It will take much of the remainder of our hopefully long lives to process all we experienced on the Himalayan trip.  After completing three previous rides with Globeriders our expectations for this trip were exceedingly high.  All previous trips exceeded expectations but of course the bar is raised higher after each trip since we have greater experience in knowing what to anticipate.  Yet again Helge exceeded our hopes and dreams.

The riding was very challenging.  Many of the roads were terrible.  Miles of mud in Bhutan.  Protestors in Nepal.  One lane blacktop with pavement greedy big trucks in Myanmar.  Twists, switchbacks, turns, up and down mountains beyond counting sometimes with landslides and/or overturned trucks blocking the road.  Potholes, craters, dirt, rocks, water.  Altitude, I (Marty) needed oxygen over 17,000 feet.  My brain was shutting down and I was having trouble remembering how to properly maneuver a bike in a turn. 

A steel pipe on the frame of the sidecar cracked open.  We welded it and it cracked again in a new spot.  The shocks on the sidecar wore out.  The Silk Road and Himalayas trips with a total of approximately 15,000 hard riding miles tested the Touratech shocks front and rear on the bike.   They performed beautifully.  Can’t wait to get the bike back in the States and take the shocks off for a rebuild to have a professional assessment of how good they seem to be.

It seems to be difficult in some parts of Asia to get what a westerner considers a simple straight answer to a simple straight question.  Many people we met or made plans with wanted  to say “yes” even if the answer was really “no”.  “Do you have the tires in stock?”  “Yes.”  “Great,  please deliver them to the Bangkok BMW dealership.”  “We will be able to do that next year.”   (Because next year is really when we will have them in stock.)   Or, “Are the roads we are traveling on today good enough that we will make it to our hotel tonight before dark?”  “Yes.”  We pulled in hours after dark. 

We have additional lights on the rig, 2 PIAAs and 2 Clearwaters.  We needed all the lights we had.  Traveling this time of year means it gets dark early – around 5:15 PM.  Helge picked September, October, and early November for the trip to avoid the summer rainy season and the cold winter season. He was wise.  Our weather was perfect.  We had clear skies most days and certainly on the all-important viewing days for Everest.   Extra lights are a necessary part of the planning.

Versatile clothing is also a necessity.  In Tibet we were cold.  We used our electric jackets and gloves.  In Thailand and Laos we were hot and sweaty: itchy fungus everywhere.

Air quality was an issue throughout the tour.  Bangkok smells of open sewers.  Diesel truck fumes are aimed directly at sidecar height.  China has construction dust everywhere.  Roadside pi les of burning plastic create clouds of toxic smoke. We were both unlucky enough to inhale a big breath that sickened us for days.

So we experienced a few relatively minor obstacles. But, we experienced the Himalayas and other extraordinary places.

No mountains we have ridden compare.  We met some of the nicest people we have ever met in the world in Myanmar.  Bhutan is paradise.  We will never forget these two countries that made us so welcome and for which we have a deep primal affinity.   Nagaland in eastern India was an extraordinary cultural and landscape bonus. We were guests at an intertribal festival.  The last time it had occurred was in 1953.   Hunan province in China was magnificent with sites such as Tiger Leaping Gorge, Li Jiang’s ancient city, combinations of sub-tropical, temperate and northern flora, and mountains of tree size Rhododendrons. Nepal was rich with ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples – many in ruins from the earthquake.  Tibet was visually overpowering with the grandeur of its landscapes and majesty of its people - the spiritual, political, economic, cultural and geologic experience of this country is beyond expression in words, pictures, music or any other form of human communication.

 
The trip was about serenity but on a much deeper level than we anticipated.   Perhaps the best example is the time spent at the smashan ghat in Katmandu, at a Hindu temple with funeral pyres on a tributary of the Ganges.  Family and friends bring a departed loved one to the edge of the river to wash the face of the body and say goodbye.  There is wailing.  The body is carried to the pyre where a priest carefully sets the logs and grass.  The family and friends say last goodbyes and the priest lights the pyre.  It takes five hours for a body to burn completely to ashes.  The air is filled with smoke of burning bodies.  It is on us.  It is in us.  The ashes are then pushed into the river.   People are wading in the river to see if there are any valuables left in the ashes worth retrieving.  People are selling beads.   People are selling food.  Astrologers are preparing peoples charts.  People are reading palms.  The commerce and conduct of life and death are fully present. 

This trip has been about the exhilaration of riding motorcycles but more importantly it was about the exhilaration of being alive.  We take all that life offers, joy and suffering, with no filter, no judgement, no expectation, no regret but with deep gratitude.

You will have to see it for yourself.  Everywhere we experienced challenging but beautiful motorcycle roads with countless picture perfect vistas. People are magnificent.  The way they look, speak, act, think is endlessly enthralling.  Ride a motorcycle in Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal.  It will enrich you in ways you can’t possible imagine.

Marty

We were warned by fellow motorcyclist that India could be a nightmare if the paperwork was not exactly right. Motorcycles could be impounded for months and we saw a motorcycle at our hotel in Myanmar that had been sitting there for 2 months and the owner returned home to China.

So another pleasant surprise that all went smoothly with the paper work and carnets. Back to defensive driving with overly aggressive drivers of all kinds and who ever is biggest has the right of way. Where ever we stopped we attracted a large crowd that surround us and stare. Some would ask where are you from, what is the cost of the motorcycle, what is the engine size and where are you going. A few asked how old I was and my reply of 70 got a reply that is next to death for an Indian.

Riding up into the cooler mountains of Nagaland from the hot plains was a nice relief. In Kohima we had two great local guides that took very good care of us. We ate a home cooked lunch at their mountain side village. We were lucky again see a huge celebration with another visiting tribe with vintage costumes, dances, music, chants and food. It was similar to our American Indian pow wows. Later that day I
asked our guide if there was a motorcycle shop that I could buy a pair of summer gloves since mine had torn. He drove
me to a upscale dealership and I was able to buy gloves, chain lube and cleaner.

Always sad to say good bye to such nice guides but on to Bhutan. Oh I almost forgot I lost my IPhone in India. It fell out of my pants pocket in a busy city while shopping and we looked for it with no success. Bummer.

Leaving India went well with no problems with the paper work or carnets.

I had heard that Bhutan is a magical place and I have come to believe it. So different from India with less traffic and courteous drivers that would signal us if it was safe to pass and move over. Our guides said it was safe to leave our riding gear on the motos and no one would steal it. The locals were friendly and courteous. We rode up 12,0000 feet high mountain passes with incredible views. The National Highway 1 was being widen its length so we rode on dirt, gravel and mud for hundreds of miles. Challenging especially at night but I still enjoyed it making it a real adventure ride.

Our guides were the best. Karma GoGo is the King of Bhutan's personal motorcycle mechanic and also leads motorcycle tours. The other know all about Buddhism and local history. One of my pannier mounting brackets fell off and he spent time looking and found a fabricator to make a replacement and it worked for the remainder of the tour. This was in a small town with only one gas station. Lots of sightseeing with temples and monasteries travelling across Bhutan.

Got to see locals throwing large darts at small target 60 feet away. When someone hit the target they would all join arms and form a circle and dance and sing. Had lunch at a pizza restaurant and got invited by the owner to watch him and his friends shoot compound bows at a small target 150 meters away. Also happened to be on way to hotel I was looking for.

Would love to go back to Bhutan to ride on the new highway.

Back into India to get to Nepal once again was back defensive driving. Only a day and half in India and into Nepal with no problems at the boarder crossings. Nepal was surprisingly not much of a change from India looking like a third world country.

The Chitwan National Park was a nice change with a quite and peaceful setting. We went on and elephant ride and saw a rhino resting in a pool of water, tiger tracks and remains of a fresh kill. Our guide took us to a local house and we participated in a popular Hindu Sisters Ceremony. We got are foreheads painted, did same to two sisters, we donated monetary gifts,we were feed a large lunch, offered a strong liquor and given a towel as a gift.

A very nice and heart warming experience for me to see how Hindu families honor sisters. Kathmandu surprised me on how large it is covering many miles and millions of people. Sightseeing the many temples, stupas with a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist religions was very interesting along with all of the recent earthquake damage. An interesting stop was along the river next to the the large Hindu Shrine where we saw multiple cremations taking place. Made me think that I should plan for my demise and not have my family figure out what I was thinking.

Time to ship our motorcycles home. Got them washed, packed and rode them to the shipper/customs impound. There they were measured and plywood crates were built by two young men with only a small power jig saw, hammer and nails. It took a few hours and was past closing time but the motorcycles were inspected by customs and packed and sealed. The sidecar did need one more sheet of ply wood to cover it and was taken care of the next day.

Homeward bound and sad good byes to Helge, Marty, Bill and Kainan. I had such a great time riding with them, sightseeing and sharing meals, good times and some bad times. It was so nice for Kainan's wife Shiree to join us for a few weeks. I thank her for being instrumental in organizing the search for me when I was lost in Laos. Thank you to all of you for all your help and support through out the tour. What an amazing Himalayan tour it was for me to ride to through all 8 countries, Mt. Everest north base camp, countless temples, monasteries and museums, locals home cooked meals and outstanding guides like Noah, Ja Bo and Karma GoGo makes me feel so lucky and fortunate.

Helge you are the BEST!! This was my 7th GlobeRiders tour with you and hopefully not the last. I appreciate all your hard work and time you devote to make your tours so enriching in culture and life experience that has made me appreciate the world and the people I meet.

Much love to my wife Judy and family that makes it possible for me to ride for two or three months. Lastly I am so lucky and proud to be born and live in the USA!!!

David

THE PRINCESS LOG

I joined the group in Burma for two weeks, traveling (as usual) in the chase car, my "princess van". We traveled together through Nagaland and Assam in India and then in magical Bhutan.

Being a small group of only 5 riders, all of whom traveled together in previous GlobeRiders trips, gave this trip a very intimate and family like atmosphere. This friendship, blended with the Buddhist culture of the countries we visited, so spiritual and serene, the amazing local peoples and the immense beauty of the Himalaya mountains and valleys, made this trip into a very unique experience. A trip not only of the body but also of the mind. I hope I managed to get some of it in my pictures.

It was our fourth trip with GlobeRiders in two years, and I was almost always the only woman and non-rider in the group. It sounds like an odd way to travel for a respectable elderly lady, and it is not always easy, but it is actually great fun. I found out that riders are perfect gentlemen, and I was very well accepted and pampered. The trips were always carefully planned by Helge so that the non-rider can enjoy them too.

So I can fully recommend this kind of adventure for other wives and partners of riders, who have lost the battle on the motorcycle issue and would like to do some traveling too.