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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/260.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map260-L.jpg Liverpool and Manchester clash on the soccer field. Montreal and Toronto throw off their gloves on center ice. The benches in the dugouts clear when Boston and New York go head-to-head at the ballpark. Oxford and Cambridge duke it out on the academic standings as well as on boats on the river Thames. So many great rivalries over the years with the town just down the street. But do you know about the on-going feud between the North Rhine-Westphalia neighbours of Cologne and Düsseldorf? And what the big brawl is over? Since we are so close to both cities, Hans and Julia take us on a tour of the region to find out firsthand! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0044-L.jpg But first, we visit a church! Altenberg Cathedral Did I mention that Hans really likes churches? Although the Cologne Cathedral gets most of the attention in the area, the Altenberg Cathedral is still quite impressive for being out in the middle of nowhere. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0045-L.jpg Although we're taking a break from our bikes, others have different ideas on how to spend a sunny day |
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Hans is giving us the history of the church Of course, all this walking around the cathedral and the expansive grounds built up quite a thirst, which was Hans' idea all along. Plus he really likes churches! We head back into Cologne for a liquid lunch and Hans takes us to the most well-known brewery in town, Cölner Hofbräu Früh. As we sat down to order, he introduced us to the long-standing feud between Cologne and Düsseldorf, centered around which city brewed the best beer. You could say that it was a bitter rivalry. Hans said that he wanted to take us to both cities and sample the best of both types of beer, and then we could make up our own minds as to which brew was the best. He said he himself had a favorite, but he wasn't going to try to color our judgment or influence our decision-making in any way. Before we ordered, Hans gave us a bit of history about the Hofbräu Früh. It's rated the best brewery in town, specializing in Cologne's brand of beer called Kolsch. However, he also told us that this place is also well-known for its snooty servers who aren't very friendly. Our waiter came to take our order (actually he just wanted to know how many glasses of Kolsch to bring), and came back promptly and set the small 0.2L glasses on the table. Neda and I exchanged glances, "Hmm... they're not that rude", we both telepathically conveyed to each other in that husband-wife way that only comes about from nearly two decades of companionship and close-quarters living and travel. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0971-L.jpg Sampling the best beer in Cologne: Kolsch from Hofbräu Früh https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0973-L.jpg At Hofbräu Früh, once you start drinking, they keep bringing you beers when your glass is empty. They record how many glasses your table has had by marking them as slashs on a coaster. The only way to stop the beers from coming is to put a coaster over your empty glass. If there seem to be a lot of slashes on the coaster it's because it's a Früh tradition that for every round of Kolsch that we drink, the waiter also orders himself one. Really? Hrmph... Kolsch is a light-coloured lager with a very thin taste, similar to the weak cervezas in Latin America. I'd imagine it would be very refreshing on a hot summer day, but since Neda and I prefer much darker beers, we didn't enjoy it so much. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...106222_n-L.jpg Hans, remaining neutral and impartial while drinking Kolsch Neda offered her opinion, "It doesn't have a very strong taste", she stated diplomatically. She added, "And the waiters are kind of rude"... Hans nodded in quiet satisfaction. Julia just rolled her eyes. I have to work on my matrimonial telepathy. |
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Ostrich Farm Since we've already done some sightseeing in Cologne a couple of days earlier, we hit the road again. We passed by this ostrich farm on our travels through the scenic Rhineland countryside and stopped to take some pictures. I was surprised to learn that there are quite a lot of these bird farms in Germany. Ostrich meat became popular here in the early 2000s after some cattle were found to be infected with Mad Cow disease. It became a national public concern and Germans looked to alternatives to beef, and ostrich farms started cropping up all over the place. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0076-L.jpg Ostriches are the largest birds in the world. But they have such funny-looking, tiny heads Then it was off to Schloss Burg Castle to do more walking around and sightseeing. It's the largest reconstructed castle in Rhineland. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0089-L.jpg Gates to Schloss Burg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0091-L.jpg Fresh baked goods inside the castle walls https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0096-L.jpg Sample of local apple wines from the region. Did I mention apples are really popular in Germany? |
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Very pretty grounds, but very touristy too! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0103-L.jpg My security detail :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0118-L.jpg Used antiques for sale. And Claudia Schiffer.... who is from North Rhine-Westphalia, which I guess is the tenuous connection? https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0112-L.jpg My energy is flagging From Schloss Burg, we take a trail that follows the Wupper River north. It's about a 2km hike through a pretty forest and I suspect that Hans is taking us through here to build up more of a thirst for the second half of our beer tasting tour. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0142-L.jpg Müngstener Bridge in the background, the highest railroad bridge in Germany |
And then it's off to Düsseldorf, Cologne's rival in the Great Rhineland Beer War! And yes, we are doing all of this in a single day!
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0153-L.jpg When we arrive into the city, we are whisked off to Altstadt otherwise known as "the longest bar in the world" Scores of people pack the bars and patios that line both sides of the streets as far as the eye can see. Hans spreads his arms out proudly as if to say, "See how popular this place is? The beer must be good here or something..." https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0159-L.jpg Doing a little sightseeing before we hit the bars. Düsseldorf City Hall https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0168-L.jpg The city seems to have a much younger vibe than Cologne. And the crowds! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0184-L.jpg Bars and restaurants line the walkway along the River Rhine https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0188-L.jpg Our tourguide giving us more of the history of the area |
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Finally, we get to try the Düsseldorf beer, called Altbier We took in the atmosphere of the crowded bar on the Altstadt as the waiter cheerfully set down four glasses of Altbier. From the dark tint of the ale I already knew I would prefer this over Kolsch. Hans sipped his beer and looked like he was in heaven. Julia just shook her head at him. I don't think she really has a horse in this race. I took my first taste of the copper-coloured Altbier. The strong taste of malt and hops filled my mouth and stretched the corners of my mouth upwards. The smile on Neda's face echoed my sentiments. I think... Exactly what we needed after a long day of touring the Rhineland. Although Hans failed spectacularly to remain impartial during the whole judging process, in the end, it turns out that we are both more Altbier fans than Kolsch. Decision goes to Düsseldorf! Technical knock out. Speaking of knocked out, we poured ourselves into the car and back south towards Bonn. On the ride home, Neda and I pass out sound asleep in the backseat, victims of the Grand Old Beer Feud between Cologne and Düsseldorf. |
LOL! Really, HU? Beer and Bier are automatically substituted with smileys? :rofl:
B E E R B I E R |
And if you capitalize them, no substitution...
huh. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/261.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map261-L.jpg We're leaving Hans and Julia much better off than when we arrived. Our mood is so much lighter. This Friends Tour of Germany is working out quite well for us. Visiting people that we know, that know us and that are also fellow motorcycle travelers is really providing us with some sorely needed company. So we're going to continue on in the same vein, making a U-Turn and heading back south to see more friends that we missed this summer. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...20551501_n.jpg Saying goodbye to Hans and Julia. You can see by the logo on the wall of their house where their passions lie https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6191-L.jpg Despite riding away into a grey, gloomy day, we're leaving in pretty good spirits Our plan for the day is staying off the Autobahn and just taking our time following the Rhine River as it meanders south to the Swiss border. We're getting a bit conscious of the weather and how the days are not only getting shorter, but the temperatures are slowly dropping day by day, so south is a good direction to head this time of year. We still haven't made a decision as to what we're going to do once we finish visiting all our friends but we're having too much of a good time to worry about the future. YOLO! |
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Catching the ferry again back south across the Rhine https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6198-L.jpg Rain clouds have found us again https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6202-L.jpg Following the Rhine southbound https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6205-L.jpg Entering one of the tiny towns along the Rhine, Sankt Goar https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6214-L.jpg Stopped to get some gas, eat a sandwich and take some pictures |
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Watching the boats float down the Rhine, the ruins of Burg Rheinfels on the other banks of the river A few leisurely hours later, we arrive in Karlsruhe and ring the doorbell of our friends Simon and Anne. Like most of our European friends, we also met them on the Stahlratte. You may remember them from when we hung out with them while in Colombia when Simon got dengue fever. They were on their honeymoon and backpacking around the world the last time we saw them (two years ago!) and now they're back in Germany: new apartment, new jobs and... new kid!!! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_5007-L.jpg Hanging out with Simon and Anne and brand new person, Selma We've met a lot of backpackers on this trip, we seem to have a lot in common with them because of how slow we travel. Normally when we meet other motorcycle travelers, it's a very quick hello and goodbye since they're always on the move. But backpackers seem to stay a bit longer in each place which is exactly the way we do things as well. I guess we're motorcycle backpackers! Among our many topics of conversation, I had to ask them if they missed traveling. The answer, even with a new baby, was... of course. Neda and I are at a point where we've pretty much stopped touring and sightseeing for the last month and a half now and we're in no rush to get back to it. But still... I don't want us to call it quits, get a home, get a job, be sitting on our couch staring at the TV after work and suddenly realize that I miss being on the road. I want us to be sure that we're done and not just travel fatigued. But it's been so long since we felt really enthusiastic about seeing new places... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_5012-L.jpg The next morning, we bid farewell to Simon, Anne and Selma https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_5021-L.jpg Time to hit the road again! The plan is... keep on doing what's made us happy over the last week: See more friends! |
Karlsruhe is at the northern edge of the region called the Black Forest. The trees aren't really black here. It's called the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) because of the canopy of dense evergreen trees that block out the sunlight. The roads here gently wind around the contours of the many mountains in the area. Fun!
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6237-L.jpg Stopping to take off our rain jackets. The weather is nice and warm today! Double Fun! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0661-L.jpg The Black Forest is also home to many picturesque villages https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0676-L.jpg Village of Triberg All the buildings in the small villages here look as if they came straight out of a Brother's Grimm fairy tale (which makes sense, since most of the tales are set in the Schwarzwald). It feels like there's a big bad wolf or gingerbread-baking witch lurking behind every shop door. Speaking of shops, this is really popular in the area: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0665-L.jpg Handmade cuckoo clocks! Apparently people from all over the world visit the Black Forest to buy a German-made cuckoo clock. The number on the price tags were crazy high! Thousands of Euros for a wooden clock. Dare I say, the prices were a bit... cuckoo. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0674-L.jpg This one goes out to my buddy, Jeff. |
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Passing by alpine-style houses in the Black Forest Here's a video of more picturesque villages and winding roads of the Black Forest If you can't see the video, try the one on our blog: http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/261.html We emerge from the southern edge of the Black Forest and settle into a campground in the town of Kandern, which is within spitting distance of the Swiss border. Because we are so close to Basel, we've contacted our friends Colleen and Dan to see if they are free for dinner. Even though it's threatening rain, they offer to come across the border to meet us here! So while they ride over (only about half an hour away), we set up our tent while the ground is still dry. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6243-L.jpg Good food and great company! We last saw them in Dijon, France, six months ago! Yay! Hanging out with more friends. We're starting to get a bit of a social life again! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6248-L.jpg Colleen and Dan head back to Switzerland after dinner! Roads are drying somewhat... We're very comfortable in Europe since we know so many people here! We could probably continue doing what we're doing for a while longer if the impending winter weren't pushing us to warmer climates. Good thing we have more friends to the south that we can visit... Hi Ho! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/262.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map262-L.jpg The day starts off with a bit of sunshine. The rains from last night have mostly dried up as we pack our tent and head towards the Swiss border. Last night, Colleen and Dan shared with us some last-minute information on riding through Switzerland, given our agenda of passing through and not really focusing on touring anymore. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6258-L.jpg Packing up, getting ready to leave Germany We were warned beforehand that there is a "vignette" system in Switzerland, which is a pre-paid toll scheme that permits you to drive on the main motorways in the country. Unfortunately, this toll covers an entire year - you can't just purchase it for a short period of time, and all we really wanted was a single day pass. The cost is 40CHF, which is about $40USD. Unfortunately, over the last few months, we've watched the value of our Canadian dollar plummet like a rock so a $40USD toll is quite a big deal for a single day of riding. We talked last night with Colleen and Dan about how likely we were to get caught if we didn't buy a vignette. It's not an electronic system, just a sticker on your windshield, so as long as we didn't run into any traffic stops we should be okay. I checked the fine online, it's about 200CHF ($200USD). Hmmmm... What is that, like $1,000 CDN today?! Hard to believe it was par when we first left on our trip. They told us that since these annual vignettes are issued at the beginning of the calendar year, the enforcement might not be as strict now at the end of the year. So we all decided that if we get caught and fined, we would send the bill to Colleen and Dan. Actually, we didn't all decide that, just Neda and I. Actually, not Neda and I. Just me. So for the next few hours, we just have to avoid the Polizei, which means not calling attention to ourselves, which means not speeding, which means I am leading the ride since Neda believes she is invisible to radar. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6260-L.jpg A tunnel in Switzerland. Normally in this picture there would be a Neda and her motorcycle in front of me, but... As you can see from the map above, the scenery doesn't really get interesting until you get to the southern part of Switzerland, closer to the Alps. So we spent most of the first part of the ride on boring highways made just a little more exciting because we were wary and paranoid of every police car in sight. |
On the way, we saw a sign for Lucerne and I tapped on the communicator, "Hey do you want to stop in for a quick ride-by?". Neda knew what I was thinking: "Sure!"
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6275-L.jpg We have fond memories of Lucerne. We got engaged here in 2002. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6265-L.jpg We had to fight a bit of traffic in the middle of a weekday. We were searching for a very specific place It was a foggy ride through the downtown of the city, the lake is almost entirely shrouded in mist and you can't see the opposite shore. I don't remember the name of the hotel where we stayed back in 2002, but I recall that it was right on the water, so we rode up and down the shoreline road until we passed a familiar building: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6270-L.jpg Ah, The Palace Hotel! Right! See the green dome overlooking the lake? That's where I proposed to Neda I remember it being a very fancy place. We got the rooftop suite and it was so luxurious! It overlooked the lake and that's when I knew it was the perfect spot to ask her to marry me. Spoiler: She said yes. Riding by this swanky hotel really highlighted the huge change between our old lifestyle back then and the way we live our life now. It's 13 years later and we're in the exact same place except that this morning, we woke up in a tent. What a contrast! LOL! Hobos for life! |
Well, enough of the nostalgia ride, back on the highway southbound!
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6277-L.jpg Mountains ahead of us, it's going to get a bit more interesting now https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6291-L.jpg The landscape rises up and envelops the highway around us the further south we ride https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0695-L.jpg The road takes us to Andermatt, a town in the valley of the Adula Alps that's become quite popular with tourists lately https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0692-L.jpg Andermatt is at the base of two adjoining mountains, the Nätschen to the North-East and the Gemsstock to the South Based on Collen and Dan's recommendation, we are deviating from our southbound route and heading east, up an over Nätschen to ride some of the famous Swiss alpine passes. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0703-L.jpg Lots of hotels in town. Andermatt has undergone a resurgence in popularity because the other Swiss resorts like St Moritz have become too expensive. Of course, expensive is a relative term, because Switzerland *is* the most expensive country not only in Europe but in the entire world. More expensive than Norway, which is #3 (behind Singapore). Thankfully, we were spared this knowledge first-hand because Bettina invited us to stay with her the last time we were in Switzerland. |
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Some German bikers riding through https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0711-L.jpg Deserted streets during the middle of the weekday This is the off-season for the Swiss Alps, too warm for skiing and too cold for hiking. But that doesn't halt the parade of motorcyclists riding through town on their way to and from all the great twisty passes in the area. Hard to believe that in a few weeks from now, all of this is going to be blanketed in snow and the near empty streets of Andermatt will be bustling with ski tourists. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0709-L.jpg Neda is window shopping https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6294-L.jpg Eating a falafel at Collen and Dan's recommendation. It was the cheapest thing on the menu, but still quite pricey! Yummy and worth it though. We're sitting outside because it costs extra to sit inside the restaurant. While we were munching on our falafels, we saw the German riders from before park near us and a couple of them were checking out our bikes. So we walked over to say hi to them and chat motorcycles for a while. They left Germany this morning and were going to do the Swiss Alps then ride back home the same day! I remember when we used to ride hardcore like that! |
We headed out of Andermatt, eastwards up to Nätschen mountain
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6298-L.jpg As we got further up, the grass turns brown https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6301-L.jpg Great fun taking the switchbacks up and down! And it wasn't raining, so yay! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6340-L.jpg In the valleys, the grass is green again https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6343-L.jpg Beautiful scenery as well too, can't complain too much about the day https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6350-L.jpg Passing through small towns in the Swiss countryside |
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https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6357-L.jpg Swiss cheese production line As we got closer to Lugano, there was a noticeable change in architecture in the buildings of the towns we were passing through. We didn't notice it the first time we rode here because we came from Italy and just dipped into the Italian canton of Ticino. But now, traveling through the entire country in a day, we saw the progression from the Germanic influences in the north to the Mediterranean style in the south. Very interesting. Bettina was waiting for us in Lugano with a big smile and a warm dinner. It's so nice to be able to spend time with her like this, bonding over motorycles. We've hung out with her so often lately and we feel so comfortable around her that it feels like we've known her for such a long time. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6361-L.jpg Bettina got a new bike! Showing off the Monster! It's a beauty! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6359-L.jpg Relaxing on the couch while Bettina is helping us plan out a route for tomorrow We've traversed the whole length of Switzerland in a day! Great company, great roads! Life is simple, but it's good. Oh yeah, and here's a video: |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/263.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map263-L.jpg We've got one eye on the southbound road ahead of us and another eye on the calendar, trying to stay ahead of the winter looming just over the horizon behind us. The weather has been pretty variable lately, with warm and sunny days alternating with wet and gloomy days, signalling the close of another fall season in Europe. We're in pretty good spirits. All the company that we've surrounded ourselves with has lifted our mood, so we're not going to fix what's not broken and we're on our way to see more people that we know. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6368-L.jpg Riding around the Swiss part of Lake Lugano https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6369-L.jpg Morcote is one of the most popular tourist spots in Ticino Bettina and Stefano took us here the last time we were in Switzerland, and now we're just riding through on our way to Italy. The pretty village and the lake-side scenery is complemented by the beautiful weather we're having. I can't believe it's so nice this late in the season! |
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And then suddenly we're in Italy once again! Ciao, Bella! Now I can let Neda take over the reins of communication and just relax and be a "passenger" through Italy. Neda is the more extroverted of the two of us, and whenever we're in a country where I speak the language better than she does (basically only France, Morocco and Walloon Belgium), she ends up feeling a bit disconnected from the trip. I'm totally different. If I don't have to perform negotiation and translation duties, I'm much more happier just to sit back and enjoy the ride. Just part of my lazy personality. It's been exactly a year since we've been here and right away, when we crossed the border we saw swarms of scooters parked on the side of the road and zipping through the streets. And all the women were dressed up to the nines as well. It's funny how much you forget about a place until you come back to it and then everything's like, "Oh yeah, I remember that!" https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SCN6373-XL.jpg Trying to find our way out of Como We're not spending any time in the big city, instead zig-zagging our way back north on the Italian side of Lake Como to explore the roads around the triangular peninsula called Triangolo Lariano. Yesterday, Bettina pointed out some great twisty roads up and down the mountain right on the peninsula. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6376-L.jpg Riding around Lake Como in perfect weather |
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The narrow roads around Lake Como are lined with steep roads that traverse the interior of the triangular peninsula https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6382-L.jpg We take one such road up into the interior. Grigna Mountains across the lake in the distance Turns out it wasn't just any road. This was the world famous Passo del Ghisallo. Famous if you're a cyclist, which we're not, so we didn't know what we stumbled upon. It's one of the roads that they race on in the Tour of Lombardy. Over a distance of 10 kms, the road climbs over 500m high. What makes it so challenging for cyclists is that the switchbacks are non-stop one after the other... I dunno, sounds kinda fun if you have a motor strapped onto your cycle...! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6387-L.jpg Museo del Ciclismo in Magreglio At the top of a road is a chapel dedicated to the Madonna del Ghisallo, the patron saint of cyclists. I'm not making this up. The chapel also doubles as a museum dedicated to cycling, with lots of memorabilia, jerseys, bicycles and old photographs of famous cyclists over the years. Cyclists from all over the world come to ride this road and pay homage in the chapel/museum. Here's a short video of our ride into Bellagio, down the Passo Del Ghisallo. No cyclists were harmed in the making of this video. |
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Riding into ritzy Bellagio https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0195-L.jpg It's a small world after all! We had just gotten off our bikes and were starting to do our requisite stroll around Bellagio when this gentleman exits a building and calls us out by name. Totally caught us off-guard. I'm really bad with names and faces, but I was pretty sure I didn't know him. He introduced himself as Gino, a fellow motorcycle rider and traveler from Scotland and he told us that he had been following our blog. Wow! That's incredible! What are the odds? And that's not the entire story. Earlier this year, Gino and his wife had hosted Sara and Daniel, our fellow Canadian motorcycle friends that we traveled with in Norway. That really makes the world a small place! Gino and his wife were here on a vacation, albeit not a motorcycle one this time. We chatted for a while on the streets of Bellagio and wished each other a good journey. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0191-L.jpg I was drooling over this Ducati 999. Ah, Italian sportbikes in Italy! This is my favorite and I miss the one I owned dearly |
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Bellagio is a very upscale touristy town They call this town the "Pearl of the Lake" and it's where rich Italians go on vacation in the summer months to escape the heat of the lowlands of Milan. One look at the storefronts and we knew we couldn't afford to buy even a soda here, so it's off to do more riding. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0201-L.jpg Como stai? Bene! Bene! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0208-L.jpg Andiamo, Bella! Back on the road! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6396-L.jpg Heading towards Milan https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl.../L/milan-L.jpg Spending a few days with Neda's sister and her family in Milan The World Fair is being held in Milan this month. Goga told us that they went and it was crowded and expensive. Good thing that Touring Mode is Off for us, we're just here to hang out with family. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/264.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map264-L.jpg After almost a week in Milan visiting family, we're off again. Generally, we're heading south for the winter, but we're taking the scenic route there, zigging and zagging through some of the more entertaining roads along the way. For a change, I took over planning duties and organized a route for us up and back through the Italian Alps, through the Lago Di Garda area in Lombardy. Then we're going to head up to the mountains of the South Tyrol and the Dolomites region of Italy, just south of Austria. There's supposed to be fantastic riding there and all we want to do is just stay off the highway and take in some twisty roads. A quick jaunt on the Autostrada takes us past Brescia to the southern edge of Lago di Garda and from there we climb up Monte Baldo, overlooking the eastern shores of Lago di Garda. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0210-L.jpg Once again, the weather is co-operating with us as we climb higher up into the Italian Alps https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6398-L.jpg Just east of us is the Soave wine region of Verona. There are quite a lot of vineyards that we pass in this area There are some very pretty touristy towns that line both the eastern and western shores of Lago Di Garda. But we're going to skip them, traveling along the interior roads up and through the mountainous region. We just feel like riding today. So this blog entry will be nothing but pictures of our ride... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6399-L.jpg Passing more vineyards |
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Riding through some quaint and sleepy towns in the north-west province of Verona https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6415-L.jpg Soaking in the sunshine on this beautiful riding day https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6426-L.jpg In and out through these small towns nestled in the slopes of Monte Baldo https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6432-L.jpg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6436-L.jpg Such a wide variety of terrain and scenery here! |
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I have to laugh at this picture. There is absolutely no reason why this road has to be shaped this way. Not that we're complaining... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6461-L.jpg We are so spoiled riding around the mountains in Europe. These staircases of roads seem like they are so commonplace everywhere! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6462-L.jpg Fellow motorcyclists have the same idea as us. Blurring is natural because my camera's auto-focus is so slow. But it looks cool in this shot! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6471-L.jpg Riding through The Gorge near Lago Di Garda https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6466-L.jpg The picture that could have been... :( I take a ton of pictures when I'm riding, pulling out my camera when I see something interesting. Because there's a delay between me thinking, "Hey that would make a nice picture" and actually taking the camera out, I miss out on a lot of good shots. This one above was especially heartbreaking because we had just ridden through a series of short tunnels cut through the rock in The Gorge, and we were at the last set when I had the much-belated thought, "Hey this would make a cool picture". So out comes the camera, but because the tunnels go from dark to light so quickly, it takes *forever* for the sensor to auto-focus and I JUST MISSED Neda disappearing into the next tunnel ahead. It would have been such a great shot to have her framed right in front of me in this picture! Bah. Not good enough to Photoshop her in... :( |
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She'll be comin' round the mountain, when she comes At one point the road carves a narrow path alongside the steep face of the mountain. Slate grey peaks covered in greenery peek through a shroud of clouds in the distance, and the valley drops off dramatically beside us. The late autumn trees look like they are on fire in contrast to the brilliant blue sky above - that sky that seems to be borrowed from the summer that we never had. But don't take my word for it, here's a short video! :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6476-L.jpg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6480-L.jpg Right about now I'm thinking, "I should really put away the camera and try to make this next turn..." |
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Descending into Rovereto We are stopping in Rovereto, at the northern end of Lago di Garda, for a late lunch. About a month and a half ago, I got an e-mail from someone in Toronto who keeps up with our blog. He asked to meet with us because he read that we were back in town for the summer. Unfortunately, because our blog is so far behind, we had already returned back to Europe, so we didn't get a chance to connect. But we've kept in touch since and it just so happened that we were now both in the same area. So a quick exchange of e-mails and here we are knocking on the door of someone that we had never met before, in a town nobody's ever heard about. But he's a fellow Canadian, so we felt pretty safe... :) Our mystery host wants to remain anonymous, so no names or pictures, but he fed us lunch and we ended up having quite a lengthy and deep discussion over the kitchen table about our travels. He's also a nomad as well, spending the better part of the last 10 years moving around from place to place, sometimes on a motorcycle, sometimes with a backpack. We have very similar backgrounds, so it was quite a treat to have a Birds of a Feather discussion, getting to share thoughts and experiences about life on the road that somebody else who hasn't done it may not understand or be that sympathetic about. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6485-L.jpg Rovereto Town Square It was with great reluctance that we had to leave this tiny Northern Italian town and our wonderful host. We had already booked an AirBnB much further north. I had originally planned more twisty roads through the Dolomites, but spending further time with like-minded company instead was the absolute correct decision. We were now racing against the setting sun which disappears below the mountains of the Alps extra early - as if to add insult to the injury of the shortened daylight hours! The midnight sun in Norway really spoiled us. So we said our goodbyes outside in the town square and hopped on the Autostrada past Trento. Despite it being a highway, the alpine scenery is still fantastic, but the light was dimming and we arrived in the small village of Sappada in the heart of the Dolomiti in darkness. Not to worry though, plenty of time to explore the area tomorrow! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6488-L.jpg We wait for our AirBnB hosts to meet us on the one street that makes up the tiny town of Sappada. Only 8PM and it's already pitch dark. It was a fantastic day of riding. I know in the back of our minds, we're both evaluating the future and where we're going to end up and what we want to be doing, but sometimes just being on the back of a bike and riding some twisty roads for hours on end is the best kind of solution to the problem of thinking just too damn much. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/265.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map265-L.jpg The nights are getting quite chilly this time of year. We've settled in for the evening in a really quaint wooden lodge in this tiny one-street village of Sappada right in the heart of the Dolomites. It's a very popular destination for skiers in the wintertime, but at this time of year the place is eerily quiet - an alpine ghost town. I kinda like it. And I love that we booked the lodge for a fraction of the price that it would list for in the middle of ski season. Feels like we're on vacation! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6489-L.jpg Neda gets warm and cozy in bed with a good movie. Big day planned for tomorrow! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6490-L.jpg But unfortunately, we woke up in the morning to this... The rain is pounding the roof of our lodge mercilessly. Water is running down the streets in sheets. What a terrible day for riding... I can't complain though. We've had such an awesome stretch of nice weather over the last few weeks, marred only by a handful of rainy days. That's quite uncharacteristic for us. So in the back of my mind I was always anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only sad part is that this streak had to end while we're in the midst of a motorcyclist's playground. We watched from the warmth of our comfy and toasty lodge and waited for any sign that the showers would abate. |
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Did I mention our lodge has underground parking? We have the whole garage to ourselves. Sweet! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6495-L.jpg Timing our exit during a lull in the rainfall https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6497-L.jpg Such a shame that the mountains are obscured by a layer of thick fog We're going to head east today, through the Regional Nature Park of the Julian Alps, which is just west of the Slovenian border. The damp mountain air this morning chills us to the bone and we keep our rainsuits on for warmth but also because we know it's probably going to rain again later on in the day. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6503-L.jpg On the way, we pass through many pretty Northern Italian alpine towns https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6504-L.jpg Always a church in each town |
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Into the forest we go... Just across the border, the forest of the Julian Alps continues into the Triglav National Park. As we enter the park, Neda excitedly tells me of all the places she wants to show me in Slovenia. These communicators are wonderful devices. Rather than spending the majority of the last three and a half years of our ride in solitude, we've kept the comms open during the entire time, sharing our experiences and reactions of things we've seen along the way in real-time instead of saving it all up to discuss at the end of each riding day. On this particular day, Neda is in a reflective mood. She tells me about all of the family vacations that her and her family took, crossing into the neighbouring republic to the north. She recounts how she always looked forward to the hiking trips in the mountains of the Slovenian Alps, multi-day treks that fostered in her the love of nature. How they used to stop each evening in mountain lodges, chowing down on delicious hot stew to fuel them for the next day's journey. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6506-L.jpg Riding through Triglav National Park in Slovenia https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6511-L.jpg As we rode through the park, Neda points up at the peaks through some of the mountains she used to hike as a kid Neda's a bit upset that the weather is so bad. She would have liked to stop to show me some of the places where she went on hiking trips with her dad. She would point at a mist-covered peak and say, "We went hiking through those mountains...", and added forlornly "...but you can't see them right now". :( As the ride went on, she recounted her memories of Slovenia and how in the communist system at the time, Yugoslavian families were given "packages" from the government so that they could take vacations. Slovenia was always the more progressive of the republics and is much more affluent now because of it. From the way Neda talked about these trips, Slovenia was always that rich cousin that you looked forward to visiting, but yet made you so envious because they were better off than you. |
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Entering Slovenia... again... The road through Triglav National Park is narrow and twisty in parts. Which would have been hugely entertaining except that the rains had started up again. That, combined with the slick carpet of fallen leaves on the pavement, made our going tediously overcautious and frustratingly slow. We got to a spot halfway into the park where we finally conceded that this wasn't fun any more. So we bailed on the ride through the park and made an exit out to the highway. Because this road skirted the border between Italy and Slovenia, we dipped into each country a couple of times, crossing borders like playing hopscotch in the rain. Thankfully everyone's a part of the EU now so we don't have to fill up our passports needlessly with multiple stamps. But Neda is bummed yet again. She was the one who planned this route through Triglav and this was another spoiled opportunity to show me her childhood haunts. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6528-L.jpg We booked a couple of days in an AirBnB just outside of Bled Staying in Bled was way too expensive, so we're in the tiny village of Zasip, about 3kms away from the city. Ever since I've known Neda, she's always told me about Bled. "It's so pretty!", "I have to take you there someday!", "You're going to love it, I know you will!" The plan is to wait out the rains and on a sunny day visit the town that Neda has told me so much about. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6533-L.jpg Waiting for the rains to stop outside our BnB in Zasip The next day we stare gloomily out the window at the storm clouds overhead. They seem never-ending. We spend the day indoors catching up on e-mail and I pretend to work on the blog, which is getting so far behind that it's embarrassing. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6534-L.jpg The next day it's still raining, so we decide to leave Slovenia. Riding out of Zasip |
We've already planned to cross the border into Croatia today and we just can't wait anymore for the weather to turn. I proposed to Neda that we ride into Bled despite the rain so we can poke around town for a short while before heading to the border.
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6550-L.jpg This is one of the attractions in the town of Bled, the Church of the Assumption on the tiny island out in the middle of Lake Bled https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6547-L.jpg The best way to get to the island is by a traditional Slovenian boat called a pletna The pletna is a covered flat-bottomed boat that is only rowed by oarsmen from families of "Pletnarstvo", the tradition of rowing out to Bled Island handed down through the generations over the last few centuries. Or so the marketing literature goes... :) As we were riding through the city, Neda told me about the skiing vacations that her family took up in the mountains. They would go into the old city and skate on the frozen lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery around them. All of that obscured today by the dismal weather. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6551-L.jpg You can see the disappointment in Neda's face. :( I know Neda's not happy that she can't show off Bled the way she remembers it in her memories, but even I could see how pretty the place is through the raindrops on my helmet visor. All these charming storefronts, restaurants and hotels lining the boardwalk around Lake Bled, with the mountains of the Julian Alps riding majestically above the town. It's quite beautiful. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6554-L.jpg Nice day for a walk. Not. It's too miserable to continue on all of the back roads that Neda has planned for us around Bled. I know she's disappointed, but I try to console her that this is so close to Croatia that we'll get another chance to do them again when the weather is nicer. |
From Bled, we hit the highway to Croatia and Slovenia warps away behind us like a wet memory.
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6557-L.jpg At the Croatian border It's only two hours on the highway until we reach the Croatian border. The minute we exited the mountain range of the Alps, the weather clears up magically and we're able to shed all our rainclothes. Rather than alleviating Neda's mood, this just makes her more bitter. As if the Gods themselves were conspiring to ruin her guided tour of her youth. The smooth and well-maintained asphalt of Slovenia's highways fell away to the much less tended/funded crumbling roadways of Croatia. Neda shook her head in annoyance and in her frustration, the old jealousies reared up once again: "Why can't they make the roads welcoming people to Croatia nicer? Why do visitor's first impressions of my country have to look like this?!?" :( https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6560-L.jpg Familiar neighbourhood As we rode into Croatia, Neda began to relax again. The fine weather and familiar surroundings finally working their way into lifting her spirits. Over the communicator she tells me, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to show you Slovenia properly so you could see all the places I've always told you about". But in my mind, I replayed all of our conversations we had over the last few days while riding through the Slovenian Alps. All of the vivid memories retold with excitement and nostalgia, even the pricklish envies that came through in her voice. You've already shown me those places, Neda. I was with you the entire time. |
Lake Bled...very nice as is the whole of Solvenia, I was there about 2 months ago as part of my Balkans trip and the weather was great, it's a shame you couldn't have seen more
Wayne Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk while having a cold beer |
Hey guys, keep the photos coming, enjoyed our short meet, the world is indeed a small place.......
Gino & Fiona |
It may be high time Gene, to remove your boots & socks and check for webbed feet......quack :rofl:
Great report as always, thanks :thumbup1: |
Neda, the lady from Slovenia, can you tell me which which camera u use taking photos while you are riding. Lovely pics and am enjoying them day by day. Just wonderful.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk |
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Slovenia is so close to Croatia. We will probably get a chance to see it some other time. Quote:
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/266.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map266-L.jpg We've been on the move, gallivanting all over Europe for a month now, and while it's been amazing to spend time with friends, it'll be nice just to stay in one place for a while. Since we sold Neda's mom's apartment last year we don't have a place in Pula anymore. Iva's dad has an apartment in Medulin, which is a sleepy town less than 10 kms outside of Pula, so this is where we've settled in ever since arriving. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0484-L.jpg Carolyn, our friend from one of the motorcycle forums, sent Neda a cross-stitch pattern of one of our pictures from the trip. Because of all the free time we've had in the last while, it's coming along nicely! We've remained stationary for over a week now and it's so satisfying just to unpack everything around us and relax. Neda's friends realize that we're locals now so there's not as much of a mad rush to plan get togethers. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, which is surprising for this time of year. We were in Pula exactly one year ago and I remember how cold, wet and miserable it was when winter drove us out of Croatia. Now, it's 20C and sunny every day. If the weather continues to stay like this, we may be able to linger here for awhile longer to recover before we're forced to head further south once again. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0481-L.jpg Neda is so happy that she has a kitchen again. We're eating great home-cooked meals every day It's a good thing we have transportation, unlike last year when we were waiting for our bikes to arrive from South America. Neda is able to ride into Pula and go grocery shopping every morning to get fresh food for us. Being from the coast, Neda loves seafood, so she's been buying a lot of fish from the markets in town, straight off the fishing boats. She's preparing all her favorite Croatian dishes from her youth. Me, I've basically gone into hibernation mode. All I do is eat seafood, sleep and watch TV. I have zero motivation to do anything else. I can't believe how tired I am. It's been so draining just moving from place to place and I'm soaking up all of this downtime like a sponge. It feels like I could do nothing for months and not get sick of it. We're still figuring out where we're going to end up, but one thing is certain: it doesn't make sense to go back to Canada in the wintertime. I think the plan right now is to follow the warm weather, stop moving when the climate is tolerable and put off any decision-making until the spring when there are more options available to us. |
It's my fourth birthday on the road. These annual milestones make me think back to where we were on each anniversary. We celebrated my first birthday on the road in San Jose, California. Then the next one on the Stahlratte between Panama and Colombia. Then last year we were in Switzerland. Amazing to recall all the places that we've been!
For my birthday, Neda organized a day ride around Istria! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0224-L.jpg Our first stop is to see a kazun In the area around Pula, there are these little circular, stone huts everywhere in the fields. They're called Kazun (Ka-joon) and were originally built as shelters for workers in the olive gardens to take a break from the elements, but these days they're basically tool sheds or ornamental structures. Actually, these days you'll see more kazuns as tiny souvenirs sold in the tourist shops as a symbol of Istria. When Neda and I first started dating, she gave me one of these tiny souvenir kazuns and I kept it on my desk at work to remind me of her. I've seen many kazun in the fields outside of Pula, but this is the first time we've stopped to actually pose in front of one! I like the word Kazun because it sounds like you're sneezing. Kazun! Kazun-Teit! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6562-L.jpg Making our way to the east coast Neda's route for the day hugs the rugged eastern coast of the Istrian peninsula. It used to be the primary eastern route traveling north-south to the mainland before the highway was built. These days it's just local traffic and vehicles out for a leisurely cruise. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6580-L.jpg We're going to start our coastal tour at the town of Rabac https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SCN6571-XL.jpg Unfortunately we couldn't find the coastal road. Turns out it doesn't start in Rabac, but further north https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SCN6584-XL.jpg So back to the mainland, up north and then cutting back to the coast. But first, more pictures in pretty Rabac!!! |
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We stop for a Kitteh-petting break in the town of Plomin The coastal road starts in Plomin. There is a beautiful inlet where cruise ships and cargo ships come in. This is also the site of the Plomin Power Plant, a coal-fired power station which supplies 13% Croatia's electricity requirements. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0237-L.jpg I walk out to the cliffs at Plomin to get a shot of the inlet https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0238-XL.jpg Behind me, the Kitteh follows me looking for more hugs (or probably food). Sorry Kitteh, I'm allergic to you!!! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6590-L.jpg Also in Plomin is the Hotel Flanona |
Before the highway was built, when Neda used to take the bus from Rijeka to Pula, it would always stop here. She would see tons of bikers in the parking lot suiting up to tackle the twisty coastal roads that start and end here. Now we're part of that action!
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0242-L.jpg Lots of bikes taking advantage of the beautiful late fall weather. Neda's old transportation in the background... :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0247-L.jpg From the deck of the hotel/restaurant you can get a better view of the inlet https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6593-L.jpg And then, back on the road to do some twisties We passed dozens of bikers going up and down the coastal road between Plomin and Opatija, which is at the top of the peninsula. It's about a 30km stretch of very twisty asphalt with an amazing view of the coast constantly at our side. Sportbikes zoom past us, sticking their right leg out to say hi (that's how they do it in Europe). Actually, not just sportbikes, all bikes pass us and wave their right leg out as if to say, "Wow, you guys are slow." A minivan also passes us, the passenger rolls down her window and she sticks her leg out at us. :( |
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Krk is the largest island in Croatia, a popular tourist destination because of the beaches and the old walled city Surprisingly, Neda's never ever been to Krk. So this was a first for both of us. We had to ride over a 1.5km bridge to get to the island which took us high above the Rijeka Bay of the Adriatic Sea. My favorite part of Krk is its name. I like that it has no vowels, so when you say it it sounds like you're clearing your throat. Basically if you make a lot of involuntary noises, you're already well on your way to learning Croatian! There are a whole bunch of Croatian words that rhyme with Krk that have no vowels. Neda and I make up a silly rhyme for all of them: Srk, Mrk, Brk, Trk, Krk... Helps pass the time when we are in our helmets... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0256-L.jpg Like the true Istrians that we are, we have a nice seafood dinner at Krk https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_5472-L.jpg Neda orders squid! A classic Istrian dish. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0259-L.jpg Marina at Krk |
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Our tour leader, Captain Krk, sitting outside the walls of the old city https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0269-XL.jpg Marina pictures. Sun is setting so early, we have to get back to Medulin https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0275-L.jpg Packing up to go home https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0278-L.jpg Going back over Krk bridge, I stop to snap a nice picture before sunset https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6602-L.jpg Merging back on to the traffic on the bridge Another wonderful birthday on the road! And totally enjoying our R&R in Croatia! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/267.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...0/O/map267.jpg We've been in Croatia for over two weeks now. The apartment we've been staying in in Medulin is getting well lived in. Neda is out all the time with her girlfriends and I am relishing all the time I have to sleep and do nothing in between sleeping. I even manage to get some blog posts written up! The weather has been holding up very nicely. Everyone here remarks how unseasonably warm it is for Istria. This is good news. It means we don't have to pull up stakes and ride the bikes to some place warmer. I think Neda could stay in Istria for a very long time, she's very comfortable here. However we both would like to avoid the winter, and I'd like the option of staying mobile. Having the bikes snowed in for months is not too attractive a proposition for me. But it looks like we don't have to worry about that for quite some time. Rather than another "Didn't do anything. Life is good" blog post, here's a fun Istrian road trip we did recently: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0310-L.jpg The cast of characters for our road trip: The Pula Girls!!! Yes, you can place the blame for the amazing weather we're having on the Pula Girls, Iva and Tajana. I remember just how sunny our Spanish tour with them was and how much fun it was to hang out with them on their vacation. They've offered to take us on a short tour to show us some other places in Istria that I haven't seen before. So on one fine sunny day (they're all sunny these days), we all jumped into Iva's car for a mini road-trip. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0293-L.jpg Our first stop of the day, the town of Roč Roč (prononced "Wrotch") is about an hour's drive north of Pula. It's located in a area called the Glagolitic Alley, where artists have erected several monuments to celebrate the origins of the Glagolotic script, the oldest Slavic alphabet. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0287-L.jpg Walking through the gates of the walled city of Roč |
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Pumpkins everywhere tell us we're late in the harvest season. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0299-L.jpg Roč is the geographical centre of Istria and the town has been set up as a shrine to the Glagolitic alphabet and its inventors, two Byzantine monks who traveled to this area to do missionary work. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0305-L.jpg A statue commemorates the Saints Cyril and Methodius, the two brothers who came up with the Glagolitic alphabet Saint Cyril and Methodius transcribed the Bible into the Slavic language, devising the Glaglotic alphabet, which is the precursor to the Cyrillic alphabet that countries like Russia and Serbia still use today. Neda told me that she studied all of this in her history lessons in school. When we first started dating, she transcribed my name in Glagolitic on a beautiful card that she had made up by hand. Remembering this and the kazun she gave to me when we first met really made me realize how connected she was to her Croatian heritage. We had met each other during her very first few months in Canada. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...ridedotcom.jpg "RideDOT.com" in Glagolitic. Not a phonetic translation, just the keyboard alphabet transliteration https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0318-L.jpg Enjoying the beautiful weather up on the stone walls of Roč |
After walking around Roč, we hopped back in the car for a very short drive to Kotli, just a few kms away. There's a small waterfall there where we could go hiking around and then sit at a nearby cafe overlooking the water.
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0393-L.jpg Hanging out in old familiar haunts There's a watermill at the falls in Kotli. Neda told me how when she was a kid, her dad used to get called out for field work in this area. She would accompany him and they'd pack a ham sandwich for lunch and eat it here out on the rocks by the falls. She told me that she remembered thinking that those were the most delicious ham sandwiches ever. I could listen to Neda talk about her childhood all day. Her stories about the memories she made in all of these places are way more interesting than any wikipedia article I could cut and paste. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0385-L.jpg Tajana and Neda hanging out at the waterfall https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0367-L.jpg I made a new friend! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0376-L.jpg Autumn leaves collect on the water |
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After the waterfalls, Iva and Tajana took us to the nearby town of Hum https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0476-L.jpg Hum bills itself as the smallest town in the world. And also proudly boasts being part of the Glagolitic Trail https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0414-L.jpg Walking through the gates of the medieval town of Hum https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0419-L.jpg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0456-L.jpg Hum is pronounced "Hoom". Population: 20 |
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Childhood friends just chilling out I'm a bit mystified by female friendships. They lack the common bonds that typify male friendships, like burping, farting and making jokes and laughing about burping and farting. Also, I've noticed female nicknames are more endearing. Usually they're a cutesified version of their real names. Tajana's nickname is Tayo. Iva's nickname is Zoof (for her last name). Men's nicknames are usually bestowed after the least attractive part of their body or the most embarrassing thing their friends have seen them do (most often while drunk). They can get so insulting and demeaning that if anyone outside the circle of guy friends were to use that nickname, it would be instant grounds for a fist fight. Neda and I have pretty much been each others sole source of companionship for over three years, literally joined at the hip for all that time. We're husband and wife, and each other's best friends. But it's difficult to fulfill the other's need for same-sex friendships. Actually, it's only difficult for me, since I've got a million nicknames for Neda (she's still not too happy about "My little Smartie") and I constantly make burp and fart jokes around her anyway... I can see that being back in Pula with her childhood friends is really filling that need for gals-only time that she was sorely missing while being on the road. I suppose I could learn to paint toenails and talk and talk and talk for hours and hours and hours. And not burp and fart so often... No, that last part's a dealbreaker. Not gonna happen. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0451-L.jpg I see how Neda is when she's here and happy and laughing and enjoying herself. That makes me so incredibly happy myself. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0430-L.jpg Talking about girl stuff. And then minutes later, they broke out the toenail polish... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0426-XL.jpg In comparison, men just like to hang out with each other and be dogs, chase bitches around and sniff each others butts. Well maybe not that last part so much... |
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Watching the sun slowly move across the sky in a familiar country, the NedaLands https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0444-XL.jpg Thanks Iva, for the great picture of us! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0435-L.jpg Half the population of Hum live in the buildings in this picture https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0474-L.jpg The other half live here... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0470-L.jpg What a great day, hanging out with old friends! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0477-L.jpg Smell roses You can travel for years and years, turn miles and miles beneath your wheels. You can chase every burning sunset to the ground of a different country every night, lie awake till morning to breathe in the foreign sky of a brand new day. Laugh at how funny these new words feel when they're rolling around in that same old mouth that you use to smile at strangers and talk and drink their wine until nobody's strange anymore. Or until everybody is. Fall in love with this, and leave. Fall in love with that. And leave. And then sometimes you can stay awhile. Laugh with friends. Tell stories that you've told a hundred times to people that have heard those same stories a hundred times before. Because they're in those stories. You can watch the same sun fall to familiar ground every night. And you can smell roses in your own back yard. You can stay awhile. Laugh with friends. |
for neda
I have been following your adventures since you left toronto. over the holidays i saw a movie miracle of the bells. Guess what the actress alida Valli was in the movie with Fred McMurray and Frank Sinatra. She is also from Pula. Thought I would throw that in for Neda. You guys take care and hope to continue tracking you.
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Thanks! Appreciate the encouragement! :D
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/268.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map266-L.jpg Wow! Almost a month in Croatia and the weather is still amazing, which means that there's absolutely no reason to leave. Here's a bunch of stuff we've done in the past week or so: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6610-L.jpg Putting around downtown Pula in the last few weeks of Fall |
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We gave a presentation at one of the high schools in Pula! One of Iva's friends, Nataša, is a teacher. She teaches English in a high school and when she heard that we were in town, she asked if we could come in and talk a bit about our travels to her kids. That way they could get more exposure to native English speakers (that's me) and still have some link to Croatia (that's Neda). We've done a few presentations about our travels during the past few years. But talking in front of teenagers is very different than speaking to a group of adults. The biggest difference is their attention span. I found that you couldn't rely solely on the material to engage them. Especially not for 45+ minutes! I kept their interest up by asking questions like, "What's the weirdest food you've eaten? Here's a picture of some grasshoppers we ate. Oh yeah, I also ate brains in Mexico!" "EWWWW!!!" haha, kids are the same everywhere. The girls loved hearing Neda talk about how we met and about our relationship on the road. And they all loved hearing about and seeing pictures of all the animals we saw on our travels: giant turtles, camels, cobras, llamas, penguins, marine iguanas... I really like giving presentations to teenagers, they're so much more expressive in their enthusiasm. Nataša had to shush them a few times when the topics got very interesting! :) They were such a fun audience! I also like that we got to relive our trip all over again. We've been stationary for so long now, and still trying to decide if we should stop or continue. Talking about our experiences really got us excited about travel again, if only temporarily. I still kinda like not moving and not doing anything. Need more of that. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0724-L.jpg After the presentation, the kids followed us out into the parking to see our Round-The-World machines https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6604-L.jpg They had so many more questions once they saw the motorcycles. All the boys wanted to sit on the bikes. :) |
Our social life has gotten much busier as well. One evening, Neda's friend Vedrana and her husband Zoran invited all their friends over for a beer-tasting party. It was a beer pot-luck, so everybody brought a case of the most exotic beer they could find. We brought Croatian beer... :)
Zoran took care of the food: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_2952-L.jpg "Pod Pekom" literally means "Under the lid" in Croatian There is a unique Croatian style of cooking called "pod pekom". It involves baking food, typically meat and potatoes, in a ceramic dish covered by a cast-iron dome. The domed lid ("peka") is then covered with hot ashes and the food inside is slow-cooked for well over an hour. What makes peka cooking so delicious is the lid is air-tight so all the steam and juices are locked inside. I'm glad I wasn't the only one entranced by this traditional method of cooking. Neda's friends (Yes! The Croatian ones!) were also gathered around the peka taking pictures of Zoran as he walked back and forth between the fire pit carrying shovelfuls of hot ashes to pour on top of the peka. So it's not like every Croatian has one of these in their back yard and they eat peka cooking every night... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_2984-L.jpg You don't want to peek too often "pod pekom" so you keep all the juices inside. Our food was ready in an hour and a half! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_2945-L.jpg Meanwhile inside, Vedrana had the beer-tasting menu all set up :) Let the games begin! Good times! |
Iva lives just down the street from us in Medulin, so she's over all the time to hang out. One evening we got to talking about what she was going to do on her vacation time over the holidays. "I'm going to Thailand for a couple of weeks. I've been planning this trip for months!", she told us with excitement. And then she added jokingly: "You should come too!"
All conversation halted as Neda and I looked at each other with wide open eyes. We were both thinking the same thing. Why were we so fixated on staying with the bikes in Europe over the wintertime? Even in the most southern parts of Europe it's still friggin' cold! And we've heard that it's so much cheaper in Thailand than it is here, so at least our travel funds won't hemorrhage as rapidly over there. It just makes perfect sense. Iva looked at us incredulously. "Really? Just like that?" A few days later, we had booked ourselves seats right beside her on her flight from Zagreb to Bangkok. I forwarded her our itinerary via e-mail. She responded, "I hate you guys" :) Note the smiley is outside of the quotes... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6611-L.jpg Prepping the bikes for winter storage It's quite fortuitous that all of this is happening around Pula. Neda has family here who have generously allowed us to store our bikes in their garage over the wintertime. We're normally so bad with bike maintenance. We've left our bikes behind a couple of times before to visit Toronto for a few weeks and we've always managed to come back to flat batteries. So this time we're going to do things right. I picked up a couple of battery tenders and bought some fuel stabilizer. We might be gone for quite a few months so we want to make sure the bikes are going to be okay when we get back. *Hopefully* everything will be okay when we get back. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6616-L.jpg Goodbye, babies! We're going to miss you soooo much! :( We still don't know what our future is going to look like, but at least we'll have a few months in a much warmer climate to figure it all out. It's interesting to see how our meandering route over the years has taken a couple of drastic turns that we could not have foreseen. Lately, we've been so heads-down on a path that's seemed laid out for months ahead of us and now everything is wide open again. It's very exciting! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SCN6618-XL.jpg RideDOT.com winter vacation in Thailand! See you all on the other side of the world!!! |
amazing have a great winter. will you be renting scooters ?
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So you must be here already?
I am in BKK myself, its a bit warmer here that Croatia Gene :D Lots of things to do over here. I you fancy a pint for an hour or two let me know Wayne |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/269.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map269-L.jpg Bangkok hits us like a brick wall. The sliding doors of the well air-conditioned Suvarnabhumi Airport open up into the early Bangkok morning. Hot and humid air smacks us in the face as if we've physically walked into a solid brick wall. In the harsh, bright Thai sunlight, I squint down at my phone to check the time: 8AM. Holy geez... There's such a huge difference between overland trekking and travel by air. When you're hugging the ground on your slow journey, the geography and landscape, the daily cycles of the sun, and even the taste and feel of the air changes very subtly over a stretch of time. Hopping on and off an airplane is like teleportation. The effects are a bit jarring after crawling across the globe for so long. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6622-L.jpg Welcome to the Kingdom of Thailand Iva, Neda and I flag down a taxi and once again, we're out of the furnace blast and back into another smaller air-conditioned bubble. All three of us stare out the taxi windows at our new environs, a mixture of weary jetlag and curious excitement. Our driver doesn't speak very much English and he glances at the map and directions that Iva had printed out with disinterest. He asks us the name of our hotel. "We're going to Thara House", Iva replies. "Okay. Talahow", he nods confidently. All three of us look at each other with uncertainty. We want to make sure nothing is lost in the translation. "So... Thara House, right?" I ask. Our driver glanced at me in the rear view mirror, "Yes, Talahow". In turn, I look back at Iva and Neda and shrugged. Okay. I'm sure that's just the Thai way of pronouncing it. We spent close to an hour on the congested multi-lane highway, trickling forward like warm molasses flowing all the way from the airport to downtown Bangkok. This was the middle of rush hour and it seemed like half of Thailand was heading into the city for work. I was most interested in the tiny motorcycles dodging and weaving effortlessly through the pylons of slow-moving cars and trucks. I miss our bikes already! Also, I was trying to get used to everyone driving on the left. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0495-L.jpg Ah! Something familiar! Tuk tuks from Latin America! Our taxi finally entered the crowded and bustling downtown, and the driver circled around the area trying to find our hotel. After a couple of laps around Khao San Road, he had to stop to ask for directions. He rolled down his window in front of a large hotel and had a brief conversation with the security guard. All I heard was "thai thai thai Talahow thai thai thai". I pursed my lips and thought to myself, "But... That's. Not. The name..." The security guard nodded affirmatively, repeated "Talahow" a couple of times and pointed out some directions in rapid-fire Thai. At that point, I was very fairly certain we were not going to Thara House, but instead another completely different place. I wondered if the rooms in Talahow were nice. Was it even a hotel? Not two minutes later, the taxi stopped underneath a small sign that read... Thara House. Hah! It was at that moment I learned two things about getting around in Thailand: 1) Don't print off map directions in English. Our taxi driver didn't read English, and why should he? We were in Thailand. We should have printed off directions in Thai. 2) I have to get used to the local way of pronouncing things. Just like in Quebec, when you're watching a hockey game, everyone calls it Centre Hice - the initials of which are even on the logo for the Montreal Canadiens... Deux minutes pour Hice Ticking? Ça me dérange pas pantoute! |
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There are monks in orange robes everywhere! We have to find out more about them. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0501-L.jpg Buddhist religion on display everywhere: Incense sticks burning in front of a shrine It's so hot and muggy here in Bangkok! What a complete difference from the cold European climate that we've spent a year and a half living in. In the hotel room, Neda proclaims, "I miss the heat so much! We're not going to use the air-conditioning at all the whole time we're here!" Sweat is dripping off the end of my nose. I swear I can see the hot, soupy air shimmering as it flows into the room through our open window. I would like to say that Neda's skin was glistening with perspiration, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate. She's sitting in a ever-growing pool of her own sweat and her eyeballs look like they're melting. 20 long minutes later, she's scrambling to find the remote for the air conditioner. Because of her limited vacation time, Iva is on a mission to see and do as much as she can while she's here. I realize how lucky we are not to have to rush through everything. Although our primary reason to come to Thailand is to relax and recuperate from our travels, we decide to join her whirlwind Bangkok sightseeing hurricane tour shortly after checking into the hotel. There'll be lots of time to do nothing later. From our hotel, the three of us walk down the main street taking in all the new sights. Unlike the time we went riding in India, there is very little culture shock for us here. Everything is clean, nobody stares at us and there are so many gringos around. Actually, they're not called gringos here. The Thai word for foreigners is "farang". I think that's such a funny word. Farang. Like the Ferengi in Star Trek. I'm positive that's where the Deep Space Nine writers got the name from. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0525-L.jpg A new pair of pants for me and a snazzy skirt for Neda! One of the biggest tourist attractions in Bangkok is the Grand Palace and inside of it, the Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Like most sacred places in Thailand, there's a strict dress code here for decency and to show respect. This means taking off your shoes before entering the temple, and not exposing the skin on your legs and shoulders when you're walking about the grounds of the Palace. Gotta cover up those Thais! You can borrow pants and skirts at the entrance to ensure that you're modestly clothed. |
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The grounds of Wat Phra Kaew are breathtaking beautiful! There are lots of interesting temples and buildings all over Bangkok, but the ones in Wat Phra Kaew have cranked up the bling a few notches higher. I wonder what the Thai word for "bling" is? I just Googled it. It's "เพชร". Okay. That added nothing to this blog entry. Anyway, bling... Glistening gold paint is used liberally across all surfaces and everything seems to be that much more intricate and well-cared for. Words can't describe how ornate and magnificent the temples and statues are, so here are a bunch of pictures: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0565-L.jpg Green-faced, bulging-eyed, terrifyingly fanged giant guardians of the gate are called Yaksha https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0572-XL.jpg This is my favorite building in the Grand Palace complex: Phra Si Ratana Chedi. The colour is so vibrant! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6642-L.jpg The face of the Chedi is covered in gold-mirrored tiles, which makes it more brilliant than the other buildings in the complex Or it could be Iva (one half of the Pula Girls) and her amazing sunshine-making abilities... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0622-L.jpg Closeup of the tiles |
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Happy Neda Time! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0616-XL.jpg Golden Yakshas protecting Phra Mondop (The Library) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0664-L.jpg More Yakshas holding up the building https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0624-XL.jpg Buddha in front of the glistening Library. You have to wear sunglasses to stare at these shiny buildings! |
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These birdlike gold statues are called Kinnara, mystical creatures in Thai mythology</br> There is a plaque beside the Kinnara explaining the character. The text is taken from the Mahabharata, an epic Sanskrit poem from ancient India: We are everlasting lover and beloved. We never separate. We are eternally husband and wife; never do we become mother and father. No offspring is seen in our lap. We are lover and beloved ever-embracing. In between us we do not permit any third creature demanding affection. Our life is a life of perpetual pleasure. Neda read the quote out aloud to me and we both smiled at each other... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0669-L.jpg Although the top half of the Kinnara is human, the lower part is bird, enabling them to fly between the human world and the mystical realm https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0672-XL.jpg If we were Kinnara, our bottom half would be two wheels and a motor |
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Like the guards at Buckingham Palace, these Thai guards are not allowed to move, smile or acknowledge the tourists that stand beside them for pictures https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0719-L.jpg Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0729-L.jpg After spending a couple of hours at the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, we grabbed some food at the market near the docks https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0731-XL.jpg Some authentic Pad Thai from Bangkok. Unfortunately, just because it was authentic does not mean it was very good... :( https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0737-L.jpg Neda's Tom Yung Soup was tasty though The food here is so cheap. Meals are typically less than $2USD. We both love Asian food, so we're going to go bananas in Thailand! Literally. The fruit is quite tasty here! |
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We found out that the cheapest way to travel around Bangkok is by river boat. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6688-L.jpg But we didn't know that at the time, so we hopped on a much more expensive tuk tuk after lunch One thing we've got to get used to is bargaining for everything. We're so bad at it. Everytime we meet someone else and ask them what they paid for tuk tuks, or whatever you can haggle for, we always find that we overpay by double! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0756-L.jpg Our next destination was Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha Wat Pho? Just Cause! (Sorry, so lame...) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0760-L.jpg Cloud peeking past the ornately carved sloped roof of the temple. Thankfully it's dry season in Thailand |
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The main attraction in Wat Pho is the 46-metre long, gold-plated Buddha lying on his side The Reclining Buddha is an example of Parinirvana, the final passing of Buddha as he passes from death into the afterlife of Nirvana. Which has absolutely nothing to do with the Foo Fighters at all. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6676-L.jpg Buddha says, "Come as you are" https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0787-L.jpg 108 pretty bronze donation bowls line the inside of the temple in Wat Pho 108 is a special number in Buddhism. The 108 bronze bowls represent the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha as he takes the form of birds, tigers and flowers. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0793-L.jpg Is it my imagination or are the clouds getting thicker and darker? The buildings in Wat Pho, although not as bright and shiny as the temples in the Grand Palace grounds, are so intricately detailed. It's getting a bit late in the day and the low sun is casting a beautiful glow over everything here. |
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As we walk around Wat Pho, parts of the sky turn black above us https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0845-XL.jpg Cat seems unfazed by the large drops of rain starting to fall from the heavens Okay seriously? WDP?!?! (Wat Da Phu...) It shouldn't be surprising. If we can bring rain to the Sahara Desert, surely rain in the dry season in Thailand isn't that much of a stretch. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6683-L.jpg We seek shelter inside the cloister with a buncha Buddhas Wat Pho houses the most Buddhas in one place. There are over 1,000 representations of Buddha here. In another section of the large complex, there is an actual working monastery where monks live and go to school. So far, I find Buddhist monks the most fascinating aspect of Thailand. We had to go investigate that! |
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Buddhist monks congregating at the monastery in Wat Pho https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0831-L.jpg We were allowed to sit with them as they chanted. Everyone was mesmerized by the monotonic sounds, almost hypnotic in their rhythm and lilt https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0822-L.jpg Iva was sitting outside waiting for us as we came out of the temple. She said it only rained for 5 minutes Hm... I'm starting to doubt the rain-warding power of the Pula Girls. Maybe you need two of them for their sunshine-magnetism abilities. Well, hopefully that will be it for the rest of our time in Bangkok and Thailand. Bring it on, dry season! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0850-L.jpg Beautiful sunset through the haze of the big city Wow, I took a lot of pictures today. After spending so long in Europe, things kinda started looking the same. But now that we're on a new continent and in a new culture where everything looks so different, I went a bit crazy with the camera... :) We're tired and jetlagged and need to get our Ferengi asses to bed. But we're totally looking forward to seeing more of Thailand!!! |
Glad you are enjoying such a great country
The Pad Thai Gai (chicken) is great from my local guy on Soi 22 haha Enjoy it Wayne |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/270.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map270-L.jpg It's a grey, overcast day in Bangkok today. Iva has left us to continue her SE Asia tour in Cambodia. Those two statements might be related... But we're trading in a Pula Girl for two Belgians: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0015-L.jpg Yes, Thomas and Eva are in Thailand! Totally not a coincidence. While Iva may have persuaded us to join her in Thailand for her vacation, what further convinced us to come here was knowing that Thomas and Eva were also spending their vacation here as well! We have been so social the last couple of months and we just want it to continue! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0890-L.jpg Since we had arrived a couple of days earlier than our Belgian friends, we took them on the requisite temple tour https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0012-L.jpg I always thought bonsai was a Japanese art, but it originated in China and other Asian cultures have their version too. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0022-L.jpg Farang those bells, Neda |
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There are statues and pictures of the King of Thailand everywhere. He is a very important figure in the country. We've discovered that it is a serious crime to speak ill of the King and his throne in Thailand. It's called Lèse majesté and it's different in Thailand than other countries that enforce this rule. In Thailand it's against the law to criticize any royal aspect of Thai life, from development projects, to all members of the Royal family, distant past and present. The Internet is heavily policed and a Thai tour operator got sentenced to 60 years imprisonment for insulting the King on Facebook. Last year, a man from Bangkok was arrested for making sarcastic comments about the King's dog. I'm going to have to watch my sense of humour while I'm here... :( Good thing I'm all about the self-deprecation! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0928-L.jpg I think you're allowed to make fun of Thai elephants. But why would you? They're beautiful! Can't wait to see one in person. So we've been hanging out with Thomas and Eva for the day, showing them what little we know of Bangkok since we have a 24-hour head start on them, when it becomes very clear that the grey skies above us just cannot tolerate the fact that we are dry. They welcome us to Thailand the RideDOT.com way. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0937-L.jpg Watching these temple workers sweep water off the floor of the temple in the pouring rain is like watching Sisyphus roll that rock up the hill "Dry season in Bangkok extends from November to February" -- The Internet From underneath the awning that we are hiding under, Thomas and Eva glare at us. Almost as if they are blaming us for all of this rain... I shrug my shoulders and look helpless, but deep inside I know we are the real reason it's raining. :( An interesting thing happened while we were waiting for the rains to stop. A Thai lady also stopped under the same awning we were all under and started speaking Thai to me. Once again, I shrugged my shoulders and told her I didn't speak Thai. She responded, "Oh, I thought you were a tour guide". Because if you're Asian in Thailand and hanging out with a bunch of farangs, you *must* be a tour guide! :D Well, it's better than constantly being called "Jackie Chan!" in Latin America... |
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Well the rain wasn't going to stop, so we walked into Chinatown during a period of light drizzle https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0951-L.jpg Chinatown, Bangkok I'm often asked if I can tell the difference between Thai, Chinese and other Asian races. Because apparently I should be an expert. But truthfully, I can't tell. And judging from the "tour guide" comment, Thai people can't tell the difference either. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0959-XL.jpg Thomas, being the perfect gentleman, gives Eva a lift over the flooded streets up onto the sidewalk After this picture was taken, Neda gave me a lift up onto the sidewalk as well. True love, people. It comes in all forms. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0961-L.jpg Finding veggies to feed the vegetarians was a strangely difficult task in Chinatown |
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Rain looks to be letting up https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0974-L.jpg A constant feature on the streets of Bangkok: a dense canopy of telephone and electricity cables overhead https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0977-L.jpg Street vendors selling food Apart from her lactose intolerance, which Neda has finally licked (like an ice cream cone), we've both been fairly free of stomach bugs - pretty much ever since leaving Latin America. But now that we're out of Europe, we're a bit wary about getting sick from the food in SE Asia. But everything looks sooooo good though! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0978-L.jpg Strolling through some of the open air markets https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0982-L.jpg Street food is sooo cheap. Typical dishes are about $1USD. |
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Thomas and Eva live a bit outside of the downtown core, so they introduced us to their mode of transport - the river boat https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0042-XL.jpg Buddhist monks get free transportation all over Thailand. There are special seats and waiting areas for them https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0049-L.jpg The Chao Phraya River is the main waterway that cuts through Bangkok https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0050-L.jpg Wat Arun temple on the shores of the Chao Phraya River We must have the worst luck when it comes to visiting famous monuments. The Roman Colosseum, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Glockenspiel in Munich, the Kizhi Pogost in Russia... all covered up in scaffolding. New RideDOT.com curse? Rain and scaffolding, coming soon to a city near you! |
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Our last stop of the day, the backpackers paradise: Khao San Road I can't believe how touristy this place is. Nothing but hippie farangs walking up and down the length of the street. Wall-to-wall stores selling cheap custom-made suits of dubious quality, cheap massages, cheap souvenirs and cheap food and beer. Neda and I managed to dodge the tailors and souvenir stores, but: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0077-L.jpg Neda fell victim to the cheap $3 half-hour foot massage https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0085-L.jpg Stalls selling all kinds of food We found an outdoor restaurant and ordered cheap Thai food which was not very good at all. We know what good Thai food tastes like and Khao San Road is *not* the place to get it. We've been here for a few days now and Bangkok is kinda wearing on our nerves. It's so crowded here, and there are so many western tourists it hardly feels like a foreign country. We came here to relax and it's obvious this is not the place to do it, so we're not going to stay long. Thomas and Eva aren't big city people either, so they're leaving the day after to do jungles and beaches, which is our cue to get out of here as well. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0088-L.jpg More Khao San Road at night It's so nice hanging out with Thomas and Eva again. We said goodbye to them back in July, not knowing when we'd ever see them again, and here we are together once again! So I think we've all learned our lesson. It's never "goodbye", but always "seen you again!" |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/271.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map271-L.jpg Sawadee Khrup! That's how you say "hello" and "goodbye" in Thai. The masculine version at least. Guys end every sentence with "khrup" and gals end it with "kah". So, women would say, "Sawadee Kah". If we're going to be here for awhile, we're going to have to learn some words. It's very difficult since Thai, like all Asian languages is a tonal language, so it's not enough just to pronounce the words correctly, you have to "sing" it in the right pitch or tone, or it's a completely different word. Today we're venturing out of Bangkok temporarily to visit the Damnoen Suduak Floating Market. It's about a an hour and a half bus-ride west of the metropolis. I woke up today with a bit of a stomach ache. I polled Neda to see if it was something we ate yesterday, but she seemed fine, so it must have been something *I* ate. A year and half in Europe and I didn't get sick once. Just a few days in Bangkok and my insides feel like they're rearranging themselves. This does not bode well... There are lots of floating markets in the Bangkok area, but Damnoen Saduak is perhaps the most famous one. We had to load the bus very early in the morning to make it out here before the afternoon heat becomes too unbearable. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0091-L.jpg Our bus lets us off a couple of kms away from the market and we climb aboard a covered boat and ride along the canalways in style We've left behind the urban jungle of Bangkok and traded it in for the actual lush jungle that presses up against the sides of the canals and over the buildings that line the waterways. This is more our speed. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...IMG_5510-L.jpg Our tour guide is a Chinese lady who entertains us by telling us jokes in broken English. Hm, so you don't actually have to be Thai to be a tour guide here, eh? You just have to look the part. Hmm... if I pick up the language, I may be able to subsidize our stay here... A flashy tour boat with huge twin motors zooms past our rickety barge. Our tour guide deadpans, "That rich people boat. You pay more you go on rich people boat." In turn, we pass by another tourist group, their operator is paddling the boat down the canal. "That poor people boat", she says. LOL! I hope the people on the rowboat didn't hear her... :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0141-L.jpg If learning to speak Thai is hard, trying to read the Thai script is a completely different level of impossible. Good thing all the signs are in English too |
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One of the vendors paddles her way to the market https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0123-L.jpg A local resident watches the tourists go by. Just like the Croatian nonas at their windows above the street! :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0161-L.jpg Neda is excited: "SHOPPING!!!!!" https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0171-L.jpg "Final offer!" You can buy anything at the floating market. Even calculators. Bargaining is Number One Beloved National Sport. If you don't haggle, the vendor will lose respect for you. It's like showing up to play a soccer game and just sitting on the field while the other team keeps scoring goals around you. They won't stop playing and scoring goals, but it's no fun for them anymore. If you're going shopping in Thailand, you gotta bring your A Game, otherwise go to a farang store. |
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Colourful displays on the boats floating on the canals https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0183-L.jpg Almost all the boat vendors are women These women on the boats remind me of the indigenous women in Guatemala selling their fabrics and fruit in the market. Our boat lets us off in the middle of the Damnoen Saduak and we walk up and down the covered walkways and stalls along the canal. Every 50 meters or so, there is a bridge that lets you walk over the canals so you can take in the view of the action from above. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0186-L.jpg All stocked up for a brand new day at the floating market https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0190-XL.jpg Customers in the tourist boats sidle up alongside the vendors and haggle for food and hats and other trinkets |
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The vendors are very skilled, maneuvering their boats towards customers who call out to them https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0201-L.jpg Making change https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0216-L.jpg The late morning sun is getting warmer, these straw hats do a great job in keeping the vendors cool when they're not in the shade https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0221-XL.jpg Congested waterways https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0228-L.jpg As we walk around the marketplace, I'm not feeling too well. We have to stop to get a soda to settle my gurgling stomach. I make a note of where the closest washroom is in case of emergency, and Neda gives me a 5 baht coin so I can be ready to pay to get in. In my pocket, I grip that coin like my life depended on it. Neda goes off on her own to do more window shopping as I take a seat in one of the restaurants above the waterway and watch tourists and vendors perform their dance below me. |
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A vendor goes out in search of more fertile selling grounds https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0252-L.jpg These long poles allow the vendors to sell their stuff to people up on the walkways https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0255-L.jpg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0256-L.jpg Buddhist flower offerings on the bow of one of the boats |
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As the afternoon approached, the rising temperatures made me very queasy and I had to move to a more shady spot. The smell of the swampy canal water didn't help any. I don't think there's any treatment of the water here, probably a mix of sewage and rainwater. It was in my secluded spot that I saw some of the cooked food vendors stop by and dip their dirty dishes in the murky canal water beside them to wash them for the next customer. Oh my god, that's disgusting!!! So glad I didn't buy any food from them. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0196-L.jpg I continued watching these food vendors as they made their way back to the main marketplace. As they rowed, their paddles dipped into the water on one side, then up and over to the other side, dripping dirty canal water onto the open food in front of them. As if on cue, my stomach made a loud sound like air bubbles rising from a pit of hot tar. It felt like my guts were competing in an Olympic tumbling competition and I quickly got up and made a beeline for the washroom, the location of which I had memorized before sitting down. Time for me to Sawadee Khrup. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/272.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map272-L.jpg Sawadee Khrup! Thank god, it's our last day in Bangkok. So friggin' hot and humid, so many tourists, and to top it off, there's a karaoke bar right underneath the hotel that opens up every night. Normally, noise doesn't bother me but karaoke is a way different kind of noise. And not the good kind. I'm still on European time so I can't just go to sleep. Instead, I lie awake most of the night pretending I'm Simon Cowell: "too pitchy", "too flat", "too much like a cat slowly being run over by a steamroller..." https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0281-L.jpg Last day at Talahow. Waiting to go to the train station. We're heading into northern Thailand today, up into the mountains where it should be much cooler than Bangkok and with less tourists hopefully. I'm really missing having our own transportation. It sucks heaving all our stuff around in this heat, in and out of tuk tuks, sitting around for hours waiting for public transportation... How do backpackers do this? :( We are so spoiled. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6713-L.jpg Bangkok train station |
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Overnight train to Chiang Mai. Eleven hours to catch up on reading, blogging, etc. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6738-L.jpg This is everything we're bringing with us for our winter vacation in Thailand We've left the majority of our stuff on our motorcycles in Croatia. It was quite a chore stripping our life bare four years ago, paring down all our possessions to whatever fit on the back of our bikes. Now we had to do it again, trying to decide what to take with us to Thailand. Lots of hemming and hawing, should this stay or should it go (darling you got to let me know)... It feels so strange to think that this is everything we're going to live with for the next few months! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6722-L.jpg The train attendant comes around before bedtime to convert our seats to bunk beds https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6727-L.jpg The AC in the train is cranked all the way, so we put on all the clothing we brought with us and snuggle up for the night |
Along our travels, many people have asked us where we're going next. While we normally tell them that we make our decisions in the moment, that it always changes, and that we don't have any grand master plan for our route, that's not true at all.
Actually, since the very beginning of our trip, our route has been laid out in detail in a single song. I'm surprised nobody's noticed yet, because we've followed it to the letter religiously. Our grand master plan for Riding the World was penned in 1976 by a fellow BMW-GS-rider-to-be, Neil Peart, in the Rush song, "Passage to Bangkok": Okay, so it should have been "Passage FROM Bangkok..." Anyway, if you're wondering what's next for RideDOT.com, you can skip ahead in the lyrics to find out. YouTube won't allow this video to play in some countries (we're banned in Germany!), so if this is the case, you can view it by clicking here. |
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End of the line in Chiang Mai Almost immediately we could feel the difference in the air at our destination. It's a little bit cooler, and much less humid in the mountains. We sat in the back of a pick-up truck/taxi as it ferried train passengers to their hotels and BnBs all over town. Watching the traffic and people around Chiang Mai, it seemed a lot less touristy than Bangkok. I think we're going to like it here! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0289-L.jpg Our new digs! For the same price as camping in Norway! Unbelievable. Our plan is not to do much for the first little while. We've not been taking care of our travel fatigue at all since we got here, sightseeing first with Iva and then Thomas and Eva when they arrived. I know what I want to do: nothing but eat and sleep. In equal amounts preferably! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0315-L.jpg There's a shopping mall close to us and every weekend there's a little market that sets up in the evenings https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0317-L.jpg Always lot of interesting and cheap food to try out https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0329-L.jpg Most of the dishes here cost about $1. You literally cannot spend more than $4 on food here or you're bringing home leftovers. For the rest of the week... |
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In the evenings, we explore the area a bit more. Only because of dinner... We're in an area of town called Nimmanhaeminda (or Nimman for short). It's a vibrant and trendy part of town, full of restaurants and bars with young people milling around everywhere. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0299-XL.jpg We've gone out to eat every day. Even found our favourite restaraunt which we go back to often Neda has fallen in love with the Northern Thai cuisine, especially the Khao Soi, which Chiang Mai is known for. It's a spicy, coconut curry soup with two kinds of noodles in it: flat noodles which sit in the soup and a crispy, and deep fried noodles which sit on top. At this place, I finally found a Pad Thai that's good. It's a bit expensive though. $2.50... LOL! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0308-XL.jpg In some bizarro twist of economics, it's actually more expensive to make your own food at home than it is to eat out. But because Neda loves cooking so much, we decide to splurge sometimes and buy her some ingredients so she can make food at home. We did the calculations, it costs 3-4X *MORE* to cook at home than it does to go out to eat. We're told that the kitchen is the most underused room in the Thai household. Thankfully, my stomach has settled from the Bangkok incident, so our washroom has become the most underused room in our household. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0313-L.jpg So we go back to eating out... *gahhh* so yummy *drool* |
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Neda sits outside on the patio and catches up on her cross-stitching I'm doing nothing but lying on the couch and watching lots of TV shows. The only time I leave our apartment is to go out to eat. They say you are what you eat. I look down and see a lot of Pad Thigh. And Pad Gut. And Pad Manboobs. I went too far there, didn't I? As usual, Neda gets bored of doing nothing way earlier than I do, so she goes out to explore the city a bit. Some pictures of her walk through the nearby park: https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6746-L.jpg Street market https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6751-L.jpg That doesn't look very friendly https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSCN6754-L.jpg Suan Buak Haad Park Part of the reason why I'm not doing more exploring of Chaing Mai is because I'm saving my energy. I'm preparing for the hurricane that's about to blow into town. Her name is Iva. |
We love the Chiang Mai area, for it's great food, people & riding of course :mchappy:
Bangkok, a great place in the rear view mirror :rofl: |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/273.html
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map273-L.jpg Well, the year 2558 is coming to a close. No, we haven't time-traveled to the future, although the blog is so far behind, it might as well be a history book. As we've noticed in all the dates we see on the newspapers and flyers around town, the Thai calendar is measured in the Buddhist Era, which is 543 years ahead of the Christian Era of the Gregorian calendar. In the Buddha Era Calendar, the most important days are the full moon days. That's when all the Thais and tourists come out to celebrate. And of all the Full Moon celebrations, the most visually spectacular is the one celebrated on the 12th month of the lunar calendar, Loi Krathong - the festival of lights. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0671-L.jpg Normally in the western world, this means werewolves. In Thailand, it means PAAAAARRRRTTTTEEEEEE!!!! Loi Krathong celebrations in Chiang Mai take place over several days. We heard the monks at the Wat Phan Tao, right in downtown Chiang Mai, were throwing a huge party the day before the full moon, so we dropped in. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0737-XL.jpg This is how the Buddhist monks celebrate. Wat were you expecting? |
It does get livelier though. Outside the temple, the monks were carrying small ceramic bowls of wax with a candle inside. They were placing them all over the temple and the grounds.
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0806-L.jpg You can donate some money to the temple and receive a Buddhist votive candle. Then you write your name on a tag that you stick on the underside along with a wish or prayer https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0843-L.jpg You can hand them to a monk for them to place your candle up on the walls of the temple https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0846-L.jpg Neda made a wish. Like a birthday wish, you're not supposed to share it with anyone else |
Loi Krathong is a special occasion, so at Wat Phan Tao they organize an outdoor ceremony where novice monks practice the light waving rite.
https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0849-L.jpg Novice monks slowly walk out onto an island of candles https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0860-L.jpg As a Buddhist sermon is delivered, they close their eyes in deep meditation https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0901-L.jpg https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0904-XL.jpg With paper lanterns above them and a carpet of candles around them, it's a spectacular setting for a religious ceremony |
The next evening is the actual full moon ceremony, and tens of thousands of people will spill out into the streets of Chiang Mai to celebrate. Iva, the whirlwind traveler has arrived in town from her densely packed itinerary just in time to celebrate Loi Kathrong with us. We sat down with her during the day and she regaled us with stores of where she had been in the last 10 days: the temples of Angkor Watt in Cambodia, the ruins in Ayutthaya, the beaches of Phi Phi. "So what have you guys done since I last saw you?" she asked.
"Um. We took the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai... Oh and we ate a lot of food. Like, A LOT of food! And... we're seeing Loi Kathrong tonight!" https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0023-L.jpg This is the main event, releasing the Krathong into the river A Krathong is an offering made of banana leaf and wood shaped into a lotus flower. They are typically decorated with a candle, an incense stick, perhaps a coin and a lock of hair. The idea is to place all of your bad fortune into the Krathong and release it into the river away from you. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0034-L.jpg When a few people release krathongs, it seems like a deeply personal affair https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0487-L.jpg But it's not a Festival of Lights if only a few people do it... When thousands of people line the shores of the river and release thousands of these lit-up krathongs, it is quite a sight! That's a lot of bad luck floating down the river... |
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No party is complete without a parade https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0121-L.jpg And floats. Each year there is float dedicated to the Queen Noppamas Beauty Contest The first person to ever create a Krathong was Noppamas, the daughter of a Brahmin priest in 1850AD, she presented it to the King of the Sukhothai kingdom and he released it into the river. Then he married her. Then came the floats. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0390-L.jpg During the parade, we glance up at the sky... It was breathtaking. Thousands of orange lights, like fireflies rising up into the dark clouds of the night sky. It all seemed to be coming from Wat Phan Tao temple, so we quickly headed over there to see what was going on. |
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At the temple, there was a crowd of people all releasing paper lanterns balloons Although Loi Krathong is Thai holiday, Chiang Mai has put a special twist on this celebration. Because Loi Krathong also coincides with the Lanna (Northern people) festival called Yi Peng, this tradition also launches thousands of paper lantern balloons into the sky like embers rising from a flame. So along with the thousands of Krathongs floating down the river, you have the mirror image of the paper lanterns floating up in the sky. It truly is a Festival of Lights! https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0336-L.jpg How do you get yourself a paper lantern? Well one way is to donate some money to the temple... :) https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0327-L.jpg The lantern is called a Khom Loi, and like the votive candles, you write your wish or dreams on the side of the lantern balloon https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0244-L.jpg Here's a Hello Kitty Khom Loi. Not sure what the wish here is... Maybe a pink bowtie for Christmas? |
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The Khom Loi are lifted up by a wax disc that's set on fire. It is also capable of setting your head and hair on fire if you're not careful. True story... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0374-XL.jpg You hold the lantern upright until the candle has filled the inside with hot air, then as it becomes light, you let it go... https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0464-L.jpg Looking up, it looks like something from an astronomy textbook! If you think this is not entirely safe for airplanes, you're right. On the night of Yi Peng, you're only allowed to launch lanterns within a small window of time in the evening of the full moon. During that time, all flights are routed around the Chiang Mai area. If you launch a lantern outside of this window, you face stiff penalties up to and including the death sentence. Yes, you can actually be put to death for having too much fun. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...SC_0403-XL.jpg But nobody here is thinking anything remotely close to that |
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Iva launches her own wish up into the sky https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0531-L.jpg Although Loi Krathong is the main national event, in Chiang Mai Yi Peng is by far the more popular activity https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0468-L.jpg Throughout the night, thousands of these lanterns are released After all the tourists leave at the end of Loi Krathong, it's up to a cadre of local volunteers mostly made up of university students, to scour the dam's reservoir of Krathongs and hiking up the hills around Chiang Mai to collect the landed Khom Loi. It's not a job that's much-publicized, but an essential part of the lifecycle of the festival. https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl..._0426_1-XL.jpg Fireworks explode, providing a brilliant backdrop to the rising khom loi https://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...DSC_0481-L.jpg Paper lantern hopes and wishes Held high with both hands Lit up from inside with equal parts imagination and willpower Dream hard and let go And let's see where it flies off to - Yi Peng, Chiang Mai 2558 BE / Toronto June 14th, 2012 |
Hey Guys, It appears your a bit behind in real time on your reports but I can recommend Tony's Big bikes in Chiang Mai if your still there for bike rental and tips for routes, we rented 2 x 650 Kawa's there Nov 2014.
Enjoy Gino & Fiona |
Epic trip guys! So jealous every time I see this thread pop up!
Would you mind if I ask how you fund your trip - by all means tell me to bugger off!! |
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