Day 95 : Dazed and Confused

Kuala Lumpur to Melaka

High Point : Japanese toilets with built in water jets

Low Point : Throwing up throughout the night again

No Point : The Rubik’s Cube

Shave of the day : Barham’s beard is off !

Surprise of the day : picking up stage 2 Ben’s mum from Kuala Lumpur airport.

Slightly uncomfortable sleeping arrangement : sharing a bed with Seve

So the driving part of the first 4 stages is coming to a close. Singapore is on the horizon. A time when the balance between the driving challenge swings towards to the logistics challenge. Who would have thought we would be on schedule after the best part of 14,000 miles. A testament to all involved. Since the beginning of stage 4 my focus has switched towards communicating with all and sundry on all matters regarding shipping, borders, fixers, PR, websites and stuff. The bubble of living each day as it comes as been replaced with the inter-dependencies of ships, flights and crew.

Since losing partial power in the cab, the loss of the stereo has thrown daily life into turmoil. One Rubik’s cube is surely not enough to entertain 5 people. Like teenagers, addiction comes in phases. First there was Angry Birds. A ridiculously annoying game where you fire birds at pigs. This was soon replaced by the 2 month long addiction to the war game Risk. The level of goading and shouting during this game lead to it’s exclusion from stage 4. Entertainment on stage 4 has been more of a quiz based sausage. Name that song and country facts has enticed some epic gender battles.

Today was all about getting the truck within striking distance of the Singapore border. Lyndsey, as always when navigator, did a superb job of getting us to our destination. The amount of effort and time that has gone into this border is on par with the big ones so far (Russia and China). Though we are border pros now, expect the unexpected as each country likes to give you a little nudge to remind you that attempting to import, then drive, a fire engine into and across their country is far from normal.

Our last taste of Malaysian food was great. Street side cafe and a cracking Nasa Goreng. A dish my dad was particularly fond of. I will never know if he thought we would make it as far as we have, I would like to think his misguided confidence in his youngest son may have been an yes.

Steve

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