In June 2006, two ladies, Jo Huxster and Antonia Bolingbroke set out on a 12,000 mile journey from Bangkok (Thailand) to Brighton (UK).  For many of us, such a journey might not sound so bad as you recline in your seat and the air hostess brings your dinner wrapped in shiny foil so that it burns your fingers with maximum effect.  You gulp down your dinner, stick on the headphones, reposition your legs around the chair in front, let out a discreet, yet satisfying belch and fall asleep for a few hours. Yes such journeys really are hard work?

For these ladies however, things are not so pleasant.  In a bid to raise £50,000 for the charity “Mind” they are going to do the journey in a little pink Tuk Tuk that they have christened Ting Tong.  With a cruising speed of 50mph the vehicle can reach 70mph on full throttle. Ting Tong, a brand new vehicle built by Anuwat Yuteeraprapa and Co. has been specially prepared for the epic journey. With upgraded brakes and suspension it also has a protected undercarriage for those places where nice roads have yet to be invented.  Both degree educated (so they are not daft) the idea was the brainchild of Jo Huxster who said, “I was just driving around Bangkok with two friends, and the tuk-tuk driver let me sit in the front to pretend I was driving , I thought 'one day, I will drive one of these back to England. And that's how it happened." Continuing she said: "I feel very passionate about supporting Mind because I suffered from depression in my adolescence, and I was helped by Mind when I was unwell." Antonia Bolingbroke said that she decided to join Jo after a friend committed suicide.

On average the ladies drove around 150 miles a day with a journey that went through Thailand, Laos, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, France before finally arriving in the UK via the Eurotunnel at Calais.

With a very long and extemely eventful journey (that can be seen in detail via the “tuk to the road” blog at http://tuktotheroad.blogspot.com ) the ladies eventually arrived back to a huge reception in Brighton, UK on the 3rd September 2006 . 

The story doesn’t end there. Having returned home the ladies have been through a media whirlpool appearing in numerous magazines and TV programs, giving talks at the Royal Geographical Society, gaining a publishing contract and in November 2006 they won Cosmopolitan’s ‘Fun, Fearless, Female’ Award, something Mind nominated them for as they crossed the Gobi Desert . There is also mention that the journey may go into the Guinness book of records as being the longest journey made in a 3-wheeler.

The route from Bangkok - Brighton.

Ting Tong the Tuk Tuk.

 Antonia Bolingbroke (centre) and Jo Huxster (right) with Trisha winning the Cosmopolitan’s ‘Fun, Fearless, Female’ Award. (Nov 2006)