltruck', in Thanjavur on Sunday. — Photo: M. Srinath

Thanjavur: They have been away from their home in Germany for 10 years now. Gunilla, 61, who is Swedish, and Wilfried Gosslau, 64, whi is German, are on a round-the-world expedition in a motorised, custom-built home named `Gunwiltruck.' They reached here on Sunday after visiting 74 countries.

Mr. Wilfried explained how in 1996 he lost his sight in one of his eyes and was told by doctors he would lose his other eye also soon, irreversibly. So he decided to see the world before he went blind, doing it differently. They sold all their property and gathered up their savings. "We designed the truck with the help of a German-Austrian company and set off from Germany in 1997. We travelled through Europe, the U.S., Africa... "

The truck has a raised roof, which allows for a sleeping loft. As you climb in from one side, there is a drawing area with a table and a sofa. Two steps lead to the bedroom. There is a bathroom. There is a computer and a TV set.

Mr. Wilfried, who is an engineer, said: "We built the truck tall [it is 12 feet high] instead of lengthwise, for the sake of manoeuvrability."

Ms. Gunilla worked as a nurse. The couple have a daughter who lives in Berlin, with whom they remain in touch over the phone and the Internet.

On a philosophical note, Mr. Wilfried said: "There are people who have more problems than I have. I tell them: don't sit and suffer, explore life... Don't think people will help you in this endeavour. You should help yourself."

Ms. Gunilla said: "After travelling for 10 years and seeing the world, I feel how insignificant we are before nature. When we travelled through the desert sands in India, I thought: these sands have been here for millions of years but we will not be... Nature is bigger than man. We felt how water is so vital for life when we travelled in some countries."

What has impressed them most in Tamil Nadu? Huge wind turbines. Germany is a producer of wind turbine equipment. But in places near Kanyakumari we saw giant ones, in clusters. We were amazed."

The couple stays in the truck wherever they go. They cook for themselves. They get permission to park the vehicles in hotels or other places. They entered India from Pakistan through the Wagah border post, passed through Amritsar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Agra, Pune, Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Kanyakumari and Madurai.

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