11December2008

Ride report

Posted by emile under: The trip.

Click here for a ride report of the trip on the ADV Rider site (lot’s of pics)

8November2008

Pictures …

Posted by emile under: The trip.

Boskoop2Nepal 2008

148 Photos

12June2008

Going home

Posted by emile under: The trip.

Though my contacts with an Embassy, I had gotten the names of a couple reliable shipping companies that could ship the AT from Kathmandu to Amserdam.

I chose one that offered a reasonable price and sounded reliable. We agreed that I would come over with the bike Wednesday morning, so that we had the whole day to get the bike crated and get all the paperwork done. After the bike would be cleared through customs, I could go home! On-line I booked a flight for Thursday morning: Kathmandu -> Doha -> London -> Amsterdam.

When I got the the shipping company, it was immediately obvious that this was a professional organization and they really knew what they were doing. They do a lot of work for western Embassies, including bikes. Actually the guy there told me that this was one of the first bikes since ages to leave Nepal as due to the Maoist insurgence, not a lot of bikers had arrived overland for some time.

They started by measuring the bike. As the main factor determining the shipping cost is size (volume), one should try to make the total package as small as possible. One obvious way to do this is to remove the front wheel, lowering the bike. I also removed the front fender, shortening the package somewhat. The steering bar was also removed. After making the package as small as possible, the guys started working on making the crate.

They made a quite strong and sturdy crate that contained the bike, the side cases, my riding gear, and 2 bags.

It was quite some work, but after 3-4 hours, the bike was secure in the crate and the top panel was provisionally fitted.

Using a human fork lift, the crate was put on the back of a pickup. After doing some paperwork in their office, I left together with some guys from the firm to go to the Airport Cargo building. There, again using a human fork lift, the crate was taken off the pickup and brought to the customs area.

As I had expected, a lot of paperwork had to be taken care of. Luckily this was done by a guy from the shipping company, I was only required to sign my name every now and then. They opened the top of the crate, briefly looked inside, and declared that everything was ok! The crate was then taken towards the back of the customs area, which was a secure area.

Time for me to leave my AT, and trust that I would see her again in Amsterdam Airport ..

I got back to the hotel, and started packing my stuff. It felt a bit strange to be without my bike after such a long time.

The next morning I had to get up early as I had to be at the airport at 08:00. The hotel offered a shuttle service that took me to the airport. The rest of the day was very uneventful as all I had t do is sit and wait .. besides changing planes a couple of times.

Eventually I was on the last flight that took me to Amsterdam. My wife was waiting for me at the airport together with our dog, Lara, a Belgian Shepherd. It was wonderful to see them again. My trip was finished, back to a normal life ..

8June2008

Kathmandu

Posted by emile under: The trip.

Wow .. I did it, I’m in Kathmandu!

I left Boskoop, The Netherlands 21 March 2008 and I arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal 8 June 2008, having traveled 16.864km.

I can’t really describe how I feel. On the one hand I’m very happy that I’m here, on the other hand it seems strange that the trip is now over. It’ll probably take some time before I fully realize that. I am happy to see my family and friends again .. it’s been a very long time to be away alone.

I should say how this last day went .. of course it didn’t go (completely) as planned. Although it wasn’t as hard as yesterday. The water yesterday really was bad .. looking back at the pictures, it doesn’t look as bad as it really was. You know it’s bad if big trucks and busses aren’t crossing the water ..

The last ride

If you look closely at the Google pic above, you can see I was in India today! India? But I thought you were in Nepal!?

Well, currently there is a small problem in Nepal. Well actually there are a lot of problems in Nepal (it’s one of the poorest countries in the world), but one of them had a big impact on me: currently there is no fuel available. All the petrol stations are closed, because their tanks are empty.  You see hundreds of trucks and busses parked alongside the road, because there is no fuel. You see lots of people walking and riding bicycles, because there is no fuel. I had a hard time getting from Butwal to Kathmandu (some 300km), because there is no fuel.

It’s in situations like this that you really become aware how vulnerable/addicted we are to oil ..

I had arrived the day before in Butwal with the fuel-reserve light firmly lit. I probably had (maximum) 5 Liters of petrol left in the tank .. no way I would be reach Kathmandu with that. Yesterday on the road to Butwal I had stopped at several petrol stations to ask for fuel: ‘Sir, there is no fuel in Nepal!’.

Last evening in the hotel, I asked the guy behind the reception if he could arrange any fuel for me. I had calculated that I would need 20 Liters to get to Kathmandu. That was probably a bit too much, but I’s rather arrive in Kathmanu with 5 Liters left in my tank than come to a standstill 5 Km before Kathmandu! The guy at the hotel said he would try to get some fuel the next morning.

So in the morning I went to him asking about the fuel. He said that maybe he could arrange for 5 Liters of fuel .. I told him that wasn’t enough, I would need twice that amount. ‘That, Sir, is impossible.’ Well, 10 Liters would be a start, so I told him to try that. We went outside to the corner f the street where he talked to a guy. After some discussion my guy told me that the other guy was going to get 10 Liters for me. But this would take some time, 1 or 2 hours. Well, I really didn’t have much of a choice but to wait for that. So I went to my room and waited ..

After 1,5 hours I went down to ask the reception guy how my fuel was coming along. He then told me that the other guy couldn’t arrange the fuel .. Shit, how am I ever going to get to Kathmandu? ‘Sir, the only way to get fuel is to go to India.’ WTF? India? ‘Sir, it is 35km to the border. Across the border you can get fuel. No problem.’ No problem? Maybe not for you, you have a Nepalese passport, you don’t need a visa for India and for Nepal. You don’t need a Carnet de Passage to be stamped and signed to leave and enter India and Nepal. No problem for you? Major problem for me!

I quickly checked my Indian visa: multiple entry. So I was ok for going into India. I then checked my Nepalese visa: it didn’t say single of multiple entry .. well if worse comes to worse, I can always get a new one at the border when returning (re-entering) Nepal. So I should be ok in the visa department.

That meant I could go out of Nepal, into India, out of India and into Nepal. As for the bike .. that would mean getting the carnet stamped when exiting Nepal, then opening a new entry in order to enter India. After getting the fuel the carnet would have to be stamped when exiting India and then a new entry opened when entering Nepal. Administrative hell, and at least 3 hours of wasted time. As it was now 10:00 and I was still in Butwal, i figured that with all the administrative overhead of crossing the border twice, it would be at least 13:00-14:00 before I could set off to Kathmandu, which would take at least 5-6 hours.

This wasn’t looking good at all ..

There was, however, an other, illegal, option. The Indian-Nepal border is an open border, as the locals can cross it freely. I had seen this coming into Nepal across the west-most border with India. The Immigration and Customs were just shacks along the road and you could just pass them if yu wanted. So I hoped that this Indian-Nepal border would also be an open border that I could pass without stopping. That would mean I would more-or-less be illegally in India, but only for an hour. After getting fuel I would turn the bike around and go back from where I came, crossing the border a second time.

If they stopped me at the border going into India, I would do all the official stuff (carnet, visa, etc.), and if I would be stopped going back I would pretend to be super stupid and ignorant, possibly using some bribe money to get me out of trouble. It was risky, but it would save me many hours of stupid administrative hassles.

Well, I rode to the border, which was open, crossed it, all the while looking straight ahead (’I didn’t see any customs buildings!’) and got into India without stopping! After 15km there was a petrol station with many Nepalese (small) motorbikes and cars getting fuel. I got 30 Liters, which was more than I needed, but better be safe than sorry ..

I turned the bike around, and went back to the border. There I again looked straight ahead and rode back into Nepal! I did hear someone yelling ‘Mister, Mister!’ at me, but as I was looking straight ahead I don’t know if he was an official or a money changer ..

With my tank filled, I rode back to Butwal where I got on the road to Kathmanu!

This turned out to be quite a nice ride. The first part a bit dull, a long more-or-less straight road, but after a while the road turned North towards the mountains and became twisty. As I got closer to Kathmandu, the traffic increased. On these twisty roads this was quite a challenge, but after India I could handle anything they threw at me!

About 100km before Kathmandu, I stopped to get a bit to eat. Some vegetables and rice, really nice. I then got back on the bike for the final stretch to Kathmandu.

As I rode into Kathmandu I was greeted by the full monsoon bearing down on me. In  the city a lot of the roads were flooded .. Ha, this is nothing compared to West Nepal during the monsoon! I realised that there was no way I would ever find the hotel, so I asked a taxi to guide me to the hotel.

Exhausted I reached the hotel where, after hearing that I rode my bike from The Netherlands to Kathmandu, I was greeted as a hero! I got to my room, took off all the wet clothing, and hit the shower. I didn’t realize that this was it .. it was in Kathmandu .. the journey was completed .. I was just too tired to realize any of this.

7June2008

Butwal

Posted by emile under: The trip.

07-06-08 I left Dehradun, India yesterday, ready for a long ride to the Nepalese border.

The first part of the route was ok, going down from the mountainous area to a flat, plain-like area. After that it got a bit boring. Long straight roads with lots of insane Indian drivers. They are truly the worst drivers in the world. At times I was lucky not to hit something. It was also hard because of the bad (i.e. lack of) road signs.

I was also racing against the clock, as I knew that the border would close sometime in the (late) afternoon. I didn’t know the exact time, but I thought it would be 16:00 or 17:00.

I didn’t stop for lunch (no time), but I did stop for fuel about 100km before the border, which I finally reached around 16:30. It was still open!

This border was a small, dingy one. The ‘road’ was a dirt/rock track and the border-posts not more than shacks. After doing the Immigration and Customs thing on the Indian side, I continued along the track to the Nepalese border post.

Immediately one could sense this was a different place. As I had been told, you immediately notice that it is quiet in Nepal. India is such a loud place (traffic, horns, people, etc.). By comparison, Nepal is an oasis.

The guys at the Immigration post were friendly, entering a visa in my passport. After doing all the formalities (and after having paid for my visa), they asked me if I could do a donation for Nepal! I gave them 100 Indian Rupies (about $0.25). They pocketed the money and I left for Customs (the next shack).

The Customs process (carnet de passage) went pretty quick as well, with me filling in the forms for them. After about 1 hour I had dome the Indian and Nepalese formalities and was free to ride into Nepal.

I found the hotel (’The Sweat Dreams Hotel’), and got a room. I was very tired and after dinner went to bed and slept like a log.

During the night it started raining (monsoon) and when I got up the next morning it was still raining. The monsoon had started early this year. I was concerned about this as the rain would make riding difficult and, worse, it might make parts of the road impassible.

So in the pouring rain, I left for Butwal. This would be a long ride (again), more than 450km. I had been told that the road would be ok, but this is Nepal, and the monsoon had started, so you never know what will happen.

Well, the first part was ok, good roads, with some bad patches. I was flying along, averaging around 80km/h. Then I saw a bunch of trucks, busses and cars ahead standing still with some people around. I slowed down, and stopped. Where the road was supposed to be, there was now a river! On the other side there was a tree across the road. No way to get across this road!

I asked around, and an English speaking Nepalese told me that this was the only road to Butwal/Kathmandu. F*ck! Here I was in the middle of nowhere, in the pouring rain, with a closed road ahead of me .. The guys there said they were waiting for the level of the ‘river’ to get lower, and then they would cross.

Just about 10km before this spot, I has passed through a village, so I decided to go back there. I would get some food, wait a couple of hours, and then go back to check out the situation.

I got back to the village and went to get some food at a restaurant. I met an Israeli couple there that was traveling in India and Nepal on an Enfield that they had bought in India for $600. I told them that the road ahead was barred, and that all we could do was wait.

I saw a bus leave, and I thought this was a good sign, until I saw it return 20 min. later! Shit. Still closed.

After 2 hours, another bus left, and that one didn’t return. It had also stopped raining, so the Israeli couple and I decided to go down the road to see how things were now. When we got there, the ‘river’ had subsided a bit, and the tree had been removed. We decided to chance it, and after saying some “Hail Mary’s”, I hit the gas, stood up on the steps, looked far ahead, and crossed the water!

Wow, that was exhilarating and scary at the same time. But I did it. I really had expected these last days to be a milk run to Kathmandu, not a survival exercise.

I waved to the Israeli (they weren’t as fast as my AT), hit the gas, and was on my way to Butwal.

All was fine, until .. I hit another river about 10km further down the road. This one was worse, wider and flowing much faster. Shit! This was supposed to be a nice ride to Kathmandu ..

The Israeli couple arrived, and we both agreed that this one was impassable. The busses, trucks and 4×4’s there weren’t moving, so there was no way to cross on a motorcycle. Luckily it still wasn;t raining, so in time, the water level should go down.

After a while, a bus decided to chance it, and went across. People were cheering it across to the other side! Then a couple of big trucks went across. In time, more busses and trucks went across, and after a while the first 4×4’s went across.

Still no motorcycles had tried crossing the river yet. It was still flowing quite fast.

Then the first Nepalese tried taking a (small) bike across. They didn’t ride it across, but walked it across with 8 people. When they got to the other side, they walked back across the ‘river’ to the other side to fetch the next bike.

This was fine with these small bikes, but I felt that walking a ‘real’ big bike across would be much more of a challenge. I also thought that they were walking the bikes across because they were afraid of flooding the engine if they’d ride the bikes across. The cylinders on these bikes were very low near the ground, not like my AT where the V2 is upright and the air intake is very high up on the bike.

The Israeli couple were still very hesitant to cross (the Enfield is not a dual sport bike at all), but I felt that my AT should make it across. Mind you, the water was still flowing fast and the level pretty high, but it looked doable.

So, again, I started the engine, hit first gear, stood up on the steps, looked ahead, and hit the gas. I entered the water, and I felt the bike being pushed sideways by the water flow. The bike was also struggling against the water resistance. This was the worst I’d ever done. As the bike was being pushed sideways by the water flow, I opened the throttle further and looked ahead to where I wanted the bike to go. The water was so high, that even though I was standing up un the steps, water flowed into my boot! But the bike kept going, the TCK80’s never losing grip. Man, what a great bike and what great tires!

I made it across! I cannot describe my feelings as I hit the tarmac on the other side.

Now a nice run to Butawal.

Or so I thought .. after some 100km I hit a spot where the road was really closed. To the side, there was just a small handmade wooden bridge suitable only for people, not bikes, let alone motorcycles. Due to the land/mud-slides there was no way to pass this area.

I asked around how to get to the other side. After a while an English speaking guy on a small motorcycle (125cc), said that he was going to try a secondary road that should go to the other side. I followed him, and we wend back on the road to a spot where he turned left onto a dirt road. I followed him. The dirt road turned into a mud road (due to the monsoon). I was struggling to keep the bike upright, but somehow managed to follow him. After some 5km’s of dirt/mud roads, we got to a paved road. He told me if I went down this road for some 5km’s, I should hit an intersection getting me back on the main road to Butwal.

I rode down the road, hit the intersection and got back on the main road!

Still some 200km’s to go to Butwal, but it wasn’t raining, and the road wasn’t flooded.

I finally reached Butwal, and after asking around, I found the hotel I was looking for.

Tomorrow, my last day riding. 350km to Kathmandu.

5June2008

The final 3 days

Posted by emile under: The trip.

Just 3 days riding separates me from my final destination Kathmandu.

I find as I get nearer to my destination, I get a bit anxious.

Strange, I ‘did’ the Turkmen desert, I ‘did’ the Pamir highway, I ‘did’ the KKH, and yet I get anxious about 3 days riding, total 880km. Just have to take it 1km at a time .. like the 15.700km’s before it ..

Tomorrow I’ll travel from Dehradun, India to Mahendranagar, Nepal, which is a small town just over the border.

Total distance is about 320km, which I hope to be able to do in 5-6 hours. As I’ll be leaving the mountains, it’ll be very hot ..

Then Saturday I’ll cross most of Nepal on the Mahendra Highway, doing about 340km (4-5 hours) from Mahendranagar to Butwal where I’ll stay for the night.

Sunday will be the last day, riding from Butwal to Kathmandu, about 220km. They tell me traffic will be hell as I get near to Kathmandu .. we’ll just have to see and cope.