Jul 08

Hello to you all.

Well, I have made it as far as Tallinn, and if someone told me I was not allowed to go any further and had to stay here for the rest of my days, I'd be happy. Yet again, my little wheels have carried to a really beautiful city, on the shores of the Baltic.

It has been getting noticeably colder over the past week or so, and the mornings especially can be quite chilly, but always there have been clear skies, so when I stop and sit in the sunshine, it always warms be in an instant. I was always looking at Tallinn as being the end of the 'tough part' of the trip. I have been through all those eastern yorpean countries, and loved it, but it has been in places where I was a long way from home and creature comforts that I knew. Now, The end of the trip is in sight. I am both really excited to be on my way back home, and at the same time, quite sad that the trip will soon be at an end. To counter this, I have been dreaming up more trips for me to do, both solo trips and as group trips. I'd love to do a tour around the Baltics on my motorbike, and that would be a great one to do in a group, so if anyone fancies it...? Also, countles other trip possibilities keep springing up, some realistic, others not quite so, but you can bet that if they are possible, I will work bloody hard to make them a reality! All I need to do is win the lottery a few times.

Last night,I wandered into Tallinn from the campsite, and found a German-style 'beer hall', complete with oompah-loompah band and proper german beers, served by skantily-clad beauties in lederhosen! Unfortunately, I will have to return there again tonight, as I was originally planning to leave here today for Helsinki, but I accidently booked a ferry that leaves tomorrow. Silly me!

Walking back to the campsite, looking east over the glassy-calm Baltic sea, I was treated to one of the most incredible sunsets I think I have ever seen, at lasting til gone midnight. If I was gay, I would have burst into tears (Nick would have because he is a fag)!

So today, wandered back into the city, past a sandy beach full of perfect female forms soaking up the rays, whilst dodging rollerbladers racing up and down the footpath in what is a very popular form of social exercise out here. Into town, and managed to find somewhere to change my travellers cheques - note to self, I will never use these things again, there are only very few places that actually change them, and then you get a high comission rate. Most of the big banks don't even know what they are!

So, after today, Finland. It will only be a short stop there, as I need to get back soon before my money runs out, plus I need to start working on my future planned trips!

See you all soon

Jon

...so there we were, toe-to-toe in the hotel foyer. As he squared up to me, I was aware of 3 things. 1st, the woman who started it all had left! 2nd, the receptionist had picked up the phone and was gabbling away into it, presumably to the police or secutrity guard. 3rd, he hadn't brushed his teeth that morning.

I didn't fancy having to explain this to a local policeman, no doubt I would be in more trouble than he would have been, being a 'local'. I pointed out that he had, in fact, pushed in front of me, then turned away from him and walked up to the desk and checked out, leaving him angrily talking to himself! I made a swift escape into the pouring rain and headed east into Poland.

So, bringing you quickly up to date, I am now in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and once again, I am very impressed with what I am seeing. It is another very beautiful capital city. I will stay here for another day, then a quick dash up to Tallinn, Estonia, from where I will be catching a ferry across to Finland.

2 days ago, in Lithuania, I got stung by a bee. It got wedged behind my sunnies, and stung me just above the left eyebrow. My left eye has swollen up, making me look like Quasimodo. It's not a great look.

So, bye for now chilblains, see you all soon

Jon

Ok, the first thing I should like to point out ( mother ), is that...IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!

Let me explain. From Chisinau, Moldova, I headed north and entered the Ukraine by means of a floating steel platform that was hauled across the fast flowing river by a steel cable that was winched, by hand, from one of the guys on the 'boat'. At the far side of the river, I had to physically lift the bike onto the landing stage. I was lucky, the cars had to judge the bobbing of the raft, and when it came level with the landing stage, had to race across before it dropped again. A van wasn't fast enough, and was 'grounded'. It had to wait until the raft lifted again before he could drive off!! The twerp sat in the shiny porshe behind him needed some coaxing before he attempted the dash!

In Ukraine, I decided to head to Lviv, in the west. This would miss out Kiev, but the main reason I was going there, was to see if I could get a visa for Belarus. I decided to miss out Belarus, and get to Lithuania via Poland instead. So, over some very poor road conditions, battling with lunatic drivers and angry dogs, I made my way west to Lviv, having a couple of great wildcamps along the way.

Lviv is a very lovely old city, and I spent almost the entire day happily lost, whilst I looked for the hotel. I eventually found the George Hotel, hidden prominently on the main road. I checked in and took their cheapest single room, it came without a toilet or a shower, but had a lovely view of a 21st century fire escape. I dumped my bags off and went exploring around the old city. I can wholeheartedly recommend anyone to come and visit this place. I am pleased that I decided to alter my route and come and see it.

Anyway, long story short, the next morning, I was woken at 5am but the heavy rain outside the window - actually, I was woken by a drunken text from Sonia, but then I heard the heavy rain outside the window. I packed my bags, but wasn't in any great rush to leave just yet, my plan was to vacate the room, but then head out for a coffee and hope the rain eased a bit. First, though, I needed a poo. I wandered around the corridors, but could only find 2 toilets, and both were 'Ladies'. I didn't fancy it, not after the last time I had a poo in a ladies toilet...

Moving on, I went downstairs to check out. There was a very well spoken English couple at the reception. He was trying to find out if they had any larger beds, as he was a massive 2m1cm tall ( I know this because when the receptionist said ''Our beds are 2m long", he said "I know, unfortunately, I'm 2m 1cm tall!") Being short occasionally has its uses! Anyway, whilst I was waiting there, a short, heavy-set fellow came struggling into the foyer with his bag, and stood there, sweating and muttering to himself, impatiently. Then, another couple came in and waited. When the English couple finished, and the receptionist looked up, the new lady started forward to ask a question. At this point, the guy pushed to the front (literally), and started on the lady, waving his hand at her in a bullying fashion, and telling her to 'go away', repeatedly. He had the air of a self important little man who got his way by pushing people around. The lady had stood back now, and he was being dealt with by the receptionist. Then, he turned on her again, again telling her to 'go away' and waving his hands at her. She then said 'I only wanted to ask...' That's as far as she got as he started towards her, pushing her back. That was enough for me. I tapped him on the shoulder with enough force to make sure I had his full attention. When he regained his balance, he squared up to me, right in face.

(I have to wrap this up, the guy has just told me he will be closing soon - just as I start to get in the main flow!!)

To be continued...