emilesprenger

Easy: The Netherlands

I got wet

Good question .. I was asked this all of the time as I was preparing for the trip. First of all I love travelling and visiting new/strange places/countries. Second of all I love riding motorcycles. So for me bike travel rules. I did a short trip the year before (from The Netherlands across the Alps to Southern France) and realised how great that was. So I wanted to do another trip, this time a bit longer. Initially I thought about going to the Northcape (Above the Aric Circle in Norway), preferably being there around 21 june (longest day .. big party oiver there). Due to circumstances I was without work, and so a longer (=further) trip was possible. So why Nepal, then? Well, when I grew up (late 60's/early 70's), going overland to Nepal was the big (hippy) thing ('The Magic Bus'). I was way too young for this, but the sound of that country, 'Nepal', was special for me. I felt sad that I wasn't part of that scene in those days. So I always wanted to go to Nepal .. then it hit me: why not take the bike? That was the easy part .. deciding to go .. the hard part was figuring out what route to take, what countries to visit, how to get visa's, etc. Oh, and convincing my wife to let me go ..

The most notable .. that's hard, so may impressions. But riding the Karakoram Highway (1.200km) from Kashgar, China to Islamabad, Pakistan was special. Along the way you pass the highest border crossing in the world (Khunjerab pass >4.000m). After the unfriendly Chinese officials and the freezing temperatures at the pass, it was great to be invited to drink some tea with the Pakistani border guards: http://www.boskoop2nepal.nl/blog/wp-content/gallery/B2N/IMG_1861.jpg

The best thing I ate .. must be Birjani in India (I love Indian food). Worst food: Central Asia

Great question! It really depends (like everything else in life ..). I first noticed a decline in wealth as I travelled through the Balkans: poverty, beggars, stray dogs, etc. Turkey I knew, I'd been there before. Going into Iran was a change, for sure. Very obvious, all the woman wear scarves (they have to). From Iran to Turkmenistan was also a big change, because Turkmenistan is so strange (as in really strange). The landscape in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is not very different (desert). Tajikistan and Kyrgyztan are typical Central Asian mountain states, a lot alike. China is also a big border, although I was in Xinjang, which is populated by the Uighurs, a muslim population, not typical Han Chinese. China-Pakistan is also another world. Pakistan-India is odd, as the two countries are still technically in a state of war with each other. You do see some regional cultures which cross borders (for example the Kurds in Turkey and Iran). Also in Central Asia culture is mixed (Pahtun in Afghanistan and Tajikistan and Pakistan).