Trekking – swapping two wheels for two legs

Of the many treks available in Nepal, I chose to walk the traditional expedition route from Jiri to the Everest region, where I crossed 3 passes – Kong Ma La (5550m), Cho La (5500m) and Renjo La (5450m).

The majority of tourists fly into Lukla, which was 5 days into my trek. This part of the trek involved walking through European type hills and forests, villages with no roads and the best part, only a small number of tourists.

Once I hit the tourist trail at Lukla, the track was wider and smoother, hotels and restaurants were everywhere and trekkers who looked down and did not know how to say hello!!

I started to notice the altitude at Namche Bazaar, 3400m, my legs were fine but my lungs just could not suck in enough air. The next few days I climbed only 400m per day to allow for acclimatisation. The day before my first pass, my resting heart rate was 90 beats per minute and I could not get it any lower, with no headache or nausea, I was a little concerned – should I go back down?? I took some diamox (acclimatisation assistance drug) and several hours later my heart rate dropped 20 beats - thank god for drugs!!

The next day I walked over Kongma La pass, it was tough but well worth it, I had great views of Makalu (8462m) and Lhotse (8516m). Now I was in the Khumbu valley with Everest at the end. I walked upto basecamp and Kattar Patel, then back down and over the second pass, Cho La. The pass was very narrow, so not much of a view, and I had to walk 500m across a glacier – lucky I carried an ice axe all this way!!

Down into Gokyo valley and across the massive Ngozumpa glacier. The most surprising part of the trek is the size, power of the glaciers and how the frozen river has carved its path out of the rock. By now I was totally over the menu in the lodges, so no time for a rest day – need to getout for a steak and glass of wine!

From here it was over the last pass, Renjo La, and downhill all the way to the Gold Coast town of the Himalayas, highrise Namche Bazaar.

I walked down to Lukla to watch friends fly off the very short runway but as is standard, flights were delayed by cloud. Now 4 days of walking to meet the bike and 6 hours drive to a steak and glass of wine.

A story to tell

First day into my twenty day Three Passes trek (which explores the 3 valleys around Everest), I met a Tibetan walking to Lhasa. There was a communication gap and at first I thought he was an exiled monk. After 3 days of walking and a Nepali interpreter one night, I learnt of an intriguing story.

Mr Free Tibet (no names required) now resides in Dharamsala, India, after escaping from a Chinese jail and I met him on his way to visit is family in Lhasa. It’s not a long journey, 2 days bus ride then twenty days walking over a 5500m pass, hiding from Nepali and Chinese authorities and bribing anyone sympathetic to the Chinese.

We will all travel to see our family... so why not catch a plane or a bus??

Lets start at the beginning, several years ago there was a Tibetan who enrolled in the Chinese army for many reasons but that is not the point. As a Tibetan soldier in the Chinese army there was propaganda around the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, ie: the Dali Lama on toilet paper. The younger soldier became disillusioned with army life and joined the Free Tibet movement.

The next step was to actively protest about the occupation of Tibet. Maybe a little more extreme action than you and I, my new friend threw some sort of petrol bomb at an important building in Beijing, first bomb worked as planned but the second somehow exploded near him and badly burnt his leg which caused him to be caught by the authorities.

After 2 years in jail his father paid the equivalent of €10,000, with assistance from the outside world, to the prison guards which enabled him to escape to Dharamsala. Now his family is persecuted by the Chinese authorities, sister has received a broken leg and he can only visit his family at night. After a month in Lhasa, its time to walk back to Dharamsala, India.

A mate from home

For the last month I have been excited and looking forward to seeing Giselle in Kathmandu. The advantage of travelling by myself is that I can do and go where I want, when I want – a change will be good. We had two weeks in Nepal, the first few days to fix the bike. Giselle brought the tools to remove the rear suspension’s broken bolt, original suspension and new back tyre.

After a few days in Kathmandu, we decided on a 7 day trek in the Langtang National Park. The drive to the start of the trek is 120km and it took us 7 hours on the bike – bad roads, a great introduction of motorbike travelling for Giselle.

Giselle was nervous on the back of the scooter in London so I was interested to see how she would handle a bike 10 times bigger. Giselle handled the crazy Kathmandu traffic, extremely bad roads to Langtang and the dangerous bus and trucks with the ease of a biker chick – I encouraged her to get her bike licence.

Two days back in pollution and dust filled Kathmandu was too stressful so we went to a 12-century medi-evil town called Bhaktapur. We explored the town, drank beer and chilled reading the book ‘Three Cups of Tea’ – which many trekkers were reading.

It was great to have a mate visit!!

Dash to Kathmandu

Giselle arrives in Kathmandu in 4 days and I am still 1500km away in Lahore. 1500km is nothing but with two borders to cross, Indian road mayhem, unknown road conditions in Nepal - they are going to be 4 long days.

Giselle will bring tools to remove the broken bolt, new suspension and a new rear tyre... plus I am sure Mum will throw in a few things I like, oh and most important... will be great to see Giselle. ;-)

Pakistan – changes to have a future

I was surprised with the degree as which I enjoyed my short 8 days in Pakistan. The people were friendly and engaging, spoke English, stunning Karakorum Range, the stale capital, Islamabad and mayhem in Lahore. I never felt unsafe and only a little unwelcome near Taliban areas of the KKH.

I was not long nor did I see a great deal of Pakistan but saw enough to want to go back. I think the country is a great tourism destination but there are ingrained attitude and security policies that needs to change to get rid of the home grown Islamist and Terrorist groups. The army needs to be independent of the government, government control the ISI and attitudes to India change. For example: there was a bombing in Lahore and attempted takeover of Rawalpindi police station, discussing these incidents with a Pakistani man, he was addimate that India was involved because why would a Pakistani person hurt another Pakistani? Other people shook their head and could not explain it while others thought all government, ISI, Army and public had to work together to get rid of extremist groups.

My opinion is the latter, until the power broking between the government, ISI and Army is resolved and a uniform policy across all three is in place, Pakistan will continue on the current path. Firstly the ISI must stop all support of the terrorist groups and realize that the idea of using terrorist/extremist groups to wage a war on India or their use as a defence force is counterproductive for the country to move forward. In the long run it is the Pakistani people that suffer.

Karakoram Highway

The KKH is famous around the world and I have been keen for a long time to drive the road. Chinese customs are 130km from the border and they organise all cars into a convoy with a Chinese army guard, for our safety – yeah right!!! They were mucking around, so I pushed a little and they organised a separate escort for me – I had a very long drive ahead to reach Karimabad in Pakistan. Then that car was slow so I left them and drove by myself, what could the Chinese do in ‘no man’s land’? No problem got to the last checkpoint, they were surprised to see me alone, they made a call and out of China I drove.

Driving along the Chinese side from Tashkorgan I averaged 110km/h on smooth roads but as soon as I entered Pakistan the road was gravel, one lane, pot holes, rock slides and switch backs down the mountain from the pass at 4700m.


The Pakistani border police were relaxed, casually dressed, spoke English and up for a joke – the way I like borders.

I heard the Chinese are rebuilding the KKH and the road is now worse during contruction. I have discovered that any trade route to western China, the roads in that country are being rebuilt by the Chinese - interesting to see if the Chinese are helping the Nepalese?

Change of plans in Xinjiang

When I left London, I planned to drive around Xinjiang and the Taklamakan desert. Due to the Uygur and Han Chinese riots, the rules were changed stopping all independent travel within Xinjiang province for foreign vehicles. I could hire a guide but I didn’t want to travel that way and it would be out of my budget.

So three days in Kashgar, one day for Chinese drivers licence and bike safety check, one day for temporary fix of bike and one day for a quick look around, then off to the border.

Kashgar is an interesting place as it was a major town on the Silk Road and is populated with a majority of Uygur (Wiger in English), who have more in common with Central Asians than Chinese. The old town is Uygur dominated with a maze of mudbrick houses, Uygur restaurants and markets. The Chinese machine is replacing all houses with new concrete and brick, no choice, so the cities atmosphere will soon disappear.

As seems to be the standard in the world, a major incident is referred to by a date, the incident I am referring to is the riots in Urumqi between the Uygur and Han, everyone refers to it as the ‘5th July’. As a result, there are no international calls, fax or internet in Xinjiang province – frustrating for me but even more for the locals who have to live with isolation.

A tip for the Police, Army and Border people – it’s OK to smile!

Soul destroying

My plan today was only 80kms riding on a terrible road to the Chinese border then a guide to escort me the 200km Kashgar. I was scheduled to meet the guide at 10am but at 8.30am the bike suddenly dropped and the back wheel was rubbing on the wheel arch – rear suspension broken!! With all the pounding of the bad roads the bottom bolt of the rear suspension was broken and the rear shock absorber was left hanging. With the weight of the bike sitting on the wheel arch I couldn’t move the bike.

The border was shut today (except to me but that’s another story) so the only traffic was Chinese road builders. I flagged down a truck and lucky for me the driver had a pin that loosely fitted through one side of the rear fork. (the other side of the fork had the broken bolt). I jumped back on the bike and continued in second gear at 40km/h, 10km further the pin bent and rear shock absorber was stuck against the back wheel – no way was I going to meet the guide now.


I went back to my cave man origins and with a few rocks I banged the pin straight in an hour and rode in first gear at less than 10km/h for the last 20km.

After the border the Chinese roads were smooth and I made it 100km before the pinned snapped. The guide raced off to find a replacement while I stood on the side of the road, in the dark with the bike. New pin installed and I rode the last 100km into Kashgar – what a long day but very happy to make it.

Toughest day

To get to Kathmandu by the 25th Oct to meet Giselle, I need to get across three passes, Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan (2 passes) and Khunjab Pass into Pakistan, two at 4700m and one at 4200m.

I was 2 days late to exit Tajikistan and paid the price, with about 4 inches of snow on the passes I experienced the toughest day so far.

The first pass, Kotali Aqbaytal pass at 4755m, I fell over at the bottom doing 15km/h and ripped a hole in one of my panniers, not happy! I slowly made my way up dropping the bike only a couple of times. Once at the top the downside wasn’t too bad, just let the bike idle in first gear and the snow was fresh and soft.




A further 100km down the road was the next pass with the Tajikistan border at the top – what a cold remote place to work. Once through the border and another 200m I was at the top of the Kyzyl-Art Pass, 4283m, at 4pm. Now only about a 1000m vertically down to the Kyrgyzstan border post. The Kyrgyz side was very steep with switch backs and ice. Over the next 3 hours rode, slid and walked the bike down about 1km to where the ice and steep roads finished. In the process I had the bike fall on me several times, dropped and dinted the panniers and became physically exhausted. It was -6C and starting to snow so I pushed on a further 5km and setup the tent at 3600m at 9pm – very cold night!!

CCA - Corrupt Central Asia

After 6 weeks touring around the five Stans that make up Central Asia, I am happy to leave and head to Asia. Standing out of the crowd on a motorbike has made me a target of police. I would be stopped for the smallest traffic infringement, for example, 61km/h in a 60km/h zone. I was lucky and/or well managed by exiting the ‘Stans’ with no major problems. Some of the stories from other travellers include, car stolen by mafia in Russia with a US$5,000 return fee, fake breathalyser readings and intimidation with big guys and guns.

The police and government employees do not earn enough money to support their families and makes it understandable but not acceptable. I have heard stories how government official get positions depending on how much money they can raise for their bosses but the real problem stems from the top. When Presidents exceed their terms, become very wealthy, there is no political opposition and/or rigged elections this filters down the political and government hierarchy to effect everyone. It is so endemic that I can’t see an end to corruption within a generation. Several times I saw cars flagged down by police but the driver just speeds away. By the end I would only stop if there was a boom gate across the road.

CCA is still an interesting place to visit, great people, many interesting cultures and interesting history, especially with the Soviets coming in the 1830s. I believe travelling alone and standing out on my bike has made me a target therefore I was worn out with constantly being on guard – happy to move the next step closer to home.

Remote and Rugged Tajikistan

The poorest of all the ‘Stans’ due mainly to very little natural resources and a corrupt government does not help. The spectacular landscapes, friendly and generous people made it the most enjoyable ‘Stan’. The rugged 7000m mountains, borders with China and Afghanistan means the country is very remote.

The roads are so horrific that the 550km on the major east-west M41 highway took me 14 hours. The M41 has Chinese trucks going up and down its length, which does not do the road any good, but the main problem is the mountains. Constant rock slides and floods wash the bridges away. The road is full of pot and corrugations and in many spots it is one lane wide. It is specular too drive on the edge of the mountain with hundreds of meters drop down and with no barriers.

I arrived in the capital, Dushanbae, at 11pm and could not find the hotel. A man and his son tried to help me but the Lonely Planet map was no help to them! They offered their spare room to me, exhausted and covered in mud, I accepted. Their gate opened up to a large courtyard, with veggie patch, and massive house, these guys were wealthy for Tajik standards (average salary is US$30/week). Showered and fed, I found the hotel the next day in the back of a US embassy security 4WD.

I spent the week, in Dushanbae, fixing the protection plate on the bottom of the bike, which was ripped off from the bad roads and did alot of beer drinking with Irish lads.

Express trip through Kyrgyzstan

I entered Kyrgyzstan on the far east from Kazakhstan near the China border. The border post was the easiest so far, two houses in the middle of a beautiful green valley at about 2000m.

I drove west to Bishek to meet friends but was pulled up for doing 61km/h in a 60 km/h zone. The fine started at 300 som until I pointed out the paperwork said 200 som. I ask for a receipt, was given my money back, told to move on and with the loud statement “Kyrgyz police are all good”.

After a few beers and catchup on each others travels, I quickly drove down towards Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan is on the edge of the big mountains of the world and has beautiful mountains, upto 4500m, with green alpine slopes, which are stunning.

Europe in Central Asia

Almaty is a beautiful city at the bottom of snow capped mountains and it was a great injection of western city pleasures. The simple and enjoyable things you miss when travelling to other countries was all there:

• Expresso and WiFi
• ATM machines
• Supermarkets with Muesli and Arabica coffee
• Great Skype connection

One problem, prices were the same as London.

Kazakhstan – bloody dodgy!!!

I have experience and confidence in dealing with corrupt officials but my first night in Kazakhstan left me angry and now nervous of the police.

After a long day crossing the border from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan I left the bike at the hotel and raced to the bank for some local currency, then proceeded to the restaurant along the main street of Shymkent. I was stopped by two boys in army greens and 2 policemen who wanted to check my passport and visa. Passport was in hotel and so they proceed to document everything I had on me – specifically the contents of my wallet. They spoke no English, so after 45min of arguing, shouting and requesting help from locals walking past, I was short of 5,000 Kazak (AUD$60).

The first statement of my belongings had 20,000 Kazak, the second one had 15,000 Kazak and I had a statement from the bank that I withdrew 20,000 kazak from the bank 5 minutes before they pulled me up – they were stupid!!

They would only flash their badges so I could not write the details down so I tried to take a photo of them. I was unsuccessful and we wrestled for 5 min in the street, I then showed I had not taken a photo. They left into the park, I asked for help from locals, no one would stop. I ran back to the hotel and we rang the police to report the robbery. I described the 4 guys to the Captain, they found them and I got my money back.

I don’t care about the money but its the principle – if you can’t trust the police, the whole society falls down. I have discovered I can be pretty fiery, I gave back as good as I got and was not going to be intimidated.

Uzbekistan Tourist Route

I entered from Turkmenistan on the western border and travelled the tourist route across the county and out to Kazakhstan. After months of visiting Mosques I was a little over them but soldiered on and visited some amazing Medressas in Samarkand.

I enjoyed the tourist route where I met the same interesting people at different towns along the route. It was the travellers I met that made Uzbekistan interesting. ;-)

As you would expect of a “Stan” there was plenty of corruption in the Police Force. I paid US$5 for speeding 20km/h over the limit, the bidding started at US$200. Unlike local drivers, I was pulled over for rolling through a police checkpoint, after a few heated words I ignored the policeman and started to make my lunch – 5min later he signal to leave, no bribe paid.

Guide or Lonely Planet

In Turkmenistan there are two visas, transit or tourist. I wanted to see several sights on the Silk Road and the transit visa only enables point A to B between countries. I had a guide riding on the back of the bike for 5 days. The guide meant I did not have to ask for directions, order food, have problems at the borders, or even met the locals. I never got lost or had any hassle - we easily travelled between tourist sites.

On reflection, travelling with a guide is not for me, getting lost and asking for directions is all part of travelling and enables you to meet people. The Lonely Planet guide is all I need.

Surreal Ashgabat

After two and half months travelling in the hot and dusty Middle East, I drove 150km off the Iranian Plateau to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – what a different world.

Turkmenistan is the 4th largest producer of natural gas in the world and a former state of the former USSR. Driving into Ashgabat was like stepping into the western world in a desert. The streets were wide, white marble buildings twenty stories high, no dust (women brushing the streets by hand), massive monuments , sports/cultural buildings and green grass everywhere.

Former President Niyazov ruled with an iron fist from the USSR disintegration where he siphoned off billions for himself. The capital had no vibe or lively feel but a newly beautified city. I was taking a photo a monument and an old man gestured where I was from, the reply of Australia brought a smile to his face but my half hearted gesture of ‘great monument’ brought a frown from him.

Iran - my thoughts

I thought Iran would be an interesting experience due to the news coverage over the last 5 years, nuclear issue, Iraq and Afghan wars and the recent demonstrations. I spent 3 weeks travelling about 5,000 kms from North to South and out to the east - it’s a big place. It is a place that is hard to describe and generalize. I have had some fantastic experiences with generous and engaging people but also experienced rude, hostile and unwelcoming people, which is the minority and first time on my trip.

The first city I arrived at a motorist yelled out his window, "Iran is good, we are not all terrorists". I am aware of the propaganda from Western Governments and this made me think the anti-western propaganda will be high from the Iran regime. I don't like to use the word 'regime’ because it’s used too much by the US government but learning much more about the political system, people, history and discontent of the people, the word sums up the ruling clerics.

Iran was used and abused by Russian and Western governments during the 19th and 20th century and the distrust still helps the regime communicate anti-western propaganda (see my photos). Talking to the people on the street they stated a wide view of thoughts from the government does not understand what the people want, to Iran is like living in a jail. On the Tehran metro people loved to talk and one guy almost in tears described how hard it is living in Iran. There was no apparent caution about speaking in public, which I was surprised about.

To generalise, (its easy to do), there are the minority who support the regime and don't want westerners to visit and there is the majority that want a constitutional change to a secular government and democratically elected government. Iran is the first country I have been asked about immigration, from wanting to learn English by talking to me, questions on how to move to Australia or telling me the immigration paperwork or company transfer is in progress. Iran has a lot to offer the Middle East and the world but I believe a secular state and democracy is required first.

Islam Republic - True to its name?

The name of Iran implies a majority would be strict Muslims and observe Ramadan and would be non-alcoholics, but this appears not to be the case.

During Ramadan restaurants are closed (as expected) or have the windows covered and the door half shut. No problem to have lunch but the menu is limited. Sandwich shops have an eat out policy, where you can eat in the park. Travellers are exempt from fasting, so on the freeways there are many picnickers enjoying lunch. I stayed in a guesthouse of a Muslim family where I ate lunch with the father and the mother and daughter ate in a different room – fasting not important but don’t communicate with the foreigner.

Alcohol is illegal in Iran. There is a big black market but I was never able to get any contacts. The locals make a grappa which is added to one of the many malted non-alcoholic fruit beers. I was told in Tehran that everyone gets trashed at home. I went to the Armenian club for dinner, which is the only BYO in Iran, people were drinking European beer, whisky and wine - obviously easy to source.

In southern Iran I was offered opium laced tobacco, which you put between your lip and gum, I declined because the boys who offered it were off their nut and acting weird.

In all countries people practice religion in varying degrees, my assumption before arriving in Iran (where 98% of the population are Muslims) was that the majority would be actively practicing Muslims, ie: attending Friday prayers and Mosques. Among the 10 predominant Muslim countries, Iran has less than 30% weekly Mosque attendance. I now believe Iran’s is similar to other countries where people practice religion as they choose.

Bloody Idiots

Bloody Idiots is the only way to describe the driving in Iran. In Beirut and other Middle Eastern countries the road rules are ignored and people move through intersections, footpaths, one way streets observing others and avoiding other motorists. The difference in Iran is the aggressiveness and speed at which people drive. According to the Lonely Planet, Iran has the highest road deaths per capita in the world.

After three weeks I have seen 9 cars and 4 trucks overturned freeways about 30 min before I arrive and I have lost count the number of times I have been pushed off the road due to on coming traffic over taking on a two way road. On highways drivers will sit within two meters of the back of you, push into any gap and overtake on any side, including the shoulder of the road - all this at above 110 km/h. At 120 km/h two cars of generous Iranians have tried to pass me a bag of bread and a can of Juice - moving up next to me with arms out of the window,....don't they realise that on a bike if its not tied down its blown away at 120 km/h), there's no where to put it and I am concentrating on driving on the freeway!!!

They love taking photos while driving on the freeway, so they come right up behind the bike, push me over to the right lane, take a photo, then move in front of me and slow down. I then have to overtake them whereby they speed up to take more photos - so frustrating!!!

Never before have I been nervous about crossing roads or riding in a taxi but in Tehran intersections scare me. Once again, the difference to Beirut is the speed at which they drive to cross the intersection and the 'no care' of other people.

Sterotypes - the same the world around

I am still growing my biker beard after 100 days on the road, its starting to get a reasonable size and I am still shaving my heard - otherwise I would be a werewolf!!

Across the Middle East I often get asked if I am a Muslim, with a beard, no hair and looking western, people are interested to know what religion I am. I tell them I am Agnostic, which they don't understand and sometimes a look of disappointment in their eyes. They either would like me to be a Muslim or are disappointed because I don't have a God. The conversation usually finishes but once an old man kissed me on the head and did a prayer for me.

I have often been called the Aussie Mullah, so stereotypes are global.

A night in the Police Station

After spending 12 hours on the bike, travelling from Northern Iran to the middle of Iran, I arrived at the city of Qom at 1am and in need of sleep. I thought the local park full of sleeping pilgrams was a great place for a few hours sleep. Qom is the home of the ruling hardline Clerics, religous students and a steady flow of pilgrims.

My greeting to Qom was a watermelon thrown from a passing motorbike, just missed me but broke over the back of my bike - I immediatley felt a warm welcome to the city!!! A local called the police who immediatley said its too dangerous for me to sleep in the park and escorted me to center of town with about 8 bikes following us. The plan was to sleep in the square, in front of the mosque with other pilgrams but the onsite police called me into their office and once again said it was too dangerous for the bike and I. They escorted me to the main police station where I slept in the secure car park.

Happy to be able to close my eyes at 2.30am, I was woken at 3am by the station boss who insisted I start the bike for him to rev the engine - who was I to refuse! 15 minutes later I lay down to sleep and at 5am I was woken up and told to move on. I don't think the police liked me there. Exhausted, I continued south.

Into Iran I go

I have whinged about border crossings several times and so I prepare myself for each border crossing by reminding myself to relax because time is something I have plenty of!!

I left Turkey with not too much fuss and drove 10 meters straight into Iran (borders are usually separated by between half and several kilometers of no mans land). I was greeted with English speaking police who were courteous and friendly (this is unusual), while the passport was being processed we spoke about the usual topics, motorcycle, my wife (or lack of) and why I am by myself. We started joking and laughing where the border guard with a machine gun around his neck was bent over laughing, this made me a little nervous.

Onto customs, who were equally helpful, friendly, all spoke English and out into Iran I drove.

No bribes, no hassle, this a great start. ;-)

Eastern Turkey

I have enjoyed travelling around Eastern Turkey, the huge mountains (many peaks over 4000 meters), forests and green rolling hills used for grazing by the nomads and the area has a focus on outdoor activities.

I am surprised the locals don't speak english (compared to western Turkey, Syria and Jordan) and do not appear too be interested in trying to talk with me but no matter where I go everyone loves the bike!! Alcohol is getting harder to find and many restaurants don't serve alcohol but I managed to have a beer most nights. I do recommend the Efes Dark beer, the other beers are pretty average.

I have met many europeans on holiday and a solo Englishman who is driving a 4x4 around the world for 3 years and we will be crossing paths several times. He is the only other person I have meet on a long overland trip.

Great food and extra baggage....almost

I stopped in a small town underneath Mt Ararat for a quick bite to eat and I could have left with the waitress.

I had a tomato, eggplant and spicy lamb kebab with salad and it was fantastic. The salad had a spicy paste on the side which added great flavour to the kebab and salad. Everyone was super friendly and all were trying to speak English and tell Harry Kewell plays for Turkish league team, Galatasaray.

On leaving the restaurant this very large old lady told me through sign language and interpreters that I can have her daughter (see photo) and take her to Australia on the back of my bike and the waitress was jumping up and down saying, "Yes, I come to Australia". I politely said to both Mother and Daughter, Australia is so far away and it would not be fair to separate you both and I don't have any room on the bike.

Old stuff hangover

After visiting handfuls of Crusader castles, Mosques and Churches which are hundreds or even thousands of years old from Turkey to Jordan and back again, I am a little over it all.

I can now do a reccy in 30min of most places and if not impressive or seen similar stuff before, I am out of there to the dismay of the local staff. Naturally there is a pride of the local staff and people that their part of preserved history is the best.

Whiteout in the desert??

So not a whiteout but the exactly same principle as in the snow.

Secret Police

I had heard of the Syrian secret police from friends and other travels, they ask where your going, check your tickets, etc. or follow you, but I had not experienced any of this until my last 2 days in Syria. After 8 hours on the bike and sight seeing in 40C, I noticed a white Peogot 504, what seemed to be following me. After 50km and close to my destination, I
stopped to pretend to read my Lonely Planet and who should stop to provide assistance??

I knew where I was and where I wanted to go but, as usual, I just play it my ear each day and see where the wind takes me.

Two overweight men , rough shaven with moustache, suit pants and short shelve shirts (so suited the Pegout 504 image), stopped and jump out to assist. With no common language I indicated I am OK and did not need assistance but they insisted to drive me to my destination and wanted to know my plans for the next few days - I knew who they were and said no help required and don't have any plans.

They followed me the next 20km to the castle where the cafe manager translated. I played dumb and asked who they were?? Tourist police was the reply - yeah right!! On that response, I pushed a little by saying "I thought they were two dangerous weirdos and was trying to avoid them. Why did they not identify themselves?" The reponse was silence.

I left and went to the near by campground and who should turn up 5 minutes later? The two coppers from the 70s. I said I will stay here the night and work out my plans for tomorrow. On leaving the next morning the campground manager asked where I was going - I explained to the which border crossing with Syria.

It was 200km to the border, so 50 kms into the ride, another white 504 was on the side of the road and started following me. After being followed 20kms, I was not happy, so I flew between two slow overtaking semi-trailers, where they could not follow, and sped away for the next 20kms - never saw them again ;-)

After 1.5 hours I was the border and happy to move on, but somehow, each of the areas, border entry, passport police and customs asked if I was 'Benjamin James'(passport name, don't repeat it).

On the Turkish side of the border, locals also crossing the border, said I was driving very fast in Syria and I should not.

With Iran and the Stans in front of me, I think I will bite my tongue and accept the big brother interest in my plans.

It is fun pushing the limits of the system!!!

New Tyres

After 16,900kms in 73 days it was time to change my tires before I hit Iran. BMW Damascus had never had a bike visit them and everyone wanted to work on my bike - I don't think they were that busy! With a big mechanic team to do the work everyone had their own job from tyre remover, fitter, translator, hold the bike, etc, it was done in 1.5 hours and off I rode.

Lost it at the border!!

After many frustrating hours at borders, doing circles between border staff and continuously forking out money for this tax, that service fee and goodwill gestures .... I spat the dummy at a border guard!!

After doing a circle of signatures, stamps and fees for my exit from Jordan, I was told now I had too do the same for the bike. I totally lost my cool and told the guy it was a ripoff, unorganised, terrible process and is totally different from other countries... plus Jordan needs to fix this.

As you know...I am usally a cool customer and don't get angry or rant!!

Jordanian kids

Riding through towns the kids always wave, chase me on their bike, run after me but in Jordan I had a few different experiences. I recieved a few rude handsignals back when I waved, kids pretended to through something at me, pretended to hit me with a stick and one time threw a rock at me.

This was the exception but has never happened in any other country and it happened on several occasions accross towns in Jordan.

Fixing Pannier - right pannier now dented and bent.

The result of dropping the bike onto the curb, stack number one and a kid climbing on the bike causing it to fall onto a car (breaking the car trimming and denting it) the right side pannier was bent out of shape and would not lock shut.

The local carpet man, his son, myself, a hammer and a big piece of timber managed to bang it back into shape.

Dead Sea - the sting of the eyes proves how salty!

There is no way you could drown here. I swam out and tried to dive down to touch the bottom but all I could do was duck down with my legs kicking in the air. I picture speaks a thousand words.

Syria again - via Damascus to Jordan

After a great time in Lebanon it was time to make my way south to Jordan. In my way was Damascus, the capital of Syria, and another city I was looking forward to visiting. As usual in this part of the world, there was a souq, citadel, palace and old city to visit. I spent 4 days exploring the city and catching up on admin and relaxing with my book.

Lebanon - cool place!

We have all heard Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East. I expected a few bars, clubs and restaurants but there are heaps with style and character. I now realise how much I miss living in a city and the quality of good music, wine, food and the social aspect of drinking with people - I have had a few beers by myself!!

I met 6 Lebanese Aussies in one day, all on holiday for 2 to 3 months. In the 50s and 60s half a million Lebanese migrated to Australia and now with their descendants there are 2 million (facts from Lebanese Aussies). I was walking with a mate in the mountains and they went out of their way to help - 2 lifts in their car, shouted beers and would not stop talking about Australia and Lebanon.

Lebanon has heaps too do, walking and skiing in the mountains, partying in Beirut, wine tasting in the Bekaa Valley and swimming/lazing around in a Beirut beach clubs. I'll be back!

Lebanese Wine Tour

After Italy the next country that makes quality wine is Lebanon - and the last until home!! I had tried a few in London so thought I should spend some time winery touring, I visited the following:

Chateau Kefraya - beautiful vineyard and interesting blends, able to try all their wines.
Ksara Winery - waste of time - standard tourist tour and I recieved dirty looks for asking questions. Limited tasting.
Massaya Winery - interesting blends and value for money wine
Domaine Wardy - spent time tasting with the wine maker, Hiba. They produce blends and single varietal.
Chateau Musar - fantastic tour and discussion with the Head Wine maker, Takrek Sakr. Awesome wine and finished with a 1977 Chateau Musar.

The thing that amazed me is the amount of varietal blends that were between 60/40%. Different to the standard new and old world wines. With no decent wine since Italy, I realise just how much I love it.

How well do you know your current affairs and geography - where was I?

Stack Number One

With 15,000 kms on the road the odds of an acident must be high. Leaving the mountains via a one lane road, there was a creek and mud across the road, my front wheel slid and the next thing I was sliding down the steep road with the bike on the uphill side and my right leg under the bike. No damage, just bike and I covered in mud, bruised ego and leg (where the bike fell on me) - lucky I was wearing my boots!!

Chaos or Order on the road - whats your preference?

Do you like pure order where you follow all the rules - not me, a little order but the flexibility to bend the rules when you need to is important. Central London with CCTV means no breaking of the rules or a fine in the post.

Beirut is total anarchy on the roads, I have been warned by many locals to drive defensively and if lights are green, still check for cars. I have seen the following bending of the road rules:

- Sonar driving - the constant tooting really wound me up
- All cars driving either way down one way streets - this is the norm!
- When the traffic is at a standstill, scooters ride on the foot path
- Police are located at all main intersections but this does not stop breaking of the rules
- 4 Japanese race bikes came flying up to a red light, straight through stopped cars facing the red,a quick glance for other cars, then raced off straight through the red (one doing a wheelie) and the intersection policeman laughing at them.
- Motorbikes and scooters, including policeman riding against the traffic - its a shock when you turn a corner because you think you have gone the wrong way.
- 2 lane road will fit as many cars, buses and trucks as there is room - generally 3 wide
- If no cars in the opposite direction, not just motorbikes will run the red - anyone will.
- When turning across oncoming traffic, just keep pushing into the oncoming traffic until the traffic either stops or has no room to go around you.

A local biker explained to me that working traffic lights are relatively new, due to so many years of war the Lebanese have adapted to their own way of driving.

I did see a total of 6 minor collisions and a 4 car pile up on the highway.

I prefer order, its exhausting driving in Beirut but fun when you need to get from A to B in a hurry!!

Syrian Sonar Driving

Arriving in Syria I straight away noticed that everyone was tooting their horn. Was it at me?? the cars around me did not appear to be doing anything wrong. Drivers honk when:

- passing a car
- at cars in side roads
- just before the lights go green
- entering an intersection
- at pedestrians crossing the roads

The only explanation for this is drivers navigate around other cars on the road by sound. This would explain the constant tooting and erratic driving.

Lifesaver - get a whole lot more out of life

Since leaving Europe the coffee situation has gone down hill big time. Turkish coffee is palatable but the Nescafe sachet provided at hotels and cafes with hot water in central Turkey and Syria is just not coffee!

The best way to start the day is with a cup of coffee, it puts spring in your step and a smile on your face. My lifesafer has been the simple coffee filter and I would prefer to have a headache than drink Nescafe.

Celebrity in Syria

I now have a good idea of the life of a celebrity. Off the tourist route in Turkey everyone has been staring at me and the kids smile, wave and love to say 'Hello'. In Syria my popularity has rocketed to the top. Without the bike, everyone looks, say 'Welcome' and want to talk. With the bike I have no freedom:

- Can't eat lunch without locals surrounding me to talk.
- Can't stop on the side of the road without someone stopping to help.
- If I do stop to talk, you end up spending a couple of hours doing sign language.
- At Petrol stations I have been drinking tea.
- Yesterday after getting directions, I went to the local bike mechanic, the garage filled with about 20 locals after we arrived.
- Last night, a shop owner I meet earlier, chased me to talk and request I visit his shop tomorrow.

This is outside the big cities and the people are so generous, friendly and helpful... its hard to describe and to say no. Its amazing and a great experience but you do tire of the same conversations.

GPS Tracker - unavailable in Syria

There are two countries in the world which band GPS - North Korea and Syria. My handheld unit works but the GPS tracker does not. The company that runs the tracker must block it. I am able to send GPS position messages.

Religous police in Antakya

After a couple of beers with a female hotel guest I meet at breakfast in the morning, we got back to the hotel, moved the bike from the street into the foyer of the hotel with the help of the staff. The staff have either no English or limited words and one young kid, speaking abruptly, wanted to go walking with me and wanted the female guest to go to bed. I said politley, no thankyou, we went upstairs and thought it was odd behaviour.

In my room we reviewed my photos, door left open. The young kid came upto the room and rudley started saying something in Turkish and handed me a piece of paper saying "The Marriage Vallet" - now the earlier behaviour makes sense. We moved down to the dining room and continued.

Turkey is a secular state, so I was a little surprised, not sure if it was a hotel policy, province policy or just concerned the staff at the time.

Riding in the Middle East - its not all fun in the sun!!

So what is it like riding a bike day in, day out, between 4 to 12 hours per day with temperatures between 30 and low 40s?

The riding kit I wear is the following:

- Leather boots with sports socks
- Cordura pants with plastic hip/knee pads and one air vent on each leg
- Cordura jacket with plastic elbow/shoulder/back pads, one air vent on each arm and two chest vents
- Boardies
- Singlet
- Gloves
- Helmet
- A camel back to enable hydration when riding

I pack the bike wearing boardies and singlet and put the kit on as the last task. As soon as the kit is on, I start sweating (its 30 by 9am) and I jump on the bike for the breeze to cool me. After an hour, I feel the beads of sweat run from my head all the way down to my toes.

The bike is so wide (due to oversize petrol tank) and the windshield not much shorter than me, so most of the wind is blocked. A great way to cool down is to stand up while riding, I can stand up comfortably up to 100km/h and the wind through my kit feels great - So through all towns I stand.

The heat has caused a couple of problems. Sitting down for hours when I am sweating so much has caused a heat rash on my bum so standing is a great way to stop the boardies sticking to me. Feet are like prunes at the end of the day, which has obviously caused a skin issues.

It is going to be consistently low to mid 40s in Jordan and Iran, I think I will be riding at 6am and late at night with a lunchtime siesta.

I have thought about removing some kit but you never know when you are going to stack.

Turkey - part 1

Back in Turkey after 8 years, Istanbul was great fun and I visited a few sites I missed last time. Onto Ankara for bike service, Iran visa and Uzbekistan visa. Ankara reminded me of a USA city, with dual lane divided roads everywhere, overpasses/underpasses and no U-turns allowed - not good for visiters, especially me because the U-turn is my signature move in new cities!

Ankara tasks complete I drove down the center of Turkey across wheat fields, over mountains, through gorges - it is a land of contrast. The petrol cost is the highest so far with a 25% tax, I assume the tax is to build new roads. 8 years ago there were only highways around Istanbul, now there are highways and tunnels everywhere, small towns are being linked with roads straight through mountains and pine forests.

I look forward to travelling eastern Turkey after Syria.

40 days on the road

Istanbul - goodbye Europe

Its great feeling to have left Europe - major milestone. To be in the Near East feels like the journey begins and in a week I will be in Syria, which I am looking forward too.

Bulgaria - wrong impression!

After my first afternoon in Sofia I was left dispondant after taking 3 hours to find accomodation and many people telling me to watch my bike and one person told me to ride straight to Istanbul.

So having left Sofia I travelled accross southern Bulgaria to the Black Sea. I had a fantastic time, locals were always friendly and helpful, I felt safe and had fun riding through the mountains to the clear waters of the Black Sea. The south is covered but thick green forest and alpine medows - worth a visit.

Lesson learned....make my own impression!!

Lonliness - what does it mean?

I have been on the road for 5 weeks now and I am starting to feel lonely. I am busy, planning my way home, riding the bike, reading one of my many books, sight seeing and talking to all sorts of people. I actually have a mental list of the things I need to do and feel I don't have enough time.

I have been talking to various people, from locals at restaurants, shops and campgrounds. Others travelling on the back roads - mainly push bike tourers, but I am missing banter, debates, someone confirming I am right ;-) ..... basically the fun that you have travelling with mates.

Tomatoes - they describe a changing world

The quality of tomatoes in London supermarkets have always disappointed me compared with the quality in Italy. The vine ripened organic tomatoes are an improvement but not alot of flavor. I put this down to living in a big city and the convenience of supermarkets.

As I have travelled east from London, the fresh produce markets have increased in numbers, where they are common place on the side of every major road or town, especially in Bulgaria. The stalls are small and many, selling local grown produce. The supermarkets in small towns do not sell fresh produce therefore you shop in multiple places - this what Mum did when I was growing up.

I dropped into a new massive Metro (8 times the size of Clapham Sainsbury or Sandy Safeway) to get coffee and Muesli. Needing help with understanding coffee quality, I ended up spending half an hour discussing and taste testing tomatoes with the English speaking Manager.

The new Metro store is the first of the new format in Bulgaria, which focuses on quality of produce, from Italian coffee, live fish in tanks, and tomatos from a single producer. Families come weekly to buy all their food for the week.

This has left me thinking, What will happen to the small producing farmers as countries adopt western supermarkets??

An hour closer to home

The last two days I have been intrigued that daylight is starting earlier, after 5am, and getting darker earlier, just after 8pm. Thinking practically, this makes sense as I am moving east towards Istanbul. This morning my mobile phone time was one hour forward from my watch - European Eastern Standard time starts in Bulgaria (I thought it started at Turkey).

So that means I am one more hour closer (7 hours to go) to home after 9,000 kms and one month on the road.

5 Star Accom all the way!

Thursday Night - €110
www.kempinski-sofia.com

Friday Night - €2.50
Hotel Copley

Bulgaria - watch yourself

I was a little nervous about crossing the border into Bulgaria but all went smoothly and painless. I arrived in Sofia after 6 hours of riding, mid 30s, soaked under riding gear and can't wait for a shower.

I was determined to stay in a hostel to meet other travellers. After story upon story of organised crime in Bulgaria, I had to have secure parking, slowly over 3 hours I went from Hostel, 2 star, 3 star..... and then 5 star hotel. Everyone I met, receptionists, ex-London copper, locals in the street admiring my bike all said watch your bike, if its not nailed down it will go!!

The bike has its advantages but not yesterday.

Macedonia - rating countries?

Macedonia is about the same size as Montenegro but not worth the visit if I hard limited holidays. This poses the question, comparing and rating countries?? Experience, people, landscape and cost?? There is no doubt that rating is on a personnel level, for me its important locals are open, honest and is not difficult to travel (5 years ago Egypt wore me out after 3 weeks).

So the big differential with Macedonia is the poverty - the difference between the have and have nots, there are lots of fancy European cars. Heaps of Gypsies, shanty towns, markets, modern shopping centers and the stench of burning rubbish dumps. From my perspective, it is something new, not scary but unknown?!? The bike enables me to get off the beaten track to places I would not have seen on public transport.

I am a relative wealthy westerner and to see people collecting plastic bottles, sifting through garbage, selling junk at 6am markets...its a different world and its part of Europe.