Part I of my “Wander of Wonder” describes my planning and the first six months of my ten month trip in 1978.   From February 25^th to August 30th, I traveled across western and eastern Europe.  Part II describes my overland travel east across Asia from August 31^st until I returned to the US on December 23, 1978.  My  “budget” for the Asia portion of the trip was $1,700.  I didn’t quite have that much remaining of my original $6,000 after my travels in Europe, so I arranged a loan that I could payoff upon my return to the US.

Comparing Travel in Europe to Travel on the Hippie Trail

Part II of my Wander of Wonder was completely different than Part I.  Part I in Europe offered endless destination options north, south, east, and west—especially with my U-rail and Britrail passes that basically permitted me to travel wherever I wished whenever I wished.  Part II involved much more limited destination options located on or accessible by detour north or south of the only road from Istanbul, Turkey to Delhi, India known over the centuries as the “Ancient Spice Route”.  Transportation in Asia was generally limited, hot, and rugged.  Air travel was prohibitively expensive with only a handful of potential stops.  Most young travelers and all of us traveling “on the cheap” took the “overland route” referred to in the literature about that time as the “Hippie Trail” or the “Hashish Trail”.   Overland travel consisted of four options: an “Overland” bus from Europe to Delhi, local buses/vans in each country, driving your own vehicle, or hitchhiking.  Impending wars (between Turkey and Cyprus; Afghanistan civil wars involving the US and later the USSR/Russia; and the longstanding war and cease-fire lines between India and Pakistan) along with the September, 1978 revolution in Iran brought a practical end to the “Overland” bus services from Europe to India in late 1978 shortly after I completed my trip.  After September, 1978,  local buses and vans within each country or driving your own vehicle were the only available transportation options until the route closed completely in 1979 when both Iran and Afghanistan largely closed their borders and were particularly unsafe for Americans (the US Ambassador to Afghanistan was assassinated in Kabul on February 14, 1979).