1997. Melbourne to Paris
on a Yamaha 660 Tenere. 35 000 km!
I
left Melbourne in December and rode across Australia, through Alice Springs,
to Darwin.
From here I shipped my bike to Singapore and flew to Kupang. From there, I made
it over land to Singapore by bus and ferry where I met my arriving bike.
Pakistan
was next, being so close to the Kara Koram Highway, it would have been a sin
to miss it. The Kara Koram Highway was built by the Chinese and the Pakistanis
between 1960 to 1980, it's 1300 kms long through some of the highest mountains
in the world. The Khunjerab Pass, at the border of Pakistan and China is the
highest point of the road, mesuring 18,000 ft above the sea level.
When I got to southern Iran, I got three consecutive front punctures due to
a worn out front tyre and the extreme heat. Twice I crashed, finally I did find
a new front tyre. It was Russian made rubber, not very good quality, but it
go me through to Europe.
Turkey was like returning from the dead, and civilisation - even McDonalds -
was welcomed with open arms. in Bulgary my bike nearly went walkabout with the
aid of a few Bulgarian hands in broad daylight, so watch it. Romania can be
difficult as well, if you want to do it easier, go through Greece and catch
a ferry to Italy.
I finished my trip through Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and I finally arrived
in Paris in early august.
It's
not possible to travel overland across Burma or China with your own vehicle.
So I flew myself and the bike over Burma to Bengladesh. Once in Dakka it took
me four days for the bike and my equipment to get through customs, but that
wasn't such a concern because the people of Bengladesh are extremely friendly
and it was a good chance to recoup. The locals aren't used to tourists travelling
through, let alone one getting around on a big single. I was never alone. Wherever
you stop, in no time you're surrounded by locals.
I crashed once in Bengladesh, luckily without causing any major damage to my
bike or myself.
Then it was off to Nepal for a three weeks and a well earned rest. It was just
nice to be off the bike for a while and to enjoy the fresh air of the Himalayas
before India.
Kara
Koram Road (Pakistan)The
next stage was to make my way through northern India, by which stage my back
tyre was gone and I was a little concerned that there was no way to get my hands
on a new one since motorcycle shops aren't that common in the area. As luck
would have it I met one guy who was meeting up with his girlfriend. She just
happened to be flying over from Australia, after a couple of phone calls I had
a new tyre on its way to India.
