(Garrow-Fisher Tours)

One of the great overland passenger-carrying journeys

PLEASE NOTE: This site is still 'under construction' and is therefore not complete nor do all the links work yet. Additions and amendments occur frequently so if it is a week or more since your last visit be sure to 'Refresh' each page you view (or 'Reload', depending which browser you use) to be certain of seeing the latest version.

The Indiaman Mystique

Only those who have made the journey can begin to understand it. Passengers and crew alike became a part of it. New companions, new experiences, new perplexities, new horizons beckoning - and the special jargon of the Indiaman tradition - were all part of it.

A 'Mashay' for instance, is one who has made pilgrimage to the Holy City of Meshed in Persia. Locally it is a term of respect. In Indiaman parlance it was a title given only to those Tour Leader drivers who had made a number of journeys.

You have been warned!

The following message was always included in the current Indiaman brochure of the time and is reproduced here to convey a feeling for the special atmosphere of the Indiaman:

WARNING

We have always been at great pains to STRESS that this journey is an 'EXPEDITION' rather than a 'TOUR' in the normal sense. IT IS NOT - the MOST COMFORTABLE WAY OF TRAVELLING. IT IS NOT - the CHEAPEST WAY OF TRAVELLING. It is a rugged, rewarding journey that will take you across mountains and deserts and into the remotest parts of some very primitive countries.

It will bring you into the company of people who are warm, 'happy go lucky', tolerant and human - so if there is any 'gingerbread' in your make up, better stay away! Bluntly - it is a trip for the genuine TRAVELLER rather than the modern TOURIST. Luxury does not exist all along the overland route. Hotels range from excellent to pretty putrid but all are endurable and if you can rise above the limitations of 'creature comforts' you will certainly enjoy this trip.

OUR WARNING IS NO STUNT - so please - please - for your sake, for our sake, for God's sake! - stay away if you want mollycoddling.

If you have any comments, suggestions or contributions regarding the Indiaman Tour that you think are worth mentioning, please e-mail me at [email protected].