A mobile home tour through France last year was the initial spark for the project ahead of us (my girlfriend Elvira and myself). The freedom to decide what to do without being constricted by the shackles of a "regular" lifestyle with a "regular" job is one of the ultimate drivers for this trip. Although I hate to resort to the (in my eyes) rather overused expressions of "widening horizons" and "getting to know new cultures" - these are of course also reasons to undertake such a trip.
For the ones who do not know anything about the plans just yet here is a short itinerary. Elvira and I will live in Adelaide, SA for six months from September to March. I will be writing my master thesis during that time at the UNI SA whilst Elvira will improve her English skills (three months school and then practice, practice and practice).
After that the plans are to travel to Hong Kong and then return to Switzerland overland. Since the latter is just a bit farther than walking distance we will just cover a few thousand kilometers of the distance on foot, the rest by train. At least that is the idea so far. Plans are made to be altered and adapted. If we love walking we might just decide to not use the train so often. If we find a nice place to stay for a while we will stay.
Since the political situation in Pakistan is rather uncertain at the moment (and taking the direct route back to Switzerland necessarily involves entering Pakistan) we decided to return via China. If possible without too much hassle (visa, mandatory guide, ...) and costs we would like to cross Tibet. If that turns out to be too difficult we will have to go around Tibet (Kunming - Chengdu - Xining). The map outlines the very rough route (due to the large map scale border crossings etc. are not drawn correctly)
"Why travel on foot?"
Why travel on foot? Why carry a heavy backpack with supplies for thousands of kilometers when there are buses, cars and airplanes? A question I was asked numerous times in the last few weeks.
Walking allows, if not to say enforces, a very intensive dialogue with the environment and its inhabitants. Walking is an environmentally responsible way of traveling. Walking slows us down in a hectic world. Walking teaches us to live simply in a world of abundance. I could go on with this list for ages but I think that's enough for now to give you an idea.
A last word to our blog: We will be updating the blog regularly but we also won't make ourselves slaves of it. Expecting an update every 2 - 4 weeks is probably realistic.
Walking allows, if not to say enforces, a very intensive dialogue with the environment and its inhabitants. Walking is an environmentally responsible way of traveling. Walking slows us down in a hectic world. Walking teaches us to live simply in a world of abundance. I could go on with this list for ages but I think that's enough for now to give you an idea.
A last word to our blog: We will be updating the blog regularly but we also won't make ourselves slaves of it. Expecting an update every 2 - 4 weeks is probably realistic.
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