Around the World - Life On A Bike

Crossing into Turkey at last. We have heard so much about the splendours of this country. We take the freeway to Instanbul to catch up with Steves brother John and his wife Jude who are backbacking around the world. We do the tourist things like the Blue Mosque and the Palace and play games with all the carpet salesman. How do they all make a living? Seems like a little of the 'oversupply' to me.Enroute we made e-mail contact with the One More Mile Motorcycle Club (OMM). A great bunch of guys ready to help us travelling types with information and hospitality.

Crossing the border into Bulgaria caused few problems and we headed towards Sofia stumbling with the foreign road signs and hoping we would not get lost. We decided against a Guide Book of Bulgaria as we were only passing through. What a mistake. In Sofia we had considerable difficulty finding cheap accomodation let alone a campground. Most enquiries were greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and a very glum look. Eventually one was located. We believe it was a brothel. The plumbng barely functioned (the toilet did not) and it stank.

Crossing into Romania was easy although the money changer tried to take a little too much commission. Carol was on the ball though. Arriving in Bucharest we contact our friends who track us down (big city) and escort us back to their large house. Carols' old school friend Shelley her husband Steve and their two children Charlotte and Joshua are living/working in Romania for a couple of years. We intend to enjoy their hospitality and arrange our visas for Iran Pakistan and India. Thanks guys.

Our border crossing into Iran took just under three hours, 1 hour in Turkey two hours in Iran. Border officials were helpful and most of the delay was caused by so many officials asking about our journey. Carol changed into her garb and immediately complained about the heat. What a fashion statement she made. Not the normal black covering but a plum (pale) gown with gold buttons and a black and white head piece bought in Tunis earlier in the year. The men all turned their heads and the women looked on in envy I'm sure.

Leaving Iran was a pleasant experience as we enjoyed some cakes with some very pleasant officials. Pakistan was just as friendly telling the girls they can disgard their hot garb. Met a young English chap taking an Enfield back to England, Tough ask. Back to left hand drive and enjoy the entertaining trucks and buses. What decorations and those horns!!!! Stop and talk to a German couple on an old XT500..full of enthusiasm and lust for those never ending roads.The road on this leg was quite good.

Departing Islamabad (and the pollution) with Connor (XT600 Tenere) we make Besham on the KKH late on the first day. The mountain passes were choked with horn blasting mini buses and diesel belching trucks but this is all part of the fun and challenge. Our 700 rupee room was over-priced but the hot shower and good food compensated.The "meat" of the KKH started today as the rough paved road cast its spell over us. Carved into the cliff face high above the Indus River, signs acknowledged the military companies that had built and now maintain that particular section.

Leaving KTM was hard but the roads were waiting and our Indian visa was loosing time. We made Varanasi in two days with only one Indian truck driver attempting to run us off the road.

A party of four bikes left Islamabad Campground for Lahore, Connor (XT600), Angela (Dominator), Oliver (Transalp). We enjoyed walking the bazaars, the old fort and riding backwards in the Tuk Tuks as the traffic aimed at our toes!!

Time to leave Islamabad Campground

Next day we crossed into Nepal at Banbasa on the western border. The road to this point was rough but crossing Nepal things improved dramatically, and the sign said "Roads built in co-operation by Nepalese and Indian Governments"!!! The traffic problems all but disappeared and the night was spent in Kohalpur at a very basic Guest House. We enjoyed traditional Nepalese food of Dhal Baht.

We left Agra disappointed in not seeing the Taj Mahal but Aus$40 per person is over the top for us budget travellers. We vow to make a complaint to the Indian Government Tourist Office and, if we get motivated, one to a large newspaper. The road to Jaipur varies in condition from smooth to bumpy but the chaotic traffic tests our nerves to the extreme. When three vehicles head toward us in two lanes, Carol's frantic waving gets the necessary results as a path is carved through the bemused truck drivers. The road is littered with crashed vehicles, dead camels, cattle and dogs.

Bangkok was steamy and hot in contrast to the dry heat of India. Getting the bike out of customs was a marathon effort and Bangkok airport cargo on a Monday morning would have to be one of the busiest we have seen. Connor's story of releasing the bike taking a day without an agent had us engaging one, hoping this would speed things up. No such luck and we departed the cargo terminal at 5pm charging into the peak hour traffic. This was after negotiating a substantial reduction in our fees, 3,800 Thai Baht to 1,500 Thai Baht.

It's another border crossing today and Peter escorts us down on his R1100RS. We say farewell and begin the procedures. Although there was a little to and froing both sets of officials were done in around 1.5 hours and that included insurance, police permits and carnet. Instead of headng south we tackle the road east to Kota Bharu. Winding roads through the forests culminating in a tropical downpour at Keroh. We found shelter in a hotel just as another down pour beings.

Darwin, Australia

Arriving in Darwin at 6.30am after a two-hour flight, collecting the bike turned into a marathon effort. No quarantine Officer was available to inspect the bike and we had to wait till 2.00pm when the 'magic hand' was wiped around the under-belly of the R80G/S to ensure no gremlins had been transported from overseas to pollute our pristine environment. This important procedure cost the princely sum of Aus$80.00. WOW! Combined with all the overheads and freight, this was the most expensive transfer we had encountered in all our travels.

Scavenging information from several sources we are able to arrange a vegetable boat to take our motorcycle from Melaka to Dumai. Departure day saw us loading the bike onto an onion boat and it lashed to the wheelhouse. Bags of onions were then stacked around the bike to ensure it did not abandon ship while crossing the Straits of Melaka. Our passenger ferry arrived a couple of hours before the much slower cargo boat and the ever- present con men fleeced us of a few hard earned dollars for overpriced taxi rides. Beware those who follow!! Use the rickshaws.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS……………..28/09/2007

Lan Chile flight LA800 exited Australia with little effort. The past six weeks of our lives did not enjoy the same organization. For those who have done this type of adventure you know the excitement is sometimes dulled by the sheer volume of things to be done before departing.

BIKE IMPORT PROBLEMS

Our route so far

Sarmiento looked a long way with little in between so we departed Esquel around 9.00am hoping to get to there in time for lunch. Road signs in Argentina are very inconsistent. You may pass a sign saying 160kms to the next town. Travel a further 10kms + on your trip meter than come across another sign saying 161kms to the same town??? We gave up trying to work out which was correct but always kept plenty of fuel on board in case it went a little pear shaped in the distance calculation. I might add that our maps were way out in comparison to the road signs as well.

We have seen so many videos, documentaries and photos on Antarctica we were wondering if it would switch to overload once we got there. It didn’t … In fact mere words cannot describe the magnificence of this place. Putting the journey into perspective I will tell you that I, and I believe Carol as well, do not deal with cold weather. To say the least we are tropical types and the extremes we experienced here (in summer) was hitting our limits.

Our ship MV Discovery

Arriving back in Ushuaia, we raced to the shed to collect the bike and head to Rio Pipo campground to meet up with all the bikers enjoying Christmas in Ushuaia.

Christmas Eve Dinner Ushuaia

Christmas Eve Dinner Ushuaia