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Arguments With Gravity: Newest Article Out

Arguments with Gravity is the title of my favourite book of poetry by one of my favourite authors Michael Crummey, and the perfect title for this blog post with the link to my newest Chasing Summer article, My Best Accidents. Mongolia, a great place to crash!

The mud that caused the accident in the first place:

Rocks to avoid:

The Germans putting Betty back together:

Betty back on the "road":

I think she looks like something from Wall-E

Patrick putting the finishing touches on her the next day:

 

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure

Changing Plans Is Part Of The Plan

My father would suggest that the more appropriate title of this post would be "Having No Plan Is Our Plan." Although from the outside looking in it may appear so, but we prefer to think of it as flexibility and open to new things.

So for those who are new here, or those like my mother who emails everyday and still finds the whole process confusing (I would say I think, but in fact I know, that this is due to us and not any faults on her side), here is a summary of the original plan, the new plan, and where we are right now. WITH visual aid courtesy of the German:

Original plan: The three of us (The German, his brother, and me) planned to ride to Novosibirsk, meet Jannick's girlfriend Anina, and then ride Mongolia together.  From there we would ride to Lake Baikal, drop Anina off and continue on to Vladivostok. From there we would ship the bikes to Korea, ride Korea, ship the bikes to South America, and ride on up to Newfoundland.

Then we found out German vehicles are not allowed in Korea.  Apparently this only applies to  German and Croatian vehicles, someone did not sign some silly paper somewhere (or had something to do with the country not really existing at the time) and so getting in is a chance.  With luck the official also does not know it, and you get in like the German did 6 years ago.  If you are unlucky you just shelled out 700 bucks to put your bike on a bonded truck (another chunk of change) that will take your bike to the port, where you can pay 1200 to send it on to South America.

More money than we were willing to chance.

So then we looked at direct to South America from Vladivostok. With prices ranging from 3000 - 6000 per bike, we just laughed.  We can buy NEW ones for that.

But that meant Jannick was on his own. He really wanted to ride across Russia. And though he is German his bike is Swiss. (Even German licenses are accepted, just not the vehicle!). We were not willing to ride and risk being stuck with thousands of dollars in shipping bills, for bikes that were worth only 2.

So in Mongolia we split up, us looking into selling our bikes there, and Jannick went into the Gobi to play cards with Anina.

We met again at the Mongolian border to travel to Lake Baikal and the island of Olchorn.

Then we picked up our new Mongolian visa's and headed back to Mongolia, saying goodbye to the avid card players, Anina flew back to Switzerland and Jannick continued onwards to Vladivostok, where he will ship his bike to Thailand, and from there who knows!  But South America is still on his list.

Our list includes a 9 day stopover in Seoul, mostly so I can eat. (Seriously, I miss Japan, I ache for it.  Korea I just ache for the BBQ and Dukboki, which I ate for breakfast). Then onwards to Bangkok, where our new plan is to buy scooters and burn over South East Asia for a couple of months.  Then its open to New Zealand or waiting until Spring to buy bikes in the USA.

Leaving Ulan Bator:

To chase summer! It SNOWED in UB today, we are sitting here sweating in Seoul! 

And though I will miss Mongolia, I will not miss UB. I love this picture, Seoul, where crossing the street with a walk signal actually means crossing safely as opposed to dodging the oncoming slaughter of cars who are blatantly ignoring any and all traffic rules (both of the red light means stop as well as pediatricians have the right of way).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure

Banging Our Heads Against The Chinese Wall

As I write this I am sitting in a rooftop ger in Ulan Bator. We were trying to keep the blog somewhat chronological, but between having bad or no internet connections we have not been so successful.   (And that is ok, no one wants their trip to be dictated by a blog!)

My original plan was to ignore my physical reality and just write up a bunch of auto-posts so people can have some idea, albeit a delayed version thereof, our exploits. But I am abandoning the idea. I will still back track a little in the future, but for now we have a little real time news. 

(This is mostly in order to stop people from scratching their heads and going, huh, whaaa, they did what, she is where???  but I thought...)

Our original plan was to ride our motorcycles (Betty and Wilma, two BMW F 650 GSs) across Russia, to Vladivostok, and from there we would either ship to South America, or we would go to Korea and then ship to South America. From there we would ride up to Newfoundland where we would drink a beer with family and friends, and I could squish my nieces and nephews.

Plans change. (The how's and why's of sacrificing to the motorcycle gods,  I am saving for my Chasing Summer article.  But as that may not be out for  a month or more, a short summary of what is presently running through our heads I will provide here!)

As the quotes to ship our bikes began to roll in our hearts sunk deeper and deeper into despair. From Vladivostok we would need to rent an entire container.  To the tune of thousands per motorcycle.  Even if we could fill the container with other bikes, the price was still thousands per motorcycle. We were ok with the low 2000 range when it was 700 to get to Korea, then another 1200 to get to Chile, because we planned to ride for 3 weeks in Korea before shipping.

But

And there is always a big but,  German (along with Croatian) vehicles are not allowed in Korea.  Temporary import or not. Yes Patrick rode his bike there 6 years.  Pure luck. If you are lucky then you get through.  If not then you're bike goes on bonded trucks, your out another couple hundred (at least) and for that money you do not even get to ride!

So what are we to do?

IF China allowed bikes in we could ride in China. But at 300 dollars a day for a guide (but that can be split between as many group members as you wish. But even if we had 10 other bikers with us it would be too much!) not only is the price insane, it also takes away from all the freedom of riding your bike in the first place.

We then looked at buying a bike in China. We thought that perhaps the problem was just foreign vehicles,  as foreigners do ride bikes there, why not us?

Well, it would appear everyone rides in various degrees of legality, few with any real legal status, and most rely on the kindness (or the indifference) of the local police. We are still looking into it, but the fact that others say you can do it, does not mean we will do it.  Neither of us have any real interest in seeing the insides of a Chinese prison, even as a “scare tactic” that would not last longer than a few days. (I'll own it, I shit my pants just thinking about it.)

So what are we to do?

Chasing summer is still on the table.  Instead of South America we are looking into New Zealand, as we can buy a bike there for what we would have paid to ship ours.

That means selling Betty and Wilma.

We are also meeting my parents in Thailand in November. That got us thinking.  And looking into online forums. Perhaps instead of South America we could ride South East Asia.  Six – seven months in paradise on earth, surely there could be worse fates for us?

This would mean selling Betty and Wilma, and instead of buying 650 ccs, we would go for 125 ccs, maybe even go for a Scooter, we did a scooter in Cuba and it was awesome!

There would be no thinking if it was not for China! Then we would simply ride our bikes through China, into Laos, cruise Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and ship out from there!

But the Chinese Wall shuts out the whole of Asia to our bikes.

The plan is still to ride home however, only now we stay on the other side  of the world while we wait for Spring to hit the United States, where we plan on buying new bikes and riding onwards to Newfoundland. We are not willing to become backpackers, just an exchange of wheels!

Where we still plan to drink beer however, and squish nieces and nephews, as well as chew on Ms Q's baby! As Shaq, the best dog ever, would have told you, it is not so easy to escape my love! If we can not go through the wall, we will just go around it!

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure

Banging Our Heads Against The Chinese Wall

As I write this I am sitting in a rooftop ger in Ulan Bator. We were trying to keep the blog somewhat chronological, but between having bad or no internet connections we have not been so successful.   (And that is ok, no one wants their trip to be dictated by a blog!)

My original plan was to ignore my physical reality and just write up a bunch of auto-posts so people can have some idea, albeit a delayed version thereof, our exploits. But I am abandoning the idea. I will still back track a little in the future, but for now we have a little real time news. 

(This is mostly in order to stop people from scratching their heads and going, huh, whaaa, they did what, she is where???  but I thought...)

Our original plan was to ride our motorcycles (Betty and Wilma, two BMW F 650 GSs) across Russia, to Vladivostok, and from there we would either ship to South America, or we would go to Korea and then ship to South America. From there we would ride up to Newfoundland where we would drink a beer with family and friends, and I could squish my nieces and nephews.

Plans change. (The how's and why's of sacrificing to the motorcycle gods,  I am saving for my Chasing Summer article.  But as that may not be out for  a month or more, a short summary of what is presently running through our heads I will provide here!)

As the quotes to ship our bikes began to roll in our hearts sunk deeper and deeper into despair. From Vladivostok we would need to rent an entire container.  To the tune of thousands per motorcycle.  Even if we could fill the container with other bikes, the price was still thousands per motorcycle. We were ok with the low 2000 range when it was 700 to get to Korea, then another 1200 to get to Chile, because we planned to ride for 3 weeks in Korea before shipping.

But

And there is always a big but,  German (along with Croatian) vehicles are not allowed in Korea.  Temporary import or not. Yes Patrick rode his bike there 6 years.  Pure luck. If you are lucky then you get through.  If not then you're bike goes on bonded trucks, your out another couple hundred (at least) and for that money you do not even get to ride!

So what are we to do?

IF China allowed bikes in we could ride in China. But at 300 dollars a day for a guide (but that can be split between as many group members as you wish. But even if we had 10 other bikers with us it would be too much!) not only is the price insane, it also takes away from all the freedom of riding your bike in the first place.

We then looked at buying a bike in China. We thought that perhaps the problem was just foreign vehicles,  as foreigners do ride bikes there, why not us?

Well, it would appear everyone rides in various degrees of legality, few with any real legal status, and most rely on the kindness (or the indifference) of the local police. We are still looking into it, but the fact that others say you can do it, does not mean we will do it.  Neither of us have any real interest in seeing the insides of a Chinese prison, even as a “scare tactic” that would not last longer than a few days. (I'll own it, I shit my pants just thinking about it.)

So what are we to do?

Chasing summer is still on the table.  Instead of South America we are looking into New Zealand, as we can buy a bike there for what we would have paid to ship ours.

That means selling Betty and Wilma.

We are also meeting my parents in Thailand in November. That got us thinking.  And looking into online forums. Perhaps instead of South America we could ride South East Asia.  Six – seven months in paradise on earth, surely there could be worse fates for us?

This would mean selling Betty and Wilma, and instead of buying 650 ccs, we would go for 125 ccs, maybe even go for a Scooter, we did a scooter in Cuba and it was awesome!

There would be no thinking if it was not for China! Then we would simply ride our bikes through China, into Laos, cruise Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and ship out from there!

But the Chinese Wall shuts out the whole of Asia to our bikes.

The plan is still to ride home however, only now we stay on the other side  of the world while we wait for Spring to hit the United States, where we plan on buying new bikes and riding onwards to Newfoundland. We are not willing to become backpackers, just an exchange of wheels!

Where we still plan to drink beer however, and squish nieces and nephews, as well as chew on Ms Q's baby! As Shaq, the best dog ever, would have told you, it is not so easy to escape my love! If we can not go through the wall, we will just go around it!

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure

Banging Our Heads Against The Chinese Wall

As I write this I am sitting in a rooftop ger in Ulan Bator. We were trying to keep the blog somewhat chronological, but between having bad or no internet connections we have not been so successful.   (And that is ok, no one wants their trip to be dictated by a blog!)

My original plan was to ignore my physical reality and just write up a bunch of auto-posts so people can have some idea, albeit a delayed version thereof, our exploits. But I am abandoning the idea. I will still back track a little in the future, but for now we have a little real time news. 

(This is mostly in order to stop people from scratching their heads and going, huh, whaaa, they did what, she is where???  but I thought...)

Our original plan was to ride our motorcycles (Betty and Wilma, two BMW F 650 GSs) across Russia, to Vladivostok, and from there we would either ship to South America, or we would go to Korea and then ship to South America. From there we would ride up to Newfoundland where we would drink a beer with family and friends, and I could squish my nieces and nephews.

Plans change. (The how's and why's of sacrificing to the motorcycle gods,  I am saving for my Chasing Summer article.  But as that may not be out for  a month or more, a short summary of what is presently running through our heads I will provide here!)

As the quotes to ship our bikes began to roll in our hearts sunk deeper and deeper into despair. From Vladivostok we would need to rent an entire container.  To the tune of thousands per motorcycle.  Even if we could fill the container with other bikes, the price was still thousands per motorcycle. We were ok with the low 2000 range when it was 700 to get to Korea, then another 1200 to get to Chile, because we planned to ride for 3 weeks in Korea before shipping.

But

And there is always a big but,  German (along with Croatian) vehicles are not allowed in Korea.  Temporary import or not. Yes Patrick rode his bike there 6 years.  Pure luck. If you are lucky then you get through.  If not then you're bike goes on bonded trucks, your out another couple hundred (at least) and for that money you do not even get to ride!

So what are we to do?

IF China allowed bikes in we could ride in China. But at 300 dollars a day for a guide (but that can be split between as many group members as you wish. But even if we had 10 other bikers with us it would be too much!) not only is the price insane, it also takes away from all the freedom of riding your bike in the first place.

We then looked at buying a bike in China. We thought that perhaps the problem was just foreign vehicles,  as foreigners do ride bikes there, why not us?

Well, it would appear everyone rides in various degrees of legality, few with any real legal status, and most rely on the kindness (or the indifference) of the local police. We are still looking into it, but the fact that others say you can do it, does not mean we will do it.  Neither of us have any real interest in seeing the insides of a Chinese prison, even as a “scare tactic” that would not last longer than a few days. (I'll own it, I shit my pants just thinking about it.)

So what are we to do?

Chasing summer is still on the table.  Instead of South America we are looking into New Zealand, as we can buy a bike there for what we would have paid to ship ours.

That means selling Betty and Wilma.

We are also meeting my parents in Thailand in November. That got us thinking.  And looking into online forums. Perhaps instead of South America we could ride South East Asia.  Six – seven months in paradise on earth, surely there could be worse fates for us?

This would mean selling Betty and Wilma, and instead of buying 650 ccs, we would go for 125 ccs, maybe even go for a Scooter, we did a scooter in Cuba and it was awesome!

There would be no thinking if it was not for China! Then we would simply ride our bikes through China, into Laos, cruise Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and ship out from there!

But the Chinese Wall shuts out the whole of Asia to our bikes.

The plan is still to ride home however, only now we stay on the other side  of the world while we wait for Spring to hit the United States, where we plan on buying new bikes and riding onwards to Newfoundland. We are not willing to become backpackers, just an exchange of wheels!

Where we still plan to drink beer however, and squish nieces and nephews, as well as chew on Ms Q's baby! As Shaq, the best dog ever, would have told you, it is not so easy to escape my love! If we can not go through the wall, we will just go around it!

Posted via email from Unleash Your Adventure