Book Cover

Steve and Vali made a deal with each other. The first one to circumnavigate the globe by land would win a bottle of the most expensive scotch they could find in California. So, they purchased a bottle of scotch, poured two glasses and set them dramatically on the dining room table. Then they said their goodbyes (an event that left one in handcuffs and other excessively grumpy) and took off on a no-airplanes circling of the globe.

While the premise sounds amazing, and the concept of circumnavigating the globe by land enticing, the actual adventures Vali had were somewhat diminished by the fact that he chose to cheat and fly around the world, thus breaking the deal and cheating himself and his friend out of a true challenge. Meanwhile, Steve sits on a boring freighter for a large portion of his travels, participating in the challenge full on, but thus having less time to see the world.

This raises an important question for us at Abandon the Cube. Since we gave up flying, and have been traveling by land only for the past year, we’re wondering what we are possibly missing by scooting across the oceans and plains by land. While I sometimes think we could experience and see a lot more if we simply flew from place to place, for us most of the adventure lies in the “getting there” aspect of traveling. We recently traveled from Shanghai to Seattle by land, going through Central Asia, the Caucus, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and finally across the Atlantic by boat to the east coast of the USA where we took a series of trains and cars to the west coast. Basically, we did the same trip that Steve did, minus one trip across the Pacific Ocean by freighter. We would not have done it any other way. Instead of flying from Xinjiang to Uzbekistan, we took a train through Kazakhstan. While we were extorted and robbed in Kazakhstan, and chased across the border in Uzbekistan, we would not lose those experiences for anything, including a cushy airplane chair complete with free drinks and pre-packaged food.

On the up shot, Steve and Vali are both comedians. One writes for American Dad and the other for My Name is Earl, along with many other accomplishments. Their sense of humor permeates The Ridiculous Race, making it a fast and delightful read. While their insight into the places they visit is minimal, the funny commentary along the route is amusing and delightful.

Mongolians

Having done quite a bit of research on how to find sponsors for our team in the 2010 Mongol Rally, we thought it might be helpful to write about the process for other folks in the rally, or similar adventures.

Step one – analysis. We read as much information as was possible on the Mongol Rally, including the main demographic, audience, marketability, legality, etc. Once we were confident we could easily explain even the most obscure details of the rally, we moved on. We even purchased and read the only book published by a former rally adventurer.

Step two – organize. We created an excel spreadsheet and brainstormed backwards, thinking about the items our team would need on the rally and then compiling a list of companies that might be interested in sponsoring us. Our spreadsheet was broken down into sectors, like ‘camping equipment’ for example, and then companies, like ‘REI’, and then their contact information so we can keep track of our correspondence with each potential sponsor.

Step three — proposal. We created a snazzy sponsorship proposal that compiled information on the rally, our team, our charity and then listed how sponsors could benefit by helping out our team and charity. Then we sent the proposal to the companies in our spreadsheet from step two.

Step four – press. While contacting sponsors, we also created a spreadsheet for potential press and media coverage, and set about contacting local and international media about our team and the event. After the creation of the proposal, we simply morphed the same document into a mini press kit for interested media affiliates.

Step five—website SEO. While all of this was going on, we maintained the website and blog, and did a bit of much-needed SEO, including some link building and revamping the landing page and Mongol Rally page of our site, gearing them towards the rally and securing sponsorships.

Step six – phone calls. While all of these documents and online work can go a long way towards endearing the team to potential sponsors, nothing is as meaningful as a phone call. We followed up all potential sponsor leads with calls, because in the end it is about people helping people, and the human element is the most essential one.

Good luck with your own fund-raising, and have fun!

So its 2010 and to celebrate we’re looking for the top ten amateur travel sites on the internet. Help us find them!

We’re looking for competitive, comprehensive, totally awesome amateur travel sites that are more than mere narratives of people’s personal adventures overseas. We’re looking for sites with country information, maps, and relevant info and pictures on the places they have been. If your travel site matches this criteria let us know, we want to find the best, non-corporate travel sites out there!

We also support some other cube abandoning travelers on our Links page, check these guys out, they have a lot to offer.

Check back to see a top ten list once we find the best amateur travel sites on the web for you!

Winter Wonderland

We hope the New Year brings about lots of good things for all of our readers!  Lauren and I will be in the US for the first quarter / half of 2010.  We will spend our time writing, updating the website, and searching for sponsors while we are preparing for the 2010 Mongol Rally.  We also hope to fit in some travel and sightseeing in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.  Please check back with us frequently and especially during the Rally!

Don’t be shy, if you happen to work for or know a company who might be interested in sponsoring our team, please send us their contact information or feel free to download and pass on our sponsorship proposal to them.  Once again, best wishes for 2010 to everyone and thank you for reading / visiting our site.

~ Mike & Lauren

Baku

After a lot of hard work, Lauren has released our next newsletter.  This issue covers the Azerbaijan, The Republic of Georgia, and Turkey.  I have put it up on several areas throughout our site.  It gives a nice overview our our trip through the area as well as some stories and selected pictures all wrapped up in a really awesome looking PDF file.  I have attached a the file for those of you interested.  Best Wishes for 2010!

Mike & Lauren

Abandon the Cube Caucasus and Turkey Newsletter <———- Click here to read!

Snow

From the Beijing Train Station to the corrupt police on the far Eastern route of the Russian Trans-Siberian Railroad, the 2008 movie Transsiberian was enjoyable to watch having dealt with many of the same problems…ok minus the kidnapping part.  Not so much for the plot as for the accuracy the movie portrayed when depicting a couples ride on a Chinese train and problems with Russian police.  Although we did not go on the Trans-Siberian…yet, the movie was thrilling to watch as an American couple from Iowa, Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer, left the Beijing Zhan (station) headed for Moscow via a 6 day journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway.  The train-station, gray colored everything, sleeper cars, and food carriages, were right on and I would believe it was filmed on location.

Emily Mortimer’s character was always planning a new route or travel adventure and walked around with a Cannon Digital camera around her neck throughout the whole film – which reminded me a lot of Lauren.  The broken sleeper-car knobs that wouldn’t turn off terrible Russian music, the shared cars with strangers, the rude and short tempered train attendants, drug smugglers, and corrupt cops were a direct parallel to our experiences en route from China through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan.  Although the plot got extremely more creepy in comparison to the things that happened to Lauren and I, if you have traveled throughout the former Soviet Union, Russia, China by train, or are interested to see what it looks like, I think people would find certain aspects of this couple’s travel accurate.

Going through Kazakhstan we were hiding from the police as their boarded our train trying to avoid paying bribes, watching all the drug smugglers hide taped packages to their stomachs or under their beds, and arguing with the grumpy train attendants. Our train travel in China was pretty easy going and we had no problems, but the movie gave a good atmosphere to some of the fears you develop as you go into less safe areas ruled by corrupt cops and officials.

For a more detailed clip go to:  Transsiberian Part I – watch from 4:10 to about 9:00 to see a little bit of what it was like.

Slightly cleaner than average Chinese train sleeper car

After reading through some of our polls people have participated in throughout the site, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the information.  A while back we found that right after food, getting around in a foreign country was one of ATC readers biggest fears.  Here is a short list of, in my opinion, the easiest countries to travel through and get around.

Keep in mind we have been through China, Mongolia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, The Republic of Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Puerto Rico – leaving out some countries and islands that shouldn’t qualify for either their size or the length of time we spent in them.

• Turkey – Turkey was, by far without a doubt, the easiest place to get around.  If you wanted to fly you usually could and ticket prices were reasonable.  However, what we loved the most was the bus system and local public transportation.  There were usually about 8 or 10 different companies at each station and they were all competing and therefore, keeping the prices reasonable and allowing for a variety of schedules.  Moreover, they served tea, coffee, juice, pop, and snakes throughout the drive.  Local transportation in cities was also pretty reasonable and easy to navigate.  English was usually spoken at most terminals we went through.

• China – Unfortunately, although China will always be my favorite country to travel through via public transportation I had to give them #2 because of the absolute chaos that usually ensues during every planning process, ticket purchase, and multiple bus transfers you are usually forced to take.  Most ticketing experiences were all conducted in Chinese as no one ever used English.  Also, since train and large bus transportation was state run, no one would help us so we had to push to the front of lines and speak beyond beginners Chinese to get anything done.  However, China’s has awesome sleeper trains, buses, as well as their huge network of schedules for all types of transportation as well as subway systems in the very large cities and dirt cheap taxi rides.
  

  Lauren and a Monk

• Bulgaria – Our train from Istanbul to Bulgaria  easily was the nicest, cleanest, and comfortable cabin we have ever been.  It was right on time and had really friendly attendants as well as immaculate bathrooms.  Intercity trains were easy to come by and the networked bus system was relatively straight forward and reasonably priced.

Stay tuned for – The Most Difficult Countries / Places to Get Around

Mongol Rally Logo

Planing for the 2010 Mongol Rally is in full swing at Abandon the Cube. We’ve set up a page on our website: Mongol Rally to enlighten folks on our team’s progress, how to donate online, and more about Mercy Mongolia, our official charity. We have also created a nifty Sponsorship Proposal to help y’all donate with ease. While our primary aim is to find and secure corporate sponsors, we are always looking for friends of ATC to help in the form of assistance in marketing and fund-raising as well as donating their time and talent.

Below is a more information on the specifics for the team’s needs this summer. For more information, check out the website for the latest news and updates.

________________________

Our budget has been calculated at the following costs:

For charity: $1,580 USD

2 cars, fully decked out: $2,500 USD

Equipment for 40 days, 8 people: $2,000 USD

Visas for 8 team members: $1,500 USD

Registration fees for cars and members: $1,500 USD

Food and Gas allowance: $2,000 USD

Emergency fund: $1,000 USD

Total:$12,080 USD

____________________________

Meanwhile, we have set up a list of needed supplies and equipment, as follows:

• Car
• Collapsable, compact grill
• Small cooler
• Car rack
• Sat phone *
• Extra Tires
• Oil
• Gas cans
• Flashlights*
• Cooking Equipment
• Cleaning supplies
• Tents
• Sleeping bags
• GPS*
• Sleeping pads
• Emergency gear
• Medicine
• Shovel/ hatchet*
• Uniforms
• Car registrations and legal documentation
• Boots*
• Road maps
• Border tolls or fees
• Water purifier
• Storage equipment
• Travel Insurance
• Spare car parts
• Gas allowance
• Food allowance
• Auto Insurance
• Visa costs
• Travel allowance
• accommodation allowance

___________________________

If you think of a corporation that might be interested in sponsoring ATC, please let us know or send them our official Sponsorship Proposal and direct them to our website.

Thanks,

Abandon the Cube

Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas, of the US Virgin Islands, must have been a beautiful island….once. Or perhaps we were unfortunate in that the area we explored looked like it had once been a military base because all of the buildings are low to the ground, painted an ugly color of yellow, and reproduced at tedium in long rows along yellow-edged sidewalks. The entire area was under construction, and dotted with establishments like Hooters, Wendy’s and “Bubba’s Last Bushwacker Shack.”

The cruise docked at the port terminal, which was conveniently converted into one long strip mall of cheesy tropical merchandise and an excess of overpriced rum. We bypassed this quickly only to discover most of the cruise passengers never left the mall.

We walked as far as we could in one direction before the construction kept us from going forward, and then we walked back because winter in Saint Thomas means frequent and oddly placed rain storms intermixed with scorching heat and humidity. We were always drenched, either in rain or in sweat. It was a nice sensation, having come from Eastern Europe, where one is just always freezing, wet and desperate looking.

Island Flavor

Our cruise ship stopped in Funchal Island, owned by Portugal, which is a small island filled with wealth people, everything has to be imported, and nothing but bananas is produced there. The ship stops at this particular island because it has extensive upper-scale shopping and long tours around the island’s natural beauty. For the not-so-wealth (aka: us) the island offers surprisingly little. You can stroll up and down the streets window shopping at stores you’ll never be able to afford, or you can waltz into the magnificent churches to gawk at the gold-plated everything.

We chose to head to the local fish and flower market, where we watched elderly men gut and skin fish before chopping them into bits for waiting customers. Eels, shark and various other strange under-water critters materialized from under tables to be dissected

like bizarre outer-space science experiments. We watched until bile began to rise from the smell and sight of gutted mystery critters, and then moved on to the flower market, which had a much better smell. Some of the tropical flowers were more beautiful and colorful than anything I imagined existed on this planet.

Our stay on the island was brief, but it is a place we highly recommend if you have: A) money; B) time, and; C) a love of shopping.