Instow to Istanbul.

Alex Bennetts and Tom Lowe are attempting to make a difference in their summer travels.

The Easy Way: Just a 3 hour car ride to the airport followed by a 4 hour flight.

The Fundraising way: 2 month epic hitch hike, through 15 countries, via 10 different capital cities, all of course depending on whether anyone will give us a lift.....

Rather than taking the easy method of trains, buses or planes, we will rely on the goodwill of strangers to hitch hike all the way from Instow in North Devon to Istanbul in Turkey. (Google informs us that its a mere 2059 miles by the most direct land route,so we are aiming to raise £2059)

We have spent months preparing ourselves, mentally and physically so that we will be able to:
        + carry everything we need with us.
        + Say "service station", "please" and "thank you" in 10 different languages.
        + endure hours of waiting in all forms of extreme weather conditions.
        + make small talk to every kind of crazy person that might pick us up.
        + beg and borrow places to stay from friends,relatives, friends of friends, relatives of friends, friends of relatives and people-who-offered-to-host-us-but-never- thought-we'd-actually-take-them-up-on-their-offer.
        + refrain from killing each other when things get bad.
        + avoid getting totally lost.

From previous experiances abroad, we have come to realise just how lucky we have been to grow up in North Devon. We are raising money for Save the Children because of their many projects in the poorest parts of South-Eastern Europe, and we are looking to make a difference to the area's we are visiting on our way through to Istanbul.

It is ultimately in order to win your support for Save the Children, that we are putting ourselves through the ordeal of hitch-hiking! To follow our successes and failures, look out for updates at http://hitchingtoistanbul.blogspot.com.

Thank You,

Tom and Alex.

19/06/07 Update: We have spent the last week harrassing local buisnesses for donations and they have been good enough to donate us over £500, a full list of supporters can be seen on our website, but a special mention must go to the Decks and the Boathouse, who embarked on a good natured banter-filled-bidding-war to offer us the most money. Many many thanks to Lee and Bob for setting us well on the way to achieving our target!
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