Jared Bloch
Irrawady dolphins in the Mekong near Kratie, Cambodia
Phnom Pehn, Cambodia- What do freshwater dolphins, sticky rice in bamboo and stilted mosques claim in common?
These were all found just off of the national highway in Northeast Cambodia thanks to our intrepid guide and driver.
The dolphins, which are impressive in their own right, were part of my daughter’s Cambodia itinerary.
Bliss on the river
Jared Bloch
Phnom Pehn family truckster
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Just back from a 10-day visit to Cambodia and Thailand and ruminating on my family’s adventures.
Among the amazing sights in Cambodia were the obligatory gravity defying scenes of whole families as well as just about any other household appliance or ware imaginable, slung over the saddle of Khmer Rouge era scooters and sputtering down the road.
But what was even more amazing in retrospect, was the range of transport we both saw and used in traveling across the better part of Cambodia, and the Southeastern corner of Thailand.
A brief survey includes: Motodop (motorbike taxi), Tuk Tuk (motorbike rickshaw), rented motorbike, taxi, minibus, ferry boat, pirogue, longboat, pickup-truck, and my favorite… elephant (see gallery pics below).
Jared Bloch
2000 US Tour
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – When was the last time someone said you were too old to dream?
For me, motorcycles and dreams, dreaming, have always been intertwined and I was unexpectedly cut low recently when a colleague told me there are few spots he would venture to on a motorcycle in Africa today.
We were drinking beer, celebrating a successful meeting and waxing poetic about bike adventures and the beauty of being at the same time more vulnerable, and more open to transformative experiences on a bike.
I was thinking of my lifelong dream to take a bike from Nuevo Laredo, Texas (nostalgic point of departure South) to Tierra del Fuego, loaded with a tent, some food and a camera.
I asked aloud if he thought it was statistically more dangerous to adventure-travel in the world of today than it was, say, 23 years ago when I was crisscrossing Central America.
Jared Bloch
Bi-annual inspection at Cantonal Office for Automobiles and Navigation
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, Cantonal Office of Automobiles and Navigation (OCAN) – I have never owned a new motor vehicle. In fact most bikes and cars I have owned have been several years old.
In Canton Geneva, vehicles more than 10 years old must be inspected every two years, and I feel the belt tightening every time my motors are due for a visit because the Geneva office actually measures tread depth and runs a white glove around the fork seals looking for telltale leakage.
I have grown grudgingly to appreciate this Genevois rigour but I went through my first few visits with clenched teeth as I waited to hear the damage to my wallet.
Jared Bloch
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Is it just me or have the weather gods smiled on Geneva this Fall?
All the better to get back in the saddle after what seems like an extended hiatus limited to commuting on two-wheels.
Window to another world near Satigny, canton Geneva
Sharing the road with a group on horseback makes me forget momentarily about gas stations, traffic lights and vehicle inspections.
And something about the empty vineyards early morning and late afternoon is calming to a mind overrun with extraneous garbage.
Like a dream more vivid than my waking moments.
End of the road - Chouilly-Thoiry border
Sunday afternoon "ballade "in the vineyards
Jared Bloch
Chocolate on tap at the International Salon des Choclatiers and of Chocolate
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Long before I ever moved to the land of milk and chocolate, I read Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and dreamt of endless supplies of the brown elixir.
Edible elegance
In fact, I caught more than one culprit dipping their spoon into a chocolate fountain on day two of the Salon International des Chocolatiers et du Chocolat at the Batiment de Forces Motrices, in Geneva.
Mmmm corriander chocolates!!!
Jared Bloch
Click on pictures to enlarge
1961 Jaguar E type - deja vu
MORGES, SWITZERLAND – How many museums let you to run your hand over a piece of art valued at one million francs?
That is the estimated worth of the original Jaguar E type from the 1961 Geneva Autoshow, on show 1 October at the Swiss Classic British Car Meet.
Moveable art
The showing, which was the centerpiece of the Meet, marked the first time British car buffs could look at their reflection in the cars signature side view mirrors close up – without the security perimeter of the original debut.
Jared Bloch
Wheels waiting to be mounted
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Ever had a pair of jeans that just never fit right, or a car that ran lousily but refused to die? Lately I have been plagued by bicycles that just won’t be fixed – what I think of as demon bikes.
Last week someone brought me a 21-speed mountain bike with the gears slipping.
An initial assessment determined that a new chain should have solved the problem, but not quite.
Next I changed the derailleur thinking the old unit was not holding enough tension, still no dice.
Increasingly agitated at the ability of this simple machine to best me, not to mention rob me of some prime biking time, I switched out the rear wheel noting the teeth on the cogs were a bit worn down and… nothing, same problem.
Jared Bloch
Morning clouds on Bassin de la Villette in Paris
PARIS, FRANCE – How long does it take to bike from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eastern edge of Paris? This was the premise of a recent bicycle circuit in the City of Light.
Having covered many of Paris’ 20 arrondissements separately on foot over the course of several visits, I was curious to see them back to back.
What I found was a web of marked routes and dedicated bike lanes stretching from the tony neighbourhoods around Monceau to the positively “popular” areas around Gare du Nord, and further into the banlieus.
The ride (less than 2 hours r/t) took me through Pigalle, past the Moulin Rouge, by a horde of tour buses and Place de Clichy and dumped me at Bassin de la Villette, an artificial lake in the middle of the city built up from the Saint Denis Canal.
"Paris Plage" at Bassin de la Villette
The Bassin or reservoir is surrounded by a series of open plazas and boat piers with tourist cruises running up the Saint Denis and is reason enough to check out this route.
I also happened to catch the last weekend of Paris Plages, a municipal effort converting various waterfront areas in the city including the Bassin, into “beach front” with lounge chairs, water sports and of course, sand.
Jared Bloch
View from above Im Fang - Jaun, Fribourg
KAPPELBODEN, SWITZERLAND – Sunday morning I woke up with a stiff back, looking at cloud covered evergreens through my frosty breath in serious “Heidi country” as my wife says.
What to do when life is looking a bit too ordinary in Geneva? Grab that book you haven’t cracked, pack the motorcycle and head to the mountains.
Haunted or maybe inspired by the notion of how lost I could get in 24 hours, I followed the Gold Coast to the autoroute towards Fribourg, then hung a right at Bulle and headed for the peaks.
My first thought was “damn! I don’t have GPS,” followed quickly after by the realization that most of the road miles and nearly all of the real adventures in my life, were logged charting road and topo maps – yes remember those flimsy contraptions with squiggly lines detailing goat paths?
In fact, they work well when getting lost.
Post Bus or Bike, "Sometimes you gotta get lost to find yourself."
I had forgotten how unwieldy 30 pounds can be on your back with the wind tugging at you.