Cracking the Code on Covid Travel

It seems impossible to have a conversation about Covid and more specifically about travel during it without touching a nerve somewhere. The topic is as polarised as climate change, racial equality, immigration and pretty much every other social theme of our time. I am not going to wade into that mire. It’s way too tiring. If you are a person who believes that until Covid is ‘over’, the world should remain ‘sheltered in place’, you might be better served spending the next 10 minutes in your garden. But for those of you who accept our new reality and despite this will continue to live your life, read on.

If you have not travelled much in the last 22 months, especially internationally, one basic fact should be understood: the rules have not only changed, they refuse to remain static. So, if an international adventure is stuck in your near-term mindset, don’t despair. With a lot of stamina and some clever sleuthing, catapulting yourself from your Covid penitentiary into our beautiful world is a few clicks away.

Making a commitment..and when

Let’s be honest: the airlines and companies like AirBnB have been pretty horrible throughout this pandemic. I personally have lost thousands on flights that had to be postponed or cancelled, losses that have posted as revenue to the carriers but a big expense to me. And I know I am not alone. It took a while to figure out the best tactic: don’t book more than 3-4 weeks out. As we all know, our current world can become a very different place in a short period of time so a brief gap between booking and travel constrains this risk. And of course, choose a tour company (like ours, for instance) that has the deepest disdain for large, inflexible airlines and one that treats its clients the way we would want to be treated. This means 100% flexibility of your booking in the Covid world.

Getting ready for departure

Disclaimer: All facts may become fiction without notice.

We field questions daily about the rules for travel. The question ‘do I need to be vaccinated’ is invariably among them. Obviously, whether you vaccinate or not is a personal decision. But if you decide not to, you will encounter a strong (quarantine) headwind wherever you go.

Let the fun begin!

Step 1 – Get International Travel Insurance.

This was a strong recommendation well before the Covid waves started crashing over our beach party. This coverage usually cost about USD75 and covers you for illness and injury during your trip. So ‘if’ you take a tumble and need to come home in first class wearing a cast, or ‘if’ you contract the dreaded Omicron or some other letter in the Greek alphabet and require some hospital time, you can rest assured that you will not have to max your credit card getting the care you need. Allianz is a good one that we use, but there are many out there.

Step 2 – India & Nepal – Your ticket to the big show

Time to get real: if you want to travel internationally, you are doing yourself a disservice by not getting vaccinated. That said, this is your choice so if you are down with the facts and don’t mind sitting in a quarantine hotel at your expense, have at it. Once you are past this, the process is straightforward: get a PCR test prior to your flight (how long before varies but usually no more than 72 hours), complete your Passenger Locator Form for the destination country, get your visa and off you go. See? Simple.

Step 3 – Staying safe on road

Once we’re on the road, everything is pretty much as it always was. Kathmandu or Delhi traffic madness (the best video game in the world), stunning vistas, winding roads, sublime food, beautiful smiles. Wearing a mask in hotels and restos is left to the guest although they are still required in taxis and busses. We wear them to keep the dust out of our lungs but short of that, your adventure rolls on as your dreams imagined. Let the awesome unfold!

Step 4 – Getting ready to make your way home

We expect the service level of our hotel partners to be equal to that of our tour company. That means we take care of everything. 24 hours before you depart, our base hotel in Kathmandu, Delhi or wherever will arrange for a reputable local lab to come to the hotel and take bio samples from our entire ride crew. 8 hours later, the results are delivered and you are ready for re-entry.

Step 5 – Navigating your arrival

This is where things become variable based on your home country. Most require the completion of a Passenger Locator Form that essentially captures all your personal data including your vaccination status, your negative PCR result and proof that you have booked a PCR test to be taken upon your arrival back home. (As I write this, the UK has just done away with this silliness but who knows, the madness may yet return.)

The happy ending to this bureaucratic ball of twine is that it really isn’t that difficult. Like adventuring around India or Nepal for 12 days on a motorcycle, it may seem daunting but once you’re done you’ll give yourself a pat on the back and wonder what all the fuss was about. And as far as the riding is concerned, you’ll kick yourself for waiting so long and start planning your escape to do it all again!

Whether crossing the 18,000ft Khardung-la Pass in Ladakh, traversing the Thar Desert in Rajasthan or winding through the endless twisties of the Western Ghats mountain range in southern India, I never tire of shouting the same phrase through my helmet intercom to my partner Josh at the lead of our ride group: ‘You know what, Josh?? We have the best jobs in the world!” And he never gets sick of reassuring me that, ‘yes, Roro, we sure do!” So what could possibly top sharing what we love most with a group of like-minded people? Creating a new experience from a blank sheet of paper. This is called running a ‘recce’ or reconnaissance ride.

‘What’s that all about?’, you might ask? Well a lot, actually. It all starts with places we love to ride and believe adventurers would love as well. Let’s take Nepal, for example.

While Two Wheeled Expeditions is based in Delhi and our coverage of this vast country is quite substantial, Nepal is a very difference place. I had ridden through a lot of it during an around the world ride in 2008 and both Josh and I have covered parts of it for our own for personal adventure in the years that followed. That gave us the foundation to know we love the place and market research tells us we are not alone, so we were in agreement: Let’s build a Nepal expedition.

As you’d expect, the clean sheet of paper doesn’t stay clean very long. We knew we had certain constraints (difficulty, duration, distance) and standards (our ‘best accommodation and restaurant available’ policy, making cultural connections, staying off the beaten trail, etc.) So like any adventurer, we started with research. We contacted everyone we know in Nepal to get insider guidance, we researched dozens of hotels, we mapped out various route permutations and we defined our ‘must have’ experiences. Then came the fun part: 3 best friends meet in a hotel in Kathmandu and begin to make it real. In this case, it was me, Josh and one of our favourite people in the world, Igor from Toronto.

Now obviously we can’t spend cash on our recce rides like we do on our client rides. We stay at cheaper hotels but visit all of the best ones around and build relationships with managers and owners. We don’t use a support vehicle so we have to carry everything we need on the bikes and we have no mechanic so we carry our own spares and tools. Of course, getting a tour of a magnificent hotel like the Baber Mahal Vilas in Kathmandu – one of my favourites on the planet – may give us a good sense of what the experience is like, but to test a restaurant you must eat. Accordingly, our food budget is always lavish (I tell our accountant to post the invoices under ‘Research & Development’) and so it should be: we are foodies and cuisine is the heart of any culture and cultural connection is at the heart of our rides. After each experience, hotel, meal, chai stop, stretch of road, we take a break and discuss our impressions. Was it boring? Dangerous? Did it inspire wonder? The notebooks capture all this info, the exact locations of each feature, the distances and timings of each ride sector, GPS coordinates, landmarks, the menus, the costs, the locations of hospitals and workshops, site entry fees, the contact details of people we meet..everything. This info later forms the basis of a very detailed Expedition Guidebook.

Finally setting off on the recce is a sense of pure adventure: we go where we want to go in pursuit of the best experience possible. Do we get lost? Yes, often. But getting lost is part of the adventure because nine times out of ten, we are led to something completely unexpected, something that MUST be on our tour. Of course, we won’t divulge all of our ‘secret stashes’ here because there is always a competitor looking to copy our rides – yes, industrial espionage exists in the adventure touring business…we have even seen our own tour descriptions copied and pasted in other web sites – but believe me when I tell you that accidental discovery is the essence of the recce: Look at a map, detect an interesting geographical feature or a village hidden in the forest and off we go! The long, mountainous road from Lumbini to Chitwan National Park sparked one of these beautiful finds. Long stretches winding on a narrow highway through the forest revealed a dirt road turnoff into the dense jungle and Josh raised his arm to have us all stop and huddle. A unanimous ‘yes’ and we set off into the unknown.

The sinuous path through the dense flora was idyllic. We crossed over streams, made our way across fields of tall grasses and broke though beams of sunlight that penetrated the tall trees. A forager encountered in the middle of the forest pointed the way to his local village and there we had tea and biscuits, watched the evenings chicken dinner be slaughtered and befriended the local kids. The 26 km detour through this magical place, a secret path less travelled, has been a fixture on our Nepal ride ever since.

I will never stop telling Josh that we have the best jobs in the world because, as I define it, the best job in the world is not a job at all. It is a passion that you would pursue even if it was totally devoid of any monetary incentive. But there is something special about the recce ride. It is about building an experience kilometre by kilometre, relationship by relationship and momo after yummy momo with your best friends. And we cannot wait to begin our next one because a Sri Lanka expedition is right around the corner.

Thanks to the pandemic, some things may take a while before they return, if they ever do. Crowd surfing at a live concert, eating without care on busy streets, or hanging around to say “bless you!” after someone sneezes still seem part of the distant future.

For most of us, traveling has been restricted and reduced to either going through old photos or exploring our backyard or rooftop. During this time, incessant research on our dream ride has been our primary way to cope with the travel ban.

But the travel industry will resume in time because it plays a key role in people’s mental wellbeing and sense of purpose. And one of the first types of travelers who are most likely to get back on the road is the adventure motorcyclist. Research shows that 75% of travelers are seeking remote destinations with fewer people. Something adventure bikers around the world have been pursuing ever since motorcycles were invented.

The question is, how will adventure travel in India and Nepal be different compared to pre-lockdown back in March 2020? Here are some plausible predictions as we anticipate travel reopening eventually.

More personal space. In theory, you may get a little more than elbow room now that social distancing has been drilled into us for over a year. This does not mean traffic becomes any less chaotic or interesting in the billion-plus nation of India and 29 million in Nepal. It just means that a bunch of bikers having chai on the roadside won’t gather a crowd of curious onlookers in under 30 seconds.

Less “chalta-hai” attitude. This common Hindi saying implies an easy-going and nonchalant approach to everything. “Chalta-hai” is about making do with the bare minimum. The “new normal” may make that attitude less acceptable. For adventure bikers, it could mean not leaving things to chance but doing due diligence. From getting vaccinated, being first-aid trained, to learning basic motorcycle repair and maintenance, being better-prepared will ensure a less worrisome ride. For those posting their trip online, expect to be held accountable for how responsibly you travel and not just where you ride.

 

More empathy. As riders head out this summer there will be a heightened awareness of their privilege to be able to do so. To show their gratitude many may support NGOs working with the marginalized or take up a local social cause. The recent past has made it clear that even the smallest act of kindness can make a massive difference. Leaving only the paid professionals to navigate through the post-pandemic wreckage isn’t an option for the healthy, no matter what their profession. And as bikers pave the way for other tourists to return, the hospitality industry will hopefully begin to view them as partners in reviving tourism and there would also be more unity in the adventure motorcycling ecosystem.

 

These are sobering times, especially as India and Nepal continue to wrestle with the second wave of the pandemic. Much has changed, a lot has been pruned and shaken off and most of us have come to some conclusion about what we want to cherish and nurture. Besides family, community, and our vocation, one of the things many of us hold onto is the inexplicable desire to ride out on a motorcycle adventure once again.

The first time you fly into Kathmandu you will be amazed by this wonderland! It’s all that you expected and much more. The hustle bustle, the ancient culture and just the sheer number of people going about their business.

You may have landed with the sole purpose of riding a motorcycle or decided to add it to the tail end of your trekking trip. Either way you have some reservations. You recall travel documentaries showing dramatic traffic footage getting in and out of Kathmandu Valley.

Here are 5 tips to make your adventure less stressful and a lot more memorable.

1. Test Ride a day prior to departure

Even a 15 minute ride around your hotel will get you mentally prepared and put you a little more at ease the next morning. Two Wheeled Expeditions does a bicycle tour around the old town before giving you an orientation on the motorcycles.

With the test ride done your questions become clearer as opposed to imagining scenarios from inside a taxi. Most people are surprised by how quickly they adapt to the Nepali traffic.

2. Leave Early | Return on Saturday

You don’t have to leave at the crack of dawn but by 8am you should be crossing past the various roundabouts which will get progressively busy with each passing minute.

If you can choose your day to return into Kathmandu, Saturday is ideal when the city has least amount of traffic. It’s the one weekend day in Nepal.

 

3. Express yourself

Saints, gurus, priests and all those close to achieving Nirvana beware! If you’re the type who has accumulated religious brownie points, this highway is where you lose them. Your dark side will come rushing out as jeeps, trucks, cars and buses will seemingly scrape past you.

Your survival instinct may kick into overdrive and inspite of the Himalayan beauty all around you may only sense the bus hovering right behind you. Time to express yourself and don’t stress yourself.

By the end of the day you will be grinning from ear to ear but at the start you’ll be glad you’re the only one who can hear you inside the helmet.

4. Chia (tea) Thakali (meal) Breaks

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise but riding a motorcycle burns up calories. How else can you explain the need to stop for tea and meals every hour? Hourly breaks also makes safety sense.

Choose a chia shop or restaurant with more Nepalis and avoid those that are set up for Western tourists. The quality, price and taste are far better in places catering to local travellers. How do you know which ones are which? The local shops usually don’t have menus.

There are enough options on both sides of the road so find one on your left side. This makes getting back into traffic a lot easier.  Frequent stops reduces the stress and you’re able to process and adjust to the rhythm and rules of riding on a Nepali highway.

5. Overtaking

After couple of tea stops and even a plate of ‘Daal-Bhaat’ you’re ready to do what you thought impossible 24 hours earlier. Overtake a bus!

Always expect someone overtaking from the opposite side even on a curve.  Ensure you have a clear view ahead before pulling back that throttle and honking past the bus or truck. This lets the driver know you’re there and they usually slow down to let you go past.

Get used to buses speeding past you and then abruptly stoping to pick up passengers. You will overtake the stationary bus only to have it rumble past you few minutes later. Relax and enjoy the world’s best video game!

Hopefully these five tips will inspire confidence in you to attempt what many presume is too daunting. Test ride, leave early, express yourself, take breaks, overtake and enjoy the beauty and wonder of Nepal!

We asked Igor Spasojevic, a passionate adventure rider based in Canada why he wants to keep riding with TWE. 

What motivated you to do a ride in Rajasthan and Nepal? 

To be honest India wasn’t really on my radar. I wasn’t planning to visit it. My list of destinations to see was ever growing, but India wasn’t on it. Then, one sunny Tuesday in May, I think, I received an invitation to join the expedition to Rajasthan. It was a fantastic opportunity to ride motos with friends in an exotic land and I couldn’t let it pass. Following the joy and euphoria of this experience, when the opportunity came up to do it again in a less manic way and in a country that I had actually intended and desired to visit, which was Nepal, it was a no-brainer. 

 

Why did you choose TWE? 

They’re a bunch of ne’er-do-wells whom I have grown to appreciate as friends. I like the CEO with a “fuck everything” attitude, pink mohawk and a KTM. The TWE guide is one of the best humans in the world, great artist of life and an excellent guide. He works better without a GPS and takes better photos with his antique iPhone than with a DSLR. 

 

What do you ride at home?

KTM 790 Adventure R with some minor mods

Your next ride with TWE? 

Oh god!! Ha ha ha…once the borders re-open and once I can take some more vacation time, I’d love to visit Bhutan with TWE! or Ladakh! or Sri Lanka.. anywhere really. Marrakech? 

When you hear that eight out of the ten tallest mountains in the world are inside Nepal’s border, it’s easy to think there’s not much else. A possible reason why most visitors tend to only hover up in the Himalayas.

But for some who prefer motorcycle boots to trekking boots, the flatland known as the Terai offers a unique adventure like nowhere else in Nepal. The ride in these plains is as thrilling as the mountain roads that wind down to them.

It gets interesting from Bhutwal as you get on the straight road to Lumbini, the birthplace of prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha. Much of this road cuts through endless fields and tiny villages with gleeful kids waving at you as you ride past.

Eventually, you reach the Maya Devi temple and its compound is as serene and orderly as the outside is dusty and chaotic. The UNESCO heritage site with archeological remains from the 3rd century BC mainly attracts Buddhist pilgrims from across the globe and not the usual tourist.

Reaching here covered in the dust thanks to being on a motorcycle and then walking barefoot through its sacred ground is one sure way to embrace a sense of sojourning.

From Lumbini, you keep riding east, past the buffalo herders, countless cycles and tractors until the East-West Highway goes through dense forest. A turnoff takes you down into more fields and villages to finally arrive at the Chitwan National Park. This 93,200 hectare of parkland is another UNESCO protected site that is a surprising contrast to what Nepal is typically famous for.

The best chance to spot animals in the wild in Chitwan is from the safety of a safari vehicle. The last thing you want is to be chased by a one-horned rhino or herd of wild boars or cross paths with a bear or a tiger. If you do ride in the outskirts of the parks “buffer zone” make sure you are accompanied by a local.

The indigenous Tharu people here are known to be genetically immune to malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Legend claims it has something to do with the amount of home-brewed alcohol they used to drink. Regardless of whether you’re in the mountains or in the plains of Nepal, one common factor which is consistent everywhere is the resilience and kindness of the Nepali people.

From Chitwan, the dusty highway once again takes you past the paddy fields and slowly but surely winds its way up to the forest belt and then up the hills. By the time you reach Hitauda, you have had your fill of Nepal’s best stretch of flatlands and experienced the other side of its geography.

So next time someone says, there’s nothing but mountains to see in Nepal, tell them about the Terai.

Two Wheeled Expeditions rides Nepal in April, October and November 2020

A mere 80 kilometers separates the Everest Panorama Hotel in Daman from our 12 day ride’s final resting place back in Kathmandu, but those 80 k’s don’t come easily. The descent from 2,500 meters down to 1,400 comes via hundreds of hairpin bends over cracked road weaving through some of the most beautiful scenery found anywhere in the world. And when the switchbacks finally end, the cacophony of the afternoon Kathmandu rush hour is waiting to greet you. Dubbed “the world’s greatest video game” by yours truly, each gritty, smoky, tangled meter is a test of your sense of humour: trucks, busses, cars, bikes and cows all jostle for the same narrow path of undulating pavement. The ride captain’s shout of “200 meters to go!” to the rider group is met with a quick calculation of 10 minutes to go…step by step through a logjam of traffic…as we near the conclusion of our 900 km circumnavigation of the magical nation of Nepal. The dusty, mud-covered bikes now neatly parked in the cobbled lane outside our hotel, the dusty, mud-covered bikers make their way through the elegant arches of the pristine Baber Mahal Vilas Hotel, our Kathmandu base.

The greeting by Prabin, the operations manager, and his team is like having your parents welcome you at the porch of your childhood home after a long absence. Hot towels wipe away some of the road grime, a welcome drink of watermelon juice washes down the highway dust and we walk into the breathtaking courtyard of the 110-year-old former royal palace. With those few steps, the chaos of the city outside dissipates like the dirt washing down my shower drain. Travel & Leisure magazine may have captured it best when they wrote “Calm is the first thing you notice at Baber Mahal Revisited, a complex of shops and restaurants not far from the city center. The serenity is disconcerting …This is Kathmandu?”

For the clients of Two Wheeled Expeditions, yes, this is Kathmandu.

An architectural feast for the eyes, the nine open yet intimate courtyards of the property exemplify the architectural styles of the Rana Durbar, Newari, Terai and Mustang regions. Having just ridden through three of the four, the designs take us back to our stays in Pokhara, Bandipur and Lumbini over the past 12 days. Fountains, frescoes, statues, chandeliers, libraries and paintings of the palace’s former owners create an atmosphere that is the definition of ‘boutique’: the common areas of the 13 room hotel invite you to explore and find a quiet spot to call your own while you read, write or simply relax after the arduous final leg of our journey.

The Baber Mahal Vilas Hotel is the anchor tenant of Baber Mahal Revisited, an interconnected extension of the hotel filled with shops, restaurants and open courtyards. It is a destination in of itself drawing upmarket shoppers and diners from around the city to its consummate tranquility. The bustling Thamel neighbourhood may be a good place to haggle for trinkets, but if you want to select something perfect for a special person back home, this is the place to do it.

And while the grounds of the property are a magical jewel box, it only becomes a superb hoteling experience when the human element is added. Everything from the period costumes worn by the staff to their kind, welcoming demeanor and the meticulous way they look after your every need puts the Baber Mahal on a service level with some of the finest hotels in the world.

We often like to say that riding with Two Wheeled Expeditions is about ‘Grit by Day, Opulence by Night’ and, in Nepal, no hotel enables that experience like the Baber Mahal Vilas.

Two Wheeled Expeditions has rides through Nepal scheduled for April, October and November 2020.

On the highway, the Interceptor 650 gets a lot of attention. Possibly because I am riding the brightest of the 6 color options, and so is my ride buddy, Anshuman. The two “Orange Crush” twins remain the topic of discussion for our group of 16 riders as we make the 12-hour ride up from Delhi into the Kumaon hills.

The first impression of the bike is “wow” with a wide grin! It looks like a tastefully designed motorcycle for the more traditionally-minded biker. And I like it. That is until I notice its rear.

Unlike what you see on the Royal Enfield website, the Interceptor delivered on road has 2 major eye-sores. First, there is the mandatory “sari-guard”, a factory-fitted grill supposedly to protect ladies who will drape up in 8 meters of a sari and sit sidesaddle. No one checks that one can barely put one foot on the back peg, let alone both feet.

Secondly, there is the cheap plastic flap screwed below the rear number plate. My guess is that it serves the dual purpose of a mudguard and also wards off the evil eye.

Before you add any aftermarket parts, throw these two pieces of trash in the garbage and let the bike look like the charmer it’s meant to be.

With the superficialities out of the way, over the next couple of hours of riding, I am impressed by the response of the engine. Effortlessly smooth, there seems to be enough juice left even when you think you’re maxing out on the throttle. And when you need the brakes, they’re there too.

Sheldon, while lending me his bike the day before, had advised me to put all my preconceptions aside and ride it with a clean slate. Coming from a guy who has owned and ridden a wide range of motorcycles and has the technical know-how, I realized he was right. The Interceptor is indeed a brand new motorcycle from Royal Enfield.

As I navigate through some hot and bothersome traffic snarls, the Interceptor remains surprisingly calm. No tantrums and threats of overheating or clutch slips.

Anshuman doesn’t suffer from trying to make up for the years he wanted to ride but couldn’t for various reasons. His time is now and he adds with a smile “This is my first motorcycle and I think it’s a keeper. Well worth the money and experience…it has hooked me for sure!”

With breakfast over, we all hop back onto our bikes and immediately the novelty of how the bike looks or how the engine performs is replaced by how sore my posterior is. The Interceptor’s seat is slightly more padded than an ironing board, and a lot narrower. Thankfully this can be solved with a wider, more padded custom seat.

By midday the riding position feels a bit awkward and only when I stretch my arms out and sit far back on the seat do I save my legs from getting scraped by the front footpegs. But sitting like that makes the riding even more difficult especially once we hit the mountains.

As it happens in riding groups of our size, I keep losing some of the guys. And while making my 5^th U-turn to chase another errant biker heading in the wrong direction, I drop the Interceptor on a slope. With no leg guard, the flimsy foot brake bends easily. It reminds me of a tablespoon and both the bikes have bent foot brakes by the third day.

Looking at the instrument panel, a gear indicator, maybe even a clock might be helpful. And at the end of our ride, we find that the petrol gauges on both the bikes are faulty. Any more frills on this old school bike seem extravagant.

So is the Interceptor 650 parallel twin the most responsive motorcycle from Royal Enfield? Undoubtedly, yes! And with a few aftermarket adjustments, it can also be the motorcycle one can play with for a lifetime.

Get the specs on Royal Enfield’s site Royal Enfield Motorcycles

Check out Josh’s recent review of the Himalayan Review of the Royal Enfield Himalayan

Ready for Royal Enfield tour in India? Check out our life-changing rides on our Expeditions page.

Welcome to India

India is nothing if not a case study of extremes. From the moment you step out of the terminal at Indira Gandhi International Airport, you sense that something is setting you a bit off balance. It could be the fact that most flights arrive in the middle of the night and the smoky fog lingering over the city creates an ethereal aura. It could the intermingled brew of new smells that waft through the air as you make your way to the taxi rank. Or maybe even the dead of the night goings-on you spy from your taxi window as you wind through the darkness to your hotel. Give it time: things will get weirder but that, of course, is why you came.

India is regarded as one of the world’s most exotic destinations for many reasons. It’s mosaic of cultures and languages, its rich, extensive history, its beautiful architecture, its festivals, cuisines, religions and peoples. For this and every other reason you can fathom, India is one of the greatest countries on Earth to experience on a motorcycle. Yes, it does get a bit crazy out there sometimes. In fact, riding a bike there is often regarded as the greatest video game ever invented. Fortunately, you have come this far so you’re obviously the adventurous type. If you have not ridden there yet but have the idea planted like a splinter in your mind, your epiphany will come when you are chugging your way through the Thar Desert on your trusty Royal Enfield Bullet. It is then that you will crane your neck upward at the Western faces looking down at you from the windows of their air-conditioned luxury bus and realize that while they are watching a movie of India, you are playing a starring role.

Getting Ready

1. Flights
   Non-stop flights from Europe to Delhi, Mumbai and Kathmandu abound and usually take 7-8 hours. Cheaper flights can be had with stopovers in the Middle East, ie Adu Dhabi, Bahrain and Dubai. North Americans have a much longer ride with East Coasters and Mid-Westerners usually flying via major European hubs like London, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Flights from these origins to Europe usually take 8 hours. West Coasters have the option of flying via Europe or Asia, ie China, Korea, Taipai or Japan. And while the trip is long – your are literally flying to the other side of the world – the Asia routes have the advantage that most arrive and depart during daylight hours instead of in the middle of the night. Flying to Asia takes 10-12 hours from Los Angeles, Vancouver and San Francisco and the continuing flight to India takes another 4-5 hours.
2. Visas
   Citizens of most Western countries can now travel to India on an e-Visa. This super-convenient process is worlds better than the old paper based, spend-4 hours-in-your-local-Indian-consulate nightmare. The eVisa is applied for on-line and usually approved within 24 hours. Notice! If you use an e-Visa, you must go to the e-Visa line at immigration when you arrive. I’ve seen many e-Visa folks wait in line for 30 minutes only to be sent to another line when they reach the immigration officer. The blow-ups are always quite entertaining.
3. Travel Insurance
   Travel insurance is highly recommended and in fact, is mandatory for most motorbike tour operators. Companies such as Allianz, American Express and others offer this coverage which ensures that should you become ill or take a tumble, all medical and, if required, repatriation expenses will be covered. For about $100, it’s worth every penny.
4. Vaccinations
   This is one of those items that is totally up to the individual. Some of us have been travelling around every corner of India for decades without ever once getting jabbed and with no negative consequences. Others will want to make sure that they have protection against every possible contractible ailment. There are, however, two treatments you should take advantage of. For those heading up to Ladakh, taking a course of altitude sickness tablets is a good preventative strategy. Some people are more susceptible than others so it’s best not to take any chances. Take your pill. The second is malaria tablets. If you are heading to southern India where dense jungles abound, eg Kerala, this is a simple safeguard in mosquito-prone areas.
5. Gear
   Another personal decision. As a person who has ridden around India in Cordura, waxed cotton and leather jackets, I can conclude that all of them to have their strengths and weaknesses. Leather provides the best protection in a spill but wear it in Rajasthan when it’s 105F /40C and you will wither. Waxed cotton breathes but sucks up dirt like a sponge and can’t be washed. Adventure touring jackets from Dainese, Klim, Frank Thomas, Revit and the like don’t score the highest points for character but they are very practical. Many have a Gore-Tex liner so are waterproof, they usually have built-in, removable armour, and are modular so you can reconfigure as conditions require. Helmets are up to the wearer but if safety is your priority, a full-face model is your best bet. Yes, you may feel a bit like your sitting in tiny car but your head will be protected from impacts coming from all sides. If cool is your thing, a half face helmet and some vintage goggles will get the job done.

On the Road

1. The Bikes
   What image do the words Royal Enfield conjure in your mind? Nostalgia? Heritage? Robustness? Weaponry? Well you would be correct on all fronts. Although the first bike was built in Britain in 1901, this isn’t a history lesson. The Enfields that are ubiquitous on the roads of India are of the Madras Motors era, an effort from 1955 where the brand and its ethos were licensed to be built in Madras, India (now known as Chennai). Enfields are intentionally simple machines. No computers, sensors, titanium or carbon fiber. They are based on the same basic layout defined in 1955: A single-cylinder air-cooled carbureted engine, steel tube frame, spoke wheels, chain-driven final drive, a single disc brake up front and a drum at the rear. Sound primitive? Well that’s the way it should be. Unenlightened riders may spit their dummies over the antiquated engineering but once you ride one in India, you get it. Speed, agility and fancy-pantsness is of no value on Indian roads. What counts is tank-like robustness and the ability to get one fixed in every village in India. The Bullet 350 & 500 and the dual-sport Himalayan will happily satisfy all the subcontinent can throw at you.
2. Riding in India
   This subject has been covered in one of our past articles entitled  Ten Principles to keep you (kind of) Sane and Safe on the Road in India but to summarize, riding a motorcycle can India can be a bit overwhelming. To be honest, walking down the street can be overwhelming when you first arrive. Doing it successfully really comes down to one simple concept: don’t drop your guard, regardless of how comfortable you may be feeling. Because it is exactly at that point when you take a breath and let your mind relax that camels, oxen, rickshaws, goats, cyclists and 20 ton trucks conspire to jump from the ether and shear off your path. Riding here does require solid riding skills but don’t let this put you off if you are new to riding. Much more in demand will be your ability to process and compartmentalize the sensory kaleidoscope the pelts you over mile after exciting mile. But rest assured: after 12 days on the road, you too will be calling it the best video game in the world.
3. The Food
   Some people hate it. Most people love it. The food of India tends to be pigeonholed into a large bucket called ‘curries’. Obviously, it’s much, much more than that. Each region has its own portfolio of flavours, from the artist’s palette on a plate from the north called thali, to the rich, fiery coconut fish curries of Kerala. The best advice here is to be adventurous since that, in actual fact, is what you seek. The capsaicin levels (chili spiciness) can be managed to your liking and you will without a doubt leave the country as a lover this beautiful cuisine. If you do, and we all do, crave the occasional western dish, make sure it is ordered in a hotel restaurant that caters to these tastes lest your let down be a hard one. You have been warned.
4. Money & Communications
   The world for the modern global wanderer had been made infinitely more pleasant by the proliferation of ATMs. There is barely a town in India or Nepal where one cannot be found. They may not always work so plan ahead and grab 10,000 rupees (about $150) before you strike out. And one more tip – don’t forget to advise your bank of your plans or you may find your card unceremoniously blocked. On the comms front, almost all hotels and even guesthouses have wifi these days. Mobile phones are a different story. The best approach, if you have an unlocked phone, it to buy a SIM card on arrival. These are available at kiosks in the arrivals halls of major airports and in all towns and cities. If you have a locked phone, you can contact your mobile service provider about packages for foreign travel. Please bear in mind that this is a much more expensive option that a local SIM card.
5. Health & Safety
   As mentioned earlier, a traveller’s insurance policy is highly recommended for anyone engaging in any risky activities overseas. If your riding skills are a bit rusty, grind off some of it get riding! If you don’t own a bike, rent, borrow or steal one and get yourself to a comfortable state again. On the question of safety, India has had the dubious distinction of being frequently featured in the worldwide press for violence toward women. It is indeed a deplorable scourge that its society is fighting hard to address. As a male who has travelled to every corner of the country over the last 25 years, I can say that I have never feared for my safety, ever. Sadly, I cannot say the same about many of the cities I have lived in /travelled to in the US. Of course, I know many women who have had very different experiences in India. The precautions will seem obvious to most women – ignore places that give off a creepy vibe, try not to travel alone, dress modestly, etc. The fact is that India sends many conflicting signals: Homosexuality was only decriminalized last year, yet it’s totally normal to see straight guys holding hands while they stroll down the street. Women wearing revealing tops or a short skirt may be harassed by dudes on a corner, but Bollywood stars preen on the big screen wearing next to nothing. In India as everywhere, common sense is your best guide.

Riding with Two Wheeled Expeditions

Just like that time when you took your first skydiving leap, sometimes it helps to have someone nearby who has been there before and has your back. That’s where we come in. As expert riders and tour guides with a deep knowledge of India’s geography and culture, we know how to show you a good, safe time. Each expedition, each restaurant, each hotel, each and every bike: all have been checked out with our very own eyes, ears, nose and mouth. All you need to do is allow one of the most incredible adventures of your lifetime unfold before you, one page and one kilometer at a time.



Imagine your perfect destination for an adventure ride: what characteristics would this place possess? Awe-inspiring scenery? A road network from which every straight stretch of tarmac has been banished to some other land? How about food? Would you opt for bland? Of course you wouldn’t. And finally, there are the people. Do they embody an innate kindness and a welcoming, inquisitive nature toward strangers like you? If these attributes tick the boxes of your adventure motorcycling ideal, welcome. Welcome to Nepal.

Piqued your interest? Well please read on. The rest of you can return to ‘The Motorcyclist’s Guide to Route 66’.

Let’s start where most of us do, Kathmandu. An ancient metropolis of infamous lore, the jumping off and re-entry point of most trail trekkers, base campers and summiteers and the epicenter of incidental oriental/occidental hippie-dom, Kathmandu is mesmerizing. Come for the beautiful World Heritage sites of Durbar square, the heaving backpacker crunch of Thamel or just to tell your friends that you’re going to Kathmandu so you can watch them tilt their heads in curious dog fashion as they try to remember where Kathmandu is. This is a city with a buzz that never stops. Satiated with a big taste of this wonderland, let the ride begin.

Now show me a person who tells me that getting out of a large Asian city is easy and I will show you a liar. Bangkok, Delhi, Phnom Penh, Kathmandu: doesn’t matter. Extricating your good self from any of them is always an ordeal. Whether you find this wearisome or gorge on it like the most fucked up video game ever, that’s your jam. It is and will always be an essential part of the Asian riding experience. But as the carnage wanes, and wane it will, you will quickly find yourself in a 1,000 km state of nirvana. For if curvy roads are what you seek, and as a motorcyclist, it is indeed your purpose (if not, please refer to ‘The Motorcyclist’s Guide to Route 66’, above) you have reached the Promised Land. The 200 kilometers of mountainous, twisty ribbon from Kathmandu to Pokhara is a particular miracle stretch. The road may bulge a bit with the thunder of 20-ton Tata trucks but if you are lucky and the weather gods are smiling down on you, keep your neck slightly craned to the right as you ride. See those majestic peaks? Those aren’t just mountains, my friend. THOSE are the Himalayas and there is scarcely one that doesn’t surpass 20,000ft (6,000m) in elevation. Maybe one day you’ll scale a couple but for now, just smile and drink it in as you wind your way toward Pokhara.

Concentrated around the southern shore of Phewa Lake, Pokhara is Nepal’s adventure playground. From here you can set off on your trek to the Annapurna Range, crack your skull on a white water rafting expedition, plan your hiking route to the remote region of Mustang, engage in the faux-danger of zip-lining or grab your last of real pizza before you move on to realms of Nepal with less Gringo density. A beautiful town on a serene lake with views of the Himas that will melt your mind, Pokhara knows its function and serves it with aplomb.

With Nepal’s two largest urban civilizations in the rear view, the roads take a turn for the divine. That is because as you head south toward the mountain town of Tansen, you have been unshackled from the main artery that connects the Kathmandu and Pokhara. The traffic dissipates, the massive trucks seem purged and all that stands between your front wheel and the medieval town of Tansen is 6 hours of twisty curvy rollercoasterdom though forested landscapes and lovely villages settled by lovely people. A night in Tansen is to teleport to the real Nepal. No backpacker bars, no pizza joints, no North Face outlets. Coming here is an intention, not a consequence, and the people you meet there – housing you, feeding you momos, giving you advice on the best off road trails – these people will be happy to see you and their kindness is infectious.

Leaving Tansen, as tough as it may seem, does have its rewards. For the first 50km heading south toward Lumbini is, according to my ride notes, ‘a traffic-less amusement park ride through some of the most beautiful mountain & valley landscapes conceivable by nature.’ As you leak elevation from 2,400m down to 400m and level off on the valley floor that will eventually become India’s state of Uttar Pradesh, bam: back to reality. Flat, straight & congested, the withdrawal symptoms as the mountains recede may at first feel like someone pulled a plastic bag over your head and is choking you out but if you just chill the fuck out and meditate for a minute, you’ll be fine for you have landed at the home of the Buddha. No spiritual place I have visited short of perhaps the Golden Temple of Amritsar transports one to a state of sublime tranquility like the Maya Devi Temple. This simple, four-sided structure encloses and protects the foundations of the house that was the birthplace of Siddharta Gotama, the mortal man who would become the divine Buddha.

Recharged, we aim higher. The flatland can be kind of dull so after our Zen time we set a course for Chitwan National Park and our third ecosystem in 500km: First mountains, then plains and now, the lush forest and jungles of one of the most diverse and wildlife rich sanctuaries in all Asia. It takes 7 hours to navigate the 154km back up to the foothills of the Himalayas but you won’t complain about it, not for a minute. That is because this road is an off-roading gift waiting to be discovered. On a whim, we took a dirt track off the main road and were fabulously rewarded with a 20km ride through forests, rocky trails and several rivers just begging to be forded. And ford we did. Nothing elicits more of a fuck yeah moment than slashing your front tire through the rapids, defying the torrent and arriving upright and unmolested on the other shore.

Chitwan gives you an opportunity to create some separation between you and that machine you’ve come to love. An open-jeep safari to explore wild rhinos, elephants, leopards and tigers in a pristine sanctuary all their own? Yes please. And when you are sitting on the observation platform at dusk watching anxiously as a 5 meter croc silently stalks a wild boar and the waiter gently whispers ‘another gin and tonic, sir?’ ‘Yes please.’

On the final surge back to Kathmandu and home base you will ascend without reprieve. It takes a lot of hairpins bends to deliver you and your machine from 500m to 2,500 in a stretch of only 150 km so do your best to disguise your glee. Giddy is not a cool look. We rise and rise until we reach the hilltop village of Daman. It is here that you will befriend the most cuddly local dogs south of Everest (definitely a cool look), elbow your friends for a spot next to the small stove and single source of heat in the mountaintop lodge and snag one of the best views of Everest to be had anywhere in the entire nation of Nepal, save for perhaps the summit of Everest itself.

And there you have it. Of course, this is not all of Nepal. But the 1,000km in 12 days will give you a cross-section of all of the best that this exotic country has to offer. Arid plains, sub-tropical jungles, alpine forests, muddy trails, rocky climbs, raging rivers, crocs, rhinos, pythons, buddhas. And Everest.

If those voices in your head are coaxing you to get two wheels underneath you and experience something truly incredible, the Himalayan nation of Nepal has truly got it all.

Join us in Nepal this spring and fall at Two Wheeled Expeditions – Nepal