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Down The Mekong in Cambodia – Siem Reap
There is never a bad time to take a road trip, especially after almost three years of lockdowns. Three pals got together and decided to take a two-week trip to neighboring Cambodia to relieve the monotony of life in Bangsaphan. The plan was to avoid the Chinese casino town of…
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Exploring South England
Back in the northwest of England where things had brightened up a little again, we took a drive into the Peak District again to find some viewpoints around Kettleshulme and on to the very dry Errwood Reservoir. It had been one of the hottest and driest years on record for…
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A Scottish Odyssey – Part 3
After a couple of days back on the farm catching up, we headed back to Stonehaven to visit Dunnottar Castle. The weather was great when we left but had turned into mist and fog by the time we reached the castle just a few miles up the road, such is…
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A Scottish Odyssey: Part 2 – Loch Ness
Having exhausted many of the places to visit in the local vicinity, we wanted to venture further north so booked a hotel on Loch Ness. Getting there would be the good bit as it involved driving through the Cairngorms, the UK’s largest national park, to Inverness. There were other routes…
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A Scottish Odyssey: Part 1
From here it was the long drive to Scotland and the new ‘Château de Jarvo’ in Aberdeenshire where we would be based for the next few weeks. Our rental shed had started to make some strange noises raising a few concerns but nobody wanted to answer the phone at the…
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A Long-Awaited Return to England
After two and a half years of lockdown in Thailand, travel restrictions were finally lifted in July 2022 paving the way for a long-awaited road trip. I hadn’t been back to the UK for three years and needed to attend to banking and business as well as make some long…
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Off The Road Asia: An End in Sight?
The New Year camping session was the perfect escape for a few days. No phone signal or WiFi which meant no Covid news or conversation which was pure bliss after having it rammed down our throats for the past two years. Unfortunately, Thailand’s draconian lockdown measures did not seem to…
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Off The Road Asia: The Rockdown Continues
The second half of 2021 has been no better than the first in terms of traveling or freedom of movement. Thailand started to get its Covid numbers under control and it commenced its vaccination rollout during the third quarter. I managed to get 2 shots of Pfizer in September courtesy…
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Off The Road Asia: The Year That Never Was
The year 2021 has been a total write-off in terms of traveling. It has been more than a decade since there hasn’t been at least one OTRA entry in a given year for a road trip somewhere. The Covid-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 is still ravaging most of…
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Mallaj to Pokhara
Day Six Despite the luxurious settings, I didn’t sleep well and woke groggily with sticky eyes, a snotty nose and cracked lips. Living in the tropics for decades softens you up somewhat and harsher conditions take longer to acclimatize to. Several coffees, a hot shower, a good breakfast, a group…
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Kagbeni to Mallaj
Day Five The mood was a little subdued this morning as bad weather was expected which is not conducive to riding on some of the most dangerous roads on the planet. A low grey fog and foreboding looking sky shrouded the mountains and we went for a wander around the…
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Lower Mustang, Muktinath
Day Four It was now not far before we swung right to make the ascent up to Muktinath on what was the best road seen so far – a smooth strip of blacktop snaking up the mountain above the snow line. As the altitude increased the bikes grew a little…
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Kalopani to Jomsom
Day Four The next morning yielded an even more spectacular view as the 6,920 meter Tukuche Peak revealed itself to the north in the crystal clear morning light. Next to it was the seventh highest mountain in the world, Dhaulagiri I at 8,167 meters. We had not seen this mountain…
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Kushma to Lete
Day Three After an early night due to tiredness we were up early for a quick bite to eat before hitting the road. There were planned road closures on our route north and our guide Jai wanted us through them in good time. We left Kushma and took the last…
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Tansen to Kushma
Day Two Accommodation was basic but homely and it was cold, I had yet to acclimatize. Up at sunrise for some organic coffee and breakfast before gearing up and hitting the road again for what would be a long stint riding over rocks today. Our ride would complete the southern…
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