RTW 2-wheels 1-world 0-money
 

Hi bikers, travellers and explorers,

I thought I offer some insight on my little RTW trip that I'm in the middle of – just for entertainment... I'll make it picture-heavy, so my typos and bad grammar won't spoil it too much. Well, I hope at least those of you who are currently bound to work in an office will enjoy this a little bit.

Here's where I'm at:

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Ok I won't tell the tale from the beginning (because that's boring), but rather start at an important key event, one third into the journey, but I'll add the pieces together eventually. I'm thinking of adding a little bit of the story once a day for next couple of weeks or so.

Turkey: One man down
It's one thing to enlist in a RTW endeavour, but it's another thing to do this on your own. Lucky we were two at the beginning, but after some months my buddy decided to go home early. We rode around the med together and parted in Turkey. Which is a cool country to ride by the way. If only the fuel wasn't so expensive (most expensive in Europe I think.)

So I had to decide whether to ride on by myself or turn around with him...


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Ok, more soon... Gotta run now. Cheers, Dan

What bike are you riding?

Hi baluchiman. I am riding a 1982 BMW R80G/S

Thanks. I rode the 100GS to India in 1995.

Great photos but the 0 money ?
 

A metaphor maybe?Anyhow will follow your blog.Noel:thumbup1:

Hi guys, I meant to be back sooner, but I was distracted celebrating my birthday. Here the story continues…

Ok, so I had to decide whether to plot on by myself or go back home with my buddy. At that stage we had been on the road for 6months already and circumnavigated the Mediterranean sea, which is a fantastic trip already.

The option to ride on by myself wasn't extremely appealing, because along my route, there were the elections going on in Iran. People weren't happy with the result and demonstrated on the streets. The government reacted like an allergic to asbestos. The police shot demonstrators and arrested everybody who looked remotely like a national or international journalist. I was travelling with suspicious gear (cameras, satellite modem etc.) Sooo, Iran was a bit of a worry. And then there was Pakistan on my route too.

Anyways, here are some photos of Iran, needless to say, I NEVER pulled the camera when there was any conflict, demonstration or anything going on on the streets…

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Iran, Bam still working on the damage cause by the earth quake in 2000something.

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Who killed the palm trees?

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Kaluts, South Iran, one of the hottest places on earth. It was 60º Celsius when I was there…

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This is me by the way. Sorry for the rugged appearance…

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This is Marianne my bike, she's always rugged looking. But also a very kind character

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Ok so I was in Turkey, about to enter Iran. The next country would be Pakistan. My sister emailed me an news article which was about suicide bombers and kidnappings taking place in Pakistan. I wasn't thrilled about hearing all the details about this. And I thought hard about whether it was a good idea for me to go. Not having a travel buddy didn't help. It would have been good to exchange some ideas or work on alternative routes. I came to a point where I wasn't so sure that plotting on by myself was such a good idea. And then I tried to remember what made me wanna travel in the first place. If I had any left, where did my desire for exploring the world come from?

Is it possible, that the ones that voluntarily put themselves through those circumstances, do so because of a certain presupposition? This is how the famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner answered the question when he was asked for his motives: “I grew up in a valley, surrounded by more less tall mountains. I could not see far and as long as I can remember, I wanted to know what’s behind the mountains. So I climbed up only to find there’re more mountains which I had to climb” That’s how he explained his longing for adventure. I grew up in a valley* too. There weren’t exactly tall mountains but another obstacle, a political one. The political system before 1989 in East Germany did not allow us to travel freely. The question is, did that fact fuel my curiousness? Would I be a potential refugee if Germany was still divided? Part 5 follows – - – - *Dresden is located in a valley and the hills around it had been keeping the residents from receiving TV or radio sent by channels or stations based in West Germany. The East Berliners, who had no problems with it, affectionally called us “residents of the clueless valley.”

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I decided to plot on alone, despite the obvious challenges that lay ahead. I'm not entirely sure what made me do it. I think it was a combination of things – a great deal of curiosity for new things, some part of me not wanting to give up and the urge to find out how far I would get. Without an alternative route at hand, and my visas about to expire, I went on riding East. The border crossing into Iran was surprisingly easy. Nobody even looked at my equipment or my bike. A friendly guy at the border helped me go through the process and I was even offered some tea.

I spent a good deal of time in Iran and I traveled extensively. What I expected the country to be like and what I experienced was very far apart. Yes, the people of Iran (the ones that I have met) seemed to be unhappy about their government and its policies. But this didn't keep them from being very hospitable, friendly and open-minded. The clashes between demonstrators and military weren't an issue for me as long as I stayed out of hot-spot zones such as Tehran city centre.

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I had a great time and I made quite a few friends. One night a bunch of students that I met through the couch-surfing-community took me to go party with them. We went outside the city to an area where Irani's come for some R&R. There was a private garden with high brick walls around it. In that garden we had a party much like we have in Europe. Even though women have to wear a scarf in public at all times and have to board the public bus at the rear while men sit in the front, all weirdness was gone for the duration of the party. No scarfs, plenty of alcohol, dancing and everything. I've led to believe that, if suppressed, people will over-compensate once they're let loose. But I have been to parties that were way more outrageous in i.e. good old Germany which I believe does not fall in the category 'suppressed'.

However, I did have an encounter with the police and they did threaten to arrest me, but it didn't have anything to do with this party. (I think) I'll get into that tomorrow.

Very much enjoying your blog
 

Photo's are of a high level,Ive found in my travels that rarely do the people of a country turn out to be what we have been leed to believe by the media at home.Noel:D

ride
 

It will be nice to have some more details info about the trip , road taken , where did you work , budget spent along the road... or do we have to wait for the film ,sharing the good info is always helpfull .

Looking forward to your next entry. Good luck.

subscribed.

Rintzer thanks for the email update
 

Just thought i'd post it here to bump it up the line a bit ,so those like me who have supported the forthcoming movie can see that it's still on the go.Noel.:D

bump what
 

Funny but I didn't hear about the project since he asked for donation.........

Watched your promotional video for this trip. Really enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing more