Details of the London to Kathmandu tour, September-October 1979 by Nick Whetstone.

Part one - London to Istanbul

September 2
Departed London for Dover (Passenger list) and took ferry from Dover to Calais. Drove to Paris and set up camp at Bois de Bouloigne campsite on outskirts. Allocated a tent with the two Petes.

September 3
Stopover day in Paris. Went sightseeing. Tim appointed me 'bootpacker' for the trip so I was excused cooking duties etc.

September 4
Left Paris and drove south to Auxerre for lunch. Then on to Lyons and east to foothills of the Alps. Camped at small farm near St Jean de la Porte.

September 5
Crossed Alps and border into Italy. Magnificent scenery. Lunch at Suso then drove to camp site on outskirts of Venice.

September 6
Drove to Yugoslav border and onto Zagreb for lunch stop. Then on to Novembera Pradisah for the night stop.

September 7
Continued east to Belgrade for lunch stop. Camped at nice campsite near Predejane. Broken shock-absorber on bus.

September 8
Repaired bus before setting off for Greek border and on to Thessalonika for lunch stop. Then on to Keramoti, a fishing village on Mediterranean where we 'free-camped' on the beach.

Beachside free camp at Keramote

September 9
Stopover day to recover from hangovers, swim, doss etc. Nice place but no loos.

September 10
Had to push start bus due to flat battery. Drove to Alexandropolis for morning coffee break then crossed border into Turkey. Stopped again at Tekirdag, then onto campsite on outskirts of Istanbul.

September 11
Stopover day. Went sightseeing in Istanbul; Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar very impressive. Went to the Pudding Shop for lunch.

September 12
Second stopover day. More sightseeing and lunch on the Galata Bridge. Paul decides to leave us after row with girlfriend Selina.