Arriving home
Arriving home led me to lots of mixed emotions. I have found it hard to be focused on anything and have felt a bit overwhelmed at times.
There is so much to do. My list is so long. Wrapping up stuff from the trip as well as sorting out things at home and work.Kualar Lumpar.
We arrived in KL after an overnight flight fom Kathmandu. The customs process to get out of the airport was really easy with the Malaysians being really nice and easy to deal with. The trip from the airport to KL was easy enough although it took an hour on the freeway. We checked into the hotel only to be put into a smoking room, it smelt pretty bad and the toilet leaked so we moved to another room without any issues. We spent the next couple of days checking out some sights of KL and looking at the department store full of electronic stuff. Toy world for geeks.
Bron and I both purchased watches for ourselves, after looking at thousands we finally settled for some reasonably priced nice simple watches. I have had news of my notebook computer in Australia, having major problems so I decided to check out the prices in KL.

I was totally surprised over the few days that we spent in KL, the people were really friendly. It was so nice to be in a place where people were friendly without wanting something from you. Everywhere we went people were really helpful.
One of the highlights was the KL twin towers. Usually tall buildings are fairly plan looking but the architects involved in these buildings actually had some imagination and were able to build 2 buildings that look so different in day/night and different lights. The architects had done a great job.

From KL to Surabaya, Java, Indonesia.

We had planned to catch up with Anita and Matthew who we had met at motocamp/horizons meeting Bulgaria. They are travelling through from Darwin/East Timor and through Indonesia.
So we organised with them to meet in Surabaya , in Indonesia. We booked flights and flew into Indonesia the day before we were supposed to meet, so we travelled down to a nice little place called Pasir Puti, on the coast so we could spend a couple of days relaxing with Anita and Matthew when we meet up.

After some initial issues trying to get in contact with each other we met up with Anita and Matthew and spent a couple of days chatting about travel and home with them. It was really nice to catch up and spend some time. It is amazing how similar Bron and Anita are. They think alike in so many ways and they even have some resemblance to each other in looks. Maybe some common ancestry.


It was sad to say seeya to them for a few reasons. They are good company and nice people, they have similar interests and have toured extensively on bikes and last but not least I was a bit jealous that they were continuing their journey through this wonderful country and we are going home.

We sat around for the day, updating blogs etc the day they left and headed to the Island of Bali the next day in preparation for our flight home from Denpasar.

BALI
As the trip from where we were staying on Java to the ferry wasnt far we thought it would not take long to get to the Hotel on Bali tonight. We set of pretty early and caught a local bus for the 3 hour, 120km journey. The bus driver seemed crasier than normal, I think he may have been trying to do the drive quickly as this would allow him to do the trip back to Surabayer by early evening. We seemed to be going hard and fast all the way to the ferry terminal, except the last few kilometers, when we were held up by a traffic jam caused by a bus having a head on with a truck.

The ferry ride to Bali was ok but due to a ferry jam (no available berths at ferry terminal) it took us over an hour to berth. Then came the real headache of the day.
We decided we would not head into Denpasar until the last day before we fly home, this meant staying on the north side of the island. But to get to the north side of the island by public transport, as it isnt so popular, we had to wait until the mini bus ( a hiace van) had the minimum of 14 people in it. So after waiting for over an hour for anyone else besides the 3 that arrived the same time as us us westerners chose to pay twice as much ( 18 dollars each) for a quick exit from the bus stop and head to our hotel. I am not sure if this is a scam they have there as when I did the sums in my head it didnt compute that they would take us at less than double the normal price, and then lose the ability to pick up any more passengers.

The resort/hotel we stayed at although reasonably priced, was very much a resort. A bit over the top for us and the price of food reflected this. We ate mostly at one of the local diners and we were happy wandering the area for the last couple of days before our journey home. We caught a local taxi into Denpasar. This took 4 hours and took us across the interior of the island and through some of the wonderful scenery that Bali/Indonesia has to offer. When we got into Denpasar we checked in to a hotel (the first that had been close to $100 aus a night for a while) and settled in for the final day of our adventure.
Looking around Denpasar was a reminder of Kathmandu in many ways. The constant hassles from shop keepers etc to come take a look, or the „tiger balm“ person wanting to sell their stuff.

All gets a bit tiring.
It was good to get to the airport and aboard the plane to fly home.
For me this was the begining of the difficulties with coming home after a relatively long period away.
The flight home was quite tough because we had got what we thought were good seats but they ended up being problematic because they didnt lean back so we couldnt sleep much on the plane. We arrived home to the welcome of Brons mum and dad at the airport and a drive to Trentham where Cal picked us up to take us home to Ballarat.
It was so nice to be in familiar territory and close to loved ones again.

Arriving home
Arriving home led me to lots of mixed emotions. I have found it hard to be focused on anything and have felt a bit overwhelmed at times.
There is so much to do. My list is so long. Wrapping up stuff from the trip as well as sorting out things at home and work.

Loved ones
Seeing Cal, James, Jem and Dad again was the most wonderful part of returning. Also catching up with my good friends has been fantastic. I love the feeling that although we haven’t caught up for 6 months, the bond we have is still really strong.

The bike
The bike arrived home on the Thursday after us and Bron and I went down and picked it up on with the trailer. We left it on the crate and stayed with dad for the night. The crate had been damaged during the transport home which was a little disappointing but the bike seems ok. On arriving home we unpacked the bike and reassemble the stuff we had taken off it for the transport home.

Overall the bike performed really well. The major issue we had with the bike was the ground clearance. Most days on the trip we hit something with the bash plate and I found this difficult. This became especially difficult in Pakistan, India and Nepal when the roads got worse. Otherwise the bike was fantastic. I am so glad that B+B made such a great bash plate for the bike that withstood the punishment.

Looking back what would I change

Equipment-

must take
The Pacsafe tankbag was fantastic. A last minute inclusion, I would recommend it to anyone.
The B+B Bashplate was great, the B+B radiator guard was fantastic and the B+B Topbox was a real winner especially when we were camping and when we wanted things stored out of touch.
Electric Water heating element
Universal plug
Good water tight containers
Kathmandu tent
Memory foam pillow ( a Ikea pillow cut in half and compressed in a compression bag)
Waterproof bags/compression bags
Great Camera.
Can of Raid and Bushmans insect repellant
Elastic cloths line
Google Docs backup of all documents

Leave at home-useless
Solar shower,
Cheap leaky containers

Considerations
I would consider a Helmet camera especially a HD one.
A better seat instead of the Air Hawks
I would consider wearing motorcross Knee and Body/elbow pads in hot countries with gortex Jacket over the top in cooler climates.
I would take a oil filter spanner.