TravelStream™ news feed for member 70onabike on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/70onabike en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:42:47 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160724120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160724120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160724120/tpod.html Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:42:47 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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New Delhi, India

Photos from our India travels... and that's all folks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160563500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160563500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160563500/tpod.html Wed, 11 Oct 2006 07:59:28 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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New Delhi, India

Some photos from Pakistan...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160559840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160559840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1160559840/tpod.html Wed, 11 Oct 2006 06:44:53 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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New Delhi, India

Some photos from Iran...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159596420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159596420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159596420/tpod.html Mon, 09 Oct 2006 01:16:10 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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New Delhi, India

What a blast from Shimla! Good roads down to the plains of India meant we could actually consistently average more than 60km/hour (in between all the traffic of trucks and the like). When we got to the plains it was a bit of mayhem for a while (dodging the usual) and then the yellow brick road to New Delhi... dual lanes. Didn't take long for me to open up the throttle and wind the bike up to an incredible 100km/hour (at least until the next overtaking truck). It was great fun terroising all the locals in their little 800cc cars and even a Mercedes or two. Of course when you overtook someone the race was on because invariably everyone speeded up to get a second look at us :-) Several traffic jams later we arrived in Delhi just on dark. Found a local who said "Follow me..." to Paharganj. Parked the bike and unloaded it... the end of our trip...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159511040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159511040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159511040/tpod.html Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:47:27 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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Shimla, India

After a few days in Manali we decided to take the long route back to New Delhi. Across the Rohtang Pass (4000m) brought us into the Spiti Valley where you cross the Kunzum La (4500m). Scenery is spectacular and amazingly the road here has still got tar on it! Met a whole bunch of "bikers" on Enfields (www.enduroindia.com) who were tearing up the roads and plenty of travellers doing it the old fashioned way... by bus (lucky buggers...not!) Visited Ki Gompa looking all the world like a village on a big rock (which it is) and met a couple of very friendly monks for tea. Spectacular views from the roof. Onwards to Rekong Peo and along the way had to climb this near vertical, rock strewn, with a foot of dust... road (that they were somehow building). Mele had to hop off and I made it half way up before driving the front wheel into 2 feet of dust on the side of the road. Managed to back out and get going again but the Indian guy trying to follow me up in his little, little car (how smart is that?) had to also stop and back all the way down. We never saw him again? (I got the feeling he backed himself into 5 feet of dust and hasn't been uncovered yet). Past Rekong Peo and then somehow we got on the wrong road to Narkanda and spent an hour on a little track winding it's way all the way around the valley (at least it was quiet :-). Arrived Shimla in the night which wasn't exactly what we wanted (very difficult to see anything on Indian roads especially when some vehicles don't have lights!) but a hot shower was just what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow....the last 350km... Delhi.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159165260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159165260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1159165260/tpod.html Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:15:18 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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Manali, India

Leh to Manali is one of the most spectacular roads you could ever travel on (except maybe the road to Khaza in the Spiti Valley). Day 1 : We left Leh after lunch and were half way up the Taglang La (5300m) when we saw our reflection coming the other way! A couple on another BMW 1150GS!!! The first people we have really met doing something like our trip! After a long afternoon chat we thought we better get over the pass whilst there was still some daylight. It was bitterly cold on top with a freezing cold cold cold wind going right through us and following us all the way to Pang. The heated handgrips should really have an extra button for short term electrocution heat therapy... it was that COLD. On top of that we decided to camp and eat our take away dinner from Leh huddled under our one sleeping bag. 180km in 5 hours!Day 2 : We didn't freeze overnight and the sun was out! There was ice (condensation) on the seat of the bike which took a bit of starting (full choke plus half throttle just to get it to idle!). The road from here progressively turned from crap, to really crap, to what the hell, CRAP! Apparently the above average rainfall in August easily swept away the below average microscopic layer of tar Indians built there roads with up here. Our trickiest river crossing was just before lunch over big river rocks and through two feet of water... I'm always amazed the bike never stalls through any of this and the suspension soaks up BIG rocks so easily (and we don't fall off!). Lots of dust (from following all the trucks) meant we looked like a couple of ghosts by the time we got into Keylong. 200km in 10 hours!Day 3 : Freezing cold morning again but thank god for clear, sunny skies. The road between Manali and Keylong was the worst of the whole journey. Plenty of mud to get through but after what I learned from Pakistan I just shut my eyes and hoped for the best... (yeh right... hold those handlebars as tight as you can and sit in the bottom of the rut!) seemed to work until some oncoming Indian driver blocked the road and tried to force us into deeper muddy ruts up to your knees. All part of the driving culture... if I'm driving something BIGGER than you, then you give way to me... thankfully we didn't spend any longer than 5 minutes looking at each other before they very reluctantly gave way. 100km in 5 hours!Now that we are in Manali, time to grab some momos and visit the best value restaurant in all of India, Chopsticks... yummy...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158814620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158814620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158814620/tpod.html Thu, 21 Sep 2006 01:17:13 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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LEh, India

Left Srinigar early morning. Took us an hour to get out of the city as I'm convinced (now) Kashmiri people really aren't that bright. Asking for Leh or Ladakh produced even more blank stares than that in Jammu .Thank goodness we did find the road before I went absolutely crazy (I even asked directions to Sydney, Australia!).The road to Leh, Ladakh is a spectacular mix of mountains and blue sky. The roads can be fantastic but they can quickly change to rocky, rough dirt tracks especially over mountain passes! We took two days to get to Leh from Srinigar (470km). Stayed overnight in a place called Mulbek where a giant (8m high) stone carved Buddha watched us eat dinner. Leh is really an oasis here in Ladakh for tourists. It has everything... Gompas and mountains and Banana Lassis to keep you happy. Spent a few days here before heading to the Nubra Valley. We had to cross the worlds "highest motorable road" at 5606m. The bike bottomed out a few times (the road was really rough in places) and I had to use the choke for the final 200m to the top keeping the revs at 3000rpm in 1st gear (anything lower and the bike being starved of oxygen would stall). Funny enough the few 500cc Enfields crossing the pass had no problems! We actually did cross this pass 3 years back on bicycles. Then it took us 10 hours to ride the 40km to the top (2100m ascent). On the motorbike a little over 1 hour! Nubra Valley has even more spectacular mountains and blue sky. Gompas adorn rocky hills and life here is a simple mix of farming and tourists. From Nubra Valley we went back across the pass to Leh and decided to cross another pass (Chang La 5300m or 5599m depending on what map you look at) to go check out a lake called Pangong Tso. Stayed overnight in a simple farmhouse with a Ladakhi family by the lake at 4200m. Very cold night but thankfully the sun was out in the morning and we could watch the family singing and threshing the wheat out the back of the house. Really peaceful. The ride back was verrryyy cold. Stopped and said hello to some Yaks by the side of the road (said hello to some furry double humped camels in the Nubra Valley) and were back in Leh early afternoon. Just a couple of days here before we head south to Manali!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158035580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158035580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1158035580/tpod.html Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:53:03 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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Srinigar, India

Easy border crossing to India. In fact the more third world the country the easier it gets. India was the only place to actually check that the Engine/Chassis #s actually agreed with the Carnet! Go figure...Checked out the Golden Temple early morning before heading to Jammu in the afternoon. Took us all afternoon to cover 220km. Just too many things to avoid on the roads going in the same direction and coming from the opposite direction! Jammu is the last city on the plains before heading up into the mountains.Next morning we left early and were bamboozled by the blank stares when we asked directions for "Srinigar". "Namaste" I would say as I pulled up by somebody walking on the side of the road. "Can you tell us which way to Srinigar?". Blank stare. "Siiiriiniiigar". Blank stare. "Ssssssiiiiiirrrrriiiinnniigggar" I would repeat. Another blank stare. "Kashmir, Ladakh, Leh" and finally in exasperation "New Delhi"? No good, more blank stares... Tried a few people that morning and got a lot more blank stares until finally someone said, you have to ask for "Srinigar" (but that is what I said!) and pointed us in the right direction. Heading in the right direction up into the mountains we soon encountered our first landslide. A queue of trucks 10km long announced it's presence but luckily there was a small narrow road we could detour around it on. Up into the mountains the traffic jams got worse and worse with convoys of army trucks (this is Kashmir) stuck trying to pass one another. Needless to say 315km took all day and just to try our patience further Srinigar has some of the most persistent annoying touts in all of India! Spent one day here admiring the lake and houseboats and the life on the lake. People here are a little nervous. A huge firework went "boom" (wedding season apparently) in the afternoon and people were up and ready to run for cover. Yep one day is enough... tomorrow onto Ladakh.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157688420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157688420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157688420/tpod.html Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:32:19 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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Lahore, Pakistan

After getting a temporary filling in Greece for a half missing filling I thought I would make it back to Australia to have it pulled out. Who needs those pesky wisdom teeth anyway? Unfortunately the other half of the filling decided to let go causing severe pain in the land of Pakistan. (1) Visited the Dental Hospital of Lahore. Filled out a form for 2 Rupees and visited one "dentist" (surrounded by a hundred other locals lining up to get their teeth checked... no such thing as private consultation here!), followed by another "dentist" (along with another 100 locals), who all said get it pulled out. I was happy with that prognosis and on being taken to a large room filled with 10 dentists and patients and realtives of those patients with the background noises of drills, grunts, and the occasional shout (of success?) we couldn't find a "dentist" willing to do it right there and then. Probably a good thing really as I'm not sure how sterilised anything was... perhaps I would have gotten a bonus disease to take home with me! Strike 1!(2) Our landlady in Lahore suggested I try her cousin who, she assured us, fixed up her teeth quite successfully all the time. Got a ride on a scooter down some narrow alleyways to a 2 room shack with a dentist chair in one corner. Sat down, and as he proceeded to open his "sterilised" pouch of tools I asked him "Are those sterilised?". "Of course", he said and proceeded to open and close his pouch of tools several times.... "See!". "I don't think so", I replied and quickly left (on the scooter). Definitely bonus diseases at this place. Strike 2!(3) Wandering the streets of Lahore that afternoon we spied a sign which said "Dental Professionals". Could this be the dental oasis of Lahore? Outside was smelly, dirt covered, dog littered, people lying around everywhere, pollution riddled Lahore. As we walked through the doors we found ourselves in A/C comfort, a large reception area that wouldn't be out of place anywhere in the world, and 2 smiling receptionists who quickly got me a checkup with a Dentist. He said get it pulled and 2 hours later when the "expert" teeth pulling Dentist rocked in I had it pulled out (with sterilised tools). 200AUD for the extraction and no bonus diseases thrown in! Epilogue : Do not eat a hot curry chicken 2 hours after having a tooth pulled in Lahore! All healed up now and my smile is back!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157630340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157630340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/70onabike/70onabike/1157630340/tpod.html Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:07:06 -0400 Eric, Mark, and Mele's overland trip by motorcycle from Switzerland to Australia... on ya bikes!

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Lahore, Pakistan

Our trip north proved a little slower than anticipated. There are just far too many people, bicycles, ox carts, cows, dogs, cats, cars, trucks, bicycles, scooters, dust and dirt all over the roads to really cover distances fast. We ended un in Naran in the Khagan Valley. Quite a famous place if you cast your minds 10 months back when an earthquake destroyed quite a few towns and villages up and down this valley. The road is driveable (as in the road is pieced together by dirt tracks around numerous landslides) all the way to Naran at the top of the valley. Very slow going but we managed to walk up to a beautiful lake at 3200m and see some snow capped mountains. We will have to come back another time to explore the Himalaya proper!Back to Lahore via Murree (a Pakistan hill station) and again we have 3 days left to live. We leave tomorrow for India (30km away). Our last leg of the journey...
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