Half way!

Well who’d have thunk?  It turns out that as the crow flies, my unplanned sojourn in Luang Prabang is pretty close to exactly 9,000km both to Melbourne and to London.  This occurred to me only an hour or so after I stumbled this afternoon across a sign pointing to a bunch of internationally significant cities including London and Sydney (just add 1,000km to the latter for Melbourne).

The first 9,000km of flying crows have taken about 15,000km of rubber on road.  My nearly-original guestimate was a 30,000km total trip, so it seems I’m about on track.

At least by distance.

Monday just gone was 6 months to the day since I packed up and left my Melbourne flat.  I budgeted 6 months for the whole trip to London.  Maybe if I’m brutally honest, I wished rather than planned for it to be 6 months; more justifiable than an extrapolated 12 months.  Hmmm.  I used to think I was a half-decent project manager, but at 100% blow-out, I’d sack me.

Where I’m failing on schedule, I might make up a little ground through pure persistence.  I’ve pushed through two decent accidents (two that I’ve admitted to in my diary or out loud, anyway), two Covid-“vax” immigration check-points where I charmed and tricked my unvaxed way around the rules, two customs checkpoints that didn’t like my bike’s “Carnet” paperwork, a couple of border extortion attempts, one itinerary impossibility with closed borders and no financially-feasible alternatives, and finally entry to China which has only just become possible for the great unwashed (I mean “unvaxed”) as a neat by-product of delays from all the above.

What could possibly go wrong in the flying crow’s next 9,000?

I’m not holding my breath to find out.

4 Comments

  • Elizabeth

    What an achievement and sheer persistence and charm!

  • Hi Daniel
    Very much enjoying tracking with you. If you plan to drive through Italy you must visit Assisi. We can let you have details of a cheap place to stay right in town. Are you planning to sell your bike in the UK?
    Blessings
    Paul and Rosanne.

  • Mikael

    If you find your way to Jinan Shandong China, a bed, food and a friend for a cuppa is available.

  • Amy

    Happy halfway. Congrats from the Boyds

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