biotect
Designer
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3. How overlanding possibilities appear.... from Europe
In short, the world looks very different if one is resident in the EU, as opposed to the United States. And realistic "overlanding possibilities" will seem different, too. For Europeans geography “feels” different, because Europeans are Eurasians. Europeans live on a continent that includes Tibet. Indeed, a continent that includes China and India.
Remember, New Delhi is only 8 hours by jet from London, whereas California is a very, very long way away from just about anywhere interesting, with the sole exception of Mexico and Central America. Los Angeles is 11 hours by plane to London in one direction, and 11 hours to Tokyo in the other. Disclosure: I was born in Canada, then raised in Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and Germany; did undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the United States, including many years in California; and now live in London. And that's just where I've lived, not where I've travelled....
Pretty much the only truly culturally "other", picturesque, and interesting travel destination that's close to the United States, is indeed Latin America, which is perhaps why the American overlanding industry seems somewhat "Latin America" oriented? But this is not how realistic overlanding prospects look from a European perspective.
Furthermore, consider: like central Asia, Africa is also at Europe's doorstep, just a short hop by car-ferry from the EU. Morocco and Tunisia can be reached from Genoa by super-fast car-ferry in roughly 1 - 2 days -- see http://www.gnv.it/en/gnv.html and http://www.gnv.it/en/gnv-routes.html :
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Similarly abundant car-ferries connect Venice, Ancona, and Bari to Athens and Istanbul. These enormous ferries carry semi-trailer trucks as well as cars, ergo, they have no problem carrying expedition motorhomes of just about any size. Which perhaps explains why Mercedes Benz Offroad organizes annual G-wagen trips to Tunisia....
Maybe one has to live in Europe for a few years to realize how encircled the continent has become by mega-sized car-ferries serving holiday-makers; car ferries that are pleasant, relatively cheap, easy to use, and have weekly service, including to ports in North Africa. I once travelled from Genoa to England almost completely by car ferry: from Genoa to Barcelona with the first ferry; then driving across Spain for six hours to Bilbao; followed by a second ferry from Bilbao to Plymouth, England. I've also taken car ferries between England and Ireland, England and France, England and Norway, Venice and Dubrovnik, and Ancona to Athens.
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4. Altiplano Truckers
However, I've still not seen much of South America, only central America and the Caribbean. So DiploStrat, given your personal experience of the Altiplano in Bolivia, it would be great if you'd be wiling to speculate an answer to the question posed in the long passage quoted above:
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How do trucks and tour-buses that travel the Altiplano and the Tibetan plateau heat their cabins? Do they ever use diesel heaters or pre-heaters? Do they only heat when the engine is running?
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My personal experience of Nepal and Tibet has been exclusively via treks, where I focused on the walking. In Nepal I typically flew to trek entry and departure points by STOL turbo-prop airplane, whereas in Tibet vehicular travel was by SUV. At the time I didn't think to ask how their engines or heating systems worked at high-altitude, and/or the extent to which they'd been modified.
One interesting web-discussion suggests that even diesel-equipped vehicles will begin producing black smoke at high-altitude, unless the spring on the turbo's dump gate is tightened a bit -- see http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/4wd-overland-tech/high-altitude-and-diesel-engine-20169 .
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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST
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3. How overlanding possibilities appear.... from Europe
In short, the world looks very different if one is resident in the EU, as opposed to the United States. And realistic "overlanding possibilities" will seem different, too. For Europeans geography “feels” different, because Europeans are Eurasians. Europeans live on a continent that includes Tibet. Indeed, a continent that includes China and India.
Remember, New Delhi is only 8 hours by jet from London, whereas California is a very, very long way away from just about anywhere interesting, with the sole exception of Mexico and Central America. Los Angeles is 11 hours by plane to London in one direction, and 11 hours to Tokyo in the other. Disclosure: I was born in Canada, then raised in Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and Germany; did undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the United States, including many years in California; and now live in London. And that's just where I've lived, not where I've travelled....
Pretty much the only truly culturally "other", picturesque, and interesting travel destination that's close to the United States, is indeed Latin America, which is perhaps why the American overlanding industry seems somewhat "Latin America" oriented? But this is not how realistic overlanding prospects look from a European perspective.
Furthermore, consider: like central Asia, Africa is also at Europe's doorstep, just a short hop by car-ferry from the EU. Morocco and Tunisia can be reached from Genoa by super-fast car-ferry in roughly 1 - 2 days -- see http://www.gnv.it/en/gnv.html and http://www.gnv.it/en/gnv-routes.html :
. Similarly abundant car-ferries connect Venice, Ancona, and Bari to Athens and Istanbul. These enormous ferries carry semi-trailer trucks as well as cars, ergo, they have no problem carrying expedition motorhomes of just about any size. Which perhaps explains why Mercedes Benz Offroad organizes annual G-wagen trips to Tunisia....
Maybe one has to live in Europe for a few years to realize how encircled the continent has become by mega-sized car-ferries serving holiday-makers; car ferries that are pleasant, relatively cheap, easy to use, and have weekly service, including to ports in North Africa. I once travelled from Genoa to England almost completely by car ferry: from Genoa to Barcelona with the first ferry; then driving across Spain for six hours to Bilbao; followed by a second ferry from Bilbao to Plymouth, England. I've also taken car ferries between England and Ireland, England and France, England and Norway, Venice and Dubrovnik, and Ancona to Athens.
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4. Altiplano Truckers
However, I've still not seen much of South America, only central America and the Caribbean. So DiploStrat, given your personal experience of the Altiplano in Bolivia, it would be great if you'd be wiling to speculate an answer to the question posed in the long passage quoted above:
*************************************
How do trucks and tour-buses that travel the Altiplano and the Tibetan plateau heat their cabins? Do they ever use diesel heaters or pre-heaters? Do they only heat when the engine is running?
*************************************
My personal experience of Nepal and Tibet has been exclusively via treks, where I focused on the walking. In Nepal I typically flew to trek entry and departure points by STOL turbo-prop airplane, whereas in Tibet vehicular travel was by SUV. At the time I didn't think to ask how their engines or heating systems worked at high-altitude, and/or the extent to which they'd been modified.
One interesting web-discussion suggests that even diesel-equipped vehicles will begin producing black smoke at high-altitude, unless the spring on the turbo's dump gate is tightened a bit -- see http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/4wd-overland-tech/high-altitude-and-diesel-engine-20169 .
.
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CONTINUED IN NEXT POST
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