Bold Journey: The High Road to Delhi

Duration: 12:00

Year Published: 1957

Creator: American Broadcasting Company

Complete Record: A young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Van Mourick drive from Germany to Delhi India, and document their experience and travels. They embark from Germany, then go on the French Riviera and into Italy and Yugoslavia. In Zagreb they watch a film, ‘communist style,’ that is outdoors and projected onto a screen draped over a building. They notice that manufactured goods there are more expensive there. They drive into San Marino, then get onto a boat bound for Athens, Greece. They see the sights there, then drive over the Greek countryside, much of it off road, as they were still under construction. They pass Mt. Olympus, and bunkers at the Turkish border on their way to Istanbul. They go to the blue mosque get on a ferry to cross the Bosporus. They talk to local people and take pictures before going by the Tarsus mountains where they see ruins left by the Crusaders. Syria is next, and people there do not want their pictures taken. They get to Jerusalem and see the old city before heading to Baghdad. The road from there is nearly all dirt, and they pass large herds of camels on the way. They run out of hotels and have to sleep in the car at this point in the journey. It takes two weeks to get to Iran and limited gas. They see how vast the desert is, and finally got back to pavement once they entered Pakistan. They go through the country to get to India, seeing large bats on the way. They get to India in the monsoon season, and they get stuck in the mud and have villagers in an ox cart help them out. They arrive in a smallish town and document the life there including missionaries and farmers. They show the villagers a tape recorder, and the villagers are so excited about it they decide to record a traditional song specific to that village. They drive to Jaipur and see palaces and elephants, showing detailed shots of statues, carvings on doors and the interiors of the buildings. They make it to Delhi right in time for a type of worlds fair, and they see Ravi Shankar play sitar and traditional dancing. Many important world figures visit, including a king of Saudia Arabia. They discuss an encounter they had with bandits, which turned into a large brawl that they did not capture on film apparently, but luckily they were able to make a quick escape.