The Moodie Davitt ‘Roarport’: Goodbye China, hello Kyrgyzstan as epic journey passes halfway

CHINA After an incredible 14 days in China, Wild Tiger co-pilots Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam are roaring ahead on the next phase of their journey towards Cannes, in their epic journey to support tiger conservation.With 15,000km behind them – and a journey which has taken them 4,000m above sea level, through the Qilian mountain range, into long 18km tunnels, and has included five days driving through the Gobi Desert – the Roar Crew stopped at the ancient city of Kashgar.On social media Paul George noted: “Interesting that we have driven so far for so many days and finally arrived at a destination that’s only 200 km away from Kashmir.”Kashghar, which is also known as Kashi, is located near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The Moodie Davitt Roarport The Moodie Davitt Report is providing exclusive daily coverage of Wild Tiger’s Roar Trip, one of travel retail’s boldest CSR initiatives, via our special line extension, The Moodie Davitt Roarport. Via phone and social media, we’ll be with Gautom Menon and Paul George Vedanayagam on every stretch of their epic 65-day road trip from Kerala to Cannes and be there to greet them on the French Riviera when they arrive on the eve of the TFWA World Exhibition. We are unlikely to be alone. More news on that coming soon. Duty free retailers: If you’d like to meet Gautom and Paul along the way (see their destination course below) let us know at Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com

According to the Lonely Planet, the city is “locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Beijing” and has been the epicentre of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia.

Modernisation has brought with it many changes to Kashi, which once boasted a bustling Old City. Only a small section remains today but its spirit lives on through local craftsmen and artisans; its bazaars remain boisterous and donkey carts still ply their way through narrow alleyways.

Hello Kashgar and goodbye China: The Wild Tiger make their final stop in an epic 14-day journey across China

The Wild Tiger co-pilots noted that they have been on the road 37 days, driving 15,000km through five countries.
“The next 10,000km will have us go through 20 new countries,” they said. “We have officially completed the majority of our journey and it’s been nothing but a blast!”

The Great Wall of China, the Gobi Desert (below) and beyond: And so the Wild Tiger journey continues through mountains and tunnels…

And their next destination? Well, now the trusty ‘TRiger’ Tata Hexa is roaring towards new adventures in Kyrgyzstan, a country known for its natural beauty and hospitality.

You may ask how Gautom and Henry Paul are managing to keep up their reports and postings on social media from some of the remote places they have been through. This is thanks to Skyroam, which is supporting the Wild Tiger mission through its Skyroam Solis which keeps the drivers connected to the internet everywhere. The palm-sized portable device offers “superfast” Wi-Fi and power charging in over 130 countries.

Gautom is well-known in the travel retail industry for his Wild Tiger rum… and also for his thick, Wild Tiger ‘mane’. That was getting out of control towards the end of August. However, a quick pit stop and both T1 (Gautom) and T2 (Paul George) are smoothly groomed once more (below).

HOW TO SUPPORT THE WILD TIGER ROARTRIP

Via the official website – www.roartrip.in

Or :

Account Name: Roar Trip WTF

Account No: 6766903189

Bank Name: Indian Bank

Branch: Sivananda Colony Branch, Coimbatore – 641 012,

Tamil Nadu, India

IFS Code : IDIB000S075 /SWIFT: IDIBINBBCBE

Please encourage your colleagues, friends and family to consider doing so.

En route to Cannes, the daring duo will be meeting up with other travel retailers. Those wishing to ‘meet and greet’ them are encouraged to make contact. Yes, Gautom will be checking his email: gautom@wildtiger.in

ABOUT WILD TIGER RUM: Kerala-based Wild Tiger is India’s first rum to be produced from a blend of molasses and cane spirit. The rum’s velvet tiger print stripe packaging reflects the fact that no two tigers share the same stripe pattern – so the stripe design of the sleeve has been designed and cut to ensure that no two bottles are alike.Wild Tiger made its Indian travel retail debut in February 2016 and is now available in 53 countries.

ABOUT WILD TIGER FOUNDATION (WTF): Wild Tiger Foundation is a CSR initiative by Wild Tiger Rum, which contributes 10% of its profits to the cause. It is a registered non-profit organisation headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India that focuses on the conservation of the tiger and its habitat by raising funds and creating awareness. It was founded in 2015 by drinks entrepreneur Gautom Menon and Coimbatore-based businessman Suprej Venkat.

The primary focus is the conservation of tigers and their habitats within the state of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, specifically Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Wild Tiger Foundation acts as an influencer and an enabler. India had around 100,000 tigers in the mid-19th century. Today it has around 2,200, underlining the urgency of the conservation cause.