After just over a year and bit over 40,000km we got back home September 2007- back to the desk job and grateful to all the people that supported and kept in touch and the generous and friendly people along the way.
And we owe a lot to the bike that managed to do the distance, most of it on poor quality fuel, without any servicing apart from the oil and filter changes. If you are wondering, we did have total of 3 punchers.

Rode 2,500km from Sevilla to The Hague in Holland before taking the ferry from H. van Holland to Harwich, England.

Spent nearly four weeks in beautiful ancient city of Sevilla waiting for the bike to arrive. Things get very hot in the summer months in Sevilla.

After a 5weeks in Sri Lanka it was time to leave Asia and head back to Europe. The bike had already arrived in Barcelona. The bike was meant to be delivered to Sevilla but likelihood of that happening not good, after a lengthy delay and endless excuses by the Spanish shipping agent we decided to go to Barcelona to collect the bike ourselves. The bike had arrived in one piece and needed a rear tyre replacement quite badly before riding down to Sevilla.

Galle, fourth largest city/town (pop 91,000), 119 km south of Colombo was our next destination before arriving back in Colombo. Located on the south western end of the island, Galle has been an important ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Certainly, cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC and the root of the word itself is Hebrew, so Galle may have been the main entrepot of the island for the spice.
Images 1-3 External parameter walls of the portSince then, Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays and Indians were doing business through Galle port. The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1505, when the first Portuguese ship, under Lourenço de Almeida was driven there by a storm. However, the people of the city refused to let the Portuguese enter it, so the Portuguese took it by force.

Images 4-14 fort interiorIn 1640, the Portuguese had to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present Fort in the year 1663. The fortified wall were built using solid granite from the hinterland and corals form the shore. The quality of the original construction is reflected in its excellent current state. After the construction of the fort, Galle was the main port of Sri lanka for the next 200 years and was an important stop for ships sailing between Europe and East Asia. When British forced Dutch out of SL in the 1796, the commercial interest was turning to Colombo but they preserved the Fort unchanged, and used it as the administrative centre of Galle. Today the fort has been recognised as a World Heritage Site and has survived the 2004 tsunami.The interior of the fort remains a working community, with administrative offices, courts, shops and populated with regular folk. However the its attractions as a one of the best tourist spots in the island means (excellent) boutiques, hotels and and some of the vintage property being bought by foreigners.
Images 15-19 local traders The New town surrounding the fort is quite modern and large part of of which back on to the fort wall was either damaged or destroyed by the Tsunami but most of the town is now back to pre tsunami levels and its bustling with traders and traffic.

After arriving in Hambanthota, We were now following the coastal route down to Galle. These southern were hard hit but the 2004 Tsunami and the effects of hat is still all around.

South Coast

Heading down to the South coast of SL through the hill country with a breathtaking view of the south of the island. The towns such Haputale that we drove through are makes a good base for visiting tea plantations and walking in the cool mountain air. The train tracks and the roads follow some of the most winding paths in this part of the country. The traffic is thing, we just wish we could have spent more time here on the Colombo-Kandy-Badulla route stop at Haputale - it's about 2hrs from Nanu Oya (Nuwara Eliya).

Nuwara Eliya (3 hrs south of Kandy)Sri Lanka's highest town (nearly 2000m) was once the favourite hill station of the British and still retains some distinctive colonial features. We were quite looking forward to getting there but it was quite wet when we got there and it was cold at night. And the place felt so similar to being in the UK. misty morning, dairy cows, vegetable gardens but the exception was the tea plantations. So our time was limited to just one night and we headed south.

Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka is our next destination. ( 115kM from Colombo at 465 meters above sea level). The city established in the 15th century was the last royal capital where 2500 years of royal rule ended, Kandy was the capital of a Sinhalese kingdom from 1592 to 1815,. And as the second largest city in SL, has retained it historical importance, as Colombo is considered by most as a colonial capital city.The geographical, cultural and religious heart of Sri Lanka and the last stronghold of the Sinhalese kings, falling to the British in 1815. The main attraction of the city and also the most sacred Buddhist establishment in Sri Lanka is where one of Buddha's tooth is being kept, Dalada Maligava (the Temple of the Tooth), Built in the 16th century but improvements and additions have been done to this structure until the fall of the Kandy kingdom. A golden canopy was added recently. Daily rituals are being carried out at various offering times to the shrine. This is certainly the most touristic site/city that we so far have been to and the whole atmosphere was quite nice, the hills the lake and the temples. on the down side the traffic was quite bad.

Since our encounter with the first pair of tortoises in Turkey, this the second time we come across a tortoise while being on the road. This is a very rare site in Sri Lanka and only a few managing to survive cohesively with the expanding population, farming and pesticide and not to mentioned the road users.

Trincomalee situated on the East coast will be the furthest east or north we will travel in this occasion in Sri Lanka. With a huge harbour, described by the British Admiral, Lord Nelson as being “the finest natural harbour in the world”, the town and the large neval bases have seen some action the last two to three decades as they have been targeted by the LTTE terrorist. And not to mention the 2004 Tsunami.
But today there is very little going for the town. Getting here from Anuradhapura means going through number of time consuming check points but the police manning the post have been friendly and helpful.
And once you get here, there is little or no accommodation as there is virtually no tourist, local or foreign. But the some of the countries best beaches are found in the east coast, to the north and south of Trincomalee

The town centre is a hot and dusty ramshackle but lively. Here the ethnic mix of Singhalese Tamil And the Muslim is more or less even but not always harmonious but adds to the charm
The region is dotted with hot water springs that used to be popular with the locals but they are deserted these days (below). But we thought that we would drop by the most well known hot water springs and healing baths at Kanniya , again no one here except the army personal maning the nearest check points.



As we head back south towards thrill country, we came across some wild elephants grazing just of the main road.

Trincomali

Dambulla, Just off the main road to Anuradhapura from Colombo is a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, this cave monastery, with its five sanctuaries, is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 sq. m) are of particular importance, as are the 157 statues. The white façade (image 1) that was a later addition to protect the caves, was one of the most elegant we have seen.Cave interiors with frescos and statues (image 2 &3).

Medirigiriya, a quite an isolated site just north f Polonnaruwa, said to be constructed during the king Kanittha Tissa (192-194) of the Anuradhapura Era. Later many kings have contributed to this complex and finally after the invasion of south Indian invations this site too was abandoned when the Sinhalese migrated to the southern parts.
This site was later discovered in 1897 in the middle of a thick jungle by Mr H.C.P Bell and initially the restoration work was done by mainly Muslim labourers as the Buddhist labourers did not want to work at a Buddhist temple for money. This they felt was a sin. This restoration work was finally completed in 1945 and was open to the public giving a glimpse of what this temple would have looked over 1000 years ago.
This Vatadage at Medirigiriya is built on a small rock. The entrance to this is on the northern side. At the bottom of the staircase is a massive stone frame. This is 9’9” feet tall and 4’9” feet in breath. After climbing 27 stone steps you come to a resting area. Thereafter there are 4 more steps to reach the Stupa house. Around the Stupa house is a stone wall which is about one meter in height. On the four sides are four beautifully carved Buddha statues in the seating position. In the centre there has been the Stupa which is in ruins today.
The roof of the Stupa house has been built on three concentric circles of stone pillars most of which still can be seen in the original state. The inner most circle of 16 pillars are 17 feet in height and the other two circles are 16 and 9 feet in height and 20 and 32 in numbers respectively.
There are two other images houses further away from the Vatadage. These are built together and each is 20x20 feet in size. Inside there are five images of Buddha, three standing (image 4) and two seated

Polonnaruwa which served as the capital for three centuries is the next great ancient sites of Sri Lanka after Anuradhpura. Although the sites are more than 1000 years old,are generally in better repair than the sites that of Anuradhpura. The Singhalese kings moved the capital from Anuradhpura to Polonnaruwa as it was more defendable against the invading South Indains but Polonnaruwa also fell to the invading South Indian Chola dynasty in the 10th century. But the invaders were driven out of the islan in 1070 by Sinhalese king Vijayabahu –I and kept Polonnaruwaas the capital. But it was under king Parakramababu (r 1153-86) that Polonnaruwa reached its zenith. It was a period when master plans were drawn, huge buildings were erected and large scale irrigation was achieved with the construction of a massive 2500-hectare tank. But the long term survival of Polonnaruwa as a capital proved difficult as it was susceptible to south Indian invasions.

Sigiriya is a large rock formation (image 1) that is not just an impressive geological formation but also one of Sri Lanka’s archaeological legacies. It is traditionally been the belief that Sigiriya was a fortress constructed under the reign of King Kassapa (Ad477-495)But the latest theories points towards the site as a long standing Buddhist monastery built several centuries prior to the time of king Kassapa.

After the 14th century the monastery was abandoned and was discovered by British explorer Bell in 1898.
Whatever the original purpose may have been, the ruins indicates a sophisticated site with master-planing, architecture, hydraulic engineering, gardening and art.

The gardens to the west of the rock consist of water garden (image 3) that extends all the way to main entrance at the moat (image 2). And the steep land immediately below the rock is sculptured in to a rock gardens (images 4 & 5) and the landscape in between rock and water garden is the terrace gardens (image 6).
Half war up the rock you come across the frescos of the buxom,wasp-waisted women. This the most famous of all the Sigiriya features believed to represent aspects of Tara Devi, one of the most important figures in Tantric Buddhism. Although there may have been up to 500 such portraits at one time, only 22 remains today. (images 7 & 8) And said to date back to the 5th century.
The 3m high mirror wall on half way to the top of the rock is a highly polished wall that has been used by visitors for the past 1000 years of their impressions, mainly of the frescos (image 11).

The Lions Paws that is what remains of a sculpture of a giant lion that was the entrance to the final ascent to the top of the rock (image 12)The summit today consist mainly of the remains of foundations (image 13) that had covered most of the 1.6 hectare summit.

And the large pool 27m by 21m may have been used solely as a water storage (image 14). The view from the summit also provide us scale of the impressive planing that once was (image 15).

Yapahuwa was the capital of the island from 1277 to 1284 and was a more defendable location from the invading South Indians as it was 100m above the surrounding plains but fell to the invaders in 1284. Altough not a lot survives and some of the finer pieces have been moved to museum in Colombo, the quality of stone carvings are some of the most beautiful we have seen and it is a pleasant view from the top.

Mihintale is just 13km east of Anuradhapura and is of enormous importance to the majority Sinhalese (70%) of the population as this said to be where Buddhism was introduced to the island in 247BC when King Devanampia Tissa met Mahinda, son of Indian Buddhist emperor Ashoka when deer hunting.

The site is dotted with ancient ruins of monasteries and it is a quite a climb to the top where all the temples are located.

Once on the high ground, there is a good view of the distance Dagobas and the water tanks of Anuradhapura.

In the north central province lies the original heart of Sri Lanka’s civilisation. It was called the Land of The Kings. For 1500 years, starting around 250BC, dynasties, wars, invasions and religious missions to Asia as well as ambitious irrigation systems supported two great cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. But today these sites fall more into the categories of town than cities with populations of 56,000 and 106,000 respectively.
Our first destination Anuradhapura first became a capital in 380BC but it was under the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (247-207BC) that it first rose to great importance and Buddhism said to have arrived in the island in 247BC. For over 1000 years of its reign, Anuradhpura has seen number of South Indian invasions and region in general is dry and hot and even today depends heavily on seasonal monsoon rain for its agriculture.

Even with large number of tanks (image 1) constructed by its rulers in the ancient times (oldest constructed around 4th century BC), it is hard to imagine the survival of north central region as being the home to the capital of Sri Lanka, even though it did so for 1500 years. Today the region is the least densely populated region in the country and agriculture remains the main income.
Since the arrival of Buddisum in the island, successive rulers in Auradhapura period has devoted vast amount of energy and funds to course.

Whole of Anuradhapura’s ancient city is basically a monasterial site with temples, vast residential quarters (images 2-7), pools solely dedicated to the monks that resided in the city (images of twin ponds, 8 &9 Twin ponds, just two of large number of ponds that are found in the ancient city and these by far the best preserved). Over the last century a lot has been done to recover the ancient glory with the help of UNESCO but vast areas remain to be recovered.

The moonstone at the entrance to the King Mahasena’s palace, very popular with the locals. Mahasena (AD 276-303) is said to be the last great kings on Anuradhapura and credited with creating 16 tanks and a canal during his reign. (image 11).

Anuradhapura is one of the most important points of local pilgrimage and locals start arriving hear from the very young ages.

Time to get some breakfast on the way to Dambulla on the way south from Anuradhapura

Arrived in Colombo Sri Lanka (SL) from S’pore on the 16th of July. Our final destination before heading to Europe. And without the bike. This would have been the final destination on the bike according to our initial plans (that kept on changing on constantly) and we really missed not having the bike here and come to realise how much difference having the bike had made during the last 10 months of travel. But bringing the bike to SL would have meant quite a bit of hassle and expense but not impossible as the Canet the Passage (the bike’s little Passport is recognised in SL). As well a quite a bit of time spent on (un)packing and (re)shipping. So instead we borrowed a car from my sister, an automatic!
We were to spent few days Colombo before heading to the North and Central regions. Colombo has served as a port town as far back as the 5th century in the islands trade with the Arab traders from the Middle East and then with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505 and the Dutch in the mid 17th century for the spice trade.

But it was under the British rule that the town became a city and was proclaimed the capital of Ceylon. Colombo is the political, economic and cultural centre of SL and home to its three main ethnic groups; Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in more or less equal proportion.
Atmosphere in Colombo is quite chaotic similar to cities in Java Indonesia, quite a bit of horning and manic driving but nothing like brain dead’s of India! Colombo is one of the places that we have visited with least tourist, and there is little or no hassle from the local and little or no stares, certainly no screaming voices of Mister! Mister! Tuk Tuk!

Singapore, high Rise, high Price, Very clean and plesent place to spend two days

little india was a very crowded place

Singapore or Singhpura (Lion City)

So having finally got out of Surabaya, Indonesia, we arrived in Singapore in transit to Sri Lanka. Well we spent only two nights in S’pore but was one of the most pleasant places we have visited in this trip in this trip. Probably because we just spent only two day, might as well as the prices here are equal to that of Europe! But on the positive side the place is clean, no diesel fumes or rubbish and quiet. The whole of south east Asia seems to be going through loud exhaust modification crisis. Everything from the moped to the diesel truck is fitted with a noisy exhausts but not in S’pore.

It seems the penalty for pollution, what ever the form is heavy. But I reckon the authorities should at least allow it on bikes as is the only country in the region with large number of big bikes. Below are some of the sights that we got to enjoy in S’pore while we were there.

There is certainly a lot of colour in Singapore

And there is no pushing and shoving while getting into the trains

Nearly 8weeks spent and total of 6450km travelled in Indonesia.

Huge place, over 17,000 islands and only 7,000 is inhabited.

Although Bali has plenty of shipping agents who "Can Do Anything" finding a reliable one was areal challenge. The one we had relied on till the last day decided to raise the shipping cost from $1100 to $1550 on the morning of the shipping.

This does not include any insurance!But fortunately we had met Mr Falah (by far the most reliable and helpful shipping agent we found in whole of Indonesia) form AirTiger Shipping in Jakarta while we were there and had initially advised us do all the custom clearance ourselves to avoid the money grabbing and baksheesh by the middleman and he would organise the container space.

So we gave up trying to ship the bike from Bali and rushed to international port of Surabaya in east Java to get the bike shipped with in the next week as our visa was running out.Surabaya has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of attractions but most of the week was spent sorting out the paper work and explaining packers and haulagers how to do their job.

And the rest of the time was spent running between custom offices to get the export permit. There is actually no need for any export documents as the bike is brought in to Indonesia under the "Carnet De Passage" which allows temporary import. The cost of shipping the bike to Spain was, with out the middle man was around $860, quite a bit less than the agents were offering. The bike will head to Spain from Surabaya (Java) via Singapore.

After all that effort we waited till the bike was in the container before making our way to the airport to to take the flight to Singapore

On our way from Bali to Surabaya (to ship the bike) we came across this amazing scene in east Java. A hole village and the adjoining highway under a mud flood and it was vast covering square kilometers of area. Not sure how or when this has happened. But one thing for sure is that it is not going to be cleared.