Lebanon to Belgium

Who	Laurent Marlet ~ email
Profession	Interpreter
Born 1973	Nationality Belgian
Previous travel experience	Backpacking in Africa, India and Europe
Previous bike travels	Western Europe

Best day	Getting lost in the Syrian desert and spending the night with beduins
Worst/ hardest day	Crash in Syrian mountains (passenger, rider and bike unharmed)
Favourite place	Syria (fantastic place)
Biggest headache	Customs clearance in Lebanon
Biggest mistake	Sending the bike by boat : expensive, slow and cumbersome
Most pleasant surprise	How easy it is to travel in that region : no problems with the authorities, safety is NOT an issue (crime is virtually unheard of in Jordan and especially Syria), whatever the problem, someone will always try to help, ...
Any illness	None !
Other trips planned	Mauritania or Nepal via Kazakhstan (anyone interested ?)
One travel tip	Enjoy the trip and take time to meet people. Don't rush from one place to the other.

Bike Model	R1150GS
Age/ mileage on departure	20000 km
Modifications	I removed the catalytic converter. We also started the trip with new tyres, brake pads, filters ...
Mods you wish you'd done	None
Type of baggage	Tourance
Tyres used	0
Number of punctures	Toutatech boxes

Bike's weak point	First gear (when travelling two up with luggage)
Bike's strong point	Strong, comfy and can take quite a lot of abuse
Bike problems	None
Number of accidents	1
Same bike again?	Definitely
One biking tip	Take it easy, start with a bike in good condition and don't spend money on spare parts you don't know how to use.