BIG TOMS RIDE - TRAVEL BLOG

2013_05 Vietnam NW

2013-05-09T14:55:00.001+02:00

2013_05 Vietnam1, a set on Flickr.

Our first week in Vietnam with our BigBikes was exciting! This is a photo story from the Laos/Vietnam border crossing, riding the Ho Chi Minh trail up North to Sa Pa.

Nepal 3: The last days in Nepal - getting ready for Tibet!

2011-12-21T16:00:00.000+01:00

16.12.2011 Kathmandu
Our bikes are full of mud, so is our gear. We spend the morning getting everything cleaned and also need to fix “Flocke’s” right pannier, which got dented at the crash. While Harry is replacing his rear brake pads, I look after my heated grips. The left one doesn’t work for months and need to be fixed prior to Tibet. Luckily I find the problem and get it soldered at the repair center for mobile phones.

For dinner we meet with our Swiss friends and Wolfgang (Morpheus Reisen), who just drove with his wife and their 2 year old daughter from Laos to Nepal, the same overland route we are going to take. He tells us about road conditions, the cold nights and the military checkpoints before and after major cities. He has many stories to tell from their journey. They have been on the road for the last 2 years and slowly make their way back to Germany now, ETA August 2012. ;)
After dinner, Harry and I do some shopping. We buy tea bags, canned tuna, and other stuff which we want to take with us to Tibet. We have a lot of fun with the guys in the super market as we make them parrot Austrian slang, such as “Scheicht’s eich endlich, es Nudelaugen!”. Of course they want to know the meaning of what they just said, but how would you ever translate that? ;)

18.12.2011 Bhaktapur
The day starts with an extended breakfast with Harry, and the Swiss couple, Janine & Fabian. We have a long conversion about the upcoming journey to Tibet. We share ideas how to protect ourselves from the cold, for both at riding as well as at nights. Janine & Fabian bought themselves new Exped sleeping bags, which are suitable for the temperature range from -5°C down to -45°C! They also worked on spikes for their front wheels and snow chains for the rear wheels. I was hoping for sponsorships from companies who offer ready solutions, but had negative or zero response. Riding a motorbike through Tibet in winter doesn't seem to be an appealing story for them. I decide to trust that I'll make it without these accessories and if necessary spend the money for transport service on a truck.
I wait for a parcel from home with additional winter gear, such as skiing gloves, thermal underwear and medical items. Harry, Janine & Fabian also sent spare parts and gear to my mum. She put it all together and sent it off to Kathmandu. Great support, mum, you're an angel! I check the airway bill number of that parcel. It's already in Kathmandu, but stuck at customs. We just have 2 more days in Kathmandu. Let's hope it arrives in time ...

Harry and I want to spend the rest of the day with some sightseeing. Bhaktapur is close by and seems to be an interesting spot for Nepali culture and architecture. We decide to take a bus there. We can't get a seat, but at the beginning it was an OK ride. With every stop, however, more and more people get squeezed into the minibus. It's hot and sticky. We are happy to finally get off that bus and be able to breathe again. On the upside of things, we just pay €0,20 this 45 min ride. Anyway, my mind is wondering … I guess I’ll never want to be a backpacker depending on public transportation, just not my thing.

The entrance fee for Bhaktapur is NPR 1100, approximately €11, “Quite expensive!”, we think and look for a way to sneak in without paying. Instead of the main entrance, we try our luck on side roads, but there is always someone asking for the ticket. I remember that students sometimes get discounts. Not that I’m a student anymore, but maybe my driving license, or any other plastic card does the trick? As I pull the purse from my pocket, I also happen to have the hotel keys in my hand. The guy happily waives us through. Apparently he thinks we are staying in a local hotel and entrance is free of charge. YEAH, that was easy! We happily walk through the temple town and make photos.

For the way back, we decide to take a Taxi instead of a minibus. The queues at the bus station scare us off, so we invest €7 for the ride back with some privacy. There is a big surprise waiting for us back at the hotel: The parcel has arrived! We feel happy like at Christmas. My mum added some goodies in the box: Christmas cookies, sausages, mustard and horse reddish, Austrian sweets ... isn't she lovely?

19.12.2011 Kathmandu on strike!
After breakfast, I go to the Primax Canon Service Center in Kathmandu to get my "new" Canon EOS 40D Camera fixed. My friend from Austria donated it to me. (Thank you, Andrea!) The shutter element needs to be replaced, but she didn't want to invest into this camera anymore. I happily invest €120 if I could only have a decent SLR camera. Also my handy Canon Powershot S95, which I dropped in India and broke the display, should be ready for pick up.
Today the streets seem to be really empty. Most shops on the way are closed, unfortunately also the Primax Canon Service Center. I call Dinesh, who I met earlier and ask if they would open any time soon. "Kathmandu is on strike!", is his reply, "Come back tomorrow!". I'm frustrated, as I will have only 1 day left in Kathmandu and I'm afraid that the repair of the camera won't work prior to my big trip to Tibet.

Empty streets in Kathmandu, the majority of shops are closed. No vehicle is allowed to drive, not even ambulances!

"New Snapper Photo" on New Road, where I bought some photo accessories, is closed too. The shop looks a bit worn from the outside, but is actually great source for photo equipment. Good selection and excellent service at a fair price!

Everyone on the street is either busy reading the news or talking. A politician has been murdered and the party called a countrywide strike.

Even the ladies at the veg market are highly interested in what's going on:

Harry and I spent the afternoon with some last minute fixes and packing stuff on our bikes. Harry mounts the engine guard of my BigBertha back in place, while I change his handgrips. On a side note: I find the original R1200GS grips very thin and they wear off easily. I changed to the grips from the R1100/1150GS and I am very happy about this "upgrade". Note that you need 2 RIGHT grips from the 1150GS. Look up the ADVRider.com forum for instructions.

Harry's new rubber grip. Unfortunately we were sent 1 left and 1 right from the R1150GS, so I couldn't change both. See note above!

For dinner we have a group meeting with Janine & Fabian and Cathelijne & Ruthger at the "Green Salad" restaurant.

20.12.2011 Kathmandu - Kodari. Departure to Tibet!
I go back to Primax Canon Service Center and "YES", they are open! I'm happy. They promise me to do what they can to fix my camera, but won't commit to a time: "The entire body needs to be taken apart and the shutter unit calibrated. This takes hours. Our SLR specialist has not arrived either!". Departure is scheduled for 1 p.m. and I pray this will work out ... and it does in the end!!

Mr. Dinesh and his team from Primax Canon Service Center offered excellent service to get my Canon cameras fixed.

I rush back to the hotel, where Harry is ready for departure and we hit the road at 2 p.m. Janine and Fabian left around noon. We meet Cathelijne & Ruthger with their Landrover Defender shortly after Kathmandu. They had some things to arrange as well and started late too.

A few kilometers prior to the border, we set up camp close to the river. We bought some veggies and fruit. Harry and Janine cook excellent dinner. It's been a while since I last camped, so I really enjoy it. We wonder where our Dutch guys are, when my phone suddenly rings. They heard some strange noises from the car and decided to go back to Kathmandu. We are all worried if this may delay our border crossing to Tibet, which is due tomorrow!

The evening ends with a bonfire at the riverside and tea with rum.

21.12.2011 Kodari - 1st attempt to cross borders to Tibet - we fail!
The temperature in the morning is just +4°C, but my new sleeping bag did a good job. It's costs us quite some effort to get out of the tents. My phone shows a new SMS from Cathelijne. A couple of wheel bearings needed to be placed. The job was done overnight at “Autoland” http://www.autoland.com.np and they are on the way to the border.
We drive up to the Nepali border at Tatopani and paperwork there is just smooth. It's as easy to leave Nepal as it is to enter. Not much hassle, just straight forward. The Carnet gets stamped out and the passports checked. We need to show our group visas for China and the officer keeps a copy.
Cathelijne & Ruthger made it in time and get their paperwork done too.
We drive up to the friendship bridge, which is the only border between China and Nepal. In the middle of the bridge is a yellow line which you're not allowed to cross without permission. We cannot drive our bikes up there, but must push them. The Chinese officers don't speak a single word of English and have this unfriendly, super serious look in their face. What a start into a new country!

You're not supposed to make any photographs there. Whatever!
Waiting at the Friendship Bridge :)

We meet "Tony", our tour guide, as scheduled around 10 a.m. He brought some Tibetan shawls, a.k.a "White Kharta". A khata is a traditional ceremonial scarf. It symbolizes purity and compassion. Tibetan khatas usually symbolize the pure heart of the giver.

BigTom & Harry

Fabian & Janine, Tony:

We wait several hours at the border. Finally we are "allowed" to cross the yellow line and move towards the big building. No engine again, we need to push our bikes!

There we wait and wait until Tony finally has bad news: We are not allowed to enter China today. Something is wrong with the documents.

So, where are we supposed to stay for the night? A guesthouse is suggested on the Nepali side, but that would require fresh Visas.

We end up camping in "no-mans-land", at the bridge between Nepal and China.

At least the Nepal Military looks after us. We actually have quite some fun with these guys (and ladies). They'll protect us, they say ...

Nepal 2: Trip to the Everest Base Camp

2011-12-15T17:55:00.000+01:00

12.12.2011 Trip to the Everest Base Camp, Day 1 Nagarkot

We get up early, but need to pack all the stuff we had on our rooms back on the bikes. Everything takes ages. We ask for the bill and it takes the staff half an hour to get it ready. We also need to change money and I need to pick up laundry. You might think this is all done in short time, but not so in Nepal. Everything takes time over here. People are not in a hurry. It’s noon until we finally take off.

A couple of hours later we reach “Nagarkot”, a small village famous for viewing sunrise and sunset. The weather is just perfect. Blue sky, sunny day, just a bit foggy. I’m not sure if this is actually fog or smog from Kathmandu. Anyway, we have a lunch break at a terrace and enjoy the view into the Kathmandu valley. There is a view tower close by, which we want to reach to make photos. Once we arrive, we figure that there is no way to get up with the bikes. We look for another spot as we plan to make photos with the bikes and find a plateau with the Himalaya mountain range in the background. Excellent!

After our photo shooting, we go back to the village to look for a room. Some guys are hanging around on the road and we agree to take a room with shower for NRP 600. As we arrive in the lobby, the price for room with “hot shower” suddenly climbs up to NRP 800. We feel like being cheated, turn around and find another room for NRP 500. Negotiations are sometimes tiresome in Nepal, or maybe it’s a language barrier. Harry gets us a bottle of local rum, which we mix with black tea. He can’t believe what he just saw: There is an open fire for heating in the liquor shop. A mother and her child are sitting next to it. He had to leave the shop immediately due to the smoke in there.

13.12.2011 Nagarkot to Charikot

We get up at 05:30 a.m to be in time for the sunrise. The night was cold, just 7,5°C in our room in Nagarkot at 2200m altitude. Nope, there is no heating over here! Our room has a balcony towards East and we get rewarded by a beautiful sunrise over the mountain range, which we enjoy with a cup of coffee. I can show Harry some tricks with his camera. He is an interested and good student. ;)

The hotel offers great breakfast. We go for boiled eggs and some toast. I have vitamin/magnesium tablets left, which we take as a precaution against a cold. There is frost on the cover of BigBertha, so it was freezing during the night. I’m curious if the new oil will make her engine start smoother and yes it does. No problem so far, everything just as usual.

We look forward to another adventurous day, but before we take off, we need to answer questions of the people who gathered around us. Unlike India, the guys ask “educated” questions about our bikes, such as engine size, power, number of gears and range. In India, the people are very attracted by such big motorcycles, but they always have just one question: “Price? Price? Price!”

We finally leave Nagarkot at 9 a.m. It’s a great ride downhill back to the “Arniko highway”. We go through rural villages and watch the people on the street. Young school children wear school uniforms. The older ones obviously don’t have to wear them anymore as they wear normal cloths. We see elderly women wearing huge baskets full with plants or grass. Water buffalos enjoy the morning sun with rice paddies in the background. The scenery is similar to India. However, those villages in Nepal are much cleaner.

Back to the highway, we have some small talk with a police officer. I ask him about the speed limit here. 55 kph is his response. “What?”, we are thinking, “this is a wonderful 4 lane highway with very little traffic! We could go 100+!”. Some 2 km later we find out that this was just a small section. The beautiful 4 lane highway turns into a busy local road again. Harry’s horn doesn’t work properly. Just like in India, the horn is your most important piece of equipment. People don’t LOOK what’s around them, they simply rely on the sounds. Harry stops at a gas station to get the bugger fixed by bending one of the pins.

At Khadichour we take a right turn over a massive metal bridge. The road is small, winding and partly destroyed from the monsoon season. We constantly honk to make speeding trucks aware of us. We climb up a pass to 2.700m altitude and back down to 2.000m. It’s a roller coaster on bad roads for about 60 km.

We catch a glimpse of dancing women in a small village. A wedding party is going on! No question, we need to get involved and dance with the party people. Unfortunately, the bride is missing. She is currently undergoing some preparations for the multi-day event.

Back on the bikes, I see Harry’s rear wheel wobbling so I honk like crazy to force him to stop. Indeed, four of the five screws got loose. I watched him using WD-40 during the service and was wondering what he was doing. Obviously the wrong choice. He cleans the screws and use some Loctite to keep them in place. It seems to work just fine. Luckily the threats are not damaged. This could have been the end of his journey!

We stop at the next village and have some “Chowmein”, a local noodle dish with all sorts of veggies and spices. Including two bottles of coke, our lunch costs €3.

Next stop is a pass at 2.600m altitude, where we are being asked for our passports. “We don’t have them! They are at a travel agency in Kathmandu for our China visas.”, we reply. The military guys happily accept copies and let us go. There is no permit necessary for this route.

Time is fleeting and we make little progress towards our destination of the day. We decide to stay in “Charikot” for the night. Some locals are surrounding us as usual and show us the way to the hotel. This time we are lucky as the room features hot water! No wonder, as this seems to be the best hotel in town. The price of €6 is out of our daily budget, but we look forward to have a shower.

We find a restaurant with excellent food. We order chicken chilly with roti bread:

14.12.2011 Charikot to Jiri and Shivalaya

The night in “Charikot” was freezing cold. In the morning I can still see my breath, not just outside, but in the room! Just like in India, houses don’t have heating. There is not even a mobile heater available in our hotel. We have breakfast, omelet with toast. We ask for salt and pepper, but the guy understands zero English. Harry search for them in the kitchen and is successful.

Charikot, view from the hotel's rooftop:

Our goal for today is “Jiri” and we want to find out how far we can go to the Mt. Everest Base Camp.

En-route to Jiri:

We heard there is a trekking path after Jiri, but the map shows a road. We arrive in Jiri at noon and have a break at the “Everest Guest House”. The guy there gives us directions and tells us about the actual “road” conditions. It’s gonna be very bumpy, muddy and we’ll have few water crossings to manage. He predicts it will take us two hours for the 20 km to “Shivalaya”.

He shall be right. The way is challenging with our fully loaded bikes. Harry doesn’t have a lot of practice in muddy conditions and almost crashes twice. I have to immolate another valuable item: My oil canister with 2l of the expensive 5W40. L Somehow I keep loosing stuff. At least the water crossings are easy at this time of the year, as the monsoon season ended a couple of months ago.

At this this bridge you need to take a left towards "Shivalaya":

As we arrive in “Shivalaya”, the locals immediately surround us.

Children from Shivalaya, at the footstep of the Mt. Everest:

We are told that there had been only 1 foreigner on a local motorbike here before. We seem to be the first overlanders on big bikes ever reaching this small village en-route to the Mr. Everest Base Camp!! The road up here was built 5 years ago. From “Shivalaya” there is another road up to “Bhandar”, which was built in 2010, but that seems to be in much worse condition. We don’t want to risk any damage to our bikes as we have a 4000km overland journey via Tibet and Southern China to Laos ahead of us and decide to skip the last bit.

We find shelter in a guesthouse. “Badam” the host, speaks very good English. He used to be a trekking guide for many years and tells us stories about the Mt. Everest. Many people suffer from altitude sickness and just about 60% manage to make it to the peak. The cost of the climb is $70.000 per group just for permits!

My room for the night. The cheapest place, I ever stayed at. Nrp 100, about €0,90:

We have some boiled eggs, Nepali bread and Tea for dinner, which we mix with Whiskey, as there is no rum available in the village.

15.12.2011 Shivalaya to Kathmandu

This was the coldest night so far. It’s 2°C as we wake up in the morning in our accommodation, which looks like an alp shack. However, I felt warm in my new sleeping bag. Good news as we expect -25°C in Tibet during the night. “Badam” has already made breakfast for us. We need to start early, as it will be a long way back to Kathmandu. We guess 9 hours riding for 180 km.

We get to the bikes and are curious if the engines will still start smoothly. There is frost on the covers, so it must have been below freezing point during the night. No problem yet, just 1 click and our beemers are ready to go.

Harry is not feeling well this morning. He says he is afraid of crashing today, so we take it easy for the decent. We ride over hill and dale, through water crossings, sand, gravel and mud. Although the terrain keeps us busy, we don’t miss taking photos and videos.

Shortly before “Jiri”, Harry makes a wrong decision in a muddy section and crashes. He is lucky as he just falls in a puddle and not steep downhill. Unfortunately I don’t capture that scene on video as he went ahead while I still took some photos. There are a couple of guys around who help him lifting the bike, while I record the scene.

Back in Jiri, Harry needs to change his gear as everything is soaking wet. I can help out with a jacket and we keep riding until Kathmandu.

A few pictures en-route to Kathmandu:

Nepal 1: Harry's arrival and preparing the bikes

2011-12-11T17:15:00.001+01:00

06.12.2011 Harry's arrival in Kathmandu
About a year ago, Harry contacted me via e-mail. At this time he had some questions about my equipment. We stayed in contact and exchanged some e-mails, as he planned an overland trip from Innsbruck, Austria to South Africa. He couldn’t pass the border from Turkey to Syria and decided to change his route to Asia. When he heard about my plans to go overland from Nepal via Tibet and Southern China to Laos, he was very excited and booked himself into the same group. I followed his “race” from Iran to Nepal on his website http://www.freedom-on2wheels.com (German only).
Today he will finally arrive in Kathmandu! The Swiss couple, Janine and Fabian, who are in our group as well, and I are eagerly waiting for him to show up. We are a bit concerned if he can make it as it’s getting dark already, as we hear the typical sound of a BMW boxer and rush downstairs. It’s him and “Flocke”, his BMW R1200GS Adventure and we give him a warm welcome. Harry is exhausted and starving. He didn’t find India amusing at all, although he rushed from Amritsar to Kathmandu in only 9 days. He complains about the people, the food, the traffic, “I’ll never do it again!”, he states. I try to calm him down and we all go out for dinner. It’s the first decent meal for him since a week.

07.12.2011 Hanging out in Kathmandu
It’s another lazy day for me, still working on photos and learning “Apple’s Aperture”, the application I decided to use to manage my photos from now on. Harry is busy doing his laundry and cleaning his gear. For dinner we are invited to Schmi & Simone, the Austrian couple on KTM 990 Adventure. It’s their last day in Kathmandu. They decided to ship the bike with aircargo to Bangkok. Harry still moans about India, whilst Schmi, who travels India for the last 10 years, tries to explain Indian’s culture, customs and way of living. It’s quite interesting to follow this discussion. Bottom line: “You either love or hate India”, a popular saying. In my opinion, I really love a lot of places in India, but the way to get there is quite exhausting, especially if you travel on a motorbike. I also met so many great people and had a fantastic time during my 5 months in India, that I can’t complain.
Fabian, Harry, Janine ... and a little bugger asking for money:

Harry & Tom. It was cold at Schmi's place. The headscarf just for the show ;)

08.12.2011 Preparing the bikes
We meet Fabian and Janine for breakfast and fill out the application forms for the China visa.

Harry carried a set of spare tires (Heidenau K60 Scout) on his BMW R1200GS Adventure. As his current set of tires is still in good condition, he offers to borrow me his spare tires. I’m very happy about this, as I heard excellent things about the Heidenau K60 Scout from other overlanders and I was looking for a tire which provides both, dirt-road performance and durability anyway. I used up 4 different set of tires during the last 35.000 km of my journey. They either give you good grip on gravel & co or last many kilometers on tarmac. I'm positive that the K60 Scout will be my final choice for the thousands of kilometers in ever changing conditions to come. For the records: The rear tire comes with 9mm and the front tire has 6mm of profile. BigBertha has 48.125km on the clock.
Earlier I found “Autoland” (http://www.autoland.com.np) in Kathmandu, a shop for all sorts of car accessories. We go there to buy some Octane booster, which helps a lot to improve the regular petrol available in Nepal. On a side note, there is “Speed” available in India (about 91 Octan), but there is only 1 sort of Petrol available in Nepal (about 89 Octan). Autoland also has a tire workshop nearby and Mr. “Lok”, the owner, offers his space to us to change the tires.

I show Harry a place called “My friend servicing center”, in Shalku, Kathmandu. (Tel: 9841217169, no website or e-mail) That’s a car wash with high pressure water. Mr. Chandra Shahi and his team take their job serious and offer a real great service. Bike wash is Rs. 350 / EUR 3.

We end the day in the “Everest Steak House”, my favorite place for proper Beef Steaks in Kathmandu.

09.12.2011 Preparing the bikes (cont’d)
We have Muesli breakfast at the rooftop of our Hotel Diplomat (a.k.a. Chillout Lounge). We do some more maintenance, such as cleaning the air filters. Harry’s K&N (Part# BM-1204) is really dirty after just 1,500 km in India. As this filter is reusable, he cleans and re-oils it with the K&N Care & Service Kit.

I’m using a pre-filter from Touratech (Touratech Part# 01-044-0875-0), which is pitch black too, but my main air filter is in excellent condition.

This investment really pays off. I’m very happy with this piece of equipment and highly recommend it to everyone who rides in such a polluted region. Touratech ships two of this filters, so I give my spare one to Harry, who gladly accepts.
In the evening we meet up with the Dutch couple, which will be in our overland group to Tibet as well. Their choice of transportation is a 4x4 Landrover Defender, which they drove all the way from Holland to Nepal. We exchange travel stories and discuss the conditions we might expect in Tibet.
10.12.2011 A day in Kathmandu: Admin, Shopping, Momos!
All participants of the overland journey from Nepal to Laos come to the hotel of the Dutch couple to meet Mr. Tirthu Acharya, a representative of the travel agency. On the way to their hotel we bump into a procession. Women who are dressed up in their national clothing throw petals at the people, a colorful event. We don’t know what this procession is all about, but it’s marriage season in Kathmandu. Maybe this is a celebration of the bridal couple?!

At the hotel we pound Mr. Tirthu with questions about the route, accommodation, road- and weather conditions in Tibet. As we will be travelling in altitudes above 5000m these are our major concerns. Our visa applications for China are being checked and we pay USD 95 each. We will have a group visa, not individual visas, which is slightly disappointing, as we won’t have any visa sticker in our passports. We learn that we have to stay together at all times as there will be many check points en-route. Our group now consists of four motorbikes and one car: Fabian & Janine on Yamaha Ténéré 660, Harry and I on BMW R1200GS Adventure and the Dutch couple on Landrover Defender. The price for this 27 day adventure through Tibet and Southern China including the visa is €1.340 per person. We are lucky as we have a car in the group, which carries the guide! Otherwise the price would be much higher, as a support vehicle would be required for the entire journey through China.
After a couple of hours later we leave to do some shopping. I need a warm jacket and find a Marmot primaloft for €40. I’m told it’s a factory outlet price, but I doubt it’s genuine Marmot. Anyway, it’s warm and fits nicely underneath my bike jacket. Harry finds an inflatable pillow and Energizer Lithium batteries for his SPOT Messenger. BTW: I was not able to find those batteries in India, but they are available in Kathmandu. Strange, but true.
We walk around Thamel, the touristic center of Kathmandu, buy some more bits and pieces, such as Dimox, the pills against altitude sickness, and end up in a small local “Momo”-Restaurant for dinner. There is no electricity, just candles. Momos are dumplings filled with Buffalo meat and we love them. You just don’t want to spend a single thought about hygiene in such places. Dinner with rice wine is NRP 90, about €0,90 for the both of us!

11.12.2011 Service (Odometer: 48.000km)
Today is a big day. We will do a service for our BMW R1200GS bike, including changing the engine-, drive shaft- and gearbox oil and adjust the valves. Back at “Autoland” http://www.autoland.com.np we find Total 5W40, a fully synthetic oil which is specified for temperatures as low as -25°C. We buy 12 liter of that expensive stuff (€15/liter) as we need 4l per bike and want to have 2l each as spare. My experience in the Indian Himalayas shows that “BigBertha”, my bike, needs more oil than usual in high altitudes and cold temperatures. I want to be on the safe side. Mr. “Lok”, the owner of Autoland provides us his workshop free of charge. Everything goes well and it’s fun to do the service simultaneously. A few spectators come to the shop to see us working. There are also two guys from a local magazine, who follow every step of the service, make photos and have a lot of questions for us. They are planning to write an article about us. The guys from Autoland serve us coffee, water and even sandwiches, all free of charge.
BigTom's toolkit:

Harry's toolkit:

Harry in action:

BigTom replacing the oil filter:

I drop the wrench in the old oil and get covered with the stuff. :)

Valve adjustments. No problem for me by now:

As we expect temperatures around -25°C in Tibet, I need to switch to another oil. "Autoland" in Kathmandu sells this Total 5W40 full syn. Darn expensive, but I want "BigBertha" to enjoy the ride too:

I can help the guys at "Autoland" to place a rim in a 4x4 tire:

After completing the service of our bikes, Harry and me enjoy a coffee. Cheers, well done! :)

Back to the hotel, it’s time to review Harry’s luggage. When he left Austria back in August 2011, the total weight of his bike and him was 492 kg!!! By now I have quite some experience, as I also got rid of about 60kg excess luggage. It is hard work to convince him to let go unnecessary tools, rechargeable batteries and chargers, flashlights, power inverter, chain locks, etc. It’s funny as I carried all the same stuff with me too. All in all, Harry will travel 15kg lighter from now on. ;) What an achievement! We meet my friend Chis for dinner, who is in Kathmandu for business reasons and “celebrate” at a Thai restaurant.

Indian Himalayas 4: Around Leh

2011-10-01T18:15:00.000+02:00

Day 13+14, 29.9. + 30.9.2011 Leh Ladakh
I reach Leh on the 28.9. about 5 p.m. and look for a guesthouse. I find only crappy places or they are fully booked. I was told the best place to be in Leh is around the "Main Market". On my way there, I hear two guys calling me. I turn my head around and can't believe it: It's Helly Frauwallner and Stefan Rosner from the Austrian Rally Team! They are here for the Raid de Himalaya 2011, the highest rally of the world.
Just a few words spoken, they ask me where I'll stay. As I have no plan yet, they tell me to come join them. We go out for dinner talk about their upcoming race. Helly is very interested in my journey too, so I talk much about my adventures in Iran and Pakistan. In return, Helly tells his adventurer's tales about "Tour Nordlicht 2007", "Rally Mongolia", his trips in South America and his race at Paris-Dakar 2009. If you are interested to learn about it too, point your browser to http://www.helly-frauwallner.at
Stefan Rosner participated at the Raid de Himalya 2010 and won the 3rd place! Excellent result for a rookie! At this year's edition he manages the Contiger Rally Team Austria and produces a video with his company BOMB THE BEAT FILMPRODUKTION.
Enough to talk over some beers at a bar! :)
29.9.2011, Leh
A photo shooting with the Austrian Rally legend and his team is a must!

Helly is keen to test ride BigBertha: "Tom, that's a bloody big bike you're riding in the Himalaya's - impressive!":

We have breakfast together before the team hits the road again. They have to go back to Shimla, where the Rally will start on Oct. 11th. I'm thrilled to be here in the Indian Himalayas during this one of a kind race. I spend a few hours on my room to make plans for my trip around Leh. I still need to go back to Amritsar / Whaga border to extend my Carnet de Passages. Also, I need to be back in Delhi by Oct 21st. How could I possibly see some parts of this exciting Raid de Himalayas? We shall see.
In Leh, I also must obtain some "inner-line permits" for the Nubra Valley and the Pangong Lake, as these are the disputed territories with Pakistan and China (Tibet). I walk around the main markets, but the tourist offices tell me that they'll need a minimum of 2 applicants for the DC office. Finally I find one agent, who promises that he can get it done until next day.
I want to see a "Gompa", a typical Tibetian temple, but find it very hard to walk uphill. Leh is "only" at 3500m above sea level, but the recent altitudes at +5000m seem to have weakened me physically. Later I will find out that almost everone struggles with the conditions at the arrival in Leh. You need a few days of adjustment. So I decide to have lunch at a random place and order a chicken cheeseburger. I hear some German words from a table next to me. It turns out that these guys, Simone and René, are from Austria and they came on the same route to India via Iran & Pakistan, 2-up on a KTM 990 Adventure!
We spend hours of talking about our experiences and further travel plans.
A couple at the next table seems to follow our talks and get involved. They are overlanders, too! What a gathering. They went with their truck through the Stans and Siberia, but brought their vehicle back to Germany. They couldn't find a cost-effective way to enter India. After a rest in Germany, they decided to continue their trip via public transport. Goal: Australia!
Many stories told, we go to sleep but well meet tomorrow for breakfast again.
30.9.2011, Leh Ladakh
I meet with Simone and René for breakfast at the "Happy World restaurant". The rear break pads of their KTM 990 Adventure are seriously worn. René wonders if he can make it to Nepal without replacement. We check if my spare break pads might fit. They seem to have exactly the same shape, but the ones for BMW are thicker. We check on the Internet and our bikes need two different part-numbers indeed. That's not too surprising, but it was worth having a check.
Meanwhile, two Swiss girls join our table and we have a fun morning. The breakfast gets extended to lunch, but after coffee we all decide there is more to do in Leh than just chatting: Let's have a power-nap! :)
I take the guys 3-up (Asian style) to their guesthouses:

I decide to finally do some sightseeing in world-famous Leh and want to see the "Shanti-Stupa".
View to Leh from there:

I really enjoy the place. It's very peaceful.
Upon my return to the bike, a bunch of guys are hanging around it. They point to my rear tire and say: "Puncture, Puncture!". Indeed, there is a metal part, which certainly doesn't belong there. However, I'm not very keen on getting this fixed in front of many spectators, so I return to my guesthouse.

WOW, that's a serious nail!

That's my first puncture on the entire journey from Austria to India - over 27.000km!
Great opportunity to test my kit. As my BMW R1200GS uses tubeless tires, I brought the POCKET Tire Plugger from Stop & Go. They have a quick tutorial on YouTube.

That was a quick fix. I was done in about 5 min. Here is the result:

While having my kit out, I decide to also change the tire valve and do some other maintenance like checking the gear box oil.
Tomorrow will be an early start. I'm planning to cross "Khardung La", the highest motorable pass of the world!

Day 15, 01.10.2011: Leh - Khardung La
Khardung La on Google map and Wikipedia
The highest motorable pass in the world - 5359m altitude... and the day I lost my left pannier.
I meet with Simone & René for breakfast. Originally they planned to join me for the ride up to Nubra valley, but changed their plans last minute. They feel like running out of time on their itinerary and want to proceed to Srinagar. That's sad, but understandable. At least we get a photo done:

So I take off solo to the famous Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world. From Leh it's about 40 km to the pass itself and 118km to Diskit, my destination in the Nubra valley. The road is in perfect condition, so I can enjoy the view down to Leh:

There is a police check post, where you present your "inner-line" permit as well as your passport. These guys are very helpful and friendly and the process is easy. You drink some chai have a chat, take a few pictures and think you have just another great day. Well, this is the last picture in which my left pannier is still there, but first things first.

The remaining road to the pass (some 13km) is bumpy gravel, but you get rewarded soon. That's a smoother part of it. It's unbelievable to ride at the peaks of the these mountains, the top of the world:

"You are driving up to the highest motorable road in the world and not a short cut to heaven!"
I better take these warnings serious! Up here you ride on the edge of a steep precipice:

Shortly after I reach Khardung La @ 5359m altitude. Let me tell you! It's quite an experience to ride your bike up here!

On the way down from the pass, the road gets worse.

The terrain really keeps you busy, you literally have to stop to enjoy views like this:

Suddenly I hear a strange sound, but think it's from the roadworks or so. Some 15 min later I figure that I lost my left pannier. I turn around immediately and search the road, but have no luck until I reach the pass again. I notify the army guys there, but I'm being told that nobody dispensed anything. They notify the check-posts around and advice me to go back to the last police check point to report the case. A motorcyclist on a Royal Enfield helps me with translation. He tells me that if an Indian truck driver or an Army guy found it, he would be very tempted to open the box and try to sell the content. He will think that he just found a big treasure and I might have very little chances to get it back. BUMMER!
I rush back to my bike to go down to the police check-post. A group of bikers want to take "snaps" with me, but I'm really not in the mood for a chit-chat. Later on I will learn that these are the G.O.Ds, the Group of Delhi Super Bikers, but for now I just have my lost pannier on my mind.
As I arrive at the police check post, the guys already had been informed about my problem, but also there is no sign of my valuable piece of equipment! There is an Army base nearby. I see the convoy of Army trucks that I came across after I obviously lost my pannier, but these guys are not very helpful and don't allow me to search the trucks. Frustration!
I keep searching around and speaking to various people, but can't do much more than leaving my contact information and go back to Leh. In the guesthouse I bang my head against the door. After some chai with my host I go to the internet café, but I am told: "Internet down, come back tomorrow!".
This doesn't seem to be my day! There is a restaurant nearby, where I order pizza to compensate the frustration. A group of trekkers from Austria join my table. At least I have a nice conversation on this miserable day.
Later I go for a coffee and meet a guy from Mumbai. After he listened to my story of the day, he says:
"Be resilient to find your box. Don't worry, it's the best part of a journey loosing things and finding them again. That's why you travel. Otherwise why would you travel? You can't travel all this way and loose nothing!".
"So you think, it's the best part of traveling, just to loose stuff and be in trouble?", I'm asking.
"To fall down and get up again is the basic philosophy on such a journey!" is his response.
"But what do I do if my bike breaks down and I'm missing just this small sparepart?" is my next question.
"Than you need to trust Indians, Indian mechanics!" he replies.
The conversion continues. He quotes movies and a story from Ted Simon, his preferred traveler, but I understand his message: Stay positive and everthing will be fine!
"You must be more happier, that you lost your luggage and you can drive easy now, if you don't have much stuff to carry!", he goes on. "What I mean to say is you become free in a sense that you have the basic essentials, not materialistic and diagnostic things and stuff, which you can manage without. You need to stop worrying and start traveling. It will be good."
Wow, what a speech to end this day! ;-) I guess he is right and this is just another lesson to learn for me. Don't try to be prepared for everything. Let things happen to you!
Anyway, here is how BigBertha looks like as of today. From now on it will be even more fun to balance her through the dirt ;-)

Indian Himalayas 3: Leh - Manali Highway

2011-09-28T18:15:00.000+02:00

Day 9, 25.9.2011 Khoksar – Keylang

This morning my Israel friends will go back to Manali, heading south via the Rothang Pass, so we will go separate ways from no on. We share photos and videos while Einav brings some breakfast to our room.
Einav is a bit worried about the Rothang pass, as it is often muddy. However, locals tell us that it’s in “good” condition now, as there was not much rain recently. I was tempted to do it as well, but if there’s no mud it won’t be too challenging anyway ;)
Also, I’ll have the Manali – Leh Highway ahead of me, with much gravel and high altitudes to deal with. Adventure enough I suppose.
Just behind the building, I watch some guys dying their hair. Funny enough to take some pictures:

Shortly after the final goodbye to Guy, Raphael and Einav, I get my stuff ready and depart as well.
The scenery with the mountain peaks in the background covered with snow reminds me of Austria:

Enroute is a village called Tandi. My friend Archit advised me to fill up the tank there, as there will be no gas station until Leh.:

The road signs are a bit confusing. All directions straight ahead? But left or right?

Somehow I feel tired today and decide to make a break in Keylang, which is only some 50 km up the Manali – Leh highway.
Keylang is the capital of the region. I find a place for Rs. 200 with a soft bed. Indian beds are normally hard as wood, so this will be a comfortable rest. Also, my BSNL 3G data card seems to work in Keylang. I’m hoping to get in touch with some friends an update my blog, but the connection isn't stabile today.
I spend the remaining day with taking notes for my blog and working on my pictures. For dinner I walk around town and find an Internet Café where I top up my BSNL “talktime” credit. Vis-á-vis is a restaurant where I meet a bunch of Enfield riders guided by “Asian-Bike-Classic”. They tell me that they proudly crossed a pass, which no foreigner did before. They all seem to be in their 50ties or 60ties, so that’s quite an accomplishment!

Day 10, 26.09.2011 Break @ Keylang

My BSNL 3G Data connection works fine today, so I update my blog and talk to friends and family on Skype. I enjoy Momos in a local restaurant, get a haircut & shave, get my laundry done and buy some “Old Monk”, an Indian rum. Not a special day, but you need some of those days off to get your stuff done. :)

Day 11, 27.09.2011 Manali – Leh Highway (part 1): Keylang – Pang

I take off around 10 a.m., after breakfast at the guesthouse. The condition of the road is great! There is much roadwork going on, which makes me hope that the highway up to Leh might be in excellent condition. However, it will get worse soon.

Men at work. These guys use simple hammers to break big stones into gravel:

I reach the first Police check post in Darcha, which is located in a beautiful valley:

There are some sketchy bridges to cross, but otherwise a great journey:

There are great twisties from Zingzingbar up to the Baralach La pass with no traffic until you reach a beautiful lake:

The Baralach pass itself isn’t something special, except it’s freezing cold up here at 4980m altitude, about 2,5 °C.

My tire pressure warning goes off. I seem to loose air on my back tire. I check the tire, but can’t find anything. so I test the valve and that seems to be the cause. It’s leaking some air. I refill and continue my ride. This will need to be fixed later.
Some more dangerous bridges to cross, before Sarchu is in reach:

The landscape turns from gray to red ….

… and then you reach a high plateau where tarmac is gone and sand is left.

Playground for BigTom – Riding the sand ;)

Soon the tarmac is back and takes you through a different landscape once again:

The second police check post for today is located in Sarchu. The registration is painless and quick as these guys are more interested in my bike than my data.

Sarchu was suggested to me as the stay for the night, but I want to push on to Pang and get the Lachalung La pass (5065m) behind me. However, a quick lunch is much appreciated:

After Sarchu, you are welcomed to the paradise of India:

Indeed, the landscape is breath-taking …

… and the road signs keep you entertained:

A long and winding road …

takes me first up to Nekeela pass

and just a few minutes later to the highest pass enroute to Leh, the Lachulungla pass (5065m):

Unfortunately, this pass is not the most eventful one. In fact, it’s just cold (2,5°C at 5 p.m.) and pretty boring:

On the decent down to Pang however, things get more exciting. My first crash on this trip on icy roads:

As there is no traffic, there aren’t any people around, so I have to lift BigBertha on my own. No problem if you know how to. ;)
It has been a long day and I’m exhausted. Road signs keep me awake though:

Eventually I reach Pang and pitch my tent next to a restaurant with a strange name:

It will be a freezing night. Hope to survive it.

Day 12, 28.09.2011 Pang – Leh (Manali – Leh Highway part 2)

It was a freezing cold night in the tent up in 4600m altitude! I set up my camp next to a restaurant, as this was the only place to protect from the icy cold wind. I check the dashboard of BigBertha. it’s – 6°C at 7 a.m. Fortunately I could get an extra blanket from the restaurant. My sleeping bag is not intended for temperatures below 10°C.

Luckily the sun makes it over the mountains at around 8 a.m. and brings some warmth. The people living up here have a really hard life. I have breakfast at this simple restaurant:

Today I’ll have the Taglang La pass (altitude 5330m) ahead of me and I’ll be riding BigBertha on a high plateau almost all day. If there wouldn’t be any sun, it would be a f….. cold ride.
Welcome to Ladakh! I ride through a desert at around 5000m altitude.

Roadworks force me to go through pists next to the road, which are gravel and sand. If there’s one thing I’m afraid of to ride BigBertha through – it’s deep sand. And of course, it’s there – and I crash:

Many people ask me if I'm able to lift my monster bike on my own. Well, this is a great opportunity to show you what I've learned during my Enduro trainings at terraxdream.com:
First, take a rest and consider the situation!

Second, bring your bike into a position it will be easier to lift. In my case, get the rear wheel back into the track.

Third, grab the handle-bar and another part of your bike and lift it.

Forth, hop on your bike ...

... and off you go:

Sounds easy? It's really not that hard. :)

In the next valley, the view changes again and turns into a more fertile land:

I get stuck behind an Army convoy right before the Taglang La pass. The road conditions don't allow to overtake them:

Finally I reach the top of "Taglang La", the 2nd highest motorable pass of the world:

I’m hoping for some lunch, but the teahouse is closed.

A few kilometers down the road I see ongoing road constructions and signs of appreciated black tarmac. But that will only last for a few kilometers before gravel starts again.

During the decent to Rumtse it’s getting greener again and I feel the temperatures rising. Yeah, that’s a good feeling! I enjoy lunch at comfortable 16°C. It’s boiled potatoes with butter and salt, a special order. ;)
A German bicycle rider passes by and we have a chat. I’m wondering how he is gonna make that stretch of the Manali – Leh highway. It must be a torture, especially due to the altitude. It’s only 80 km left to Leh, so I push on.
Before entering the valley, I'm reminded on a couple of things:
- What a pitty, no rallye today:

.. and the three Enemies of the Road: Liquor, Speed and Overload.
Fortunately I didn't have any liquor today ... ;)

At the end of the valley, which is already in the shade, I reach “Upsi”. This bridge crosses the Indus River.

On the way to Leh, I pass Karu, which seems to be Military bases only. Some strange navigational information, just like this, can be found there:

In Karu, I also find a gas station. It was indeed 380km without a chance to refill the tank.
The remaining stretch to Leh is a wonderful ride:

Indian Himalayas 2: Spiti Valley

2011-09-24T18:15:00.000+02:00

22.09.2011 Nako - Mudh (Spiti Valley)

Janine and Fabian make homemade breakfast. We make decent coffee and enjoy muesli with fruits. Indian breakfast is normally veg and paratha, eventually you can get eggs. As they have a similar route, we discuss where we potentially could meet again, maybe in Nepal?

From Nako, they need to proceed to Chandigarh, as they wait for some spare parts. We exchange stickers for our panniers and make a group photo:

Nadav is a very religious Jew. We watch him during his morning prayer:

My Israeli friends went ahead and I need to catch up with them. Leaving Nako at 11.30.

The road from Nako towards the Spiti Valley is perfect pavement, only a few gravel sections. At about 3500m altitude, I enter the "barren land":

Hairpin bends take me to the next police checkpoint, where my permit is checked and my data is recorded in a big book again. There I find information about other tourists, who passed by recently and see that my friends are about 45 min ahead of me:

I refill my Camelbak with from a water pump and trust that this will be best quality Himalayan water. Travelers are advised to only drink bottled water, but I'm concerned about the pile of plastic I'm creating by using an average of 3 liters a day. Multiply 3 plastic bottles by a year worth of traveling and imagine the plastic I would use. A terrible thought.

I leave another "BigTomsRide" sticker at the police checkpoint and continue my ride:

Just around the corner is the welcome gate to the Spiti Valley:

All goes well until my oil warning sign goes on. That's the 3rd time within the last 1000km !!! I already refilled 250ml of oil earlier and now put another 250ml in the engine. I hope that "BigBertha" doesn't start to use oil?! I'm happy that I got some spare oil back in Reckong Peo. The scene is watched by the locals:

The scenery keeps changing every 5 minutes, whenever you go around the next corner. Fantastic ride!

I take a short break and am about to leave as suddenly Nadav shows up on his Enfield. The engine is totally covered with oil and he is worried. We find the issue quickly: The breather tube got loose and much oil was literally pressed out of the motor block. A bit of cleaning and he can continue his ride. Nadav tells me that the group is only 20 min ahead of me, so I push on.

The Spiti river flows along the Spiti valley and the scenery is just breath-taking.

I meet my friends shortly after at the crossing to the road up to Mud. We wait for Nadav and decide to make coffee at the rider side:

We wait about 45 min until Nadav finally arrives. He crashed as he tried to break in front of a big pot hole. Mistake No. 1 most riders do: Break too hard so the front wheel blocks. In all fairness, the rear brake of an Enfield is not the strongest, so what to do if you need to stop quickly? Nadav has a big wound on his right arm, which he covered provisionally with some bandage and electrical tape. Fortunately nothing worse happened to him as he never wears a helmet! A few metal parts of his Enfield are bent and his headlight is damaged. Nothing which stops an Royal Enfield to ride on.

The road up to "Mud" is mostly gravel and I enjoy the ride very much. It's around 5 p.m. and getting cold in the shade. I reach a wooden bridge and am tempted to drive it. But it's for pedestrians only, too risky to cross with a big bike. A few locals pass by, carrying grass:

Eventually I reach "Mud" and check out a guesthouse. There are only 3 of them. Guy arrives a bit later with a flat front tire. He asks for some instructions and I help out with my toolkit:

Einav's face is covered with dirt:

We are exhausted but a happy group of motorcycle adventurers. Nadav's wound needs to be taken care of:

We have dinner at the guesthouse and call it an early night.

23.09.2011 Mud - Kaza - Losar

Today I get up early to take photos of "Mud" and it's citizens in the morning sun:

One of the Guesthouses up here even offer Internet via Satellite:

Breakfast takes long to get prepared. The people up here don't seem to be in a hurry. But that's ok, as we are waiting for the air temperature going up. This is the first time "BigBertha" has some issues to start. I guess it's the altitude and low temperature.

The way back to the NH-22 is mostly gravel, but a pleasant ride:

Hey folks, are you having a good time??

Guy on his Enfield:

Followed by Raphael, Enfield too.

... and Einav on her Bajaj Pulsar 150 ccm:

But where is Nadav? Apparently he is falling behind - just as usual. But he makes it just in time for a group photo at the entrance gate of this valley:

We proceed to Kaza, a main hub in the Spiti valley, eat lunch in the German Bakery and check the internet.

I have to refill the tank in Kaza, as this is the last gas station for about 260km, next will be in Tandi. I get there during lunch break and have to wait for 20 min. They claim to be the highest gas station of the world:

This part of the Spiti valley is beautiful, but the landscape doesn't change that much anymore. Crossing a bridge with the typical Tibetian flags:

Two highlights enroute. The road is cut into the rock:

.. and a small water crossing:

Einav on her Pulsar 150 ccm manage those obstacles very well:

We make it to Losar just before dawn. The last kilometers had been pretty cold.

My Israeli friends bought food in Kaza and decide to cook themselves tonight. It's Friday night, which is a traditional feast for them. Nadav makes his prayer and blesses the food. We have pasta, egg- and thuna salad. Yummie!

I'm happy to be part of this evening and learn about Jewish traditions.

24.09.2011 Lossar - Kunzam Pass - Khoksar

As usual by now, I get up early to capture the morning scene. This is the attached Dhaba of our guesthouse:

A quick look at the dashboard of BigBertha shows 0°C temperature at 06:00 a.m. It's freezing cold up here in 4500m altitude.

I watch the happenings in the ktichen as the first local travelers get in and have their breakfast.

My companions decide to make a "different" breakfast today. They bought chocolate in Kaza and make an awesome chocolate fondue. What a great difference to the Indian breakfast! We enjoy it - especially Einav, who can't get enough of it - typical girl. :)

At Lossar, there is also a police check point, where we need to report to. The passports are checked and the data is written down in a big book again. This time, the authorities also check the driving licenses. That's a first! I never had to show my driving license at any of the numerous check points I went through in Iran, Pakistan and India.

I notice a morse telegraph at the Police station. Radio doesn't seem to work up here, so they use the good old morse technique instead. Funny!

Today shall be the hardest part of the Spiti Valley. Some water crossings, boulders and the Kunzam pass are ahead of us, we are told. This is also the grand good bye to Nadav, who will not travel today.

As we are getting ready, Guy checks his front tire. It's flat again! I suggest to pump it up and see if the tire holds the pressure. Just another time my electric air pump is of great help. We wait some 10 min and the puncture seems to be only a minor one. So we can get started ...
The first stretch up to the Kunzum pass (4551m) is bumpy gravel road, which I much enjoy.

I decide to use my GoPro camera. I point the camera to the front wheel, which shall be fun to watch.
The Kuzum pass is surrounded by high mountains, a georgious view. There are 4 monuments and the typical Tibetian flags. A great scenery to shoot some photos and have a fun break:

The way down from the pass isn't getting any better. The curves are mostly muddy, so we need to ride carefully.

At the bottom we reach Batal, which is a small village of just a few houses and a restaurant. We have lunch - Thali, yes rice again with some veggies.

After Batal apparently is the heavy stuff ahead of us. We are ready for the challenge!
True, the road gets worse but we seem to be lucky with the water crossings. The monsoon season is over and the creeks, which needs to be crossed, don't carry much water. We enjoy the ride and make some movies of the "difficult river crossings":

Guy's front tire of low on air aigain, so we refill. There is a small Dhaba enroute, where we make a break and have mint tea. Some big clouds are seen around the mountains and it starts raining. Weconsider to stay here for the night, but after a second tea the sky clears up again, so we can move on.
The last stretch back to the NH-22 is up hill and is bad gravel with some more small creek crossings. As we reach the NH-22, we fell happy to have pavement under the weels again. Didn't have that for the last 2 days!
We go to a village called Khoksar, as we are told there is a guesthouse with parking and a shop to fix the tire. But no luck, the "tire man" is not here. In the meantime it's Einav again, who finds a place for the night. It's Rp 15 each person, the cheapest place I've ever stayed at.
We are exhausted from the long offroad ride but very excited that we made it without a crash.
It's my birthday today! We have dinner in a small street restaurant, which serves mutton (Sheep). We didn't have meat for days, so that's a great birthday dinner. Guy and Raphael suddently dissapear and come back with a bottle of Whiskey - my birthday gift.

It just takes us an hour to finish that bottle and get drunk.
A friend of mine from Austria gave me a sparking candle for my "birthday party". For some reason it doesn't want to start. I literally burn it half way down as it suddenly decide to do it's job.
Happy birthday, Big Tom!

Indian Himalayas 1: Delhi - Satluj Valley

2011-09-21T18:15:00.000+02:00

18.09.2011: Delhi - Shimla

After more than a week in Delhi, where I stayed at a friend's place and could prepare myself and my kit, it was about time to hit the road again! As I'm going to explore the North of India, I need to hit the highway (NH1) to Chandigarh and take the NH21 and NH22 to Shimla, a 381km ride. Not bad for the first day riding in India. ;)

Enroute I pass the "Indian Gate":

Fortunately, the traffic is not as bad as expected as soon as I left Delhi. The highway up north is mainly clear, so I'm making good progress - in Indian terms. As usual in India, whenever I stop for a break "BigBertha", my bike, and I draw a lot of attention. This gentleman was obvious delighted to meet us:

Shortly before Chandigarh, I run into Kunal Vora. He just came down the way I'll be going and told me that the Rothang Pass is in terrible conditions, I should expect mud about 1-2 feet deep. Great things ahead! Kunal is from Mumbai and he will go all the way down South to Kerala. He is working on a sponsorship from BMW and wants to go from India to London - via China and the "Stans". Well, that's an ambitious plan! I'll keep an eye on him on his Blog

Ah, the first sign directing me to Shimla! My destination must be in reach now:

Going up the NH22, I get the first taste of the "Indian Hills". The air smells fresh and the temperature is dropping. What a relieve after the days in Dehli at 36 C and 80% humidity. The road starts twisting and I catch a view of a hill in the late afternoon sun:

A few kilometers further on I see the sun going done:

The road up to Shimla is about 90km long. I need to hurry up as it's getting dark soon. Just a quick stop to take a picture of the monkeys at the roadside. Hopefully they stay put and don't jump my way:

Welcome to "Himachal Pradesh", the state I'm about to enter:

I enjoy my first ride back in India. The engine runs smooth, the traffic up here was not too bad. "BigBertha" and I are having a fantastic day! We get to used to each other again and feel like going up the Alps in Austria. "Don't overdo it!" comes to my mind and a bit later I find this truck, which flipped over.

The remaining kilometers I drive in the dark, but I reach Shimla sound and safe. I'm looking forward to see Shimla at daytime tomorrow morning!

Delhi to Shimla, distance: 381 km, took me about 8 hours

Some technical notes: I'm delighted that my SPOT connect seems to work properly. It recorded a bunch of waypoints today and I successfully sent "Check-In" messages, which are automatically shared on Facebook. Good to know that this works now. :) Thanks again to Hari @ Globalstar, who provided great support!

I'm also happy about my new P.O.V HD helmet camera. There was not much to film today, but I took a few test shots, which look brilliant! Thanks to Ben @ Blickvang, who provided that superior piece!

Location:Delhi to Shimla

19.09.2011 Shimla to Rampur

I arrive in Shimla at around 8 p.m. and it is already dark. As usual I haven't booked a hotel beforehand, so I have to search for accommodation. No problem in Shimla, as this is a well known Hill Station. After a bit of searching, I decide for the Pineview Hotel for Rs. 650. Not a special place, but good enough for one night.

Shimla - view from the hotel

I want to order some dinner, but am told that kitchen is already closed by 10:30. I end up having some butter toast and a Coke.

Butter toast also for breakfast:

Next morning I want to obtain the "innerline permits" from the "DC Office", which are required for the Spiti Valley. I ask the guys at the reception, and the tell me the way. It's a 20 min walk uphill. I find the office closed - "it's Sunday - Holiday". Damn it! Why did the guys at the reception tell me the way but not inform me that it's closed? I find out that the permit can be obtained in Rampur as well, so I decide to do that 130 km ride today.

The first 50 km from Shimla to Rampur (NH22) are pretty bumpy. The roads are destroyed during the monsoon season and the heavy traffic. The weather is nice and I enjoy riding "BigBertha". Time to practice standing on the bike for better balance. I'll need that off road style a lot in the next month.

The remaining 60 km to Rampur are brilliant. Perfect roads, nice scenery and I'm having a great day.

The Metzeler Karoo knobby tires are doing great, even on tarmac, I just have to keep reminding myself: "Take it easy and save the rubber!" ;)

Fantastic view of the Satluj Valley towards Rampur:

Shortly before Rampur I run into a group of 10 Israelis. They all met somehow in Leh and decided to rent a bunch of Enfields to explore the region.

They ask me to join them for dinner, which I gladly accept and we have a fantastic evening. :)

Location:Shimla to Rampur

19.9.2011 Rampur – Chitkul (the last village of India – walking distance to Tibet)

Let’s get up at 7:00 and have breakfast at 08:00, I’m told. Well, I got up in time, but cannot find anyone in the breakfast room. The guys must have partied a bit longer, I think. Anyway, I go ahead with breakfast.

As I’m always curious, I check the kitchen first:

Eventually, the rest of the gang gets into gears. The group will split up: 6 of them will go back straight to Manali. The others decide to do the entire “Spiti Valley circle” and cross the Rothang Pass back to Manali. A photo shooting prior to departure is a must:

I’m asked if I’d like to join the “brave group”, Raphael, Guy and Einav, which I’m happy to, as they go my route. Somehow we get lost right at the beginning of the convey, but meet at the next “Indian Oil” gas-station again. There, a local Enfield rider tells me about a temple nearby, which we must not miss. We decided to go up there, visit the temple and have lunch.

Guy, Einav and Raphael:

As I always look for “High-Speed” or “Power” quality petrol (which is btw max. 93 Octan), I haven’t filled up in Rampur. As the “remaining distance” on my dashboard goes down quickly, I start to get nervous. There hasn’t been any gas station for quite some time. At the crossing up to Chitkal, I leave the group to search for petrol. I know that I won’t make it up to Chitkul and back. Neither my GPS nor the map or local people can tell me the location for the next gas station, so I’m getting nervous. Luckily I find one some 14 km further down the road.

Gas stations in India are always interesting. I see a broom on his way to the wedding party:

Needless to say, there wasn’t any of the premium quality petrol I was hoping for. However, a full tank is always satisfying. It’s already getting dark as I leave the gas station. I’ll need to go all the way back and from the crossing it’s about 40 km to Chitkul. This will be my first ride offroad in the dark. A bit scary, but fortunately I have auxiliary lights, which proof to be working great. This is also a great situation for some tests with my P.O.V HD camera, which worked great!

On the way up I find Nadav, who we met at the temple. He looks a bit exhausted! No wonder, his Enfield has a headlight comparable to a candle. I drive behind him to light up his way.

Once arrived, we are welcomed by the rest of the group, who are happy that we made it in the dark. We have dinner at the guesthouse and a great time sharing stories.

Location:Rampur

20.09.2011 Chitkul – Reckong Peo – Kalpa

I wake up early, around 6 a.m. Not sure if it’s because I’m so excited to be back on the road, or if it’s the altitude, which makes me sleep bad. I step outside to see how the place looks like, where I arrived in the dark last night:

This place is amazing! Apparently Tibet is close by, but you are not allowed to get there. Police & Army protects this region.

After a walk around the village, we start the engines and go back to NH-21. The views remind me of Kashmir from the Pakistani side:

The rack on Raphael’s Enfield broke yesterday, so we look for a workshop to get it welded:

Further down the road Einav falls. Apparently she used the front brake too hard and the wheel blocked. She hurts her knee and hands, but it’s not a serious injury. Proper first aid is provided by the guys, who all had served the Israeli Army:

I can help out with some tape to fix the headlight:

Next stop is Reckong Peo to finally obtain the innerline permits. The way to there is mostly gravel and some mud:

At this sign I'm not sure if we are on the right way, or just joined a member only rally:

There is no chance to get the permits from the DC office directly. We are forced to get them from a Tourist office, which charges Rp. 350. The same permit if free of charge if obtained from Kaza (going the Spiti circle the other way around. The guys at the Tourist office are friendly though and put a “BigTomsRide sticker” on their window:

During lunch, the Indian bikes are being fixed at a workshop. Every bike has some minor technical issues. We spend all afternoon in Reckong Peo waiting for the bikes to get ready and drive up to Kalpa for the night. – Hotel Rollingrang, Kalpa

Sunset at Kapa:

We have dinner at a fancy restaurant.

21.09.2011 Kalpa – Nako Lake

We get up in time and go back to Reckong Peo for breakfast. I buy a new horn as the compressor of my Stebel Magnum horn seems to have difficulties with the thin air at this altitude. I also buy a liter of engine oil – Castrol Active 20W40 for Rp. 260 (about €4!!). Man, oil is really cheap in India!

The NH-22 continues to be bumpy, but there are also some sections of great pavement, which apparently was just done.

After crossing the bridge we reach the Police Checkpoint, where we have to present our innerline permits:

I have a look into the book at check point. There are only a few foreigners who went through recently. The police men cannot tell me which direction these guys went, so it’s unclear if there were heading towards the Spiti Valley or back to Shimla or Manali. However, from the license plates recorded in the book, I figure those tourists must ride local Enfields. No proper overlanders in that region these days. :(

Guy wants to take a test ride with BigBertha as the road is brilliant. All goes well until the first bumpy section, where he almost falls. “Great ride!” is his conclusion, “but I would need to get used to the weight of this monster bike”

The ride up to Pooh is just wonderful. Great views and the scenery almost changes after every turn. The roads are literally cut into the rocks.

Up at the Nako Lake I spot two Yamaha Ténéré 660’s with Swiss license plates. It’s Janine and Fabian, a Swiss couple on their “round Asia” tour. Their travel blog can be found at Ténéré Experience Tours

They had the pleasure of traveling with Michael Martin for a couple of days. I’m excited to meet Michael as well. He is a famous photographer and motorcycle adventurer.

I spent all afternoon talking with Janine and Fabian about travel stories and our routes. After India, they’ll go through Nepal – Thailand – Laos – Cambodia – Singapore. They then will ship their bikes to Japan, from where they will explore Russia – Mongolia and the “Stans”.

As Janine and Fabian are mostly camping, they prefer to cook their own dinner. I provide my cooking gear and we all have a fantastic dinner evening:

BigTom's route in Northern India!

2011-09-12T19:45:00.000+02:00

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Archit Mittal, who I got connected with on Facebook. Archit is passionate about riding his motorcycle in the mountains of India and a member of BikerZone and 60kph. Along with Thierry Wilhelm's feedback (he just did a similar route), I came up with the proposed itinerary for Northern India:

Delhi - Chandigarth - Shimla - Spiti Valley - Rohtang La Pass - Leh - Pangong Lake - Leh - Nubra Valley - Kargil - Zsanskar Valley - Drass - Srinagar - Amritsar - Chandigarth - Delhi.

Whoo hoo - that's gonna be a ride!

Here is the route in Google Maps

BigTomsRide 2: Arrival in India and getting ready

2011-09-12T19:15:00.000+02:00

08.09.2011: Arrived safe and sound in New Delhi!

I arrived sound and safe in New Delhi! Customs at the airport wanted to charge duties for my BMW spareparts and the front wheel, but after 30 min of discussions they waived the € 80 charge. Fortunately, they haven't found the Austrian food which I brought for my friend Lavleen. ;) It feels so great to be back in Delhi! The smell is so familiar, the noise and all the animals on the street, too. It took me an afternoon to get an Airtel 3G card and dataplan for my iPhone, but I seem to be up and running if this post is successful. Tomorrow is a big day as BigBertha will be uncovered. Please cross your fingers that her battery is not flat and the engine will start. I have some service work to do, re-mount the front wheel and do some upgrades. She will also get a set of new knobby tires, as our next adventure in Northern India (Leh, Ladakh) will be on gravel and muddy roads.

Location:Mehrauli Gurgaon Marg,Gurgaon,India

10.09.2011: BigBertha is back to life!

The moment of truth: I left my motorcycle, a BMW R1200GS Adventure a.k.a "BigBertha" in Delhi after my first overland trip from Austria to India. She was securely parked and covered in a garage. There was the monsoon season for the last few months in Delhi, so I was a bit worried if everything is OK with her and the engine would start.

First I had to re-mount the front wheel, which I had taken to Vienna for a service. The front wheel had an unpleasant wobbling, especially at speeds about 80-90 km/h, which is about the average speed you can ride in India. I got the spokes of the rim fixed at Wheels&Bikes in Germany as I couldn't find anyone adjusting BMW rims in Austria. Mounting the front wheel back to the bike was easy as I have done that a few times already.

Next I re-connected the battery. Good sign - the lights went on, so the battery was still in good order. After a quick check of the oil, I gave it the first attempt to start the engine. Nope, it wouldn't jump on. I started to worry! In order to save the battery, I just tried it a second time before I remembered the issue that my friend Thierry had, when he tried to start his bike after 4 months in India. He ran into the same problem, thought the worst things had happened, checked literally everything on the bike, before he figured out that the Indian petrol turns bad within such a period. He resolved it by refilling the tank with fresh petrol. It was that easy!

So I went ahead and bought some 3l of fresh Premium Petrol off a nearby gas station. As I had some old petrol left in the tank, I went ahead and added some Octan booster as well as the 3 liters of fresh stuff. Just on the second click, BigBertha was back to life. I couldn't resist and took her out for a test-run. Yeah, what a great feeling! As I only rode a 250ccm scooter for the time in Vienna, I realized what a monster bike BigBertha is!

Next up: Service and Upgrades for BigBertha.

12.09.2011: BigBertha Service and Upgrades

I brought a few replacement parts and upgrades from Vienna and was much looking forward to fix them on my bike.
First, I took care of the hand protector, which broke when I dropped BigBertha in Chilas, Pakistan.

I had a used protector back home with a few scratches, but it will do the job:

Cleaning up my garage, I also found a topcase, which I had used previously. My mind was wandering ... watertight, lockable, light ... hmm, maybe I should give it a go. I decided against a topcase for my first overland trip, but I'll give it a chance this time.

Here is a picture of the setup I had so far. The original rack with an Touratech Luggage rack support/extension plate (Part# 01-044-0790-0). Once I had this removed, I was very surprised how heavy this is. Durable stuff indeed, as this is stainless steal (the TT extention plate is aluminum).

All in all, I think the original BMW Adventure rack along with Touratech's luggage plate is about the same weight as the solution BMW offers for the normal R1200GS including the topcase! That's the passenger handles and the plate for the topcase mounted:

Here we go: The topcase mounted. I was a bit worried if my Touratech Rag Tail bag (Part# 01-055-1292-0) would still fit in that combination, but it did just perfectly.

I came across the PivotPegz (Part# 01-040-5500-0) and read very good things about them. As I'm planning to do much dirt roads on my second journey again, I thought this might be a good upgrade. Here are the original BMW foot rests next to the PivotPegz.

Mounting the PivotPegz was very easy and they really look cool. I'm looking forward to take advantage of them on the bumpy gravel roads in Northern India, Laos and Cambodia. Eventually, they'll do a good job in the desert of Australia, too.

I did the last major service on my bike back in Goa, India. As I drove just a couple of thousand kilometers since then, I was not going to do a full service. However, at least the airfilter needed to be checked. A wise decision, as it turned out. It was really dirty! Not as clogged as after the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan, but certainly at a state which required some maintenance.

I'm using a K&N Replacement airfilter (Part# BM-1204) and feel that the investment was worth it. I do not carry K/N's Care Service Kit with me, as I was able to find it in motorcycle/car repair shops at various places in the world already. The maintenance is easy: Use the cleaning spray - rinse the filter with low pressure water - let it dry - oil it - done. E voilá, the filter is clean again.

In one of the BMW R1200GS maintenance videos that I watched, I saw a recommendation for the Unifilter prefilter for the air-intake,(Touratech Part# 01-044-0875-0). I brought it with me for my second overland adventure and hope it will do a great job on the dirt roads.

This is how the prefilter looks like mounted to the air-intake.

That's it for now. Next up will be the maintenance of my panniers and mounting my new stickers.

Location:Mehrauli Gurgaon Rd,New Delhi,India

Good bye, Vienna!

2011-09-07T13:15:00.001+02:00

The past days had been quite stressful for me. After 10+ years of business travel and my previous journey from Austria to India on my motorbike, I should really be used to pack my stuff. ;)
Well, there are some new things on my equipment list, which I only received last minute. My last action back home was soldering a cable and I guess there is always something to do or to improve. Anyway, my mum took me to the airport and we checked in the 4 boxes of my equipment. Oouch, it's a total of 77 kg. Fortunately I'm a sales person and was able to negotiate the excess luggage fee down to € 110. "Bording is completed!" I'm hearing from the speakers on the plane.
Good bye my friends in Vienna! It was a great time here again. :)

Location:Abflugstraße,,Austria

Back to Vienna

2011-04-24T11:00:00.000+02:00

After a 8 months journey and 26,500 km on the road, I'm finally back to Vienna. I'm very impressed how clean my hometown is. It's strange but pleasant to walk a street without everybody staring at you.

However, the best thing about coming home is to meet with friends and family again. Guys, I missed you!

I'll be busy the next weeks with working on my photos, videos and finally my website! Although I have shared many photos and stories on Facebook with you, I really want to present my adventure story on my own website. I'm also planning to show a review of my kit, share tips and ticks and hopefully inspire other people to do a similar journey. Stay tuned. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Vienna, Austria

Back in Turkey, moving towards Iran

2010-10-21T22:12:00.001+02:00

I made it sound and save back to Turkey. As I spent almost a month there previously on my journey, things felt very common to me. As I had ordered a spare Karoo rear tire at the Honda shop in Antakya and was smart enough to save the location on my GPS, so my first way was back there. The staff had a warm welcome for me and proudly presented the tire. I knew that they also service the local police beemers, so I asked them for a oilchange. There was no scheduled service for BigBertha, but I thought it might be the last chance for a long time. Done deal, Ahmet started work immediately and got it done for me. He recommended to switch from mineralic to synthetic oil after 20,000 km and I agreed. Good choice that was, as BB is running even smoother with her new "blood type". He also had a look at breaks and stuff, all well was his diagnosis. He cleaned the airfilter and found me good to go for the next 10,000 km. :)
Meanwhile, the word spreat that there is a GS in town and a bunch of bikers come to the workshop. They asked me about my plans for dinner and invited me to there weekly bikers meeting. The hotel was already arranged and I was brought there. Turks are incredibly friendly and I highly enjoyed that evening with my new biker "brothers".
Next day I got up early and hit the motorway heading to the Nemrut mountain. I had a GPS POI of a camping site, but couldn't find it. I ended up in a small, unpaved Kurdish village and it took just 5 minutes to be invited for "Cay", which is tea. Another 10 minutes later, half of the village was around me. The kids found me and my motorcycle gear very interesting, whilst the men in town were courious about my bike. :)
A young boy was after my camera and actually made some great pictures of the scene. He really had talent and I'm hoping that he will be properly supported.
Just before sunset, I was told the right way to the camp and it turned out to be just behind the hill. My GPS just suggested the wrong street. The price for taking a room including breakfast (TL15) versus pitching my tent (TL10) was minimal and as I expected a rather chilly night, I went for the room. Not the best choice, which turned out later, but I nevertheless had a good night sleep.
Next morning I got up at 5 a.m to watch the sunrise at Mt. Nemrut, which is according to Lonely Planet the highlight of Southeast Anatolia. There is a nice twisty road up there and a 700m walk up to the top. I had not seen any other people and expected to have this scenery just for my own. At the eastern terrace however had been a bunch of French guys waiting for the sunrise already. It was VERY chilly up there and unfortunatly a bit foggy. Anyway, the statues up there made some great pictures in the new day's light. As I'm not as enthusiastic about historical sites as someone traveling this region should be, I thought to myself "Been there, done that" and went back to the camp site for breakfast. :)

Good bye, Lebanon

2010-10-21T21:11:00.001+02:00

I had a fantasic weekend with my dear Jaipur. She came to see me in Beirut. I went back from Damascus and stayed another night at Foyer St. Joseph in Zahle before I picked her up at the airport on Wednesday night. He had scheduled a sales training on thursday, which I joined as well. It was great fun to conduct this training together. Elie took us out for dinner that evening to a typical Lebanese restaurant downtown. He brought his wife Anita and his partner with his spouse as well. Along with the typical Mese (starters) we had some new dishes: various raw sheep meat (raw liver being the highlight), little birds and frogs with garlic. Some new and truly exciting flavors ;)
on Friday we went up north to Harissa. A (rather scary old) cablecar takes you up there and we enjoyed the view from up there. At the peak of the mountain is the virgin of Lebanon statue. As sun was low, we made some great pictures and had a great time. For dinner we went on to Pepe, Byblos' fishing club and had another great meal. This restaurant is very popular and various celebrities had been there. The ride back to Beirut was quite challenging as driving at night is something you should really prevent if possible.
On Saturday we went down south to Salida. We actually planned to go as far as Tyre, but Motorcycles cannot pass Salida. The region down there still seems to be highy protected due to the war back in 2006. we parked BigBertha at a restaurant and took a taxi downtown. We enjoyed the Souk, had Fallafel and a talk with a Photographer from the States as well an Aussie. We were scheduled for dinner with Elie again, but he was exhausted after a long week and his travel to Jordan. We shopped at the "Wooden Bakery" for dinner and ate on the room.
On Sunday we took a walk downtown Beirut and saw some signs from the war. Some buildings are still destroyed, others are covered by a new front. The city was very quite. Sunday morning is not busy in Beirut, just a few tourist were there. Jaipur spotted a Zara shop and I bought her a couple of souveniers. It was time for her to check in to her flight back to VIE. We had a great time in Beirut and will see us again in India over Christmas.

Although it was already 3 p.m, I decided to get close to the border to Syria, so I packed BigBertha in record time and got on the road. The sea highway up north to Tripolis was not to busy, so I made good progress. I saw the highway on the Syrian side in the mountains on the map and thought I could even get Syria behind me. Unfortunately, Motorcycle cannot pass that border crossing, so I was sent back to the sea side. As it was already dark, I went back to Halba and called it a day. My GPS showed a couple of hotels there, but neither existed. I stopped at the town center and asked for a place to stay. Within a couple of minutes a crowd of men was around me. A friendly man, who knew a few words English volunteered to take me to a hotel, which I never would have found without him. The inital price was $50, but I was able to negotiate it down to $30 including breakfast with the common arguments: I just need a small single room without condition. I still got a large room with two beds and aircondition (which nobody needs up here at this season). BigBertha is "sleeping" right below my window and in case somebody touches her, I'll hear her alarm screaming. Good night for now!

PS: Tomorrow we'll have a full schedule with two border crossings (Lebanon-Syria-Turkey) and we'll pick up the spare Karoo Rear Tyre at the Honda Shop in Atakia. I have downloaded some more camping/hotel POIs for Turkey, Iran and Pakistan and hope to be camping a few times in Turkey on the way to Iran. My Iran visa expires on Oct 24th, so I have 6 days left to drive about 2000 km in (to me) unknown territory. I guess the true adventure starts now and here.

Austria to Croatia

2010-08-13T19:15:00.000+02:00

Day 1, 06.08.2010: Vienna to Graz

We were supposed to take off around noon, however final packing took way longer than anticipated. It seemed like someone is inflating the bikes and there is still stuff left to go on somewhere. I already know that I'll be sending half of the equipment back home (every long-distance-rider seems to have the very same issue), but what will proof to be very useful vs. what's just a gadget?! I guess, I'll find out soon.
Anyway, we were late with our first appointment at Kalle Repro Media. Jaipur designed some "BigTomsRide" stickers and Charly printed them for us. They look awesome! We mounted them on my panniers, took some photos and videos and off we went heading south. Leaving the surroundings of Vienna was quite emotional for me. So much time of preparations, so many details in the planning, such great help of my friends and family - and now is the time that the adventure really kicks off. I'll not be at home until Christmas...

For the way to Graz we simply hit the motorway to catch up with time. Andrea and Alex were already waiting for us since 3 p.m. with lunch. That turned into dinner as we arrived only at 9 p.m.

We had a great evening and a good night sleep.

Day 2, 07.08.2010: still messing up the schedule

After an awesome breakfast, rather brunch I'd say, we took off to head further south. Next stop Ljubljana, Slowenia, were we met up with Robert and his family. They took us out to a Sushi place, which has been voted as the "best sushi restaurant in Europe" by some Japanese business partners. Agreed, their stuff was delicious! Chances are that this was the last decent sushi for me for almost half a year. I loved it and enjoyed some more beers before we crashed into our beds at Hotel Union.

I had very little sleep during the the last weeks, so a decent night of sleep was much appreciated!

Day 3, 08.08.2010: Ljubjlana to Krk

This was the first day scheduled to make some distance. We got off, enjoyed a great breakfast with Robert and went downtown. What a great and lovely city Ljubljana is! The weather was great so I had the first good opportunity to check my brand new Canon Full HD camcorder provided by Canon and Digital Mega Store (also see my links). Brilliant what this new stuff is capable of doing. I'm very impressed. Watch out for the vids on my pages! :-)

We checked out by around noon and hit the road down south, Mali Lojin was the target, but we only made it to a camp site on island Krk. The first opportunity to check some new outdoor equipment! Dinner was ready by 10 p.m, so there is plenty of room for improvements on the setup. :-)

Anyway, the camp site was great and I found out that olive trees are not suitable to carry my weight. Next time I'll use decent trees for my hammock.

Day 4, 08.08.2010: Krk to Cres, Mali Lojin

Still no routine in getting our stuff together! There is so much stuff on our bikes which wants to be packed the right way. Finding the optimal spot in the right order seems to be a common thing for motorcycle travellers. Space and weight are what we are concerned about. Every kilo makes a difference, ten of them is huge. I just couldn't decide what would be the best tools, so I brought everything which fit on my bike. :-)

The plan was to get up at 7 and leave by 9. We got up at 6 and still were not ready by noon. ;-)

We just had a short trip to Mali Lojin today as we wanted to do a jump into the adriatic sea for the first time on this trip. The campsite we picked is fully packed with people, high season is clearly now. We went a local supermarket, got some pasta and squid and prepared ourselves a fantastic dinner. I must admit that
I love those selfmade outdoor meals, especially if Jaipur is doing miracles with her "mobile kitchen"

Day 5, 09.08.2010: Mali Losinj to Zadar

Today we really want to make some distance, that's why we have decided to take a ferry. :)

At the current pace we would never make it to Tirana, Albania where we need to be on the 19th of August for a business meeting.

The ferry will take us from Mali Losinj to Zadar. Yes, we will miss
some scenic roads at the coast, and Rudi Froese (who gave us so many hits for this region) will be dissapointed by our unplanned short cut, but we enjoy a wonderful afternoon on a ferry. The sea is smooth, the sun is shining and the beer is cold. What else can you ask for on a Monday afternoon for HRK 280 (EUR 40)?

In Zadar we'll take a hotel as Jaipur needs to catch up with her job. That will give me the opportunity to have a look at the videos I have recorded so far. I need to verify if the position of my Contour HD helmet camera is correct or if I just recorded blue sky or dark tarmac instead of the wonderful scenery out here. :-) Benjamin from www.Blickvang.at (the provider for this camera) gave me detailed instructions. Hopefully I did everything right and you'll see my first video online.

PS: Benjamin, if you receive an order from Croatia, don't be surprised. I met a guy in the habour and gave him your link. ;-)

13.08.2010: Trogir to Ston

Today was the first time that we packed the camp and got ready in decent time. We are making progress and developing routines which save much time. Yeah!

Traffic jam in Trogir was absolutely terrible due to small bridges creating a bottleneck. Even with the bikes this took us about an hour.

Road to Split very heavy traffic. The temperature going up to 35 degrees C did not cool things down either.

Omiš seems to be a wonderful city. We did not stop as we really needed to make up some distance.

Crossing the Bosnia Herzegowina border was a major obsticle for today. We were waved through without showing any documents. ;-)

The rest of today's trip were simply great roads, many twisties, and the landscape turning from dry to green. Every motorcycle enthusiast should do this region once. Why bothering with the Dolomits if you can have these roads down here almost for your own even in the high season of August!

Vienna Preps

2010-08-03T19:15:00.000+02:00

30.07.2010 Visa - the endless story

Have been to the Lebanese embassy today. Thought I'll get the visa right away. Not a change, but will collect it tomorrow.

31.07.2010 Family dinner and admin stuff

Just another Visa done: Lebanon
One final Visa missing: Nepal (but that's not mandatory as I should be able to get this at the border as well

We had a family dinner yesterday night. Very emotional moments for me. Everybody brought a talisman and wished me good luck for my long journey. I had to bring my collection of maps in order to show my grandpa the estimated route. There we only a few places he could not tell a story about, as he has travelled most of the world as well.

They did not have GPS and Internet. Travelling must have been *really* adventurous back then. Anyway, he is excited to follow my journey on Google Earth. :-)

Today's schedule:
- Changing tires on my own (this will be a first for me) :)
- Test packing the bike (see where I will be putting all that stuff) :)
- Tidy up my home office space :(

5 days left for preparations
Checked weather forecast for next week: should have gorgeous conditions :)

03.08.2010 Friends and Family screwed up Sunday's plan

The plan for Sunday was to pack everything together, load the bike and do a test drive. Jaipur took some photos of me with Vienna in the background. Nice! (and yet to be posted)

Later on we went to eat at one of my favorite restaurants - Häuserl am Stoan - and guess what: a bunch of friends were there for a FAREWELL party. I had no clue. What a perfect surprise. Thank you so much, Jaipur, for organizing this!

Some of the guys I hadn't seen for months and there were eager to hear the story and learn about the route from Austria to India. The Bikers inspected my BMW, took fotos and we had such a great time.

My prep schedule got screwed up, however, nothing compares to have your friends around, right?

2 days to go.
The to do list scares the hack out of me.

Test Blog

2010-07-27T13:27:00.004+02:00

Hi all, welcome to my new blog