DUBAI // A couple who spent seven years travelling in a Toyota Land Cruiser have told of the moment their vehicle was written off, bringing their dream round-the-world trip to an abrupt end.
“We were having a picnic at Jebel Shams in Oman when suddenly the vehicle just took off down the hill,” said Andrew Pettengell.
His wife Ann added: “We had a console fridge in the middle and it fell on the handbrake. It was very quick, one minute we were having a conversation and the next thing the car was wrecked.”
“Ann tried to jump back in but the fridge was on top of the handbrake, she couldn’t get to it. The chassis was cracked, ” said Andrew, a 47-year-old shipwright from Australia. The couple have now settled in Dubai.
“We’re here for two years working and rebuilding our life,” said Andrew. “Ann’s got a job in human resources but it’s hard for a shipwright to get a job here.”
The couple planned to travel for one year when they set off from Sydney in the Land Cruiser, which had been converted so they could sleep in the back. They financed the trip with income from a rental property and their savings.
“It seemed like too much of a rush,” said Ann, 47, who is British. “Once we got going in each country we thought we might never be there with a vehicle again.
“The original plan was to drive and work in England for a few years but then the economy fell over there so we thought, what’s the point in hurrying?”
Their travels took them to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They made a number of short visits to Myanmar, crossing the border from Thailand.
“The border towns are probably not the best bits to see,” said Ann. “They are nice people, but there’s a real atmosphere of fear.”
Andrew and Ann are among the adventurers who took part in the Travellers Festival, a celebration of intrepid journeys held yesterday and the day before in Dubai.
Although a seven-year trip might seem quite long to most people, the Pettengells are novices compared with another couple at the event.
Emil and Liliana Schmid, from Switzerland, have been on the road for an amazing 28 years, and hold the Guinness World Record for the longest driven journey.
They have visited 172 countries and covered 680,000 kilometres in their 30-year-old Land Cruiser since setting off in October 1984.
Like the Pettengells, they never planned to continue travelling for such a long time.
“The initial plan was one or two years,” said Emil, 70. “We started in Montreal in Canada and drove two years in North America.
“Because we liked it we said, ‘OK, we still have money, why should we go back home? Let’s continue with another two years in South America, and then four years in Africa, then Australia…’, and so it went, on and on.”
They are now planning the next leg of their trip, which will take them to the Caucasus.
“We will get the ferry to Bandar Abbas in Iran and then go to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and make a tour around the Black
Sea and then go from Turkey to Port Said. If Egypt allows it then we will drive through to Sudan and down to the south, where we haven’t been.”
Liliana, 71, added: “At a certain point you cannot stop. This is the life I like, I couldn’t imagine another life.
“If I woke up tomorrow and I couldn’t travel I wouldn’t know what to do. I can’t imagine just settling down, it would be too boring for me.”
The festival was run by Emirates Travellers, a group of enthusiastic globe-trotters.
Another adventurer who took part was Malaysian Mohamed Adnan who, like the Schmids, seems to prove that travel not only broadens the mind but also wards off the effects of age.
At 70 he completed a gruelling 11,000km, seven-month bicycle ride from Kuala Lumpur to London last year.
"This is the longest trip I've done," he said. "So far."
csimpson@thenational.ae
General Classification
1. Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
2. Gaia Realini (ITA) Trek-Segafredo 7 secs
3. Silvia Persico (ITA) UAE Team ADQ 1 min 18 secs
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
Zayed Sustainability Prize
WHAT MACRO FACTORS ARE IMPACTING META TECH MARKETS?
• Looming global slowdown and recession in key economies
• Russia-Ukraine war
• Interest rate hikes and the rising cost of debt servicing
• Oil price volatility
• Persisting inflationary pressures
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Shortage of labour/skills
• A resurgence of Covid?
The specs: Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid
Power: 680hp
Torque: 930Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh749,000
On sale: Now
The specs: 2024 Panamera
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 353hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh408,200
On sale: Now
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
RESULTS
3.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 – Group 1 (PA) $75,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Jugurtha De Monlau, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
4.05pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Global Storm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
4.40pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Discovery Island, James Doyle, Bhupat Seemar
5.15pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Al Dasim, Mickael Barzalona, George Boughey
5.50pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $170,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Go Soldier Go, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.25pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 – Group 1 (TB) $450,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.10pm: Ras Al Khor – Conditions (TB) $300,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Al Suhail, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $350,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Charlie Appleby
8.20pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Sound Money, Mickael Barzalona, Bhupat Seemar
CHATGPT ENTERPRISE FEATURES
• Enterprise-grade security and privacy
• Unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access with no caps
• Longer context windows for processing longer inputs
• Advanced data analysis capabilities
• Customisation options
• Shareable chat templates that companies can use to collaborate and build common workflows
• Analytics dashboard for usage insights
• Free credits to use OpenAI APIs to extend OpenAI into a fully-custom solution for enterprises
Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
57 Seconds
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Morgan Freeman, Greg Germann, Lovie Simone
Rating: 2/5
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km