Living the Dream Solo Around the World Trip

[TornadoF5]

Schalk to get an idea what a trip like this costs, obviously we not talking hotels, but much as you are doing, what kind of money does one need to comfortably make it there and back factoring in the unplanned expenses as best one can?

 

[Gerard]

Hey Ou Baas, ry jy maar net lekker en genoet jou trip. Ek hou heeltyd dop  :thumleft:

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Schalk to get an idea what a trip like this costs, obviously we not talking hotels, but much as you are doing, what kind of money does one need to comfortably make it there and back factoring in the unplanned expenses as best one can?

R600 A day

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Excellent Schalk  :thumleft:

I remember the rock-hewn churches, amazing structures that have survived for hundreds of years, despite the attempts to destroy them.

The coffee ceremony is also brilliant. I remember drinking coffee until late at night and then not being able to sleep all night from the caffeine high!

Addis I agree, not the friendliest city I have been to.  :xxbah:

I had a contact in Addis so it made up for all the unfriendly people. Ja the coffee is strong. So you have also been around.

 

[schalk vd merwe]

fantastic Schalk! keep it coming, i actually heard the fish eagles sound as you mentioned it.

The most beautiful bird sound in the world

 

[Platbrak]

Schalk to get an idea what a trip like this costs, obviously we not talking hotels, but much as you are doing, what kind of money does one need to comfortably make it there and back factoring in the unplanned expenses as best one can?

R600 A day

Now this is what I call a good answer.

Good going Schalk.  Let me know if you pass through Paris.

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Schalk to get an idea what a trip like this costs, obviously we not talking hotels, but much as you are doing, what kind of money does one need to comfortably make it there and back factoring in the unplanned expenses as best one can?

R600 A day

Now this is what I call a good answer.

Good going Schalk.  Let me know if you pass through Paris.
[/quote
Hi Copernicus can you please PM me your address and phone number I will like to come and say hi

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Hey Ou Baas, ry jy maar net lekker en genoet jou trip. Ek hou heeltyd dop  :thumleft:

Gaan julle nog op die Bash sien maar ek sal dalk met my 1000 Genises moet kom want my XT gaan in Engeland wees. Jy weet van Twe-Twe wat die bymekaar kom reel in Desember by Rheebok strand ne' ek sal ook daar wees en as jy dalk kom kan ons weer gesels. Groete.

 

[TVB]

Daai Genises 1000 is lekker fietse, onthou toe hulle vloer gevat het in SA, Baie ouens se eerste en laaste fietse gewees voor hul onder die lang bome gaan le het

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Update 3/07/2015
So that night Degu and I went bird watching. We rode with my bike up to a point where we could not go further and left the bike at a place of work of some of his friends. Then we walked next to the Blue Nile for about 4km. At one point I had to take my boots off and cross the water over some rocks and as my Jeans had mud on I just walked knee deep through the water and they actually came out cleaner on the other side. We got to an ideal spot as I wanted to see the Sun set over the Blue Nile with the birds nearby. We saw lots of different birds including king Fishers diving into the water to catch some fish. Later Degu got worried about the security situation as the locals would spot me as a tourist miles away as it was going to be dark when we get back. I told him not to worry, he must just tell me when the situation is dangerous then I will take my Leather man knife out and we will just handle the situation. Well no danger came and we went back to his sister’s coffee shop to have a cold one.
The next morning I was on my way to the border. Again it was a lovely winding road for hundreds of kilos. As I never had breakfast I stopped next to the road where they were selling fried mealies. My intention before the trip was to support spaza shops and small shops and people like these that are trying to make a living. I bought a mealie from one of the old ladies and was eating it while sitting on the bike. About 8x16 year old kids plus some younger ones were crowding me which I don’t mind but when they started to beg money from me I thought let me go and enjoy the mealie around the next bend in peace. As I started the bike I heard a wak from one of the bungee elastics and I thought they pulled it to irritate me. I went around two bends as it was a mountainous area and got off the bike. Then I saw the 5 litre petrol that I tied to the back of my bike was gone and I just knew they stole it and I need that petrol so badly as just about the whole of Ethiopia is dry. They must have heard me coming back because as I reached the spot they were all gone except for an 80 year old man sitting on a rock and three bags full of mealies. I was beside myself and threw all the mealies out of two bags and started to throw them one by one down the mountain. The old man grabbed the one bag and went to sit on top of it. I carried on until there were not one mealie left of the two bags. Afterwards I felled sorry for what I just done as one should not revenge bad with bad. A guy in a 4x4 then stopped to speak on his cell phone and I waited till he was finished with his call. I then asked him whether he knew if there is a police station nearby as the mealie sellers stole my 5 litre petrol. He was an educated man and could speak English well and he then got out. Slowly then the crowd started to come back and he spoke to the old ladies who sold me the mealie and told them I wanted to call the police. They all looked very worried and eventually one of the old ladies came back with my 5 litre of petrol and the rope I had used to it tied down with. Apparently in Ethiopia they lock people up for small things and I think the word police did the trick. I don’t think it was mentioned by them that I threw all the mealies down the mountain and I must say I am not proud for what I did but the anger at that moment just took over.
I reached the border and changed the Ethiopian money with Sudanese Pound with the money changers that always crowed you at the borders, something I normally don’t do. The border crossing went smooth and I went across both sides. I tried at an ATM to draw money as usual but it would not accept my card. I then drove for many km without seeing a petrol station. Eventually 150km inland I came to a small town with about 30 trucks standing at a filling station. The power was off so they could not pump petrol but the trucks were there to overnight. I ask a guy by the name of Mergni if he knows of some accommodation in the area. He said no accommodation but I can sleep there in the open as they all sleep outside due to the heat. There were already a whole lot of beds all around and I took my self-inflating mattress and laid it onto the concrete about 4 metres from the petrol pump with my sleeping bag on top. Mergni and the truck drivers laid some reed mats down on the ground and prepared to eat all out of the same pots while sitting on the reed mats. They invited me to join them but I said no I am Ok but I was actually hungry as I only had that mealie to eat the whole day plus over 500km riding behind me. Eventually they brought me to taste some of the food which was actually very nice. After they finished their meal they did their Muslim prayers. I was tied and it did not take me long to fall asleep. Halfway through the night I heard the commotion as some of the trucks would start up and leave. The next morning early I was awake and saw all the steel beds were gone and most of the trucks. Just old Mergni bed was still there and he was fast asleep. All my stuff was still there my tank bag on my bike with camera’ cell phones and everything like I left it he previous night. A couple of vehicles came in to fill up petrol but I showed them old Mergni is still asleep and they then just left again. Another helper at the pump then came and showed me where the shower was. The cold shower did me well and I brush my teeth also under the shower as there was no basin just a Muslim toilet. When I came back old Mergni was awake and shared with me all his problems. He never got married and he asked me that I must pray for him to get an English or Australian wife. I explain to him that an English or Australian wife would have to like him first before they would marry him and it is not like with the Muslims where they have arranged marriages. Any way I said I will pray for him but does he mind that I pray to the Christian God?  Old Mergni had no objections. I packed up and filled the tank and said my good byes to old Mergni such a guy with so much hospitality and although he has nothing he gave me his everything and it is the 2nd Muslim on the trip that I will think about still in the future. From there I went into the little town and found two banks with ATM’s but none of them would take my card. I then left with very limited funds for Khartoum with over 400km to go. As the day progressed it got hotter and hotter with a strong wind blowing from the left. The wind was so strong I had to counter steer all the way and the landscape is semi desert. The temperature on the bike while riding climbed to 43C. The water in my bottle was almost not drinkable. I started to feel dehydrated and stopped at a petrol station to pour water over me and buy fresh water. I poured my salvaged 5 litre petrol into the tank plus I bought 5 litre extra just so I can make Khartoum as I don’t like to have no money in my pocket. Eventually I reached Khartoum and looked for a hotel. The hotel I found was too expensive and the owner was prepared to lower the price for me. I then asked him if they accept credit or debit cards. The answer shocked me nearly out of my socks. Sudan is a cash country and because America has got sanctions against Sudan none of the foreign card would work here. Now I was stuffed no money no card that is working. Even so the owner who is an educated guy and have been living in America before allowed me to stay for the night as I told him I would make a plan in the morning. So today I took a taxi (6 seater small Suzuki mini bus) rather to the to the South African Embassy to see if they could help me with my predicament as even my bank in SA could not help me. Arriving there I met with Lerato a very efficient Tswana lady who phoned SA to find out what to do. She came back and told me the only way that we can do it is that my wife must deposit money at the home affairs office in SA and they would pay me out on this side. She then even offered me her personal buyer’s card so I could buy  myself a sim card and air time but I turned her generous offer down and I must say there are so many wonderful  people left in this world and I am experiencing it more and more on this trip. So my faithful and lovely wife deposited the money into home affairs account and I will go back later to collect the cash and hopefully my problem will be solved. Today is Friday so here it is weekend till Saturday but Lerato promised me that she will come and open the Embassy specially to give me the money. If any of you out there have contacts with home affairs please tell them Lerato here in Khartoum is a star. 5 years ago when I had problems on the Island of Zanzibar while on a bike trip to the Equator I also went to the Embassy in Dar es Salaam and they were equally as helpful there. Sunday is a working day here and I was promised by Nada at Khartoum Customs that I can pick up my tyres for my bike which was send from SA. In the mean time I met some interesting people here. An American from Red Indian origin who is going to help them built low cost housing like the Red Indians built 2000 years ago. I also met the chef here who is from Lebanon and quite a colourful character.  As I said before, keep the comments coming as it keeps me going. From an alcohol free Sudan till next time.

 

[schalk vd merwe]

1st Photo  Truck accident no 13 for this trip
2nd Photo  Last bit of Ethiopia
2nd Photo  Last bit of Ethiopia

 

[schalk vd merwe]

1 st photo My sleeping place for the night
2nd photo Mergni sleeping it away with trucks leaving all night
3 rd photo Mergni A big guy is looking for a wife

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Sudan on the way to Khartoum

 

[schalk vd merwe]

Dry hot Sudan

 

[Gerard]

Hey Ou Baas, ry jy maar net lekker en genoet jou trip. Ek hou heeltyd dop  :thumleft:

Gaan julle nog op die Bash sien maar ek sal dalk met my 1000 Genises moet kom want my XT gaan in Engeland wees. Jy weet van Twe-Twe wat die bymekaar kom reel in Desember by Rheebok strand ne' ek sal ook daar wees en as jy dalk kom kan ons weer gesels. Groete.

:thumleft: Ons sal sien. Weet nog nie waarheen ons die jaar sal toer nie.

 

[gser]

Dis nou 'n vasbyt storie Schalk !
Bliksim !

 

[rrichardson86]

this is brilliant !!! :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: safe riding! Im already starting to save up for my trip like this!

 

[frans1]

Tx Schalk! I really enjoy your RR.  Looking forwardfor the next one.  Be safe

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk

 

[Oom Foe-rie]

TX for sharing Schalk ............... Dit is nou sommer n bakgat RR hierdie ............ :thumleft:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

That was the highlight of the trip so far for me, TG there are still good people in this crazy world we live in.

Mooi Man, Mooi!

8)