Travel Diaries
London to Kathmandu 1983–4. The first days.
The Bedford truck was not a disappointment in the least. It looked well-used, an authentic overlanding vehicle that may, or may not make it to Kathmandu in one piece. When I look at modern day long haul trucks, they look relatively comfortable, if rather bland and characterless. Ours was a sight to behold, a fact verified by others sharing the same road as we set out across Europe.
It was the end of September 1983 when I met the truck, driver, co-pilot and fellow passengers at Dover, where we waited for a night crossing to Belgium. A diverse collection of travellers we were here with our own reasons for embarking on this three month journey. I was excited at what lay ahead.
The night crossing was less than smooth, and was followed by an all night drive to our first camp site. Here we were introduced to our nighttime shelters, and the skill of getting the tents up and down as quickly as possible, then packed away, with all pegs and spacers counted and present. My cellmate, Jackie (Australian), and I immediately lost a spacer and had to improvise with the neck cut clean from a Nivea bottle of some, now unessential, lotion. Lesson learned.
Cook Teams were formed. Not my forté, which I confessed to quickly, asking to be the gofer on a team with superior skills. My job would be to wander the markets and haggle for ingredients likely to make a satisfying meal for the hungry ..and surprisingly discerning diners. It all became a bit of a cook off between the teams, and happily, the Galloping Gourmet events rarely ended in galloping gut-rot.
Familiar with the location of our under seat lockers, resigned to the very limited space (the size of a medium backpack by volume), and the realisation by a few that ‘stuff’ would have to be ditched, we practised rolling up the tarp sides, releasing them, sponging down dusty surfaces, learning when to push the ‘STOP’ bell ..and when not to. So many things to learn, but we had three months to get it right. By the end of three months, we were to become experts in a variety of skills, and solid team players at last.
