· From East to West
Spiralling Outwards
A Trial of Trust
What commenced was a daily struggle with setbacks on all fronts, as visas were running out, money was running out, and hope was being lost in a maze of bureaucracy and mustache-faced officials denying them entry just because they could. War broke out along their planned route, relationships back home were starting to crack under pressure, and any plans they made constantly turned out to be futile. Masters of adapting to hopeless situations by now and of improvising their way through the tiniest loopholes, they were still three months behind schedule, and no matter how much they progressed, the road seemed to have no end. Every day Juho’s son - three years old - was growing up in Finland without his father there.
Needless to say, the reasons to continue their journey started to dwindle... Yet with each strike of luck all hope was renewed, and the adventure regained its purpose: to bring our heroes to face themselves, to discover whether their courage and trust was enough to overcome even the greatest obstacles on their path. For some deep reason beyond words, they simply had to continue their crazy pilgrimage, with forces both benevolent and opposing constantly guiding them towards the true meaning of home.
- "Wouldn't it be cool to drive a tuk tuk from Thailand to Finland?"
- "Yeah!!"
Little did the two friends know that those fateful words would eventually propel them through a life-changing journey across the world. Five years passed since that carefree evening until Juho and Pyry - both professional circus artists - saw their perfect chance to let go of hesitation, take action, and set out to discover why the road called.
Rigorous planning over the course of months, a successful crowd-funding campaign to fund the production of a TV series to be filmed along the way, and more than a few strained conversations with loved ones all lead to the day the adventure finally began. Everything was in order: they had their brand-new passports, pockets full of visas, and the tuk tuk ordered early on was being built...
Or so they thought.
Turned out that life had an entirely different course of events in mind for our heroes. Work on their tuk-tuk-to-be had actually not commenced and would have taken eight more weeks, when two was all they had. After giving up on this particular company, a bit of searching in Bangkok, and a lot of luck, the boys managed to talk themselves a tuk tuk that was being refurbished. On the very day they finally received their fresh vehicle and were itching to hit the road, Bangkok Shutdown began, closing down all government offices for three whole months thus evaporating all chances of getting their mode of transport registered.
But the two friends, their hearts set on their odyssey, were ready to do almost anything other than give up. They simply were going to get home with their tuk tuk, whatever it would take.
As if by a miracle, each time they had exhausted their options, a door of possibility opened out of nowhere, a seemingly nutty idea with potential surfaced, or a friendly stranger extended a helping hand. Our heroes traversed on their three-wheeled vehicle across a spectrum of cultures, through tasty street food venues, over mountains and through deserts into new challenges awaiting. They were granted access to the hearts and homes of locals both in the hustle and bustle of cities as well as the pristine wilderness of nature. Never did they give in to corruption and instead searched for alternative ways to continue, and only once did they almost turn against each other, in an exchange of tense words that lasted no more than 20 minutes.
Their voyage turned out to be not only a trial of courage and patience, but above all - a trial of trust. Trust in oneself, trust in one’s friend, trust in life within each leap of faith. Trusting one’s body and trusting one’s heart, trusting one’s mysterious process in the grand scheme of things. Trust in the unknown - whether it be time, space or a stranger’s face.
Pyry and Juho made it home with their tuk tuk. What exactly happened on their journey? How did it shape them, what did they learn? Why did they need to complete their odyssey in order to feel at peace back home?
The Inner Voyage
Filming the journey was part of the idea early on. When the tuk tuk arrived at its destination with its exhausted adventurers, they had documented a beautiful array of material, waiting to be edited into a whole – yet the first priority was to rest and recover. Then began another journey within new unknown territory, as we strove to grow the roots of our business, to feed our families. All along we have kept the idea of the documentary series alive, doing what we can to develop it into manifestation while trying to keep our company afloat and bills payed.
The protagonists are the epitome of an amazing, epic friendship, that only grows stronger through thick and thin, and they display individual characteristics of courage, imagination and the famous Finnish resilience - ‘sisu’. The series will open a unique street-level perspective into lesser-known cultures saturated by Western media, such as Burma and Pakistan. At the core of the narrative is the inner dimension of the journey: though the surface level of geography is colourful and interesting, the truly meaningful events take place in the minds and hearts of our adventurers, as they change and are shaped by forces beyond their control. This dimension will be expressed also through animation.
Here is a trailer!
· New Horizons
The tuk tuk odyssey as a whole is still going strong – stay tuned to what's happening next by following us on our social channels and/or joining our mailing list!
Thank you to every kind soul around the world who has been part of our journey in one way or another. Without your love and support, none of this could be possible! ♥
THE ODYSSEY
It all began with a crazy dream, grew into a 10-month voyage over 17,000 km, and is now on its way to becoming a documentary series. An overview of the adventure, information on the audiovisual production, and a link to the blog, chronicling the inner journey on the road.
To delve into the chronicles written during the journey, visit the TTT Blog!