WEEK 20 of David Foranand Fintan Gillespie'sadventure
After 210 days on the road from Sydney, over 45,000km, four continents and more than 40 countries, we finally arrived on the opposite side of the earth at our final destination of Dublin. The final days were spent travelling from Paris, through the Channel Tunnel to London and Liverpool, before catching the HSS from Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire. It was a huge relief to touch Irish soil in one piece.
Since our arrival, we've been inundated with questions about the trip, the most popular being "what was the best country or scariest moment?", along with the inevitable, "what about Iran and Pakistan?". It's almost impossible to give a quick answer. Every country had its own unique aspects, at times beautiful, horrible, scary and even ridiculous, but along the rocky road to Dublin, some experiences really stood out.
We've all reached a consensus that the Sultanate of Oman was the most beautiful country on the drive. Travelling south from its charming capital Muscat while skirting the turquoise Arabian Sea and the rugged Hajar mountains as well as passing through vast arid desert, we were all blown away by Oman's rugged natural beauty. Sultan Qaboos has opened up the country to tourism over the past 20 years, which hasn't detracted from the country's natural beauty, peaceful atmosphere or national identity.
The most surprising experience was the hospitality, helpfulness and kindness of Iranian people. Generally, they are not used to foreigners, and there was always a bit of an odd look at first, but with a quick "Salam" greeting, they instantly shot back a big smile and reacted with interest when they found out we were Irish.
On a drive like this, it was always going to be impossible to completely avoid dangerous locations. Four white lads in an American-registered Hummer driving in the al-Qaeda stronghold of northern Pakistan's Baluchistan province, only five kilometres from the border of Afghanistan, might sound like a death wish, but we somehow managed to get by. Meeting numerous road blocks with machine guns pointed at the car was always daunting but it's surprising how far a smile and a wave of an Irish flag can get you in the world.
The funniest-moment award will have to go to the female Islamic handshake attempt. While visiting a mental-health organisation in Lahore, Pakistan, we were being introduced to the female manager in front of a big crowd containing Pakistani government officials. Although he knows most of the Islamic rules relating to conduct with females, Fintan had a temporary lapse of concentration and stuck out his arm to shake the female charity manager's hand, only to be left hanging, as she uncomfortably said "I can't do that". Dave, Rhys and Chuck tried not to heighten the awkwardness and keep quiet in front of everybody but couldn't contain themselves.
Dealing with the madness that is the Chinese and Indian road network is an experience. Landslides, trucks travelling on the wrong side of the motorway with no headlights, camel crossings and road-block scams are a regular occurrence.
The past seven months have been amazing but along with the incredible experiences we've had, the drive also had a serious side. We made a concerted effort along the way to continue our media contact to try and raise awareness about mental illness, especially among young men. The hundreds of very personal and supportive e-mails we received from sufferers were a huge motivation to keep up the effort on the road. We are also handing over a cheque to Aware for €15,000 and a big thanks must go to everyone who made donations.