Overview

1974

In 1973 we decided to go on a trip to Kashmir and started to save hard.  In the autumn of 1973 we were hit by the petrol crisis and decided to go as soon as possible after Christmas.  We set the date of 26th March 1974.

On 10th February 1974 we bought our Volkswagen Camper Van, left hand drive with split windscreen.  We then proceeded to get all the information we possibly could about all the countries we proposed to visit.  We also had to get visas for Afghanistan and a Carnet de Passages for the vehicle (this item proved to be very expensive).  We purchased a lot of spares for the van, provisions of food (about 40 days supply) and many other useful items.

We set off on Tuesday 26th March 1974 with just enough time to say goodbye to our families.  Neil dropped a huge cardboard box of books outside his parents house which delayed us and my Father signalled madly at us as we were leaving to say that one of our brake lights wasn't working - a good start!  We only just arrived at Calais in time for the boat ..........

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On our way home in the summer of 1974, we were tired, ill, short of money and the van kept breaking down so we made a decision to do the trip all over again when we were older, free of responsibilities and when we could afford to travel in a bit more comfort.

We didn't take many photos during our 1974 journey and those we did we had made into slides which have, over time, deteriorated.  I will include the pictures we do have but please excuse the quality.

Wendy and Neil on a peak in the Himalayas (the only photo we have of us both)

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2025

We always knew we would honour our younger selves and try to rerun our trip in 1974 but what we didn’t reckon on was that the world would change, and not all for the better.  Our two favourite countries were out of bounds, Iran and Afghanistan.  We decided instead not to exactly replicate the route but rather follow it roughly visiting friends and a cousin along the way.  We would take a slightly different route through Turkey taking in parts of our original route going east and coming back west.  The other dilemma we faced was that in 1974 we started off in March and the weather was cold for much of the earlier part of the journey.  Also India was too hot!  We decided to go in two stages, this year travelling as far as Georgia (a place I’d always wanted to visit) and hopefully next year going back to India, especially Kashmir.

What should we take with us?  Here are some essentials:

        1974                                                                    2025

        Traveller's Cheques                                            Credit Cards

        Airletter paper and envelopes                             Mobile phone

        Books to read                                                      Kindles

        Contraceptives                                                    Prescription Drugs

        Spare inner tubes                                                Spare glasses

        Playing cards (for bridge practice)                       Playing cards (for bridge practice)

        Tea bags                                                              Tea bags

It's good to know some things never change!!   

We will begin our journey on Monday 19th May 2025.  We hope you enjoy our blog!