I arrived in Timor Leste, never having spoken to anyone who had or was overlanding. I spotted this couple my age in the hotel. They said, “Hi, what are you doing…” I said overlanding. They said me too.
And how good they have been to me. For me.
Richard and Jenny come from Perth. My age. Zero experience overlanding. Retired, crave a challenge. They tick every box.
When I met them in Timor Leste I was a wreck. Stressed, unhappy – probably not all that pleasant to be around. We went our separate ways. We bumped into each other in Flores (where this photo was taken). I was a little more normal and we had a really nice time.
Then I got sick. These guys could not have done enough to support me. They were a little ahead of me. The texted, they called – they cared. They offered to drive back to make sure all was ok. That made such a huge difference.
Then they fed me information to get me to the next destination. To get my visa renewed. They were in Brunei last week when I was there – it was so good to seen to see them.
They have arranged stuff. I am shipping my truck from Kuching to KL. They found out how and gave me the information. They are traveling through China in May – something that is really hard to arrange. They’ve included me in their tour. They’ve been welcoming and friending and helpful at every step.
We will drive in parallel to London and I hope I can repay their generosity and support in time.
And they are just thoroughly decent human beings….
I’m lucky.