Globe Gallivanting- motorbiking across the world

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. The boat began to meander its way down the river, while we sipped tea and ate muffins. We sat and chatted with some friendly Germans, two of only a few tourists here in this strange neck of the woods. The sunset was incredible over the docks as we left. It was all very nice. River dolphins frolicked about in the water, leaping out completely occasionally just when I was looking the other way, causing everyone else on the boat to sigh appreciatively and me to mutter profanities. Adam got locked in the toilet almost immediately It was very amusing, but then I was on the outsid...

a slightly shocked chap... So Dhaka is quite big, you know. Its about the size of London. It has roughly the same number of inhabitants too. It would be force to be reckoned with if it weren’t for the horrible fact that 82% of people are living on less than 2 US dollars a day. (That's in Bangladesh, not just Dhaka.)    (Another appalling statistic: the female adult literacy rate is 30%.) It’s a hard place. Yesterday we saw a man whose leg was bigger than the entire rest of his body all together. He was using it as a mattress. rickshaws are an uncomfortable way to travel, but they look good. sugar cane sellers, but look behind them... ... I'd say the sight of us freaked her a bit. Having said all that, it’s a very vibrant, soul-full place. Everyone waves and smiles. Happy-faced kids stop us in the street to chat. People should hate us for our advantages, but no one does. People should rip us off and take full advantage of us, but no one does...

At the visa office we stood opposite the secretary in the little house. In front of us was a pot full of Stanley knives. I tried to picture that in a visa office in England. I failed.   The friendly secretary demanded we pay him a personal ‘gift’ for his help. We politely declined. The boss asked us in for an interview. He asked sternly whether I wore T-shirts and shorts at home, and why Adam did a degree in Philosophy when he did not now work as a Philosopher. He asked why were we in Agaltara, as there were no British companies in the area. He wasn’t quite sure what tourism was. He asked disapprovingly why we wanted to visit all of these countries. We got the visa by 4pm and were off the next day to Bangladesh!!! Outside the customs office two newspaper people turned up on scooters.  They had seen us in town and followed us to the border to get a good bit of copy.  So, stood outside customs, still in our helmets, surrounded on all sides, we had ou...