Британская пара отправилась в месячное автопутешествие из Китая в Великобританию после шутки отца

Leicestershire couple embark on months-long road trip from China after dad's joke The couple said the expect the journey to take several months A simple joke has led a Leicestershire couple into embarking on a months-long car journey from China back to the UK. Liam Burchell, from Hinckley and Emma Wellington, from Nuneaton, have been living in China for the past seven years, but are now coming home with the idea of starting a family back in Blighty. Instead of catching a simple flight back though, the couple decided to embark on their own Odyssey-styled journey, along with their two dogs, which they started on Monday, August 10 from Shenzhen, in China. They will be travelling across China before heading through Central Asia, across the Caspian Sea, through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and then across Europe before eventually making it back home. According to the pair, they expect the road trip to take them around three to four months to complete, with an estimated arrival date of sometime in November or December. How the idea came about was simply down to a joke made by one of their parents when the idea of flying home was mentioned. However, the car journey soon became their reality. Ms Wellington, 30, said: "Liam was looking to get a van in the UK and realised the prices were just so much cheaper in China, so his dad joked 'why don't you get one and drive it back then' and now, that's exactly what we're doing. "He planted the seed and now we're going through with it. "Of course, now with all the expenses, this will work out to be more expensive but we are in for a really fun road trip, which is all that matters." Mr Burchell, 31, added: "We're so worried about getting back to the UK and not having jobs and stuff, that we just want to prolong the experience as much as possible." According to the couple, the reason they moved out to China in the first place was also quite spontaneous. Ms Wellington, said: "That was another spontaneous thing that we did. We were at this party and our friend, who had just come back from her travels, said we need to get out there too. "It was around that time that Liam was working at a Chinese takeaway and his boss had messaged him randomly asking if he would ever go work in China and we looked at each other and said why not." The couple quit their full-time jobs, Emma as an engineer for Jaguar and Land Rover and Liam as a salesman and relocated to China for seven years where they became kindergarten teachers. Mr Burchell said: "Its been fun teaching younger children. It seems hard at first when you get the new kids in and they're crying all the time but eventually they become your little friends and they learn so much from you. "We thought it was time to start thinking about our careers and starting a family so we made the decision to come back after seven years. "We've had an amazing run and it has been the best while we've been here." The pair remember being stranded in Cambodia, when news about Covid-19 was announced, which originated in Wuhan, China. Ms Wellington, said: "We were in Cambodia on holiday when Covid-19 hit and it was our relatives back home that called us and told us all about it. "Then we received a call from our bosses saying stay on holiday as the school is closed, so we moved around Cambodia on a prolonged trip for another six months. We were struggling for money but we had a great time." When asked which parts of the journey they are looking forward to the most, the couple had slightly different answers. Ms Wellington, said: "I'm just really looking forward to experience all the different cultures we will be travelling through. Kazakhstan looks amazing so I can't wait to get there." Mr Burchell added: "I bought a really cheap fishing rod and I don't know how to fish but my dream for this journey is to find a spot in the middle of nowhere, just us and I manage to catch our dinner for the night. That is what I'm most looking forward to for sure." To keep up with the couple's journey back home, visit their social media page on Instagram called 'Somehowhome'.