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The Land Cruiser is back on the road! It took a full two months of work. Our home on wheels had structural issues of body fatigue and the mechanic Nicolai constructed a roll-bar to prevent the bodywork from sagging.
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Additionally, Coen and he relocated the heavy household batteries, which now sit directly on the chassis rather than hanging from the already weak bodywork. Doing that, their eyes caught a few more cracks in the chassis, which were welded.
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The Last Bit of Kyrgyzstan (for now)
We got a beautiful introductory ride in the company of Karin-Marijke’s niece Jaimy who joined us for a short two weeks. A gorgeous drive around Issuk Kul Lake, across the Tosor Pass and wild camping along Song Kul Lake convinced us that the Land Cruiser was ready for the wilderness in Tajikistan.
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Right now we’re waiting for a permit to come through for the Pamir Highway (that’s a big ‘Yeah’ or ‘I want to go there too’ sigh from other overlanders. Those who have no clue what the Pamir Highway is, or means to overlanders, wait till you see the pictures!).
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As we’re waiting – they don’t speak Spanish here, but ‘mañana mañana' is just as real here – let’s do some newsletter talk.
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The New Silk Roads
The Present and the Future of the World
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For many years, one of the ‘must-reads’ for travelers to Central Asia has been The Silk Roads; A New History of the World, by Peter Frankopan. This book provides a great introduction into the history and culture of the Silk Road.
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By chance I learned about the publication of the follow-up on this book: The New Silk Roads; the Present and the Future of the World, which deals with the current happenings in the same Silk Roads regions and their position in the great shift of world politics.
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First Overland
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Thanks to Chris, a fellow overlander, I learned about the ’The Last Overland’ adventure and the book First Overland. The two are connected. We’ll talk more about this in an upcoming interview with him on the website, but in a nutshell:
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Fun fact: In the search for sponsors for the First Overland trip in the 1950s, the young men asked the BBC for support. A young fellow on the team called David Attenborough thought they had a cool story, gave them 200 pounds or so to buy some camera equipment. That same, meanwhile famous, Sir David Attenborough has written the introduction of the newly published:
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First Overland; London-Singapore by Land Rover.
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Sharing the Overlanding Vibes
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The above-mentioned Chris is meanwhile on the road with his girlfriend Charlie. They are a super fun, inspiring couple with many great stories to tell (including the British humor for good measure). Follow them on:
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Polarsteps
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Polar Steps apparently is the new platform to easily share routes, stories and photos. It's almost running on autopilot. But it's also a new refreshing way to explore, just type in a region or country and take you pick. So if you’re looking for inspiration, I think this is the platform to go to today.
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Among them are stories of people we’ve met this summer:
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Do you blog, vlog or podcast about overlanding? Tell us and we may share it here or on our Social Media. Just hit the reply button.
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Shopping on Amazon, or Not
Amazon is forever changing and growing. There are many reasons to critique the company and yes, do buy locally whenever possible.
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However, fact is that with some 3 billion products listed, Amazon is a convenience platform to buy your stuff and, depending on where you live, sometimes the only place to buy what you want/need.
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To centralize all the overland/hiking gear & equipment and other stuff that we use or is on our wish list, we have compiled this overview. Check it out for tips on what you might want to bring on your trip too. Mind you, this list is a work in process and will continuously be updated.
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You may have seen the small, narrow banner above our website stories with three icons on it. The icon on the right will also bring you to this page with recommended stuff.
Whenever you buy something on Amazon through this affiliated link, we will receive a tiny commission, which helps to keep our website (and journey) going. Thanks for using it.
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Overland Gear & Equipment Tip
For years the jerrycans on the Land Cruiser roof no longer served a purpose as we have a spare diesel tank underneath the carriage. The latter, however, was installed in an improvised manner, meaning – among other things – that it leaks when full and we are driving up gradients of 10% or more.
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Still, we want to carry extra diesel with us on the Pamir Highway where gas stations are not omnipresent and fuel quality is inferior. As we first have to drive from Osh to the Tadjik border, gaining some 3,200 meters in altitude, filling the spare tank is useless at this point.
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Come in the jerrycans. The previous time we used them was in Russia, when the Land Cruiser had stalled in -40 degree temperatures. We were glad to never have discarded of those rusty jerry cans and Coen walked 2 kilometers to a gas station to fill them up. He returned smeared in diesel because both turned out to be leaking (we had bought them second hand, 16 years ago, so they were entitled to retirement).
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Keep the Jerrycans or Not?
We deliberated buying new ones. How often do you use jerry cans? But they are light, take no space on the roof, and so we recently replaced them with new ones. Sturdy as they are, they will last many years, for sure.
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They have been filled up for the upcoming trip to the Pamir Highway!
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Check out the Latest Posts
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Ready to Explore Kyrgyzstan, A Little Bit, For Now - (Where are We - Kyrgyzstan 4)
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After weeks of hard work to get the Land Cruiser in shape we are more than ready to explore Kyrgyzstan, and after a 12-day trip we want more!
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Overlanders Handbooks - Books on Preparing your Overland Adventure
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How to build your rig, how to equip it, overlanders handbooks on road trips, and other practical books on preparing your overland adventure.
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DIY Awning - How To Build an Inexpensive Rear-door Car Awning
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Tips for a Rear-door, All-weather Protection, DIY Awning. A car awning for your overland vehicle to protect you in sun and rain.
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Follow daily bits and pieces of
Landcruising Adventure on:
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Thank You for Your Support
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As you may have noticed, part of the decals on the Land Cruiser have been updated.
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Let’s make his a good moment to give a shout out to all the corporate contributors of Land Cruising Adventure this year:
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Do you want to be part of our corporate contributors? Hit the reply button and let’s talk about the possibilities.
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What’s Next
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As mentioned earlier, we’re on our way to the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. We expect to be off the grid for a couple of weeks. Until October!
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Keep in Touch
Feel free to reach out if you have any travel questions, or just want to share what you are up to these days. We’d love to hear from you.
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If you have enjoyed this newsletter, will you Tweet us some love? Or forward it to a friend or two? Thanks!
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best,
Karin-Marijke & Coen
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Thanks for all of you who are supporting us on Patreon!
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For those who don't know what we're talking about, hit the button below.
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