Trip End

We've decided to end this trip and have returned to Singapore as we miss Singapore food and lifestyle, being easily understood by people and friends with common languages. We both felt that we were no longer enjoying the trip, dealing with tedious vehicle customs paperwork and the constant moving. The 10 years of striving to prepare for this trip has not been in vain, as had we not worked hard and be thrifty to save up for this trip, we would not be debt free in our early thirties. Starting on this adventure was also necessary for us to try for ourselves and experience what it could have been, so that we now understand ourselves better, that we actually prefer being regular tourists like everyone else.

We would like to thank all our sponsors (Motovation Accessory, Ban Hock Hin, JR Pte Ltd, Chong Aik International, Panjang Garage, CSK Landscape Services) for helping to defray startup costs of motorcycling equipment and our friends who have kindly assisted us along the way, and having everyone along for the ride.

With all that said, we will still continue to see 6 continents in the future to satisfy our curiosity about the world, but without the bikes.

At Bogota, Columbia

We are still waiting for our bikes to arrive here, so we have some time on our hands. We went to the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro) and the admission was free! We also enjoyed some local fare too.

However, an unfortunate incident happened while we were at La Candelaria area. On a crowded street where they are many people and buskers performing, a pickpocket syndicate made a move on both of us and they stole Kelvin's wallet and phone. I was lucky that they didn't grab anything from me as my pockets were empty and all my belongings were in my backpack. - Debbie

I lost a couple hundred bucks but most of the cards were actually inactive cards and the driving license in it was also the spare one that's reported lost. It was my 'mugger's wallet'. Guess it could have been worse - kelvin

A Visit to the historic Panama Canal

Finally! Sightseeing! I am in awe as to how the French and later the Americans built this canal at the turn of the 20th century.

Into Panama City

The border crossing into Panama was quite straightforward and after crossing into Panama, we stopped over at David for a night and rode in the rain for the first time since we have started this tour.

On the next day, we pushed towards Panama City and thankfully, the weather was sunny and the rain was behind us so it was nice condition to ride at higher speeds of about 120-130 km/h.

However, there were so many traffic police hiding at different spots along the way towards Panama City that I got caught TWICE for speeding. I had been caught for speeding several times in Singapore and I thought it was all behind me. Now the traffic police has caught up with me in Panama! LOL!

It was all good. None of the traffic police issued a ticket. So, I'm lucky! But since I didn't want to be stopped every now and then, I decided to be a law abiding citizen and stuck to 80 km/h. It was miserable to ride so slow but I thought I might lose even more time if I get stopped by traffic police again.

We reached Panama City on Monday afternoon and on the next day, we sent our two motorcycles to Girag located at Tocumen International Airport warehouse to air freight to Bogota, Columbia.

Then, on that evening, I realised that I was shivering and feeling unwell. I realised that I came down with fever which lasted until this afternoon. This morning, my temperature went up to 38.9 degree Celsius. I am worried because I don't experience any other symptom apart from having body aches that was probably caused by the fever. I hope it's not something serious that puts me behind schedule again like in Guadalajara last month. If that happens, it will cause me to feel frustrated & stressed as it will be a waste of time being stuck in one place.

- Written by Debbie

Towards Costa Rica

Oh yes! We are done with the 4 Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras & Nicaragua). So glad that all the corruption is behind me. Phew! We crossed 4 countries in just 8 days with Honduras as the most memorable one for me (in a bad way).

Crossing borders are really bothersome when there are so many helpers out there to bother you all just to get your money. I found it so stressful that I flared up big time at the guy at the Honduras border and got aggressive. As a result, we didn't need to pay that much but I should have controlled my temper.

Moving on to Costa Rica was a breeze as compared to the C4 countries. No corruption anymore. However, since we crossed on Boxing Day, it took us about 2.5 hours to cross into Costa Rica.

Now that we're in the capital city of San Jose, we took the opportunity to do some sightseeing. I love architecture and music so we went to the National Theatre of Costa Rica. The architecture is nice but I wished that there was a musical performance. I miss watching music concerts and I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any.

Finally I can get a breather from that hectic schedule and rest up for a while before moving on.

Cheers to you with my cuppa of green tea!

- Written by Debbie

CA4 border crossings

The border dance through the Central American states of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua is a reluctant sashay between the traveller seeking passage and several shady characters.

There is always the Illegal Money Changer, since money changers are outlawed in the countries because of Escobar. The money changer holds a thick bunch of cash and approaches to change needed currenies as one is surrounded by...

The Helpers. If they speak English, they can be helpful guides for non Spanish speaking travellers for a small fee of say, $10, but they are often unnecessary at well marked borders, or borders such as El Salvador and Nicaragua where customs officers or Tourism Information Officers speak English. The Helper sometimes tries to convince you he is an official by showing a phony ID card. I have a knack of calling bullshit on this one, but mistook an official DGM officer for a Helper when he wore plain clothes because he didn't wanted a tan. The Helper is an opportunist and often a good sport.

The Corrupted Border Official is the asshole who gets you, the one who expects an inflated Vehicle Permit fee to be paid or to fix an error on the Vin number made by the official at the entry. The Honduras official took the cake in this department, despite us calling out multiple bluffs like non existent road tax or insurance payments we knew we didn't had to pay from Wikioverland website.

In Nicaragua we encountered another character - The Incompetent Official. This official managed to spell Debbie's name as Dennie, wrote her nationality as Slovenia instead of Singapore, got my driving license and bike colour incorrect, requiring 4 corrections to be signed and stamped and taking a long time while she was at it, creating potential problems for us at exit. She probably exaggerated her academic qualifications to get the job.

Sometimes, you encounter The Good One, a friendly, helpful and efficient official who genuinely wants to help you get from one border to the next quickly without expecting bribery. When you meet one, as we sometimes did, count yourself lucky.

The Central American border dance is a rite of passage for travellers seeking the Pan American run, an experience not to be missed, but preferably not to be repeated - Written by Kelvin

Zooming towards Guatemala City

We have proceeded to Guatemala City which is the capital city of Guatemala. This city is really busy. The lane changing becomes even more aggressive than Mexico. I think the Guatemalan drivers and riders can be good buddies with the Thais. Luckily we have ridden in Bangkok traffic before so this is not new to me but it was nevertheless still stressful for me.

The traffic in Guatemala City is so heavy that it is standstill traffic most of the time. There was always a lot of honking.

These buses are not just normal buses. They are buses on steroids! They are always going so fast. So, you mustn't underestimate their speeds. The speed at which they cornered on the mountain roads was really FAST! OMG!

Typical street view of Guatemala City

I noticed something about Guatemala City and that is the abundance of McDonald's. They are literally everywhere.

Seeing this pic makes me thankful of the security we have back in Singapore. Guatemala City has armed guards everywhere. These guards are in front of shops, petrol stations, restaurants, shopping malls and even guarding the guy transporting water. Wow! I never knew that transporting water can be so dangerous?!

Lastly, the food in Guatemala is actually quite good as well. The chicken was tender and the soup was favourful although the amount of rice given is a bit too little. For folks out there who are on a diet, the Guatemalan diet might suit you to a T!

Looking forward to seeing different cultures as we journey further.

- Written by Debbie

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

After spending a month in Mexico, we proceeded to Guatemala from Tapachula.

When I was at Tapachula, I was thinking it's just 128 km to Quetzaltenango so it shouldn't be so difficult, right? I was wrong! The border crossing from Mexico was very swift but not so for the Guatemalan side. It was slow. Even though there were only a few people there, we had to be at the border for 2.5 hours.

While riding on the QUE-03 main road in Guatemala, there was fog. The fog was so bad that I had to focus on the lane markings on the right side of the road so that I know whether to steer left or right. It was really a hairy situation. 20km/h with only 15 metres of visibility. There was a lot of tight turns that were sloppy as well.

What's more, there seem to be endless speed bumps that are similar in colour with the road and I missed spotting the speed bumps a number of times which made my buttocks hurt a lot.

With the fog and the endless speed bumps, we took 4 hours just to cover 128 km. To look on the bright side, we got there in daylight despite spending 7 hours on the road & border crossing. So if you want to cross Guatemala with daylight to spare, you must start the day early.

After a nice dinner and hot & crispy Churros from the street vendor, I am happy again!

After I had tried the Churros in Mexico and now in Guatemala, I must say that I prefer the ones in Guatemala that has Hershey's Chocolate topping on it.

- Written by Debbie

What a day it was at Ciudad Ixtepec, Mexico

After Oaxaca City, we stopped over at this sleepy city for the night. The hotel was not even marked and looked like it was under construction.

The video shows the state of the building.

Hotel at Ciudad Ixtepec, Mexico
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The next morning, we continued to set off. As usual, we checked out our route on Google Maps. However, this time around, Google Maps suggested that we take "Unknown Road" to get to the highway. We followed and there was full of gravel, sand and stones. It was a total nightmare and it cost us an extra 2 hours to our journey as we had to turn back from that "Unknown Road" as the section joining the highway was washed away and impassable. I dropped my bike in the soft sand section and the left pannier landed on top of my left foot, pinning me down. The left side of my handguard sheared off as a result of the drop.

It was so painful and I screamed at the top of my lungs. The Cardo comm set must have picked that up and Kelvin must have had his eardrums burst. For the first 10 minutes, I couldn't get up at all. At that moment, I thought the trip was over and I was injured and that I am going to be a liability. Thankfully, I could get up but hobbled slightly. I managed to get on the bike and ride again although shifting gears was a pain in the ass. I was feeling stressed out.

I managed to maintain composure and rode about 400km to Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. What a day!

Oaxaca... Here we come!

At Monte Alban

We have always wanted to visit the city of Oaxaca because it is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and also read about the city in some ride reports on ADVrider.com that piqued our interest.

However, as many travellers have pointed out, it's the people whom you meet that makes the place even more special. We are so lucky to have the help of Mark and Kara, two Americans who are currently residing in Oaxaca, to receive our YouTrip debit cards sent from Singapore. On top of that, they have graciously given us their home grown bananas and they have given me a turquoise gemstone necklace for good luck on the road (you can see me wearing necklace in the pic below).

With Mark and Kara

Most certainly, we can't miss doing some touristy stuff and that is to visit attractions, right? So, we visited the iconic Monte Alban which was the former ceremonial and military capital of the Zapotecs who settled in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. We walked the ruins and the area is massive. The ruins is quite unique as we have not seen anything like this since we entered Mexico.

Entrance ticket

When you walk up to the top of Monte Alban, you can see the entire city.

Apart from attractions, food is very important too! I kept on seeing this round shaped bread with seashell-like appearance everywhere, on the streets, in the supermarkets and in bakery shops. I wonder what it is. Ah! It's called Concha which is a traditional Mexican sweet bread roll which is quite delicious. It tastes quite sweet and has a crunchy topping. Don't miss this bread out if you are visiting Mexico.

Concha: Doesn't it look pretty? Taste good too!

I can't wait to see what else is in store for us as we travel beyond.

Respect the motorcyclist. I agree!

- Written by Debbie

Puig Equipment Review

Debbie has used a Puig touring windshield for 10 years while I used a Yamaha OEM stock windshield on our previous motorcycles, FZ6-S before Motovation Accessories sponsored us Puig engine guards, handguards, windshields and fender extenders for our 2 current Honda CB500X.

The Puig windshield cost half the price of the Yamaha OEM windshield, yet the product quality is equal. So, some years back, when I wanted to increase the windshield height further, I sought help from my regular mechanic in Singapore, Panjang Garage, to modify and bolt on 2 Puig windshield extensions together, doubling the extension's height to almost 20cm, and taking the product beyond its design parameters. It worked well up to 130km/hr, more than enough for riding for work in Singapore law-abidingly. This made me believe in Puig's engineering, especially in its windshields.

On the FZ6-S, we had also used Motovation sliders for 10 years, and our motorcycles survived a few skids and drops. On the current CB500X, I am glad to have Puig engine guards. The current windshield also deflects wind very well over my helmet and reduces wind noise without the need for any extensions, as the front end of the 500x is taller than the FZ6 with a more touring oriented design. I've heard of windshields breaking off its mounts on Argentina's Ruta 40 due to vibrations.

I'm curious how the Puig windshields and engine guards will fare on the roads South of Mexico, which will soon start to be more potholed and unpaved, and will update in time to come.

- Written by Kelvin

Highway Shutdown

Having some Taco Al Pastor

500g worth of meat. We were stuffed!

In Northern Mexico, we've seen toll workers going on strike, collecting fees in plastic containers for their own pockets with no receipts issued. We've learnt they are protesting their wages. Most of the time, they've waved bikers through.

Passing Mexico City, we had expected heavy traffic to hold us up, but it turned out to be surprisingly smooth. What got us was a surprised highway shutdown after Mexico City. As we approached a toll booth, the Federal Police waved traffic from all 5 or 6 lanes to U-turn. No vehicle was allowed through. It was perhaps due to an operation or a presidential motorcade.

We had to detour and re-route through smaller towns and roads to bypass the blocked highway. Fortunately, we had planned for a shorter route to Tehuacan as we thought we might be stuck in Mexico City's highway jams. Re-routing was still stressful as Google Maps prompts have to be intepreted on the ground. We had to tell apart minor roads from the main highway. Sometimes, we found ourselves on a main highway when we actually had to be on the adjacent small roads so as to turn left or right. A U-turn could sometimes be 25km away, so after 1 such legal turn, we've now did as the Romans do. We've rode against traffic on the highway and performed our own U-turns. Anyway, the Federal Police are too busy directing traffic.

Now rested and well-fed on Tehuacan's spicier Mexican food, we're looking to ride to the next destination - Kelvin

On the road again to Toluca, Mexico

On the road again to Toluca, Mexico
Posted by 2 Moto Hobos on Sunday, December 8, 2019

I have somewhat recovered from the fifth disease I got and I am able to ride again. My hands and feet are still looking like a lizard. Just don't look at them and you'll not faint! Haha!

After 9 days of being confined to non-riding, it sure feels good to get on the saddle with the wind and flies on my visor! That also means that we have to clean our visors and windshields a lot.

After 6-7 hours of riding from Guadalajara, we reached Toluca. The city of Toluca feels bigger and more modern than Guadalajara. The traffic junctions are equipped with pedestrian traffic lights. I have not noticed one since we entered into Mexico via Nogales.

As I travel southward from Guadalajara, I notice that the sauces are spicier and I am loving it. My spicy tastebud is finally satisfied since Guadalajara. No offence... but the sauces in the northern region of Mexico is too mild even when the restaurant staff said that it is extra spicy. Well, that's just my opinion. I eat very spicy food and love those tiny chilli peppers (aka chilli padi) back home in Singapore and can't live without them.

There is something interesting I notice about Mexico. The locals don't seem to be shy about dancing in public and are able to let themselves go just like in the video. It's a public square with everyone walking about and they are not self-conscious. It just amazed me as an Asian who is not used to seeing these sights.

- Written by Debbie