Travellers Wanted...
1968: Sydney to London in a double-decker bus
It started on 8th October 1968, when fourteen excited
young – and some not so young – people climbed on board
a 1947 double-decker bus called ‘Albert’, in Martin Place,
Sydney, to drive to London. We said goodbye to relatives
and friends amongst much jollity, tears, streamers and
excitement; drove round the corner and stopped – we had
just had our first breakdown!
One hundred and thirty nine days later we got there – only
two months later than planned. This is the story of how we
did it – and the adventures we had on the way.
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| Ready for departure |
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| North Laos, Nam Kheung |
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| Overlooking Darjeeling |
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| Overlooking the Himalayas |
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| India |
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| School children on way to Benares, India |
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| River Ganges, Benares |
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| The dig at Dozan |
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| Albert in the trench |
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| Observers at the dig |
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| Isfahan, Iran |
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| Arrival in London |
Travellers Wanted... is the epic tale of fourteen people travelling across the world at a time when not many people travelled. They journey through countries few had ever been to and met people who had never even seen a Caucasian before, let alone a double-decker bus full.
If you enjoy travel writing, photography, or buses, it is a fascinating read.
Travellers Wanted... 1968: Sydney to London in a double-decker bus is available from:
Or you can order from Jan Ward directly: janwardauthor@gmail.com
Take 1968, Jan, a young Australian nurse, a red double-decker London bus, thirteen other young people, and a journey from Sydney to London. Forget mobiles, satnavs, credit cards, crease-resistant clothes, anti-bacterial sprays; live life travelling raw when you read Jan's memories. What an experience! Imagine walking into Communist Laos in 1968, a country not mentioned in the guidebooks, imagine coming across Malaysians who had never seen a white woman before, imagine shopping for food day and night most parts east in those days, or walking alone at night in Calcutta. Luckily for them, personnel on US airforce bases saved them from several potential disasters, kidnap and/or death, and flew them out of trouble spots, otherwise I don't think this book would have been written. Imagine digging for 6 days, down 6 feet, in a river-bed to get the bus under a bridge, to avoid a detour of 800 miles. The several hiccups with the bus meant not getting to London in time for Christmas but arriving in February so, unexpectedly, enduring the Eastern Europe winter cold. Lack of money, without clean and warm clothes, filthy toilets or none at all (no change there), poor or non-existent washing facilities, less than basic cooking facilities, meant the whole journey was a feat of endurance. Think on that next time you are shopping at Tesco in Bangkok or eating at a MacDonalds in Hong Kong. Are you then a traveller or just a commuter? What have you missed? Despite the difficulties, what fun they had. Well done I say to them all! Friendships were made that still exist over 40 years on and what characters, what unusual people they met on the journey. By the way the bus was called Albert and still runs today! It's all here in Jan's book, with the photographs. Wow! What a read!
ReplyDeleteJane Cole