Post 202: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The transit lounge of Abu Dhabi International Airport was awash with people; people coming, people going and people trapped by circumstances that were not of their own making. I was one of the lucky ones, a holder of a United Kingdom Passport, I could at least choose my next destination without worrying about visa issues. A group of contract workers returning to Thailand were also there, possibly thirty in number, … thirty people who simply because of their Nationality, could not leave the airport, could not re-route to any other destination, ….. simply caught in the ‘no mans land‘ of Abu Dhabi until normal service is resumed.

Information on the situation in Thailand was sketchy, the Air Etihad staff insisted that the airport closures were due to ’industrial action’, ……. ’normal services would resume in the very near future’. More flights were arriving and the airport transit lounges were beginning to resemble refugee camps. After 24 hours of inactivity and the BBC reporting further violence around the Bangkok Airports, it was clear that Etihad’s optimism was clearly unfounded, ….. it was time to make a move.

Overnight I’d found several fellow travellers in exactly the same predicament, all heading for different parts of Thailand and all keen to leave the dank surroundings of Abu Dhabi behind them. After a full day in a windowless transit lounge you soon decide that you can only take so much fun. We persuaded Air Etihad to transfer our onward flights from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur and from there we‘d make our own way North and into Thailand. At around 3am, eight of us were confirmed on the 10am flight with Air Emirates and whisked by fast car to Dubai International Airport. It wasn’t the airport that I remember from my days of travelling here, it was new and impressive, only twelve days in service and working like a dream. In fact, their services were so slick and streamlined that within five minutes of arrival they were able to confirm that Air Etihad had not in fact booked any of us onto it’s flight, ……. ’they knew nothing’ , ….. and to add insult to pending injury, the flight was already full. After a little smooth talking, a hint of blagging and the gentlest touch of bribery, all of us managed to board the flight, …. all happy to be moving again.

At around midnight we arrived at Kuala Lumpur and it soon became obvious that no flights to any Thai destination would be available until the main Bangkok Airports were opened and fully operational. Nobody knew when that would be and thousands of people were already on ’Stand By’ for the first available flights, …. it was another waiting game that none of us wanted to play. A kind taxi driver offered to take us to the border for the princely sum of $1,400, … we politely declined and instead boarded the express train to Kuala Lumpur’s main rail terminal for another uncomfortable night on floors and benches.

At 7am, we were informed that all trains heading North into Thailand were fully booked for the next 72 hours. We moved on, …. there was only one alternative left open to us. Our group had now grown to 14 plus one small child and together we raced across Kuala Lumpur. At the main bus terminal, we took the last 14 seats on the express coach to the city of Alastor someway south of the Malaysian/Thai border where we were promised a connection all of the way to Bangkok. As you‘ve probably guessed, …. there was no connection, it was a ‘dead-end terminus‘. However, within 10 minutes of arriving, a convoy of local taxi’s had been commandeered into driving us to the border and thankfully, like the Malaysian coaches and trains, … they were amazingly cheap.

We arrived at the Thai border around dusk, waved farewell to our respective drivers and crossed the border on foot. With everybody now safely inside Thailand, we found two mini-buses willing to drive us North to the town of Hat Yai from where we could take buses to our respective destinations. Things were beginning to come together and this time the promised coaches did actually exist. Tired and weary, no sleep or change of clothes for five days and nights, we said farewell to those folks heading towards Phuket and boarded the coach bound for Bangkok.

Five days and four countries later than planned, we’d Arrived in Bangkok. It was shortly after dawn, the enlarged group had reduced to just four, the original four members who had come together in Abu Dhabi, …. It hadn’t been planned that way, …. sometimes things just turn out that way. We headed for the sanctuary of a guest house off the lower end of Sukhumvit Road, …… and slept.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 201: Just When You Thought It Was Over ....

I'd eventually found a humble dwelling in which to rest my weary bones and retrieved my single suitcase of possessions, it was now time to concentrate on the Tiger. A plan of sorts was beginning to form, ... 'A Plan' in the true nature of Poor Circulation; half-baked, half-arsed and under-funded, .... but apart form that, it was all looking good.

I'd drop the Tiger off at Jack Lilley Triumph for a jolly good service and a long soak in a bath of snake-oil that would hopefully put an end to it's now insatiable appetite for the fully-synthetic variety. In the meantime, I'd be off on a little fact-finding adventure of my own. Perfect timing really, ..... Heathrow was only five miles down the road and the Tiger would have free B&B for the week that I'd be away.

The snow of Sunday had cleared, the Tiger behaved impeccably all of the way down to Ashford Common and Jack Lilley were expecting me. I dropped the bike off, provisionally agreed to attend their Christmas Party on Thursday 11th December and then made the five miles to Heathrow in plenty of time for my flight. I was using my expertly, yet indirectly blagged 'Economy Class Ticket' with a not so famous Airline, but there was sadly no 'upgrade' to Business Class, ....... beggars can't really be choosers all of the time. The flight departed on-time, I had a row of four seats all to myself, two decent meals and absolutely no turbulence.

The plane touched down on time in the Middle East and I had ninety minutes to wait in 'Transit' for my onwards flight. To this point in time, ... everything had gone perfectly smoothly, in fact it was all going far too smoothly for anything even remotely related to Poor Circulation, ..... my world was about to go horribly pear-shaped. Speaking a little Arabic is sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Amongst my European neighbours in the Transit Lounge, I was possibly the first to hear the news. 'Mushcular' is the Arabic word for 'Problem', and when heard in close proximity with the name of your destination and flight number, you just know it's not going to be good news. We waited for a full five minutes before the English announcement confirmed my initial fears; Due to unforeseen problems, Flight EY402 to Bangkok had been cancelled, ....... there was no additional information.

Five hours after that announcement was made, I now know the reason for the cancellation of Flight EY402. As I type this, my fellow transit passengers are making alternate arrangements for their onwards travel, ... but I'm not. I'm sitting alone in a dimly lit but crowded corridor of far-flung strangers and using the only electrical connection that I can find in this entire airport. I've decided to sit it out, to take my chances, ..... to wait for the next available flight. If the cancellation had been due to 'Weather' or even 'Technical Failure' then it would be quite easy to put a 'time' on the potential length of wait, ...... but it's not. I'm sitting in Abu Dhabi International Airport, It's 1:32am and I'm travelling to Bangkok. Unfortunately, twenty-three minutes before my connecting flight was due to depart, ..... both of Bangkok's Airports were officially closed.

Recent unrest in Bangkok has esculated and with an increase in the levels of violence and gunfire around the airports, ..... both have now been closed for security reasons. The latest news is that the airports will re-open in about three days time, .... Inshallah. Bangkok is not my final destination, .... but I need to use both airports in that fine city, ... the re-opening of just one will not be enough. I've explored the alternative routes, ... but they cost money, lots of money ... but sleeping in airport corridors costs me nothing, which is exactly what I've got, ...... so I'll keep you posted.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 200: Ace Cafe London. Full Circle

As we headed into London the British weather continued to demonstrate its endless generosity, …….. it refreshed us, it cleansed the road ahead, …. it reminded us that we were indeed home. Despite the rain, or perhaps because of it, it felt good to once again be riding as a pair and savouring the last few miles of Poor Circulation together. It had been three months since I’d ridden alongside Alan but it actually felt more like three days. London felt strange, a million years of knowledge have evaporated, the cities junctions that were once imprinted on my mind had gone, perhaps lost forever and replaced with knowledge of countries and cities that I might never visit again, ….. ‘one fact in, one fact out’, I was beginning to wish that I’d brought my AtoZ.

I’d expected the rain to keep all but the most hardy of soul’s away but as we pulled into the Ace Café I realised just how wrong that assumption had been. The Ace Café was awash with people and bikes. An area had been cordoned off for the Tigers and we parked the bikes in the precise place that we’d started from 28,000 miles before, .. we’d completed a full circle of the world travelling East.

Familiar faces and strangers alike thrust out their hands to congratulate us, ….. it was a fine welcome home and not one that either of us had expected. A group from Boxertrix.Com who we’d ridden with way back in Wales had arrived from all parts of the country; Harry, Paul, Jason, Joe C, Steve W., BoxerDog and more, … other people congregated around the bikes, asking questions and searching for their names on the top box and panniers. People began to hand over more money for the charity, … I wrote their names as best I could on the actual banknotes, …… it was quite chaotic and one or two names may have been missed, …… but every penny of the money collected on Sunday has now been donated through Just Giving under the title ‘Ace Café‘. We began to put faces to the ‘Names’ that had travelled with us for so many miles; ‘Simon The Locksmith‘, ‘FIM‘, ‘Geoff Keys‘, ‘Danny Ferry‘,’ The Grinch‘, ‘Alan K‘, ‘John & Christine’, John C-R FIM, David Mack etc., …. it was an honour to meet them at long last. I know that I’ve missed so many of their names here, … names that I hope will come back to me over the coming days, ….. but please be assured that your help and support is not forgotten.

From Alan and myself, I’d just like to say a huge thank you to Mark and the staff of the Ace Café for welcoming Poor Circulation back to London and to all of those who turned up to shake our hands in the pouring rain on Sunday. Your support has kept us going when the world was falling apart around us, … and for me at least, ….. it’s a great encouragement to continue until my charity target has been met, ….. and then some.

Plans are afoot for a continuation of ’Poor Circulation’ and in the coming week I’ll be exploring the possibilities. I’ve ’Blagged’ payment for a flight to an amazing part of the world where I’ll hopefully meet people interested in supporting another adventure, ….. an adventure that will make Poor Circulation Round The World look like a sanitized package holiday. It scares the living daylights out of me, … but that’s intoxicating, … it’s not that I’m an adrenaline junkie, far from it, but a little excitement certainly beats the crap out of 9 to 5. I’ve got to get my body fixed as quickly as possible, …… it didn’t survive quite as well as the Triumph, and then I need to quickly start earning some money again.

On the slow journey back to Essex, … under clearing skies, … my mind began to wander. Has a Tiger ever been spotted at the North Pole? (That’s a joke, … possibly, .... but please keep watching ;-)

‘Blue-88, ….. Empty NW10’

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 199: Serendipity, Braintree, UK

Tomorrow, Sunday 16th November, ….. Poor Circulation will be completing the full circle of the world by returning to the Ace Café, the place where it all began on the 21st April 2008. The intervening 28,000 Miles, 28 Countries and 28 Weeks have been to say the very least, …. Interesting. If I’d stayed at home I’d be a little less in debt, I’d have covered a few more miles on a bike but I’d also have far fewer memories, ……… and as I discovered today, I’d also now be just as ’Homeless’, but for very different reasons.

For the past few years I’d been renting a studio apartment in an old converted farm building to the West of Braintree. In the weeks prior to departure I packed all of the personal things that I wanted to keep, sold or discarded the rest and gave notice to my landlord. Today I returned to my former home and was shocked by what I found, ……. it looks a little more serious than ’Smoke Damage’. The picture to the left is all that remains of my old apartment within a Grade II listed building in rural Essex. Thankfully nobody was injured in the blaze, but If I’d stayed at home I would have lost everything that I owned, ….. I’d never really gotten around to purchasing any contents insurance. A foolish oversight, but an oversight that many make, …… don’t we?

Poor Circulation has actually been a lot easier than either Alan or I had anticipated, … absolutely anybody could make this journey. I’m beginning to think that some of the more famous two-wheeled circumnavigations tend to dwell on the ‘Problems’ and make the journey seem far more difficult than it really is. We didn't do any of the more difficult countries in Africa, nor did we enter Afganistan or Iran and we missed the problems in Georgia, ..... but if you keep it simple and avoid having to worry too much about where you are, .... it gives you more time to enjoy it. I’ll admit that We were very lucky, … the weather was in our favour and the help that we received along the way was far beyond our wildest expectations. It will be nice to meet some of you tomorrow at the Ace, ….. to say a big ‘Thank You’ in person. My daughter Hannah is coming along with her Mom, the former ‘Mrs Blue88’ and I’d like everybody to remember their social responsibilities. You must constantly remind her, .. My Daughter not Mrs Blue88, .. that motorcycles are Evil things and that the Boys riding them are even worse. Your support on this matter would be greatly appreciated, … by both me and her Mom ;-)

Seeing the devastation at my old home reminds me just how lucky I’ve actually been, … I‘ve lost nothing and gained everything. It also reminds me that I should set off travelling again before the next inevitable home based disaster strikes. I’m working on it, … the ‘Travelling’ not the ‘Disaster’, ……..

Hope to see some of you at the Ace Café.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 198: St Teresa's Hospice, Darlington, UK

Wednesday 12th November 2008, ..... it was an emotional return to St Teresa's Hospice. It's an inspiring place filled with amazing people, .. a place where my Father found peace and support after being diagnosed with cancer of the prostate and a place where my Mother spent much of her free time as a volunteer supporting their services.

Back in April when the Hospice staff had helped me to push my stricken Tiger out of the car park, the 'New Wing' had still been under construction, it had been little more than a building site, ...... but today I saw it complete. It provides St Teresa's with the necessary space to extend it's in-patient and bereavement counseling services, .... space that provides for the support of an increasing number of families, ..... space that they urgently needed, .... space that requires additional funding, .... funding that can only be raised through charitable events and the generous actions of individuals.

I was greeted by David Jones the Director of Fund Raising and given a guided tour of the new annex. I was able to spend time talking with Staff, with Nurses, with Volunteers, with the Chairman Alasdair MacConachie OBE and of course with the most important people, ... the people who's lives are enriched both in the Hospice and outside in the community. It seemed that everybody knew my Mother and many remembered my Father, .... but that's just the kind of people that they were, ... 'memorable' for all of the best reasons. St Teresa's Hospice, and for that matter any other Hospice, is not a place of sadness, .. a visit is always uplifting. I'd been quite sheepish on arrival, I'd aimed to raise five thousand pounds, ... the exact amount that they need in order to provide their services for 1 single day out of every 365, .... I felt guilty that I'd fallen short. I should not have worried, .... I should not have lost so much sleep the previous night. Everybody was grateful, ... thankful for what I'd done, .. the amount that I'd raised (or not raised) was secondary, .... they made me feel special for having done something, done anything, .... to help them. Staff, Volunteers and Patients alike have asked me to pass on their sincere thanks to the people who have generously donated through my Just Giving Page, ...... many of whom are total strangers, many of whom have no connection with Darlington, ..... but all of who are now directly affecting the lives of many families in the most positive ways imaginable. 'Thank You'.

As I left St Teresa's I met friends of my Mother that I knew well, I met supporters of Poor Circulation that I'd previously only known as 'Names' that were written on the bike. I left there with some extra money raised and with the absolute determination to achieve my initial target of five thousand pounds, .... whatever it takes I'll get there.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

www.darlingtonhospice.org.uk/

Post 197: Winter Camping, Squires Milk Bar, UK

After four days away from the keyboard I've found the Internet and opened my emails to receive a serious ear bashing from my Brother Alan in California. I'm apparently in the dog house for not updating the Blog for four days, ..... shame on me. He's worried about people thinking that the Blog is coming to an end, ... that the last few miles of Poor Circulation are upon us and that people will drift away. Well, .... unfortunately none of you will get off quite that lightly, ..... plans are already being made for 2009 & 2010. 'Poor Circulation Round The World' will be completed on Sunday 16th November at the Ace Cafe, 10:30am, (your all welcome to come along, Alan and I would love to meet you) ..... but this is just 'Part 1'. The hot news that I've received after an appearance on BBC Radio Essex has convinced me that 'Poor Circulation ****' and 'Poor Circulation ********' are more than probable. I'll keep updating the Blog, ... even if I'm not revealing any details of the next adventure for the next couple of weeks, .... my life is usually not without incident and lets face it, ..... I do enough cocking about on motorbikes to keep things at least a little bit interesting.

Anyway, .... the reason for my four days of silence is that I've been away enjoying a few days of Winter Camping. Technically it's Autumn and not Winter, ..... but if I'm taking criticism from a first generation Californian who considers any day requiring a sweater to be a climatic catastrophe, ..... I'm calling it Winter, .... he loves me really. So, I've just spent three nights camping, two of them spent at Squires Milk Bar in Newthorpe in Yorkshire. The team there are great, .... they provided me with free camping, kept me supplied with food and drink and last night entertained me and a few hundred other hardy souls with a live band and paws-on access to a new range of bikes courtesy of Leeds Harley Davidson. It was a really good evening but as the hardy folks of Yorkshire made there way home to WiFi, warm beds and central heating, .... I slid my way to the rear of the pub and into my new tent. It was cold, ..... in fact it was bloody cold, .... but thankfully the last few weeks in America had prepared me for cold camping, .... I'd learned some very valuable lessons.

Firstly, .... the secret to a warm and comfortable night under canvas is to arrange your bedding carefully. Firstly take the 'Big Greeta' air mattress, place the 'Mummy' sleeping bag on top of it and slide this sandwich filling into the large ex-army 'Bivi Bag'. Don't pull the drawstrings around your head, ..... your breath will freeze on the inside and you'll end up wet. Instead, ... draw it tight around your neck and wear an insulated hat. This arrangement not only keeps you warm and dry, but it also saves you from the following days 'Bad Hair Syndrome'. In America I discovered 'Gatorade', ... what an amazing product. The drink tastes just fine and I'm sure that it's packed full of vital minerals and vitamins, .... but if your not too thirsty just pour it away. It's the bottle that you need, ... 1 Quart (32 fl oz) of wide necked plastic perfection, .. the ideal receptacle for emergency night time calls of nature. Here in Blighty, Gatorade is not readily available, .. but the 1L plastic milk bottle serves just as well. A couple of tips here for any new adventure campers reading this: 1 Never use the same type of bottle as that used for your drinking water..... and 2, Never EVER use any form of metal container, .. your eyes will definitely water. Unfortunately I can't provide any first hand advice for the female campers amongst you, ..... but I'm sure that there are numerous websites that will provide you with more information than you might possibly need on this subject, .... surf cautiously.

You might be wondering why I've chosen the above photograph for this particular post. Well, the Tiger's been drinking oil at quite a rapid rate and I'm stopping every 50 miles to check the levels and top up if necessary. Today, ..... halfway down the A1, I heard a clink and caught the movement of an object from the corner of my eye. I knew instantly what that object was, ..... I'd recently sopped and topped up the oil, .... I'd forgotten to replace the 'Dipstick', .. I'd left it sitting on the engine casing. A long walk North, ... a swift dash across the carriageway to the central reservation, ... an even faster dash back to the nearside verge and an equally long walk South and back to the bike. I'd found the black plastic dipstick in the centre of the fast lane, .... well, .... it was hardly going to be laying conveniently on the nearside kerb was it? I was back on my way South after about thirty minutes, ...... I'll eventually get around to cleaning away the oil residue from the rest of the bike, .... and my boots, .. and my tent, .. and my tripod, .... and my Bivi Bag. 'Dipstick', ... a very good word really.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 196: Back to Reality, UK

Over the past six months my character has changed beyond all recognition, …. and probably my body too. It feels as if I’ve become entirely suited to travelling and the thought of being boxed in by four walls and a mortgage fills me with absolute terror. I thought that these feelings would change as soon as I‘d returned to the familiarity of the UK, but they haven’t, …… if anything they’ve become even stronger. It’s true to say that my ordinarily sunny disposition is being seriously challenged by the weather, …. ‘British Weather‘, …. that gift that just keeps on giving, ….. but the urge to keep on moving grows ever stronger.

For four chaotic days I’ve been residing around the Braintree area in Essex. I’ve arranged temporary accommodation and reacquainting myself with my daughter Hannah, ..... a teenager who in the six months that I’ve been absent has seemingly aged ten years. Fortunately for me, she has a wise head on young shoulders, she views the world with a maturity than I didn’t posses at that age, …. a maturity that has clearly continued to evade me. I’ve missed her, I’ve missed a large and important chunk of her life. Hannah’s a teenager and being a teenager is a lot more difficult than being a traveller, … but she restores my ‘Sunny Disposition’ and encourages me to keep on moving. We have a million things to talk about, a million things that we want to do together. We laugh and cry at the same things, .. Hannah laughs at my music and I cry listening to hers, but we probably know more about each others lives than most other Fathers and Daughters, ….. and that I’m now discovering is absolutely priceless. I’ve said for many months that I’m the luckiest guy in the world, ……. but only now am I really starting to understand exactly why that is true.

I’m travelling slowly towards Darlington, on Tuesday 11th November I’ll camp overnight at Squires Milk Bar and then return to St Teresa’s Hospice on Wednesday 12th at around 2:30pm. I’m putting ‘Xs’ on a map, …. writing times and dates beside them and it feels much more comfortable than applying to rejoin the electoral register. After Darlington, I’ll turn around and head south, I'm returning to The Ace Café, …. back to the beginning of Poor Circulation, Sunday 16th of November, …… late breakfast, 10:30am, ..... everyone is more than welcome to come along. I hope that returning to The Ace doesn’t feel like an ‘Ending’, …. I’m hoping it’s more of a ‘Beginning’. Once that last remaining ‘X’ marked at London NW10 has been changed to a ‘Tick’, …. things should become clearer. I’ve got more plans in my head than I have pounds in the bank but that didn’t stop me before. If there is a way to keep on moving, …. then I’ll find it.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 195: Rider & Tiger Reunited, UK

At around 1pm on Thursday 6th November, .... I was reunited with the Tiger at Gatwick's International Cargo Centre, .... Hazardous Goods Section, Building H. One hour later I was filtering onto the M25 and heading for the Dartford crossing. I passed the junction that I'd taken on the journey down to Folkstone way back in April, .... it had been raining on that day too. It now felt like a lifetime later, it felt like a different world.

I'd remembered to ride on the Left, ... the first time since leaving Thailand, it felt weird and unnatural. I'd forgotten just how fast the people drive here in the UK, I'd forgotten just how aggressive they were on the roads. I reacquainted myself with the art of filtering and slipped beneath the Thames to emerge on the North side in Essex, ... I was almost home. I'd arranged to stay at a reasonably priced B&B close to Finchingfield for a few days while I worked out where I would live. It was almost dark when I arrived, .... there was nobody home, ... either that or they'd seen the bike arrive and decided to cancel my reservation by simply not answering the door. In the end I cut my loses and moved on. As I looked for somewhere else to stay for the night I began to realise exactly how rough I must look after six months on the road, ... I wasn't a pretty sight.

Eventually I found a place to park the bike and lay my head for the night, .... but it wasn't easy. Receptionists and Duty Managers looked at me as if I'd just been wiped from the sole of their shoes, .... they'd suddenly find that a last minute booking had provided them with 100% occupancy, .... 'Sorry Sir, ... we appear to be full this evening'. I'd forgotten just how welcoming England was to bikers. Trying once again to call this Country 'Home' will be difficult, ..... perhaps too difficult. I'll spend a few days here and then visit the Hospices before returning to the Ace Cafe to complete the Full Circle. After that, .... I'll find a cheap room whilst I work out my plans for the future and get the Triumph repaired (New valve seals required). After that, I'll try to find a way to just keep on moving ...........

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 194: Return to London, UK

I'd been awake for most of the night, .... caught up in election fever and glued to 'CNN'. At around 11pm they'd announced that Obama had won the decisive State of Pennsylvania, .... there was no way back for McCain and Palin, victory for the Democrats was now assured, .... Barack Obama would become the 44th President of the United States of America. Along with the rest of the outside world, I cheered, .... I watched Obama's speech from Chicago and felt that I was witnessing a great moment in history. Americans had made their decision, they'd examined the content of this mans character and turned out in their millions to vote for him, .... America was turning a new corner. I was proud of them, I shared their feelings of hope for the future, ..... I was thankful for the opportunity to have witnessed this historical event unfolding.

Tired and disorientated, I'd been evicted from the overnight motel at 11am and had made my way to Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Air Transat?, ... I'd never heard of them either. The cost of the ticket from Toronto to London was cheap, ..... surprisingly cheap, ..... suspiciously cheap. I'd been sitting in the departure lounge for what seemed like a lifetime, arriving early in order to watch the Tiger being loaded onto the aeroplane. I hadn't seen it, .... I'd asked questions of those that I thought might know, .... they'd assured me that the bike would be on the flight, they'd been more confident than I, .... the Tiger hadn't appear on their manifests but with no other way of checking, .... I'd taken them at their word.

Thankfully it was a short flight, ..... the plane was full and the space was limited. AirTransat certainly understand how to fill an aeroplane, they were the smallest airline seats that I've ever used. As the crew shared the safety and service information with the passengers I began to understand why this flight had cost 50% less than the same flight with other operators, ..... everything was an optional extra. ''In the unlikely event that we should land on open water, .... life jackets are available from the vending machines situated at each emergency exit''.

At 9:30am GMT, on Thursday 6th November 2008, ..... a black Krauser Top Box slide through the plastic curtains and dropped onto the luggage carousel at Gatwick Airport. My baggage had arrived, .... but what of the Tiger? I sat around feeling lost and helpless, an hours wait, a tense hour spent wondering why UK Airports are the only Airports in the world where there is no free WiFi, .... an hour spent trying to confirm that the Tiger had actually been on the same aeroplane. At 11am, I had my answer, ..... the Tiger was on flight TS322, in fact it had already been cleared through customs and was now ready for collection from Gatwick Air Cargo Services, Building H, ..... 'Welcome Home'.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 193: Election Day USA, 4th November 2008

Having decided that the most appropriate option from 'Post 192' was to continue frequenting social drinking establishments, .... last night I hit the town. In truth, I actually hit the suburbs, the industrial suburbs, ... 'town' is too far away. I found a Bar-Diner, ate lots of snack foods, washed them down with ice cold beer, watched the Monday night NFL game and chewed the saturated fat with a mixture of Canadians and Americans. There was of course only one topic of conversation.

Since I landed in Seattle on 15th August 2008, the conversation in newspapers and bars, on television and radio, on websites and camp sites, ..... has been the US election. Republican V Democrat, McCain V Obama, Palin V Biden, Red V Blue, .... Elephant V Donkey. The USA is proud of it's democratic process, ..... so proud in fact that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld tried their best to export it to others. I'm finally beginning to understand how this electoral system works, it's not quite as simple as it is in the UK. In fact if I'd been an alien arriving from another planet, I'd now be convinced that the US electoral system had been designed with the specific intention of confusing the voters and discrediting the candidates. It's not easy to follow or understand, the individual campaigns seem to have little to do with fact or truth, ..... I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to experience this process, ..... but the process itself doesn't exactly fill me with confidence for the future.

During the 80's and early 90's I was a very lucky boy, .... I worked in Riyadh for the Saudi Ministry of Defence, ..... it was a time when the Saudi's were swimming in oil dollars and seemingly relaxed about the antics of their 'Non National' personnel. For six glorious years I got to play with some amazing toys in some wonderful parts of the world, ... it's fair to say that during those years I didn't do a great deal of work. I met and worked with people from all over the world, I formed friendships with American Servicemen, .... people who were proud to Serve and Protect and who remained there throughout the first Gulf War, .. and thankfully most returned safely. I travelled, I came across endless amounts of 'Americana', ... it seemed that in those days the rest of the world wanted to be 'American', ... America was the ideal, America was the goal, ........ the 'Green Card' was the ultimate dream for billions of people around the world. Fast forward twenty five years and all of that has changed. I don't say this lightly but as I travel now, America has lost it's international gloss, it's no longer the 'dream', .... eight years of failed foreign policy has seemingly demoted America to the role of 'World Pariah'. Outside of America the 'Star Spangled Banner' which was seen everywhere in the 80's and 90's, ..... has now disappeared. It's a spectacular and historical fall from grace, ... even travelling Americans that we've met along the road are taking to wearing the Maple Leaf of Canada, ..... they find that it's safer, it receives more respect, it allows them to avoid confrontation. In many parts of the world, America is not 'unpopular', it is not 'disliked' .... America is actually 'hated'. Thankfully, many of the people that we've met around the world can mentally divorce the actions of the Bush Administration from those of the American People, ....... but whichever candidate is victorious today, .... they will have the steepest of international hills to climb. I wish them luck, the damage to America's world standing is far deeper than I'd imagined before this journey began. I'm sure that with the right administration it can be restored, ... but any new administration must learn to Listen and Talk before it Condemns. I try to explain to my new friends in the Bar that back in Britain the BBC tends not to refer to other Nations as 'The Enemy of Israel', or 'The Despotic Communists of China'. We certainly don't have an ideal Foreign Policy but at least we don't go out of our way to piss-off other Nations, ..... some of them agree, ... some of them don't, ... so we drink more beer and talk about taxation.

My big fear is not so much which candidate will win; surely replacing George W Bush can only be an improvement, ..... but that the results of this election will not actually represent the true wishes of the American people. It seems that the US voting and registration systems are in chaos, .... massive early voting lines, ... faulty voting machines, ... ballot papers containing the name 'Barak Osama', ........ and thousands of votes not being accepted or counted. I don't know why they need to make this election process so bloody complicated, ....... what's wrong with having a simple ballot paper, a HB pencil and few thousand people who can count beyond a hundred? Make 'Polling Day' a public holiday, encourage people to vote, ... encourage people to take personal responsibility for the futre direction of this great country, .... bring people in, .. don't push them away. My fear is that this historic election, unless it's a landslide victory to one or other candidate, will ultimately be decided by an army of lawyers. If that is the case, then the fine people of America will have been cheated, ..... if they have no confidence in the election results then the incoming President will have an even greater, and unnecessary mountain to climb. I'm now north of the border in Canada and I have my air ticket back to the UK, ..... but what happens in America today will directly effect everybody else tomorrow, .... wherever you might live.


www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 192: Departing Toronto, Canada

I've ridden more than 27,000 miles and along the way I've learned some very important lessons. I've discovered that 'Intoxication' and 'Incident' are directly related, .. if fact in my own small world they've become inseparable bed fellows, .... cause and effect, ... action and reaction. In Croatia the young swinging couple had been as drunk as I, ... the scuffle and romantic advances back at Lake Tahoe had been fuelled by drink and weed, (Mark & Muriel, not me). On my first night on the streets of Bangkok I'd been drinking; not to excess but definitely to capacity, when I'd foolishly agreed to spend a day working as a Taxi Bike. Back in New York State I'd spent an evening drinking with a Ladies Pool Team at a bar on the wrong side of the tracks, ... it wasn't an actual 'riot' and it certainly didn't involve any romance, from either side, but it was certainly the most riotous evening that I've enjoyed here in North America. I learned a whole new vocabulary that evening and proved once and for all, ... if proof were ever needed, .... that Englishmen are reasonably crap at playing pool but even worse at drinking beer. In Yosemite I'd been drinking with an English teacher who'd sneaked away from his charges for a secret smoke when all hell had erupted. A bear had climbed into a camper van, ... his students were running wild, ... half of them calling for a 'Ranger', .. the other half calling for 'Video Cameras'. The lesson that I've learned here is that I have two basic choices in life. I can stop drinking and lead the quiet life that my age ought to dictate, .... or alternatively, ....... I can forget the quiet life, carry on drinking socially and have a much more interesting journey.

On Saturday 1st of November I learned that even though I'm travelling, there are times when I need to be more aware of both the time and the date. Airlines run to specific timetables, .... my laid back approach to what day it might be just doesn't work when I'm trying to catch an International flight. On a positive note, ..... when I had to drop the bike off this morning at Toronto International Airport, I knew exactly where to take it.

Another important lesson that I've learned is that when I feel that something needs to be done, .. I should stop procrastinating and just do it. In Russia the Triumph's immobilizer had created problems when in close proximity to radio masts. The same thing had happened a couple of times when crossing New Mexico, Texas and Tennessee, ...... but still I did nothing to resolve the problem. Yesterday in a car park close to my motel, I stripped and cleaned the bike, a requirement for the air freight, ..... i thought about removing the alarm system, .... but I didn't do it, ... I was worried that the piercing sound would attract unwanted attention. This morning I rode the lightweight and shiny clean Tiger into the bonded warehouse of Cargo Airport Services (CAS) ready for freighting, ...... but there was one minor problem. With the battery disconnected, the alarm 'bleeps' loudly and intermittently. To the professionals at CAS, ... this was not good news, .... and for me it was even worse news. I spent an hour in their car park learning how to disconnect, bypass and then dispose of the 'bleeping' alarm and immobilizer. I should have done this in the depths of Siberia where the sound a piercing alarm would have attracted no attention, ....... but I'd procrastinated and done nothing. Today I discovered that it was actually a lot easier to do than I'd imagined, if fact for an approved security device, ..... it was actually frighteningly simple. Announcing to the world that all security devices have now been permanently removed from the Triumph is perhaps not the best thing to do. I'm returning to London, the motorcycle theft capital of Europe, ..... the bike is now defenseless, ..... but I've told you now, it's too late. I hope that this isn't an expensive lesson waiting to be learned, ... if the Tiger gets stollen at this late stage, .... I'll be more than slightly miffed.

Perhaps the most important lesson of all relates to the generosity of friends and strangers. If you've followed this Blog then your well aware of the random acts of generosity that Alan and I have encountered along the way, ... often from those who seemingly have the least to give. Today has been an amazing day in the 'Generosity Diary' of Poor Circulation. Firstly, CAS here in Toronto who have been amazingly helpful, .. have waived there usual handling charges. PBS International, the handling agents at Gatwick, have made a very similar gesture by reducing their usual fees to just 17 pounds. I have no prior relationship with these companies, ... and unless I'm a very lucky boy I will not be travelling this way in the future, ..... yet still they have helped. To Stephen Gilbert of PBS International and Charu of CAS here in Toronto, ... I thank you. To cap off this day of amazing gestures, an anonymous sponsor has just donated $1,000 to St Teresa's Hospice through my Just Giving page. This journey might be coming to an end, .... but the generosity and lessons are not.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 191: Toronto, Canada

'Destinesia', .... it's when you arrive somewhere only to forget why you came in the first place, .... or going to the store and forgetting what you needed, ..... indeed anything to do with travel and forgetfulness. I'd followed the signs for Toronto, probably around 80 miles from Niagara, I had all day to do it, there was no hurry. I turned away from the Interstate and kicked around on the shore of Lake Ontario, .. killing time, ... escaping reality, .. avoiding the end of this journey. By lunchtime, the air had warmed and the freezing morning had transformed into a beautiful Autumn day. I dragged the Primus stove from bike, boiled up a tin of soup and brewed a coffee, ... and then another. I made it last, ... possibly my last outdoor brew, ... I'd miss it.

I checked my free map of Toronto, ... I was entering a major city and wearing my 'Courier Head', it's a natural transition. Anyway, navigation in North America is easy, ... the town planners have done all of the work for you, everything makes sense, ... the systems work. I picked up the airport inner road, .... turned right onto Britannia Road East and counted down towards 2710, .... Building 2, Gate 5, ... easy. The girls at reception were friendly, .. coffee and a smile. I handed over the paperwork, .... I was in exactly the right place, ....... at exactly the wrong time. I had to hand over the bike two days prior to departure, the departure date was the 5th November. I knew that, I also knew that yesterday was Halloween, 31st October, ..... so why the hell had I just ridden to the cargo service area of Toronto International Airport two days early?

'Destinesia', .... I'm sure it's a real word.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas