The Journey

Don’t ask me how long it is because I haven’t got a clue. At a guess I’d say about 20,000 miles give or take the odd thousand or so.

Okay, so I’m now in Australia heading to the very top, to Darwin, when I get there I shall put Dot Cotton on a boat and watch her sail to East Timor while I jump on a plane and fly. When or if we’re reunitied we shall voyage across the Indonesian islands until we get to a point – which one I’m not sure yet – where we’ll cross over to Singapore. From there north, through Malaysia and in to Thailand, maybe Cambodia and Laos if there’s time.

Eventually though we’ll end up in Bangkok. It’s here where I hope to sort out my visas for Iran, Pakistan and India before loading me and Dot on a plane and flying over Burma – the military state won’t let you ride through there – until we land on the other side in Kathmandu, Nepal.

From there south into India where I shall eat many a poppadom and mango chutney before building up the balls to make the crossing in to Pakistan. The most ‘difficult’ of all the countries I have to go through, apparently you get armed escorts along the way. I won’t sight-see, just ride pretty swiftly given the recent tensions until we cross the border in to Iran.

Apparently this i’s a great country, very hospitable and friendly with none of the mass murderers the media like to convince us there is over there. After a couple of weeks traversing west it’s in to Turkey, where the plan is to head to the south west corner to catch a boat to Italy.

All that’s left then is to cross Europe, swim the Channel and we’re home in time for tea sometime early July, or when the money runs out.

UPDATE;

Mmmm, well that didn’t exactly go to plan. Basically Iran wouldn’t let us in, they said ‘we don’t like the English very much, so won’t be giving you a visa.’ Or something like that. Which has meant we’ve had to go up and over Afghanistan rather than dip below it. So from India we went west to Pakistan as planned. Pakistan was great by the way. And then north, up the Karokum Highway to China. There we met with a guide I had to have what with being on a foreign motorbike, who escorted me in a week to Kygryzstan.

That’s where I am, desperately plotting the fastest course home. From here that then means north in to Kazakhstan, Borat’s home, then west through Russia, Ukraine and finally Europe. So quite a drastic change of plan but that’s the reality of a trip like this. You never do know which way the wind will blow you.