Singapore to Ireland
From Asia to Europe by Motorcycle
The Project
I am riding a motorcycle from Singapore to Ireland in support of the Lotus Children’s Centre in Mongolia.
Read more about the work of Lotus and my route on the About & Donate pages.
You can support the children of Lotus and my ride across Asia and Europe, by making a donation to Lotus Children’s Centre through Virgin Money giving.
Thank you for your support.
31st July 2014 21-26’C 0km Osh I had planned to ride today, but when I woke up I wasn’t feeling 100%, and decided to stay another day, in order to be in tip-top condition before riding the high passes of the Pamirs. This proved to be a wise decision, as I had to make a couple of fast moves to the bathroom during the day. It seems everyone I’ve spoken to who has traveled through this region has been afflicted with stomach trouble….
27th July 2014 21-36’C 296km Lake Issykol – Bishkek After a very unusual breakfast, (to my taste) that consisted of a type of course porridge, with alot of condensed milk, I packed and headed west, following the edge of lake Issykol towards Balykchy. I was enjoying the ride when I crested a hill on a curve and spotted the cop car, and the cop holding the radar gun, hiding in the trees. My immediate thought was, “oh no, hear we go again,…
28th July 2014 24’C Approx 12km by foot Bishkek (Visas, Visas) I was up and ready to head to the Iranian embassy early. Anxious to apply for my visa to visit Iran, I had overlooked that it was now Eid, the end of ramadan, and the embassy would likely be closed. As I approached the security guard, I expected him to wave me away, but he smiled and pointed me down the lane to the door for the…
26th July 2014 29’C 228km Karakol – Lake Issykol The morning was spent wandering around Karakol, waiting for a cafe to open for breakfast. I visited the old timber church, but as I was wearing shorts, I didn’t feel comfortable to enter, as it seemed all the locals were well dressed. I did two laps around town, trying to find a petrol station that sold 95 octane, as they all were sold out, I finally found a service station with fuel on…
25th July 2014 28-32’C 421km Almaty – Karakol (Kyrgyzstan) I’d become very well settled in at the Holiday Inn Almaty, a king size bed, fluffy white towels and a quiet room; meant that I’d become accustomed to such luxuries over the past week. Almaty is such a really nice city, with a picture perfect mountain backdrop, great parks and excellent restaurants, cafes and bars. The good friends I had formed in the city only further reinforced the desire to stay, which was…
Sadly, bribes tend to be a fact of life in some of the countries I’m travelling through. Here is the updated running total: Laos Border Police $2 Weekend ‘fee’ for stamping passport Thailand Customs 2000 baht ($70) “Fee” paid to a fixer to arrange crossing the bridge to Laos with a police escort. It’s considered a bribe because it’s not formalised, the money paid went directly into someone’s pocket. Thailand Failed attempt, traffic…
21st July 2014 36’C 0km by bike Almaty I got up early and prepared the bike to go out to collect my passport from the Tajikistan embassy. On the way there, I did something stupid and made an illegal left turn, right in front of a police car. Within a few seconds I was pulled over, just 50M from the Tajik embassy. Immediately the request came “Documenty!” from the younger of the two cops. I tried to explain…
20st July 2014 Almaty – Kapshagay – Almaty 36’C 0km by bike After just a few hours sleep, Oscar and Viktoriya reappeared in the lobby of my hotel, ready for us to spend the day at Lake Kapshagay. The lake was formed in the 1960’s when a dam was built to form a water reservoir. Viktoriya drove as she had business to attend to at the resort, so Oscar and I drank beers on the beach, feet in the hot…
20-21st July 2014 30’C 10km Almaty A huge couple of days, I started Saturday by doing a service on the bike, as I’ve clocked another 10,000km since Xian. The loading dock of the Holiday Inn was the perfect place to do this work, and I was finished by lunch, and spent the rest of the day walking around Almaty. I hadn’t really planned for the evening, but I decided to go and have a beer at “Chucokta” a bar/club in the…
18th July 2014 22-30’C 305km Taldykorgan – Almaty After an excellent breakfast, I proceeded to checkout from the hotel, much to their disappointment. Yesterday, when I needed a letter from the hotel to register my Kazakh visa, I had them prepare a letter that stated I was staying at the hotel for the next two weeks. They had assumed that had also meant that I would actually stay there for two weeks. So when I checked out after one…
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