What was that "Ted Simon" moment of your first trip?

By that I mean that defining moment when you realised the trip was happening to you, and you had to roll with the flow and take on a totally new experience.

For me it was in Albania, when the American Army was dismantling a munitions store and the whole lot went up, killing several people and injuring hundreds. All the roads were closed and we were stranded in a country we hadn't planned to stay in, so had no currency. We went to a cafe, a man bought us a drink and invited us to stay in his home - - then mentioned his wife and his English speaking children . We accepted, and followed him back, through dusty potholed streets to his house. His family were so welcoming, they let us shower ( and they only have electricity for a brief period in the day) , they fed us, wanted to know all about us, took us on a tour of the monument to their national hero Skanderbeg, made us sleep separately as we weren't married ( I slept in a room with the daughters , my then partner Henry slept in a room with the son and grandfather), gave us breakfast the next day, and had gone out early morning to buy us Albania stickers for our panniers.

After he led us back to the road, all we could do was stop and laugh hysterically, not quite believing it had happened. What an uplifting experience, which I shall remember till I die. (Thank you Pupriqui family)

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Does my bum look big on this bike?

I had an oh my god this is really happening moment when I was strapping the tankbag on my BMW before setting off for Australia, it left me feeling unsteady for a moment.
When struggling along the awfull road between Taftan and Quetta and at other times of stress or difficulty, I comforted myself with the thought that "Ted had days like this".

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You can be too careful