Travel Blog

And this concludes our Overland Travel Blog.

Posted by Caroline

About 20 years ago we started dreaming of this trip and now, incredibly, we have completed it, and are back home. The 'back home' part still feels a bit surreal every now and then. No more planning of the next day: planning a route and destination almost every day, distance that can be done on the given roads, finding accommodation for the night, sightseeing en route,...

In the coziness of Sterlin, our trustworthy Land Rover, we were able to drive to and through countries, deserts, steppes, mountains, cities, Unesco sites, along rivers; we crossed international borders, met fellow minded travelers, made new friends, caught up with and renewed bonds with old friends, and time and time again, were awed with the beauty, vastness and diversity of the world and its people.
It made us realize how fortunate we were simply for being able to experience the world like this.

It truly was the Adventure of a Lifetime.

We hope you have enjoyed our stories and photos.
Thank you for following along.
We will further update existing posts with more links were possible, and we will add photo albums on the 'Photos page'.
All you aspiring Overlanders, feel free to drop us a line.

Caroline and Stephen (and Sterlin).

Numbers

Posted by Stephen

Some of the key statistics from the Trip:

Distance Traveled = 56,560 kms (35,145 miles)
Time Spent away from home = 578 Days (or 1 Year 7 Months)
Countries Visited = 34
Countries Sterlin Visited =23
Visas Obtained = 10
Borders Crossed = 57
Borders Sterlin Crossed = 29
Accidents with Sterlin = 4
Breakdowns with Sterlin = 1
Tire Punctures = 2
Other Issues with Sterlin = 15
Planned Maintenance with Sterlin = 4
Unplanned Maintenance with Sterlin = 4
Traffic/Vehicle Violations = 0
Bribes Paid = 2
Cost of Bribes = $16
Major Medical or Health Issues = 0
Stomach Bugs - Stephen = 3
Stomach Bugs - Caroline = 3

Sterlin finally made it home.

- USA Posted by Caroline

Monday, December 22nd.

Thanks to gps tracking we spotted Sterlin's cruise ship, 'Hapag-Lloyd Seoul Express' in the Bay just across from Pier 32. Sterlin was in one of the smaller containers at the front of the ship.

Thursday, January 8th.

When we dropped Sterlin off in Rotterdam to be shipped to Oakland, CA, the scheduled arrival date was November 29th. Due to a labor dispute between operators of the 29 West Coast port terminals and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union which has brought a worker slowdown, Sterlin didn't arrive till this day.
*At the time of writing (Feb 10), the dispute entered its 14th week and ships and cargo containers from San Diego to Seattle were stacking up leaving produce to wilt and frustrating customers worldwide.

Once back home, where he now has his own spot in the garage, Stephen waisted no time converting Sterlin back to a 'normal' car: shelving unit and water tank got taken out, tent and roof rack came off and back seats were put back in... et voilá: no one would ever know that he just came back from an amazing around the world overland adventure!

For the week following we made several appointments with the DMV to get Sterlin re-registered and roadworthy - ready for a quick jaunt up to Vancouver, Canada.

Tuesday, February 10th.

This day we - finally - got around to paying Philippe at Euroland 4x4 Center a visit. Philippe checked over and tuned up Sterlin before we left on our adventure and we believe that mainly thanks to him we had no major issues en route.

With Philippe at Euroland 4x4.

Waiting for Sterlin.

- USA Posted by Caroline

Saturday, December 13th.

We are still waiting for Sterlin to arrive back home. Not only has his ship been delayed with a few weeks (tell me something new); there also seems to be some 'actions' from the stevedores (really tell me something new). All we can do is wait.
Some official also decide that the container will need to be x-rayed on arrival... what are they expecting to find? Guess who gets to pay for this special treatment...

Meanwhile we are slowly settling back into San Francisco life. Most of the boxes have been unpacked, most of our furniture is back (we are still missing our bed), computers and internet are up and running, 21st Amendment is still there....

Homeward Bound. November 29-30, 2014.

- USA Posted by Caroline

It had arrived: the last day of our 'Around The World Trip'.
That evening we boarded a plane in Ho Chi Minh / Saigon that took us back home to San Francisco.
Bittersweet really. On the one hand we felt sad that the adventure had come to its close; on the other hand we felt good about going back home again after 18 months.
The re-adjusting to San Francisco life could begin.

Ho Chi Minh / Saigon. November 27-29, 2014.

- Vietnam Posted by Caroline

Thursday, November 27th

During the morning we sailed up the Saigon River, which was a little surreal. The river is big, but it feels a lot smaller when sailing in a cruise ship. By lunchtime we arrived on Ho Chi Minh city proper. We did a little exploring of the city, mainly visiting the markets in search of affordable silk cushion covers. We found what we were looking for. The heat was getting to us, so we only headed back to the air conditioned comfort of the ship.

The number of motor scooters in this town is a little insane. And we managed to cross the streets without get mowed down. The trick it seems is to not do anything unexpected, as the locals don't expect the unexpected. Of course we found the local Starbucks.

The old world and the new world.

Found the local Starbucks.

Friday, November 28th

We had great plans to head back into the city, but the heat kept us away. A little bit lazy on our part, but we were just happy enjoying our last days of luxury before returning to the real world.

Saturday, November 29th

We walked into town after lunch and did a little window shopping. Mum picked you a tailored outfit which she arranged the day before. Amazing that tailors can whip up outfits overnight like that, and for a pretty good price. We picked up a few Christmas gifts along the way. We were getting use to the heat again and could stay out longer, but as the sun started to set we headed back to the ship. Being near the equator, the sun sure does set fast here.