Routes
Ach, I make for a bad blogger I do. Even with all that's going or, or not as the case may be, I can't even squeeze out a few words!
Well, tempus fugit and the last day of work is now just some twelve weeks hence. It's got to the point now where I, and many others I believe, just want it to bloody well end. Give us the money, good luck with your projects, bye bye. Alas, got to sit through the next few weeks. Unfortunately my usual winter malaise has sunken in, whereby I feel incapable of doing anything constructive outside of daylight hours. Shame as there is a lot to be done, mostly involving getting the house together. Still, got a slight leeway there now as I'm looking at a mid April date for departure, rather than some mad dash starting the day after I get made redundant: relax Bill, you've got plenty of time now! More than one might think...
The route should be Manchester - Stafford to hook up with Tom, Doc, John et al. Thence to the West Midlands (possible meet up with the ~Union~ crew), Bristol (Jon Ron and Shirley), Somerset (Kath and Stu, if they're not in Marrakesh), thence Portsmouth for a couple of days diving with the Sony Ericsson scuba chaps before hopping on a ferry for France. I've then mapped a basic route from Le Havre to Istanbul (via Paris to visit Anne and Olivier, if they're in) on Google Maps. If you do follow it you'll note it gets increasingly less detailed after Vienna (Wien). I got to the point where I realised it was getting a bit too bleedin' involved! Hey, I'll have maps. I'll ask people!
After Istanbul the plan is even more hazy, deliberately so to allow for flexibility in view of the weather. I'll be hitting Turkey at the start of the summer months and I strongly suspect I'll bake... but then again I should be acclimatised! So I might end up scooting along the Black Sea where it will, hopefully, be a bit cooler, plough across the central Anatolian planes or drop down the (hilly) Mediterranean coast where I can get a few days diving in? Ah, choices, choices! After Turkey it's a question of killing time before hitting Iran, again because of the climate: I'm not sure that cycling through desert in 45 to 50 degrees C is the best of ideas. So up to Georgia, wars depending, down to Armenia and then Iran is the plan at the moment, but this is where the flexibility comes in.
The last leg of the journey that requires a hell of a lot of flexibility is the stretch from Iran to Quetta in Pakistan. This area, Baluchistan, also borders Afghanistan and has a reputation as being somewhat unstable. Might have to either get a bus or train (there's a train twice a month) to get through that region quickly, or even fly if it sounds too dangerous. Finally, it should be down from Quetta through the Bolan Pass, up to Lahore, through the Wagah border crossing and into India. After which it might be time for a bit of break...
Well, tempus fugit and the last day of work is now just some twelve weeks hence. It's got to the point now where I, and many others I believe, just want it to bloody well end. Give us the money, good luck with your projects, bye bye. Alas, got to sit through the next few weeks. Unfortunately my usual winter malaise has sunken in, whereby I feel incapable of doing anything constructive outside of daylight hours. Shame as there is a lot to be done, mostly involving getting the house together. Still, got a slight leeway there now as I'm looking at a mid April date for departure, rather than some mad dash starting the day after I get made redundant: relax Bill, you've got plenty of time now! More than one might think...
The route should be Manchester - Stafford to hook up with Tom, Doc, John et al. Thence to the West Midlands (possible meet up with the ~Union~ crew), Bristol (Jon Ron and Shirley), Somerset (Kath and Stu, if they're not in Marrakesh), thence Portsmouth for a couple of days diving with the Sony Ericsson scuba chaps before hopping on a ferry for France. I've then mapped a basic route from Le Havre to Istanbul (via Paris to visit Anne and Olivier, if they're in) on Google Maps. If you do follow it you'll note it gets increasingly less detailed after Vienna (Wien). I got to the point where I realised it was getting a bit too bleedin' involved! Hey, I'll have maps. I'll ask people!
After Istanbul the plan is even more hazy, deliberately so to allow for flexibility in view of the weather. I'll be hitting Turkey at the start of the summer months and I strongly suspect I'll bake... but then again I should be acclimatised! So I might end up scooting along the Black Sea where it will, hopefully, be a bit cooler, plough across the central Anatolian planes or drop down the (hilly) Mediterranean coast where I can get a few days diving in? Ah, choices, choices! After Turkey it's a question of killing time before hitting Iran, again because of the climate: I'm not sure that cycling through desert in 45 to 50 degrees C is the best of ideas. So up to Georgia, wars depending, down to Armenia and then Iran is the plan at the moment, but this is where the flexibility comes in.
The last leg of the journey that requires a hell of a lot of flexibility is the stretch from Iran to Quetta in Pakistan. This area, Baluchistan, also borders Afghanistan and has a reputation as being somewhat unstable. Might have to either get a bus or train (there's a train twice a month) to get through that region quickly, or even fly if it sounds too dangerous. Finally, it should be down from Quetta through the Bolan Pass, up to Lahore, through the Wagah border crossing and into India. After which it might be time for a bit of break...
posted by Bill at 10:29 am
2 comments
