tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370445797340889412012-01-28T21:29:28.086+03:00Kuwait to Beirut on a BMW R1150GSHellraiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12420442896032161061noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-537044579734088941.post-40853234020058507542008-06-10T12:47:00.001+03:002008-08-31T11:50:20.832+03:002008-08-31T11:50:20.832+03:00

I just launched a new site for a Harley customization project for this summer. I hope you will enjoy reading taking you step by step behind the though process of customizing my 2002 Harley Nightrain. August 31 2008 Update: the project has drawn to closure, I hope you enjoyed this blog Link

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After 48 hours of earned relaxation, its time to shift gears into working mode. Tomorrow is my first day at the office and I feel that my thoughts are still floating around more riding. It will be difficult in the coming days to adapt to the containment of the 4 walls of my meeting room and office after spending 21 days roaming freely. As always all good thing must come to an end and so will

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This journey was accomplished on a 2001 Beemer, purchased with 38000km from Tristar with a 3 month warrantee. The Beemer is equipped with the famous Boxer Engine designed in 1923 by Max Friz. The Boxer engine tend to produce more noise than inline and V-engines because of valve clatter. The Beemer is smooth throughout the rev range, however vibration can be felt in the handlebars above 120 km/h,

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Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are considered to fall under the infamous name of Bilad Al-Sham.The unfortunate common denominator across these countries is the apparent poverty particularly visible in the small villages, I can not describe the state of the inhabitant of these areas, but low standard of living is a common sight, which bring me back to reality, that although we are enjoying ourselves

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From the desert of Saudi to the Ruins of Palmyra trough the mountains of Lebanon and along side the shores of the Dead Sea, this has been an unforgettable vacation and a memorable ride to treasure for years to come. After 7500km and 21 days of riding, here are some of the tips I would like to share with you, if you are planning to undertake such a vacation.Total cost of the trip 750KD, that's

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1825km covered in the past 48 hours, I just arrived into Kuwait at 16:00 local time. It was the most grueling part of this journey, as we had to cover over 924km on the first day through the barren desert of Saudi, where a cruel cold weather cut through our defenses, we arrived to Ar'ar again where our trip started, slept at 22:00, woke up at 5:00am and drove the toughest 901km back to Kuwait, I

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Tomorrow is the 20th day of the trip and the beginning of our return back to Kuwait. We will set off from Aqaba to Haditha a trip of 350km followed by another 400km to Ar'ar. This will be probably my last post until we reach Kuwait on the 29th. We have logged 5300km since the start of the trip on the 9th of this month with 1400km to go, we have exceeded the 6000km mark.

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We met Alex Wettstein in Aqaba on his BMW GS1200 Adventure, we invited him to tag along with us to Wadi Rum and listened to his story. Alex a 40 years old of Swiss origin has started off his carrier as a nurse in his home town Geneva. 3 years ago he went to Indonesia with his girlfriend and saw the devastation of the Tsunami. As a professional photographer he shot pictures depicting the impact of

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I was a bit under the weather today, this is our last day in Jordan today and I had only 3 hours of sleep last night. the guys insisted for me to come, but I was in no condition to drive as I felt pretty tired and dizzy although the distance did not exceed 120km both ways. I got offered to ride as a passenger onboard one of the Goldwings. I must say this bike is pretty impressive smooth & spacy.

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Whichever way I think of it, I fail to find the right words to describe what I have seen today. The words stupendous, marvelous etc will short fall of The Petra Experience. This is one place which is a must see, and its only 1400km away from Kuwait and 550km from Lebanon. I stood in awe today facing the this beautiful city carved in the mountain. Unfortunately since time is not on our side we had

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Majestic landscapes is how I can describe today's ride, we set off from Amman at 9:00am, taking the coastal road to the Dead Sea, the weather was exquisite, we passed by the newly opened Movenpick resort with excellent amenities and surroundings worth taking the kids to, on a vacation. We continued to Karak, An ancient Crusader stronghold, situated on a hilltop about 1000 meters above sea level

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Got ambushed by a bunch of Karate School Kids in some little village in Jordan.

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Our Buddy Bu Faysal invited us today to his family House in Zay, this is the first time I try an Authentic Jordanian Mansaf. Mansaf is the traditional dish in Jordan. Its main ingredients are lamb, rice, and a dried yoghurt-like product called Jameed. I can not describe the settings of the beautiful home, the warm welcome and the tasty food, I will leave the pictures to do the talking. Thank you

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Yet another great of riding today, Jordan does not ceases to amaze me, today we rode to Jerash which is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa. Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. We had the opportunity to watch a Gladiator Show, the historical facts narrated were highly interesting, depicting the combat tactics of the

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We have been driving over the course of the past 12 days in mountainous regions, worth 700km of winding roads and probably a guesstimate of 300 and more corners. Yesterday's ride saw the most abusive day of cornering, with speeds exceeding 150km/h, the bike's leaning angle was beyond the 40% mark, that's steep on a GS as a couple of degrees more might cost a trip to the canyon, on a couple of

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Wonderful Jordan, on the 14th day of the trip and after some bad weather encountered in Lebanon , we were greeted with great weather and gorgeous scenery. I am mesmerized by the beauty of the surroundings and the beautiful roads that the country has to offer. On this first day we have logged 200km of great driving through the mountainous roads. Our lunch break was at Haret Jdoudnah in Madaba, I

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The drive down from Madaba took us through a beautiful long winding road towards the dead sea, passing through Ma'in Hot springs. The Dead Sea is a salt lake between the West Bank and Israel to the west, and Jordan to the east. At 420 metres below sea level, its shores are the lowest point on Earth that are on dry land. At 330 m deep , the Dead Sea is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.

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About 1 km east of Mount Nebo, you can see the spring of Prophet Moses, the road is torturous and steep the area is dotted by Eucalyptus trees, it is said that In need of water, Prophet Moses struck a rock with his staff and 12 springs emerged. Named Uyun Musa (Moses' springs) which are located near Madaba. We also encountered a fresh water crab living in the vicinity of the spring.

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On the highest point of the mountain, Syagha, the remains of a church and monastery were discovered in 1933. The church was first constructed in the second half of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. The church design follows a typical basilica pattern. It was enlarged in the late fifth century A.D. and rebuilt in A.D. 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a

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Departure 9:00am this morning from the SAS Radisson in Beirut. the weather has cleared up, destination is Amman. 80km to the Border, the procedure went pretty smooth, i decided to break away form the pack today, 65 minutes and 150km later I was at the Jordanian border. I sat at the border and waited for 90 minutes till everyone arrived and then we headed to Amman. Total kilometers covered today

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In my younger year we used to spend 5 weekends a year in Sannine, the last time we stayed there was prior to the Lebanese war in 1974. Sannine as a summer resort has been superceded in the past years by more sophisticated locations such as Fakra. Going to Sannine brought lots of memories from yesteryears. The Hotel had 4 rooms, waking up in the morning we used to watch the bucks fighting for

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Throughout this Journey 2 of my buddies are hardcore chicha smokers. I don't mind the occasional chicha, but not at 11:00 am. In any case we have been in and out of chicha places on a daily basis, the most authentic and interesting place was in Dinneyeh, it reminded me of a lost era where time stood still.

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I am not the superstitious type, however today I feel a bit awkward, about us staying in Beirut. On the 13th day of the trip we have been confined tour rooms, due to extremely poor weather conditions. Some of the guys went to see a movie, I opted to catch up on some work and much needed sleep. I am longing to hit the open road and head to Jordan, as I hate confinement and unplanned surprises. I

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Its 11:00am in Beirut, we are still stuck at the hotel, due to some unforseen events. The weather over the last 24 hours has been disastrous, I am still hoping we will make a move towards the border today. It has been raining cats and dogs all night, and the thunder is triggering off the car alarms every 10 minutes or so. This is the view from my hotel window.

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Its been a great 5 days in Lebanon, although the situation is a bit tense these days due the election fever. We leave Lebanon in the morning with some unforgettable moments. There was not much to write about the nightlife as we did not have the chance to experience it. The streets were practically empty at night and we were too tired to venture out, after 8 hours of riding . As for the Radisson

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