So, travel plans…. I’m in Europe this year, working in the Netherlands because …well there are other posts that explain that……and whilst I’m here I’m going to go and visit some friends that live here just for quick little trips.
So where have I got in the planning so far?
France– Maxime a very good friend from Beijing has come back to France with his girlfriend Eva for good, or at least for the next two years.
He plans to get a dirt bike so maybe we can try that together.
Poland– to visit a former housemate and friend Janek.
I honestly had no intention of ever visiting Poland, but now thanks to knowing him… I do.
Germany, Munich – To visit a friend Christophe from back in my China ‘language exchange’ days…otherwise known as my insane China drinking days.
Ukraine – Yes I said Ukraine. To visit a friend from high school that is living there. Dave Prior a good childhood and family friend is up for some travel this year and figures as he and I both have British passports, it’d be good to use it before Brexit takes full effect and go and visit some place we wouldn’t normally see.
Ok and then actual trips. Yeah… travelling in Europe for me doesn’t count as ‘actual’ trips because they are simply to see friends, not specifically have some insane adventure.
China– I plan to go back to China in July to catch up with everyone, shoot a couple of videos with my mushy brain syndicate partner Galen, and do some motorbike riding.
I plan to go back to Ordos again with Blackbridge racing as well as go back to the Moto-X track for some dirt biking and to get some wicked shots and what not.
Also, I’ve been talking to family back home, and I’m trying to convince both my dad and my brother to join me for the Ordos racing.
We have a call with Blackbridge and my friend Louis next week to explain how everything goes, and answer any questions they might have.
I think it’d be a great family adventure. Plus I think they’d both really enjoy it.
I also plan to stop by Shenzhen or Huizhou to meet the guys that make advChina, known by their Youtube names SerpentZA and C-milk. They seem like nice guys, and their channels have been an inspiration to getting our own off the ground.
Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/churchillcustoms
Thailand– I have 3 reasons to visit Thailand, 1 because I have a very good friend Fin – for which I did that insane motorbike trip with from Beijing to Beidahe…. The one in which everything went wrong, so a friend that can make it through the tough times with you..is a good friend indeed.
So I would like to go and visit him.
2, then there’s another friend – Mani, the French guy that plays amazing blue piano, which was my teacher for a very short amount of time when I was back in Perth for holidays. We’ve kept in touch and would be great to see him too.
And 3. the last reason, is that Blackbridge is now running dirt bike eduro tours there during certain seasons.
And the best thing is, all 3 of them are based out of Chiangmai! Wooohooo!
Each photo that Blackbridge posts of his Chiangmai dirt bike tours, well it just looks like such an amazing experience.
Also there’s a chance that my brother Steve joins me for that. He said that’s something he’d be interested in doing for sure.
So we’ll see how it goes.
And buying stuff?
A few of you will know…if you’ve been reading my other posts, that I am serious about making this YouTube channel for motorbiking in China and the world, a kind of education + adventure kind of channel; and that I’ll be making it with my friend Galen.
Part of the thing is that we want to up our production values to turn it into something that is truly worth watching. Getting our friends to watch it is one thing, or having people that stumble onto because they’re trying to find the right information and we provide it is another thing, but getting subscribers to actually tune in every video to learn something new or follow our progress requires some serious skills.
So, 1st thing- Decent camera.
I’ve done a bit of research on that, and I’m looking at getting the Panasonic G7 camera. It checks all my boxes…although what is holding me back at the moment is that it IS very expensive.
I’m not too sure why Europe is so much more expensive than anywhere else, but this is certainly holding me back.
See a review here:
Drone– the drone I was wanting to get is the DJI Mavic Pro, which I’ve already made a little article about.
Oh and… actually today, I just bought one. I bought it using the China mainland website (it’s actually a Chinese company made in Shenzhen) as from China it is quite a bit cheaper that if you buy it in Europe or even in the US.
I will ask a colleague to bring it back with them when they come back from their business trip.
So….effectively it’s 代购 daigou shopping. There’s a word that you Chinese learning kids don’t learn at school.
Modern Chinese cultural word meaning ‘carry shop’ where you buy something overseas and you ask a friend or pay someone to bring it back for you.
Big business in China, because things are often cheaper in the USA, or you just have a bigger variety or access to the latest products. So Chinese people often 代购 to China.
So I will 代购 from China.
The reason for the drone is that it will give added perspective when filming about motorbike adventures in China or the world.
I’m really looking forward to it!
And then a new helmet. – A call from all my motorbiking friends for suggestions for this one. But I need something that’s comfortable and sound proof…but also something I can take on a racetrack or something.
Anyway that’s it. This might be a bit of an expensive year.
Expensive, but full of adventure!
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