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Officially no longer in the outback as I proceed from Port Augusta to Orroroo.

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Published inAfrica Twin Across The Outback 2017: Day 12 – Coober Pedy to Peterborough

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Day 39 - 21/07/2019 - A relaxing Sunday spent in Osh. Not really keen on going out in the heat during the day, I spent most of daylight hours inside the air-conditioned dormitory while I weighed out my options for the next few weeks across the remaining parts of Asia. Originally I had planned to go straight through Kazakhstan before heading south into Turkmenistan. Literally the only thing I'm interested in visiting in that country is the Darvaza Gas Crater which is in the middle of a massive boiling hot desert. Excluding that fact, the current issue at the moment is whether I can actually enter into Turkmenistan because my application for a tourist visa on arrival via a tour guide is still under consideration, and that has a 50/50 chance of approval. I don't like my chances. As I desperately wait for a response for the issuance of the Tajikistan e-visa that I had applied for last week, I weigh out the feasible alternatives that I have available. One is to wait for the Tajik visa which is also not guaranteed to be done on time, or just simply make my way through Uzbekistan from where I am now in Kyrgyzstan to catch up on lost time from my planned travel schedule. Later in the evening, I hiked up the world heritage listed Sulayman Mountain, situated within Osh. A place of Islamic significance, a prayer room sits near the top of the mountain where the adjoining viewing platform provides a place of spiritual reverence while looking out to the city from 130 metres high up. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #mountains #sulayman #osh #kyrgyzstan #asia #overland

Day 38 - 20/07/2019 - Relishing the sights of the Pamir Highway. Exploring the well-maintained Kyrgyz side of a road that reverberates through the imagination of overland travellers across the globe. From the alpine village of Sary-Tash of the southern section to the second largest Kyrgyz city of Osh in the north, the descent in altitude from 3100 to under 1000 metres is gradually felt through the rise in daytime temperatures from 18°C to 37°C. Although Kyrgyz is the preferred spoken language, Russian is widely used in the Central Asian "-stan" countries that were formerly a part of the Soviet Union. I would have benefited greatly if I had learned even a bit of Russian prior to my arrival in Kyrgyzstan, where English is rarely used. I feel that the Russian language would be really fun to speak as a foreigner with Russian speaking locals. As little as I understood Russian, "vodka" is a universally intelligible term, a drink which I was offered within minutes of entering a guesthouse. After experiencing the hyper-obsessive enthusiasm of the Pakistanis and the deafening coldness of the Chinese people, it has been a pleasantly mellow journey so far in Kyrgyzstan where people generally mind their own business but are very welcoming when prompted like a normal person. I describe myself as a natural introvert at the best of times, but a selective extrovert if situations demand it. I reckon that characterises the Kyrgyz people as a whole. I can live with that sort of environment around me; I can enjoy my time without much fuss with that in mind. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #mountains #pamir #highway #kyrgyzstan #asia #overland

Day 37 - 19/07/2019 - My CRF has met its adventure doppelganger! I wasn't expecting to see another Rally model out here, until Kitty from the Netherlands rolled into the small Kyrgyz town of Sary-Tash for breakfast. The weather has been fantastic here in Sary-Tash. Clear skies with a minimum of 5°C and maximum tempeature of 18°C, the day was ideal to take a day off. Apparently the president of Kyrgyzstan was going to visit a nearby military base in town today, which would have prompted the roads that lead in and out of town to be closed, but nothing's happened. Now out of the Indian subcontinent and China, the cuisine is becoming more familiar and simply more comfortable to eat. Indian style food tastes good, but it's been difficult for me to get my gut to accept it. The Chinese food of Xinjiang hasn't really been to my taste, so I had been maintaining my hunger with fruit during my time there. I just don't enjoy eating in general when I am on the long road, only doing so to survive. Therefore, when I see food that I'm used to, I feel happy. I've made the foolish mistake to forget about Tajikistan until the last moment, which means that I have not prepared for a visa in advance. Thanks to passing travellers and my French riding buddy who's been with me since we met at far northern Pakistan, I had been urged to give Tajikistan a chance. Hopeful to obtain my e-visa by Monday via email or else I'll have to continue on towards the west via Uzbekistan. Fingers crossed for things to turn out in my favour. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #sarytash #kyrgyzstan #asia #overland

Day 36 - 18/07/2019 - Red tape of bureaucratic China. There are so many rules in China, that I wonder if the Chinese themselves think that it's logical to uphold even a few of them as necessary. Case in point: The purchase of fuel. Simple as you'd think, right? To purchase fuel in China, at least where I was in the state of Xinjiang, a govt-issued ID is required to be swiped at the entrance. If permitted by the police who guard the service stations, they will open the gates to allow you to enter the fuelling area. There is a policy in China to reduce fossil fuel use. I assume that foreign bikes with ICE are the easiest ones to prohibit, because, even though we were permitted to ride into the station, me and my China tour partner weren't allowed to fill up our bikes, just because. Okay, great, we'll run up to the nearest police station and get an exemption letter. Got it. Apparently, though, no exemption for any of the rules can be allowed because, well, that's the rule, and the rule of the law must be upheld, lest it might encourage dissent against the ruling Chinese govt. Fine, we say. We'll fill up my Rotopax off the bowser and fill our bikes with them. Nope, not a snowflakes chance in hell, they say, to even fill the Rotopax because they can be dangerous. Tried the same thing with three other stations and finally found one where they agreed to use their steel water kettle to fill up the Rotopax away from the station to avoid any fire hazard, which then was used to fill up our bike tanks. We wasted a collective 2 hours just to find fuel that we could buy. Imagine the amount of time wasted to have our bikes go through customs once again. Everything in China requires many steps that would otherwise be a more simple process. Leaving China. Entering Kyrgyzstan by evening, we were greeted by the Kyrgyz border guards accompanied by a group of village kids who really wanted photos. As my French mate and I left the border lined by many kms of trucks waiting to enter China, I felt genuinely welcome to visit a country. Welcome to Kyrgyzstan. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #roadtrip #motorcycle #dualsport #adventure #travel #china #asia #overland #kyrgyzstan

Day 35 - 17/07/2019 - A day in Kashgar. By typical Chinese standards, Kashgar is a small city with a million people within its urban area. Despite this, the Chinese policy of prioritising cleaner transport in their cities is also applied here. All public road transport are electrically powered and almost every family own an electric scooter which are allowed to be ridden on the sidewalks of cities. Even a large number of taxis no longer run on fossil fuels. I came to the city expecting a dirty smoggy city, but returned impressed by the cleanliness of its streets. As a city with strong historical roots to the old Silk Road, architecture resembles close to Central Asian antiquity, combined with the modernity of contemporary Communist China. The majority of Xinjiang's population consist of the native Uyghurs. Their culture is heavily influenced by Islamic traditions so pork is not readily available for consumption in this part of China. Although Uyghurs are the majority demographic in the state's west, the Han Chinese also enjoy demographic prominence that's been steadily growing throughout centuries via state-sponsored migration and a way for military to bolster its border security with its neighbouring countries. After all, Xinjiang approximately means "New Frontier". As mentioned in a previous post, public surveillance is no joke in China. Camera flashes on the roads go off literally every second every time a car goes past. CCTV cameras in restaurants and shops are linked directly to police, whose stations are located around every block in the city. Wherever there is a government facility and its worker, be it a police officer whose presence spans everywhere there is a person, photography is restricted by law. Plain clothes officers also patrol the streets, and they are also not to be photographed. This makes street photography in urban China a profoundly difficult undertaking, especially in this politically sensitive part of China. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #scenery #travel #kashgar #xinjiang #china #asia #overland

Day 34 - 16/07/2019 - Xinjiang, China. The westernmost region of the Middle Kingdom, where historically China was linked to the Indian subcontinent and the West that passed through Persia on a trade route known as the silk Road. Relatively flat fields are surrounded by endless mountain ranges, many of which are capped with snowy tops like the Muztagh Ata, a mountain peak that stands 7509 metres above sea level near the westernmost Chinese town of Tashkurgan. It's been difficult to follow the compulsory guide in China. Although the service was advertised as a full featured guide, I felt left behind and forgotten whilst the guide vehicle would speed away ahead of me. The landscapes on the way to Kashgar, a major city of Xinjiang, were absolutely stunning, but I had minimal chances to actually enjoy the views. A huge contrast to my time in Myanmar where I was also required to have a guide. From the first moment I stepped into China, it seemed like I was unwelcomed in the country. The amount of surveillance cameras everywhere that's linked to government operations, the extremely thorough inspection checks at inspection involving the access of all electronic equipment and the number of police checkpoints that operated like international border passes was unlike any other country I had visited. I even had the sweet chance to have my face scanned by the police with their smartphone app designed to identify fugitives and criminals. In saying that, with the level of surveillance, I think I'd be hard pressed to get mugged on the streets. #honda #crf250rally #crf250 #rally #dualsport #motorcycle #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #tashkurgan #xinjiang #china #asia #overland

Day 34, 35, 36 - CHINA #1. ... Actual posts to follow after departure. ... #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #motorcycle #roadtrip #karakoram #pamir #highway #asia #overland

Day 33 - 15/07/2019 - My final run through the mountains of northern Pakistan. At the small village of Sost, I met up with my China tour partner, Sebastien from France, who's joining me with the same compulsory Chinese guide. From the Pakistani border, we plan to transit through China to reach Kyrgyzstan in the next couple of days. Departing like a rockstar, the enthusiasm of the Pakistanis know no bounds, even right up to the Pakistani-Chinese border. Took me a lot of effort to shoo away the crowd of people who constantly demanded a selfie on their phones, one after another. I'm pretty sure that my face is now plastered on the screens of a thousand Pakistanis totalled over the week in the country. Ordinary foreigners like me are treated like celebrities in Pakistan. Khunjerab Pass is the location of the highest international border crossing on earth, at an altitude of 4793 metres. My CRF was constantly battling against the thin air, sputtering at low revs and cutting off at not even close to the redline. The bike likely needs a tune to compensate for a lean running engine especially at these altitudes. In contrast to the extreme friendliness of the Pakistanis, reception as I entered Chinese territory was colder than its daytime temperature of a windy and chilly 5°C. From coming out from a place of unconditional warmth, to entering a world where massively bureaucratic processes take priority, it was crystal-clear that I was no longer in a place of willing hospitality. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #kunjerab #pakistan #china #asia #overland

Day 32 - 14/07/2019 - The landscapes of Karakoram Highway. The surface quality from Hunza up to Sost is as perfect as it can be for a Pakistani road. Reconstructed in the past decade with the cooperation of China after the 2010 Pakistan flood disaster that caused mass damage to infrastructure, the route runs almost parallel within the valleys that support Hunza River. The colour of Hunza River varies depending on the location. Still waters exhibit a light blue texture, whereas the river rapids would have a very murky brown colour. Where the water is calm and clear, as though it were something out of Switzerland, water sports help to spruce up local tourism during summer. Jet skis and boat cruises are popular especially around Shishkat, where extensive tunnel and highway networks help to connect these otherwise remote villages. Come tomorrow, I'll be saying goodbye to Pakistan. The friendliness and welcoming hearts of the Pakistanis have been a life changer. There is no way that I can leave Pakistan with the same assumptions and personal opinion that I once had in relation to this country. No other country, to date, has had such a massive impact, and I actually feel privileged to have experienced a country that I otherwise would have never visited if I were not travelling on a motorcycle across Asia. Slightly annoying with daily requests for probably hundreds of selfies in total by now, but the Pakistani people have a very special place in my heart. I will miss Pakistan. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #mountains #hunza #passu #sost #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 31 - 13/07/2019 - Spent a day in the Hunza Valley, the urban area that is located in the northern part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region that borders the Xinjiang region of China and the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan. Staying within the Karimabad area, the economy flourishes with the many tourists from Pakistan and China, and also a few other foreign nationalities, who visit during Summer to explore the history of the old Silk Route and admire the mountainous landscape. The village that surrounds Baltit Fort houses many historical structures that have stood for centuries. Snaking along narrow lanes paved with cobblestones, shops are alive with local Hunza cuisine and arts that have been influenced by Central Asian cultures, due to its prominent location in the past as a historical trade route. Shilajit is a black, tar-like substance that is sold in Hunza Valley as a resource exclusive to Gilgit-Baltistan and surrounding regions. Bitter in taste, Shilajit is believed to have medicinal properties and it is commonly used for making tea. Authentic shilajit partially melts in your hand and dissolves in warm water, but becomes like a hardened gel when left in room temperature. A relaxing day that barely got me covering a few kilometres on the bike, I will have to continue with my journey further up north on the Karakoram Highway. Looking forward to the scenery to come. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #mountains #hunza #valley #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 30 - 12/07/2019 - My next step for today was to cross over to the northern side of Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park. The weather has been pleasantly temperate and that, together with the impressive natural scenery, makes the region a highly popular destination for Pakistani people on summer vacation. A small-scale ice trade occurs in the upper part of these mountains where natural glaciers remaining from the winter season are harvested. At first, I wondered why there was such need for it when hydro electricity is the main source of power in the wider region, and temperatures remain cool. As I descended to the northern side, I discovered that climates vary drastically depending on which side of the extensive mountain ranges you stand. The Gilgit-Baltistan region is home to the crossroads of the world's three highest mountain ranges. Although you can see snow up in the many tall peaks, the climate around Chilas and Gilgit can get very dry, hot and dusty. It's rivers are heavily silted due to strong currents and a rocky and sandy terrain that supports minimal flora and fauna. I've come up to the northern mountains to escape the heat, not come back to what I have already experienced in the cities of Pakistan! The heat, however, is bearable as at least there is space among the deserted landscape for me to chill out and take a break on my own without being disturbed by anyone, allowing myself to recharge for the next stretch of road ahead. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #scenery #nature #landscape #gilgit #baltistan #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 29 - 11/07/2019 - First night wild camping in Asia! I've been dying to put my tent to good use, and where else but the beautiful Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park within the mountainous region of northern Pakistan. In saying that, I was moved on from the original spot within a few hours by the Pakistani police after sunset. I was ordered to set up the camp next to the police station as apparently there are "local issues" in the area, and just wanted to ensure that I was completely safe. It took the Pakistani police a while to explain that they really were the police. With their limited English, combined with a few Urdu words that I didn't understand, they attempted to get their message across, all dressed in traditional attire with some large guns strapped on their shoulders. I didn't doubt them, but I guess they thought they may look slightly intimidating to a foreigner at night. To say the least, I feel rather satisfied to have experienced a very Pakistani moment. Very naive of me, but overall happy for the chance to camp and also interact with the police. In relation to the said local issues, apparently there are some minor tensions that go all the way back in history among the various mountain tribes that cause some problems for the police every now and then. The tribal people seem alright, but who am I to decide what is completely safe in a foreign country. Going up the mountains on the CRF, the atmospheric change is gradually felt through the loss of some power. A lot more revs are needed to get that 250cc working enough to climb the mountains. I hope that it doesn't cause significant issues as I go further up north where the altitude will be a whole step up. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #scenery #nature #landscape #camping #naran #lulusar #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 28 – 10/07/2019 – Goodbye to the scorching heat of the major cities of Pakistan. Going up north, where the natural scenery will get more interesting and cooler weather conditions make wearing full gear a desirable thing. To be honest, I could not get myself to wear my “all-weather” touring jacket that leans more towards rain resistance than air ventilation, even though I am a believer, though not a preacher, of ATGATT – All the gear, all the time. I’ve done my best to put on all apparel in the humid south-east of Asia, but I gradually figured out that I would be better off avoiding an accident that’s caused by heat stroke, in turn caused by the +40°C temperatures of the Indian subcontinent. I reckon I’d go for some of the typical breathable enduro-style gear if I were to again ride in such conditions in a foreign country. I've wondered why a lot of people here in Pakistan have been so interested to interact with me. I’ve had a lengthy conversation with one shopkeeper, whilst I reluctantly accepted free foods even though I insisted that I should pay. He expressed to me that it was his first time meeting a foreigner from a non-Asian country in over a decade. There is lamentation in that tourism in Pakistan remains unpopular, especially when the country has reportedly had a flourishing economy with lots of international visitors before the 2000s. Knowing all this, it now makes perfect sense that the Pakistanis are such welcoming, hospitable people. Now going through the Kaghan Valley and beyond where the road quality might become less consistent and terrain is susceptible to frequent landslides, I hope that my CRF keeps chugging on just fine as it has for the past month, but through all the high-altitude landscapes that it will take me. If the bike screws up now, I’ll be pretty much in the deep. Cautiously looking forward to the next week of adventures over the mountains of Pakistan. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #mountains #naran #kaghan #valley #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 27 - 09/07/2019 - Spent the day, relaxing indoors to escape the heat and recuperate after yesterday's massively exhausting run. Just like Canberra in Australia, Islamabad is Pakistan's planned capital city. Compared to the likes of Lahore, Islamabad's road network is very spacious and well-maintained. Much of the city reminded me of home, even down to the accommodation that would fit in well in a north-west Sydney suburb. It's been almost a full four weeks on the road, with still a lot to go until I reach the end of the journey. Last year's 7-week, 20000km road trip around Europe was made easier for a few reasons. I was able to use my friend's home in Germany as my start and end point. Along with that, I got to make a quick visit in the midpoint for a stopover to reorganise and rest up. I have no such convenience for this year's journey across Asia. The constant push to keep up with my travel itinerary been a massive mental and physical challenge, with almost no room to breathe. It's not the ideal way to travel; that I can say for sure, but stubbornness persists when things are done the way that I've set out habitually in the past few years of part-time travelling. I am so grateful, nevertheless, for the opportunity to be able to visit and experience life within the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It still seems surreal that I am here in a country that is easy to vilify and seemingly hard to understand when certain biases are pushed by the mainstream media. I know that I have learnt so much, just by travelling these roads, purchasing goods from stores and simply by interacting with the people. All the simple things matter in a journey. Personal experience can break down the barriers set up by the inaccurate stereotypes and misconceptions taught by books. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #landscape #architecture #islamabad #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 26 - 08/07/2019 - Spent all morning trying to obtain a Pakistani SIM due to the required lengthy identity verification process. After all was completed, I exhausted any small amount of time that I had set aside to explore Lahore, and was advised that the SIM wouldn't even be activated until later in the day. Is it also a surprise (not) that the weather is incredibly hot during the day. Any proper tour of an old and busy city like this place requires a lot of walking, something that I just can't do in the heat without feeling ultra exhausted. With all the luggage that's tied up on the motorcycle, I would not be able to enjoy the experience without worrying about my belongings. At this point, I simply gave up on doing a proper look around Lahore, save for a few points like the back of the Walled City area, where the chance of taking a touristy photo without getting a curious crowd of people around me is nigh on impossible. It was time for me to head up to Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city in the north. Following the offline routes I downloaded on Google Maps, I proceeded to the entrance of the expressway to Islamabad on which I did not know that motorcycles were prohibited until I approached the toll gates. Having been told that I had to turn back to an alternative route, the day that I knew would already be long was going to turn into a massive ride which would take me to my accommodation past midnight in Islamabad. In saying that, it has been a great day of interaction with the Pakistani people. Wherever I went, I was treated very kindly and enthusiastically. The only question that threw me off for a moment in literally every conversation on the street so far, being in a strongly Islamic country with very devout followers, was the topic on my religion. I still haven't fully figured out the reason for the question but, insha'Allah, I will experience more of the goodness of the Pakistani people for the next few days in the country. Welcome to Pakistan. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #landscape #lahore #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 25 - 07/07/2019 - Managed to do an all-nighter from New Delhi to Amritsar, even though it was only meant to take me around 6 hours to travel. I did have a choice of spending the night in proper accommodation, but I couldn't trust myself to wake up on time in the morning. My particular plan for the day was to see the sunrise at the Golden Temple, as my way of bidding farewell to India for this journey. My time in India had been muddled by my late mornings. I needed to do at least one thing right for India today. After the visit to the holy Sikh temple for a few hours conversing with local regulars, I was off to the Wagah border, the road that joins India and Pakistan. It was 10am by this time and the weather was already unbearably warm, not helped by the lengthy queue of the bus loads of pushy people who had no concept of keeping in line. It took me a full two hours to obtain my Indian departure stamp and Carnet de Passage document stamped off, ready for the next destination. The immigration process on the Pakistani side of the border was very simple in comparison. Passport stamped, asked brief questions about where I was going, when I was planning to depart the country, and of me emphasising to them that, yes, I am an Australian despite my Korean appearance. What I didn't expect was being offered currency exchange at the office for all my unneeded notes for Pakistani Rupees for almost the market value. After being ripped at the Nepal-India border, I felt real grateful for what can only be considered a gracious act. It wasn't long after leaving Wagah towards Lahore that my phone connection completely dropped out and I had to ask for directions after 20km of riding into the unknown. I needed a Pakistani SIM because the "global" SIM I have kept with me is useless. Nothing is truly global in the telecommunications world. Sundays are closed for mobile phone shops, so I'll have to obtain one tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll have to pay back the sleep debt of the previous night. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #roads #amritsar #india #lahore #pakistan #asia #overland

Day 24 - 06/07/2019 - I've had the strange and distinct satisfaction of visiting the Ghazipur landfill park, the tallest landfill in the world, approximately 11km north of the centre of New Delhi. Yes, it is absolutely monstrous; it may as well be called a mountain. Apparently on course to surpass the height of the Taj Mahal in a few years, it sits on prime land between populated residential areas and a busy fish and chicken market. I live in the hope that the Ghazipur site may face the same future as the recently-inaugurated Waste to Wonders Park in New Delhi, where replicas of some iconic structures have been constructed and installed using waste materials, including the pictured replicas of the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Maybe the landfill site can be turned into a green mountain that can be walked. Even the Sydney Olympic Park area was once a waste dump. The metropolitan area of New Delhi and its surrounds are so extensive, that it is basically impossible to scratch the surface of what can be seen, especially not helped by the manic traffic conditions even on a Saturday morning. Most of its major attractions are also not directly accessible on a motorcycle, so there really wasn't much for me to shoot that was bike related without having a prior plan and theme in mind. The morning was quickly starting to heat up, so after the walking tour of the Waste to Wonders Park and the beautiful Lotus Temple (not pictured), I had to make a move out of the city so that my day doesn't face the same fate as my exhausting time in Agra. From here, it's directly up to Amritsar, before I say goodbye to India. My time in India has been way too short; this country deserves a road trip on its own to be appreciated to the fullest because there's far too much to see and do, and it requires a lot of time. Hopefully next time, India! #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #mountain #landscape #newdelhi #india #asia #overland

Day 23 - 05/07/2019 - Finally left Agra after an unplanned extra night to rest off the massive fatigue from yesterday's heat. Today's weather was cloudy in comparison to the previous day's unfiltered skies, so the daylight wasn't as searingly radiant, though it was still really warm. From here, the road was towards New Delhi, where I would make a short overnight stopover before I continued on to Amritsar, in the north-western state of Punjab. Really, the only thing that I was interested in doing at New Delhi was to meet up with old friends Sundeep and Sunil, who run the Indian motorcycling community @xbhp . They will, in fact, be celebrating their 16th anniversary on Sunday which I am so sad to say that I will not be able to attend due to my now-delayed travel schedule. Nevertheless, I was actually surprised to be given a message yesterday from Sundeep to come over to their office because I always assume that he's real busy on the road with his countless moto adventures that he publishes for the xBhp Magazine. The last meet we had was in my own garage in Sydney two years back, when I just came back from my Africa Twin outback trip and Sundeep and Sunil were about to embark on their epic 20000km Kawasaki H2 + Ducati Panigale journey across Australia. To say that I am jealous about their many adventures is an understatement. They are living the dream! They've recently released their first YouTube episode, covering this particular journey! Anyway, starting from tomorrow, I will no longer have any time left to play around with. I now need to keep going strong with my own moto dream by arriving to Pakistan on time, because there is a major checkpoint that I surely cannot miss. Let's go! #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #agra #newdelhi #india #asia #overland

Day 22 - 04/07/2019 - Finally got to see the iconic Taj Mahal, the finest example of Islamic architecture in India. As beautiful as the venue and what it symbolises, it was equally as disastrous for me to visit in the middle of the day, when the weather was scorching hot. The original plan was to visit at sunrise, when the weather could have been cooler and lighting not as harsh, but I was too tired from the previous day and failed to take notice of the many alarms I had set before sleep. If you can't tell from the photo of me, I was probably on the brink of approaching heat stroke. My photo collection for the visit to Taj Mahal has been lacklustre in my haste to spend only a short time due to the intense heat. I can't even go back tomorrow as the place is closed for worship sessions on Friday. I guess at least I can say that I've seen it in person; not a remark that everybody can claim. On the way back to my accommodation, I thought I was doing alright with my route directions until the streets turned into laneways, then narrow paths that lead through the corridors of people's homes. I ended up in a central courtyard of a village. I was almost certain that I'd be scorned at, as an uninvited intruder to an otherwise quiet community. As with the many Indians I've come across in this country, I was greeted in a friendly manner. Giggles ensued as they could tell that I had no idea where I was going. Kindly, they escorted me all the way to where I should have ended up. Later in the evening, I got to experience the start of the monsoon season in this part of India. The storm was a great change from the dry and raging heat. Hopefully, though, the storms would subside by tomorrow because I now really need to head towards New Delhi and beyond. More roads await! #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #dualsport #motorcycle #roadtrip #adventure #scenery #nature #landscape #tajmahal #agra #india #asia #overland

Day 21 - 03/07/2019 - It is almost impossible to catch a break in India on the streets without getting approached by a curious person. Most of the time, it's totally fine for that to happen. Conversations would occur with the use of non-existent Hindi accompanied by the flamboyant performance of improvised sign language. At times when I'd so love to simply lay down for a short nap between destinations, I just wish I had a moment to myself without feeling that I was being watched. Long distances in Australia are possible because you can get every chance to chill out on the side of the road and know that people would mind their own business, effectively enabling yourself a good mental recharge to continue the ride. Quite the contrary in India where you'd stick out like a sore thumb as a foreigner on an unusual bike. Besides that, everyone has been really friendly, and have been offered some cold beverages as a gift now and then. For the ultimate attention whore, India is the place to be, because you'd be getting them in spades. I've been sternly advised to avoid food from Indian roadside stalls at all cost, unless I didn't mind some Delhi Belly. General food quality and safety is not consistent, and what may pass as acceptable to a local may not end up being the same for a foreigner. It didn't stop me from getting some momo dumplings because I had fallen in love with them back in Nepal and I was darn starving. They weren't as great as I was hoping though. In relation to its hygiene, I don't know; I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. From Lucknow, I took the expressway to Agra. On world terms, it's a really boring road but, after all the traffic insanity of urban India and the crappy surfaces of rural South Asia, it was a great change to Western-style safety and monotony. I've even been wished "godspeed" for my journey. Never thought that I'd see that word on a road sign, but it's given me some good vibes. #honda #crf250 #rally #crf250rally #motorcycle #dualsport #roadtrip #adventure #travel #scenery #nature #landscape #lucknow #agra #india #asia #overland

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