Australia to Switzerland 2008/9

After nearly 2 years planning our big trip, its nearly time to go. Still getting last minute jobs done, like organizing insurance, renting the house and selling the kids etc.After nearly 2 years planning our big trip, its nearly time to go. Still getting last minute jobs done, like organizing insurance, renting the house and selling the kids etc.

Another few weeks have past and the tension is getting bigger. The calender is full with parties and fair wells, saying goodbye's and one last bier with friends.
The house is chaos, packing up, sorting and storing, we got 2 more weeks and then we will be homeless, taking advantage of every invite to stay at friends for a night or two until we drive of. Tomorrow all our furniture goes in to storage so we have a empty house a bit more room to spread our gear and sort things out.

We are less then a week away from starting our journey, officially homeless and only a few days away from unemployed. All the planning and organising is done and were ready to go.We are less then a week away from starting our journey, officially homeless and only a few days away from unemployed. All the planning and organising is done and were ready to go.

Sunday BBQ with friends at Wendys.

Today was the first day of our journey, we had it all plant, jump on the bike and hit the open road!
Well thats not how it worked out. We got a invite from Rod and Flick to join them on there Catamaran for a overnight stay and sail around Pittwater, we figured thats a great way to start the journey, our son Dominic joint us as well and we had a fantastic time, we now trying to figure out how to fit the bike on the boat so we can have the best of both world's ;)
So tomorrow we try again and this time we wont get distracted ( unless we get a really gooood offer)

Already been on the Road for a week. Had a fantastic time staying with old friends, along the NSW Coast, great hospitality from all. Thank you again Wendy and Graham in Dural, John and Trish in Newastle, Ken and Jan in Taree, Jennifer and Shane in South West Rocks and Mark and BJ in Mullumbimby, We had a great time with all of you and we will miss you heaps...

Enjoying a few days at Brunswick Beach before heading of to Brisbane tomorrow, and then off to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas with the Kids.

After leaving South West Rocks, we headed inland towards Mullumbimby the home of Mark, BJ, Billie and Nelson. We spent 3 glorious days there. Thanks Mark and BJ for sharing your beautiful house we had a great time, will never get my white tshirt clean again after a yummy meal at the Bollywood Restaurant in Byron Bay......
Off to Brisbane to see Simone and Greig, thanks for having us you guys are great, we wish you all the best for the future. We did have a swim in your Pool after sightseeing in the City...

Christmas day was spent with a early swim on Coolum Beach. Dom Rafaele & Nick joint us for lunch and a few more swims be for heading of to Budrim to visit Peter and Sue for a delicious supper and a few x-mas cheers.

Christmas

Got the bike organized to go to Kuala Lumpur. Beau from Hellmann in Darwin has been a great help,no problem at all. We organized a Dangerous good certificate and a inspection of the bike and within 2 days the bike is ready to leave for KL.
No crate, no dramas, no worries.

Monday the 12/1/09
Today we pick up the bike from Kl airport. we arrive at Cargo terminal at midday, we leave at about 4.30pm.
First you go to office no 1 to get a pass to get in the gate, now to office no2 for a stamp and a piece of paper, then its of to office no3 and another stamp and then back to office 2 for some more paper and more stamps, by now its 1pm and everything shuts for 1 hour. We start again at 2pm and go to office no 2 to to get another stamp

From the Malaysian boarder we Head north towards Hat Yai we have been told that the very southern part of Thailand is not to save to travel in so we just keep going. The scenery has changed the moment we came across the boarder, it's very busy and the pollution is quiet bad. From hat Yai we head we ride towards Phattalung and then west to Trang and finally Krabi. We end up in AoNung a beach suburb of Krabi, we find a hotel and set of to check out town. The place is overrun by tourist, there is shop after shop after restaurant's and so on.

We arrive on the Thai - Cambodian border mid morning, at Hat Lek, the place is busing with people crossing into Cambodia and strait back for a new visa into Thailand.
We get stamped out at Emigration, go over to Customs with the paperwork for the bike, fill out some form and get another stamp and we are done, no worries.

After 4 days we leave Phnom Penh behind us, the road north towards Siem Riep starts of very busy but eases of after about 30km and the road conditions improve dramaticaly we are able to travel at up to 100kmh. We arrive in Siem Riep around lunchtime and decide to go and check out some of the Temples in the afternoon.

Angkor Wat

From Siam Reap we head back towards Kompong Cham and along the Mekong to Kratie for a night,then up to Stung Treng and on to Veun Khan the Laos border.

Border crossing

On the way back to the main Road, from the Elephant Festival, there was a huge line of Cars, Trucks and Buses, wanting to cross the Mekong by Ferry. Lucky again to be on the Bike, straight to the front. In no time we arrived in Luang Prabang.

Crossing the Mekong on car ferry

From Ciang Khong on the Lao border we travel west trough the Golden Triangle to Chiang Sean, then Mae Chan and end up in Tha Ton at the Nature Garden Bungalows

On the Mountain across the river tower several temples high above the village. There are 9 levels to the mountain each with a different Temple and accommodation for monk students. The very top one of the temples is the biggest and newest still finishing touches are being applied, it's amazing!!!

We had to go back up to the Border to get our Visa renewed. Visa's for Thailand only last 14 days now, which is a pain...
But a chance for us to see Chiang Rai, the Golden Triangle and of course the Opium Museum, which was very interesting.

We arrived in Nepal at around 8.30pm after our plane was delayed from Bangkok for nearly 4hr. The Airport is deserted with only a few staff waiting.
Immigration and customs are straight forward and we are trough in no time at all. as we step out of the Airport the chill of the air and the rain hits us, its only about 10C, nice change from the heat in Bangkok. A mini van takes us to our hotel near Thamal ( city centre). This time of the night there is no traffic or people on the road, so its a easy journey everything is quiet and calm.

As we crossed the Border, there were hundreds of trucks lined up on the Border, good for us put no so good for them. The Border into Nepal was only open for Tourists, I hope they don't have to wait to long.

Trucks lining up at the border

The next day we were on our own exploring the city.
In the evening Kenwal came to the Hotel with a few of his friends who wanted to see the Bike.

Indian Test Driving Team

From Rishikesh we made our way up to Mussorie a hillstation above Derahdun.
Mussorie is a very popular holiday destination for people from Delhi escaping the summer heat.
From there our journey takes us in a north west direction to Shimla a hillstation established by the British.

In Moussourie

In Shimla

We enter Pakistan from Amritsar India on a Sunday, the border is very quiet as there is no traffic in either direction.
Its a different story the day before when we attend the closing of the border ceremony. There are thousand of people on the Indian side and a few dozen on the Pakistani side. Its a huge spectacle with people dancing and shouting.
The official border guard puts on a huge show trying to intimidate each other.
Its definitely something different to experience.

We have arrived at the Iranian border after a cup of tea and well wishes with the last offical in Pakistan.
Our first mistake in Iran, we parked the bike in the wrong spot and are asked to move it 20m. No problem. Our passports are being checked and we are moved on to the next office, where details from the Carnet are being copied into a large ledger.

The road from the border of Iran winds its way around the volcano's to Dogubayazit and Mt. Ararat. Its great to be in Turkey as the food here is much better and we can also have a beer after a long dry spell.

Mt. Ararat

We head south to Lake Van and spend a night in Gevas from where we visit the Island of Akdaman Adosi and its little church build around 1400 years ago.

We leave Turkey via the main Highway into Bulgaria where we spend the first night at the Sakar Hill Camping Ground in Biser just inside the border.
Martin Sherley and Matt welcome us with a cold Beer, Olives and Cheese. We all sit around and have a good chat, exchanging travel stories and getting tips on where to go and what to see. Then a few more Aussies pull up in a camper van and some more members of Martins family and friends join us for a BBQ and a good time.
What a great welcome to Bulgaria.

After spending the last 18 months in Switzerland working in the Alps and riding around Europe its time to start part two of our Round the World Trip. Flying the bike from Frankfurt to Orlando and having all the necessarie paperwork done its time to hit the road. Saturday 7.Mai 2011 Sorry its taken so long to get the blog going, busy travelling :)

Monday 11.7
Along the Alaskan Highway to Whitehorse. The Alaskan Highway through the Yukon is fantastic. The sky is crystal clear today as we cruise past mirrored lakes and snow caped mountains. We find a great camp ground only a short walk outside Whitehorse. After setting up camp we go into town to get some fresh Alaskan Salmon for dinner, yummm.
Tuesday 12.7
Stay another day in Whitehorse, need a break from riding and its also good to check out town.
Wednesday 13.7

Wednesday 24.8

Friday 2.9
Decided to use the Tecate crossing rather than the extremely busy Tijuana. Nice drive out hardly any traffic and no cues at the border. Got everything done in no time at all and where of down the No 3 highway to Ensenada. The road is in good shape and we arrive in town about 1 hour after leaving the border. After checking ourselves into a motel we walk into town to have a welcome to Mexico drink, there are many bars lining the street and vendors trying to get you into their shops with the phrase “come and buy something you don’t need” .
Saturday 3.9

Monday 18.9
We make our way to Teotihuacan on the east side of Mexico City, here stands the world 3rd largest Pyramid build by the Mayas. After a climb up the Pyramid of the Moon we make our way to a small village near Tlaxcala for the night.
Tuesday 19.9

Tuesday 25.10
Happy Birthday Maggie.
Early start to get to the border of Honduras. The moment we drive in we get hassled by mouls ( people trying to help you with all the formalities for money)The place looks very hectic so we do decide to get some help. Hand over all the paperwork and wait for 2.5-3 hours, pay a fee here and another one there and we are good to go.

Sunday 13.11
Woke up and it’s not raining, quick breakfast pack up our gear and head down to the water to organise a boat to take us over to Red Frog Beach about a 15 minute trip. Kerman has joined us today arriving this morning on the ferry from the mainland. Not long into the boat trip the skies are getting darker and by the time we get to the beach it’s raining again, oh well we can go for a swim anyway. Nick Ivanka and I are taking the ferry at 4pm to get back to the mainland. There is a group of Kids on board that keep us entertained with their games and songs.

Sunday 11.12