HI all, sorry for the lack of updates, now might be a good time to continue-:
David was very kindly taken to the West China Hospital in Chengdu by the Chinese motorist who stopped at the scene of his accident. His bike was loaded on a passing pickup and very kindly taken to the outskirts of Chengdu, the driver refused any payment. While we were in the tunnel and all this was happening several cars slid into a makeshift barrier we had erected to keep the traffic away from David and his bike, a police car slid into cones when trying to slow down. The police driver got out of the car, I was convinced we would now have to deal with explaining to the police all that had happened, but no, he removed the cone jammed under his car and got back in...and drove off.
This photo was taken as we were about to load Davids bike onto the pick up, you can see the road surface has been grooved, presumably to aid grip and drainage, I can report it does not seem to work.
The three of us followed the pick up, along with one of the two 4x4s in our group. When we reached the outer Chengdu ring road the pick up stopped. We had no idea why, having phoned our Chinese guide and passed the phone over we slowly learned that his pick up was not allowed inside the ring road. We offloaded the bike it was now very late we had been on the road since 11.30 and it had rained solidly all day, we were all wet tired and worried. We needed to get to our Hotel and find out how David was. We decided to leave the bike in a nearby private car park, we took Davids papers and gear from his bike and put it in the 4x4. We then decided inform his insurance company. The next 30 minutes was spent on the phone to the English office of Davids insurance. Our aim was simple, inform them of his accident and find out what details they needed. A medical report, proof that David was on his own bike, proof he had a license to ride the bike, proof he was part of an officially registered tour. That seemed simple enough with a claim number and email address we set off for our hotel and to find out just where the hospital was and to see how David was.
Having checked into our Hotel, showered and changed, now we needed a taxi and the address of the hospital. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to write down the hotel name and address ( in Chinese). The hotel called a Taxi and we piled in, showed the guy the address. Then began what would become quite routine. Taxi driver reads the card phones someone and then asks the concierge...then refuses to go. We all get out hail another cab...show the address...typically about the third attempt it all works and off we go. 20 minutes later we arrive at a huge hospital/ University and find the accident and Emergency wing and the observation ward and David
He is lying in a bed, the guy must have the constitution of an Ox. He has had an X ray and is now lying in the observation ward. He is most obviously in pain. We manage to find the doctor in charge of Davids case, she speaks very good English." Your friend has had a bad accident, he has a broken femur right by the hip joint it is a crush fracture and it is very important he does not move the damaged joint, we have put a plaster cast on him to immobilise the joint, I recommend an operation now". Ok no problem we will need to get his insurance company on the case, we cannot give the go ahead, and we need a copy of his medical report to email to them, the medical report in hand and back to David.
" Guys the pain is really bad sort this out as soon as possible guys, I have nothing for the pain" David must have been in agony. We updated him on the insurance company the claim the papers required and assured him we would push and chase as hard as we could to get it sorted. Managed to explain he needed pain relief, they gave him tablets, they refused to give David intravenous medication. Back to the hotel, take photos of everything e mail to the insurance, and off to bed.
Up the next morning and the phone call no one wanted to make, someone has to call Davids wife in Australia and tell her. She took it all so calmly, " Ok I can chase the insurance company from here as well, make sure they look after him". I should mention that Davids wife is a nurse...she understood just exactly what should be happening.
The next 5 days proved one thing, insurance companies do not like paying out!. We emailed the medical report, " It is in Chinese we need it in English and we need the translation stamped by a registered agency" A day running around.... sorted and emailed across." We need a second report by our approved medical agent" , " you need to deal with us via our agent in Bejing" WTF can they do in Bejing!!!.Whilst all this was happening poor David was lying in the observation ward, it became clear on the second day that the observation ward was just that observation, no food, no personal care. Day two we took him back to our hotel, it was where he wanted to be and where we could take care of him 24 hours a day. David wanted out, " These insurance guys are B**stds fellas I think I could get on a regular plane", we booked him on a flight to Melbourne ( he was never going to get on that flight, however for 36 hours he had hope and could see an end to it) Ambulance arrives at hotel to take him to the airport, its obvious David cannot sit in a seat and there is real danger he could do damage if he tries. David admits he cannot fly, flight is cancelled. David back to the Hotel. The insurance company finally accept responsibility and start to move. Davids re admitted to hospital in a private ward with a 24 hour carer. Davids wife has been trying to sort a visa so she can fly to be with him, "emergency visa, no problem 10 days".
David was finally flown to Bangkok 7 days after his accident.
Wow, what an epic journey! Such a shame about Dave's accident- how is he doing? Did you ever find a way to get his bike to Laos? Looking forward to more!
As a group its fair to say we were shocked by these events. the weather leading up the accident had been awful, a bridge we had crossed on the day of the accident had collapsed later that same day killing 12 people. Maybe we had been unlucky maybe we had been lucky.
We now had 6 bikes and 5 riders, and 7 days less to complete our trip. Our guide Mr Lun was a really nice bloke but the answers to questions fell into the Asian bracket of telling you what he thought you wanted to hear
" could we exit later than the date on our original schedule?"
No Problem.
" will it be a big problem if we are a couple of days late exiting?"
Yes big problem.
With the distance left and the time available we had to revise the route, we lost the tourist cities of the Tibetan cultural areas. The city of Lijang the city of Dali were now removed from our revised route. ( the weather had been so bad I am not sure we would have stuck to route as some significant bridges had been washed away and landslides had made roads impassable).
Davids bike was taken from the car park loaded on a truck and sent on to Kunming. We pressed on taking an almost direct route to Kunming. My taste for the adventure had gone, as a group we all wanted out of China as quick as possible. News filtered through David had his operation in Bangkom, his wife had flown from Australia to Bangkok and had been by his bed
when he came round.
Now you may not know but I am married to lovely Thai lady who was born in Chiang Mai.We have been married 8 years and before marrying we had lived in Chiang Mai, I had even had a house built etc etc, We now live in England and its fair to say my wife has adopted many western traits. My wife would be flying out from the U.K. and be waiting for me in Chiang Mai when I finished my trip. We had been able to keep in almost constant contact throughout my trip. In China I had emailed my face book updates which she then posted on my behalf ( the Chinese block facebook along with many other internet sites). She was aware of the extra bike and the need to organise transport from the China Laos border through Laos and into Thailand and finally Chiang Mai. It was about this time I asked for help on this forum, though I had many offers of help in my mind there was always a problem " can't be contacted except by phone" , " can make it but only 2 days after you are in Laos".
Then the bomb dropped.....David had left with all his documents....he of course needed his insurance details, passport and other personal items....they had all been kept carefully in a folder....and gone with him to Bangkok...all of them ..including of course all the bike documents!!!
How the F***k did I manage to let that happen!!!. I had been so wrapped up in getting David out, arguing with insurance companies, trying to look after David, keeping his wife up to date etc that when the air ambulance was finally confirmed, I sat back Job Done!!!
So I called my wife, there are some documents with David in Bangkok, I need them at the Chinese border on the 20th of July, I need a signed power of attorney to take his bike across the border, I need a copy of his passport counter signed by him, I need a copy of his rego I need a copy of his insurance. I called Davids wife and explained what was needed, she arranged all the copies, my wife emailed her a power of attorney letter in Thai for David to sign. Having managed to get myself in this mess the gods smiled on me. My wife has a very good friend Nok, who of course lives in Chiang Mai her family are from Chiang Khong and she was and is a very capable person, business lady, local government official, someone who can get things done. That she happened to be staying with my wife in England was a slight problem but again the Gods were smiling, she was flying home on the 17th. Davids wife posted the copies using DHL to Chiang Mai and to the business address of Nok.
I love Thailand and I love Thai people and my wife is a very capable and smart lady...but absolutely and positively and Thailand do not always go together. The conversations went something along the lines " yes she will try her best to be there", No I cannot work with that she must be there! . In truth maybe its all semantics but it still had me worried.
Nok's planned trip.
leave U.K. on the 17th arrive BKK on the morning of the 18th, fly up to Chiang Mai by early afternoon, collect the papers from the office, collect Khun Pong who will ride the bike back from the border, drive up to Chiang Khong. Stay overnight in Chiang Khong cross into Laos on the morning of the 19th having first obtained the paperwork required to take a car that has never been out of Thailand out of Thailand ( I must confess I am not sure what this was but I was told it should take at least a week, she got it that morning. ) Drive up to Luang Nam Tha overnight there. On the morning of the 20th drive up to the Chinese border. Now while all this is happening ...her phone does not work/she has left her charger/The simm wont fit/the phone has broken...I am not sure which if any is correct but ...I cannot get in touch with Nok, neither can my wife.
We arrived at the border before it opened. We were hoping to at least get into Thailand maybe even part way to Chiang Mai...I still could not get in contact with Nok, and I have no papers...So we standing around waiting for the day to begin I am pondering how |I approach the customs with no papers...A very official Chinese uniformed guy walks aver to me, here we go I thought. He looks at me looks at the bike and then thrusts an envelope into my hands, my first thoughts were it must contain forms he wants me to fill in, on looking at the envelope it has a DHL sticker on. I open it up.....Bloody hell its all Davids papers, I hear a ladies voice and its Nok waving at me, she is just about as far over no mans land as to be in China...elation is an understatement this was Nok's finest hour I still do not know how she managed it.
The customs and immigration hall opens and we begin the slow process of exiting China, we had very little interaction with day to day officials in China, police seemed totally uninterested in us, you really had to provoke them to get any response. The border guys at Mohan were different, you are not allowed to queue in any rag tag fashion, you must stand single file and no talking...all a bit severe and given there were only 8 of us perhaps a bit extreme. We were slowly processed, I got to the counter I had two sets of papers my own and David's. I started with mine filled in all the forms and then moved on to David, simple enough especially the second time of asking. Then it all stopped...problem?. Now I know the U.K. has a reputation for bureaucracy and Thailand it can seem a bit I.D. card house papers keen but it always seems to almost make sense. My problem???? I could not take two vehicles out of China...one passport one vehicle, there was obviously a box for a passport number next to the vehicle details and you could not put the same passport twice. Hmm no problem the 4x4 has two drivers and we can use the unused passport for the bike...No both passport numbers had been assigned to the vehicle and it was not possible to remove one and use it for the bike. I was stumped, that is until the Chinese customs man came up with the novel idea of using the passport number of the next person exiting China..well it made sense to him.
Now the Mohan border is not a very busy crossing and is used a lot by local who cross back and forth on I.D. cards and they are not passports. So we are told to go outside and wait , its at least 33c we are all eager to leave China and for the want of an international passport number we are stuck outside in the sunshine. Sometime later ( about an hour and a half later) we are told we can exit, the last Chinese guy that crossed did so on an international passport and his passport number is placed in the box alongside Davids bike details and we are now free to exit.
Now that is Bureaucracy !!
Having exited China, entry into Laos was fairly painless, just the usual paperwork, insurance and fees to pay. It whilst obtaining the insurance that Nok and I could finally meet, I also met Khun Pong who was to ride the bike back to Chiang Mai. Now I am not too tall 5'6" ish and had to buy and fit a lowering kit to my Yamaha just to be able to touch the ground with both feet. David's bike was bigger I did not fancy riding it, Khun Pong was shorter than me...Hmmm. The BMW riders all 4 of them look worried. " Jim Has Pong ever ridden a big bike before?" I don't know but doubt it, big bikes are expensive toys in Thailand I replied. Nok translated the question and its answer "No Jimmy he has never ridden a big bike but do not worry" Khun Pong mounted the BMW, along with his helmet he was wearing standard Thai motorcycle gear, shoes, trousers, shirt and jacket, he also had a large bag over one shoulder and did not seem to find the idea of riding with the bag slung over his shoulder something to worry about, we fueled up and set off. Nok lead in her car Jens, Jim, Pong, Artur and myself followed. It soon became apparent Nok's idea of a steady drive was quicker than we had expected. Jens was struggling to keep up, I overtook and Khun Pong followed. The next two hours were spent trying to keep up with Nok. I gave up as the rain started it was too quick for me I felt uncomfortable with the pace required. I carried on at my own pace, enjoying the twists and turns, using all the road, swinging the bends and enjoying the trip towards Thailand. Every time I checked my mirrors there was pong riding in the middle of the lane seemingly unconcerned about using the roads width to assist with lines through the corners he just seemed to be riding in the middle of his lane, and this on a bike he had never ridden before and whose front end was less than perfect even after we had re aligned it post accident. We regrouped at a roadside shop, a much needed and appreciated drink and astonishment from the BMW guys, "Jimmy I can't believe he rides it so quick and it bent" ahh you assume he has ridden a bike that is straight and true, this is probably the best handling bike he has ever ridden I replied. " Jimmy I cannot believe how quick he is going" you have to remember he probably grew up on a bike and has ridden more miles on these type of roads than you will ever ride, I answered, though I was a little worried about his speed we had come all this way, we were so close and we could do without more problems. We made Huay Xai in time to catch the last ferry over ( 5 o'clock?). Had a few problems in Huay Xai as my memory of the town and the present town seemed completely different. Not a great surprise as the last time I did the trip the road from Luang Namtha was unsurfaced and had a least 5 ford river crossings and took me 6 and half hours. This time its all tarmac and two and a half hours.
A short run around in Huay Xai and we are ready to cross
My good friend Jens, on the ferry crossing the Mekong to Thailand, we shared rooms all through China, a great bloke whose blog of his trip can be found www.headingeast.de and shows my effort for the amateur attempt it is. He is also a much better photographer and has some 190 plus pictures on his site. An arty bike shot of his below.
Having crossed the Mekong it was just the matter of immigration and customs, there was a time immigration was done by the ferry ramp and you had to ride a kilometer or so down the road to customs and import your bike. Now its both sides of the ramp. We were at the end of the working day, there was Nok's car and 5 bikes to process, the copy shop had closed for the day so forms had to taken to the main road and copied. Jim and Jens flew through , Artur was next and then me and my two bikes. Hmm two bikes, I had not seen Davids bike since the ferry docked and had not seen Khun Pong either. No worries it seemed it was all a paperwork exercise nobody wanted to check frame or engine numbers, no one wanted to see the bikes. I was handed the paperwork for Davids bike but..the customs had mixed up Davids name, and mixed up my name, no problem bits crossed out and overwritten, that was all it needed. I paid my monies went to the nice lady in customs, she insisted I sat down gave me a cold singha water from her fridge and entered me on her computer and printed off my forms. It was now late we were all exhausted and any hopes of pressing on to Chiang Rai abandoned. I exited customs to a cheer from everyone all done. Jens and Jim gave me back th Thai baht I had given them for the customs fees, " they did not charge us" I looked at them in disbelief, "what?". We compared papers, it only took seconds to realise they had not imported their bikes. It had been a long day Jim was tired and frustrated and went into a bit of a rant upset that the immigration man had not furnished him with forms for his bike. It took me dragging Jim aside and Nok chatting amiably with the immigration guy ( who of course was a relative of a friend of Nok's) to defuse the bomb that was going off. Immigration re opened the bikes were processed and off we went. We checked into the Teak village??? overlloking the Mekong and after a quick shower and change Nok took us to a lovely restaurant overlooking the river. We sat back relaxed and soaked up the atmosphere, great !!. Nok ordered food, we ordered beer, Artur asked the young waitress to be his 5th wife, he was careful to point out the previous 4 had all been divorced, he was no player!.
The following day we set off for Chiang Mai, we went via Phayo ( more by accident than design) and had arranged to meet Nok at her house at 13.30. We had a great ride and rode onto Noks drive at bang on 13.30. Nok had prepared lunch.
iOur bikes on Nok's drive in the foreground Artur's bike, Jim Griffiths is immediately behind Artur with Jens in the right corner. David's bike is on the left.
After lunch we unloaded our gear and put it into Nok's car, we left the bikes at Nok's and she very kindly loaned me her car, we made our way to our hotel in Chiang Mai. This was to be the beginning of the end, Jens wanted a BMW dealer service before continuing on to Vietnam Cambodia Laos and then air freighting the bike out to Nepal, Artur wanted a service and was concerned about the final drive this was done in Chiang Mai he then flew his bike out to Germany. Jim decided his journey ended here and he shipped his bike back to Wales. Davids bike was stored at BMW till he arrange the shipping back to Australia.
My boots, for the last week of the trip I had been taping them up with Tank tape, my watch started to gain 3 hours a day, both just about survived the trip.
Happy to hear that everything worked out in the end but it would have been nice if you had informed all the people that offered help that you had things under control. My good fiend from Chiangmai who was in Luang Namtha with his pickup truck to carry the bike to Chiangmai in the back of his truck even waited an extra day as I had asked him to help you out. He was not amused (actually quite angry with me as he thought that you and I were good friends) when you never contacted him as you had indicated you would do once you were near the China/Laos border and would know the date/time you would be at the border.
This trip had been in planning stages for so long, without the internet it would never have happened, without Horizons Unlimited it would never have happened and without David and this web site it would never have happened. I was living in Thailand and needed fun. GT riders introduced me to riding in Asia, and I was hooked. I would like to thank my fellow travelers for putting up with me, I followed Artur through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan albeit a week behind his nightly e mail advice on the things to be aware of, where to stay , fuel availability was invaluable. Jens for company through China, David for being the voice of reason when we all had perhaps lost it a little. Jim "the big man" Griffiths for just being Jim and taking no nonsense when needed. There were highs and lows as always on a trip like this. I will end with a picture of a bathroom from the Hotel I stayed in at Aral. The roof leaked so much the top floor had been abandoned. Artur told me it was the only place to stay and it was s**t.
Well Artur was dead right there. When I finally met Artur in Naryn I showed him the picture and asked him if his room was as bad. " No Jimmy I did not stop there! a nice Kazak guy showed me another place but you would never have found it". What about a map reference I asked. "Ahh but thats just a point on a map how would that have helped" Lol Artur your a star and I hope to see you in Chiang Mai at the Horizons meeting in January.
JJ.CM what an epic trip and report, hope your riding buddy Dave will get 100% well again and soon too !!!! Your report is so colourful that a one-of reading isn't enough, will try to read the whole report in stages. Many thanks for posting this and giving us the pleasure to read about your journey in such detailed form !! Cheers, FR
Javawa;295681 wrote: Happy to hear that everything worked out in the end but it would have been nice if you had informed all the people that offered help that you had things under control. My good fiend from Chiangmai who was in Luang Namtha with his pickup truck to carry the bike to Chiangmai in the back of his truck even waited an extra day as I had asked him to help you out. He was not amused (actually quite angry with me as he thought that you and I were good friends) when you never contacted him as you had indicated you would do once you were near the China/Laos border and would know the date/time you would be at the border.
First I would like to apologise for any and all the trouble and inconvenience I caused to both you and your friend, I never meant to and it was unintentional. In mitigation I would offer that once I realised I had stupidly let the papers go with david my problems had escalated to a point where the solution seemed almost impossible and every opportunity I had to contact anyone was spent trying to sort out the mess I had created.
JJ.CM;295692 wrote: First I would like to apologise for any and all the trouble and inconvenience I caused to both you and your friend, I never meant to and it was unintentional. In mitigation I would offer that once I realised I had stupidly let the papers go with david my problems had escalated to a point where the solution seemed almost impossible and every opportunity I had to contact anyone was spent trying to sort out the mess I had created.
Epic trip & report. Well done.
A big thanks too for completing the report. BTW I dont think it was only Javawa's pick up friend who was disappointed about the lack of response to their offers to help. But you've now redeemed yourself by completing the story & this is much appreciated, thanks again.
I'm also pleased too to see that it was GTR got you interested in riding in Asia.
without David and this web site it would never have happened. I was living in Thailand and needed fun. GT riders introduced me to riding in Asia, and I was hooked.
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