In Search of Greener Grass

Author and travel writer Graham Field was “born at a very early age, and independent travel begun shortly after he learned to crawl.” During obligatory but inadequate schooling he spent the majority of his time looking out of the window and escaping into his favourite daydream—the freedom of the road. Making restless dreams become a reality has been his single-minded talent. Graham’s life of travel really started with his first motorbike, obtained way before he was old enough to have a licence. By the age of eighteen he was living in the US, working in construction, in strip clubs, and riding a 1960 Harley-Davidson. In 1990, he set off around the world with a backpack, and this was followed by challenging solo cycling trips in India and China. For over a quarter of a century, Graham has had three constants in his life: motorcycles, travel, and diary keeping. He appeared on a national TV game show, where he announced he would use his modest winnings to ride to Mongolia. This was when all three of his obsessions came together. On a thousand-dollar KLR 650, he rode 15,000 miles east from his home in the UK—105 days on a $7,500 budget. This journey, the people met, the challenges, and the startling contrasts of both the cultures and landscapes became the subject of his hugely popular and inspirational diary-format book, In Search of Greener Grass. A few years later, his KLR, with the same budget, distance, and time-frame, took him to Iraq and Azerbaijan. A “eureka moment” occurred during this journey, and that epiphany became the topic of his enthralling second book, Ureka. His third book, Different Natures, takes the reader on earlier motorcycle trips from the Alaskan Arctic Circle to southern Mexico. Delving into diaries packed with tales of naivety, and at times eyebrow-raising debauchery, the reader soon discovers that Graham’s mantra is “You never lie to your diary.” Graham writes regularly for Overland Magazine. His articles and columns are published in British national papers and motorcycle publications in both Europe and North America. His presentations are widely regarded as some of the funniest in the genre, and in radio interviews he is well known for his passion for travel and his off-the-cuff comments, which both challenge and amuse. He makes regular contributions to Adventure Bike TV, where he was nominated as “most inspirational adventurer.” Graham has a residency on Adventure Rider Radio, alongside travel writers Brian and Shirley Hardy-Rix, Grant Johnson of Horizons Unlimited, and myself. He currently lives in Bulgaria, with a variety of iconic motorcycles, a cluster of KLRs, and some gold-digging cats. —Sam Manicom Sam is the author of a four-book series (Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns, and Tortillas to Totems) about his eight-year journey around the world by motorcycle.

Foreword v
About the Author vii
Acknowedgements xi
Map of Route xvi-xvii

Introduction 1
The Preparation 5
Two Days Before I Leave 11
The Day Before I Leave 14
Day 1 Kleve, Germany 16
Day 2 Neustadt, Germany 19
Day 3 Solvesburg, Sweden 21
Day 4 Sweden Rock Festival 24 Day 5 Sweden Rock Festival 27 Day 6 Sweden Rock Festival 29
Day 7 Sweden Rock Festival 31
Day 8 Karlskrona, Sweden 33
Day 9 SE of Warsaw, Poland 36
Day 10 L’viv, Ukraine 39
Day 11 Ternopil, Ukraine 42
Day 12 Tulchin, Ukraine 45
Day 13 Tiraspol, Ukraine 48
Day 14 Odessa, Ukraine 52
Day 15 Goblin Bike Show, Odessa, Ukraine 56
Day 16 Odessa, Ukraine 58
Day 17 Odessa, Ukraine 61
Day 18 Simferopol, Ukraine 63
Day 19 Sudak, Ukraine 65
Day 20 Sudak, Ukraine 69
Day 21 Sudak, Ukraine 71
Day 22 Anapa, Russia 73
Day 23 Anapa, Russia 77
Day 24 Sochi, Russia 80
Day 25 Chadyzensk, Russia 83
Day 26 Kislovodsk, Russia 86
Day 27 W of Budennousk, Russia 89
Day 28 Astrakhan, Russia 92
Day 29 Astrakhan, Russia 97
Day 30 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 99
Day 31 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 104
Day 32 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 106
Day 33 S of Bayghanin, Kazakhstan 108
Day 34 Aktobe, Kazakhstan 113
Day 35 S of Denisovka, Kazakhstan 117
Day 36 Near Sawmalkol, Kazakhstan 120
Day 37 Astana, Kazakhstan 123
Day 38 Astana, Kazakhstan 126
Day 39 Astana, Kazakhstan 129
Day 40 N of Balkhash, Kazakhstan 132
Day 41 N of Almaty, Kazakhstan 136
Day 42 Almaty, Kazakhstan 140
Day 43 Suburb of Almaty, Kazakhstan 144
Day 44 Suburb of Almaty, Kazakhstan 147 Day 45 Suburb of Almaty, Kazakhstan 149
Day 46 Suburb of Almaty, Kazakhstan 152
Day 47 Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan 154
Day 48 Not Far from Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan 159
Day 49 Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan 166
Day 50 Not Lepsinsk, Kazakhstan 172
Day 51 Ayakoz, Kazakhstan 175
Day 52 Semey, Kazakhstan 181
Day 53 Semey, Kazakhstan 184
Day 54 Barnaul, Russia 187
Day 55 Barnaul, Russia 189
Day 56 Yor, Altai, Russia 192
Day 57 Near Chemai, Altai, Russia 196
Day 58 Near Tashanta, Russia 198
Day 59 Olgly, Mongolia 202
Day 60 N of Achit Nuur Lake, Mongolia 208
Day 61 SW of Naranbulag, Mongolia 214
Day 62 Pushed out of Surginu, Mongolia 219
Day 63 W of Tosontsengel, Mongolia 225
Day 64 Wrong Side of White Lake, Mongolia 231
Day 65 Tsetserleg, Mongolia 237
Day 66 Tsetserleg, Mongolia 243
Day 67 Tsetserleg, Mongolia 246
Day 68 Tsetserleg, Mongolia 249
Day 69 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 251
Days 70-73 Ulan Bator to Tsetserleg, Mongolia 256
Day 74 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 260
Day 75 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 263
Days 76-77 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 268
Day 78 S of Bulgan, Mongolia 272
Day 79 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 274
Day 80 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 279
Day 81 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 283
Day 82 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 285
Day 83 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 288
Day 84 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 291
Day 85 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 293
Day 86 Ulan Bator, Mongolia 295
Day 87 Kyakhta, Russia 297
Day 88 Lake Baikal, Russia 301
Day 89 E of Ulan-Ude, Russia 304
Day 90 Chita, Russia 308
Day 91 Chita, Russia 313
Day 92 Near Mogocha, Russia 315
Day 93 Close to Belogorsk, Russia 319
Day 94 Khabarovsk, Russia 322
Day 95 N of Spassk-Dalny, Russia 325
Day 96 Vladivostok, Russia 328
Day 97 Vladivostok, Russia 331
Day 98 Vladivostok, Russia 335
Day 99 Vladivostok, Russia 337
Day 100 Zurubino, Russia 339
Day 101 Don Cheng Ferry, Sea of Japan 343
Day 102 Socho, South Korea 348
Day 103 Pyoungteck, South Korea 351
Day 104 Seoul, South Korea 354
Day 105 Various Locations, 1000s of Miles 359
Epilogue Spring 2011 363