K.R. Vijayan, who shot into the limelight for his travels around the world with wife Mohana using the savings from their small tea shop, died following a massive heart attack on Friday, just over a fortnight after returning from a Russia trip. He was 71.
He was planning his next trip to Japan while his wish list also included Vietnam and Cambodia.
Tales from tea-seller couple’s journeys
The globetrotting tea-seller couple had visited as many as 26 countries across six continents in the last 14 years, and was featured in the national and international media.
The couple had returned after visiting Russia last month with their children and their families. Their tea shop next to Salim Rajan Road in Kochi is adorned with photos from their many foreign trips. They had also hosted celebrity visitors at their shop.
The couple started travelling with a trip to Egypt in 2007. They initially raised the required funds through bank loans, which they repaid from their daily savings of as little as ₹300 from the tea shop. But, as the number of trips increased, so did the loans.
This globetrotting tea-seller inspires you to chase dreams
However, as their fame spread, they started getting sponsors and they no longer had to pay for their travels. The couple’s trips to Australia, New Zealand and Russia were sponsored.
Mr. Vijayan, who considered life as countless journeys strung together, also had a trip to Singapore lined up to inaugurate the office of a travel agency of which he was the brand ambassador.
Last year, the couple brought out a book titled Chaaya Vittu Vijayanteyum Mohanayudeyum Loka Sancharangal, which loosely translates to ‘The global tours of Vijayan and Mohana by selling tea’.
