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.
19th September 2014 14-22℃ 227km Plovdiv – Rila Monastery I spent the early morning exploring more of Plovdiv, it is a very cool town. Chilled, confident, full of students and a good vibe. Mostly easy riding today, tight twisty mountain roads, arriving at the brilliant Rila Monastery, where 300 monks live peacefully, making wine and communicating with whoever it is they communicate with. Brilliant architecture, set in a lovely mountain valley. Grilled trout fresh from the river for dinner, although with an absolutely…
18th September 2014 15-22℃ 422km Eceabat – Komotini (Greece) – Plovdiv (Bulgaria) My original plan was to cross into Bulgaria directly from Turkey, but after looking at the map, it was a more direct and shorter route to transit through Greece, so I headed to the Greek border, and probably one of the easiest border crossings yet. 5 minutes of processing, and that was only because I needed to get off the bike to buy insurance, otherwise I would have been able…
17th September 2014 18-23℃ 405km Istanbul – Gallipoli Peninsula – Eceabat After a very enjoyable 4 days in Istanbul, exploring the sights and occasionally being ripped off by taxi drivers, I headed back to BMW to pick-up the fully serviced bike. The taxi driver who was supposed to take me to the BMW service centre, thought he might try and take me on a tour of Istanbul, in the hope of earning a hefty fare. What should have been a 20 minute drive,…
11th September 2014 28℃ 112km Şile – Istanbul (Europe!) It was an easy ride from Şile to the outskirts of Istanbul, sweeping corners on a fast road. Reaching the Bosphorus bridge and riding across from Asia to Europe was a huge milestone for me, and I laughed loudly into my helmet as I rode, ecstatic at reaching the continent of Europe. I made my way to the factory of Globescout panniers, where I met the guys who made my aluminium panniers, and…
10th September 2014 28℃ 0km Şile I spent the day today relaxing by the Black Sea, completing administrative tasks, a few checks on the bike and enjoying the seaside town. Şile has a great selection of little restaurants, almost all serving fresh seafood, and I moved between three cafes just for the sake of changing scenery. The last place was brilliant, right on the edge of the cliff, looking out to sea, with Wi-Fi and a great tuna lunch with a selection…
9th September 2014 16-26℃ 463km Ankara – Şile After a quick, and very ordinary breakfast at the hotel, I packed and prepared to leave. As I gathered my socks to put my boots on, I smelt smoke, and then noticed that my socks had freshly burnt holes in them. I’d left then hanging on the desk lamp to dry last night. It seems the heat from the lamps had nearly bought them to combustion, and potentially the whole hotel. I unpacked again,…
8th September 2014 18-28℃ 190km Goreme – Ankara I was up at 4:20am, ready to be picked up to watch the sunrise from a balloon over Cappadocia. While I seemed a crazy hour to be awake, it all proved worth it, at the sight of hundreds of balloons covering the horizon as the sun rose. It was a truly spectacular experience. On landing, there was cheap, sweet and nasty bubbly wine, mixed with purple sugar syrup and served in a thick rimmed glass. Lovely….
7th September 2014 23-33℃ 110km Ihlara – Goreme I started the day very early, so that I could walk the length of the Ihlara Valley before the midday sun. Leaving the hotel, I descended into the beautiful cool valley, and followed the course of the river at the bottom of the canyon. Into the walls of the canyon, many cave shelters and churches had been carved by Christian monks, who resided here during the Byzantine period. Most of…
6th September 2014 30’C 194km Goreme – Cappodocia – Ihlara A full day of sightseeing today, exploring the region of Cappadocia and the amazing natural sculptures formed by erosion, and the many historic cave dwellings that cover the mountainsides of the region.
5th September 2014 35℃ 164km Kayseri – Derinkuyu – Goreme I rode out to the underground city of Derinkuyu, where I descended over 100M underground, through a maze of ancient, narrow passageways. The tunnels carved through the sandstone, with massive rolling stone doors strategically placed to block the enemy from entry. It was a brilliant experience climbing through these tunnels, despite bumping my head on numerous occasions. They must have built these tunnels for shorter people. After a…
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