Friday 19 October 2012

Post trip awesome summary!

So I think that's the end of this trip... Even though it says London up there in the subtitle I haven't been there yet. I'm going on Sunday but on a train and there are no plans to take the bike there yet. I'm assuming I'd only have to take the bike if I get a job in London.

Here's the map:

[Edit December 2019: Google retired the service I was using to display the map. I've created another to replace it here]

And for what I've worked out from my GPS and costs:

  • 35774km of riding from Hugdesdale in Melbourne to Bacup in the UK.
  • 486 days from the day I set off (16th of June 2011) to the day I arrived here and started looking for work (12th of October 2012)
  • Travelled to 21 countries, one without the bike (Vietnam)
  • 26 border crossings, 5 of those without any Immigration or Customs formalities (within the EU)
  • 2187L of petrol, which makes the fuel economy about 6.11L/100km or 38mpg
  • Cheapest petrol was 35c/L in Iran, and the most expensive was just over the border in Turkey at $2.40/L. My trip average was $1.38/L
  • $7253 spent on food and drink
  • $8057 on accommodation
I've spent $40163 in total, including travel insurance, bike shipping, documentation, taxies, tickets, bike repairs, and the food and accommodation above. But I have also lost a lot with currency exchanges, so that figure is probably +/- 10%. This is much more than I budgeted, I had hoped to keep it below $20-30/day on average but it worked out close to $80/day.

The purchase of the bike and then all the modifications worked out to about $13500. Very reliable strong bike. I had a sprocket carrier bearing fail but it was still riding it. The other wheel bearings were in bad shape but got replaced soon after. Only the head stem bearings, chain and sprockets need replacing now, the carby needs some tuning and it needs a minor service, and a wash. Not bad for 35000km of neglect! I've only needed two sets of tyres for the entire trip, but I did wear out the last bit of a set I'd been using through Australia.


The things I know now:
  • Iran is cheap but a crazy hassle to get in to with a vehicle.
  • India isn't as cheap as I thought it would be. They don't let foreigners stay in the really cheap places, not that you'd want to.
  • Australia is a LOT more expensive than I thought it would be (but it has pies at Mt Larcom, so worth the expense).
  • The best region for food was from Singapore to Bangkok.
  • The worst food was breakfast in Iran, same old carrot jam, egg (sometimes) and stale flat bread every day.
  • The best landscapes were in Laos and Iran, but both were unexpected because I did very little research before going.
  • Don't visit Angkor Wat at the start of your trip, everything else will be compared to it.
  • Ha Long Bay is amazing, but spend a few days there.
  • Thailand has a lot of motorbikes ridden by old white guys with young Thai girls on the back.
  • You will spend a majority of your time in Nepal and India near a toilet.
  • There are mountains in Nepal, but if you want to see them don't take your motorbike, you'll have to go by foot.
  • Dubai is nice and shiny and has the biggest and fastest of everything, but never ever do any kind of business or freight there.
  • The French really don't own deodorant
  • Shellfish gives me really bad indigestion
  • The best hotels/guesthouses are the Noom Guesthouse in Lopburi, Thailand, and Buger Hof in Bamberg, Germany.

I've taken 21625 photos with all the various camera, and I have more than 200GB of video with the GoPro. I guess the next 6 months will be spent editing all of that...

Where to next?

5 comments:

  1. well done Ryan,we have followed you all the way,and picked up alot of useful info,as our route is almost identical apart from the Dubai bit.
    would be great to meet up with you when we get to blight
    cheers clive and chris

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  2. amazing you made it, i met you in malaysia, very good work!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Davi! I remember you but now I can't remember from where in Malaysia!

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  3. Hey Ryan,
    Fantastic work! Looks like the most amazing adventure. I'm planning a similar trip from Australia, through Europe, to Africa on a motorbike. Would be great to get in touch.
    xandy.gavin@hotmail.com
    Thanks,
    Alex

    ReplyDelete