THE CRAZY, PERFECT PAIR
Ayear and a half ago, when Johncy John stumbled across Ebin Ephrem Elavathingal’s profile in a matrimonial site, she had no idea that she was about to enter the most exciting phase of her life. Brought up in Odisha, Johncy surprised her parents who couldn’t understand why she was interested in the profile of an assistant professor in Kerala. “They thought that I’d prefer someone settled abroad, but I had something else in mind,” she smiles.
“Since childhood, our family trips were limited to vacation journeys to our parent’s home and it was my dream to marry someone who loved journeys, so that together we could explore the world,” she adds.
And there, she found Ebin, whose travel photos were splashed all over his social media account. When they met, Ebin realised that he’d found his soulmate. “She is everything I am not. We make a perfect pair,” he says.
Their honeymoon trip was a 21day journey to Goa which cost them just `9,000! “We went by train and took a rental bike to roam around,” recalls Ebin. “Till then, it was mostly solo trips, or with friends. Goa was my annual pilgrimage site and I thought I knew the place like the back of my hand. Being her first time in Goa, Johncy was tired being in the sun for long. So we went looking for greener areas and reached the beautiful Mhadei wildlife sanctuary. It was a stunning place and we had a great time.”
The happy marriage led to more discoveries — lesser-known areas in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. “On weekends, we get on our Avenger 220 and start from Coimbatore to places we can cover in two days. We take turns to ride and are very particular about limiting to 300 km a day. The budget is kept minimum by choosing hostels and off-season spots,” she says.
Their trip photos on social media were quick to garner attention. “There were so many queries, about the place, the facilities, specialties of the places, etc. That was when we thought of making videos.” Thus Trip Jodi was born!
On YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, they soon bagged thousands of followers. “We make videos about bonding, responsible tourism, safe travel, offbeat destinations, etc. The feedback has been very encouraging. Many couples have confessed to us that their relationship has improved after they started backpacking and travelling together,” says the Trip Jodi, adding that the numbers of followers don’t matter. “What matters is that people celebrate their life.”
We make videos about bonding, responsible tourism, safe travel, offbeat destinations… Many couples have confessed to us that their relationship has improved after they started backpacking and travelling together — JOHNCY JOHN