[talox]

August 2019, 28 days, 17000 km, 2 continents, 6 countries, a wild dog bite and 5 injections of rabies vaccine, a lot of fines for "inaccurate" speed cameras, many friendly people...I want to remember with you what was the most exciting riding experience on my NineT Scrambler.

Ferry from Bari to Igoumenitsa with disembarkation in Greece at 5 A.M.

First two days I rode Igoumenitsa-Istambul (930 km) and Istambul-Trabzon (1064 km).
Greece and Turkey were not the target of my trip (I have been there already many times) so 2 days very hard like a transfer flight...

Meteore Monastery

Turkey border

Istambul by night

Sunset on the Black Sea

Trabzon

the day after Georgia border and finally the Caucasus

 

[talox]

Georgia (Svaneti)

On the road to Tiblisi

On the fifth day of travel while I was refueling at this petrol station, a wild dog bit me and in the evening, after arriving in Tbilisi, I had to go to the hospital for the rabies vaccine.

It was a very difficult moment for me because I still had so many days to travel and I seriously thought about going back home. I am a doctor and I know that rabies is very dangerous and that it is endemic in that region. I was afraid of not being able to meet the vaccination schedule by crossing countries with non-European health care levels. I was supported by my colleague in the emergency room who repeatedly urged me to "go on, go ahead", explaining that even in every small village I would find a dose of vaccine.
So I decided to continue and there will be other episodes.

 

[gristle]

Oh my

 

[GapRunr]

🍿. I'm in..

 

[Uncle Meat]

 

[sgt.pepper]

wow, what a journey! Thank you for sharing!!

 

[vagueout]

1000+km in a day on an R9T, I would find that very hard to do! I salute you sir!

 

[Kozach75]

Respect.

 

[talox]

Thank you guys! I want to continue my storytelling.
After the visit to the hospital and after deciding to continue the journey the day after along the way to the David Gareja monastery.

After crossing the border with Azerbaijan straight to Baku!

Baku was for me an amazing surprise and I planned to stay there one day to discover it and to rest.

Delicious Plov 😋😋😋

 

[talox]

After the rest day the next morning, after finding a clinic for the second dose of vaccine (where I conveniently paid with Amex) I arrived at the port ... and there the hardest part of the journey began.

I knew that the ferries on the Caspian Sea are unreliable because they are not really ferries but they are containers cargo that only sail when they are loaded. Unfortunately, considering that Iran (I have been there and it's very nice and safe) did not accept motorcycles greater than 250 cc and I did not want to go through Chechnya and Dagestan and surprisingly I had very easily obtained a visa for Turkmenistan already in embassy in Rome so I had decided to cross the Caspian Sea on ship!
Now I remember it with pleasure because I met very friendly people (especially truck drivers) but I was imprisoned for 5 days on the ship stopped in the port waiting loading operations, engine repair and a storm.
At port I found other bikers (waiting the ship to Aqtau in Kazakistan). I was impressed with their equipment!

Instead I embarked to Turkmenbashi with 3 cars with English guys who followed the Mongol Rally. We were the only tourist on the ship, the rest of the passengers were Turkish or Turkmen drivers, special people!

My accommodation...very hot!

Day after day...backgamon, fish soup, roadbook with petrol station (thanks to drivers for their suggestions!), sunsets!

 

[Kozach75]

I think the UGS is the only rninet that can handle this trip. Cant imagine my roadster surviving these roads...

 

[talox]

After 5 days of imprisonment on the ship, finally the port of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan.

In Turkmenistan you have to declare your trip (there are only two highways) and you have to pay a tax per kilometer.
My original plan was to visit the "Hell's Gatel" but after losing 5 days on the ship I had to change my roadbook because I had a transit visa with double entry in 6 days (the only way to get a visa to visit Turkmenistan without government's guide)

After disembarking, my first concern was finding a hospital for the third dose of vaccine. The doctor was really very kind with me (a tourist and a colleague). He received me in his personal office, offered me hot tea, sweets etc etc

After the injection he told me "I want to hospitalize you for one night for observation". Oh my God!!!! Too kind!!!
I went away looking for a comfortable hotel, signing against the doctor's advice

Ashgabat...a modern metropolis, practically empty. No people, no cars, where photography is prohibited.

 

[talox]

Turkmen landscapes...

Turkmen children very interested in my bike

The last 30/40 km before the border with Uzbekistan were terrible, very potholes! In Bukkhara an italian biker on a KTM 790 Adventure told me "[email protected], how did you do it?"

Long line of trucks before the border

Skip the line

The border at Farap...only 400 km to Samarkand!

 

[Urban_GS]

Awesome adventure!

 

[TimC]

More terrific photos - thanks for sharing them!

I was fascinated by your photos of Ashgabat, so I did a quick search on Wikipedia and also found a travel site with more photos and a tourist's account of his visit, with some great photos. Much of the architecture and many of the statues and monuments there look amazing. It's not a place I'll ever visit, but I love seeing the photos.

 

[talox]

@TimC, I recorded a lot of videos (while riding by GoPro or walking by smartphone) but I don’t know how I can attach it.

 

[Norbi]

Thanks for showing us a part of this world that most if us will never have a chance to visit. Beautiful pictures, and pretty brave/unusual to do that ride on a Nine T instead of a full-grown ADVenture bike (with full grown suspension - and definitely more legroom) No wonder the KTM 790 guy was baffled!

 

[Oiertxu]

After the rest day the next morning, after finding a clinic for the second dose of vaccine (where I conveniently paid with Amex) I arrived at the port ... and there the hardest part of the journey began.
View attachment 139274
I knew that the ferries on the Caspian Sea are unreliable because they are not really ferries but they are containers cargo that only sail when they are loaded. Unfortunately, considering that Iran (I have been there and it's very nice and safe) did not accept motorcycles greater than 250 cc and I did not want to go through Chechnya and Dagestan and surprisingly I had very easily obtained a visa for Turkmenistan already in embassy in Rome so I had decided to cross the Caspian Sea on ship!
Now I remember it with pleasure because I met very friendly people (especially truck drivers) but I was imprisoned for 5 days on the ship stopped in the port waiting loading operations, engine repair and a storm.
At port I found other bikers (waiting the ship to Aqtau in Kazakistan). I was impressed with their equipment! View attachment 139275

Instead I embarked to Turkmenbashi with 3 cars with English guys who followed the Mongol Rally. We were the only tourist on the ship, the rest of the passengers were Turkish or Turkmen drivers, special people!
View attachment 139276

My accommodation...very hot! View attachment 139277

Day after day...backgamon, fish soup, roadbook with petrol station (thanks to drivers for their suggestions!), sunsets! View attachment 139278 View attachment 139279
View attachment 139280 View attachment 139281
View attachment 139282
View attachment 139283

Thank you very much for this ride report. In the very same year, on july, I rode my bicycle all the way from Baku through Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and directly into the Alps, just to arrive home one month and 6.500km later at Bilbao. Crazy trip, great memories.
Thank you again for recalling them!

 

[talox]

Thanks for showing us a part of this world that most if us will never have a chance to visit. Beautiful pictures, and pretty brave/unusual to do that ride on a Nine T instead of a full-grown ADVenture bike (with full grown suspension - and definitely more legroom) No wonder the KTM 790 guy was baffled!

On an ADVenture bike it would have been too easy

 

[talox]

I want to continue by telling you a funny story ...trick and tips in Central Asia.
One problem was the cops (honestly in Azerbaijan and in Turkmenistan), they stopped me many time for speeding without a radar and they told me "You have to pay 100 USD at the main post office but you can give me 5 or 10 USD and everything is ok!". After 5 or 6 times, tired of paying, when they stopped me I started pretending to be sick from the warm (40-45 C). I would throw myself on the ground, taking off my helmet and jacket, drinking water, simulating a faint and they, afraid to have to call a doctor, immediately told me "ok, ok...go away, go head etc etc" and in this way I have never more paid!

After border crossing Bukkhara, wonderful in different moments of the day.

Delicious lamb kebab😜