I admire those men and women who travel across continents on their motorcycles. They always have amazing tales to tell, of great places, bad roads, lovely people, weird food, and mishaps – some silly, some dangerous. And if the traveller is friendly (most of them are), he tells his tales with a generous dose of humour.
I recently bumped into Kevin on his BMW GS 800. He had ridden down to India once before too, but this time decided to ship his bike to Delhi since he had a visa for 6 months only. My bike, even though fully loaded, looked like David in front of Goliath – but that didn’t matter to Kevin. We talked for hours, exchanging notes on the problems that a traveller faces on the road – how to overcome some small niggling troubles that disturb you to no end. I showed him some very interesting routes, and he was keen on riding on some of them. Although he had travelled in many countries and is a very experienced rider, he still heeded my advice and decided against riding through some of the routes that he had initially planned to. His bike was way too heavy for those roads, and if he were to get stuck, there wouldn’t be a soul to help him. He showed me how to ride better in sand and on loose surface, and also showed me the attachments on his bike that make it a better handler.
On another occasion, I got talking to this pretty-as-a-doll Japanese lady named Kiokikishi at a souvenir shop. She was dressed casually in blue jeans and jacket, but then I noticed that she had her Alpine Star riding boots on! I found out that she was on a tour of South East Asia – India, Nepal and Bhutan – on a Honda XR450. Looks sure can be deceptive! We spent a few hours at a café, and I took in all the information and tips that she had to offer on riding through the back-roads of Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia. Riding through these countries is high on my wish list, and I’m sure her tips (and contacts) will come in handy someday. The XR looked fantastic, and I found out that she’s a damn good rider, as we went off-roading for about 60 kilometres.
Meanwhile, Peter Server and his Vietnamese girlfriend were on a Round-the-World trip on a Honda Goldwing. As the bike went in for an overdue service, we spent the better part of two days talking about the joys of motorcycling. He said, contrary to popular belief, riding across Iran and Morocco was hugely satisfying – but Afghanistan was tense, despite being starkly beautiful. He went off to the usual tourist circuit of Jaipur and Agra, and was very impressed with Kashmir.
I’ve met up with innumerable such travellers, and, invariably, I’ve come out richer after each meeting. It broadens your horizons, you learn about different cultures and people, and learn to look at the world that we live in from a different prospective. It’s not such a bad world after all. If people interacted more with serious travellers (not tourists), I’m sure we would show more respect to others of our species – and that, in turn, will make the world a better place to live in.
And yes, travellers on motorcycles are better at spreading love, laughter, and stories!
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