Border crossings always make me nervous. Waiting times, forms in foreign languages and characters, extensive inspection of the truck, people jumping the queue and being dependent of the sometimes badly-minded officials. A good dose of Zen is essential. And when you think that everything is over, a car insurance policy must be taken out. Credit cards are not accepted. People want cash in loca...

A few days before the celebration of the annual Naadam festival I arrive in Mörön and take residence in a hotel to enjoy a normal bed and to benefit from the WIFI connection. Piggy has had to pay a lot on the Mongolian tracks in the last few days. It is frustrating to experience that he does not have the right qualities to defy the num...

Again, the border formalities between Kazakhstan and Russia take a lot of time on both sides. This time, after 5 long hours, I can finally set foot on Russian soil. Just over the border I still have to arrange my car insurance. Two small offices on opposite sides of the road, manned by two competing ladies, offer me the opportunity to do so. One lady is trying to make contact with me by stepping o...

Lying on my back in a comfortable chair I look  at the dimmed light above me. Open-mouthed. In the background I hear Candy Dulfer's famous song "Lily was here" . I see the head of a lady with a mouthcap showing me a sterile packaged needle. "Anesthetic?",...

After a three week stay in the Netherlands and with a double entry visa for Russia, I return to Tbilisi to find Piggy in good health. The visa is valid for 3 months starting May 15, which means that I will skip Azerbaijan and spend the short time remaining in Armenia. In Tbilisi I get caught in the rush-hour,  total chaos at the intersections. Often there are no traffic lights, so the strongest...

There is no other option than to take the same road back again to Zugdidi. The more direct mountain route to the south, to the city of Kutaisi, is closed for the greater part of the year due to too much snowfall. Only in june, july an...

After a month in Corinthos I cannot resist it anymore and go back to the adventure. The sun is doing its best so I quickly respond to the travel jitters. At first I travel back to Thessaloniki where I have made an appointment at the well-known Steyr garage for an extensive service. I get an address where the bottom of the cabin is welded and strengthened again. I now hope for once and for all to g...

At this moment I have found the right hibertating place. In over 4 weeks time I have visited all corners of the Peloponnese, the big island in the southern part of Greece, and have returned to the village of Ancient Corinth

The month of November and the first half of December is largely dominated by an accumulation of bad luck with Piggy. It starts at my location in Thessaloniki, where I discover during the check of the oil level that the transverse support tube of the cabin has been broken off. I already heard some cracking when driving, but could not find out where the cause was. Now I can understand the cause of t...

Time flies when you're having fun and since my last blog I have travelled more than 4500 kilometres and passed 10 frontiers. While I am writing this, I realise that I have been travelling for about 1.5 years by now. Altogether, Piggy has taken me 40.000 km. over good and bad roads through 26 countries. The average world traveller might take one year to go around the world, but I hope that this ...