Our idea to travel had come up long ago. Originally we had planned to work or study abroad and maybe do a doctor's degree. For many years Andreas did have some career opportunities, but the plans were not fully worked out and thus not considered. But it is true: If you really want something, then one day you will do it - no matter what it is. We wished to do something else for a while, to see something different, to meet other people and see various cultures and landscapes.
What was important to us: We didn't want to travel to a classical tourist spot, but to places in the world worth all the preparations, the planning and buying of equipment.
We finally decided to travel by land starting from Berlin and heading for North Africa, Arabia and Central Asia to reach China and India.
This way of touring was not new to us. The only difference was the planned length of our journey. We convinced our employers and bought a suitable cross-country vehicle which was converted and equipped to meet our needs. We then started organizing our tour. In all, it took us approximately 16 months to prepare.
The tragic events of September 11th occured in our final preparation phase - and shocked us deeply. We had to react to this new situation. To minimize the risks of our tour and to be able to observe recent political developments, we decided to change our travel route and to start from India. The land cruiser was shipped from Hamburg to Mumbai (Bombay). Please read our travel diary describing how our journey continued.
