Part II: Top of the World
1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010
2010: Odyssey Two
Well…we are pleased to announce that Graham managed – unbelievably – to get from Dar-es-Salaam to Cairo in two weeks, via Rwanda and Burundi (without
Day 366: That Was The Decade That Was…
Welcome, friends, to our newest, shiniest decade in years. And, might I say, good riddance to the old one, the rotten turnip that it was.
Day 367: Brookes Was Here
To say that our hotel in Hurghada was a bit lousy would probably do insult to lousy hotels. My general dislike for large-scale tourist hotels
Days 368-371: The Whirling Dervishes
So Mand and I had a few days kicking around Hurghada. Our hotel had been pre-booked up until the Tuesday night, so we thought we
Day 372: It Belongs In A Museum
Thursday started with a very early morning trip to the Sudanese Embassy – I missed out Sudan and Eritrea on the way up here, so
Day 373: Goodbyeee
It was a restless night – I had to upload the last of my 2009 tapes to my computer so Mand could drop them off
Day 399: Istanbulldozin’
03.02.10: The bus arrived bang on time in good ol’ Istanbul – the only city in the world that straddles two continents. I wandered down
Day 400: I Say Sir, Beer!
04.02.10: I could have done without the 3am border crossing, it was unnecessarily cold outside – why couldn’t they come to us? There was only
Day 401: Ljuvly Ljubblies
05.02.10: The train to the delightfully-named Ljubljana was a typically ramshackle affair (man I miss them Turkish buses) but it did the job and by
Day 402: Don’t Stop Believin’
06.02.10: The last two blogs aren’t true. I just made them up. Sorry, it would have ruined the surprise. Here’s what really happened… When I
Day 403: Home Sweet Home
07.02.10: So with the cat out of the bag in terms of my friends, it was now time to spring the surprise on my family.
Day 404-410: Pubs and Publicity
08.02.10-14.02.10: So I was back and I had work to do. I spent Monday morning at my brother Mike’s house writing up a press release
Day 429: Come, Armageddon, Come
05.03.10: And so I found myself lashed to the mast on the grim grimness that is the Grimaldi ferry. And you thought going to the
Day 430: The Italian Jobn
06.03.10: I stayed the night in the Koine Hostel, a decent enough place, but with that cold puritan edge that sucks all warmth, happiness and
Day 431: Back On Track
07.02.10: The ferry ploughed head-first into the Greek port of Igoumenitsa at around 6am (it was still 5am for me) and speedy disembarkation was encouraged…
Day 432: Day of Disaster
08.03.10: Woke up at a respectable time and headed over to the Iranian Embassy all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I jumped in a taxi only to
Day 433: The Pope’s Nik-Naks
09.03.10: Scraping my face from my pillow, I headed back to the Iranian Embassy (this time I walked) with a shiny new reference number. The
Day 434: My Wit’s End
10.03.10: I dropped the passport, photos, photocopies and receipts off at the Iranian Embassy, expecting a ‘great stuff Graham, here’s your visa!’, but instead got
Days 466-472: A Dead End
11.04.10 – 17.04.10: So there’s always plan B, right? Well, it all seemed simple enough. According to the Lonely Planet I could get a transit
Days 473-479: Kuwaiting For Godot
18.04.10-24.04.10: My second week in Kuwait was a little more sedate than the first. I managed to pull some awesome shapes on the website… check
Days 480-486: Boiling Point
25.04.10–01.05.10: This week I’ve been staying with a guy from Austria called Martin. His flat is spanking – it’s in a brand new apartment complex
Days 487-493: Quiz Night
02.05.10-08.05.10: On Sunday morning came the news I was waiting for – my Saudi invitation was in the bag! Within just a few days I’d
Days 494-500: No Dice
09.05.10-15.05.10: Well then, it should all be over, shouldn’t it? First thing Sunday morning I hurried down to the copy place to pick up my
Days 501-507: What Happened, Happened
16.05.10-22.05.10: 500 days on the road and a good 200 of them have been wasted waiting for either visas or boats. In situations like this
Days 578-582: A Passage To India
02.08.10-06.08.10: Monday morning bright and early, the wonderful Pamela drove me to the Bur Dubai area of town and I headed over to the CMA-CGM
Day 583: Flashback
07.08.10: So it was a cloudy, overcast day on which I returned to India after an absence of eight years. Not much has changed since
Day 584: The Bombay Boo-Boo
08.08.10: Grr. Sometimes your Lonely Planet can literally save your life, other times it can make your life a misery. Today it was a case
Days 585-592: The Boat Race
09.08.10-16.08.10: “I always like going south – it feels like walking downhill” – Treebeard India, being the awkward bugger that she is, flips the usual
Days 592-597: Now Then, Kerala
17.08.10-22.08.10: Well it was another frustrating (but remarkably pleasant) week in Kochi spent contacting shipping firms, tour companies, even the head of the Sri Lanka
Day 598: Never The Twain
23.08.10: Arrived in the town of Salem at some disgraceful hour of the morning – it wasn’t even light yet. The bus was an old
Days 606-616: Seven Days In Tibet
31.08.10-09.09.10: As I knew what I’d be like in the morning, I took a shower the night before because even though Kathmandu does offer hot
Day 617: Raise The Red Lantern
09.09.10: Arriving groggy-eyed in the big Chinese Cheese that is Beijing, I had work to do. First up, I needed to pick my second passport
Days 618-620: Weekend at Bare Knees
10.09.10-12.09.10: I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed the sight of legs. Girls legs, to be precise, pins that go all the way up,
Day 621: Innies and Outies
13.09.10: So there’s Inner Mongolia and there’s Outer Mongolia. What’s the difference? I hear you cry… Well, it’s like this, see: half of the historic
Day 622: The Great Wall
14.09.10: Sometimes I had good days, sometimes I have bad days, sometimes I have days that are madder than Mad Jack McMad of the clan
Day 623: Guten Tag!
15.09.10: So Qingdao , what are you famous for? Ah, you were a German concession town were you? And you’re where the Tsingtao brewery is based? Excellent. I’ll have
Days 643-644: Back in ‘Nam
05.10.10-06.10.10: I arrived in the Chinese town of Nanning exceptionally early in the morning and looked about for transport to the border. I honestly can’t
Day 645: Charlie Don’t CouchSurf
07.10.10: Arrived Saigon at about 9am and scooted over to District 1 to meet up with me auld mucka Stan, here in South East Asia
Day 646: Slumdong Millionaire
08.10.10: After a good couple of hours kip, I was roused by Thro on his way out to work. I started uploading my epic Korea
Day 647: Nobody Does It Better
09.10.10: The bus arrived at the Cambodian border at around 3.30am, and we had to wait until the damn thing opened (at 7am) before we
Day 648: The Golden L-Shape
10.10.10: BANG! Before my brain could register where I was and what was going on, the front of the bus bounced a good foot off
Days 649-650: To The Ends Of The Earth
11.10.10-12.10.10: After two hours kip (I actually didn’t bother using my bunk – the communal area of the backpackers did just as well), by 7.30am
Day 693: A Red Background
24.11.10: Today’s adventures centre around my efforts to get a new Indonesian visa. Indonesia, being a bit of an awkward sod, only allows you to
Day 694: El Presidente
25.11.10: So what do you know about East Timor? Not much? Good. You must be British. Or American. Aussies will have heard of the place
Day 695: Gadzooks!
26.11.10 When I’m done with all this, I plan to turn The Odyssey Expedition into a board game. The ‘Chance’ and ‘Community Chest’ cards are
Day 696: Yes I Awoke
27.11.10: But only because Dan woke me up. Groggy and sleep deprived I clambered onto the minibus that would be speeding me back to Kupang.
Day 697: The Game Is Afoot!
28.11.10: Is The Odyssey possible? It’s been a question that has been bugging me for some time. Okay, I’ve made it this far, on the
Day 698: The Ende of All Things
29.11.10: So the ferry pulled into Larantuka port nice and early, around 7am. Now I just had the small matter of the entirety of Flores