On my own looking at the lack of definite trails to head up into the Andes.

A decent stretch of road in Ethiopia, no rivers, sand, mud or donkey herds getting in our way - the only problem being - "Are we on the right road?" As there is also a lack of road signs.

Unbelievably this turned out to be the main road heading northwards from the Ethiopian border through Sudan- we were hundreds of miles from the nearest tarmac and dropping Thelma numerous times every day. The intense heat and lack of water made the situation even worse and the deep ruts (created by tractors) were a nightmare to ride through, at this point Thelma is actually wedged upright, I'm not having to hold her.

Roadworks in Pakistan with not a cone, reflective jacket or even a helmet in sight, let alone heavy machinery.

We were caught in the tail-end of the wet season in Ethiopia, we had pictured dry desert-like conditions, the reality was lots of rivers and flooding in many places.