Cambridge, 1961. A group of students set off on the trip of a lifetime. Against the backdrop of the Cold War they travel through the Soviet Union to the Middle East, South Asia and on to Africa. Their mode of transport? The iconic VW Kombi. This book tells the story of that trip, not just the people they met and the places they saw, but the many experiences - sometimes nerve-wracking, sometimes bizarre - that they encountered along the way. It provides a fascinating insight into a world on the brink of change - seen through the eyes of nine young men fresh from university. The two VW Kombis doggedly traversed treacherous mountain passes, near-impossible roads, jungle tracks and river crossings on their journey through Anatolia, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. This book is an affectionate and highly entertaining re-creation of the relationship between the nine young travellers and their companions, the two VW Kombis which functioned as transport, shelter, canteen and home. It is also a tribute to the determined and rugged determination of the VW Kombi whose descendants still tackle the highways and the more daunting roads of the world.

Preface - Fifty years later Prologue - Thumbing your way through Africa An idea comes to life A curtain opens1: Hiccups and rumbles 2: Into the Soviet fastness 3: Summer in Moscow 4: How to get out of Russia 5: Balkan obstacles From Asia's edge6: Anatolian fastness 7: A bit too far east 8: Iranian Dynasties 9: Children of Abraham To Asia's heartland 10: Turkish connections 11: Testing Afghan patience 12: Kabul before the winter 13: The Oxus - how Mehmed pushed his luck South to Serendipity14: Flavours of India 15: Nepalese fastness 16: A would be paradise - Ceylon Tasting independence17: Into Africa 18: North to the Nile 19: Stand-off in Cyprus Epilogue Appendix: Distances travelled by each Kombi