What a bunch of crap Darrinn! Hehe, no, seriously thanks for such an informative post (I really like this smiley). You are absolutely right about filtering advice: I like to think my analytical skills from studying history come into play here .

I actually have no real desire to go off-road, but I hope to travel through the Middle East and Central Asia and beyond and recognise that some of these roads will only be roads in a looser sense of the term. My vehicle would be very much a means and not an end itself: although for some time I've wanted to understand more about cars and their mechanics simply because its an unknown for me and a useful skill. I wouldn't be averse to taking a car as oppose to a 4x4 if I felt it suited my purposes and pocket better. That's something I need to look into further and perhaps you have some thoughts on that.

In fact if I'm utterly honesty I'm not dead set on traveling by car/4x4. The main reason being the extra costs will set back my start date by some time (not necessarily a bad thing because it means more time for planning, research and prep). I also wonder whether traveling by your own vehicle (and sleeping in it; although that is of course not compulsory, but would be a useful not to mention convenient money saver) would somehow detach you from the places and the people you're there to see. I love the idea of being the complete master of your itinerary though: going where you want, when you want (to an extent at least). But there's no need to decide yet and knowledge is my friend here.


Thanks a bunch, I'm sure I'll have reason to refer to your post again in the future.

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