Epic Journeys

When I started this blog thingy, I noticed the link at the top of the page which said next blob. I followed it a couple of times, in the interest of knowing the neighbours. One of the first I came across, and I've been following it since, is Annie's European Bike Adventure. To summarise, she's cycling from London to Istanbul. As if that isn't enough of a challenge, south eastern Europe is currently in the grips of a massive heatwave with temperatures of 40C+. Seems to be an interesting (and exhausting way) to see the vast differences in countries and people across Europe.

Last weekend I met a guy with a somewhat similar journey in mind. He's planning on driving from Dublin to Bangkok. He said that some years ago he bought an old Mercedes for £100 (€127 in new money) and just recently he's started doing it up. The logistics of such a journey are quite large. From visa restrictions, customs (some countries don't want people bringing in cars), to security. He still doesn't know to go through Pakistan or to go via the middle east - if he can get permission to drive through Saudi.

It's a huge journey, but he's got a lot of advice from some guys that drove from Dublin to Sydney, in an old BMW. The car started first time, every time in temperatures from -40C to +40C. Something the owner afterwards advertised for BMW.

He's considered taking the easy way out, and taking the bus. Yes. The bus. There's a bus that goes from London to Sydney. (If you want to go check this out.)

In the sense of adventure and exploration, I'd love to do any of these trips, but I don't think I'd manage the return journey.