Since we have been on the road, we have had countless people approach us and give us support and words of encouragement for what we are doing. I think part of it is definitely the fact that we have some pretty flash trucks. (Yes I am incorporating some of the slang from the various countries we have traveled though) As Shoppman wrote before,it is like driving a spaceship around and there is no question that the Sequoia and especially the Tundra turn more heads than a one man traveling band. Whether it is an Aussie speeding down a dusty outback highway in his Hilux to get a better look at the Tundra or a Chinese driver speeding up in downtown Beijing to flash us a exuberant thumbs up, the cars definitely attract a lot of attention and so far, all of it has been extremely positive. Actually, the only negative comments have been from a few Americans we overheard chit-chatting in the background about how obnoxious we are to be driving big American, V8 SUV’s. Ultimately, even if we were to stop the expedition tomorrow, I truly feel that the Thundra represents the most famous and most photographed Toyota Tundra in the world. With that distinction, maybe we can get a few more bucks from Toyota 🙂
Obviously since Shoppman and I are both extremely modest guys, we have no problems with the Toyotas taking the spotlight. However, people here in China seem to be taking an equal interest in the two tall, unshaven, semi-dirty American boys behind the wheel of these fascinating machines. Whether we park the cars at Tiger Leaping Gorge or the Shaolin Temple, people first start looking at the trucks and when they find out we are the ones driving them the cameras come flying out. People actually form a line to get their photo taken with the two crazy Americans driving around the world. It would be interesting to know how many times Steve and I pop up in a Chinese photo album because the shutters have been firing away since we entered the country. Whether it is a business man from Shanghai, a couple of university students from Xi An, or a newly wed couple from Xixiang the Chinese can’t seem to get enough of us. O.K., I will let my ego cool off a bit, but it is nice being popular and the subject of so much positive attention in a strange and foreign land.
The map on the hood is an easy way to explain what we are doing in any language
Pimpin’ ain’t easy
TWBR and the boys from the tire shop
No I don’t want any herbs but I’ll give you an autograph
Look at ya… just look at ya
A moment frozen in time
Say "Peking Duck…"
Newlyweds…. sure come on down
