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Back to Travelogue HomeMurton's Itenerary (11/11/96)
News Report : Ian's Preparations (19/11/96) Simon King
On Ian's recommendation, Mats Henricson's Universal Packing List - A list of things to take travelling and why to take them. Covers things to do before leaving, the size of your pack, what clothes, documents, equipment, books, and maps to bring, and much more. Useful for both men and women, long trips as well as short.
Ian squeezes in some last minute car crashing and a parking ticket! (26/11/96)
The evidence! (165Kb GIF)
This bit of the travelogue will contain reviews and such like - the guys reviews of the places they've been, equipment they've used, diseases they've suffered...
First off is Ian's review of the equipment he took with him - and he really wasn't impressed with that tent or the sleeping bag, you can tell!!!
Emma's account of India - sounds like she had a great time... sun, sand, sea, gherkins and jelly! Can anyone tell me what Dhobi Ghatts are? I think I might have had some with my curry the other night but I'm not sure...
(Wed 27/11/96) 2:10pm - takeoff from Heathrow. 10pm - land at Cairo. It's 26 degrees and sunny. After an agonising evening deciding whether to take two or three pairs of underpants, an Ian/Martin plan has actually come together!!! See James' Message.
Postcard from Martin & Ian at Heathrow (27/11/96), thanks Parp.
Our North African Corespondent Ginger Slopes (AKA James Blond) Reports (2/12/96).
The University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology home page, including their dead smart Map of Egypt (click on the cities for info).
Intellicast's Weather in Cairo - makes ya sick don't it?! (Thanx Gerard!)
Egypt Appeals to British Landlords - Kingy
(9/12/96) Emma's update on the Egypt leg of the tour.
(20/12/96) Update from Ken (Martin's dad) : The guys are having a great time - "Egypt is awesome" (they'll have started growing beards and wearing sandals by now...). The intrepid duo were most impressed by their trip up river to Aswan (15 hours by boat) and Martin has sent back a load of camera films for developing (pictures of camels, mostly). On Sunday (22/12/96) they'll arrive in Jordan, where they'll be staying over Christmas. Martin says he plans to change into his second pair of underpants soon, specially for Christmas.
(30/12/96) Emma (Ian's girlie) flies out to Cape Town, South Africa on 20/1/97. Ian will meet her there but Martin is staying on in Cairo for a while to join them later.
(3/1/97) Serious bit: Tragically, on Tuesday the 31st of December a bomb blast in a crowded bus station in Damascus, Syria killed several people. The Syrians suspect the Israelis. When they left England the guys were planning to travel from their (hopefully) current location, Jordan, to Syria and then Israel. I know that Martin and Ian have researched the politics of the areas they are travelling in and they are well aware of the complex relationships between countries in the Middle East and the implications to their freedom of movement between those countries. Lets hope they've changed their plans and stayed in Jordan.
(6/1/97) Update to serious bit! I spoke to Martin's dad on Friday and it turns out that the boys decided to give Syria a miss and head straight for Israel. Good move, but drop the PLO head scarves now boys! Watch this page for photies of the boys with their new friends, Carmel and Camille. Nice girls, but they do have a tendency to spit...
(6/1/97) Postcard to Parp from the boys in Egypt (thanks Parp).
(6/1/97) Postcard to everyone from Murton in Egypt (thanks Parp).
The boys hit Israel round about 6/1/97. They've joined up with some Aussies, one of whom had tried to enter Syria but was refused entry (possibly because she was a female travelling alone).
(10/1/97) Postcard to Andy Wright from Murton in Egypt (thanks Andy). [For info, Andy is Lightpacks cousin - The guy with whom he first learnt about cutting labels off clothes, tearing covers off guide books and lighting fires with worn socks, just to lighten the load in their packs.]
Evening Star article (2/1/97) on Emma's departure. The Star is going to publish another article on Emma soon; a before/after traveller's haircut comparison - watch this space.
(14/1/97) Postcard to Dave and Mandy from Murton in Petra, Jordan.
(Monday 20/1/97) Emma, complete with new "Madonna Travelling Special" hairdo, is all packed up and ready to join the boys in Cape Town. She flies out from Norwich airport (England) today at 4pm. She has a stop over in Amsterdam and arrives in Cape Town, South Africa at 9am tomorrow morning. Spookily close to Martin's original itenerary, the three will meet up in Cape Town on Tuesday.
EXCLUSIVE!! The Evening Star covers Emma haircut, including photos! Thanks to the Evening Star for permission to reproduce their articles and for going to the trouble of emailing them to me. (Thanks to James for adding the photos)
The Embassy of South Africa in Washington, DC welcomes you to the official Online Guide to South Africa!
(22/1/97) Email message from Murton in Cape Town.
A link from Ian: The Lion's Den internet cafe and backpacker's hostel in Cape Town.
(27/1/97) Email from Murton in South Africa - news and change of plans.
Postcard to Parp from the boys in Cape Town. BBQ breakfast at 8pm!
(25/2/97) Two emails from Pretoria - an update and a message from Emma.
Postcard to (little) Karen Goodson from Ian in S.A.
(6/3/97) Postcard to Parp & Nikki from the boys - written by candlelight in a mud hut somewhere in beautiful Lesotho.
Get a load of THIS! More phototastic additions to James' Photo Gallery. Cracking photos James. I've never seen two more likely candidates for CrimeWatch - Why has Murton got purple feet - Who let him into their nice house - Ian's first wash - Didn't anyone tell Martin that he shouldn't grow facial hair - Ian in his bogey-man hat. These and many more questions unanswered...
...Oh, and James has given in and replaced the horrific photo of Emma with the proper 'After' photo.
(4/4/97) Another postcard to Karen from Bullawayo, Zimbabwe.
KenyaWeb - Kenya's Definitive Internet Resource. Pictures of lions (under "Tourism") and stuff.
(7/4/97) Letter to Parp from Murton in Africa - Looks like they've got past the sandal-wearing stage and they've started eating caterpillars now... (thanks Parp)
(7/4/97) Update from Ken, Martin's dad, including postcard from Mann Jnr. in Zimbabwe.
(10/4/97) Postcard to Dave & Mandy from the boys in Kenya. Ian's personal hygiene regime explained...
(14/4/97) Postcard to Dave & Mandy from Murton in Malawi. This one was sent 12 days before the one from Kenya, but arrived 4 days later...
(14/4/97) Letter to Parp from Ian in Mozambique. Read all about Ian's "Lizard Laxative Effect" discovery and where to get half an hour of free beer in Africa and the best curry in the World. (Cheers Parp, what a nifty typist)
(8/5/97) Murton hit India (Bombay) on Monday 28 April and his cousin Andy flew out there on Monday 5 May. It looks like the party of three may split up for India with Ian and Emma rejoining Murton later. I got a letter from Murton recently which explains his plans - well, as near to 'plans' as Murton ever gets anyway :-)
(12/5/97) Fax from Ian in India (thanks Parp)! He and Emma are chilling out on the beach at Mahabalipuram on the east coast. Does anyone have a contact address for Colin McGurty? You can fax Ian in Mahabalipuram until the 14th.
(16/5/97) Letter from Murton in Kenya to Parp - climbing Mt Kenya and getting mugged in Hells Gate by a gang of marauding baboons.
(16/5/97) Fax from Ian in India to Parp - new contact address.
(20/5/97) Two postcards to Karen - one from Murton in Kenya and one from Ian in India, both "edited for the protection of the innocent".
(21/5/97) Postcard to Dave & Mandy from Murton at Delhi airport. He's dirty, hot and bugg-ridden but he's still on his trolley.
(22/5/97) Letter to Parp from Emma in India (thanks Parp). How to meet shoe designers in Nairobi and how Emma plans to spend her birthday - 37 Celcius, sun, sand and maybe even a shower to celebrate.
(23/5/97) Letter to Parp from Murton in India. Murton's first attack of Delhi-belly described in toe-curling detail (skip the first paragraph if you have a weak stomach), some plans, contact addresses, report on Manali in the Himalayas and mention of an earthquake which hit Delhi on the 13/5/97.
(23/5/97) Quake Strikes Heart of India. The earthquake, which measured 6.0 on the Richter scale and lasted about 50 seconds, rocked Madhya Pradesh state in the heart of the subcontinent before dawn Thursday (22/5/97). The earthquake was centered on the village of Kosamghat, 14 miles south of Jabalpur. Rumours that the tremors actually eminated from Murton's stomach during a particularly heavy attack of Delhi-belly are hotly denied.
(5/6/97) Lastic (Lisa Garnham) has had a strange postcard from Murton in New Delhi - perhaps he fell off that elephant and landed on his head...
(6/6/97) Postcard to Karen from Ian & Em in Goa where it's "Bloody hot"
(10/6/97) GANGTOK in India - Incessant rains caused powerful landslides in the Himalayan mountains in northeastern India, authorities said Monday. In one incident, a wave of mud and boulders swept a four-story building onto two government bungalows. Mountainous Sikkim is hedged in by Tibet in the north, Nepal in the west and Bhutan in the east. Landslides are common in the region during the monsoon, which usually hits Sikkim later in the year. Gangtok, at about 5,000 feet altitude, is ringed by mountains that rise to about 8,000 feet. About 1,000 people had been evacuated to seven relief camps. The rains cut power and water supplies, and the government restricted the movements of private vehicles and ordered offices closed for two days, he said.
(16/6/97) Update from Parp. It looks like another change of plan - at the end of the month/early July Emma is flying straight to Australia and missing out Nepal, Thailand etc. She's tired of all the travelling and wants a rest apparently.
(17/6/97) Looks like Ian's in for a spot of bother over that parking ticket he got in November. Unidentified sources have revealed that he is wanted by the authorities - he is a fugitive! Tune in next week for episode III of Lowe's Run!
(23/6/97) Email from Ian! Emma's flown to Australia, Ian's in Nepal and Martin's somewhere inbetween. Probably.
Dave Scott's Nepal page, thanks Dave...
(24/7/97) Haven't heard much from Murton for a while - here's an email I got from him this week.
(27/8/97) Lastic got a postcard from Murton in Thailand (7/8/97). Cheers Lisa!
(3/9/97) Murton finds out what Old Mama Han keeps up her skirt,how to snorkel and where to get a dodgy massage... Letter to Parp from Murton in Thailand and Vietnam.
(10/10/97) Some new photo's courtesy of Jimbo, proof of Murton with some birds and the village bike!!
(15/8/97) Email from Ian (sent 30/7/97). He'd obviously got out of hospital when he wrote this but he's now back in again. I spoke to him yesterday and he seems to be on the mend - slowly. If he doesn't recover in a few weeks he's thinking of coming home - he can't really do much and there's no point in 'travelling' when you're that ill anyway. The irony is that it's winter in Australia now and if he did end up having to come hom he'd probably get back here just in time for winter here too!
(27/8/97) Lastic got a postcard from Ian in Oz (sometime recent). Cheers Lisa!
The story continues in the Update section.
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