A dash for the Border

Not this one

Leaving Israel today was eventful, we packed the bike and rode around to the Visa Office at 12:00 and waited for a few hours, still nothing so finally the owner of SM Visa went over to the Indian Embassy for us and we got them at 2pm, this made it late to ride to Jordan but you know Trev, we did it anyway.  Stressful as it would be getting dark and I for one don’t love being in the dark in the desert.. Oh and yah we went to the Allenby border (shortest distance) to cross and they told us we had to ride another 70km north to the next border as in order for us to take the bike into Jordan we needed to be at a different crossing, great it will definitely dark by this time.  Plus to make it worse the GPS that has the maps for Jordan on it is on the fritz so we have to baby it, sometimes the screen has a mind all of its own, it played up a few times but we found our way to a hotel finally at 11pm in Amman.  Low on gas and also our new Scala radios “bike to bike”  that we bought in Tel Aviv cause the other one broke all together, didn’t work, we think it is a flat battery so we couldnt talk to each other the whole way and I don’t like that because I usually catch the turning before Trev does as he is watching traffic so that made me anxious too, I needed a fix, Twix bar would have done it and a coffee!!!!!!!!!!. 

This one

Arriving at the Israel Border we were directed into a parking spot and and as always the leg work starts but here again there is a system. First we get to get money back wow thats a first!! In Israel if you buy things like shoes there is a tax and you can claim it back when you leave Now you have to get a Tax document from the store where you purchase the item from so that is something we didn't know otherwise we might have got more but as for the two pairs of new hikers and the new compact camera we decided to get while we where there we got the  16% tax back NICE The only thing we had to pay when leaving was the 101 shekels exit tax each and after passport checks and stamping the bike out that was it off to Jordan we go.But not before we snatched a coffee and a sandwich to keep us going. 

Jordanian insurance  One week 18 JDL

A short ride around the corner and we where in Jordan again  this border  is also organized with a system in place so I park the bike out front and walk in papers in hand but here they  want to see Chenty's pretty face so she has to come in too, which is something we try not to do as that means the bike is left outside unattended, well you don't argue with these guys so after having her passport checked and a photo taken she is free to go stand guard with the bike again. Here we again have to buy Visa but no nineteen day wait like India. Its so easy when you can get it at the border.

After visas at 20 JDL each  we have to deal with the bike papers again import stamps in Carnet Insurance one week 18 JDL then licence and import doc 20 JDL  What I really notice is that everything is checked and double checked at every border even to the last man being the police at the gate on the way out checking for all the stamps and papers are correct before you are free to leave.

  

Temporary importation of bike 20 JDL

Well now it is dark and we still have a 75 Km ride into town. Riding at night is something we  don,t like but one thing for sure we ain't staying here, so we take it slow into town arriving at around 11 pm next finding a safe place for the bike outside a hotel with the Egyptian Embassy next door with an armed guard on duty all night  So we check in to the Dove hotel and grab a couple of beers and a snack before we crash for the night.

Tomorrow we start to deal with shipping the bike to India!!!!