I'm driving around the world in a Fiesta - This is my story

[Drive_Further]

I was scrolling back through the stories I have told here only to realise I havnt shared one of my greatest moments! I bring you Slovakia:

Jan/Feb 2017....

I FOUND IT!! IVE ONLY GONE AND FOUND IT!!! 😍

The 2001 classic and arguably one of Owen Wilson's best performances is the masterpiece that is 'Behind the enemy Lines' I could quote it all day

Love the film so much. Some of the film was actually filmed out here in Slovakia.

Vague internet rumours that some where neary the Slovakian city of Košice the production company left behind props from the film. The most iconic being the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Well here she is! Maybe 20m tall.

Very powerful seeing her covered in bullet holes. Symbolic, in stark contrast her two halves destroyed and with her wing missing.

In the film she represents the struggles during the Bosnian War. Here in real life she stands over looking the beautiful Slovakian landscape

[Drive_Further]

Since writing I have said a final farewell to Kazakhstan and camera in hand said my final good bye to the beautiful steppes of the land. [pictured]

From experience I tend to stay a night at a border town or city. extensive land border crossings has taught me to expect the unexpected, abnormal delays can turn what was an intended 6 hour drive into a 10 hour day quite easily. From Astana I travelled to Pavoldar (KZ) and rested up, making a border run to Novosibirsk (RUS) the following morning.

The border crossing was abnormally long back into Russia, in addition to a 1 hour traffic queue, I was held [without being questioned] for about 2 hours on the Russian entry border. With electronic database entries tracking my travels around the Russian Federation, including the knowledge I had entered Crimea it seems my presence had raised suspicion. With my passport eventually stamped my suspicions were confirmed as a vehicle inspection was abnormally thorough with border guards tapping car panels - a tale sign that Im under suspicion of trafficking.  However with smiles all round and a friendly welcome to Russia, I was waved on in.

The immediate landscape is breathtaking, in stark contrast to the vast steppes, Siberia is filled to the horizon with rolling hills and trees. Trees everywhere.... accompanied by some of the largest eagles I have ever seen. With wingspans measured in meters they hunt a mere 20m off the ground above the grassland to the roadside. A spectacular sight and I must have seen no less than 50 in their natural habitat.

The P255 is the only road connecting Vladivostok to Moscow and remains, for the most part, surprisingly good quality from what I was expecting. The drive here all-in-all took around 2 weeks, mainly due to endurance driving and fatigue I found myself resting in cities for longer than initially anticipated. Novosibirsk Russia's third largest city was as expected, however Krasnoyarsk is lovely. Almost comparable to a European city, smaller and older its streets are smaller and with trendy wine bars and beautiful Parks it almost reminds me of Ghent, Belgium. In summary, Krasnoyarsk: A very lovely city.

My drive however has not been without incident sadly. Arriving in Irkutsk I've had my first experience of car theft in my entire trip spanning 2 years. My light bars both top and front were stolen... this is highly annoying more than anything else, as this happened on my final day about 10 hours before my natural departure from the city which doubled the 'annoying' factor.

From a practical level it doesn't effect me at all, in fact the light bars were the primary reason traffic police stopped me as they were illegal in most of the Central Asian countries I visited. Further more I barely used them, combined with the fact White Nights [a phenomenon where the sun doesn't set in summer months due to the Earths rotation] is in full swing out here, allowing for about 20 hours of daylight and perpetual dusk/dawn.. it means I likely wont even had turned them on outside of photo opportunities.

..It's just REALLY annoying/aesthetically annoying as its so close to my final destination that this has happened. I literally would have paid them not to do it given the choice.

Anyways, Krasnoyarsk as a city and it's people are nice, I wont let the act of an idiot diminish my mood. Especially as I now write this from Listvyanka...

Welcome to the shores of Lake Baikal! Truly proud to have driven this far in the Fietsa, a great achievement!

Fun Baikal facts: This is the largest fresh water Lake in the world.. and in every definition. Baikal is the largest in terms of surface area, in terms of water volume, and at a depth of 1.1 miles is the deepest lake in the world. For a sense of scale Baikal is larger than the 3 North America Lake combined! (Combined again surface area, AND water volume!)

Ive never been scuba diving before, with water crystal clear, I figured Id give it a go! [me pictured]

I had an amazing time, I struggled initially to learn the technique for removing water from inside the goggles (A constant issue I had) however I got learned it eventually. It felt like a pretty solid 30/40 minute dive, certainly enough for me to go back on Tuesday for more thus extending my stay at Baikal.

Pretty cool seeing the ocean floor drop away, can understand why people get vertigo for the floor just drops from under you, similar to Cayton Bay if anyone is familiar with the landscape. Attached are photos from above events. 

I end with 2 nice little stories I have yet to mention

1) I met this really nice guy [pictured] in Astana who met his idol... his idol was me.. the owner of the little Fiesta which had driven all the way to his city from England. We talked for hours, he showed me pictures he took to show his family because no one believed him. 

2) Bored and mildly intrigued... I Googled my registration number, and found a .RU website with candids [pictured] of my car and people talking about spotting me along my travels!

I am now UTC +8 meaning I am literally 1/3 of the way around he Earth. Next time I update you all I will be back on the road... my final leg after 2 years of travel... to Vladivostok!

[Drive_Further]

"SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE 😄

Over the past couple of days, I've been sat at my computer and really got my act together regarding instagram. I've upgraded my account to a business account which allows me to automatically upload thus plan future uploads. Ive deleted all previous content to my account and with a focus to push my photography, I've planned ahead for the next month with 2 uploads a day.

Content at the moment is sparse but this will routinely build up over time meaning a month from now I will have a small body of around 50 photos. 

I really have neglected social media, and whilst travelling often become quickly lethargic managing accounts. Facebook will likely continue to be neglected, but I enjoy writing here on the forums, and as my view count grows it seems there's enough interest in my ramblings.

For anyone unfamiliar, I used to instagram quite frequently initially. However upon entering Kosovo my perspectives were blown wide open regarding poverty. Having never been outside the western before this trip it was an eye opener. Overnight I stopped using social media and the whole hashtag mentality seemed facetious. With 6D and 35 Sigma Art, I was very self conscious and almost embarrassed walking around with £2k worth of kit taking photos of poverty.

However, when I did eventually become comfortable enough to continue my photography I noticed my interest n subject matter had changed away from my usual architecture/landscape, shifting towards photographing people.

 A follow from anyone reading this would be appreciated and would go a long way! Thankyou! -Dan

@drive_further

https://www.instagram.com/drive_further  
 

[Drive_Further]

It has been some time since my last post, the road has been long.. Siberia is vast. Im so proud to conclude I've made it to Vladivostok.

I wrote this sat on shore of the Pacific Ocean watching the sun set...

Before I continue to write anything of substance, I first need to show appreciation to the true MVP of this entire journey, credit where credit is due, I say a "thank you" to my 2002 Ford Fiesta.

It has taken me everywhere without even moaning, from the -25 temperatures of Murmansk (which lies well within the Arctic Circle) to the vast steppes of Kazakhstan... it has been personally escorted into the closed town of Baikonur by the Russian space agency Roscosmos... it has been searched thoroughly by border customs which suspected it for being a trafficking vehicle for human organs, it has crashed though Russian Federation military checkpoints, has crossed deserts and grasslands, has climbed the mountains and valleys of Asia.. has entered annexed Crimea (which is illegal and breaks UK, EU and international law), from the borders of China to the borders of Afghanistan, from Kosovo to the largest lake in the world: Baikal ... I am so so proud of my first car.

This trip began in 2016, a road trip which has come to a fitting conclusion after nearly exactly 2 years.

Russia has been a country I have wanted to visit for over a decade, and oh so casually a former colleague went to Moscow to visit her brother. I was so so envious, so jealous, and it was this event which was likely the catalyst that lead me to where I am today.

It was mere months after her visit I had given work my notice and applied for a Russian visa, (in fact from memory she even helped with my early visa enquiries by asking her Dad questions for me) .. with visa approval and my theory that Russia 'wasn't that far' I decided to drive instead of fly.

35,000 miles later I have arrived in Vladivostok, a goal I set myself but in reality never expected to make it.

They say its not about the destination but about the journey, and I can honestly say: whilst this is true, to reach the Pacific Ocean is an amazing feat.

The people I have met along the way, the friends I have made for life, seeing poverty and having perspectives blown apart, I am very humbled to have had such an experience.

From selfies with strangers, people waving and beeping welcoming me to their cities, traffic pulling me over and asking for selfies, the whole trip has been amazing and I will cherish memories for life. With 35,000 photos perhaps one day I will write a book, but for now I simply write these words...

I say farewell to my car, for this has always been a 1 way journey for the Fiesta.

Transport Aid Japan is a NPO located out of Japan specialising in providing Africa with cars donated, however they no longer operate since my initial departure and thus the fate of the Fiesta has been an unknown for sometime.

After last minute plans I'm happy to say I've found a charitable solution, I've spent the day meeting with the guys from Drive2Vladivostok (an instagram account primarily focused on models and the modded car scene) they do a great amount of local community work:- especially for an orphanage here in the city with children aged 5-16. Drive2Vladivostok have been integral to helping me find a charitable solution, Im really grateful for their help.

My car is to be sold and all the proceeds donated to the orphanage, I find comfort that hopefully the Fiesta will find a new life and also help those less fortunate than me along the way. The DVLA will be notified that this has been gifted.

I sign off with a warm thank you to everyone I've met along the way for the happy memories you've given me.

[Drive_Further]

[volts]

@Steve Think this is now worthy of sticky status

[Dan P]

Congratulations on making it all the way to Vladivostok, it's a massive achievement (both for you and the Fiesta!) Reading this post has been incredibly inspirational and given me some great ideas for future travel and adventures. 

Are you continuing your travelling via other means or is this the end of the road altogether?

[Steve]

13 hours ago, Dan P said:

Congratulations on making it all the way to Vladivostok, it's a massive achievement (both for you and the Fiesta!) Reading this post has been incredibly inspirational and given me some great ideas for future travel and adventures. 

Are you continuing your travelling via other means or is this the end of the road altogether?

I agree... very inspirational. Dark Tourism by road i call it. I am also hooked on these adventures and planning my next.

Well done Dan for finishing your trip. Many happy memories and I bet it wont be long before you have another itch to scratch, I'm itching all the time to get back on the road.

i have stickied and featured this post for all to read. 

if you get any more pics to add then please do add them Dan 😄

[black_cat47]

You really are living the dream here! I can't express how envious I am of you and your travels, this is something which I absolutely want to go out and do at some point in my life. 

 

[HollyFaye]

Well done what a road trip  great memories for you have really enjoyed reading your posts 

[hazelanns]

Keep it up Man! I support you since I also have ford fiesta 2016 but never thought of traveling the world with it. You are an inspiration to me.

[rogeliobowers]

Wow! That's such a great story. What a wonderful trip and yet once of a lifetime experience Keep it up!

Hoping I can escape my world and do something like that in the future.