Globe Gallivanting- motorbiking across the world

The trip to Tehran the following day was long and dusty.   The landscape comprised mostly of desertlike nothingness, punctuated occasionally by mud hut villages, all universely beige and flat-rooved.  The general colour theme to Iran was ‘Neutrals’, as though a mid-90s interior decorator had gone overboard.   We saw a hut with ‘Down with Israel’ painted fairly unambiguously across its walls. We got flagged down by the police, and deemed it best to stop.  They were stern and unsmiling, and checked our passports formally.  They asked us where we were going, in a manner that suggested we were unlikely to make it there unimpeded. We beamed graciously and remained unworried.  We asked them where the nearest tea shop was.  The second-in-command accidentally offered us some of their tea from a handy flask.  We thought it an excellent plan, ignored the system of ‘tar’of’ conveniently, and parked up the bike.  There stood we, drinking...

We rode off on our way to Tehran, where we would need to stop and sort out visas for Pakistan and India, having been refused them so graciously in Ankara.   The roads were boring, in excellent condition, and fast.  We stopped a couple of times to eat.  We managed to get bread, of an unpleasant cardboard texture and, nothing if not consistent, taste.  On the second occasion we were a little more adventurous and attempted to use our Farsi phrases. We tried the Farsi for ‘I am a vegetarian.’  The waiter said ‘No.’.  We tried again.  He shook his head.   This was a little confusing.  We opted for more bread.  By my second day in Iran I had lost a fair bit of weight and my trousers wouldn’t stay up.     Meals there run as follows: Breakfast: Flat unleavened bread with carrot jam or spreadable ‘cheese’. Lunch: Kebab. Dinner: Kebab. Little did we know at the point that bread would become our favourite dish… We...

We spent 4 days in Sorrento. The campsite was the best I have ever seen, with an amazing psychedelic tiled bathroom with green and blue paisley tiles, little bright green lizards lurking on rocks, orange and lemon trees and 360 degree panoramic views across the bay. I lay about like a holiday-maker and made daisy chains and ate and drank, and did Absolutely Nothing Else. We drank wine and ate pizza and wandered around the little town watching couples eat icecream (a national sport). We wandered in to a café for an awkward encounter with an espresso and a barman, and mistimed lunchtime siesta so didn’t get fed that afternoon- every single place shuts down, even the beggars know to find a place for a snooze. It was all far too peaceful and relaxed so we headed out for a ride to Amalfi and walked up and down ancient steps and photographed old tourists by the water, and visited cafes just so we could use the toilets and run away again. Sat on the steps eating 1 Euro slices of pizza and ...

We left Rome after a rest day, when we washed the bike with Head&Shoulders (better on metal than hair). We headed towards Naples and immediately got very lost, stopping in a farmers field to cook rice for lunch and confuse passers-by. Everyone started beeping at us now we were a little further away, and the whole country changed just north of Naples. North Italy went, South Italy shoved itself in our faces and pleased me no end. The roads went rubbish and we bounced through potholes with billions of Vespa-riding, non-helmet wearing kids. They were all behaving very erratically frankly, and Adam switched into Indian-driving mode, which instantly meant he was the most erratic, and ‘creative’ driver on the road. We spent 2 hours lost between the same two towns, and every shop was either a Mozzarella shop or a Salami shop. Except for the ones that sold both. All the bars had a plethora of rough old men outside, gesticulating. It was siesta-time, and every car had at least 3 other pass...

We left towards Monaco, not having quite had our fill of uber-rich filth, and zoomed through, stopping for long enough to photograph the bike and Adam next to some millionaire toy-boat, and riding on a short section of the Grand Prix track, where they were setting up all the start flags etc. I got humiliated by a very swanked up postcard seller in a bow-tie and breeches. It was a very full-up place, with hotels with swimming pools on the roof, and garage attendants who sneered at you. The Barclays branches looked like 5-star restaurants, and Lambourghinis were as common as Fords would be anywhere else. It was small though, a little bay of mentalness, and we passed through and into Italy without noticing. We didn’t realize we’d crossed over until the service station man was speaking a funny type of French we couldn’t understand. There were espresso bars in the garages, and Estonians in tiny cramped vans with their babies swaddled up so much they couldn’t see out. The motorw...

This is the very first blog post from our trip across the world. We had the idea late 2007, when we went up the Himalayas on a Royal Enfield. While we were up there, freezing in a tent at 5000m, we decided it was all a good laugh, and we'd save up and do it properly from the UK to at least Australia on a bike. So here we are, 2009, having saved up by working 3 jobs and living in a caravan on an organic farm in Tadcaster nr York for the last year and a half.. Our rough route is: France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Bulgaria again, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, (possibly Nepal, maybe if very lucky China), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia!! Its open to change though, depending on what happens enroute. We've saved up enough fo a year's travel to Oz. Then we run out. Unless we can wrangle some money along the way, any way possible (well, any legal way). When we get to Australia we will work for a year to save up enough to come b...