Be Safe

Hey folks,

Tomorrow I leave for Thailand (six days for David) and we were reflecting on the journey we are about to undertake. I'm sure there will be surprises along the way, hopefully good for the most part :)

It is so important to BE ALERT on the road, always EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. We have been so lucky to have travelled so many thousands of km's in past trips with minimal incidents, plenty of near miss occasions but no serious incidents. We will be using this post as a reminder for each other how important it is to pay attention and always look out for each others well being, both mentally and physically.

Always remember to stay hydrated and wear protective gear.

Never be complacent, if you don't feel right, stop and take a break! If your mate doesn't seem right, MAKE THEM stop and take a break!. Getting there later, or stopping somewhere else for the night is always the better option than pushing on.

Ride Safe = Home Safe :)

Thanks again for all the support with our cause, if you have not seen it you can check it out from this link :)

http://igg.me/at/laosgoodcauses/x/5037689

SE Asia here we come!

"Those who saved the day"

Greetings folks,

David Burrows and myself would like to take a moment to say thank you to those who have "Saved the day" for us in our planning of this tour and our new bikes in Thailand :)

Firstly, huge thank you Chris Corbett who inspired us with his idea of riding for good causes as well as being sent all over Thailand like a ping pong ball :) going from here to there to setup the bikes and papers. We love you mate!

Huge thank you to Hasse in Chiang Mai :) You and your wonderful neighbor organizing and taking good care of the bikes until we arrive. Hasse, you are a true gentlemen and we really appreciate all you have done for us :)

A number of people/business have done amazing work for us in preparation and we also wanted to thank them for their exemplary customer service.

Our good friend Thor and his beautiful wife who run MC1 International and arranged all of our Givi Bike luggage and mounting systems, you're a good man Thor and was a pleasure doing business with you! Best Givi prices anywhere!

Steven Woods from Suspension Improvements in Slacks Creek, QLD. This guy is a Star! He took a stock CRF 250L Shock and Spring and literraly in a day turned it into a Racetech equivalent Shock with the perfect spring for my weight and luggage. You're a life saver, thanks mate.

Team Moto Honda Nerang, for helping us out and pointing us in the right direction :) Special thanks to Ty and the girls in parts as well as Juleyn in the workshop. Happy Customer :)

Thanks in advance to the Thai and Lao folks we are going to visit, we can't wait to meet you, don't be scared we might look big and scary but we aren't really ;)

And of course last but certainly not least, Thank You to my family, friends, colleagues and all that have opted to support or share in this experience with us. You're support is overwhelming and so inspiring, bless you all, know that you will make a very posotive difference to many children's lives :)

Only 4 days to go and I fly to Chiang Mai for final preparations.

Stay tuned for regular updates to come.

Welcome to our Tour

Welcome to our new blog on Blogger :)

In just a few days, Thailand and Laos, here we come again!

Hi for those of you reading that don't know me, my name is Chris Jilley, I'm 34 and live in Australia's beautiful Gold Coast. My adventurous travelling companion and best friend David Burrows and I are again heading back to the beauty and splendour of S E Asia, its amazing culture and beautiful people :)

Back in 2009, David and I set off on our first Bike tour in Asia with a good friend and tour operator Reed Resnikoff of Asian Motorcycle Adventures for a 9 Day tour of Northern Thailand taking in the Mae Hong Son (Road of a thousand corners), riding the border of Burma and Thailand and the crossing into Burma for a quick visit. We had such an amazing time with Reed and all our new found friends in Thailand and at that moment we both knew this had to be done again, and again :)

In 2011 we went for a "Normal Holiday" with David's partner Mariella (Maz) who was just a few mths pregnant with their and my god son Mason. On that trip we travelled around Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam which was again a really amazing experience, getting to experience so many different cultures in a short space of time. Upon returning home we realised we had to get back over there to do another bike tour and hopefully head into Laos to explore.

In November 2012 David and I set off for our first bike tour without a guide, except the ever appreciated assistance provided by google maps and our poor overheating smartphones :). We again went to see our trusty friend Reed Resnikoff in Chiang Mai Thailand where we loaned us two of his Kawasaki KLX 250's to take out of the country to ride ourselves into Laos. You can read about this amazing month long adventure in the Thailand and Laos Bike Tour 2012 Blog Page. Whilst on that tour in 2012 we randomly ran into a lovely chap also named Chris. He had seen we were in a spot of mechanical bother with a laos mechanic that wasn't all that switched on and he stopped to save the day!. Thanks again for that Chris, You're a Star!. From there became good friends over the remainder of our tour and prompted us to change our rough itinerary and head south to the Ho Chi Minh trails in Southern Laos, this was meant to be......

Whilst in Southern Laos we got to know Chris very well and by chance we met another amazing man that owns a cozy little resort in Ban Namsanam Laos. We learnt how this man grew up during the war and some of the things he is himself doing putting back into the community and helping those in need. After we all finished having dinner and over a few Beer Lao and some of the nicest food i have every tasted, we all made a commitment to each other, that we would do what we could to help improve education and the lives of the beautiful people in this amazing country, realising that just a few dollars can purchase basic tools and necessities to help them explore and develop.

Stay tuned, we are excited to share these experiences with you and will keep this blog regularly updated throughout our trip.

Fit for the task :)