Have you read our book Bestemming Beijing? Yes No Not yet..   Subscribe now for our weekly newsletter (starting in April) Make drivetheplanet your homepage! Click [here] to make this your homepage. From the end of April follow us via: and   // Dagboek Daily Journals During the expedition we will live to see a lot of adventures. Interested in how we live through this expedition and how we managed to succeed in our plans. Here you can read our daily adventures! Enjoy!   / / Dinsdag 2 December 2003 [ Vorige] [ Index ] · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  Shipping the car back home At 7:30 the alarm clock goes. Today is the day we are going to ship our car back to the Netherlands. We have breakfast with the village director and the director of SOS China. Both will come to the harbor with us to see if they can speed up any proces. They will also guide us there as they say it¡¯s impossible to find it on your own and entering of the harbour is forbidden to strangers. Jason is already running around as apparently some paperwork is missing. But he manages to get it faxed to the harbour just before we leave. It¡¯s foggy outside and slowely we drive to the harbour. It¡¯s our last ride in China and we both absorb as much as we can. On the way we are greeted by a Tianjin communist government official who works for the public affairs department. Apparently he had heard of our arrival and offerd his services. It¡¯s getting quite a big delegation now Elles, Michel mutters. But the man arranges a smooth entrance to the harbour for all of us. We easily find Hanjin Shipping and are welcomes by the man who is in charge of shipping the car; Mister Qi. We are stunned by the sight of the harbour activities. Huge cranes are lifting the containers onto cargo ships and huge special forklift trucks drive around with containers. We are also welcomed by Mister Wang, the director of Hanjin Shipping in China. Mister Wang and Mister Qi are delighted to ship hippie back for us after driving just over 30.000 km¡¯s. Apparently Hippie isn¡¯t looking forward to leaving the two of us as he doesn¡¯t want to start as we want to drive to the container. How bizar, as if he knows..... With a little push in the right directions we get hippie started and on the way to the container. A beautiful watertight container is waiting for us. We film and take loads of pictures of the last moment of our journey. We drive Hippie into the container and lock him carefully. Hanjin Shipping will take care of all customs procedures for us as well as lashing (securing) hippie in the container. Only 31 days it takes to ship the car back to holland. That¡¯s amazingly quick!! By locking the container we know this is it. The end of the journey, the end of the expedition. Saying goodbye to hippie feels weird and strange. Good thing is that we know hippie is in good hands. It also means that this is our last diary entry. We have enjoyed writing about our adventures and will now focuss on writing a book about our experiences before and during this expedition. It¡¯s been an amazing journey which took us through 10 countries. We visited 10 SOS-villages and projects and are very much impressed by what we have seen. We hope you¡¯ve enjoyed our stories as much as we have writting them! Michel van Velde & Elles Albering info@drivetheplanet.com Beijing, China · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  [ Vorige] [ Index ] · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  02/12/2003   Shipping the car back home 01/12/2003   The last village 30/11/2003   Temple of heaven and the rubber lady 28/11/2003   The pressconference 27/11/2003   Mao has gone commercial 26/11/2003   BEIJING, WE MADE IT 24/11/2003   Raise the Red Lantern 23/11/2003   Stepping back in time 22/11/2003   Crossing the yellow river 21/11/2003   Communism of the past 20/11/2003   Go see the doctor 19/11/2003   Shit happens 18/11/2003   The Terracotta Army, real or fake 17/11/2003   Wanna massage? 16/11/2003   Foodpoisening continues 15/11/2003   Foodpoisened!! 14/11/2003   the screaming monster 13/11/2003   Heaven on earth 12/11/2003   The public toilet of Ta-er Si 11/11/2003   A difficult decision to make 10/11/2003   Elles, the Noodle Queen 09/11/2003   First aid after an accident 08/11/2003   The end of the Great Wall 07/11/2003   Mayhem on the road 06/11/2003   An impressive day at Dunhuang 05/11/2003   Boring can be beautiful 04/11/2003   A Hidden Juwel 03/11/2003   Adoring the mummy... 02/11/2003   The deserted city of Jiaohe 01/11/2003   SOS Urumqi a warm hearted family 31/10/2003   Operation Desert Storm 30/10/2003   UFO¡¯s (unidentified food objects) 29/10/2003   A thousand buddha caves 28/10/2003   Sometimes it is nice... 27/10/2003   Animals everywhere 26/10/2003   Raiders of the lost Arch 25/10/2003   Sleeping in the park 24/10/2003   Lord of the ringtones 23/10/2003   Sweet and Spicy China 22/10/2003   Driving into China 21/10/2003   A personal benny 19/10/2003   What a wonderful world 18/10/2003   Invited by the Major of Gulmit 17/10/2003   Stonethrowing kids 16/10/2003   Waiting for the Japanese Ambassador 15/10/2003   Gilgit to Hunza 14/10/2003   Nerve wrecking moments 13/10/2003   Cheap Chocolate Milk 12/10/2003   sunbathing on top of the car 11/10/2003   Changing weather conditions 10/10/2003   It’s a strange night after all 09/10/2003   Into the himalayas 07/10/2003   Very much lucky 06/10/2003   Too much in a weeks time 05/10/2003   Inside an Afghan refugee camp 04/10/2003   Guns of the Khyber Pass 03/10/2003   The horsemarket incident 02/10/2003   Return to the tribal area’s 01/10/2003   Leaving Lahore 30/09/2003   Kasur! 29/09/2003   A Pakistani wedding part 2 28/09/2003   Mister Daniels Part two 27/09/2003   A Pakistani wedding part 1 26/09/2003   A Pakistani press conference 25/09/2003   Mister Daniels 24/09/2003   30.000 meals 23/09/2003   Return to the Golden Temple 21/09/2003   The masterpiece of India 20/09/2003   SOS-Children Village Varanasi 19/09/2003   A dead man floating 18/09/2003   A burning sensation 17/09/2003   A difficult decision 16/09/2003   a baby friendly hospital 15/09/2003   Car Damaged! 14/09/2003   A hospitals emergency ward 13/09/2003   A dead mans visit 12/09/2003   Titanic 10/09/2003   Holy men and Yoga! 09/09/2003   Michael Knight 08/09/2003   Drivetheplanet on Indian Television 07/09/2003   Cloudwalking 06/09/2003   Desperate measures 06/09/2003   Desperate measures 06/09/2003   Desperate measures 06/09/2003   Desperate measures 05/09/2003   High Altitude 04/09/2003   Holy cows and crazy horses 03/09/2003   To the heart of the Himalaya 02/09/2003   Shitloads of toiletpaper 01/09/2003   FReak Travellers 30/08/2003   Michel & The palmreader... 29/08/2003   King Kong Michael 28/08/2003   Sweating 27/08/2003   The golden temple 26/08/2003   Bizar flagceremony at border 25/08/2003   SOS-Children’s Villages Lahore 24/08/2003   The prophets underwear 23/08/2003   The long haul to Lahore 22/08/2003   The river wild! 21/08/2003   broken fuel line in tribal area 20/08/2003   A thousand images 19/08/2003   Road to Quetta 17/08/2003   Pakistani desert storm 15/08/2003   Wedding proposal 14/08/2003   Persepolis 13/08/2003   Problemsolvers! 12/08/2003   Car trouble remains 10/08/2003   Yazd 09/08/2003   Sandtornado! 07/08/2003   Hotel Abassi 06/08/2003   Hubble Bubble 05/08/2003   The holy shrine 03/08/2003   Soup 02/08/2003   Meeting the ambassador of Pakistan 01/08/2003   Waiting and waiting 31/07/2003   Stuck in Tehran 29/07/2003   Mister Talkveryfast 28/07/2003   Takht e Soleiman 27/07/2003   Freecamping at Elgoli 26/07/2003   Iran!! 25/07/2003   Overlanders & car update 24/07/2003   Roadblocked 23/07/2003   The walking toilet 22/07/2003   Our Iranian Visa 21/07/2003   Elles in a turkish bathhouse 19/07/2003   Camera Lost! 18/07/2003   Latest Fashion News 17/07/2003   The road to Erzurum 16/07/2003   Kapadokya Balloons 15/07/2003   Moonwalking 14/07/2003   Honeymoonen in Cappadocia. 13/07/2003   Kiskalesi 12/07/2003   Surfing adventure with the bus 11/07/2003   Entertain us! 09/07/2003   Turkish Hospitality 07/07/2003   Our first visit to a SOS-Childrens Village 06/07/2003   The Sultan Revenge 05/07/2003   Istanbul, gateway to the orient 02/07/2003   Bordercrossing wýth Turkey 01/07/2003   Small Ville 29/06/2003   The one shoe clan 27/06/2003   Climbing Mt Olympus 25/06/2003   The weather gods 24/06/2003   Flying carpets and James Bond 23/06/2003   Climbing at Meteora 21/06/2003   The oracle of Delphi 20/06/2003   Free camping how it is... 19/06/2003   Free camping and the naked shower 18/06/2003   Pickpockets! 16/06/2003   Driving in Athens, 15/06/2003   Nafplio citadel 14/06/2003   Nafplio 13/06/2003   Olympia 12/06/2003   Ignition problems in Patras 11/06/2003   With the bus on the ferry to greece! 09/06/2003   Romance galore! 08/06/2003   Costa! 07/06/2003   Route decisions 06/06/2003   Romantic Venice on a budget 04/06/2003   Verona 03/06/2003   Bugfeast and back in time! 02/06/2003   Oldtimer Love & Italia 01/06/2003   Menton 30/05/2003   Towards the mother of all grand prix, Monaco 28/05/2003   The neighbour and the gorges du verdon 26/05/2003   La Route Napoleon 24/05/2003   Worldchampion snoring 23/05/2003   Champagne part 2 22/05/2003   CHAMPAGNE!!! 21/05/2003   drivetheplanet meets the Arc The Triomphe! 20/05/2003   The man with the golden heart 18/05/2003   Internet in Paris 17/05/2003   Departure time! 16/05/2003   packing and cleaning 15/05/2003   shop till you drop 13/05/2003   Camera training and stickers on the bus! 12/05/2003   mp3's and some bodywork 10/05/2003   Only one week to go... 05/05/2003   MP3's and bodywork 04/05/2003   Races against aids 01/05/2003   Queensnight 2003 25/04/2003   Tyres and Murphy’s Law! 22/04/2003   Vaccinations 21/04/2003   Easter eggs! 17/04/2003   Another Busy day 16/04/2003   Bullbar in progress 14/04/2003   Reïncarnation 12/04/2003   Couch potatoes.... 10/04/2003   Engine finished! 09/04/2003   Where to go? 04/04/2003   Household Fair 2003 01/04/2003   healthy meals and rainy days 31/03/2003   Our feelings.. 28/03/2003   Our first television broadcast! 26/03/2003   Drivetheplanet.com soon on Television!! 24/03/2003   News from Australia! 20/03/2003   Breaking news. 17/03/2003   Showdown on Iraq. 14/03/2003   Drivetheplanet on television!? 12/03/2003   De chinese kapper. 09/03/2003   Volkswagen beurs een groot succes! 07/03/2003   Catch me if you can 06/03/2003   Stichting Drivetheplanet 04/03/2003   De eerste slapeloze nacht... 03/03/2003   Stichting in oprichting! 02/03/2003   Een zondag zonder zon? 01/03/2003   Guest in Talkshow! 25/02/2003   Drivetheplanet in Talkshow! 24/02/2003   Met de bus naar Hot Rod in Doesburg 19/02/2003   Geïnterviewd door Radio M! 18/02/2003   Interview Radio M! 17/02/2003   Project bus deel 1. 16/02/2003   AutoRai een groot succes! 15/02/2003   Clubdag, VCT2 14/02/2003   Reacties op de Carp 11/02/2003   Autorai, here we come! 10/02/2003   Sponsordag! 10/01/2002   Pamukkale 23/10/2001   Return to the Golden Temple · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  DISCLAIMER: This project, Drivetheplanet.com is a multi-channel project/event by Michel van Velde & Elles Albering. Michel van Velde & Elles Albering, founders of this project, retain all rights to the Drivetheplanet.com project. This is the only official website. The authors and SOS-Kinderdorpen can not be held responsible for any damages, direct or indirect, that are linked in any way to the project Drivetheplanet.com. The authors (Michel van Velde & Elles Albering) accept no commitment or liability in any form. Privacy Statement: This project only collects data entered by users of the site. This information will not be shared with third parties and sponsors. E-mail addresses collected for the newsletter will not be sent to third parties or sponsors. If you have any questions about this project, the site and the practices of this project, please contact Michel or Elles at +31 6 2500 4147. © 2001, 2002 by Michel van Velde & Elles Albering