A FROME couple will be enjoying life somewhere deep in Uzbekistan this week as they continue their once-in-a-lifetime trip driving from Tokyo back to Somerset.
Clare Simmons and Mark Barton had lived in Tokyo for five years until July when, instead of moving straight back to Frome, they set off on the most epic trip of their lives through Russia, Asia and the Middle East towards Greece.
Speaking to the Frome Times this week, Clare and Mark were in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, having already travelled over 17,000 miles.
Clare, who works as a teacher said, “We’re both enjoying travelling immensely and especially travelling with our own car as it has given us a great amount of flexibility. Not going to work is an added bonus especially for Mark, though I miss the children at school! We both agree that our favourite country has been Mongolia – everything fell into place there. We had beautiful warm weather and it didn’t get dark till about 11pm so we had long light evenings which was lovely. Mongolia is definitely a top destination for overlanders to visit as the driving is challenging yet great fun and you really feel that you are out in the wilderness.
“The people are extremely friendly and will come up to say hello and stay for a cup of tea. There’s no shared language but with the Mongolians being traditionally nomadic there’s lots of gesturing about where one is from and where one is going.”
The couple plan on stopping in Greece before finally returning to Frome, and will drive through Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Turkey en route.
They are driving the route in a 27 year-old Toyota Land Cruiser they named ‘Totty’. Satellite navigation helps them find fuel stations en route, some of which fill up using a bucket and a funnel, and others that charge 35p or less per litre of petrol.
“The car is being utterly amazing,” Clare said. “She’s 27 years old so we’ve half been expecting something to go wrong but so far nothing has! We have certainly done a lot of off-roading and she has coped remarkably well.
“We both enjoy the challenging parts where you’re driving along roads clinging onto mountain sides! Doing this journey with a car is fantastic: being able to go where and when you want gives you such freedom to explore each country.
“Central Asia is stunning, especially the mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan. The Wakhan Valley in Tajikistan was breathtaking too; the river that runs alongside it marks the border with Afghanistan.
“We were both so obsessed about whether we would be too cold as winter approached, that the beautiful autumnal colours and watching people harvesting has been an added bonus.”
Clare and Mark have spent a handful of nights in hotels or at guesthouses, but sleep most nights in the 4×4 on the road.
“Wild camping certainly took a bit of getting used to at first. We would both often wake in the small hours and, as there is so very little light pollution, you only had your sense of hearing to use. I definitely felt paranoid – especially in Russia. However, over time you get used to it and now I’m not generally scared at night at all.
“The people of Central Asia are unbelievably hospitable and friendly; many of the young in the cities speak pretty good English. Everywhere we went in Almaty, the old capital of Kazakhstan, people would say hello and ask us where we were from.
“We’ve had a couple of brazen bribes from the police which, I have to say, is quite a strange experience! They start off with an astronomical amount, usually in American dollars, and then you eventually barter them down. In the Wakhan Valley we were looked after by AK47 clad Tajik soldiers who patrol the porous border with Afghanistan. They were worried we were going to be shot by snipers!
“We underestimated how far we’d have to drive and have certainly taken some longer more scenic routes at times! It’s actually quite scary how small the world is – you could end up getting home in a few weeks if you drove all day, so we’ve tried to slow down and take detours.”
Clare and Mark are documenting the journey online with drone footage and photos of the breathtaking route. Follow their progress at www.fromewardbound.com or on Facebook.
