Long Way Down

15.000 miles, 18 countries.

Long Way Down is the title of a book and television series (and now also a DVD) documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in 2007. It is a follow-up to the Long Way Round trip in 2004, when the pair rode their motorcycles from London to New York via Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Canada and the United States.

For Long Way Down, they rode from John o' Groats in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa. The journey started on May 12, 2007 at John o' Groats, and they finished on 4 August 2007. They were accompanied by cameraman Claudio Von Planta. They rode the BMW R1200GS Adventure, the successor to the R1150GS Adventure bikes they rode in Long Way Round. Charley's is red bike and Ewan's is blue with the Scottish flag behind the windscreen.

Ewan & Charley are so funny, you can see that Ewan is for real although he's a big movie star. They visit Star Wars movie set the under ground house in Libya (if I'm not mistaken), there is one Star Wars poster with Ewan in it but the other visitors didn't recognize him, so he walks around the set freely without any photograph request, and he's so happy about that.

There are 2 Americans in the team, the producer and one of the camera man. They can not enter Libya because of the political reason. The Libyan doesn't want any American in their land, you think only Indonesians who have problem in visiting other countries? Think again :)

Poor Americans they can't enjoy all the beautiful places in Libya like the theatre of the Roman city of Sabratha in Libya and Arch of Roman emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (AD 146-211) in Leptis Magna, the well preserved ancient city along the Mediterranean Sea, located 120 km Est of Tripoli, Libya. And those 2 places remind untouchable, amazing. Oh I really want to go there.

It's really exciting adventure to see those places and exposed with their culture. There is one place in Africa (I forgot which country) that the Chief of the village has 3 wives (so not only Indonesia who has that concept eh), and Ewan & Charley amazed of that fact.

This show has inspired me to do road trip (someday), still thinking whether I should go ride a bike or car. I guess, car is better though.

I can't cope the fatigue from riding bike for hours, but the most important thing is.. oh ya, I can't ride a bike!