HELP A BROTHER OUT!
As you must realise, this kind of trip is not cheap. It isnt ludicrously expensive either, but I am considering some options to accept sponsorship in one way or another. So if you want to help me out with some advise, a decent map, perhaps a place to stay in the middle of Kazakhstan, check my car out at a service station along the way, or simply by sending me some cash, by all means let me know.
In case you were wondering, yes, I am planning to make a diary and perhaps even write a book, in so far as books are at all the way to go these days, it seems most people just prefer a blog. While I can not promise I will write anything too expansive, I am pretty sure this trip will be turn out to be a massive barrage of impressions and adventures and it would be a shame not to put something down on paper or webpage for future travellers or for people who just like to read about other peoples' problems ;)
Either way, I will be taking with me various photo and video cameras to document this epic journey as best as I can. In my google and wiki sessions I have not yet come across anyone documenting exactly this kind of trip, so it certainly will be a first in some respects. I can guarantee that anyone who helps me and my co-travellers out will be first in line to receive any kind of book I may write, and definitely will receive a royal and honourable mention in the blog!
Visitors from Travel book companies
Do you work for Lonely Planet? Rough Guides? Interested in getting a deal on my story? Yes, I am interested in talking with you. Contact me using the details below and let me know what you can offer me. I am a quite proficient writer (just look at the overload of text on this website!) and am quite willing to consider any deal regarding selling you my journal or story, provided that I can keep my independence, can completely stick to my chosen route (and change it at will), and will receive a fair reward for my effort.
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Types of help & sponsorship that are accepted
(1) Travel advise
If you have been travelling (preferably by car or motorbike) in the countries that I will visit along the way, by all means write or talk to me using the contact details provided below. If you know good books on some of the areas I will be visiting, feel free to direct me to them, but please bear in mind they must be as current as possible. Most of the countries I will be going through are undergoing rapid and significant changes and so information from even 2005 is often useless or even counter-productive.
(2) Places to stay
A good way for me to keep the cost of this trip down is to find places along the way I can stay at for little or no money. While I am mindful of the fact the car isnt exactly a rusty bicycle and so may be prone to theft, I am willing to consider all and any offers of accomodation in all countries my Benz will grace with its four wheels. If you are planning to offer such accomodation, please realise I will most likely be travelling with a group of 3-4 people, some of which may be female, so make sure to consult your local moral code to see whether hosting a group like that is not a shortcut to eternal damnation.
I like to keep a low profile, I dont want to get embroiled in some medieval lynching of my friendly host just because I was travelling with a woman and he had the audacity to host her while being married, or a virgin, or any other random type of human that for some ancient reason is not allowed to look at or touch anything female. While I will certainly respect your local customs and traditions, please also respect I am not religious and will be neutral towards any religious advances.
(3) Car maintenance and preperation
Have you travelled a long, long distance with a similar vehicle? Know how to prepare a car like mine to survive hot, dusty places? I will be most happy to hear your advise or listen to experiences with this and any other car-related subject. I do not expect any massive breakdowns, but we all know cars can come up with random unpleasant surprises, especially ones that are 20 years old. If you want to offer me service en-route to check the car and fix what ever is needed, very happy! Of course I dont expect you to work for free or fork out cash for spare parts, so expect to be paid for any labour done :). If you are in a remote area like the middle of Uzbekistan and wish to help me out with the car, do however let me know what kind of turnover time I can expect, whether it is easy for you to find parts, etc. so I can properly asses the impact on the journey time. Needless to say I prefer Mercedes specialists, but anyone with decent mechanical skills will be most welcome to keep my beloved Benz in top condition :)
(4) Financial support
If you are feeling generous and are in a mood to donate me and my potential co-travellers some money to make the trip easier to accomplish, well, I won't stop you. As I said above, I will be documenting this trip very throroughly, and anyone who helps me out will definitely be in pole position to receive any book, photos or blogs that may come as a result of it. All and any money donated will be put aside into an account and all donations will be untouched until the trip actually begins. Should the trip for some reason not take place, you will be refunded the full amount less any transaction fees. My PayPal address is woy@bestia.net, and I will be keeping very meticulous track of anything sent my way.
Types of help & sponsorship that are NOT accepted
(1) Advertising
My car is not a billboard. I am not planning to drive around covered in stickers and mini-advertisements. So unless you can offer me a really, really good deal (the kind of deal that pays a big part of the whole trip) I am not even going to consider any offer to have my beloved vehicle covered in your ad. Sorry, I see enough ads as it is already in everyday life, I do not plan to be any part of it myself. There are a very few exceptions. If you are working for Mercedes Benz and think this would be a cool thing to sponsor, hey, give me a call :) Although the car itself should be enough advertisement for your awesome brand, no need for any stickers I think. But if you want to donate me some groovy Mercedes-Benz emblazoned clothing, yeah baby, I'm your man!
(2) Transport/Mail service
I will not deliver something (or someone!) for you to some relative in Turkmenistan in exchange for cash. I recommend you use FedEx or some other well-known service. If you cant use those, I imagine the object or person you wish me to transport for you is not entirely legal to begin with, so no, I am not going to be your drug mule only to spend 4553 years in a Kazakh prison surrounded by sweaty 50 year old men. I can not accept any items for delivery, period.
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