Do you know anyone crazy enough to drive from South Africa to China? I do.

Today, while I was trying to get a visa at the Ethiopian embassy for an upcoming trip, I met an older, soft-spoken South African man. When I casually asked where he was coming from, he answered "Nepal". "So you flew?" "No, actually my friend and I drove." I couldn't believe it, but it turns out that wasn't even half the story. As we chatted, I learned that they were on their way home--both men had driven all the way to Nepal (they had aimed for China, but couldn't get in) from South Africa and were now on their way home. They left in the summer of 2008 and are slated to return to South Africa this June, just in time for the World Cup and to promote some sort of peace initiative with Nelson Mandela. "So what would possess a person to drive from South Africa to Nepal and back again? Were you just bored and looking for something to do?" He laughed and smiled. "Something like that...and people said it couldn't be done." "So you set out to prove them wrong?" "Exactly." At first, I thought this might be some crazy person just pulling my leg, but then when he got out his three passports (because one was not enough to hold all the entry and exit stamps) and explained to the official, "Well look, here you see the stamps for Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, etc. And here is Jordan, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, etc" I knew that perhaps these two guys were for real. After my meeting with the visa official, I went back to the waiting room to wish them well on the rest of their journey. One of the men gave me his name and told me that if I looked on google, perhaps I might see something about their trip. Here is a link I found:

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091128/MOTORING/711279940/1196/rss

What a wild ride they seem to have had...amazing the people you meet at embassies and airports.