2nd Breakdown

And this time it was the bike.

With perfect timing the bike died outside an hotel. I didn't know that it had until I came to move it to the car park an hour later. The ignition didn't even give a whimper. The man who I was meant to be following to the garage re-appeared as I was stripping the fairing to check the wiring.

It took longer to take the fairing off and replace it than i did to find and fix 2 loose wires. This may have been a record diagnose and fix time for me.

malaysia 27.05.08 - 22.06.08

Loosing 1 hour through the time difference between Indonesia and Malaysia plus loosing another half our due to belated arrival of our express boat gives us a tight schedule for picking up the motorbike.
The bike was brought to Kuala Linggi cargo pier, some 65km north of Melaka.
It’s 3PM and we’re having a 1,5 hrs taxi ride ahead of us, we only can hope that the Customs are still going to entertain us…

christ church in melaka

7. Manaus to Cayenne, Thunderbirds are go !

Taking a prompt from a guide book, and spurred on because I was told it couldn't be done, I decided to see a launch of the Ariane rocket. The original plan was to ride from Macapa to French Guiana, Suriname and then Guyana, but I ran out of time and resorted to flying sans my F650...Despite the difficulties with Penta airlines in Belem who conveniently lost my reservation, I made it to Cayenne on schedule. I was warned by Xavier and Isabelle that I'd be entering an expensive department of France, and after paying 23 Euro for the 17km taxi ride I was kinda nervous.

Outback Bars, Pubs with Character & Characters

August 2015

A quiet New Year

We left the hustle, bustle and booze of Iquique behind to head back up into the peace and quiet of the desert. The party crowd had arrived for the new year which meant the town and the hostal had stepped up a gear.

The owner of the Sunny Days Hostal in Arica, Ross, had suggested the Oasis of Pica, back up in the Atacama desert would be an ideal place to chill out and relax while we sorted out how to spend our time in Chile.

The camping gear finally came out as the cost slashing started.

India 13.04.09 - 17.06.09

at the TAJ MAHAL

On the beach!

No ferry, but found a beach!We left Malaysia on April 29th, finally tearing ourselves away from Steven's beautiful retreat. We had a really lovely time there, swimming in the waterfall, short treks through the rainforest (and the leeches were lovely too) , and a good test of all our camping equipment. We even managed a candlelit dinner in the jungle...

Turkey

3 October 2000 - Turkey

I am in Erzerum in Turkey attempting as I write to screw up sufficient courage to cross into Iran! Things have gone pretty well so far with only minor mechanical hassles from the Tenere. Border difficulties in Romania, Bulgaria, and turkey have been non-existent!

Dogubayazit and the Iranian border

Stop press - we have just arrived at the Turkish border town of Dogubayazit - near to Mont Arrarat and Noah's Ark.

Will find a place to stop for the evening and make a break for Iran early as I believe the crossing maybe lengthy if not tricky. We're also a little bit worried about how the laptop will be received by the customs officials.

Oh, and some of the stone throwing kids have been practising as one of them got my front wheel this morning...

Mexico Baja California

Mexico - this is how it happens. You are cruising down highway one south of San Diego which is a three lane freeway. In front is a Chevy pick up truck with a California licence plate. The overhead sign reads - Border Crossing Ahead. The truck slows down as do you, almost to a standstill. You cross a speed hump in the road and a set of metal protrusions with accompanying sign - Do Not Reverse. And then you are in downtown Tijuana. Yes really!! That cant be right - but for me it was very much reality.

Dingoes and Dunes

Ken and Carol thoroughly spoiled us with their warm hospitality, and gave us some tips on 'Packingology' in which I think they both have Phds. They had a BBQ the day before we left and invited some other overlanders; Haydn and Diane who rode from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and are next year heading to South East Asia, and Mark and Aasha who will be in South America when we are there. Ken and Carol are once more planning a trip, to South America too so we spent a great afternoon and evening swapping stories and routes.

To the Top of the Americas

I am pleased to report success on 6,964 meter (22,834 foot) Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas and the second highest of the "seven summits". It started as an idea over a beer in Potosi, Bolivia, and ended with the reality of standing atop the highest point in the world outside of Asia. Although it was a gruelling, very tough experience, and I wouldn't go up there again for a thousand dollars, it is a very rewarding addition to my experience in South America.