Skip to main content

Heading north

By

At breakfast time this morning on the 10 th floor of the hotel Diana pointed out a big box next to the window. In the front of the box was a sign and instructions 




Diana said it was a rescue  apparatus you use to lower yourself from the 10 th floor of the hotel where we were down to the ground in the case of an emergency. Would have to be some emergency I thought to myself!  I still did not quite understood how the device worked and asked Diana to interpret the instructions and to both explain and show how the device worked 

I am going to really miss Diana! 

Anyway life has to move on sometimes so I composed in my head a  Situations Vacant advertisement for a new replacement pillion passenger. It went like this 

                                                                                           HELP  WANTED 

A vacancy exists for an age compatible female pillion rider 
Applicants must be prepared  to sit on the back of a motorbike for up to 10 hours a day, day after day. Must be able to endure sizzling heat, freezing cold, rain, hail and sunshine. 
Must be able to handle foreign countries, foreign languages, foreign cultures and strange customs, rough roads and strange road rules. Must have good sense of humour. 
Must be able to read a map upside down. 
Must only need 5 kg of clothes . 
Must supply own set of pearls. A halo would help. 

  I  submit the advertisement on line. It is rejected. They don’t action impossible advertisements I am told 

 Suddenly I awake out of the nightmare. But my dream is answered. There is Diana and the brief could have been written for her. The perfect candidate ! 

And this the day starts. I multitask as the luggage boy 




Then off we ride past paddy fields and mountain vistas 








As we ride I compose my first Haiku. It goes thus 
                                                    
                                                                           On a bike 
                                                                   The wheels go round 
                                                                     The bike stays up 
                                                                        We are happy 

I think I will submit it to the foreign haiku writers competition 

Then we arrive at our hotel for the night. Scandinavian flare in a rice paddy 









And I have an Asahi beer as the sun sets somewhere in Tsuruoka which is somewhere in Japan 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The last post!

By
How do you summarise a motorbike trip around the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles?. With difficulty!   Well we are not into record setting. But we believe we are the oldest couple in the world to ride a motorbike “ two up” ie with pillion passenger, right round the world on one season  Let’s start  off with the statistics for the little trip  -                                                                    Total mileage.        34,416 km *                                                        No of days travelling        165                           ...
2 comments
Read more

Chapters 1 and 2

By
WHY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES ? I have always been interested in adventure. Over the years I have climbed mountains, parachuted, had my private pilots licence, dived, sailed and done various adventurous pursuits (with various degrees of success I might add!). Motorcycling has been one of the later activities. Why motorcycles?  Firstly it is all a bit easier on the body as one gets a little bit older. This is of course on the assumption that one does not inadvertently part company suddenly with said machine!  Secondly, it does also require a bit of brain power - intellect you might say if that does not sound snobby. There is also, to me, an element of "man and machine" about motorcycling. Then if that is not enough justification in itself there is  the scenery and the absorption into the landscape you are passing through. On a bike you see much much more than in a car, bus or train. You are aware of nuances in the landscape, you smell the smells and you become more than ...
3 comments
Read more

And a volcano stopped us!

By
What a day. First thing this morning it was off to check the rear tyre of the bike. Oh the relief !  The tyre was rock solid and the same pressure as after fixing yesterday.  So it is a pack up and first day on the road today. We get on the way with a just a little bit of nervous excitement.  On to the  Japanese motorway system we go. And what a delight. The traffic is orderly, calm not going to fast and not too thick. We track right in towards Tokyo itself before bearing West. Yes, there were lots of spaghetti junctions - It looks like The Los Angeles motorway system but it is so much easier (and slower). Japanese politeness really shows thru’. However there were lots of toll booths - we had chopped thru  about NZ$50 in the first hour and a half  Then we are on to the slow bit and off the motorways.  It was about a four hour stop and start crawl thru the urban sprawl of greater Tokyo. However I did find time for some serious reflection - I also saw a...
3 comments
Read more