Pictures from Udaipur

Snake Charmer!

Here is a Snake Charmer and his band of Rajastani's at a local fair

You ain't seen nothing like this!

Pictures from Ahmadabad in Gujarati, State

Here are Clara and I stuck in traffic, Kevin speaking to the Guru KanuDada, and KanuDada addressing a crowd, our tour bus and a rickshaw touching in traffic (the bus driver hit the rickshaw, then the rickshaw came up and scraped into the bus which provoked the bus driver to get out of the bus in traffic go over and rip something out of the rickshaws steering column leaving him immobile!), and Kevin and Jimmy's Aunt at the Gandhi Ashram

Octopussy!

We have arrived in Udapur, in Rajastan. This where they shot the water palace scenes in Octopussy.

This is the first real tourist hangout since we've been to India and we were accosted by 10 begging children as soon as we stopped in town.

But, the people are nice and it looks to be a beautiful spot to enjoy Christmas!

Peace and Love to everyone!
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Action shot in India

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Neville and Jennifer's Wedding in India

We were treated as special guests by our friends the Daruwala's. Neville was getting married and we were privy to the machinations of a Zoroastrian wedding.

Clara has her Hands done with Mendhi

This is traditional in India to have your hands done, especially for weddings!
Don't worry mom, it will supposedly wear off in a couple weeks...

Kevin, Clara and the family at the wedding in Surat

Here's some of what we've been up to in India...
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WoooHoooooo!

Here are Jim and Gianna getting their Christmas tree. This is NOT what India looks like. It doesn't even seem like we are on the same planet!




Here is Clara at the Gate of India, where some locals wanted to take a picture with us. Of course, Kevin quickly found the ball field in the ghetto and started to play Cricket with the locals. At the airport about 40 people stood around in awe watching us do captivating things like put on our mirrors and windshield and connect the battery. It is clear we are going to attract a LOT of attention here. They just don't have any motorcycles like this in India.






We have our motorcycle!

Tomorrow we hit the road heading North from Mumbai!

Wish us luck!
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We're ok

We are dealing with the worst bureaucracy in the world, people in squalor and cockroaches. On the positive side I'm learning to play cricket!
Guess where we are?
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Last Night in Istanbul!

Why do Guys go riding? So they can break things and then work on them for Hours. Here is Kevin working on Ozan's bike at his friend Ozan's shop.



Our Last Night in Istanbul we went to see our host Ozan play the double bass with his Jazz Trio at the club Nardis. Very nice, although 16 bucks for a Baileys I think is more expensive than Boston! He introduced me to a friend of his who used to be a professor at Berklee School of Music and was well acquainted with Wally's.

Greece

Greece for Motorcyclists:

Since this is a motorcycle adventure, I thought I would write a bit about motorcycles while we maneuver around the continual roadblock of Iran. Since we had our passports back we were able to leave Turkey and visit Greece. It was well worth the time.

The roads are in excellent condition, and you can go about as fast as you want. Within the first hour of crossing the Turkish border (where the speed limit for motorcycles is 45mph) a Green Ninja buzzed us at about 120 mph with his Spydee leathers being about the only thing I could make out of him in his crouched racing position as he zoomed through the curves of the dry mountain pass. Yeah, baby!

The views are wonderful, from the Aegean Sea and the 1400 Greek Islands in them, to the aforementioned mountains including the highest: Mt. Olympus, the myriad historical sites, great museums, the best tourist information and maps in our known world, and tthe women whom Clara and I both thought surprisingly beautiful and fashionable. Plus with No Helmet Law, if you choose, your views can be even less obstructed.

Greece is 90 percent mountains which means never ending twisties. Traffic is Spartan, with the usual rate of speed being about 80 mph, 100 if you drive a German automobile. Although people drive fast, they aren’t treacherous like the Turks, and they respect your space. Since almost half the population of Greece lives in Athens it is no surprise that it is chock full of traffic jams. However, even on the highways the cars and trucks keep to orderly lanes that allow bikers to make their way forward between the traffic, often at high rates of speed. Once again, $7 dollar a gallon gas doesn’t seem to deter much traffic, although the pollution wasn’t as bad as I remembered or had heard about. This may have been tempered by the constant strong winds and occasional rain we had during our stay.

There are multitudes of motorcyclists, many of excellent ability. From weaving in an out of traffic, to high speed cornering, to burnouts and wheelies at stoplights it is clear that the Greeks enjoy two wheeled (and one wheeled!) freedom. We saw everything from the latest bikes, tons of scooters, and an early 60’s BMW in original condition put-putting around the old sections of Athens, complete with hop-a-long handle for the pillion.

Athens, a city as white as La Paz is red, full of 4 to 6 story whitewashed concrete buildings only hemmed in by the mountains within site of the Acropolis, was a pleasant surprise. I had an incident on a motorcycle there 15 years or so ago which resulted in me fleeing without front brakes on a Ninja 900 to Yugoslavia for Freedom rather than pay an extortion like payment; this left me with a bad taste in my mouth, fear of local gendarme and a remembrance of garbage odor. This time was much better.

Speaking of time, I was impressed to find out about Clepsydras: Greek Water Clocks. Back in the day of Rhetoric, politicians were given specific amounts of time to plead their case in the first true democracy. Since Swatches didn’t exist back then, they used clay pots with a hole in the bottom and a hole near the rim at the top. A plug would be put into the bottom of the pot and then it would be filled until it reached the pre-measured hole at the top, this way all speakers would expend the same volume. As the speaker would rise to pontificate, the plug would be pulled and he would have until the water ran out to get his point across. A great speaker was one who could convey and sum up his argument just as the water ran dry. Of course, or maybe unfortunately, more important topics and speakers would get larger jugs. Obviously, politicians have been chasing bigger Clepsydras ever since the Greeks started us down this path of Democracy.

The second great thing about Athens was the musician Orestis. Yet another respondent to our Horizons Unlimited query to meet up with two wheeled brethren along the way. Despite being a recently forlorn romantic, he was a great host who showed us around the City, explained how it was much better and cleaner since I had been there years ago, and confirmed what a wonderful place it is for bikers. He also informed us that, surprise, surprise, it is better in the summers and that it is really easy to take your motorcycle to different Greek Isles for 20 or 30 €. He wouldn’t hear of letting us pay for dinner, although he did allow us to treat him to a delicious ice cream waffle. Any two wheeled adventurer (especially single females!) should look him up if in the area. Don’t be fooled by his long hair, he really does love Heavy Metal! We hope to join him on one of those Islands someday, it sounds quite enchanting and relaxing.

We enjoyed the food in Greece, excellent salads, mixed grills, and fish. The people everywhere were friendly, from offering advice, to a free ice cream with a meal. It was interesting to go “back” to the EU after spending so long in Turkey and getting used to the standards there. Clearly, the Greeks built better buildings (as many in Turkey told us, the quality of building had gone down since the Greeks and Armenians left), had better roads, and let fewer smog belchers on the highway. I calculated that there were about one seventh the amount of police on the roads, and in my unscientific observations it seemed as if they were more interested in controlling traffic than obtaining bribes.

On our way out of the country we met up with a Honda Varadero club who were cruising en masse despite the cold weather for a weekend getaway. They also confirmed that it was a great place to ride, but better in the summer, according to the guy with the wool hat on under his helmet.

We were able to make it from Athens to Istanbul in two days, a distance of about 700 miles thanks to the good roads, cruising at an easy 80 mph, despite some additional rain. The border crossing we think is the quietest we have seen in the whole world. There is only one stop on the Greek side and 3 or 4 on the Turkish side depending on whether you are coming or going. Still, it is straightforward and friendly, and although we did have to get 6 months of Turkish insurance for $10 bucks, something they didn’t make us do when we arrived by boat from Ukraine, they allowed us back into the country on our previous 3 month Visa which saved us $40 dollars.

Do yourself a favor, learn to say “casas” (hello) and “epheristo” (thank you), wait for summer and get yourself and your bike to the cradle of Western Civilization.

Friends of the Greeks, Friends of the Turks...Friends of all!

As Kevin has stated before, one of the purposes of our trip is to meet nice people all over the world. So far, we have not been disappointed as evidenced by the many invitations we have accepted to have lunch, dinner or drinks, and even stay with individuals who were complete strangers to us before a chance encounter or a brief exchange of emails. My hope for the betterment of our world is renewed each time we spend some time with a person who is willing to welcome a pair of strangers (especially from the US, given our country's unpopular stance on so many issues at this point in time) into his/her life and share their time, money, home, lives, etc.
So, once again, here are some of our new friends:
Orestis from Athens who took us out to dinner and showed us the less touristy side of the city he loves.

Jerome and his beautiful (and pregnant) wife Serap sitting at the head(s) of the table at their house where they hosted Adrienne, Alex, Kevin and I for a delicious home-cooked meal.

Guests at our party at our temporary home in Istanbul (Alex and Adrienne's place, where we are back again right now!!!!), Ayse and Gilles, Jerome, and Hakan our very own soon-to-be-famous-director friend.

Ozan, our current host in Istanbul, fellow BMW motorcyclist and jazz musician at "Q", and also a former rock star with the Turkish group Athena.

Meteora

An amazing City in the mountains of Central Greece. This is where the Byzantine Christians went to avoid persecution from the Muslims. They lived on tops of these otherworldly monolithic rocks overlooking the plains below. They built monasteries which were only accessible from hoists above.

ministry of silly walks approved

greek soldiers wear pompons on their shoes!

More pictures from Athens

We made it to Athens

This truly a dream come true for me, as I have longed to come see the Acropolis since I was a young student in school reading about Greek mythology and again as a college student discussing the teachings of the great Greek philosophers.

Our day began early and overcast, but by the time we had reached the summit of the great Acropolis the sun had begun to fight its way through the stubborn clouds and it finally reigned triumphant by just in time to illuminate the breathtaking temple of Nike Aphrodite and its lovely statues.


We walked around the heart of the historical center of this whitewashed city for hours and managed to see 12 of the 14 most important sites. Our last stop was at the temple of Zeus, which was one of the largest temples of its kind ever built and, judging from its few remaining standing columns, must have been truly awesome in its heyday.


On a more modern note, I have been quite surprised at how beautiful, stylish, and altogether superbly put-together Greek women are. I'm not really sure what I was expecting but it was probably more "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and less "Vogue"! In any case, tight jeans tucked into calf-hugging boots is the uniform of the moment and it suits these women (of all ages) well. I, on the other hand, am feeling quite drab with my neither-here-nor-there hair and my one shirt and jeans!!!

The curse of Clara

Somewhere in the Ottoman empire Clara picked up a curse. The curse of the Missing Menu Item. As we have been traveling around, restaurants have mysteriously not had what she has picked out. At one point on the Aegean coast she picked out three succesive things which they didn't have until they she reluctantly had what I chose.
Our friends Alex and Adrian didn't give her story much credence until we went out to dinner in Istanbul and they didn't have Iskender! That is like going to KFC and the Colonel not having any chicken.
Here in the former Ottoman Empire country of Greece, the curse has continued. In Meteora, a traditional Greek mountain village they didn't have Mousaka the classic Greek staple. Then today in Athens, we went to McDonalds for a quick refreshment and they didn't have the yogurt and fruit Clara wanted, but they did have my milkshake!

I have stopped telling her what I pick off the menu for fear she will want the same thing and curse us both!
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How to tell you are not a genuis

When you are riding down the main highway along the coast and you think to yourself "its cold, wet, rainy, overcast and windy, let's take the shortcut over Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece" you can be sure your Mensa application didn't get lost in the mail.



Soon we were winding our way back and forth up a few thousand feet on the shoulder of the snowcapped mountain of the Gods. Apparently the only people taking this lonely route. We came within about a thousand feet of the snowline near where we got gas in a toilet free station. The teeth chattering would continue.



The winds were whipping through various passes we overcame and across the valleys we crossed, lightly populated with minor gauge farming taking advantage of the patches of fertile soil around the high peaks not littered with too many stones. I went cautiously, afraid of black ice mostly, while knowingly avoiding the farmers ruts of mud, the wet leaves, and the slippery piles of pine needles.



A hardened clump jolted us and knocked my feet off the pegs, but we continued unabated to the tourist Mecca of Meteora. We are the only tourists in town. Most places are closed up for the season. But it is gorgeous, there are 24 or so huge rock pillars rising out of the plains. Hermits have been living on their tops for a thousand years, and monasteries have been there for 500. Tomorrow we will attempt to see some. Think of the James Bond film with Telly Savales, it must have been filmed here, truly unique.



The last stretch of road reminded me of Vermont. The wind brought the last vestiges of leaves alive, as a swarm of bats impeding our path, like a halloween howl. Leaves struck our windshield, in my helmet, as they flapped at us, back and forth, up and down. Natural beauty.

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Greek travel tip #1

If you order the less expensive wine on the menu and they bring out a bottle labeled "RETSINA" with a bottle cap, you are not about to enjoy a culinary revalation.

Sent from Meteora
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Strange but nice in Thessaloniki

We spent the day today in yet another gorgeous seaside town, the ancient city of Thessaloniki. It is strange to so suddenly be back in the Christian world, after being gone for two months. Suddenly we see Christmas wreaths, Santa signs, and Christmas carols all around when we have gotten used to Arabic calls to prayers 5 times a day. Of course we missed out on Halloween and Thanksgiving as well, so it is quite a change.

A nice surprise: as we were riding on the road yesterday trying to look at roadsigns in Greek and try and translate them into English, I suddenly remembered my Physics background and pledge training in my fraternity and realised that I do know the Greek alphabet and even the pronunciations. It was an "aha!" moment, when suddenly you see the hidden figure in the dots. Of course I don't remember it perfectly, and I started trying to say the alphabet to myself: "alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon..." but I am now pretty well able to read the signs. Funny how the mind works.

Thessaloniki is pretty, clean, whitewashed city thousands of years old about the size of Boston. It has a beautiful sidewalk promenade along the harbor (no railing between you and the sea, oh no where are the plaintiff lawyers!) with a lively bar and cafe scene across the street. It is a University town, filled with hip, attractive youngsters, and tons of motorcycles and scooters, some of them doing interesting burnouts from streetlight to streetlight. We went to the excellent Byzantine museum today, and also to the very good Archaeology museum. Funny how when you go to a museum in Istanbul it says "the times were stunted due to the oppressive Christian regime", and when you go to a Greek museum it says "the times were stunted due to the oppressive Ottoman regime." Happily, however it seems at least these two cultures are starting to appreciate each other more in a peaceful way. Maybe in my lifetime Cyprus will be sorted out.


Amazing what a relief it is to only pay $7 or $8 dollars a gallon for gas. Weather permitting we will head to Mount Olympus tomorrow. I must be getting weak in my old age, as the first hotel we stopped at in town had mold on the walls and ceilings, and I rejected it without any input from Clara! We are staying in a nice place and had a delicious friendly meal at a local corner tavern, mushrooms, salad, mixed grill, one of the best meals we've had, and they even gave us some ice cream on the house.

So far Greece has been quite friendly in a reserved way, very clean and neat, although there is air pollution over a couple of the industrial areas. Clear blue skies, beautiful sunsets over the Aegean, and crisp 50 degree or so weather.

Out of Turkey!

We finally left Turkey today before the authorities came around to make me do some compulsory military service.

Those of you who have been following our blog can guess that although it hadn't rained in over a week, as soon as we started loading the panniers the heavens opened and we enjoyed the rain through the next two hours of Istanbul traffic.

After a fairly boring ride, the highlights being a flat chilly Sea of Marmara and a perfectly green hill of 4 inch winter wheat rising to the blue sky background, we arrived at the Greek border. I'm happy to report that there seem to be no heightened tensions or stress at the border and we passed without incident. I must admit that there was a slight relaxation of anxiety being back in the EU where the rule of law reigns as opposed to the military state of Turkey, with its corrupt authority structure, where one can be at the mercy of the uniform in front of you.

We are in Alexanderopoulis, a clean, pretty seaside town clearly slowed down for the winter season. It feels good to be on the road again.
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