Trying to book a sumer holiday

On this soggy, sub zero day, I am looking for adventure – the trip of a lifetime – preferably a long road trip that will give all my horizons a dimensional boost.

Idly trawling travel websites, and flicking through brochures, and glossy weekend magazines – not uninspiring, but eminently unaffordable on my miniscule holiday budget.

Let’s see, a summer trip down the Danube. No thanks. What about 12 days floating down the Volga or a week cruising down the Nile. I’m not a great one for cruising. Here’s another one – a golf cruise around the Mediterranean. Anyway they’re all well over 3000 Euros each.

And then this – a 49 day bus and rail trip across Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and Mongolia – from Brest on France’s Atlantic coast all the way to Vladivostok on the Pacific – a very Churchillian jaunt, from the Atlantic to the Urals and beyond. I’m up for this, but at 17500 Euros it’s a bit pricey and … well I have thought of a few logistical concerns.

What to pack ?– 49 days and nights on the road – I’ll need to pack a lot of clothing especially underwear and socks – a new pair of everything everyday – that’s a lot of underpants, and what about dirty Laundry ? I guess I’d just buy cheap underwear and T shirts and such and chuck the stuff away as I go. Then there are other concerns such as shaving – the battery in my electric razor will only go so far. Will I be able to charge it up again in Moscow or Mongolia ? Have they got the same plug points as us ?

There is also the question of life on the bus. What happens if I get a seat next to the toilets, or next to someone I don’t like or, worse still, 49 days sitting next to someone who just never shuts up ?

And once on the bus – 49 days of staring out the window.

Of course this is a blogger’s trip – endless photos and long posts of everywhere you go, and you’d be so busy blogging about where you’ve just been, you’d probably miss where you’re going next.

No, this is far from an adventure, it sounds a very stressful enterprise. For all those interested though – here is a map of the itinerary and the company’s website address. Jus make sure you can get fifty days or so off work.

http://www.pouchkine-tours.com/

Anyway, I’m not one for coach tours. I once did a day trip on a coach in Scotland. We left at an ungodly hour of the morning, when we got to where we we’re going there was no time to see anything, and every ten minutes the bus had to stop to let people off to go to the toilet.