International Tours
Geographic Area: Africa Asia Central America Europe North America Oceania South America
Africa
Search for:East Africa
The horizon is pink and yellow and purple and we are airborne, high above East Africa. Our destination is close –Mombasa at the Indian Ocean. Some 200 miles south of the equator in northeastern Tanzania, we see the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro. The rising tropical sun catches the flanks of the mountain, and glaciated Uhuru, Africa's highest peak...
East Africa: Among Gorillas, Lions and Elephants
A washed-out track that winds through green banana plantations to the Ugandan border has led us here. And once inside the post on the Kenyan side, it's obvious we've committed the serious offense of disturbing a well-fed immigration officer during his power nap. Call out the guards!...
Egypt: Eventually, All Roads Lead to Egypt
With a disdainful smile, the Libyan frontier official hands our passports back. "You go back to Tunisia," he sneers. Uwe and I exchange stunned glances. This cannot be...Just a fortnight ago, when launching this five-year trip around the world, all of our friends and family members had serious doubts about our prospects. "Two greenhorns like you will...
North Africa: Trans Sahara Part One
Using the worldwide web to make my travel preparations, I sit for hours in front of my monitor, scanning maps and calculating GPS-data. Immersed in the process, I almost feel like I'm already motoring north of Tschad in the Tibesti Mountains. In reality I am still at home in Salzburg, Austria. It is the middle of October and the mountains surrounding...
North Africa: Trans Sahara Part Two
Sitting on the terrace of the Grand Hotel in Niamey, I order five gorgeous, grilled meat skewers in broken French, "Cinq brochettes, s 'il vous plait!" To get on in West Africa, French is essential since neither English nor German are commonly spoken. Everyone who wants to chat with the locals should learn some French in advance. I turn up a cool Niger...
Northeast Africa: Fear & Roving in Africa
If not for these unnerving roadblocks all the time, Egypt could be really enjoyable. A boiling hot ribbon of tar takes us through the densely populated Nile Valley. Palm trees lining the shores of the mighty river rush by. The lush green sugarcane plantations are dotted with workers dressed in luminous colors....
South Africa: Between Cape and Kingdom
Braai (equivalent to an American barbecue) is the first word in Afrikaans that many travelers learn simply because they're invited to them so often. Having a braai involves grilling something over a fire, from huge succulent steaks to whole fresh fish. And it always tastes very lekker. In South Africa there is an abundance of lekker beaches, lekker...
Asia
Search for:China
Delicate white lilac blooms and the rosy blush of peach tree blossoms herald the arrival of spring in Beijing. Some Chinese residents have helped me with the importation of my motorcycle into the country, and now my new friend Pai and I are strolling in the glorious garden of the New Summer Palace. After the long, cold winter I spent in Germany, the...
China: Down the Old Silk Road
Five months of preparations behind us, we finally have all the required visas and travel permits for China in our hands. We had been waiting for the written invitation of Almaty. Without it, we wouldn't get the visa for Kazakhstan. When we finally received the expected fax, our trip to China could begin....
From Mongolia to China
A broad band of tracks lines the sand of the vast valley, but soon the ruts converge until only two of them are left. I am traveling on my BMW F 650 GS/PD in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia. A barely discernible path leads over the highest pass here, the Buraatyn Davaa, which is the sole route from west to east in southern Mongolia....
