Truck Life

Before I left and since I've been away loads of people have been asking about what type of vehicle we would be traveling in so I'm going to write a whole update about the truck and truck life.

This is not the first time I've been on an overland truck (you can read my Africa blog here if you like....) they are all a bit different however I can say that this is one of the most comfortable and well thought out trucks I've ever been on.

So Nick and Adam have both been driving overland trucks for years, for various different companies covering a number of different routes, countries and continents. They decided that they wanted to set up on their own so formed a company and then spent 8 months building their own custom-designed truck from scratch.

Standing in the middle looking back

Lockers at the back and above the seats

Inside there are 20 seats - 4 sets of 4 around tables and then 4 at the front looking out over the front of the cab and with an incredible view. There are massive windows around the edge which we can open almost all the way. I do miss the fun of the African style plastic open sides but it can get quite cold when we're driving so it's good that we're able to close the windows completely. At the back there are shelves which is where we keep all our own camping equipment (sleeping bags, roll mats, hiking boots, warm jackets etc.) and then another set of shelves around the edge where we can keep our day to day stuff. Between the two sets of tables we have a box of games and a box of books which are all communal. At the front we have another smaller bookshelf which is where we keep a  guidebook for each country we are visiting and a selection of maps etc. There is one guy on the truck who has a GPS device thing which he is using to track our exact route which is pretty cool so that lives there as well. Above that we have the stereo which we can plug ipods/computer etc. Into and then 4 USB chargers and 2 cigarette lighter chargers so we can charge pretty much all our stuff when the truck is running. Above that we have a buzzer which is our way of contacting Nick and Adam when we are driving (3 buzzes for a pee stop, 2 buzzes if we need to stop for another reason and 1 for an emergency) - much posher than our African Trails days where we used to have to lean out of the window and bang of the top of the cab with a broom desperately hoping it was a good enough road that Karl could hear us. Behind the front seats we have a massive fridge which is great as it means we can actually keep food (and beer) cold. The door is at the side which has a whiteboard on it which Nick writes the week ahead itinerary on.

Standing in the middle looking forward

View from the front looking out over the cab

Under the floor there are lockers which are used for bulk food (massive bags of pasta/rice etc. and gallons of UHT milk) and bits for the truck.

On the outside at the back there are the spare tires (we haven't had to change one yet - fingers crossed this continues), and a cage where we keep firewood for when we're camping. Underneath this there is a huge water tank which Nick/Adam fill up and treat and we use for cooking, cleaning and drinking (there is a handy little tap at the back of the truck).

We have two gas canisters and then a stove with 3 rings which pulls out from underneath one side. Next to this there are a couple of lockers which are full of cooking equipment, chopping boards, pans, utensils, plates, bowls, pretty much anything you can think of to be honest - it's a very well stocked kitchen! We have two kettles, and some bbq grills and ovens for cooking on the fire (although we have yet to do this) and stools for everyone to sit on when we're camping.

Kitchen Stuff

We keep fresh fruit and vegetables (which we buy daily at the markets) in two crates and then there are a number of boxes for dry food and oils, sauces and spices. We have two tables which we use for cooking and then a smaller one which we use for washing up. We are split into 7 cook groups so that means once every 7 days we are responsible for planning, buying and making breakfast, lunch and dinner that day. The groups rotate such that the day before you cook you have to help the group before with their meal (so mainly chopping stuff and washing up). We have had some great meals so far although we are still getting used to how much food we need for 15 people so if we continue like this I definitely won't be fitting into my jeans in Beijing. The other side of the truck is made up entirely of lockers for all our stuff and then two metal boards in case we ever get stuck and we need to dig the truck out (thankfully, these haven't had any use yet). 

Setting up camp

At the front there's a large locker which houses all our tents which are the two-man safari type ones and pretty roomy. There are a lot of us traveling on our own which is good so we've been split into pairs of tent mates (I'm with another English girl called Becky who is lovely, has a similar attitude to mornings as me and, most importantly, doesn't snore).
Weirdly I haven't been sleepwalking much here (or more likely, no-one is waking up to see me do it) but I'm sure I'll have some more interesting stories soon (or I'm just saving it all up for when Alice gets here).

Quick update from Istanbul

So after a fairly pleasant couple of hours on a eerily quite (but surprisingly nice) Ukraine Air plane (it's almost like no-one wants to fly with them, I can't think why...), a lovely nap in Kiev airport and some questionable breakfast on my connecting flight I have arrived in Istanbul! It's a national holiday today and the metro isn't running so i had to take a taxi to the hotel but that's probably good as I have over $5000 stuffed in my bra. I will meet the group at dinner tonight and then we leave tomorrow. 

I am off again!

So i am off! Later today (after a brief stop to say happy birthday to Abi, Mel and Will) I will make my way to Gatwick for a flight to Kiev and then onward to Istanbul where i will meet the truck and the group of people I'll be spending the next three and a half months with. The first part of my trip will take me Overland between Istanbul and Beijing, loosely following the footsteps of the Silk Road (see here for more info).I've no idea what the internet is going to be like or if this site will be blocked but  I will try and update this as often as i can.

I should probably get packing....