an accident don't bear consideration.
Our problem has never been a reluctance to buy insur-
ance but rather finding the insurance office, or vendor, or
agent, or the lady on a scooter who can sell it to us. The
bottom line is to ask where to get your insurance even if
the officials don't mention it because this is your respon-
sibility.
One aspect of borders that always causes debate
amongst travellers is border touts or helpers.
These earnest folks make a meagre living “assisting”
travellers through the procedures at the border post. Their
work is made possible partly because these places are in-
variably very poorly laid out and hopelessly signposted.
The only time we have used a helper was entering Moroc-
co through Tangier. We had come over on the ferry. The
border post was on the wharf and it was chaotic with hun-
dreds of cars and thousands of people. I made a deal with
a helper and true to his word he spirited me to the vari-
ous desks and had us cleared into this fantastic country in
about 40 minutes. This was a good result and well worth
the €20 it cost me. Everywhere else we have muddled
through on our own and thought it part of the adventure.
There is nothing wrong with using helpers, lots of locals
do and they know their way around better than you. If you
do decide to use a helper, however, there are a couple of
things you should do.
First, pick one helper and tell him he is the only one
getting paid. Your selected man will keep the others away.
Next, make sure your helper speaks enough English to
communicate effectively ( just ask some questions about
the weather) otherwise you will be no better off when the
inevitable problem arises.
You should also agree on the price before you start. If
the helper says you should pay what you think the service
is worth, then say at the start what it is worth to you and
ask if he will do the job for that money.
Finally, whip out your phone and take a photo of your
helper ( just take a friendly selfie with him to save an ex-
planation). It can help if things go pear shaped. Helpers
are just making a living and, in our experience, do a useful
job for a fair price so don't start off thinking they are just
rip-off agents. They can also give you some useful local in-
formation if their English good.
The subject of bribes often comes up in discussion of
TRAVERSE
border crossings and it is a vexed question for many.
We and many of our travelling friends have never paid
bribes and refuse to do so. It isn't necessary and it certain-
ly isn’t legal. On the very few occasions when there has
been a request or the hint of a request, we have simply re-
fused to pay and refused to move on. Since we have plenty
of food, water and time, we can wait out a mischievous
clerk who will eventually sign our papers just to get us out
of his office.
I should also say we are generous tippers and we don't
quibble about price unless it is outrageous. If someone
helps, even in a small way, we tip and consider it a fair
trade.
It is very important to check the paperwork each time
you complete a border transaction. Make sure all names
are spelt correctly, vehicle and passport numbers are cor-
rect and the dates are what you need. The simplest mis-
take can cause a big problem a few days (or months) down
the road when you are stopped and asked for your docu-
ments. It was this mistake that caused our Russian misery.
Once all the paperwork is done and checked, you will be
able to get back on your bike and ride a short distance to
the exit checkpoint. Here your vehicle number, entry per-
mit, passports and, possibly insurance, will be checked
and you will be free to enter a new land. With luck you will
have plenty of daylight left and this will be good because
the first thing to do once you cross the border is to get out
of the border town and into the interior.
Border towns are the same all over the world. They are
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