Travels with Archie

Archie is to be, probably, our most important travel companion for the 45 day trip from Xi'an to Bangkok. If you wonder why we didn't mention him when we introduced everyone on our last post, it is because he is a 30 foot long converted refrigeration truck. But we will be getting to know him rather well over the coming weeks, so we thought an introduction was warranted.

First off, it has to be admitted that Archie is one beaten, battered, hulk of a converted refrigeration truck. Made with sheets of steel crudely riveted together to withstand the most rutted of roads, he looks like he has dealt with some rough ones in his time. His lurid orange, black and white livery is dulled by the dust of the road, but still makes him stand out from the rest of the traffic like an old punk-rocker striding through gentile suburban streets, whilst simultaneously hiding his rusting body-work. This impression is bolstered by the great bumper grilles at the front, surmounted with a bull's skull and horns (apparently a relic of a recent journey through the Gobi Dessert) and, strapped to the rear, 4 hulking four foot diameter spare tyres and a cage filled with spare parts and accessories.

Even in these early stages of our journey, we can see that Archie turns heads like a long-legged blonde passing a building site: workers in the fields go into open-mouthed suspended animation, as if they have just spotted a UFO; service stations empty to find out what has arrived and everyone smiles and waves. Earlier, a car started to overtake us, then held level, before a grinning head popped out through the sun roof and started to take pictures. A short time later we were stopped by a policeman: he walked slowly around us, carefully inspecting every detail, then back at the front, he pulled out an I-phone and proceeded to take pictures of himself with an 'Archie backdrop'.

On board, old coach seats have been bolted into the chassis: 5 'bad-boy seats' in a row at the back; followed by the 'social seats' (2 sets of 4 facing one another across a table, just waiting for a card-school); then 3 forward facing pairs before the cockpit (with 2 throne seats, a man-sized steering wheel and the most basic of consoles) which gladiatorially faces the road through a vast expanse of, occasionally stone chipped, windscreen.

In the middle, the seats are punctuated by two large cold-boxes, liberally filled with beers, soft-drinks, fruit and other perishables, ensuring that Archie retains at least an element of his former life. The interior roof is adorned with flags of the various countries he has vanquished; loud-speakers that allows I-pod music to be pumped through; travel-themed quotes from various wits and sages and webbed racking that gives it the vague feeling of a troop-carrier. Between the cockpit and seating, a half wall is pinned with maps, timetables and truck duty rotas (in recognition of her talents in this area, Sue has been assigned to scrubbing the floor for the first week).

Which leaves us with the most important component of all, being 13 passengers and 3 guides / drivers / mechanics, reading, slumbering and watching the world go by as we meander our way south-westwards through China. More of that journey to come, but in the meantime here are some pictures of Archie and his many admirers!

Here's Archie!

Archie turning heads - well one anyway!

Drawing a crowd

Even the cows are curious.