Saturday, August 8, 2009

"Connex apologises for any inconvenience caused"

Michael and Peter would like the apologise for the slow pace of blog updates.  Unfortunately, between driving, eating and sleeping, there has been little time for writing, converting photos and uploading.  Currently in Бийск, Russia, Michael and Peter are hoping to arrive at the Mongolian border tonight.  Inside Mongolia they don't hold out much hope of finding internet cafes.  On the other hand, provided they can get electricity, the inability to drive at night should provide some time to write blog posts for posting on arrival in Ulan Bator.

Until then, here's a teaser...

We last left you in Bucharest, Romania, where Michael and Peter were hot on the trail of the Utopian Banking Society henchmen as they were headed to Turkey.  Since Romania, our intrepid travellers have driven through Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan and Russia again.  On the way, they've encountered;

  • The world's most insane roadworks detour through small village streets in Bulgaria
  • Near constant horn beeping in Istanbul and Trabzon
  • Some very shifty ferry operators and hangers on, who tried to extract US$150 above the going rate then left our heros sitting on a motionless ferry for a full 24hours before departing for Sochi
  • Some of the friendliest people we've ever met in both Russia and Kazakhstan
  • Some policemen and customs officials very intent on extracting large bribes in US dollars (unsuccessfully I might add).
  • and much, much more...

There is much to tell, but with some equipment failures, a scarcity of internet cafes and an increasingly tight schedule, mean that the story may not be told for a week or more.  Please accept our apologies, but such is the reality of driving half way around the world in a month.

2 comments:

  1. Just got home from skiing at Buller for the weekend. Very pleased to read your blog and know that you're still alive and moving ever onward in your quest to save the world economy.

    Mum.

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  2. Only a 24 hour wait on the ferry? I have a feeling you'll be coming back with slightly relaxed transit standards...

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