On the road . May 2008 . Thailand and Japan
Internet
Cafe , Kyoto, Japan, 29-05-08
A quick sorry...
This update is certainly a little late in coming. Sorry
about that. We thought that we would have plenty of
opportunities for wifi connections while travelling
through Japan, but the fact of the matter is that outside
the big cities, it is far more rural than you can imagine
and an internet cafe far from the thoughts of the folk
that live there. Secondly, we have been camping wild
nearly every day and the only access to electricity
is the small amount we generate from our solar panel
and not really enough for me to sit and hog the computer,
writing for hours. But at last, in between Kyoto and
Nara, we find a campsite, where we can settle for a
few days and get everything up to date. Enjoy!
Living it up in the City of Angels
It
is the beginning of the month and we are still enjoying
Bangkok. You can eat out reasonably cheaply, especially
if you steer clear of Khao San Road. Though it is still
full of low budget travellers, it's a far cry from it's
former sleazy backpacker's hangout. Actually, everyone
seems to have a lot more cash on them these days and
the whole area could be likened to a cross...
Tip of the month: Best travel value valve...
There are lots of debates
about which valve type is better and we
don't really want to enter into that, but
as far as travelling in far off places and
in not so westernised countries for extended
periods of time, it is better to take the
common car valve tube along for the ride.
There are a couple of reasons why we recommend
this:
1. You can purchase these tubes nearly everywhere
in the world. Biggest bonus!
2. You can pump them up with air everywhere:
at petrol stations, tyre establishments,
bike and motorcycle repair shops. This valve
is truly universal!
3. Once you have the car valve fitted, then
the hole in your rim will accomodate all
other tube types in an emergency. The other
way around just doesn't work.
Bangkok (Thailand) - Hashimoto (Japan)
Kilometres: 879 kilometers and 990 meters
Riding days: 13 days
Alti meters: 8311 meters
Weather: bit of a wet start in Japan,
but slowly getting better
Best accommodation:
nothing beats camping wild,
but we did get a great deal in Tokyo with
Maki & Nigel !
Special thanks to:
The staff at China
Airlines for their courteous service and generous discount on our excess baggage • Nigel and Maki for the use of their loungeroom floor during our 5 day stay in Tokyo.
They were so relaxed about everything and we really appreciate their
generous hospitality. It was lovely to get to
know them both • Also to Nigel for his wealth of IT knowledge and allowing Ali to pick his brains and me
to hog his computer for a downloading marathon • The Patagonia staff in Ogawamachi for the 'no questions asked'change over of
Ali's defective Patagonia shirts. This sort of customer service is a bit of a rariety these days, so it's greatly appreciated! • The traffic controllers who arranged the truck to take us through the Abo tunnel towards
Hirayu • Masao at G-style and Bettina at Schwalbe for organising our replacement Schwalbe Marathon tyres.
Breakdowns:
19: 2 flat tyres (Son)
21: flat tyre (Ali)
22: broken spoke & flat tyre (Ali)
25: broken spoke (Ali)
