Day 17 - Jan 17 2021
A short 1,048 km trip from Shiraz to the legendary Babylon and we are finally in double digits at 10,000 plus km. The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the great city. Built about 575BC, on the order by King Nebuchadnezzar II it was part of a grand walled processional way leading into the city.
We’ve walked just under another 1,000km, 924.6 to get us from Bangkok to Yangon and over 15% of the way home. We crossed the border at the No 2 Friendship Bridge/ Thai Myanmar Bridge 2. We travelled along the AH1 where we passed some temples and monasteries en route to Yangon.
Day 26 - Jan 26 2021
CONGRATULATIONS!
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We did it. Thank you for keeping us company as we journeyed home. We hope you celebrate completing the challenge with something Irish today. Share your photos with us we would love to see your celebrations. Now I'm off to catch the train the rest of the way home.
Day 26 - Jan 26 2021
We headed north out of Paris passing Amiens to Calais. When we were still in the tropics, we had been discussing in the group whether we should swim the Channel instead of taking the train.... once we reached Calais and it looked like it will snow any minute, I was glad we decided to take the train. We made Dover in no time and were glad to rest our weary legs for a while. Our spirits are getting lighter with each step and once we hit Oxford, over 17,000km of our journey leaving us less than 3% to go, we had a well-deserved pint or two.
Day 25 - Jan 25 2021
We crossed the border into France at Basel, which is located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel while being in Switzerland, has suburbs in France and Germany. We then traveled North West towards Paris. We have only just over 6% of the journey left to go. I can't believe we've made it so far in such good time. No trip to Paris would be complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower.
Day 25 - Jan 25 2021
We have less than 10% left to go to get home. Our latest route has taken us across the north of Italy and into Switzerland. Between the pasta and the chocolate, I'm glad we are doing so much activity. We crossed the Alps from Como to Lucerne, the air was so clear it made the stunning views even more spectacular
Day 24 - Jan 24 2021
The coastal route up the coast of Croatia and into Italy was just stunning. The Adriatic Sea is mesmerizing with its shades of blue and green. The closer we got to Italy the more we dreamed of carbs, pizza, pasta and of course gelato helped keep us focused on moving when we were starting to tire. Is it cheating that we had to take the last little part by boat? We are now over 87% of the way home so I think we can ignore the boat trip!
We left Bulgaria, crossing Serbia and into Croatia, this took less than 800km, bringing us to over 80% of the way home. As we were coming into Dubrovnik some of us were chatting about Game of Thrones, more of us were talking about a dip in the ocean.
Day 23 - Jan 23 2021
Photo submitted by Saundra Wade
Bennett girls being pushed around by mammy Sarah Jane Bennett while puting in her distances
Day 23 - Jan 23 2021
Is anyone out walking, running, cycling this morning? Share your photos
Hong Kong Hike submitted by Monica Dolan
Photo submitted by Suzanne Bartlett
Photo submitted by Tracey Battey Jones
East Coast Park submitted by Carmel Tan
Day 22 - Jan 22 2021
Week 3 stats
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Day 22 - Jan 22 2021
We woke up this morning having passed another milestone when our devices synced over night.
We continued another 500km west into Bulgaria. A country rich in history and culture where we visited the capital Sofia bringing us over 78% of the way home. While there we toured the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
We travelled up the coast of the Mediterranean and into Turkey. As we came into Istanbul, we were delighted to cross the Bosphorus as this officially marked our passage into Europe from Asia and brings us to over 75% of the way home. No trip to Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul would be complete without visiting the stunning Hagia Sophia.
Day 21 - Jan 21 2021
Patrick and Stephen Bremner putting in their distances in West Coast Park
Day 20 - Jan 20 2021
We are just outside of Ankara and slightly more than 400km to go to our next milestone.
Day 19 - Jan 19 2021
We left Ishtar Gate and the legendary Babylon behind us and headed 1,000km toward the Mediterranean. About halfway between Homs and Tartus lies Krak des Chevaliers a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the Mirdasids. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the order of the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271.
Day 18 - Jan 18 2021
We continue our virtual journey home, we are walking through the Middle East at the moment virtually but in reality our views are still beautiful.
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Labrador Nature Reserve as submitted by Nuala McGlynn
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Day 17 - Jan 17 2021
A short 1,048 km trip from Shiraz to the legendary Babylon and we are finally in double digits at 10,000 plus km. The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the great city. Built about 575BC, on the order by King Nebuchadnezzar II it was part of a grand walled processional way leading into the city.
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Day 16 - Jan 16 2021
Our journey from Lahore in the east of Pakistan to Shiraz in Iran, is the longest stretch of the trip travelling 2,990 km to over 55%.
Flanagan Family hiking in MacRitchie .
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Kimi Stone, Elizabeth McEneaney and Tracey McMahon running on the Green Corridor
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Day 15 - Jan 15 2021
We are getting back to hot and humid days instead of the recent "cold"and wet ones, but we are still getting out and getting our distances in. Don't forget to bring water, a hat and sunscreen if you're heading out on the hotter times of the day.
Day 14 - Jan 14 2021
WEEK 2 STATS
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Some of the top 3 in each category are swapping position this week and we have a couple of new entries.
But the runners havent changed at all just increasing thier distances. I wonder will Kiko Carranza maintain the lead for a third week?
In the cycling group Antoinette Millar managed to sneak into 2nd but will she catch Robert Kimmel this week?
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Day 13 - Jan 13 2021
Another milestone another postcard home, we have so much to tell everyone about our adventure.
The route from Agra to Lahore is a straight one adding just under 610 km to our total and bringing us to just under 39% of the way home.
Fantastic, we have reached another Milestone. Time to send a postcard home.
Continuing through Bangladesh we crossed back into India at Mahadipur. Our route takes us another 1,658.5km to over the 35% mark. We passed through a number of parks including Adina Eco Tourism Park, Adina Deer Park, and Araria Biodiversty Reserve on the way to Agra.
Day 12 - Jan 12 2021
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We are so close to our next milestone but remember that you can put other activities not just walking and running to the Mission. Check out the charts to convert you other activities to kms.
Day 11 - Jan 11 2021
January 2021 in Singapore has been rainy day after rainy day, yet we’ve passed the 30% mark. Despite the rain all day people have managed to get their distances in. Whether its the fact getting wet to the core reminds us of home or its just pure stubborness we are getting out and getting the distances.
Day 10 - Jan 10 2021
We woke up this morning having synced all our devices overnight to discover we had reached our 4the milestone.
We continued our journey adding another 1,781.3 km to over 25% of our total, travelling along the AH1 onto the Indo-Myanmar Road crossing into India. During our brief jaunt in India we passed the Khongjom War Memorial Complex before crossing into Bangladesh and heading to Dhaka.
Day 9 - Jan 9 2021
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Day 7 - Jan 7 2021
As we were coming to the end of week 1 we received some fantastic news to keep us focused on the distance ahead. Our medals were made and aren't they beautiful. Looking forward to showing off our new bling when they arrive!
Percentages of the exercise used on our first week.
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Day 8 - Jan 8 2021
By the morning of day 8 we had the stats for our first full week of the mission. We had travelled 4,195.25 km almost quarter of our way home. We are mostly walking but some of us are running cycling and even converting other exercise into km to help get us home.
Week 1 leaderboard.
East Coast Park photo by Carmel Tan
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Otter and MBS view by Sharon Bremner
Day 6 - Jan 6 2021
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We’ve walked just under another 1,000km, 924.6 to get us from Bangkok to Yangon and over 15% of the way home. We crossed the border at the No 2 Friendship Bridge/ Thai Myanmar Bridge 2. We travelled along the AH1 where we passed some temples and monasteries en route to Yangon.
"We don't walk we run", who else among the group runs?
Photo of Elizabeth McEneaney and Tracy Shorten McMahon taken in Singapore Botanic Gardens.
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Day 5 - Jan 5 2021
The weather improved again today and despite people going back to work this week we are still seeing the distance being covered. Its great to see how we are getting home, we have walkers, runners, cyclists. We will 100% make the next milestone tomorrow, we are soooo close.
7pm v's overnight distances, we are still managing to get out after work to make a dent in the journey
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Day 4 - Jan 4 2021
We continued up through Malaysia and crossed the border into Thailand at Sadao Border Checkpoint. Up through Song Khala following Highway 41 for a large portion of the way, on to highway 4 and highway 31 as we come into Bangkok. We have travelled 1,487.8 km since KL but its bringing us to over the 10% mark in our journey.
The rain slowed down and most of us managed to get out and put some kms on to the route. We are now in Thailand and over 1,000km into the journey. We hope to make our next milestone tomorrow, fingers crossed.
Day 3 - Jan 3 2021
Photo of East Coast Park
submitted by Carmel Tan
Photo of Hike in Hong Kong
submitted by Monica Dolan
Our journey has taken us from Merlion Park along the AYE to the Singapore, Malaysia border at the Tuas Checkpoint. We passed through Johor, skirting by Legoland Malaysia into Melaka, along the North South Expressway, through Negeri Sembilan, Selangor to Kuala Lumpur. This route is 370.1 km and about 2.1% of our journey.
Day 2 - Jan 2 2021
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By 9am we had already managed to cross the border into Malaysia, not sure how much of that was dancing post-midnight or how much was people getting out early even though it was New Years Day.
It's been a rainy day yet some of us have managed to get out walking. We have put 160.5 km on the mission and we are almost 1% of the way home. A lot of devices will sync over night a true reflection of the hard work put in on day 1 will be seen tomorrow. I hope the rain stops!
Day 1 - Jan 1 2021
Photo of the rain filled canal along Ulu Pandan Park Connector
Dec 31 2020
We sent our first postcard as we got ready to start our adventure home. Looking forward to getting started.
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As we prepare to start our journey, we want to let you know a few things. Please don’t forget to log your steps. If you have the My Virtual Mission linked to your Fitbit, or other smart device it will do it for you. Otherwise, you need to log manually. We have prepared 17 postcards en route home and we will be taking roads, where possible, to allow you to zoom in and follow the journey on Google Maps. They may be roads such as motorways and expressways which we technically wouldn’t walk but it will allow us to take an actual route through these countries on our way home. We have written the postcards as if all is well and we are able to do the normal touristy things along the way. We hope you enjoy them. While writing them it reminded us of holidays and travelling and we hope it does the same for you and lifts your spirits for 2021.