OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
Kezbegi Mountains The Georgian border was a formality in comparison to the Russian exit. I waited in a queue for 15 minutes, handed over my visa, told them where I was going and that was it. Welcome to Georgia they said and I was in. I had a simple check by customs which was basic to say the least. I…
“It’s all about trust. And when it comes to monkeys, I have none.“ — Anthony Bourdain This is a good quote to live by. I should have learned my lesson a few weeks ago. Brad and I had just awoken and were strolling down a sleepy street in Cherating when we saw kitten sized baby monkeys swinging in the trees…
Hi everybody, I just wanted to say a quick hello. Technology challenges in ‘The Stans’ are making it difficult to update you on my progress. Since I left Tbilisi the days have been a blur. Boats (3 days on a leaky cargo boat), Borders (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and Boris have been keeping me occupied. Don’t fret some blog updates…
2013_05 Vietnam1, a set on Flickr. Our first week in Vietnam with our BigBikes was exciting! This is a photo story from the Laos/Vietnam border crossing, riding the Ho Chi Minh trail up North to Sa Pa.…
With every wave that crashed over the bow, our small boat took on more water. The panic on our young captain’s face shattered any hope that we would make it out of this tropical depression without a miracle, and my brain wouldn’t stop humming the theme from Gilligan’s Island. I wonder how the brain can have a sense of humor…
May 7, 2013 in Thailand, On the road We left Bangkok with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we were looking forward to Phuket where we would meet Filippo’s brother and his wife in a few days. They were coming to visit and to spend their holidays with us. But on the other hand, we were also sad to say…
The weary travellers reach Baku Hi everybody, Just a quick note to say Boris, Kiwi Ted and I arrived in Baku at 11pm last night. It was a fantastic end to the leg. Baku city was buzzing and all action. There were cars and people everywhere. The city was beautifully lit as I made my way to the waterfront. With…
Exactly one year ago, on May 2nd, 2012 it was the day of our departure – we were finally ready to leave. We originally had planned to leave one month earlier, but all the preparations had taken longer than expected, and the last nights before we left we hadn’t slept much. But now we were standing there with our motorcycles,…
Two posts in one day? A public holiday in Egypt with a car stuck in customs allows for these little lucky breaks. We arrived at Iskenderun on the Friday to buy our ferry tickets. These were bought through an agent for Sisa shipping, Remon Travel. Tickets weren’t cheap – $180 each and another $590 for the car. We spent a…
At the campsite we were staying at in Cappadocia a large overland truck arrived with about 20 people on their way to Australia over the next 5 months. Unfortunately when there are a large number of people in the same campsite you have to share precious things like hot water and water pressure. You also invariably get yourself into at…
After a stifling day, young people loitered on the cement wall alongside the coast enjoying the sea breeze and eating take away from the bustling outdoor market just a parking lot away. Down below, a mess of boulders formed a wave break. Cats pounced between the rocks, unhindered by their strangely peculiar tails; some were stumps, others crooked, and a…
The sound of jungle insects reverberated through the dense, humid night air. A slow loris crept along an overhead electrical wire strung between a tall wooden pole and a cinderblock structure where a woman cooked rice and noodles for the few people who lived around these parts. The loris stopped midway across the wire to give us a wide-eyed stare,…
Leaving the security blanket of the EU and crossing over from Greece into Turkey was good training for the coming months. All Jules required with her wonderful maroon UK passport was 15 euros and she got a sticker. My not so wonderful green mamba South African passport meant I was sent back and forth between Visas and Border Control several…
In our next blog post, you’ll read about a guy we met named Hairi. After spending a couple of days with this man, who lived in a tent in the jungle with his family, we were really inspired. His life has been a continuous string of achievements that didn’t seem possible for someone without any money who lives in a…
We experienced a major culture shock, when we arrived at the airport in Bangkok by the end of November last year. After several months in third-world-countries we had the feeling that somebody had transported us right into the future. We sat in the taxi on the way from the airport to our friend Joerg’s house in the city, and couldn’t…
Battambang, a dusty little backwaters in NW Cambodia. Although becoming more of a tourist draw, it is still mostly visited by the backpacker crowd, anxious to get further off the well worn “banana pancake” trail that covers SE Asia. From Siem Reap there are two ways to get to Battambang. The first option is to take the mostly comfortable,…
Nine months ago while Sheena and I were stranded in the Colombian mountains, we made a decision. If Nacho ever made it through South America, we would ship to Europe instead of our original plan of shipping to Asia. Things were getting difficult, and we needed a break. From Europe, if things got hard, we could always turn around and…
The depth of my knowledge about Singapore up until about a week ago was gathered from the news in the 1990′s, and from reading Paul Theroux books. I knew that the entire structure and inner workings of the city state were conceived by one person, a sort of Wizard of Oz deciding what would fly and what wouldn’t. I knew…
“I think team Apec was totally corny. The way that the girl flung her arms around-” “Cut! Can we roll that again? Listen, the team’s name is ‘Apex’, not ‘Apec’,” the director said. “Oh, okay, sorry about that. Apex? Got it.” “Three…two…one…ACTION!” “I think team Apex was totally corny. The way that the girl, like, flung her arms around and…
Like all of the businesses on the block, the lights were out. All of the shop owners had migrated out to the streets, conversing with others, watching the night continue on. We eventually left the moonlight and entered a restaurant that was five shades darker inside than the sky was outside. A wall of heat and humidity built up like…
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It’s early afternoon and the sun is high overhead, heating the humid air into a sauna that speckles our shirts with perspiration. Vines climb from the ground into the canopy of a tree, out across the limbs, and then dangle in the air above our heads. We sit on a bench and watch people go by. A Chinese couple passes,…
I arrived in Laos and Laos didn’t even know it. In fact, I was in Laos for about an hour, had lunch and a beer before I decided I should get a visa. I hopped in the car and started asking around: Where do I get my passport stamped? I had entered Laos by barge. Mekong and me. Most people…
Since we liked the north of Laos very much, we also wanted to explore the south of the country. In the north we had especially liked the mountain landscape – in the south it was more the huge caves in the limestone hills, and the many islands in the wide Mekong River that we found very memorable. First, we spent…
We took a little bit more than two weeks to travel the north of Laos. It’s a beautiful area that seems like it is made solely for motorcycling. The twisty roads that run through the fantastic mountain landscape are generally in a relatively good condition. Traffic is almost non-existent, and for those that love to go off-road, there are many…
Tuesday 11th to Wednesday 12th December 2012. Bolu, Istanbul, Svilengrad. The next morning we ate from the hotel’s buffet breakfast before setting off. We dined quietly with the many business men staying in the hotel. It was all very civilized and, well, sterile and unfriendly. Back on the road we turned Bluebelle’s heating up to full in a desperate attempt…
Tweet The amount of distance that needed to be covered in the South was intimidating! We had to haul some ass and get this trip on the move! Getting out of Goa we headed out into Karnataka. All this time Nick’s thumb was hurting, especially over the combination speed bumps…7 speed breakers in a row? What’s the point??? That little…
The most memorable experiences of our two-week tour through Cambodia were the beautiful beaches, the visit of the fantastic temples of Angkor Wat, and the encounter with the terrible history of the country under the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Since we had not been to the sea for a long time, we took the chance for a few days…
Bangkok, Thailand… start of the backpacker trail of SE Asia. Love it or hate it, if you’re going to Asia, you WILL end up in Bangkok. We have now been there several times and I must admit, I enjoy it. Yes, it is crazy, crowded, and chaotic. An enormous city of over 8 million, Bangkok is polluted with horrific travel.…