This is a guest post from Dave and Deb from ThePlanetD who have kindly submitted their Funny Travel Photo of the week.
Cycling the continent of Africa can be a tough undertaking to say the least, but nothing prepares to the conditions you will face in the Sudan.
We spent six solid days riding though the desert trying to find our way in extreme heat.
Roads? There weren’t any roads. We simply followed tire tracks through the deep desert sand hoping that by some miracle we would make it to camp each night.
Sudan is a very dry country and water was scarce. We couldn’t waste water pouring it over our heads to clean after a long day on the bike let alone even thing of finding a shower somewhere.
So after nearly a week sleeping in our own sweat and filth, arrived in the town of Dongola.
At the end of the last day of riding through the desert we came across a freshly paved road for the final 20km and Deb was so elated that she got down on her hands and knees to kiss the tarmac with tears of joy in her eyes.
We camped at an abandoned zoo that evening and although we didn’t have proper shower facilities, we did find a random hose that actually worked and we joyously took a bath in our gear boxes feeling the best we had felt since entering the country.
What is the moral of this story you ask? Well after suffering for days on end, a red box bath in the middle of a run down zoo can feel more amazing than a Jacuzzi tub in a 5 star hotel.
Dave and Deb hail from Canada and have traveled the world seeking out new adventures. Last year they cycled from Cairo to Cape Town and stopped to climb Kilimanjaro along the way. Check out their ongoing escapades at ThePlanetD or follow their tweets on twitter at twitter/theplanetd
Also, if you’re that desperate for a bath in a Plastic Box, buy one from Amazon. I have a feeling this bath tub didn’t appear in Bathroom Design – a Complete Guide.
If you feel like riding around Africa for a bit of Adventure, I recommend reading Around Africa on My Bicycle by Riaan Manser. He went around the circumference of Africa and it took him 2 years to do it!
If you’re after other Funny Travel Photos, check out the Health Worker Sign, the Duty Free Airport Shop and the George Bush Bar.
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August 31st, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Great story, can see the look of pure elation in that last photo!
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Twitter: TravelWriting
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September 1st, 2009 at 2:55 am
Thank goodness for sturdy (and large enough for a bath) gear boxes!
I also agree with Anthony – I love the \’kissing the ground\’ photo – I bet a lot of travelers have a story about doing that or something similar!
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Twitter: theplanetd
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September 1st, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Ah yes, it was pure joy taking a bath that day. It had been a long haul.
If you look at my arm in the photo of me kissing the ground, you can see just how ground in the dirt is. Crazy!
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The Travel Tart Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I would have loved to have seen the colour of the bathwater – NOT!
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September 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
ha this is funny!! loving the bath in a red bucket. think i might try it
jen x
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Twitter: theplanetd
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September 4th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Ah yes, everyone should try bathing in a plastic box at least once in their lives. There is nothing quite like it!
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Our Top Fears of Traveling and Running a Travel Blog
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September 6th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Certainly getting out of it would be a liberating experience! Great photo D & D: what a relief to be clean again!
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Twitter: theplanetd
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September 7th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Haha, yes, it was a bit of a tight squeeze! It had never felt so good to clean off. Funny though, we had two days off there and didn’t bother to bathe the second day. That became kind of normal in Africa, we would shower once every 6 or 7 days and if we had a chance to shower two days in a row we would say to ourselves…”why bother, we just showered yesterday?”
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Big Week at the PlanetD
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December 11th, 2009 at 5:19 am
I love the plastic box bathtub! LOL.
It looks like it did the job fine too.
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Twitter: theplanetd
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December 12th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Hi Walk in tub. Yep, it certainly did the trick. We were squeeky clean. At least until 2 days later when we were back in the desert.
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December 26th, 2009 at 10:20 am
That looks very refreshing!
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Twitter: juliemakinmoney
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December 29th, 2009 at 10:12 am
You impressed me, having a bath in a tiny square box lol !
Julie´s last blog ..Privilege Pack Travel Portals
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:47 am
I definitely love reading your insight and learning from your blogsite. Thank you for the interesting and informative article. – Pinoy
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January 22nd, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Dave and Deb for a fun and humorous look at cycling through Sudan. This article reminds me of the Long Way Down TV series where the guys went from Scotland down to Capetown.
I bet the journey was very challenging especially with no real roads and I admire you both for stopping along the way to scale Mount Kilimanjaro. The pictures are great and really give a feel for the journey especially the bicycle in the sand photograph.
I will look forward to reading another travel article from you guys in the future and will remember to take my plastic box if I ever go on an adventure like this!
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Twitter: theplanetd
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January 23rd, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Hi Alex. We took almost the same route as the Long Way Down guys, except we started in Egypt, I think that they crossed over in Libya. It was tough, but now that it is just a memory, it was a lot of fun. We would never do it again, but I am glad that we did! Thanks for the comment. Dave and Deb
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Camel Safari Adventure, Not so Mystical in Rajasthan
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February 6th, 2010 at 2:26 am
LOL great picture of washing in a tub, kudos to you mate – needs must when you got to wash, i imagine getting back on tarmac was bliss after the dessert!
confused´s last blog ..Flights to Australia – Whatever happened to the Ten Pound Poms?
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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March 28th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Hey Confused, yes, it was bliss after the desert. I literally had tears in my eyes.
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Dave and Deb’s Surreal Moments Deserts Around the World
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March 16th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
That’s hilarious. I’m sure he would have loved a bigger tub with some fresh water and bubbles.
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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March 28th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Ahhh Bubbles, why didn’t we think of that? It would have made it so perfect:)
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Dave and Deb’s Surreal Moments Deserts Around the World
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March 29th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Great Post. looks like you had fun in the red bucket as a bath. Not much room to scrub everywhere and clean properly though!
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March 30th, 2010 at 2:10 am
That guys sure would have loved a tub with bubbles and some wine to go with that. Thats just torture if you ask me
menards patio furniture´s last blog ..A Homeowner’s Guide to Patio Furniture
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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May 13th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
The cycling was a lot like torture through the desert, but at that point the bath felt like heaven.
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Visit Paris on a Budget
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May 7th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
But luckily there were plenty bathtubs around for everyone.. Good way to save water in the dessert, the smaller the better..
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May 13th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Well that is pretty convenient alright! and its a good thing that you had plenty for everyone if not i dont think people would be too comfortable going to bathe right after someone just used the plastic box!
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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May 13th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Yes, we all had our own personal plastic boxes. That was the one good thing about the bath.
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May 13th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Seems you had a lot of fun
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Twitter: theplanetd
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May 15th, 2010 at 3:00 am
We did have a lot of fun especially after a very long stretch of tough riding. It was times like these we remember. It is funny how the difficult times fade quickly from memory.
Dave and Deb´s last blog ..Dave and Deb StumbleUpon Sites in Paris!
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June 6th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Sounds like an awesome trip! I’ve got itchy feet just from ready this and I want to hop on a bike to Africa now!
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June 16th, 2010 at 3:18 am
LOL…… your pict looks a bit crazy for me. I think, you need larger tub
Marikxon @Hot Tub Covers recently posted..Installing a 2 Person Hot Tub in Your Home
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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June 30th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Ah Marikxon, I think that a hot tub would have definitely been more comfortable. But we will take what we can get in the middle of an abandoned zoo in Ethiopia:)
Dave and Deb recently posted..Inspirational People We’ve Met in our Travels
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July 13th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
what a Funny tub…ROFL….!i think you need someone to buy you a tub.
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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July 14th, 2010 at 6:25 am
You are right! We still don’t have a decent tub. Somebody needs to design an inflatable tub for the road.
Dave and Deb recently posted..Alaska’s Denali National Park- Pioneer in Conservation
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July 14th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
LOL…and why you put your tub on the road?
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July 15th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Great story, and great pics. Ortlieb sell a foldable rubberised 10 litre bowl, I reckon I could have a bath in that at a push! Certainly a good bath for a baby or toddler, and you can do your washing up in it to
Travelling Toddler recently posted..How social media and travel can lead to burglary
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Twitter: theplanetd
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July 17th, 2010 at 1:44 am
That is a great idea. Thanks for the information. That bowl would be excellent to take along on a camping trip or into the back country. The things you learn from bathing in a plastic box:)
Dave and Deb recently posted..Chateau D’If in Marseille- France- Photo Friday
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July 17th, 2010 at 4:14 am
nice man…your so funny..LOL
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July 21st, 2010 at 10:18 pm
hahah…that was cool! how could you take a bath in that little tub!
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July 23rd, 2010 at 12:57 pm
OMG! is it true? nice man!
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Dave and Deb
Twitter: theplanetd
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July 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Yes it’s true:) After spending several days in the desert, a person is desperate:) We were just happy we had these gear boxes for all our stuff.
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Twitter: http://www.bahamas4u.com/
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July 23rd, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Very nice and funny photo man.Thanks for share
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