Wednesday, August 05th, 2009 /
Murray
Thank you for visiting my blog!
If you are visiting for the first time, the Roof of the World Rally blogs begin at the bottom of http://thetravelmur.com/page/9/ and read up from the bottom. You can view the subsequent days by clicking the “Next Entries>>” link at the bottom of each page.
Highlights of what have been blogged include:
- death warnings at sendoff
- driving where Germans only walk
- our first (of many) shakedown by police
- finding a backwards solution to a breakdown in Kazakhstan
- attacked in Kyrgyzstan
- a river runs through it–the car, that is
- near-death experience by altitude sickness
- creative ways to pay for a Tajik hospital stay
- unwelcome to most popular in a Pamiri village
Stories soon to come:
- twice a fugitive
- sleeping in minefields
- driving through waterfalls
- the most treacherous roads of the journey
- the most treacherous non-roads of the journey
- the benefits of bad tuna
- bridges that shouldn’t be
- a conversation with the KGB
- the finish line
- the vodka line
- the toilet line
- Tajiki departure
- European departure
Videos
Videos continue to be uploaded and are listed in the column to the left or by clicking here: VIDEOS
Maps
The map of our drive has been updated here: MAP
Photos
Photos continue to be uploaded from the trip and can be viewed by clicking the photo below.
Category: 2009 Roof of the World Rally, Travel
Tags: 2009 Roof of the World Rally, Afghanistan, altitude sickness, blog, Charity Rallies, GBAO, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, hospital, map, Pamir Highway, photos, rally, river crossing, Tajikistan, Travel, video One Comment
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 /
Murray
I am replacing my old Sanyo Xacti with the new and improved mode. The VPC-HD700 takes true 720p high-definition video and 7 megapixel photos. I was very pleased with the outcome of my photos from previous trips–well, given that it was a quick point-and-shoot camera. Because this trip will have the potential of some interesting experiences I thought I would bump up the video quality while still upgrading the photo resolution some.
This was a particular deal because I found it on buy.com. Apparently the brown model is not popular enough, so they were discounting it down from $600 to $199. A steal in my book.
Here are the highlights:
- True 720p High-definition video
- 7 Megapixel stills
- 5x Optical zoom lens
- Records directly to SDHC memory cards
- HDMI High-Definition Output
- Digital Image Stabilization
- In-Camera Editing
- Innovative Docking Station Included
- Superfast Startup (Record in as little as 1.3 seconds)
- Playback directly onto a HD or standard TV screen
- Easy connection to VCR or DVD recorder
- Remote Control Included
I’m still bringing my old camera for backup and for a second option for videos.
I purchased extra batteries so I can always have power and won’t have to worry about charging every night.
$199 on buy.com
Batteries 4 x $4.50 each on Ebay
