After clearing up the aftermath of what was left of my stolen spares and checking if anything else had been taken we started towards the Turkish/Syrian border at Bab Al-Hawa passing through Iskenderun.

Or should I call the border chaos................even though they have an notice there in english for non-arabic speakers, it's no clearer. Once you've cleared the turkish side you need to officially enter syria with the carnet. Its here fellow travellers dump there vehicles outside the immigration building whilst they are sorting their paperwork and paying bribes to the officers.

Due to the unfortunate incident the previous night, neither of us were too keen to leave our bikes unattended, especially since there were so many people around. So against the advice of our english speaking border aid - who is apparently employed by syrian immigration to help non-arabic speakers through the process - we proceeded to attempt our entry individually. This was not met with enthusiasm by the police, who promptly said they wouldn't give Ed a visa - but a quick phone call from the chief upstairs hurried this part of the process along. That was us in, now for the bikes ! They needed visas, road tax, insurance and the carnets signed.............now how much ?

I took both carnets and along with our 'aid', managed to shove them at the customs officer, pointed to the two bikes and he promptly signed them in the correct places. Back to the building for more payments, then into an office where another customs officer took more money to get the final signatures and stamps. Then came the 'this man is a good man, if you like what he has done for you, a small payment!' ! A tip ? For doing his job? I quickly explained that I'd used all my money getting into the country and I had nothing left. Euro? Dollar? Sterling? So I told him 'No I didn't have any money!' and neither of us had eaten that day due to my robbery the previous night - a small lie admittedly but we hadn't actually eaten ! With that he became very generous and sent me on my way, wishing us well.

And with this we entered Syria, very late in the afternoon with a very rapidly failing light. This meant a 50km night ride to Syria's second largest city of Aleppo - the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Anyone who has crossed land borders will know that these are major trucking routes, which then means the roads are extremely bad. Night ride, large city, big trucks and bad roads whilst being cold, hungry and dehydrated - this does nothing for your moral. Plus entering a country whose culture or infrastructure you know nothing about is a little tricky to say the least.

Finally, Aleppo ! Now for somewhere to stay ! Keep your eyes open.......easy to say but it's night and the middle eastern countries aren't really well known for 'safe driving' !! But quickly I spotted what I thought was a hotel, it looked expensive but who cares, they may even be able to point us in the direction of a smaller one ! Turned out to be an army barracks ! Sounds funny but it really did look like a hotel ! The guards on duty came over to admire the bikes and realising we were looking for hotel, invited us in to stay, but Ed thought it maybe a bit tricky so we thanked them and moved on.

However, we did manage to get directions for the Dedeman 5 star hotel very close by! Ed used his usual charm to get a deal - we would have got a better one but there wasn't a female at reception - but it wasn't a bad price, we'd paid more in europe for a 2 star. So it was here we managed to get are heads around being in Syria, got some money changed, grabbed a city map, grabbed some food and rehydrated.

Next day we changed hotel, one closer to the old citadel, and at last started to relax ! But it's always the same, as soon as you stop to ask directions, locals gather, they're always curios with the bikes, where you're from, where you're going etc. However, I did warn Ed that some locals don't always have a clue about there own surroundings and to take directions with a large pinch of salt, this was no truer than in Damascus 2 days later.

Having spent 2 nights in Aleppo we moved on to Hama, a much smaller city, easily navigated but only a stopping point towards Damascus - time was running out to get to Hurghada and Ed's flight home.

Damascus ! What can I say ? That morning in Hama we quickly checked the budget accomodation in the Lonley Plant guide, Ed wrote down the address and off we set. Arriving in Damascus by early afteroon we were confident on finding the area and locating the hostel, or so we thought! It was then we found our selves being sent in all sorts of directions - we knew where we needed to but the one way systems took us away from there. Ed even met a man who knew of a good budget hotel with parking not far from his house - he would lead the way through the old cities narrow lanes, he promised to wait, our bikes only 50m away! He disappeared, never to be seen again !

It was getting late and we were going round in circles. Sat on a curb considering our next move, a young couple approached us and asked if we were ok! We explained our situation and with this 2 more young men appeared. One asked if we could wait 10 minutes, after which he would take a taxi and we would follow - another night ride in a large city. Eventually, after thinking we were being taken for a 'ride', the taxi stopped, the young man got out, beckoned us to follow him ! So began this amazing ride through a very busy souk ! Constantly asking directions he managed to get us onto a paved pedestrianised square - but I couldn't fit the bike through the barriers, alternative route! Enter a older kid with a biciclette who led us up a busy dual carriageway to another souk where we were eventually united with our hostel...........

As for the two young lads who helped us - they wanted nothi,ng in return ! We were amazed and very very grateful. After unloading the bikes, negotiating a parking space in a private underground car park it was almost 9pm.

Meanwhile I met a fellow biker called Neil. Ok! So he's swapped his motorbike for a bicycle but he had some stories to tell and he also had his bike kitted out by Dave Lambeth ! Small world !!!!

The next day was spent talking to our room mates Natasha (NZ living in Oz), Dean (yank) and Neil (brit), swapping details, having photos taken etc. Including a woman from thailand, who I must apologise to as I didn't get her name. Celebrities ? Maybe ?

On leaving Damascus, guess what ? There was a storm ! And after Ed found a broken spoke, we were late leaving ! And so began another long, wet, windy day, add to that a border crossing into Jordan !

Leaving Syria wasn't as traumatic as entering but they still tried to get some money for doing nothing............surely it's their job to stamp a carnet, that's why he's sitting they with a stamp being paid ! I said 'no money', must be different for woman as I got away with it but Ed didn't - of course I forgot 'my husband' has the money, silly me !

Next stop Jordan.................