Globe Gallivanting- motorbiking across the world

Post-script to the Final Ride: A Long Way 'Home', and Settling into Pepper-Packin'

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:54:10 PDT

Hello, Sorry for the delay, the long-suffering keyboard has finally give up the ghost... I am typing with an onscreen one. The word 'onscreen' just then took approx 1 minute to write. Anyway, this is the post-final-ride final ride. The one that takes us up to where we will be living and working for the next 6 months. We left Phil and Karolina after a week in Surfers Paradise, with the

The Final Ride: Outback Worries and Conspiring Elves

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:42:07 PDT

On a rainy, rainy day I watched a leather-skinned old Aussie fellow hitch his denim shorts back up over his buttocks. He was stumbling about in an enormous cowboy hat outside his trailer. We were at the Darwin BP garage. It was starting to rain. It didn’t matter. Spirits were undrenchable. We had manoeuvred our lazy bums back onto the bike and were on our way again. We sped through the

The Saint from Darwin

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:08:06 PDT

We woke up to a loud knocking. An enormous neon-clad postman was struggling with a very heavy box. It had arrived!! We leapt around the room for a few minutes, singing. Then we realised there was a Frenchman asleep in the next room who possibly mightn't be quite as excited about the arrival of a second-hand gearbox, so we sat down quietly and opened it. Adrian The Workshop-Saint rang about

The Long Ride South...and, erm, back.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:57:19 PDT

In Darwin, we crossed our fingers and toes as the very serious quarantine lady inspected the bike's guts with a torch. I toyed with screaming at her about the five days of bike-washing we had suffered. Thankfully I then untoyed with it. She passed us, but not without another mini-jet wash. We were free to go.... after we had put in the new starter motor. Our Fellow Overlanding Brits and

A Tough Old Time in Dili

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:30:27 PDT

trying to get the bike working outside the port some small helpers... We were in Kupang, straight off the 20 hour ferry, hurriedly trying to negotiate the repair of one defunct starter motor so we could cross the border before the visas ran out. It was weekend. The mechanics were all shut. The mechanics themselves were no doubt out singing hymns in one of the makeshift churches someone had

Mini- Update: Hang on, we got dengue fever!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:58:03 PDT

Dili harbour, before the dengue... Hi Everyone, Sorry for the delay, we have both caught dengue... There's heaps to tell but it will have to wait until we are better; try back Tuesday [23rd]! Cheers, Nicky

Dry-bag Karma, Break-downs and More Brits on Wheels

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:33:10 PDT

We hurtled and bounced, and bounced and hurtled. In between the bounces we cursed the foolish optimistic Lonely Planet writer, who had deemed this particular bit of hell 'a decent road with some dodgy patches', that was 'easily manageable for a competent scooter rider'. He failed completely to mention that said scooter rider would have to be sat comfily in the passenger seat of a 4wd truck,

Bargain Leopards, Sand Adventures and Sulphur Smells

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:22:27 PST

Borobodur boudoirs and a big kooky town At the Borobudur Buddhist temple it was weekend and very busy. Indonesian teenage boys giggled behind a Buddha, and took photos of a Japanese girl’s behind. It was an interesting old place, but most visitors didn't seem that impressed. We wandered off and found some pleasant shrubbery. The hotel we spent those nights in was brilliant, with giant stone

Mega-Blog: A Miracle Baby, a Monkey on a Motorbike and Post-Earthquake Mayhem

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:22:31 PST

Seven million miles further… We left Bukittingi in Sumatra, after a day spent at a German guesthouse with an enormous 3month old miracle earthquake baby. He was born on the day of the Padang earthquake (the one which caused so much devastation about these parts in September). Many other mothers lost their babies that day due to the stress. This kid looked like he had thrived on the

Mini Update--- Sorry for the Delay-- Made the Huge Trek Across South Sumatra

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:03:28 PST

We've made it to Jakarta! It took us 6 long days across Sumatra, and now I am feverish, so blogging will be delayed further until the next stop. Suffice to say its been a long and beautiful ride. And we got to see a sunset over Krakatoa. Tonight we meet with a fellow RoundTheWorld-enthusiast from Jakarta, which will be good. Its a small world as he has also met with Nathan and Dot, and the

A Very Long Day of Mishap in Sumatra

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 07:27:44 PST

Lake Toba: In Lake Toba we found a traditional Batak house to rent for 4 dollars a night. You crawled in through the 4ft high doorway, and the floorboards creaked a symphony every time you stood up, but it was a very fetching home. our house We spent our days riding around the island in a haze of tranquility, dreaming of living there forever. We made it up

Pimps, prostitutes,orangutans and volcanoes

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:04:57 PST

After the surreal Kuala Lumpur experience, we discovered our original plan was somewhat bereft of reality. As in, it wasn’t going to happen. We had decided to head further south to hop across to Sumatra at Melaka. We hadn’t, however, taken into account that there was in fact no way of getting the bike there. This meant we were in for a longish trek north again, back the way we’d come, to

Kuala Lumpur and The Acid House

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:24:42 PST

Down from the Cameron Highlands we raced, Kuala Lumpur was waiting, and we’d stayed too long again. The road was gnarly and fun, it was good to be moving. Buses whizzed past. Stilt-huts by the roadside belonged to the indigenous people of Malaysia, and we passed a whole makeshift village, all on stilts, bizarrely incongruous with the rest of the place. We congratulated ourselves on

A Rain Forest Wander, a Tarantula, and a Very Bad Ending to a Good Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:45:14 PST

We rode down from Ko Samui to Ko Lanta. The roads were still the same and not much changed, making for a fairly unadventurous ride. Except for the pig transporters. We got to Ko Lanta, and did in fact go to the bungalows the Non-speaking Cool Guy from the previous post told us about- the one we met on the train who gave us his number, and led us to believe he lived in a tiny

Lizards and Pterodactyls- fun and silliness on Koh Samui

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:41:14 PST

In Koh Samui we saw middle age Thai women with bad facelifts try very hard to look young, while their gross old foreign counterparts, twenty years older than them, drank beer and slapped each other on the back. We found them in the British bar in Chaweng. The men had Brummy accents. One was so old and liver-damaged he could barely walk to the door. The women sat apart from their

Out of Laos and into the Maelstrom

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:04:19 PST

Goodbye, dear Laos We finally made it out of Laos, with copious paperwork and hurried scurrying on the border control. The friendly border guard took pity on us and upgraded our bike visa to 6 months. We can only stay two on our visas, but its nice to know the bike can have a little holiday of its own. The ride down south to Bangkok was somewhat fleeting- we had less than 48 hours to be

Disaster Update: Lost Passports and Fractured Noses

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:35:38 PST

In Vang Vieng, one is apt to scream ‘Frikkin Awe-some!’ while hurtling oneself down a river, inebriated on rice whisky. One is apt, apparently, to scrawl marker-pen slogans all over one’s semi-naked torso. But only, luckily, if one happens to be a Spring-Break-aged US citizen with a healthy American zest for life. For the rest of us, Vang Vieng was a bit of a shock. To deal with

A Catalogue of Disasters, or Lost in Laos

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:47:54 PST

Important: If anyone finds our bag please contact us at nickyvaux@yahoo.co.uk or telephone us at our hotel in Vientiane on Laos (021) 212 682. Many thanks, Nicky. So Laos is nice. It hasn't exactly been nice to us, but its nice. This last week's catala(o)gue of disasters: Adam gave himself two black eyes and a possible fractured nose whilst plummeting off a zipwire from a great height.

The King of Vietnam and A Giant Gecko Chase

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:37:26 PST

‘The king of Vietnam just invited us to his house. ‘ ‘Eh?’ ‘That man was the king of Vietnam. And he just invited us to his house.’ ‘Bollocks.’ ‘Really, ask him.’ The retired king of Vietnam was a fairly unassuming chap, in a sunhat. We found him at the border. His compadres cheerfully boasted about who he was before he had a chance to get a word in edgeways. He invited us to his house,

A Biker Bar Night Out

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:50:31 PST

We rode for eight hours or so. Five of those hours were trying to leave Bangkok. I was chief navigator, which is probably the main reason. A few people have subtly suggested I couldn't find my way out of a sack. But honestly, it really didn't help that motorbikes aren't allowed on any of the highways, and the only roads straight out of Bangkok are highways. Bikes have to meander down little

WARNING, V DULL: Shipping Report: India to Thailand by air

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:47:55 PST

When we were looking for information for shipping bikes it was very hard to come by for this route, so we decided to put this on for anyone looking to do a similar thing. So here’s a shipping report for anyone trying to ship bikes from India to Thailand. Obviously we didn't actually want to ship at all, and would much prefer to do it all overland, but Burma aren't willing to give

Mini Update: reached Bangkok, found bike, danced to trance

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:24:32 PDT

look what we found! We made it!! This is just a mini-update but we are now in Bangkok, and the bike is sat happily in the courtyard, pleased to no longer be caged. Customs was a blimmin nightmare, and took a day of faffing, and then we couldn't put the bike back together again for quite some time. But in the end all was well, and after 6 hours or so we brought Manfred home, on beautiful

Tales from Calcutta, and a Diplomatic Pouch

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:44:31 PDT

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A strange old time in Bangladesh.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:55:44 PDT

In Chittagong we sat in the hotel room. Through the window we could see beggars sorting through piles of rotting vegetables. Their little kids sniffed varnish out of bags and stumbled up and down the road. The bike sat in the underground ‘carpark‘. A group of labourers slept down there, on a tarpaulin in the dark. They took it in turns to manually pump sewage from the hotel foundations.

Getting stuck in a toilet, and the Road of Death

noreply@blogger.com (Nicky Vaux & Adam Taylor) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:19:39 PDT

The paddle boat was 80 years old. It had been inaugurated by King George V, that’s how old it was. The rooms were odd little old-fashioned cabins with all the original fittings, plus a TV that someone had thoughtfully bolted to the wall. I tried it. It only had one channel- Bangla Bollywood with screeching vocals. It only had one volume too- Earpiercingly Loud. I didn’t try it again.