So anyway... Fanny and I spent June riding through France, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. Fanny on her bright green Kawasaki ER6F and me on a KTM 990 SMT. But before Fanny flew out from China to join me, I decided to fly out to Sicily and hire a scooter to explore the island. I had … Continue reading Riding around Sicily …….on a scooter
Preparations
Our preparations for trip
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Chapter 1 – First Africa expedition
Southern Africa Motorcycle Adventure
Chapter 35 – Sri Lanka
Riding Honda 250 Bajas across Sri Lanka
Chapter 34 – Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin in Wales
With all our KTMs now sold, and perhaps a few expeditions on the horizon, we have been taking a serious look at the new Honda Africa Twin. https://youtu.be/VSR0NMpSrQM I briefly had a Honda Africa Twin in the early 1990s when I was in the Royal Hong Kong police, but I have to say … Continue reading Chapter 34 – Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin in Wales
Chapter 27 – Back to South Africa
As the cold weather descended on Shanghai, and indeed the rest of the northern hemisphere, Fanny and I escaped our second successive winter by flying to South Africa. Last year the Arab Spring and fighting and disturbances in Libya and Syria had delayed our progress to Turkey and so we saw out the European winter … Continue reading Chapter 27 – Back to South Africa
Chapter 26 – 中国 Part 8 – Hubei, Anhui and onwards to Shanghai
The point at which we actually crossed from Chongqing into Hubei province was high up in the beautiful misty mountains of Huangshui (Yellow Water) National Park. We had thought of staying there for the night, but it was late autumn, getting quite cold and the locals told us that all the bingguan and hotel owners had … Continue reading Chapter 26 – 中国 Part 8 – Hubei, Anhui and onwards to Shanghai
Chapter 24 – 中国 Part 6 – Sichuan
As hard as one tries, it would be impossible to ride around the world on a motorcycle and completely avoid any bad weather. We had heavy rain in the Basque Country and its border with France, and later in England and Wales where it pretty much rained throughout the whole of the summer. In China … Continue reading Chapter 24 – 中国 Part 6 – Sichuan
Chapter 22 – 中国 Part 4 – Qinghai
I have often studied maps of the world and been fascinated by Earth's equivalent of Jupiter's Red Spot... The Chinese province of Qinghai (青海. It always looked like one of the most remote parts of the planet and was definitely on my "bucket list" of places to see and ride a motorcycle. We had been … Continue reading Chapter 22 – 中国 Part 4 – Qinghai
Chapter 21 – 西藏 Tibet
When we rode through Tibet (西藏) in September 2012, the People’s Republic of China was restricting access to Chinese citizens only. The only exception being that a “Tibet Travel Permit” might be granted to a foreign tour group, provided they all come from the same country, that their itinerary is organized and strictly supervised by an … Continue reading Chapter 21 – 西藏 Tibet
Chapter 19 – 中国 Part 2
Sometimes I feel like a dog in China, and this was particularly so during our motorcycle expedition across the "middle kingdom". I got fed once a day; complete strangers would come up to me and stroke the hairs on my arms; I had to pee against trees and lampposts; certain hotels and public places wouldn't let … Continue reading Chapter 19 – 中国 Part 2
Chapter 18 – 中国 Part 1
The planning for the China leg of our expedition was solely in the hands of Fanny （方怡. I had agreed that if she managed to arrange motorcycles and sponsorship to support us then I would fly out and be her wing-man and basically do as I'm told. A tall order granted. I still had a … Continue reading Chapter 18 – 中国 Part 1
Chapter 17 – The UK – its alright for ducks
The UK produces the best soldiers in the world; is a leader in innovation, creativity, art and design; has a unique sense of self effacing humour, and most importantly it produces Marstons Pedigree bitter and Marmite (both from Burton Upon Trent I might add).
Chapter 16 – Turkey to France
The relief of getting ourselves out of Egypt was matched by our excitement about seeing Turkey and eventually crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. I remained nervous that we had left our precious KTMs in the hands of Egyptian officials in a scruffy and dusty customs warehouse in Alexandria and wondered whether we'd ever see them again. … Continue reading Chapter 16 – Turkey to France
Chapter 15 – He’s not the Messiah – he’s a very naughty boy.
So... did we do Turkey for Christmas? Alas No. Syria and Libya were descending into civil war and chaos, all the ferries from Egypt had been cancelled, and Fanny was not allowed to ride or drive a vehicle in Saudi Arabia (not for being Chinese, but because she's a woman!). Also, the prospects of motorcycling in Europe during the freezing … Continue reading Chapter 15 – He’s not the Messiah – he’s a very naughty boy.
Chapter 10 – Egypt – (Part 1)
The "Night Boat" up the River Nile to Aswan was anything but luxurious, but we were very pleased that everything had gone according to plan and we were on our way to Egypt. We camped for eighteen hours on the hard deck of the ferry and our carefully chosen spot was quickly hemmed in with … Continue reading Chapter 10 – Egypt – (Part 1)
Chapter 2 – Botswana
We were now truly in Africa, so it seemed. The landscape had changed to classic bush colours and there were many signs warning of African animals that threatened to leap out onto the road. If that meant donkeys, goats, cows, dogs, human boys and yellow hornbills then that was true. We decided to stick as … Continue reading Chapter 2 – Botswana
Rupert & Fanny's Big Bike Trip 