High Seas Hijinks...

After what seemed to be days and days of talking to Chinese brick walls, I finally made contact with the shipping agent. First person he’d ever had embarking from Shanghai apparently, which didn’t fill me with the greatest confidence in his abilities. Turned out he did know what he was doing however, and I made it through all the vagaries of the Chinese immigration / customs system with nary a hitch; signed on board as a new engine technician no less.

The MV Al Fujairah turned out to be a very acceptable mode of transport, referred to by the German officers as a “comfortable prison”, albeit with a self-imposed sentence. Accommodation was very nice, almost akin to a floating hotel; food was plentiful and tasty, as long as you didn’t mind the unusual mix of German and Philippino influences. (The officers were German, and the crew were from the Philippines)

A handy sauna and gym were provided (consisting of a bike machine, a ping-pong table and a broken rowing machine) for those of a sadistic nature, and a couple of seawater pools for floating in; fish in a bowl simulator in heavy seas. Used quite a lot in the more southerly elevations, but unsurprisingly deserted when we got up to the cooler waters.

The fishbowl

So life quickly settled into an acceptable routine of breakfast at 7:30 (bloody early risers!), coffee up on the bridge, reading, writing, drawing (that sort of thing), and evenings spent watching knockoff Chinese DVD’s with the crew, and attempting to avoid the dreaded karaoke machine in the crew bar. The Philippino crew had disturbing propensity for belting out pop songs from their home country, usually with lyrics along the lines of “beer beer beer beer!”, I kid you not; I found myself quite close to jumping overboard a few times.

New Year dinner, a sea-pig

New Years party, somewhere near the Cannanore Islands (south west of India)

Christmas was spent on approach to the Singapore docks, and for new year we were to be found around the Cannanore Islands, belonging to India. (Down near Sri Lanka) The new year BBQ of pig (where we got that from I’ll never know, perhaps it swam past), also led to some more impressive singing from the crew. I’m fairly certain that their dulcet tones were enough to interfere with the migration of any passing whales, and to deter all but the hardiest of pirates.

Last sunset of 2007

First sunrise of 2008, yes I actually got out of bed to see it

Speaking of pirates, the closest we came was drifting for two days without engine power (due to a damaged piston), within sight of the Somalian coast; a region renowned for it’s pirate infested waters. All hopes of meeting Keira Knightley in pirate-garb were unfortunately dashed, it turns out pirates these days come with assault rifles, machetes and a worrying habit of kidnapping crews and holding them for ransom.

In the end, we just upgraded our security level one notch. That involved locking all the outside hatches, extra watches and patrols, and I was asked to stop running around on deck shouting “Yaaaaar!”. Killjoys. Shame really, I was quite looking forward to going all “Steven Segal” on a few piratey scallywags. Of course the more sensible option is to lock everyone in an easily defensible room, and let the pirates have their way with the cargo; it’s just not quite so filmik or exciting.

One knackered piston, the reason we were stuck in pirate infested waters for two days

Sundown off the coast of Yemen a.k.a scary pirate waters

So that was our only brush with potential high-seas miscreants, luckily.

Going all "Titanic" at the bow

If anyone ever finds themselves on a similar vessel, I highly recommend spending as much time down at the bow (pointy bit at the front for all you landlubbers) as you can. All the engine noise and commotion is 200m back behind you, and it is eerily quiet up the front; almost like being on a gigantic yacht. It’s also a good spot for experiencing the effects of weightlessness in high seas, with the deck rising up and then dropping away at a great rate. Not recommended for the weak of stomach though.

There weren’t too many chances for the sort of experience however, as apart from the last couple of days in the Mediterranean, Poseidon was kindly disposed toward us; I got my xmas wish of calm seas.

Luckily for me, the sea looked a lot like this for most of the time

The fire on-board and abandon ship drills were the only deviation from the comfortable routine, and it was all quite good fun. After having been strapped into the vertical drop life-vessel, I can safely say I wouldn’t want to be incarcerated in that thing during bad weather. I think it would rapidly become deserving of the moniker “the vomit comet”, that’s pretty much for certain. We all survived the imaginary fire without incident, although for some reason the captain deemed it necessary to abandon ship after we’d extinguished said fire; all a bit “arse about face” (shameless plug!) really.

The lifeboat, a.k.a the vomit comet

They look very happy considering we're abandoning ship

Inside the "vomit comet", looking up and out

So that was about it really, 26 days at sea and we finally sailed into Genoa at 0300 in the morning, with the snow dusted mountains of Italy bidding us a chilly welcome to Europe.

Genoa in Italy, where I left the ship

Apologies for the lack of pictures, I’m currently staying with some family in the French countryside near Nice, internet access is limited to dialup, so picture will be up one I managed to get back into the 21^st century.

Belated xmas and new year wishes to all!

Here are some photos from the voyage:

The Chinese port of Yantian

In port at Yantian, China

Unloading at night in Singapore (view from my porthole)


A bit of the Sailor's Hornpipe for xmas

Approaching Yantian port in China

Yantian deep water harbour

Singapore docks by night

In convoy, moving through the Suez Canal

A friendly tugboat

Darkness and rain, make for an interesting canal transit

Sunshine deck, lounge area and shuffleboard court

I think we're being followed

Somewhere in the Arabian gulf

You get a lot of nice sunsets on the high seas

In port, Yantian - China

View from the bridge

Sunrise ahead of the ship

Ship's compass plus sunset (duh)

The Egyptian side of the Suez Canal

Chasing the Dragon...

The train was good fun, although it did get a little monotonous after a while, especially not being able to talk to my companions in the carriage; however even if I had been able to, it seemed they were taking the opportunity to catch up on their sleep.

My companions on the train from Xiamen to Shanghai

The dining-car had been taken over as an impromptu HQ for the Chinese military, so the options for food were diminished to the bloke with the handcart full of instant noodles. Getting my grubby little mitts on any was another matter though. I think he must have been training for the Beijing Olympics, as by the time you knew he was coming, he'd blasted past at a great rate of knots, and you were forced to run up the train to catch him.

En-route to Shanghai from Xiamen

And thusly, after enduring a long and quite comfortable train journey if I were to be honest, I arrive in the bustling metropolis of Shanghai. Although it wasn't exactly 'bustling' when I showed up, what with it being about midnight n'all, I suppose it could bustle in it's sleep; but I didn't notice.

The glory that is Shanghai (image NOT approved by the Chinese Tourism Board), ok it was raining as well

Turns out Shanghai is quite cold at this time of year, what with it being substantially further north than Xiamen, and it being December (well duuuh); although I must admit it is turning out to be a welcome change from heat of previous months. It's quite a novelty to be able to see one's breath when walking the streets; although I could do without the throat tickling smog.

Shanghai, the up-market area

Have been taking in the sights (glimpsed through the ever-present haze), and trying to organise where I need to be to meet my ship.

This was some fellow's house, built entirely out of whatever he could find, and erected under the motorway.

Somewhere on the river is about as far as i've got so far, and it's a pretty long river. Hopefully I'll be able to narrow it down by the time we sail, as it's a long swim otherwise, and I don't really fancy the look of the water around here.

Bikes as far as the eye can see, outside the local metro station

Not having a lot of luck uploading photos, these are the only ones i've managed to get online at the moment:



Old meets new in China, old loses



Singapore at night, sponsored by DHL for some reason


Singapore at night


Gulangyu an island off the coast of Xiamen (also an island)


One of the many craft plying the waters between Xiamen and Gulangyu


This is the cheapest option for crossing the water to Gulangyu, row yourself
This is probably the last update before I board the ship for Italy (at least I HOPE I'll be boarding ths ship to Italy), so there will be a bit of a gap between now and the next update.

Six demon bag...

So after bidding a fond farewell to my friends in Perth and Australia itself, I was away to Singapore aboard a soaring metal bird. Arrived at 2am to discover that the mass transit system didn't begin running until 6am, so I spent most of the early hours lurking in the only open coffee shop in the arrivals hall.

After escaping the clutches of the airport, I took in the sights of Singapore (again); hardly felt like any time had passed since I was last stalking the ever so clean and tidy streets. Temperatures were high, and humidity was even higher; it was something like walking through a hot, damp sponge. Not particularly pleasant, trust me.

Returning to the airport on the last train of the night, meant that I was seven hours early for my flight, that's what you get for being stingy and not wanting to spend the extra on a taxi. It did give me plenty of time to practice yoga position in between two airport chairs, whilst trying to get a bit of sleep.

I turned out to be the only non-Asian person on the flight to Xiamen, which meant I ended up near the back of the queue for checking in as I lack the pointy elbows necessary to advance in the Asian queuing system. All checked in eventually though, and the airline even decided to have the safety briefing in English, which I felt was a little pointless.

Arriving in Xiamen I found myself a taxi driver who didn't understand a word of English, which complimented my lack of Mandarin skills quite nicely. We managed to understand each other for the essentials in the end though, and after a taxi ride through the city worthy of Grand Theft Auto. I stumbled out of the taxi and straight into bed. (Not literally though, his driving wasn't quite that bad!)

One sleeping beauty impression later, and I was off to explore Xiamen...which I've been doing for the last few days. No pictures at the moment I'm afraid, as we're not quite that advanced in this hostel. I'll upload some when I get to Shanghai.

Speaking of which, it's a mere 24 hours by train, leaving tonight at about 22:30 and arriving the next day at about the same time. I splashed out on a bed this time; I wasn't going to risk it, not after the buttock torturing experience of the long distance trains in Australia!

I'm finding it quite good fun being "in at the deep end", both culturally and linguistically. Don't have a clue what the hell is going on most of the time, and people on electric bicycles keep trying to flatten me. Eating is an interesting exercise, and I've been following the mantra of "if it looks good, I'll eat it". So far it's stood me in good stead, although I rarely have a clue about what it is I'm eating, until after the event. Nothing illness inducing so far though, just eat where the locals eat.

Stay tuned for pictures, bring on the iron horse!

Planes, trains and floaty metal things...

First up, apologies those few valiant souls that read this blog, for the lack of updates just recently; i've been doing some of that...erm, what's it called...horrible stuff...work, yes that's it! so there has been little to report.

My time in Australia is finally drawing to a close, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people I've met along the way for their help, support and friendship. The expedition round Australia wouldn't have been the same without you.

I'd also like to offer my gratitude to those who helped support MSF during my motorcycle adventure, and also to mention that the donation page is still open for those that wish to contribute to the good works done by MSF.

What's going on then? Well, let me fill you in... Expiring visas and a bank account that echos worryingly when you yell into it, means that the time has finally come for me to start the journey "home".

So, how does one get back to the UK from Australia? Direct flight I hear you say? Nay, not for me I cry! Sensible option that, but as I think i've mentioned before, I don't really do sensible any more.

So to that end, I present my route home: (or at least to Italy, from there it's anyones guess as to how I'll get back to the UK)

Click the map for an easier to read version. Basically it's a flying cigar tube to Singapore (again), then on to Xiamen in China. With any luck from there I'll be catching a train for the 25 hour journey north to Shanghai. Once in Shanghai I intend to run around like a headless chicken, in an attempt to find which berth, and at which port my transport to Italy has docked at; the MV Al Fujairah:

The MV Al Fujairah, or Gosling II as I like to call her

Now speed is clearly not the realm in which this beast resides, at 216m long, 32m wide and weighing in at 45,470 tonnes, you can safely say I won't be setting any speed records for the trip from Shanghai to Italy; in fact, it's scheduled to take 24 days. (give or take a few due to weather, diversions and /or miscellaneous pirate activity)

24 days at sea...all I want for Christmas is calm seas; you hear me Mother Nature?! Calm dammit!

I'll be keeping this blog updated as often as possible, much like before; although I'd imagine the posts will be less to do with motorcycles and more of the nautical variety. I've got my fingers crossed that the vessel will be crewed entirely by good looking women, although I think that's probably a bit of a long shot.

The only depressing thing about this whole exercise, is the fact that I've had to sell Gosling One in order to be able to even remotely fund the trip back. A plus point is that she's going to a good home, and will continue to bounce around all over Australia. (Cue the Born Free music, and some sniffling from the audience)

Cast off all lines ya scallywags!