Saturday 5 January 2013

Finish

It's been a while since I last wrote. Probably that's because this is the entry I was least looking forward to. I don't know how or what to write.

I've been in KL for about a month now and life has carried on pretty much as I expected it to. It wasn't too bad coming back in to working life. Although that might have a lot to do with the way this past month has been full of impromptu diving trips, climbing up waterfalls and hours spent running through palm oil plantations in the pouring rain for no reason other than the vague promise of beer at the other end. Actually I do enjoy my job and having a break has meant that I now seem to enjoy it more than I did before. I'm trying not to think about the way I am scheduled to return to the UK at the end of February.

But how did I get here. Pretty easy actually.

I flew down to Singapore from South Korea a few days before the bike was scheduled to arrive. I was flying with some dodgy Filipino airline which I later found out is banned from EU airspace due to safety issues. I had to change in Manila which was an experience in itself. The airport didn't have a way to transfer so I had to be escorted through immigration and customs by a representative from the airline, and immigration official and a police officer to collect my bags and check in again. That was fun. I can now say that I have officially unofficially been in The Philippines.

Singapore hasn't changed much since the last time I was there. It was still hot. Very hot. Well, not that hot compared to the deserts of Iran and Turkmenistan but with the 100% humidity I spent most of the weekend hiding in the air conditioned hostel.






I had to go to the AA to sort out some paperwork ready for the bikes arrival. I has heard quite a few horror stories about the expense and difficulty in driving a foreign vehicle in Singapore but decided to give it a go anyway. The lady at the AA was very very helpful and dedicated a lot of time to me. But when her running total of costs I would have to pay topped S$700 (£350) I told her to just stop (there was more to come). I was quoted 'at least' S$450 for 10 days insurance. I only wanted to ride about 20km from the port to the bridge to Malaysia. Not paying that.

So we arranged for a tow truck to come to the port and drive me and bike across the city so I could avoid insurance, tax, whatever else. S$280 for the tow and help with customs clearance on both ends, not too bad.




In Japan I was having trouble with the battery. But I didn't buy one there because of the expense (€200). I knew that there was no way the bike was going to start after 3 weeks sitting on the ship so I went and bought one in Singapore for a much more reasonable, but still overpriced, €70ish. The stupid thing was that the new battery actually has stamped on to it 'Made in Japan'. A quick changeover in the warehouse and everything was sorted.




It was good to be riding again. A little unstable though, think I forgot how to ride. At the Malaysian side of the bridge I followed all the other bikes. None of them stopped for immigration but I though that I probably should. So I go my passport stamped and carried on. At the customs booths again none of the bikes stopped. But equally well there was nobody there to talk to. Eventually I found someone and asked what to do. He just looked bored and told me to carry on.



I spent a couple of days relaxing in the Cameron Highlands before running back down to KL for my last weekend on holiday.




Small monsoon related landslide
Work had arranged a hotel for me in KL, which was nice. There is something very satisfying about turning up to a 5 star hotel with nothing more than a tent and the same tshirt I've been wearing for the last 6 months.

And that was that.

Best. Commute. Ever.


I think I'm meant to write a summary of what's been happening since June. But I can't. There is too much. But I might as well try to answer some of the questions I've been getting.

What was the best country?
No such thing. Every country has it's good and bad sides and I wouldn't like to rank them. Naming one country would imply that another country is not as good. I would go back to each one of them tomorrow if that was possible.

What was the worst country?
See above. Most problems that any one country has and going to be the same as the problems that any other country has. So I don't worry about it.

Was it really as good as you made out?
Yes. That's not to say that there weren't bad times. There were lots of bad times. But I don't like to think about them and I hardly every wrote about them. I still remember each one but the good times far outweigh the bad.

How far did you travel?
Due to the speedo breaking right at the start and the GPS wiring being incredibly temperamental I don't really know. Somewhere in the region of 29,000km.

Any serious problems?
Health wise not really. Only twice and both times just minor travel related illnesses. With the bike nothing major either apart from the front wheel which still needs some rebuilding.

Were you ever scared?
Yes. Mostly because of animals though. As far as people go I was most nervous with the police and army in Turkmenistan.

You must be really brave.
I got this comment a lot. To be honest it annoyed me for a long time since I don't consider anything that I've done to be particularly brave. With a healthy amount of common sense there is nothing to fear in any place I have been. The hardest part was leaving. If anything counts as brave then it would be shoving everything in to storage, saying goodbye and leaving. Once that is over it was the easiest thing in the world.

It must be really hard to go back to work.
Not as bad as you might think. I enjoy my job which has probably helped. But after being settled for a month I find myself staring out the window more and more.

You should write a book.
Probably not. I appreciate all the messages I get when I complain about my writing ability but really I am not a good author. I haven't been able to express myself in the way that I wanted and looking back many of the situations which affected me the most have just not come across in the blog. There is one situation in particular which I haven't told anyone about because I can't even express myself face to face. This trip has been a much more personal experience than I though it would be at the start and I know I will never be able to write anything which comes close to it.

What was it like being by yourself?
I quite like being by myself. Sometimes at least. But I was never really alone. I travelled with others at times, other times I just hung out with locals. A smile and handshake wins you all sorts of new friends wherever you need.

Where are you going next?
Don't know. Lots of ideas. More than lots actually. But first I need some more money, that could take a while. And I need to consider what I want to do in the future. I don't suppose NSN will be too enthusiastic about giving me another 6 months to ride home. I'll just work it out when the time comes. No idea when that will be.

Finish