OVER the past five years, two Irish adventurers David Burns and Maghnus Collins have run, cycled, kayaked and rafted almost halfway around the world to raise money for people living in poverty in Africa.
The adventure seekers, both 27, arrived in the Shanghai last Wednesday - 292 days after they set off from Istanbul, Turkey, on a 16,000-kilometer journey they called the Silk Road Expedition.
During the trip, the duo cycled through the deserts of Turkey, Iran and Iraq; ran a 1,000-kilometer marathon through the Himalayas and across the Tibetan Plateau; and from the source of the Yangtze River, they kayaked about 6,300 kilometers to reach Shanghai.
They undertook the trip to support Self Help Africa charity, recounting their adventure experiences in stories photos and videos on their blog - www.sand2snowadventures.com - and call on the views to donate money.
So far, they have raised 24,500 euros (US$32,500) for the organization through their Silk Road Expedition.
But it is not the first time that the duo have lent their backing to the organization. Their previous adventure, a year-long cycle marathon from Ireland to South Africa back in 2009, raised 36,126 euros.
In an interview with Shanghai Daily, Burns and Collins talked about their travel experiences and why they are so dedicated to charity work.
"We wanted to try something that we would find almost impossible to finish and that would challenge ourselves as much as we could," said Collins.
"So we decided that we would see if we could cycle from Istanbul to Katmandu, and then run to the source of the Yangtze River, but then the most difficult part would always be to see if we could kayak more of the river than anyone has kayaked before," he said.
"Standing in Shanghai, it feels almost surreal but I think that's probably the reason - just to find new adventure, see new culture, and meet new people," said Collins.
Burns told Shanghai Daily that most dangerous parts of their adventure was wild animals and the fierce rapids in the Yangtze - the longest river in Asia.
"Somewhere in Qinghai Province, where no people live in the extremely cold winter and the entire area is undeveloped, we were traveling on the river with a bear and wolves staring at us," said Burns.
"It was very beautiful but very scary. Fortunately they didn't attempt to attack us," he said.
Meanwhile, Collins wrote in his blog: "Massive birds of prey circled overhead as herds of wild horses galloped along the river banks. Burns paddled obliviously as a wolf scrutinized his every movement. A bear hardly flinched as we floated, rigid with fear, meters from his island perch."
But wilds animals were the least of their worries when confronted with dangerous rapids in the Yangtze, said the two adventurers.
Despite safety ropes, each of them had fallen off their rafts into the river some 10 times into dangerous rapids.
"On one occasion the raft flipped and I was swimming. The water at this height is so cold that even in a dry suit it forces all air from your lungs," said Collins.
"Struggling to swim out of the rapids with the rope attached to the raft in my mouth, I swallowed water and saw the raft continue down river as I reached for a boulder and pulled myself from the water," he said.
For the next three days, the duo then had to chase after the raft with all their equipment carried away down the river, Burns on the river, Collins on the shore. Despite their efforts, they finally had to accept the fact that the raft and everything on it was gone.
Fortunately the duo were able to continue with their adventure after a company offered them new equipment.
Burns said that they were very grateful to Chinese people who have offered them help on their trip.
"We mainly used body languages to communicate with them, such as to shiver when we are cold and show them pictures to mean that we are traveling along the Yangtze," said Burns.
"Chinese people were incredible for the whole journey as they offered help everywhere," Burns said. "Fishermen gave us hot tea when we were cold and gave us food when we were hungry. We were well looked after."
Collins said that locals, policemen and the fishermen would always offer them very strong Chinese liquor and shout "Ganbei!," which means to drink a toast.
Burns told Shanghai Daily that he met Collins back at university and they became very good friends.
"About five years ago, we set out on a cycle trip from Ireland to South Africa and back," said Burns.
The "Bike Africa 2009" trip took them 11 months with a total 17,550 kilometers distance.
It was an epic adventure full of dangers - they said that they traveled across 19 countries, caught typhoid, faced an elephant charge and a rabid dog attack, and spent two nights in police custody.
Cash raised helped, Self Help Africa, a charity that works with rural communities to help improve their farms and their livelihoods.
"We supported the charity project by opening a blog to write down our adventure and raise donations," said Burns, "I like writing but I found that I can't keep the habit with a normal job and life. When we are traveling, things get much simpler so you can just write your experiences."
They named the blog www.sand2snowadventures.com because they have traveled across the deserts and extremely cold places.
He said that they chose the charity because they have traveled to many countries where people suffer poverty.
"We saw people out of work or they just get very hard works seemingly impossible to complete," said Burns.
Burns recalled an Ethiopian lady he saw during their adventure of the Silk Road Expedition to Shanghai.
"I remember back to cycling on a mountain pass out of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, I was out of shape, struggling and generally feeling sorry for myself," said Burns.
"I desperately wanted to stop. Then I passed a lady walking up the same hill carrying an impossibly large load. She seemed unfazed by the climb, laughing at my odd appearance and making a mockery of the struggle.
"It is an image that has stayed with me. Whenever I get to thinking times are tough I think of her and all the people like her who have shown us what hard work really is," said Burns.
He said that from time to time they thought about giving up or at least taking some days off, but didn't as they are motivated by the charity works.
Burns said that in when not traveling they work as adventure writers. Although the Silk Road Expedition was long and tough, it was not costly. On average they spent only 2 to 3 dollars per day, said Burns.