August 12, 2009 GMT - No.22. Nepal. The Road to Kathmandu!
'You must return to Delhi for a new Visa...' the customs official calmly announced. ' Your Visa is out of date'. 'Or you can make a small extra payment', said his identical twin. A 'small' payment was infinitely more appealing...

July 06, 2009 GMT - No.21. India. North to Nepal.
As I loaded the bike outside the small Pension, the Landlady came out to bid me farewell. “Stay out of the sea in Goa’ she said,’ I have a bad feeling for you’. If this had been Bognor Regis I...

June 14, 2009 GMT - Paintings from the Dusty Highway
With only two episodes of the 'Road to Kathmandu' to complete (the concise version) I was suddenly presented with a possibility to exhibit my work. As I had none, barring the episodes you see before you, I hastily dug my...

April 26, 2009 GMT - No.20. India. From North to South
Meanwhile, back on the 'open' road - at the gates of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, NW India.... I'd picked my way through the ever narrowing streets following locals' gesticulations towards the temple. I'd read that it may be possible to...

March 22, 2009 GMT - No.19b. Ah, Mr.Roberts, we've been expecting you.
I know, I know....you left me at the gates of the Golden Temple in Amritsar (Episode 19) and I am working on Episode 20 but, in the meantime, here's a 'unique' collector's item. This was the first story I illustrated...

February 13, 2009 GMT - No.19. Pakistan. To the Chinese border.
After miles of desperately bad roads literally carved out of the mountain sides I was flagged down by a Police officer - another passport check - or so I thought. 'Do you want to see a snow leopard?'. Er, why...

January 28, 2009 GMT - No.18. Pakistan. The Karakoram Highway.
Disaster strikes!! Shaft Drive failure? As the bike cooled down, the silence grew. The desert road seemed…deserted. It was. Almost. A speck on the horizon grew and two armed men pulled up…on a moped. Baluchistan frontier police. Saved! Or was...

January 11, 2009 GMT - No.17. Pakistan. Crossing the Baluchistan Desert
At last, the story resumes....at the Iran-Pakistan border. Pakistan. PAKISTAN! How many people can say they’ve ridden a motorcycle overland to Pakistan?! I was e-lated!…and then, very nearly e-longated. Pakistan’s traffic drives on the left. I was riding on the...

November 25, 2008 GMT - No.16. Iran. Persian Gulf to Pakistan.
After spending a night in a dreary hostel - as 'recommended' by the Kangan police - I'd headed south, sparkling waters on my right, smoking refineries on my left. Bemused police checked my progress at regular intervals until I arrived...

September 25, 2008 GMT - No.15. Iran. Yazd and the Silk Road (Hotel).
'Road to Kathmandu' UPDATE! Well, I had a successful trip to Germany and 'Tourenfahrer' - THE overland biking magazine - have taken my story on. This means that in every (monthly) issue - starting in the November issue - the...

August 18, 2008 GMT - No.14. Iran, Ramadan and Esfahan.
So, the long hot English summer slowly draws to a close and it's time to crack on with the Road to Kathmandu 'comic strip'..... Right. Where was I? ........................................................ Heading south from Teheran to Esfahan. "Ramadan. Ninth month of the...

July 13, 2008 GMT - No.13.Iran. Teheran and the Caspian Sea.
Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me? Don't cha? Don't cha? The semi naked Pussycat Dolls teased and taunted me from the widescreen Satellite TV...I stood and readjusted my...

June 22, 2008 GMT - No.12. Iran. The Road to Teheran.
Iran. How would a British biker be received? I was feeling apprehensive. For the first time on the trip I felt a little uneasy - maybe I should have taken those GB stickers off...relationships between Britain and Iran were tense...

June 13, 2008 GMT - No.11: Iran. The Border..
Want to be regularly updated with the latest pages as they roll off the drawing board? Drop me an email at simongoeseast@yahoo.co.uk to get on the mailing list. ............................................................ The Iranian border. What the hell was I doing here? Now...

May 18, 2008 GMT - No.10 Turkey. Close Encounters
What? Still in Turkey. Fear not dear reader - reports from the 'Axis of Evil' soon. Want to get the latest update? Email me at simongoeseast@yahoo.co.uk and get on the mailing list. ................................................ Cappadocia. Is there a landscape like this...

April 27, 2008 GMT - No.9 Turkey.Gumbet to Goreme
Gumbet. Didn't sound inviting but Gumbet had a campsite. On the beach. It also had a main street full of signs advertising Fish and Chips, Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, and Satellite Football. I'd talked my way back into Turkey...

April 04, 2008 GMT - No.8a. Turkey. On eastwards to Cappadocia...
Traveling in China for two weeks but hope the rough sketch of part of No.9 below will whet your appetite for further tales of....'The Road to Kathmandu'! The whole story in colour...soon....

March 26, 2008 GMT - No.8. Turkey...and Greece.
ASIA. I'd finally made it. I rolled off the ferry at Bandirma, found the main road heading south and did just that. Hot and dusty. Just what you'd expect the Dusty Highway to be. Barren land for mile after...

March 15, 2008 GMT - No.7. Bulgaria..and on to Turkey
Applications for publishing deals (for the book) are now winging their way to the Literary agents of London town. Don't hold your breath - this could take some time. Got any tips? Advice? Queries? Like to be added to mailing...

February 19, 2008 GMT - No.6(a). Pakistan. The art of travel.
Hang on. Pakistan? What happened to Bulgaria? I thought we left our gritty Biker sweeping down to the Black Sea coast? Ah, yes. But what I've done here is fast forward to a scene in Quetta near the Afghan border....

February 06, 2008 GMT - No.6. Romania. Meeting the locals.
Ah. Dracula's Castle. Should have known better. I rounded the corner in the shadow of the legendary castle, possessed by the spirit of Van Helsing, to be met by... Dracula's Bazaar. Stall after stall of Vampire merchandise: rubber bats, false...

January 16, 2008 GMT - No.5 Audience with Dracula.
Romania....and Transylvania. This was going to be the stuff of real adventures. Dark, impenetrable pine forests...mountains shrouded in mist...medieval villages suspiciously devoid of people...murderous looking men and their murderous looking dogs... I'd grown up with images of Christopher Lee...

December 18, 2007 GMT - The Road East...
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card I write... hum...hum..." Well, dear readers, it's that time of year so here's a card wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, prosperous - and accident free...

December 03, 2007 GMT - No.4.Hungary. Gateway to Eastern Europe.
Thursday 18th August. Rain. Bloody rain. 'Central Europe enjoys hot summers and cold winters' or so I'd been led to believe. Well, at least I was seeing the road stretching out East again albeit through a misted up visor. The...

November 17, 2007 GMT - No.3 Austria. Along the Danube to Vienna
Sipping my coffee in the shadow of Colditz castle that morning I calculated that with a favourable wind I could be in Vienna by early evening. Time to unpack and reacquaint myself with old friends and Wiener Schnitzels. BMW workshop...

October 30, 2007 GMT - No.2 Germany. West to East.
A hotel near the Rhine. Dull and overcast - as was I. I'd envisaged a picturesque hotel on the banks of the Rhine for my first overnight. Alas, as would so often be the case, this was not to be....

October 13, 2007 GMT - No.1 Bristol to... Calais
“In August 2005. Simon Roberts, a freelance Graphic Artist set off…to Kathmandu, Nepal”. Everyone has their own reasons for setting off on a trip like this. The death of my wife Julie from cancer in 2002 certainly played a huge...