flickering pictures

For many adventurous young Canadians, the cross-country drive is a quintessential part of the list labeled “things to do before I die” — and almost a citizenship requirement in some circles. But we’ve got nothing on these guys.

The ButterflyBus leaves London’s Victoria Coach Station around 10:00 a.m., and fifteen days later reaches its ultimate destination: Urumqi, China. For the low, low price of £795 (about C$1,600 or US$1 gajillion) plus food and accommodations, you too can see beautiful Eurasia on an 8,000 km bus ride — about 2,000 km longer than the drive from Vancouver to Halifax, and likely a little bit spicier. Despite the enormous distances covered, with all the breaks the itinerary actually doesn’t look all that grueling:

Day 1 700 km
London - Dover, England - Calais, France - Bruges, Belgium.

Day 2 1300 km
Eindhoven, Netherlands - Hanover, Germany - Berlin - Warsaw, Poland.

Day 3 Rest

Day 4 800 km
Warsaw - Lublin, Poland - Kiev, Ukraine.

Day 5 900 km
Kiev - Orel, Russia - Moscow, Russia.

Day 6
Rest day: Moscow, Russia.

Day 7
Rest day: Moscow, Russia.

Day 8 800 km
Moscow - Samara, Russia.

Day 9 900 km
Samara - Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Day 10 400 km
Chelyabinsk - Kostanay, Kazakhstan.

Day 11 500 km
Kostanay - Astana, Kazakhstan.

Day 12 600 km
Astana - Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan.

Day 13 500 km
Lake Balkhash - Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Day 14
Rest day: Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Day 15 500 km
Almaty - Korgas, China.

Day 16 500 km
Korgas - Urumqi, China.

I’m not sure how the bus covers 1300 km on day two — 400 km more than on any other day — but I’m guessing the no-speed-limit Autobahn has something to do with it. At any rate, the next bus leaves London on September 6; miss it, and you’ll be waiting until June 2009 for the next one. Another intriguing possibility is a reverse trip — starting in Urumqi and ending up in London.

From the site:

At ButterflyBus we believe in the power of travel. To broaden the mind, to stimulate the senses; the perfect antidote to the stresses of the modern world. A slower pace of travel that allows an appreciation of landscape, of people and of culture, and one that enables a gradual acclimatisation as we cross from West to East, and back again.

ButterflyBus is for those that love to travel. Those that love the experience of travel - experience which is lost in the sterile predictability of flying from one airport to another.

I haven’t yet done that cross-Canada drive — though Halifax-Montreal was nice and Montreal-Saskatoon was spectacular — and one day I’d love to pack up the car in Saint John’s and pull up to the Pacific Ocean. The nice thing about a car ride is that when you see something interesting — like the giant goose statue that the residents of Wawa, Ontario are so bloody proud of for some reason — you can pull over and have a look. For that reason, I’m not sure an 8,000 km, stop-where-we-tell-you-to bus ride across two continents is really for me. But if you want a structured way to see a big chunk of the world in a safe, controlled environment, and if you’re looking to minimize your environmental impact (the site says the bus produces 1095 kg less of CO2 per traveller than a plane, and 147 kg less than a train), this could be the trip of a lifetime for you.

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