Post by spinal on Jan 12, 2014 23:27:14 GMT
Terry - thanks for the kind words 
The part that most people don't realise from that site (or the pictures) is that I've done some much more dangerous things.
I've driven through several minefields, in standard, un-armoured vehicles (both as a passenger and as a driver - never with a guide, and only once by accident). I've had shoes thrown at my car while driving through villages called "Baghdad 2", and shops called "Boulangerie Osama bin laden". I've sat on the roof-rack of a car I was "driving" (with no passengers inside) while the car was doing 40-60mph (coke bottle holding the accelerator down as it didn't have cruise control). Similarly, I tried taking a nap while driving (same area), only to realise that no-matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall asleep in a vehicle I was driving, intentionally at least). I've driven through areas that the FCO "ban" travel too, including some parts of territory held by the AlQueda in mahgreb (african cousins of the better known group) - in some cases, in the middle of the night in a pug 106 (with 4 large blokes in the car and rucksacks on the roof - not exactly inconspicuous ).
Stupid? Yes. Immature? Probably. Brave? Not really. My "justification to myself" (if you can call it that) is that after spending 2 years in a hospital, I realised how fleeting life was. How we can be here a second, and disappear the next. That's when I vowed to never let an opportunity to do something pass, to not have any regrets. (that's the "mature" version - the less mature version is that sometimes I feel like it's only during those moments of extreme danger that I feel alive, as paradoxical as that sounds). It's all a calculated risk though - and whenever I put myself in danger, it's only after being reasonably confident about the outcome.
Here are some ideas I'm mulling about for the next year:
- drive the Dalton Highway, in a Smart car ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_Highway )
- fly to India, buy a auto-rickshaw and circumnavigate the country
- drive to Mongolia (Mongol Rally), in a 50cc Piaggio Ape
< shameless plug >
For now, I'm "relaxing" by organising something much less dangerous (and for a good cause), the White Hat Rally: www.whitehatrally.org (in fact, if anyone is around London on the 22nd, you're invited to our launch party: www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/white-hat-rally-3205806654 (tickets for the party are free, but donations to Barnardos welcome))
</ shameless plug >
Mark - I hope so too! My biggest "roadblock" (literally) is that I vowed never to return to Sierra Leone (and both Nigeria and Congo scare me - to be honest, any place where I'm given a ballistic vest and an armed guard...), and most of my African voyages tend to come down the West Coast. I don't know the east coast well enough to drive it without some serious preparation. So maybe in a few years I'll do the trip. I could fly down, but to be honest, I quite enjoy driving - you get to experience so much more, it's about the journey after all.
M.
The part that most people don't realise from that site (or the pictures) is that I've done some much more dangerous things. I've driven through several minefields, in standard, un-armoured vehicles (both as a passenger and as a driver - never with a guide, and only once by accident). I've had shoes thrown at my car while driving through villages called "Baghdad 2", and shops called "Boulangerie Osama bin laden". I've sat on the roof-rack of a car I was "driving" (with no passengers inside) while the car was doing 40-60mph (coke bottle holding the accelerator down as it didn't have cruise control). Similarly, I tried taking a nap while driving (same area), only to realise that no-matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall asleep in a vehicle I was driving, intentionally at least). I've driven through areas that the FCO "ban" travel too, including some parts of territory held by the AlQueda in mahgreb (african cousins of the better known group) - in some cases, in the middle of the night in a pug 106 (with 4 large blokes in the car and rucksacks on the roof - not exactly inconspicuous ).
Stupid? Yes. Immature? Probably. Brave? Not really. My "justification to myself" (if you can call it that) is that after spending 2 years in a hospital, I realised how fleeting life was. How we can be here a second, and disappear the next. That's when I vowed to never let an opportunity to do something pass, to not have any regrets. (that's the "mature" version - the less mature version is that sometimes I feel like it's only during those moments of extreme danger that I feel alive, as paradoxical as that sounds). It's all a calculated risk though - and whenever I put myself in danger, it's only after being reasonably confident about the outcome.
Here are some ideas I'm mulling about for the next year:
- drive the Dalton Highway, in a Smart car ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_Highway )
- fly to India, buy a auto-rickshaw and circumnavigate the country
- drive to Mongolia (Mongol Rally), in a 50cc Piaggio Ape
< shameless plug >
For now, I'm "relaxing" by organising something much less dangerous (and for a good cause), the White Hat Rally: www.whitehatrally.org (in fact, if anyone is around London on the 22nd, you're invited to our launch party: www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/white-hat-rally-3205806654 (tickets for the party are free, but donations to Barnardos welcome))
</ shameless plug >
Mark - I hope so too! My biggest "roadblock" (literally) is that I vowed never to return to Sierra Leone (and both Nigeria and Congo scare me - to be honest, any place where I'm given a ballistic vest and an armed guard...), and most of my African voyages tend to come down the West Coast. I don't know the east coast well enough to drive it without some serious preparation. So maybe in a few years I'll do the trip. I could fly down, but to be honest, I quite enjoy driving - you get to experience so much more, it's about the journey after all.
M.