WELCOME TO AUSTRALIAEUROPEDRIVE.COM!
Hello and Welcome to the Australia Europe Drive website, where you can read all about the journey I am planning to make in March/April 2009 with my beloved Mercedes-Benz from Sydney all the way to Europe.
My name is Wojciech Dragan and I am originally from Poland, raised in the Netherlands, and have spent the better part of the last 10 years living in Australia. Me and my wife and daughter are returning to Europe for good in the beginning of 2009. To end my Australia-era with a bang, I am planning to drive home by car, while fuel still is remotely affordable, and while I am young and reckless enough to even try such an adventure. My family will be flying home the normal way, and I have the car all to myself to drive my crazy self back to Europe!
At this moment (July 2008) the trip is still in the planning stages and there are still a few obstacles which may turn out to be a dealbreaker, but this is unlikely. Due to the ludicruous costs to travel through China, the trip plan had to be changed significantly in July this year and so the long overland stretch of the trip will instead start in India, and not in Singapore as initially planned. At current time I have six people that are interested in participating in this journey, two of which look pretty sure, the remainder is still up in the air. There is an increasing possiblity a second car may be considered. Needless to say, I would much prefer this is also a Mercedes Benz, so we can all go in style. Your Daewoo can not come :P But if you have another decent Deutsche Technik vehicle, drop me a line!
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Please bear in mind that some of the roads showing on Google Maps are not accurate (I purchased the old-fashioned paper versions of some areas) and some parts (especially Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) of the route are rough estimations. Also, depending on how much time the part from Chennai to the Iranian border will take, I may decide to forego the drive up into Russia through the Stans and instead drive up through Turkey and south-eastern Europe. This however is unlikely as the distance saved would only be 3000KM, at the expense of visiting some seriously awesome countries!
As the plan stands, I intend to depart in the first or second week of March, and arrive in the last week of April or first week of May 2009. The expectation is that the part from Sydney to Darwin will take about 6 days, from Darwin to Chennai by boat about 15 days (incl. on and offloading) and the drive from Chennai about 5 weeks.
I am currently in the process of getting mroe detailed information about the quality of the roads so I can get a better idea of how much time each country will take.
If you are intested in applying, please bear in mind this is not a chilling sightseeing trip that will take months to complete. Assuming we will have 5 days of rest in between driving days, we will need to progress at approximately 400KM per day. At an average speed of 50KM/h this is 8 hours of driving, for 32 days, not counting the bit in Australia. Where possible (which is almost nowhere) we can drive in the night so we can make more time for chilling in places, and occasionally we can shave off some time by driving in crews so as to cover a long stretch quicker, again with the aim to have more time to relax now and again. But driving we will, a lot!
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!! ADVENTUROUS TRAVELLERS WANTED !!
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO COME ALONG? |
While I am still crazy enough to consider doing this trip alone, if I am honest with myself I feel that doing so just might be one notch too high on the crazy-scale. So if you have an appetite for adventure, a decent portion of guts and the right attitude, why not contact me and perhaps you will find yourself cruising along with me in my Benz from Sydney to Europe!
PLEASE NOTE
Due to some serious interest in joining, at this stage I am also very interested in people coming along with their own Benz or other awesome vehicle. If you are in Australia and thinking you may want to submit your beloved Benz to such onslaught, or are from elsewhere (ideally from the UK for example) and wanna come and buy a car here to drive along, please contact me. I am at the point where my car is probably full and will need more seats to accomodate demand. I feel the maximum number of cars we can go with is 3 (or else we will all be holding each other up with car-issues, delays, lost routes, etc.) And no, your Daewoo cant come :P
Below I will provide a detailed outline of the type of person I feel would be good for doing this kind of trip with me. You may find I am quite demanding - before you think so bear in mind that this is not something to be taken lightly. Being confined with each other to a car for the better part of two months means you must be able to deal with one another in the best way possible and be compatible, cooperative and a good team, no matter what the circumstances. And on a trip like this, anything can happen, from theft and injury to plain outright boredom and irritation.
Do not let my requirements put you off from expressing your interest. They may seem a bit excessive but I prefer to aim high and lower the requirements as needed. We all need to have a chill time and I am sure that we'll be work stuff out together :)
If you wish to hear me talking some crap about myself, why not watch this video and get to know me a slight bit better. It is about 10MB in size, 2:30 minutes :) I've never made a video about myself so I am sorry if its shit. Took me 8 takes to get this one :D
(1) - The boring but important stuff
You must join me either in Australia or in Chennai. No other entry points are available. The reason for this is that the actual arrival/departure times further down the road are simply too variable and subject to realtime conditions as we drive. Allowing entry at other points would potentially result in delays, frustration and people bailing out for the totally valid reason they are fed up with waiting because we are stuck at some border. You must be between 22 and 34 years of age (I am 29). If you are a bit older, no problem, if you are younger you better have a good deal of experience with travelling. You must have no criminal record what so ever. Personally I dont care if you are a drug lord from Colombia, but you can be pretty sure various customs/government officials WILL care when applying for any kind of visa or travel document. You must have no medical condition that requires any kind of prescription drug. If the drug is easy to obtain in most countries, does not affect your driving ability or state of mind, and if not taking it as presecribed has no serious adverse effects, that's fine as well. Just remember the trip goes through some very thinly populated areas, and if you are having a seizure or attack in the middle of Kazakhstan, we will all be in a world of shit.
You must be from a country that can obtain all required visas for all countries we will be driving through. These are (in order of appearance) Australia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and the EU. All and any visas must be obtained in full by February 2009 at the latest. There can be absolutely no negotation on this issue - no one comes along unless all the paperwork is completely and verifiably in order. Your passport must be valid until at least November 2009. This is because some countries require it to be valid for at least six months when travelling through them. Bear in mind that some of the affected countries may not have a consulate or embassy in your country (especially Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and you will need to send your passport to them via the mail and get it back in time. The entire process of obtaining all required visas may take up to 3 months!
(2) Travel Experience and Attitude
We will be going through some not-so-easy places with not-so-happy people, and you must be extremely alert, security-oriented (but not machine-like boring!) and able to blend in properly into the changing environment. You must look like someone who is not easily screwed over. I know this is subjective, perhaps even unfair to ask, but it is extremely important. I have never been robbed on any of my travels, and as much as I would like to believe I have some guardian angel watching over me, if I am objective I think it is mostly because I come across as someone who knows what he is doing, is aware of his situaton and sensitive to local circumstances. In short - I need people that dont look like a tourist. Someone who just blends in, and enjoys doing so. If you like to flash your bling or mobile or show off in Pakistan with your western clothes and money, you are not coming ;)
(3) Character & Personality
You are calm, reasonable and do not panic when things become tough and in general have a positive, life-is-good-and-I-am-happy-to-live attitude about your existence. You do not let your ego get in the way of proper judgment, and you are considerate, able and articulate in formulating your needs and wants. You must realise that if you come along, this very well may be the coolest trip of your life - we all want to have fun and get the most out of it. I will need you to be very honest and upfront about what you want to acchieve and do on this journey. You must be self-sufficient to the point that at least in theory you would be willing to consider doing this trip by yourself. Self-reliance is a big plus. I am not saying I'll leave you for dead if you get in trouble, but bad shit can happen and when it does you may have only yourself to rely on for reasons beyond anyones' control.
You must speak English, Dutch or Polish. I also speak German but not good enough to have a complex conversation. Ideally you also speak any of the languages we will drive into, Russian in particular, but this is not very important. I am actually looking forward to not understanding a single sign and having to ask 80-year old grandmas on their bike where to go. Yes, seriously :)
(4) Compatibility of Interests
This section is slightly less important, but important nevertheless. As I said earlier, we will be in the car for a long, long time, and there will be plenty of moments where the scenery will not provide much conversation material, and we will need to be able to create our own conversations and enjoy it. My interests are primarily in the field of human psychology, future technologies in the area of reality generation and creation, religious issues (I am not religious at all, but very interested in many aspects of religion), human nature and the duality between biology and spirtuality and how those aspects of our psyche are in a constant struggle for domination within us.
I enjoy politics but on a more "global" level - I am not interested in who got elected recently or why this is good or bad - but I am always willing to talk about global trends, developments and historical implications of certain events or decisions.
Other interests include computers, german cars (I have a profound dislike for any Asian car, regardless of reliability or economy statistics) and I love passionate people, people that do their thing with a zeal and conviction what ever their thing may be.
I like people that see things in shades of grey, not black and white. To me everything is relative and my opinion can change quickly with new evidence presented. At times I can be easily tempted to do something crazy or supposedly dangerous, and am always willing to consider a whacko idea as long as it does not endanger the trip as a whole. So no, we wont be ferrying refugees ;)
Now before you start thinking I am a difficult person to deal with - no, its not that bad at all actually :) I generally get along with people very well, always look at the bright side of things, and very rarely get angry or upset. I am just sharing these traits with you as honestly as possible, so you can make an educated and proper decision about coming along. If my traits or demands put you off, it's probably not a good idea, if you think they are fine and you feel that two months with a dude like me is perfectly doable, excellent, drop me a mail :)
If I were to summarize the kind of person that I am looking for in one or two sentences, it would be: A relaxed, intelligent individual with a sense of freedom and unattachment able to feel at home anywhere and one that treats life as something fun without being too serious about it. Someone who just appreciates what he gets and is interested in the human condition and is always eager to explore new horizons. If this sounds like you, contact me now!
(5) Things that can not be negotiated
As with every undertaking, there will be a few rules and requirements other than the ones above that are set, which can not be negotiated and must be followed if you wish to come along. Some speak for themselves, others are simply my own personal requirements which may not be logical or even fair, but they are an intrinsic part of the kind of experience I want to take away from this trip. If you really think I am being unreasonable, email me anyway, I am always willing to listen, but bear in mind these requirements are here for a reason, not because I want to be difficult ;)
(a) The trip will be done in the Mercedes-Benz as pictured. No other vehicle will be considered.
(b) The trip will take place in March/April 2009. No other date range can be considered.
(c) No other countries can be visited except the ones for which we all have a visa.
(d) No drugs or alcohol to be onboard the car at any time. Violation means unconditional ejection.
(e) Under no condition can we pick up or take along hitch-hikers, bystanders or any person at all.
(f) Except for medical emergency reasons, no one leaves the trip before we arrive in Europe.
(g) Every non-food item you purchase must be approved by all of us to be taken along.
(h) We are not going into or anywhere near Iraq or Afghanistan. Forget it, some other time maybe ;)
b this has to do with climate/weather considerations, as well as my personal circumstances.
i this is to prevent us taking along items that can not be legally exported.
I can take with me a maximum of three people. I dont care whether you are male or female, although this may play a role once one or more travel-buddies are confirmed. Again it is wise for you to realize we will be travelling in one car, and so if you are a female and are sensitive or uncomfortable about inter-sexual situations, especially with people who in some ways will be strangers to each other, take that into consideration. Personally I am very chill about such things but dont let that stop you from having your own feelings about that.
PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BRING THEIR OWN CAR
If you are thinking - hey man, I can do this as well, how about we go with two or three or five cars - yes! By all means. However do bear in mind the cost of doing so is considerably more than what I am asking you to bring along if you join in my car. Many more things come in to play as well, such as what type of car you are driving, how reliable it is, what kind of service it will require, etc. etc. The car I am driving is fairly common in pretty much all countries of the world, and parts for it should not be too hard to come by. I am also bringing with me a small but vital stash of potentially needed parts such as a spare battery, a second spare tire, windscreen wipers, light bulbs, water pump, various filters and other items. If you would like to come along with your own vehicle (and perhaps even more people) please contact me and we will discuss this.
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