Into Eastern Europe

Still we chug onwards through Europe and now into the Balkans. This post is from Zagreb where we've decamped in sweltering heat at a lovely hostel on the fringes of the city. There is a palpible change of feel with the transition to Eastern Europe, perhaps magnified by the almost casual affluence seemingly characterising the German and Austrian places we visited. It was striking passing through an 8KM tunnel to enter Slovenia earlier today to see the extent to which the width of a mountain can change the human elements in a landscape.

Like Austria, Slovenia is a very attractive country to gaze upon through Tonka's windows, not withstanding the predominance of Soviet era housing blocks over wooden Heidi houses in the settlements we passed. However, our only proper chance to get to grips with the Slovenes was over lunch at a roadside terrace bar. We had a truly excellent meal, though this was accompanied by what I can only describe as techno glockenspiel music that was being pumped out at high volume from a series of heavily caged and wall mounted speakers. Presumably the high security was in an attempt to prevent enraged clientele from ripping them off the walls.

At the Croatian frontier we almost ran into trouble when the authorities decided that Tonka was a truck, and accordingly was not allowed to be driven on a Sunday. Claire was quick to reassure them in her best Kiwi Croatian that our vehicle was in fact officially registered as a bus. So I guess that'll be the last time Ron and I get told off for calling her a bus then!

On the Road

Probably the greatest sacrifice of making this trip has been resigning myself to miss the Ashes cricket series, just when we might actually win it for a change. So it´s especially gratifying to find that my fellow passenger Ron is from the land of Oz and is going all the way to Bishkek - just far enough to enjoy the first Test at Lords with me on the BBC World Service. Bring it on!

Our two crew members completing the team to Istanbul are Claire and Riki, who are both Kiwis and I would say have seen a bit of life, much of it from a bar stool. They´re a lot of fun but will keep us in good order and also on the road I´m quite sure. Together we´re travelling in Tonka, a converted grit truck which will be home for the next few months. She´s an elderly travelling companion who groans and gasps a fair bit on the old inclines, but she´s been built to withstand just about anything you might care to throw at her and I think I´m going to grow fond of her.

So far we´ve chugged across France and Germany to arrive today at Salzburg, a spectacular town perched on a mountain with incredible Alpine views. It feels like the trip has really begun at last.

Ibn Battutah Made It Into the Bag

Well I couldn't exactly leave him behind could I? Still, baggage overload has been a bit of a feature of the past week and opinions are divided as to the root cause. My parents suspect it's my sensible book quota that's been exceeded. Personally, I think I've been a touch generous on the clothes count, but I then again, I really couldn't face the prospect of wearing the same two pairs of underpants for seven months solid. I once walked a 1000 miles across France and Spain with just a single change of socks, so I know about these things.

Not quite sure what I'm feeling as I reach the eve of departure for Dover. A heady mix of excitement and anticipation, laced with a fair amount of anxiety and the usual sadness of impending departure from family and friends. The anxiety is oddly focused when I think about it - which I try not to do too much. I should probably be worrying about the political situation in Uzbekistan or catching chicken flu in Tibet. That's what everyone else seems to be worrying about anyway. Instead, I find it's the everyday stuff that bothers me, such as how the other members of the group will turn out to be when I finally meet them (2 at Dover and a further 10 or so in Istanbul), and whether I'm going to regret not packing that second bottle of shampoo, etc. Hopefully, I'm heading for a serious reality check very very soon. But in the meantime, I shall enjoy my last evening at home by trying not to think about the trip at all.

Goodbye To All That

The adventure has half begun. Last week was an extended round of goodbyes. I left my job on Tuesday with a lovely send off from friends and colleagues at work. On Thursday it was the turn of my cats, Hugo and Basil, to begin their vacation in Jesmond (they better not enjoy themselves too much), and finally on Saturday I packed my few remaining possessions that hadn't been stored into the back of the car and left my house and home village of Wylam for the last time. It was a glorious morning to imprint the beautiful landscape of Northumberland into my memory for the months ahead.

I'm now at my parents home in Cornwall for a few days before final departure. A chance to see the family one last time and practice packing my travel purchases into my rucksac. I have far too many books to take at the moment so need to take some tough decisions on what to leave behind - is there room for Ibn Battutah?

Why 'Wonders of Travel'?

Every traveler needs an inspiration and a guide. My journey has evolved as an idea over many months and years. I've long been interested in history and spent a previous life studying the medieval period rather a lot for a PhD. I suppose I first became interested and aware of the fabulous and rich history of Islam and the East at that time, and more recently I've started to read about it and about the experiences of other travelers to these parts of the World. It made me want to see some places for myself. Life has it's ups and downs, but I tend to think the bad things that come along can create opportunities for having new and interesting experiences. In my case the break up of a relationship and a need to sell my house offered me the freedom and finance to contemplate undertaking my own journey of a lifetime. So I've quit my job, booked my trip and leave Newcastle next Saturday on the first leg of a seven month odyssey that will take me half way round the World by road and sea.

And the website address name? Well that comes from my most engaging muse and guide, Shams al-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Ibn Battutah al-Lawati al-Tanji, known as Ibn Battutah for short. Ibn Battutah was a fourteenth-century traveler from Tangiers in Morocco, who spent 29 years traveling the length of the then known world and ended up dictating his memories and experiences on returning home. The resulting book is known for short as the 'Rihlah' or 'Travels' of Ibn Battutah, but the full name is 'The Precious Gift of Lookers into the Marvels of Cities and Wonders of Travel'. Ibn Battutah was the Islamic Marco Polo, only much more entertaining. I'll be sticking a copy of his Travels in my back pocket to keep me company on my own travels.