Kaleum, Sekong Province, Laos Last night’s hotel in Kaleum definitely wins the Gold Medal for the worst hotel of the ride so far. I parked the Panther outside yesterday afternoon and was handed the key to Room 1 by a … Read More
I’ve been so busy riding, navigating, sweating, trying not to fall off and finding enough food for myself that I haven’t had time to blog. Apologies. Here’s a brief taster of what life on the Trail is like… I woke … Read More
DURING THE VIETNAM WAR MILLIONS OF TONNES OF ORDNANCE WERE DROPPED ON THE VIETNAMESE COUNTRYSIDE. AN ESTIMATED 30% OF THESE BOMBS FAILED TO DETONATE AND TODAY, IN QUANG BINH AND QUANG TRI PROVINCES, 100% OF COMMUNITIES REMAIN CONTAMINATED WITH UXO. … Read More
Finally, after months of planning and procrastinating about this trip, I’ve made it to the Start Line in Hanoi. Most importantly, I’ve been united with my mighty Trail steed – the Pink Panther – and what a glorious beast she … Read More
WHY CHOOSE A PIFFLING LITTLE HONDA CUB TO TRAVEL THROUGH SOUTH EAST ASIA ON? WHY NOT SOMETHING MORE SUITABLE? WELL, THE TRUTH IS, THE HONDA CUB MIGHT JUST BE THE BEST ADVENTURE MOTORBIKE ON THE PLANET. HERE’S WHY…. Although laughably … Read More
In a few weeks time I’ll be loading my panniers, polishing my pistons and setting off solo down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. For the best part of two months it’ll just be me and my trusty, ever-so-slightly-bright-pink Honda C90 … Read More
Back in October a TV director I work with alot rang me: “Do you want to do a couple of weeks work setting up a new series for ITV?” The subject was the massive recent surge of elephant and rhino … Read More
Right, enough namby-pambying around with television crews, drivers and translators. It’s time for another proper adventure. The sort where I find myself lost in the middle of the Southeast Asian jungle and survive on nothing but twigs and peanut butter … Read More
AN ATTEMPT TO REACH THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC CIRCLE IN A 1993 URAL SIDECAR…. There are two basic prerequisites for a motorbike trip: a motorbike and the ability to ride one. We had neither. Instead we had tweed, a tap-dancing comedian … Read More
Ah, Tbilisi! What a magical metropolis. Having spent a few days here this week I can see why Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Gorki, Steinbeck et al have all been seduced by her exotic charms. But alas, the city’s historic old quarter is … Read More
North Norfolk, perched on the shoulder of East Anglia, is most famous for its miles of sandy beaches. But this remote corner of England has a cornucopia of other delightful things to see and do. Here’s a potted guide to … Read More
NAVIGATING ISTANBUL’S GOLDEN HORN BRIDGE ON A HONDA C90 On a 3000-mile trip around the Black Sea by Honda C90, we had to cross the terrifying Golden Horn bridge across the famous Bosphorus. Navigating this in a lorry is bad enough. … Read More
During the Vietnam War, the small Southeast Asian country of Laos gained the deadly accolade of becoming the most bombed country per capita on the planet. 30% of those bombs didn’t explode, and today the problem of UXO is still … Read More
[wowslider id=”6″] “You’ve got to ride a dirt bike like you’ve stolen it” said Digby through gritted teeth, as he accelerated through a particularly gnarly section, the wheels weaving between rocks, mud spraying up from the bike in all directions. … Read More
A Brief Guide to Mongolian ger etiquette…. If you’re lucky enough to be packing your bags for Mongolia this summer, the likelihood is you’ll be spending a night or three in a ger, the traditional felt tents of the … Read More