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The Bone Church is roughly an hour outside of Prague to the east, which was great for us since east is the general direction of Mongolia. The caravan now had about five cars, and once we finally reached the Bone Church we found a few other rally cars already parked outside. We paid our minimal sum to get in and then all stopped as our jaws dropped open.

The bone church was erected prior to the black death (plague). As people were dying off at an extremely quick rate the general feeling towards death was altered to be a casual and inevitable occurrence. People started to think about their own deaths and what they wanted done with their bodies. Its all a bit morbid, really. Cemeteries were filling up quickly and there simply wasn’t room or time to deal with everyone. People paid to have their bodies kept in crypts under the churches, essentially mass graves in dark cellars.

Long after the actual plague ended, a private family bought the church and discovered the crypt full of human bones. They hired a designer and allowed him to renovate the church using human bones as decoration. From the center of the room dangles a chandelier that the artist boasts has every bone in the human body. The family crest hangs on wall, made entirely of bones as well. Strings of bones, like one would make with popcorn for the Christmas tree, hung from the ceiling in all directions and in all four corners of the room stood huge piles of human skulls that were about nine feet tall and ten feet wide, and not hallow.

The ralliers filled the church and started walking around quietly at first. Eventually, people just get used to being around strange things regardless of what they be.  A room full of bones becomes simply the room you happen to be standing in at that moment and ralliers gathered in small groups to talk about their routes, or tell stories about what had happened to far to them on the trip. At one point I watched a young woman not associated with the rally put her finger into an eye socket while her friend took her picture. Later, one of the ralliers said it was hard for him to imagine they were ever real people, which explained why he could take pictures of himself smiling in front of a pile of skulls. Humans are a strange animal.

After the bone church we stopped at a local supermarket to fill up the trunk with food for the long haul ahead. One of my favorite things about traveling is shopping for food in foreign countries. Whole chicken heads in a jar, or even boiled eggs mixed with mostly-developed chicken fetus line the shelves in some places we’ve shopped. Czech had fairly normal food, but it was still fun to look around. I bought a tub of meat paste which ended up being gross (who knew?) while most people bought ramen, soda and water. It was a strange thing for the teller to see a whole row of dusty, disgusting ralliers holding food like precious cargo.

We set off with two other cars in convoy to Vienna, having said our goodbyes to the Aussies and a few others.

If you are going to get hopelessly lost driving in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and can hardly read the signs, then Prague isn’t a bad option. We managed to join a small convoy heading into Prague from the Czech-Out Party and, after purchasing the required highway road-tax sticker we headed into the city. We also managed to lose the entire convoy and get ourselves so far off track that we found ourselves being laughed at by locals in the gas station who shook their heads and finally, in a great show of pity, showed us on the map how far off course we were.

We finally reached our destination—an elementary school that is used as a youth hostel in the summer to raise extra money. They had a secure car park (hence why we picked that hostel) and were central enough to be convenient for seeing the town. We unloaded our stuff into holding cages for security which prompted the even more valid question as to why an elementary school would have cages on hand. Afterward, we ran out to meet the folks who we lost in convoy. They never made it to the hostel, instead they pulled over at the first place they found for beer and the problem solved itself when it ended up being a hostel.

We went out to see Prague in the fading light and caught a tram to the center of town where amazing European architecture greeted us, and throngs of people milled about trying to sell various objects or lure our large group into their restaurants. Fireworks were going off in the background for several minutes so we watched them erupt over the steeples of the central cathedral. Dinner was a quiet affair for Mike and I; we had passed a Chinese restaurant that looked authentic so we ate there while the rest of the group had western food at a rather expensive restaurant on the square. We rejoined them for a beer and then walked around the square, under the arching towers and around fantastic structures. Finally, we caught the tram back to the hostel and slept well, our first real beds in a long time. I guess I don’t need to say how much the showers were needed and enjoyed after several days camping.

In the morning we packed up and ate breakfast at the hostel. Three young men in another rally car were packing up so we introduced ourselves. They turned out to be the Face Race team composed of Oly, Oli and King Rikki all from the UK. We discovered we were doing a similar route all the way until Kazakhstan so we decided to convoy. Before heading out, though, we had heard a rumor of a strange church composed of human bones. We decided to call the other convoy and caravan to the church.

Having spent a great deal of my youth in Germany, my ten year absence made me wonder what would have changed since I graduated high school there at the beginning of the millennium. What made it all the more exciting was that this time around I was old enough to drive! We set a course for Heidelberg, and drove through the countryside in relative silence looking out the window. Stores I recognized passed by the window, and once again street signs in a language I could read were a real comfort having left France and Belgium in our wake. Nostalgia floated in and I daydreamed about the six years I spent in Germany. We set up camp in Heidelberg that night at a campground directly on the Danube. Somewhere in the hills behind us, church bells rang and the hills on either side of the river displayed proud, traditional German homes. The air was clean and easy to breathe.

We awoke early and had to get a move on in order to make it to the party in the Czech Republic that night. We strapped everything to the roof and set off to Nurnberg, only a few hours away. Having driven little on the trip thus far I decided I really wanted to drive the autobahn as we ventured towards my old stomping grounds. I am still learning to drive stick, so it is a bit more involved than simply putting on a seat belt and pointing the engine end forward. I got the hang of it after a few minutes and enjoyed the drive, Audi and BMW cars zipped past me with annoyed looks, but I wasn’t phased. Even if I’d wanted to go faster, our little Citroen Saxo can’t muster more than 60. That’s why they have the slow lane.

Nurnberg is a beautiful city, one I used to visit on the train from Parsberg. This time, coming in via road, it was totally different and I was disoriented. Nevertheless, we found an ATM and in the distance I spotted something of extreme value and interest. I wasn’t sure I’d seen this mirage correctly, so I paced quickly ahead. I let out a wild scream and turned around to see Mike and Bill standing shocked behind me on the pavement. “Weinerwald!” I yelled, and they agreed to have lunch at one of the best German chain restaurants in the country. We ran in, and I videotaped and took pictures of the food, then ordered and waited giddily for my food. What a treat, and I’d heard all the Weinerwald shops had been closed since we left ten years ago.

From there, we set off on a detour to Britenbrunn, my old town. We found Parsberg and I noticed how much larger it has become. Britenbrun was no different. The old military families were no longer there and a civilian German owned our old house. She was there so I talked to her briefly, but she wasn’t amused to find a car full of Americans, covered in stickers and flying a pirate flag, in her driveway. I took a few snapshots and told Mike and Bill about my time in the house and in the neighborhood while they looked out the window at the town.

But, with time running short, we had to jump back aboard and head to the Czech Republic, flag flying high and flapping in the wind at 50mph on the autobahn as sports cars zoomed past.

Crossing into Luxembourg was an exciting experience, and the car filled with wild cheering and hollering as we officially left Belgium. Few places inspire you to exit more hastily than Belgium…. Perhaps Belarus, from what I hear.

Anyway, there was an instant change when we entered Luxembourg. There were tall, handsome evergreen trees lining the road, which was black tarred and without imperfections. The first town we came to looked like a movie set, with perfectly matching paint and trim on every house, so that it looked almost pre-planned. The hedges were groomed perfectly, and there were signs clearly marking the way. An earthly utopia might closely resemble Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, the people were highly intelligent, friendly and eager to chat. Having decided to look for a relatives of Mike’s gravestone, we headed into Mersch. A quick stop at the gas station (immaculate, by the way) proved Luxembourg deserves the hype. I whipped out some German I hadn’t used since High School and in complete style I smoothly asked how to get to the cemetery. The woman behind the counter blinked at me, not understanding and in the background a small peep made me turn to see a girl stocking the shelves. I walked over and she introduced herself in English, without even the slighted accent. She could have been from Pennsylvania, which in fact was somewhat true since she had done a study abroad there in her youth. Her English was perfect and she helped us pick out food, microwaved it for us in the gas station kitchen (yes, you read right… it was THAT nice a place). I asked her how to get to the cemetery (the town being so small there being only one) she gave us directions that added to the charm of Luxembourg. “You go down the road to the left, past a strange dragon and a castle on the right, and then the church will be behind that.” I was eager to see this strange dragon and castle, so we finished our lunch and said goodbye.

At the church, we easily found the cemetery and walked between the tombstones looking for the family name. It was not to be found. We were looking for someone in the late 1700s but all the markers were new. I asked where an older cemetery might be, but no one knew. This was puzzling, and we never did find an answer. Perhaps they simply build atop older graves? Disturbing thought. More likely there was an older church elsewhere with its own cemetery, but with limited time in Luxembourg we decided not to drive around the hillside looking for it.

Sadly, we had to make hast to the Czech Out Party, so we didn’t linger in the graveyard once it started to rain. Instead, we jumped in the car and discussed what could have happened to the older graves.

Luxembourg is a small country, but not without extreme charm and excitement. Of all the places we’ve been I’m most eager to return to Luxembourg and Bosnia & Herzegovina. We drove on through wooded streets and immaculate highways until we eventually entered Germany. Only a country like Luxembourg could make Germany seem disorganized in contrast.

After the official launch party and race around the Goodwood track, we set off toward Dover to catch the ferry to France. We made a few wrong turns here and there and eventually made it to the ferry a mere ten minutes before they loaded up the car, along with a few other rally teams and their modes of transportation. The ferry ride was short but sweet, and we were eager to put some miles on the car once we hit land. There was no passport check or customs in France (we had heard there would be) so we drove right out of the bay and easily found the highway. Having bought a European atlas on the ferry we were now prepared to see what Europe had to offer us.

Our original plans called for a trip to Paris, but with limited time until the Czech Out Party, we decided to book it east and see Brussels instead. First mistake. Here I will insert a brief note about Belgium. When I was in high school we had an away sports game in Belgium which I had been anticipating with excitement for weeks. When we finally got there, we lodged in Formula One, the cheapest hotel I’ve ever been in. I’ve stayed in some real dive hostels and hotels in my day but nothing has ever seemed as vile as the F1 hotel in Belgium. From the carpeted hallway you step up into a closet full of water. Your weight forces the floor down a goof half a foot and the water drains. That is the shower…. A hallway closet that only drains if you stand on it. Essentially you step into someone else’s used water. In the morning we had Belgian waffles, which were disgusting and soggy like wet cake. Belgian beer was no better and Belgian chocolate was also crackly and flakey. Everything we tried to do in Belgium sucked, and since that failure of a trip in 1999 I have always been firmly against another Belgian exploration. But, since neither Bill nor Mike had been we decided it was the best option.

Here is how Belgium still sucks. We got into the country and immediately a smell struck that was like rotting carcasses. We could find nowhere to change money. We eventually found a camp ground and discovered that it was where poor folks lived rather than an actual hospice. We were too tired to care, and in the morning random strangers walked past our tent to get a good look and put in a scowl. We set off into Brussels and got massively lost. Suggestion Belgium, street signs! We got so turned around that eventually we decided to just forget it and get the hell out of Brussels. Good move. Our brief visit to Waterloo hours later was more interesting. We saw the fateful battleground and even the Lion’s Butte mountain. We toured the Waterloo museum and the nearby memorial church with stones thanking and commemorating foreign soldiers for fighting in the battle of Waterloo. We were lost a few more times before we hit Luxembourg, and once we officially crossed out of Belgium we let out a collective sigh of relief.

The Mongol Rally launched on July 24th from the Goodwood race track where the Festival of Speed is held annually to the great glee of the British public. To slow things down a bit, the Mongol Rally rented the race track for the 24th and lined up all of the rally cars. There was a fire truck, 55 ambulances, an ice cream truck, a Rolls Royce, and several jeeps. There were service vehicles galore as well as the standard 1.2 liter miniature car like our own little Citroen Saxo. We adored the little car and, with only one short hour of driving stick shift under our belts, we knew this adventure was going to be something special.

The launch was meant to be a party, and the Adventurists provided live music on stage and a celebrity announcer (Buddy, from Lonely Planet). Gypsy singers and dancers played as they walked around the parking lot while we clothed our car in stickers and did our final packing. A good friend from London rented a car and drove the four hours down to Goodwood to see us of, which brought us all comfort and made us feel like we had our own little cheering fan club (of one) in the stands somewhere. The rally organizers also hired three actresses to run from car to car in wedding dresses asking if anyone had an American or British visa for her (did I mention they were Russian?). The joke being that the route will have gypsies, as well as women willing to marry anyone to get out of some of the places they live.

To get the festival of slow in the mood for a snail-paced rally the Dandies were hired to race their ancient wooden bikes down the track. The Dandies were all in their 80s, and were a fun pack of gentlemen dressed in traditional attire. They managed to go faster than some of the cars. Before the official launch, one car had already broken down.

The launch was finally announced at 2pm. We piled into the car and revved the engine. With wild cheers, screams, honking and waving we set off on our pre-victory lap around the Goodwood race track. The ol’ Saxo managed to make it around some extremely tight curves. A good sign, considering the road ahead of us! Finally, we finished our lap and took off down the highway…. In the wrong direction. The Mongol Rally begins!!!

Nothing can compare with the Cunard line when it comes to luxury cruising. We found this out in vivid detail over the course of a seven day, transatlantic cruise from New York to Southampton, UK. The cruise departed on the 6th of July. The first night was an elegant casual affair with beautiful cuisine in an even more luxurious dining hall. Since we had booked so last minute we received no prior cruise package outlining what to expect, etc. We did not, therefore, book a seating. When we arrived at the late sating for dinner there were limited seats available, so he put us at a beautiful, 6-person table by the window in the corner. Arguably, this was the single best table in the room because we had a beautiful view of the ocean not a foot from our chairs, and the corner was quiet enough to hear our other table guests. Meanwhile, it was a preferred location for waiters so we ended up with one of the best servers on board! But the real jackpot came with the company!

We met, at our table, the most amazing, adventurous and memorable couple you’d ever hope to come across. Born in India during colonialism, the lady had deep insight into the region, and considered it home. Her love of Indian culture and cuisine ran deep, and she regaled us with stories that were so enthralling it was literally the best entertainment on board. Her husband was a Brit from Rhodesia, and together they lived wonderfully in that country experiencing so many marvelous things that the stories seemed to weave together in a cloud of awe. Mike and I sat enraptured in the life experiences of this couple night after night, and looked forward to dinner time throughout the day. By the end of the cruise we felt we knew them very well, in the way one comes to know a character in a good book. We asked them if they would be writing a book about their amazing adventures, and they seemed to favor the idea. As humble as they were, though, it’s hard to tell if they will do it or not. If they did, it would be an instant hit. Aside from their many adventures in Africa, they also lived in Europe, the UK, Ireland and America, and traveled around Asia to boot. When it comes to lotteries, Mike and I really hit the jackpot with this couple at our table.

The other entertainment on board came in the form of the Royal Cunard dancers, who were absolutely amazing, and the Royal Cunard Singers, who had someone in their midst who had the aggravating problem of being entirely off key 90% of the time. There were piano players, a harp player, a comic singer, a violinist, trivia crew, game staff and much more. One big band on board played for the gala balls and there was such talent on the dance floor that the 80 year old women could give Dancing with the Stars a run for their money.

One of the most amazing things happened while on board as well. Mike and I are traveling to Europe to embark on the Mongol Rally, as many of you know. So, we had with us our backpacks filled with outdoor clothing. We did not have a tuxedo. Mike and I found out the first evening on board that you would not be permitted into the dining hall, or really anywhere on board after 6pm, if you did not meet the nightly dress code. This was a bit shocking. I had packed an evening gown for the cruise that was wrinkle-free and fit in a sandwich bag when rolled up. Mike had nothing. He ran down to the pursers office (a lovely group of folks) who directed him to tux rentals at Hermes, the luxury designer clothing shop. A tux rental was something we didn’t really budget for, but Mike talked with the sales clerk who listened patiently about the rally, Mercy Corps, the adventure, and why we were on the QM2. She nodded politely and at the end she handed him a suit on the condition he dry clean it before the last day. We were astounded! She was such a lovely lady and did us such a huge favor. Without her, we might have missed every dinner on board because it turned out every single night until the last was formal. While all this was going on I was at the on-board movie theatre watching Invictus. Suddenly, Mike came into the theatre in a tuxedo and a million-dollar smile. I was amazed! I jumped up and we ran to the room where I quickly got ready and we dashed to the champagne captain’s gala and then a lovely dinner with our adventurous couple. It was an amazing evening, a truly epic and memorable day made possible by a very friendly lady.

We met several very interesting people on board, including a US Navy veteran of WWII who showed us his original military ID card. We met a man who was in charge of the horse racing commission in the UK, and a man who headed up the UK football league. There were very few people our age (read- none) and yet we had the best time talking with interesting folks who had already experienced a great deal. Two thumbs up for Cunard, and two more for attracting such interesting folks to their cruises.

We spent the night in New Jersey at the airport hotel, and fell asleep somewhere around 4am after a silly sprint around the city returning the rental car, finding the hotel, moving our luggage and finding a place to pull out some cash. To make matters more interesting, New York was then experiencing record high temperatures and it was 104 degrees that day, with a projected new high in tomorrow. To our endless surprise, everyone we met in Jersey was helpful, friendly and wonderful. We expected the opposite for some reason.

In the morning, we grabbed a sandwich from a small shop, took the free shuttle from the hotel to the airport, and then took the airport tram to the Amtrak-operated line that connects Newark with New York. What follows is no exaggeration, and my firm loyalty and love for Amtrak was put to the test that day.

We boarded the Amtrak train and it left some ten minutes late. “ok, not bad.” But, with our 70lb backpacks, a ukulele, my camera bag and mike’s laptop case it was a very long ten minutes. We boarded, tossed our bags at our feet and watched sweat roll over our eyeballs. We didn’t know that could happen. The record 105 degree temperature was made hotter by high humidity and a fully booked train. We made it one stop down the platform before the train broke down. A cynical and wholly unhelpful man came on the intercom and explained that we should all get off. We did so, which broke Mike’s bag in the process. So, there we were, running short on time, short on energy and extremely dehydrated. We stood on the platform with our bags for a few minutes, no easy feat I’ll remind you, before the same man came on the intercom and asked us to go to another track. We went underground, down the steep steps crowded with grumpy New Yorkers, and up the steps on the other side. We stood there dripping sweat, looking like Angel Falls was pouring over us. Five minutes later, as I felt my tendons start to give, the announcer asked us all to go back to our original track. We went back down the stairs, back up the other side, and with angry city folk all around us we looked off into the distance truly exhausted. The train came some while after the bags started to slip off our shoulders from all the sweat. We nabbed a seat and gave sympathetic looks to the poor huddles who had to push past our giant bags to find a seat.

We arrived at Penn Station still alive, which was more than we had come to expect. It was easy to find the connecting subway we needed to reach Brooklyn, so we took the metro to the southeast. When we reached the final station we got out and asked the attendant how to reach the docks. She said it was a fool’s errand to walk in the heat, but when we insisted she pointed and we scampered outside. Heat really can hit you like a slap in the face, and this slap was so hot it felt like it was delivered with a recently-used frying pan. We strapped on our bags and set off…. In the wrong direction.

I’ll spare you the Brooklyn saga, but suffice to say we finally reached the cruise terminal by 2pm. A good two hours after our check-in time. We had missed lunch on board, and we were desperate to find some water. Nevertheless, we were in high spirits when we walked into our inside cabin and found a bottle of complementary champagne waiting for us. I’ll tell you one thing about going through a trial like the one from Jersey to Brooklyn by public transportation—when you get to the other side it sure is a beautiful thing. We drank some champagne, changed into clean, sweat-free clothing and rushed up on deck to survey the ship and say goodbye to the USA. When we were up on deck with our drinks waving, it looked like Lady Liberty waved back.

On the 3rd of July, we booked a boat leaving from New York on the 6th of July. Since I don’t fly (and most un-winged mammals shouldn’t) we decided to rent a car and drive from Chicago to New York on the 5th. It all seems very logical and organized, but behind the scenes it was a bit of a chaotic mess. We decided on taking the Queen Mary II Cruise in what can only be described as a truly epic moment. We had been debating the cost, the time it would take, and the cheaper option of flying. Finally, at about 9pm on the 3rd I was sitting outside on the deck with a gin and tonic (how all good ideas start, really) when the sun began to set (yup, it sets that late in the summer near Chicago) and I had the most beautiful feeling of calm and happiness wash over me. It really is the simple things. But then I decided to make it much more complicated. Mike came outside and I turned around in my chair and said “what have we been worrying about? Let’s take the %@*#)( cruise!” I laid out my argument, which was a simple ATC-type argument that went along the lines of enjoying the moment, carpe diem, and the fact that we would make more money once we got done with the rally and found jobs overseas somewhere. Really, the only question left was why wouldn’t we take a cruise across the Atlantic. In a big wave of excitement and principle we dashed around the house getting the required paperwork to book the cruise.

The next day was the 4th of July. For our non American readers, this is the American Independence Day. To celebrate, Americans usually purchase ridiculous amounts of alcohol, beer and wine and then purchase a trunk-load of fireworks. Seems intelligent, I know. We incorporate a BBQ into the mix and gather all our family and friends to one yard for the food, drink and explosions. Since my family was in Washington I missed out on the legendary bonfire, which was a disappointment. But Mike and I went to a family friend’s dinner for a fancy picnic on the patio, and then to a friend’s house to watch her inbred neighbors light fireworks directly above their house. It was a wonderful, all-American evening. And in true 4th of July style we got home exceptionally late, smelling of sulfur and Budweiser.

The following morning we awoke at 5am and packed, registered our passports for the cruise, and then picked up the rental car. After a teary good-bye to Mike’s family, we set out in our tiny car with the aim of reaching New York city by nightfall. Anyone who has driven across country knows the sinking feeling in your gut when you come to the first toll booth in the Midwest. I wrote an entire blog about the toll processes along the route before reaching Jersey. Despite that, the roads were nice, direct and well kept. It was only nearing Jersey that traffic picked up even the slightest bit. We sang along with the radio, had debated with NPR, played license plate bingo and even did some typing on the laptop. The 14 hour drive went by quickly, and although the toll situation was frustrating, at least they ended when we hit Pennsylvania.

Arriving in New Jersey after such a long trek was a great reward. Everyone we met was friendly and we easily found our way around- despite the turnpikes. We found our airport hotel (across from a prison) and the rest will have to wait for part two of the mad dash installment.

Few documentary films offer more adventure, travel, excitement, danger, cultural education, athleticism and an inside look at human endurance and spirit than Running The Sahara
a true and epic tale of three men who decide to run across the Sahara desert, from West to East. Narrated and executively produced by Matt Damon, this adventure tale is worth of the ‘Abandon the Cube’ seal of approval. These three gentlemen ran for 111 days, covering the width of a continent on their feet. Their support crew and film crew in tow, these folks proved that with determination and drive anything is possible.

My favorite thing about the film was the cultural aspect. One of the three runners was from Taiwan and spoke Chinese. His English was great, but he preferred to do his interviews in Chinese, which added real dimension to the breadth of such a challenge for this Taiwanese runner as well as his two western comrades. Often, the westerners would be upset about something and the Taiwanese man would calmly take an entirely different approach. The film crew kept the lights on while they were running, at rest, eating or sleeping and the result was a really honest portrayal of what three men can turn into during such a self-enforced ordeal. Fights broke out, stupid arguments mostly, that made everyone involved look juvenile and weak. But considering the stress they were all under with the daunting task of running the world’s largest desert, it was understandable and all the runners and support crew tried to be as careful of the other’s emotions as possible. It was almost like watching a Discovery Channel special on a pack of all male lions trying to work together to achieve a certain outcome. As unlikely as a pack of male lions cooperating, this group of men proved the human species was a bit superior (but only by a little bit, at times).

When they entered Libya, they had to have special permission not only to enter the country, but to travel freely throughout. Rather than reject their visa requests a Libyan man agreed to run with them through his country, and provided a security detail to follow the supply and support jeeps. For a pointless journey like running across a desert, these three runners managed to inspire several unlikely characters along the way, including the turban-clad security officer, the government official who runs across his own country in support of their mission and in seek of adventure. For some reason, that man’s simple gesture was warming.

I highly recommend this film, it will make you feel like you are not doing enough with your life, nor taking enough risks. Abandon the cube and do something amazing, like these folks have by jogging across the Sahara. Why you might ask? Well, more importantly, why not? Two cube-abandoned thumbs up at Running the Sahara!

I’m growing a bit concerned about the folks on talk radio in the USA. We’ve had ol’ Limbaugh for quite some time, but recently I’ve noticed a surge in folks on the extreme right and left who take up the airways and fill them with drivel. Remember the good old days of Paul Harvey and ‘The Rest of the Story’? That was high quality radio right there! I’m really craving a show that gives interesting facts (not political points)or even a bit of American history. I know some stations donate a solid minute a day to history in the form of ‘this day in history’ but that simply doesn’t meet my apatite for good radio. I’d love a show where radio hosts interview surviving WWII veterans, or chat with politicians about their childhoods, moral ideologies and thoughts instead of their current events attitudes. It would be nice to see a wider picture of America than the Billboard top 20, the latest in celebrity gossip, and the diatribes of the psychotic.

Just a thought.

Okay folks, this visa process is a bit more in depth than any of the other visa applications for any other country we have visited. Since we’re in the process of applying for several visas for the Mongol Rally, we’ll walk you through the steps to getting a Russian visa and invitation letter, and what to expect throughout the process.

1. Make sure your passport is valid for 6 more months, at the least.
2. Get two passport pictures in color, against a white background, and have them cropped to the exact 2’x2’ size.
3. Download visa application form. Now, it may seem pedantic, but the form MUST be printed on both sides of one piece of paper. You cannot have two pages. Fill the form out in black or blue ink only, no pencil or crayon or marker or anything else. If you don’t know the answer to a question on the form, you may need to call a visa agent to ask for clarification, but don’t leave anything blank. You’ll need your work history, school history and information from your passport and travel plans (see step #6).An invitation letter is required for a tourist visa. In order to get this letter you’ll need to talk to your inviting institution (like a University, or friend, etc). If you don’t have anyone inviting you to Russia you may need to purchase an invitation letter from a visa company. The letter usually costs about $15 – $30 dollars.
4. Travel vouchers. In many cases, vouchers will be needed for your hotels, etc. If you go through a visa company they will usually take care of the vouchers for you.
5. You’ll need to know your exact entry and exit dates for Russia, as well as your itinerary. You’ll deliver some of this information on the visa form itself, and the rest in the application form for the invitation letter. The more specific you are, the better as this helps with the travel vouchers (or so we hear).
6. Finally, mail all of this into the visa company (highly recommended over doing the process yourself, which results in more rejections) along with your money order for the consulate and a separate money order to pay the visa company.
7. Most visa companies specify the duration or return time as anywhere from 10 to 20 days. If you want to expedite your visa, the consulate will charge you an added fee, as will the visa company. Plan ahead with this and have at least a month planned for this single visa.
8. Once you get to Russia you have three business days to register your visa with the hotel or with the visa agency you used to get your visa. Don’t miss this, or you could be fined when you try to leave the country.

Good luck!

I don’t count. I simply do not exist nor do I count to the American government. Ten years ago I was overseas and wasn’t counted. As it happens, Americans living abroad not involved with the government are simply not counted in the census. Thus, for the last two censuses I’ve been nonexistent. A census representative had a booth set up in my home town. I asked the gentlemen about my status and made him exceedingly sad when I made a sad remark about not mattering. I think he took me a bit literally. Anyways, he filled me in on the policy of us non-VIPs living overseas. The bare bones of it—you don’t count.

This wasn’t my first interaction with the 2010 census. Down in Texas (where we did a bit of traveling last winter) we noticed dozens of billboards along the Mexican border with signs like “Be honest on the Census. Immigration officials do not have access to census files.” And things of that nature. We suddenly noticed some of Hollywood’s A-list stars on TV telling us politely to fill out the census forms. And each evening when we turned on the news we saw talking heads talking about the upcoming ordeal. How many millions were spent making these commercials, billboards and forms?—not to mention the folks who went door to door!

My personal experiences with the census didn’t stop with my sad encounter with the census rep in my home town. Nope, a young man came to the family home where I happened to be visiting and demanded to know why there were several people at the house when only one was listed. I told him I didn’t count, and he said that I did! Success! I matter again! He took down my name and hopped in his Toyota and zipped down the driveway as I basked in my newly gained self importance. I matter!

Alas, this simply isn’t the case. Recently up in the Upper Peninsula, in Michigan, a census woman emerged from the woods and inquired about our residency and status. We told her we sometimes matter and sometimes don’t, depending on which census representative is asking. Turns out we decidedly don’t matter in the UP. Defeated again! (although obviously, the April 1st point did not apply to us) On a funny side note, this poor lady said some of these cabins in the woods she is sent to have no roads, only paths, and she has walked several miles down trails only to emerge suddenly in the front yard of a small cabin. “Aren’t you worried about getting shot?” I asked her. “I’d get worker’s comp.” she replied. Funny lady. Apparently she has walked and hiked and driven all over the UP and has quite a few interesting encounters with the yoopers (upper peninsula locals) not to mention the very active wildlife. She confirmed my earliest suspicion that we didn’t matter and then laced up her hiking boots and headed back into the woods. This is one very thorough government!

Despite the seeming confusion about the census, I’m very excited to see the results. I can’t wait to see how some of the places I’ve lived and visited have changed and grown (or shrunk, whatever the case). I think it is a great practice, and I am honestly excited about it. Almost like a sitcom you love that you have to wait to see the finale for—come on 2010 census information! I wonder how long it will take for the results to get into the public domain (aka-Wikipedia) for each city/county/state, etc.

We’ve spent a few weeks in Michigan’s UP, the Upper Peninsula surrounded by great lakes. It is a beautiful, if not rugged landscape that grows tough, hardy people who are simultaneously hard as nails and yet as friendly as Home Improvement’s Wilson character. You can walk into a diner or bar in the UP and see some of the world’s most flannel-clad, bearded and grime covered men, only to have them pull out a chair for you or hold open the door with a tip of their baseball cap. It reminds me of a time I’ve never experienced, but only heard about. People leave their doors unlocked, and neighbors stop by almost daily to chat about the weather, the fishing conditions or whether or not you saw the deer out by the lake the previous evening.

Here is a story to demonstrate my point: The septic tank pump broke and alarms were going off in the cabin. We dug out the still water hole and replaced the pump. Meanwhile, neighbors from the left and right side of the cabin sauntered over to offer their help, advice and the use of their facilities until we solved the problem. Neighbors from even further down the road heard of the incident and drove by to see if they could help. It was like a sitcom scene where the whole town shows up in the yard to help one family. I had heard of such things in the past from my grandparents (or history books) but up in the UP that is just daily life. The community has taken us under their wing, given us local history lessons, books, food and fishing and hiking tips. It’s like we’re part of the family—two long lost prodigal grandchildren who suddenly returned from out of the woods. It’s a great feeling, and one we’ve never experienced anywhere we’ve traveled. All hail to simplicity!

On an unrelated note, our time in the UP has yielded quite a few fish as we try our hands at acquiring our food from the wild. As it stands, I have caught several large bass while Mike seems to be a pro at walleye and pike. I learned to filet the fish, a task which involved (sadly) cutting it open and taking out the parts Americans don’t eat. It made me sad since we’ve seen folks in China dig into the organs and eyes, head, etc and yet we’re wasting those parts here in the US. I have no idea how to cook fish head, but when I’m back in China I’ll take a cooking lesson or two so I don’t have to toss out half the fish in the future. I have this theory that you shouldn’t eat meat if you couldn’t or wouldn’t go out and catch/kill it yourself and prepare it from the moment you capture it to the moment you eat it. I’m testing this long-held philosophy with the fish. So far, it involves petting the bass and apologizing to it, turning around while Mike stuns it, and then I’ll cut it open (while apologizing) and then filet and skin the meat parts. Then I apologize a bit more while I’m washing and storing the fish. I never considered myself a city girl, but I think these Yoopers (UP locals) would have a good laugh if they saw me petting and apologizing to my recently caught bass.

We just returned this evening from a small neighborhood gathering where some of the town’s most well known locals had us (and a few other cabins) over for desert. We chatted about many things, but no political or religious conversations emerged. We talked at great length, however, about the beaver population (did you know a beaver can live up to 80 years!) and told stories around the table of our travels abroad (everyone was extremely intelligent and well traveled). I have to say, it was a really amazing, simple and perfect evening with the Yoopers.

You can’t consider yourself a long-term thinker if you shop at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or any other major chain in the United States. Here is why: they outsource. Simply put, we get products for cheaper but in the end more folks here will be unemployed which will result in fewer purchases long term. Folks at these major corporations have to realize they are simply sucking as many greenbacks as possible out of the economy while it lasts. An entire economy based on service industries is hardly a stable one, but that is where we seem to be heading.

So, why do I take it out on Wal-Mart? Honestly, it isn’t really fair. Wal-Mart is just a prime example because they sell the largest range of crappy products on the market, stretching from crappy sewing machines to crappy electronics to crappy plastic toys to crappy, low-quality clothing. This isn’t much different from most other major corporations, but this one is more prevalent. Its like blaming McDonald’s for all fast-food woes.

Yesterday I was looking at a piece of antique furniture. Unless doused in gasoline or saturated in water, this thing will be around long after I am. Something about that is much more comforting than looking at the $20 Ikea equivalent. Our culture demands things for cheaper and cheaper, and when a deal is good we’ll buy the product even if we’re fully aware it is sup par. We seem more than happy to accept that an item has a shelf-life. I’d much prefer to buy something once and have it for life. My life, not the life span attributed to it because it will whither away on its own accord over time.

I remember the day I returned to the USA having spent several years in Germany as a child. We got away from the airport in our rental car and I asked my dad why all the houses were made out of cardboard. An astute observation for a child, I have to say. It turns out it isn’t cardboard, but 2×4 pine boards with a bit of drywall and nails. The shelf life of a home in the USA is under 50 years, and this seems downright sad. Mike and I recently worked with Habitat for Humanity down in Texas and were shocked at the minimal amount that actually goes into making a house. Once you see the process from A to Z you start to wonder how the thing lasts even 50 years. Meanwhile, in Germany homes are built to last several generations. They can spend the additional money to make it correctly and make it sturdy because no one family is supporting the entire weight of the bill. If America were to start to make better homes, it would have to change the underlying cultural trends wherein children leave the nest and move to an entirely new area.

This reminds me of a story my grandfather told me when I was younger. He said the US government brought in some German road engineers to teach them how to build long-lasting roads. The Germans dig way into the earth and layer with straw, sand, tar, cement, straw and much more over and over again for around 2 meters. When they finally slap on the last coat they have a product that can withstand extreme weight, weather and use. The Americans were impressed and started to mimic the German road-building method. Suddenly, construction was halted as a politician pointed out that all the road workers would eventually work themselves out of a job with these long-lasting roads. I don’t doubt the story is true, but I do doubt that we would work ourselves out of road jobs by making them right the first time.

I recently read that there are two types of belief systems- utilitarianism and deontology. The former type believes in the greatest good for the greatest number of people while the latter believes in personal rights, regardless of the outcome. Americans seem to be distinctly deontologists, and are concerned about the jobs of the workers over the long-term happiness and convenience of millions of Americans who would enjoy driving to work without dodging orange cones. I think this is interesting because I’d much prefer the roads to be done right, to the highest possible quality at a higher price tag now, and then save money and time down the road (ha ha, my first pun) on repairs. I also suggest this project as a sort of CCC type deal for our current unemployment solution.

I digressed from my anti Wal-Mart point, but the ideology underlining it is the same. I think long term we need to pay more for high-quality, lasting products from small businesses instead of buying the cheaper version that will wither away and need to be replaced. In short, I think the greatest good for the largest group of people in America would mean more jobs here, more high-quality, lasting products here, and building a country we’d be proud to show our grandkids, instead of delivering them one in need of massive repairs.

There is something very strange about the way humans approach booze, and how each nation address alcohol both politically and culturally in extremely unique ways. For example, in America we make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol. However, when you do reach that age there is a massive party wherein your first introduction to the drink is compounded by the fact that everyone you know comes out to the bar to get you intoxicated. It is a right of passage, a coming of age ritual and a test of one’s man or womanhood. After that fateful night, drinking in America takes on a purely social atmosphere, and no real gathering is complete without it and every gathering with liquor is somewhat more casual because of the addition. Our time in Europe showed the same to be true, though with a bit less of an adherence to drinking ages. Not so elsewhere.

In China, where we’ve spent quite a bit of time, there seems to be no legal age (although officially it is 18-19). You can often find youths drinking at the bars who appear to be quite young. And in fact no one is ever ‘carded’ in China. Contrary to what most people might assume, this does not breed an atmosphere ripe for degradation. Chinese youths hardly ever take their lax drinking rules for granted, nor do they abuse the booze at a young age, as would be expected if we suddenly made the drinking age 18 in the USA. There is, however, a similar ‘right of passage’ for most Chinese males that involves alcohol. At banquets (which are the preferred method of congregation) everyone sits around a round table, and the person of honor goes around the table and does a small glass of beer  or rice wine with every guest. This makes the guest of honor extremely drunk, and this is something to be quite proud of and admired (on special occasions, only). This often prompts Chinese men to approach Mike and ask, “How many beers can you drink?” Which, of course, Mike did not know the answer to at first. Now it appears this is a staple of maleness, though I cannot stress enough that it seems to happen only in large groups. By the way, the Chinese way of saying ‘cheers’ is “gan-bei” which literally means ’empty glass’ or ‘bottoms up.’ which they take literally when drinking beer. Another interesting bit of drinking culture in China– the person of more status should always have their glass slightly higher when clinking it with someone glasses. So, if you are not the guest of honor, your goal is to touch the top of your glass with the bottom of theirs. This results in fun games where people try to show honor to each other by putting their glasses lower. I saw one group of men putting their glasses on the floor to clink them, showing no one was higher than the other. Here is an example from a Chinese TV show:

In Central Asia we found drinking to be somewhat deplorable. Even worse than a man drinking is a woman drinking, and on the rare occasions I ordered a beer in public I could sense eyes judging me. However, we did notice quite a few drunk people on the streets at night, which means it is an underbelly sort of activity reserved for underbelly types. This obviously wasn’t the case in the major cities we visited in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, but definitely in smaller towns drinking seemed to be a big no-no!

In Mongolia, drinking is a large part of life. We stayed with a family in their ger for three days and nights, and the husband attempted to get us intoxicated on a nightly basis. He would drink after dinner and smoke Pal Mall unfiltered outside his ger as he looked up at the stars. This cowboy lifestyle works well for them and they are extremely happy. Meanwhile, their drinking culture is very inclusive, they pull in everyone and the goal is to have as much fun as possible. There was little segregation because of my gender, and contrary to what I assumed, they welcomed me into their poker game almost immediately. When we left to get on the bus on our final day, our host bought us a round of beers which we all chugged before climbing aboard for a 3 hour ride (big mistake!). Alcohol is used as a social tool to make people happy, include more people into the gathering, and draw everyone into one ger for warmth, entertainment (no TVs out on the steppe) and hours of story telling and card playing.

We’re not experts on these cultures or their drinking habits, but that is what we observed while traveling around from place to place and trying to experience these cultures in the ways they exist when no one is watching.

In recent months I’ve come to realize what my psychology (and statistics) professors meant by ‘Negative Response Theory.’ Essentially, people who are unhappy with a given situation are more likely to go out of their way to voice their opinions than people who are happy with the same situation. This skews all polls (as people with a grumpier outlook on the situation will go out of their way to participate while content people won’t) and makes having a blog somewhat unnerving. Here’s what I mean:

We write a lot of posts about the places we visit, and the people we talk to or the experiences we have. Its meant to be a fun travel website that really documents our journeys and has a bit of information on what we experienced, heard or saw. Nevertheless, total strangers go out of their way to point out flaws in the website. It is very rare that a total stranger goes out of his or her way to point out something good. Perhaps our site is total crap, or perhaps this is a perfect example of negative response theory. It is depressing because our culture trains us to be critical thinkers, which most of us view as a good thing, but some people just take it too far. Now we have a nation of amateur lawyers trying to find holes in every argument, conversation or passing phrase. To an extent this is healthy, but by and large I’m starting to think that Americans can’t enjoy anything anymore because they never stop questioning things.

But, and this is why it is depressing, Americans hardly ever seem to take action. I hear people complain all around me about the government, taxes, their township, etc., but instead of taking meaningful action they vent their frustrations by leaving negative and critical feedback everywhere they visit on the web. The web is now the world’s largest therapist as it offers a way to interact with the world by venting your built up frustrations and redirecting your anger at more meaningless (and therefore manageable) problems. For example, we’ve had a lot of people attack a post we did on a one day trip to Malaga. People go out of their way to leave an ‘I disagree!” comment, often without even reading the original blog post! We reserve the right to approve or deny all comments posted on our site, and are sad to report that some comments were so full of hatred and vile that we did not ‘ok’ them. We have children reading the site for goodness sakes! But the real issue is why someone, anyone, would get so upset about a random post on a random travel site. Methinks the issue lies elsewhere, but it doesn’t stop be from losing a lot of the passion I used to have for writing these posts. In a country where freedom of speech reached its pinnacle, I feel completely suppressed because it no longer matters what I say– someone will exercise their right to speak against it, even if they have no idea why! Here’s what I mean:

See, the poor guy was just trying to play ‘Dust in the Wind’ on his fake guitar. He isn’t hurting anyone, and yet people went out of their way to be rude. If they didn’t like it they should have navigated away from the page, which is what I suggest you do if you don’t like our website.  Nobody is forcing you to read it, after all.

It’s official! We’ve finally ironed out our route details to the finest detail. We have decided to head from London to Paris, and from Paris to Luxembourg. After a break, we’ll head to Nuremberg and the Prague for the 2010 Czech Out Party, which we’re all very excited about. From there we head south to Bratislava and Budapest before entering Romania for a few castle tours and vampire stalking. We then head to Chisinau and then into Ukraine to the famous port city of Odessa. From this point on the trip gets really interesting. We head due east through Russia, hugging the Black Sea coast until we enter Kazakhstan. We’ll cut inland and aim directly for the Aral Sea inside the Uzbek border. We’ll cut across Uzbekistan and then re-enter Kazakhstan heading north into the mountains. Back into Russia for a moment before entering Mongolia and racing across the open Steppe to Ulaanbataar. Yup, that’s what we’ll be doing this summer, driving across 1/3rd of the distance around the trodden earth. If none of this made sense, check out the nifty map we made (yeah, I should have led with that!):

View Central Asia Route Map created by ATC for the 2010 Mongol Rally

This map is awesome, and really shows the distance and scale of the land we’ll be covering. Some 8-10,000km through 13 countries in a car that even Mickey Mouse would say is too small– a 1.5l engine auto. Below is a picture of a rally car from 2009, ours will be very similar.

If you are more interested in the car, aka- how to buy, register and insure one in Europe, or even cooler (if that is possible) a post on all our awesome media coverage, or possibly the list of woe-is-me updates we made when we were feeling down, then check out these other posts or head to the Mongol Rally and Sponsorship pages, which explain it all.

For the 2010 Mongol Rally, we’ll be buying our car in the UK and then licensing and registering it to leave the country almost immediately. We’ll also have to accumulate a bunch of documentation to appease the sundry border guards along the 12 border crossings, and import documentation for bringing the car into Mongolia. For an American, these tasks are not without their challenges. Since we’ve done a bit of research and have a clear idea of what the steps to accomplish this are, we’ve decided to outline it here in the hopes of saving someone else a massive, British-accented headache.

Buying the Car. There are several locally recommended car dealerships in the UK that seem pretty legitimate, trusted and versatile. Check out Gumtree, and  Autotrader to get you started. London’s Craigslist is another interesting option, as is the London eBay.

Registering the Car. The first step is to make sure your seller fills out and gives you the V5 form. You then give this form to the DVLA (the British DMV). Like the American DMV, this one promises long lines, frequent delays, and excessive and seemingly redundant amounts of paperwork. Then the car is in your name. Yay!

You’ll also need something called a MOT certificate (Ministry of Transport) that shows your car meets the minimum standards for safety and environmental protection. The seller should ensure the car already has this, and it is passed on to you. Better to buy a car that already has it then deal with the hassle of getting your car tested yourself.

Insuring the Car. Apparently every country on the planet has different rules about what needs to be in your car, what shape your car needs to be, and how to insure it. For example, cars in France have to have high-viz gear and an emergency triangle in the car. One way to deal with this is to get a carnet for the car, but that costs money. Or, you can find out each country’s laws individually and attempt to meet them all. Regardless, you’ll be buying random crap to stuff in your trunk to appease border guards.

You’ll also have to have the car insured. Coverage for the EU rarely extends into Russia and the ‘sSans. Rumor has it that you have to buy insurance at the border for these countries anyway, whether insured by a UK or EU provider. Our plan is to get insurance that covers us in Europe, and buy insurance at the borders everywhere else. If anyone has a brighter plan, we’d literally love to hear it!

Exporting the Car. As a foreigner buying a used car in the UK intending to export it, you’ll need to fill out a form (big surprise) called the VAT410, which gives you tax exemption. You might need to check with HM Revenue and Custom’s to ensure you have the right form for what you want to do.

Importing the Car. Luckily for us and other Mongol Rally teams, the rally admin are dealing with this. If you are going solo, keep in mind that it takes about a month to get the required paperwork for importing a car into most countries. If you have any info on how to do this, let us know so we can share with the whole class!

Finally, the car is yours and you are legally covered to ride. Only problem is that your car now has the driver’s seat and wheel on the right-hand side.

And now the age old question of how to get from A to B. We’re headed from the USA to Europe, and one would think with our strong historical and economic ties that finding a way over the pond would not be such a hassle. Nevertheless, we’re finding it a bit of a pain to get from the East Coast of America to the West Coast of Europe without stepping foot in an airplane.

Booking Websites: There are literally hundreds of websites dedicated to helping you find amazing cruise deals, but they would not be in business if they were not making money off of the bookings. In general, we found the services to be almost useless. You could use your generic expedia or orbitz, but they rarely return any real deals, and pretty much just summarize what you’d find by doing the looking yourself.

It is amazing how the internet, which simply has not been around that long, has replaced an entire occupation– travel agents. I would adore calling someone on the phone and giving them my desired departure dates and a budget and seeing what they come up with. Essentially, websites like travelocity make their occupation futile and redundant and I find that sad because travel agents were such amazing people with their own personal experiences backing up their advice and bookings. I guess travel blogging and booking online are somewhat similar.

Cruises: Usually repositioning cruises take place in the spring or fall, when ships need to move between warm water in winter and active tourism ports in summer. That means taking a transatlantic in the middle of the summer will not leave a whole lot of options. For cruise companies, the money is in the Bahamas and Mediterranean. You can find more info on this amazing blog post about the top ten cruise blogs. You can also find some help on My Cruise News.

Airlines: So, if cruises cost too much, should we fly? Flying across the Atlantic isn’t exactly affordable either! Flights are running a mere $100 to $200 less than a 7 night, all inclusive cruise. That seems like a no brainer to me, considering the available R&R on the ship versus the tedium and stress of flying. Airlines are quickly making themselves an unaffordable product, lets hope alternatives like ship travel are increased to take up the slack! A quick tip- you can often find cheaper flights if you book through a European website rather than an American one.

Freighters: One of the innovative areas in travel that has taken up some of the slack is freighter travel. We’ve looked into this pretty extensively. You can go through several sites like the following: www.freighter-travel.com; www.freighterworld.com; and www.freighter-travel-review.com or try to find a freighter leaving by contacting your departure port. Most freighters can only take between 2-12 passengers and have age and health restrictions. The average cost is about $100 a day, and transatlantic crossings take a minimum of 9 days in most cases (making the cost nearly equivalent to cruising).  However, if you have the money and lots of time, you can see some exotic ports and have a relaxing and casual cruising experience.

So, thats the skinny on our options of getting from America to Europe. I’m still hoping Cunard will call me and offer me a free cruise for saying how wonderful they are. They are so wonderful, utterly delightful and fantastic. . . . . I’ll be waiting by the phone.

We get a lot of questions about how we manage different aspects of full-time travel. To answer them, we’ve put together a special Resources page on the website that will hopefully help people find out if they can Abandon their Cubicles, how to do it, where to get the things they need to do it successfully, and just some general information on traveling. We’re not claiming to be any authority on the topic, we’re just hoping to help! here’s what the new page covers:

Is It Feasible. The ‘should you?’ the ‘could you?’ and the ‘how to do’ of abandoning your cubicle. Whether you are thinking of a leave of absence to travel for a few weeks or months, or a full out Jerry Maguire storm out,t hen this will help you assess if now is the best time, and some of the things to consider before you flick off your boss.

Insurance. Lots of people need this to travel. Although we don’t personally have any travel insurance (yet) we’ve checked out some of the options and we have a few links posted that could maybe provide you with what you are looking for. Coverage for a short-term trip shouldn’t run you more than $250, so be wary of people who charge by the month or who promise you year-long coverage for less.

Visas. These little stamps can cost you big bucks, and be a royal pain. But thankfully there are some easy ways to tackle visas like nifty visa services. For some countries (Russia) you’ll have to use a service if you want it done right, fast and without hassle. For others you’re better off doing it alone. We give you some tips on the resources page, as well as at the bottom of every destination page.

Guides. Seasoned travelers always have their favorite guide books, and hardly ever deviate from those. We use a mix of our favorite guide book (which we won’t give a free promo here) and online sites like travel blogs for the area, or wikitravel. We have more info to be found about guides on the resources page!

Languages. The number one thing people ask us about is how we get around without speaking native languages. The answer is that we try really, really hard to learn. We do that with language guide books, i-touch programs, online sites and a lot more. Its important to us to try to talk to people in their native tongue, and we use a lot of different resources to try to achieve that aim.

Equipment. People get really excited about the equipment we use. We’ll meet someone on a camping trail and spend the first fifteen minutes talking supplies before we even get around to introductions. A good tent can make or break the whole trip, and everyone who travels full time has very strong, very serious views about cook stoves.

Expat and Teaching. Many people go overseas for a change of pace to look for an expat-style job or to teach English while they enjoy the local culture. We have some resources for you to do both, including how you can get your teaching certificate (which we did last year, just in case!).

Social Media & Staying Connected. We also listed some nifty travel websites, travel tools online, and ways to stay connected with your loved ones while on the road.

So, to see all that info and more, check out the new Resources page!

We have been extremely fortunate in who we have come in contact with through Abandon the Cube. We’ve met so many amazing travelers, as well as great writers, photographers and people on amazing missions across the planet. While we’d love to tell you about everyone we meet, there literally isn’t enough space for the high praise we’d want to laud on some of these worthy travelers. Nevertheless, here is a glimpse at two travel writing teams and how they have chosen to spend their lives on the road fighting for a cause.

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We were recently contacted by two inspired travelers named Bernard and Danielle who have been traveling throughout Africa interviewing local farmers, NGOs, and community groups who are working to alleviate hunger and poverty. They operate a travel blog site called Borderjumpers. Danielle, who is a livestock and sustainability expert, is traveling across the continent for Worldwatch, a USA-based think tank. She talks with farmers about their ongoing projects, their efforts to combat hunger and poverty, and the sustainability of their work. Bernard is an expert on local labor movements and communication, and travels with Danielle helping to discuss important issues with locals in every African country. Their mission is to visit every country in Africa and talk about farming, labor movements and the future with everyone. You can learn more about these travelers by visiting their travel blog. While they are traversing the continent they are uploading blogs when they find internet. We encourage you to check out the duo’s work and link to their site!

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You might also be extremely interested in learning about Josh, who created and runs Far West China, a travel blog and information site about Xinjiang, China. Xinjiang is a little mentioned area in the world’s most populated country, and one that is distinctly different. A primarily Uyghur, Muslim area, Xinjiang is home to Kashgar, Urumqi and Dunhuang– just a few treasured locations you’ve probably heard of. Josh writes extremely well researched guides to attractions in the area, like his ebook on Turpan. Josh not only keeps up with local news, local travel info and local culture, but he is an active advocate for the Uyghur people. His passion for China’s far west province has landed him an endearing spot in our travel hearts. Check out his blog, check out his site and definitely grab a peek at the newly released ebook.

So much has happened in such little time, and yet so much remains undone! With the Mongol Rally launch date fast approaching we’re quickly losing sleep over the amount of work needing to be completed before our piddly rally car can promenade out of London.

Remaining to be done:

• Visas. We literally have none. Although, by the time you read this we’ll be well on our way to filling out the gruesome paperwork required for all of these lovely entrance tickets. We’ll need visas for 5 countries along our route, so we’re hoping no one turns us down!
• Car. Yes, that’s right. We don’t have a rally car yet. Would you like to donate one? If so, we gladly accept provided it has an engine. We’re working on finding a car in the UK and dealing with the issue of where to store it until our arrival and how to start the registration process from afar.
• A method of arrival. We are hoping to take a boat from the East Coast, USA to Europe, and we’re busy searching the internet for cruise deals, freighter travel that is affordable or even a rickety dinky that we can paddle across the big pond.
• Money. Yup, we still don’t have a whole lot of that green stuff. However, we’re hoping someone extremely wealthy and wonderful will donate a bunch of that right before we leave. Its for a good cause, and Mercy Mongolia would be as happy as we would if a huge sponsor stepped in!

Already done:

• Team mates. On the up side, we are ecstatic to have Bill on the team, and we have every reason to believe a 4th team member will be joining us soon.
• Equipment. We also have almost all the supplies we need for the 10,000 mile journey, which is great news because without the car we might be hiking the 10,00 miles (and we’re well equipped to do so with all the survival stuff we have!)
• Route. We’ve ironed out our exact route and we have even put together a decent time line of where we will be and when! Nifty what information you can find online, as well as all the cool tools available for trip planning on a massive scale. You can find some of these tools listed on the Resources page.
• Communication. Lauren is busy learning Russian as quickly as a brain can hold that knowledge. We also have all the language apps one i-touch can hold, as well as a few PC programs for language acquisition and a nifty phrase book for Russian. When all else fails, we’ll do as the Italians do and gesture!

That’s where we are, folks! Wish us luck on the insanity that is about to ensue as we get our butts to the UK and get this rally underway!

Abandon the Cube has been around since 2008. While we’re not into celebrating a massive birthday party for the website or the concept, we’re excited about reaffirming our travel philosophy and taking stock of where we are, where we’re going and what we’ve seen.

By Ground Travel. By now you’ve all learned that we like to travel primarily by ground transport. Any flight across open land or water leaves the earth beneath you undiscovered, which we find goes against the spirit of how we enjoy experiencing the world’s most unexpected places. Over the past two years we’ve formed this website of travel tips, destination guides, humorous pictures, influential travelers who have inspired us and more so that we could share what we see and hopefully encourage other people to abandon their cubicles and see some of the world’s least trodden paths.

Time as the ONLY vital factor. To date we have inspired no one to quit their job. People look at us with raised eyebrows and wonder why any sane person would throw away security and comfort in exchange for several meals a day made out of rice. To us, time is the one thing that can really be stolen from you while you are on this planet. Nevertheless, people still think that if you work hard now by the time you are 45 you’ll be able to retire. In reality, who has ever retired at 45? The plan simply doesn’t work. Meanwhile, you throw away the best time in your life working, stressing and acquiring status, money, security, etc… but you can’t get that time back. Its a trade off and an unfair one in our opinions. I’m personally willing to work longer in life rather than abusing the time I have now. They say youth is wasted on the young, but I’m hoping they won’t say that about us. The reality of the situation is that society is designed to ensnare people. Right out of High School you have either college loans to pay, or else housing so you are independent. Now you have a car payment, insurance, health costs, food, your cell phone and internet….. even if you wanted to quit your job you can’t because you have bills coming in. That’s the way it is designed, and to an extent that’s why the machine of our economy works. However, if you take away all the things that require you to have a job then you no longer are in need of one. I do some writing for money here and there and make enough to cover my college loans. Outside of that, traveling full time costs us less than any apartment would, and we pay for that with money we saved while working in Shanghai for a year. We were able to save so much because we did not have a car, cell phones are pay-as-you-go rather than a 2-year-death-contract and we choose an apartment that was extremely affordable (if not minuscule). We figured out a way to Abandon our Cubicles and still meet our obligations, and that makes me confident that you could figure that out as well.

Experiences are Everything. I suppose it goes without saying that we weigh experiences very highly. We signed up for the 2010 Mongol Rally, as you know, because we saw the experience as an amazing opportunity to meet new people, have a great and daring adventure and travel 1/3 of the earth’s surface by land. Planning is still underway and we launch July 26th from London. Experiences and relationships are so important, and we hope to have an amazing adventure meeting amazing people on the Rally. Likewise, we’re excited about the new experiences coming our way after the Rally when we backpack through South East Asia and hopefully land in Thailand for a while as a place to kind of rest for a while, look for a part time job and save up so we can have more adventures down the road.

Reflections on an Amazing Year. Its is easy for us to say that 2009 was one of the best years of our lives. We left Shanghai on May 1st, 2009 and traveled by land all the way to Seattle, USA by December. In that half a year we saw and did so many amazing things that we’re likely to always look back on 2009 with a whimsical smile. From visiting Kashgar in summer, to driving across Uzbekistan with a giant; from standing near a burning crater in Turkmenistan, to living in a tent in Turkey during Ramadan; from roughing it in a cheap Bulgarian hostel, to riding a luxury cruise ship through the Virgin Islands. We nearly circumnavigated the globe (minus only the Pacific Ocean aspect of returning to Shanghai). That is why 2009 was a rich, and beautiful year. We’re hoping that the 2010 Mongol Rally that takes us from Seattle (where we are now) to Thailand via land and sea is as enriching, enchanting and captivating as the adventures of ’09.

When ever you get to the point, if this actually happens, that you feel like there isn’t anything else you could do to top what you have already done, come look at our new page of Influential Adventurers and Explorers.  Lauren put together this list of some absolutely amazing trailblazers, some of whom are classic and some who are modern and not so well known, yet.  I want to take a moment to mention some of my personal favorites, but I urge you to check out our entire page which is complete with books and movies which were written about or by the explorer or adventurer.

Zheng He Painting

An ode to China, probably because of personal ties and interest in Chinese history – Zheng He.  There have been several books written about him recently and a lot of research about his accomplishments under the Yongle  Emperer.  He commanded a fleet of around 300 ships and over 20,000 men and possibly sailed as far as the Americas. See:  1421: The Year China Discovered America.  Moreover, he did all of this without his genitalia as he was a Eunuch.  Quite impressive if you ask me.

Zheng He and Christopher Columbus Ship Model

Not only was his fleet probably the largest of his time, the size of his ships was 10 times that of European mariners of his time period.   We were lucky to see Zheng He’s tomb in Nanjing when we visited in early 2008.  For connecting China to the rest of the world and bringing back cultures from every end of the known world, as the time, to the Emperor, Zheng He deserves a place on our list as a recently well known explorer.

In Expedition 360 Jason Lewis, a modern day adventurer, circumnavigated the globe by human power only – absolutely no engines at all.   He taught children while he traveled and raised money for charity along the way.  Hats off to such a brilliant accomplishment.  It is great to see people of our time still finding things that have not been done before and pursuing the impossible.  Jason wrote about some of his experiences in a book titled: Flightless: Incredible Journeys Without Leaving the Ground.

Benedict Allen

Benedict Allen is another personal favorite, and recently discovered adventurer of our times.  Instead of using all the fancy gadgets we have now, Allen has reverted back to the way of the original explorers in an almost necessary way.   His ability to leave his laptop and GPS behind deserves him a spot on our list.  Allen relies on embedding himself with indigenous people and learning their ways and culture and hoping they, and sometimes children, will take him in and teach him their ways.  He uses the skills they teach him to get through their terrain and survive in their environments as well as get him from A to B. Into the Abyss.

If you have any more influential and perhaps not so well known adventurers / explorers to add, please comment below and we will add them to our Influential Adventurers page on www.abandonthecube.com.