I discovered today that Google Maps is able to give driving directions from Singapore to Kabul. It would only take about four days of non-stop driving (4,400 miles/7,100 kilometers). Singapore to Malaysia to Myanmar, and through Bangladesh and Northern India along the borders of Bhutan and Nepal. Other than the last 1,000 miles through Pakistan it would probably be smooth sailing!
I have driven across the United States twice by myself and once on a Greyhound bus. If I can survive a solo drive with a cat, a kitty litter box and no air conditioning from Barstow to Oklahoma City, I think I could get pretty far with the kids on the South Asian Subcontinent.
The goal, of course, would be to make it an adventure in eating. When I drove from Seattle to Washington, D.C. via the southern route I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Calvin Trillin, figuring I could sample BBQ all along the way. Which I did, in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kentucky. As they say in academia, more research is needed.
I ran into a dry spell of good food along the Virginia highways but it was just as well as the cat had been through a lot by then. To keep her cool I put a zip-lock bag of ice under a towel in the cat carrier but by Amarillo she no longer waited for me to fold the towel and straddled the bag of ice. I had never seen a cat panting before, or a cat as sad-looking as when the the ice melted and the bag leaked.
Of course the weather is always an issue. It can be brutally wet or hot in India, and Elysia reports that this week there has been a lot of snow near Kabul, so it is not a good time to visit even if I could go there. In any case, it would not be a lot of fun to get into a snowball fight with someone who carries a 9mm Beretta M9 pistol and has a Sharpshooter qualification.
Click on the photo for a larger version.
Sadly, we are unlikely to make it to India any time soon. Higher up on the list are Cambodia, Laos and Taiwan and we will be lucky if we make it to two of those places this summer when Elysia returns from Afghanistan.
Instead, the kids and I will just have to suffer through a six-day trip to Bali in February, something I felt obligated to book when I saw sale fares for US$100 round-trip from Singapore. We have heard good and bad things about Bali — beautiful in parts, Spring Break party in others — though I am also hoping to ferry over to Lomboc for some time on the beach.
Until then we will just have to stare out the window and look for monkeys, such as this one. He rejected what was in our trash bin but seems to be headed toward our patio furniture. It seemed slightly used last time we returned from traveling and someone left mango pits behind.
Walking along the drain at the back of the house, near the maid’s quarters:
Well well well, look who is outside my kitchen door:
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What an adventure that would be! I could meet you in Taiwan this summer. I have nothing going on!
Okay, Jenny. We’ll keep you posted! Summer is going to be a whirlwind but who knows.