Date: 26 October 2001 - Ride-on... Home

Goedendag (Dutch),

It does sound strange, to greet in Dutch. Can't get over it still. Mind you, we are not back in Holland yet. We are still in Germany, where good friend Bernd Tesch organised a coming-back-party for us yesterday. We are going to cross the border TOMORROW. Brrrr, shivers, oh my... hellipy.

We are getting many e-mails lately. It's not that we did not want to e-mail you. Actually, we started writing this message early September. Then the terrorists attacked and took away all our energy. Our heads are still full of so many images. One of it is of Volgograd, the former Stalingrad, where the 72 meters high statue of 'Mother Russia' and the memorial reflect the feelings of so many: NO MORE WAR!

How will the children be in Afghanistan? We are sorry we could not visit them with our project. And those in Pakistan, Iran, Syria which we did visit? We are sure they would like to know how the children in America are doing, for we left many American drawings behind.

The past five years are crossing our minds day and night now and we know one thing: This is the hardest part of our tour. TOMORROW we will be HOME, but we still do not know what that means, but, whatever happens, we will keep in touch (please understand how hard it is to reply so many massages), we will keep greeting and smiling.

A greeting and a smile

Ride-on... Rob and Dafne

Rob and Dafne de Jong, on the road in East Siberia, 2001

Ed. Read all about Rob and Dafne's adventures over three and a half years on the road - through Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Japan and Russia - click on the links to the right!

de Jong's Home

Travel Stories, English:

January 2002,
Ride on 2002...
October 2001,
Ride on Home
July 2001,
Russia and
Siberia
April 2001,
Japan
Jan 2001,
Arizona
Dec 2000,
California
Oct 2000, L.A
to Fresno via
Inuvik
Sep 2000,
New Zealand
July 2000,
Australia part 2
April 2000 India
and Australia,
part 1
Dec 1999,
Istanbul
to Kathmandu
Nov 1999,
Shoeshine boy
of Gondar
Sept 1999,
Uganda to
Turkey
May 1999,
Zimbabwe to
Uganda
Dec 1998,
South Africa
and Namibia
Sept 1998,
Swaziland &
Lesotho
June 1998,
S. Africa 1
April 1998,
W.Africa 2
March 1998,
W. Africa 1

Travel Stories, In het Nederlands:

July 2001,
Rusland en
Siberie
April 2001,
Japan
Jan 2001,
Arizona