Panda to Istanbul
The Panda to Istanbul adventure is well and truly under way. The cars left the NI Hospice in Belfast on 29th August and aim to beat the Orient Express to Istabul, a journey of 3000 miles! We'll be keeping you updated on the progress of the cars here, so check back to see how they are getting on.
August 29th 2007
A scrub down for Sylvia before she meets the press at the NI Hospice.
Say cheese. Jim and Alan with Katie from the NI Hospice along with some of the kids the Hospice helps.
The Police blocked the roads to let the Pandas through! Not an everyday occurance.
August 30th 2007
An overnight stop in Cumbria followed by some local press attention and the cars are off to the continent.
The Pride of Cumbria Air Ambulance with the Pandas. The trip is also raising money for this worthy cause.
Sandbach Services (whereever that might be) and a quick rest stop for the cars and drivers.
Jim posing as usual.
Sylvia in all her glory. Well, some of her glory.
On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is makin' music with my friends, And I can't wait to get on the road again, etc, etc.
The gang make the ferry to France in good time. All four Pandas are together at this stage.
August 31st 2007
The cross continent race starts here. The meet up with the famous Orient Express and onwards through 6 countries to Turkey.
Fred and Jim the mascots outside the dodgy Paris hotel that was the overnight stop.
Downtown Paris. The traffic was heavy, but the Pandas coped well.
At the train station ready for the real start of the adventure.
Jim susses out the opposition. The opposition laughs at Jim.
Alan meeting the Orient Express team. In his shorts...
Progress was good today, a midnight stop in Austria to check all is well. It is.
September 1st 2007
Who will triumph. A £1,000,000 train or the £100 cars. Is it a foregone conclusion? We await with baited breath.
The Polish border and the Polish Panda Owners Club come out in force to support our boys (and girls). The Panda love is strong here and the opportunity to strengthen the ties of Panda brotherly love cannot be passed up. :)
How do you say "smile" in Polish? The Polish guys have been supportive of the event from the outset and it was a welcome relief for the drivers to take a break and talk about Panda in sign language and broken English.
Panda 1 - 0 Orient Express
The cars unbelievably beat the train to Budapest! Rumour has it that the Orient Express will be so devalued by this defeat that tickets will be on eBay next week for a fiver a go.
Sarah with some big trains.
The overnight accomodation in Budapest. So this is what happened to Colditz!
September 2nd 2007
Packing for the day ahead is overseen by Borat from the hotel steps.
Ready to Roll.
Despite the SatNav taking them the "interesting" way out of Budapest they eventually find the motorway to Romania.
Typically the good luck doesn't last and they find themselves in Serbia. This wasn't part of the plan. The former war torn Yugoslav Republic isn't a big tourist destination, so quite what they made of 4 Fiat Pandas dressed up like rally cars making a run for the border can only be speculated upon.
Most of the day is spent trying to get out of Serbia, successfully I'm happy to say. (No offense to any Serbs, I'm sure it's a lovely place).
September 3rd 2007
Into Romania today and a local offered Jim 2 donkeys and a tractor for Sylvia. He declined, so the offer was made for Gina. He accepted.
Romania looks a lot like West Belfast.
The views are beautiful, but the roads are terrible. The cars are taking a hammering.
More dodgy roads.
September 4th 2007
An eventful night last night saw large sums of money change hands so they could cross from Romania into Bulgaria. How much was involved they haven't said yet, but the border guard stopped off at the Merc dealership on the way home. Jim phoned home to remortgage the house (again) and Alan probably won't tell his wife, so she can read it here instead. :)
An overnight run through deepest darkest Bulgaria saw the Pandas being chased by a silver BMW. The occupants intentions were unknown, it seems unlikely that they wanted to welcome them to the country though. The following photos are a bit sketchy, but they involve a Bulgarian speed trap and the police chasing the BMW down the road. Luckily the police decided that an escort to the border (or until the police get bored) would be a good idea.
The police got bored quicker than expected and the escort to the border departed 40 minutes early. The 5.30am run to the border was a tense one. It was a rough night by all accounts.
Civilisation of sorts was found in Sofia, and of course a call to the nearest Fiat dealer to say hello was on the cards.
And they're off again.
Almost at the Turkish border and the first roadsign for Istanbul is a welcome sight.
Turkey, dead ahead.
The Turkish border at last!
The border crossing is painfully slow, Sylvia protests and starts to overheat. Jim puts his back into getting her into Turkey and gives her a chance to cool down.
To be continued... (Hopefully).