OFF THE GRID A blog from Luke Coleman (Our Man in Iraq)
Public transport in Iraqi Kurdistan is bobbins. It hardly fares better in the south of Iraq, but at least there is a creaking train service between Baghdad and Basra, a journey I’d love to be able to make one day. Buses run irregular routes around my city, and not one skirts the¬†street on which my office sits, so it’s¬†taxis mainly. And while they’re pretty cheap, certainly compared to the UK, with a regular commute I was finding myself racking up¬†$300 a month on local travel¬†alone. So, towards the end of last¬†year I invested $400 in a Nani¬†1 25 cc chicken chaser. A violently noisy, flimsy Honda rip off from Iran. The constituent parts are bought over the border in container loads, assembled in town and put up for sale at ridiculous prices. I had a bit of a set to with¬†a 4x4 the other week, thankfully wear ing a lid. But it made me realise the bike was too small, and the rider too vulnerable. And to be fair, it wasn’t good -too many creaks and leaks. So, on a whim, I went to the motorcycle street near the citadel a couple of days ago. Armed with some cash from a recent job for¬†the Ministry of Tourism, I found what I wanted -a Yamaha (yes, Yamaha) 1 50cc tourer. It’s Chinese (a step up from Iranian), it’s sturdy, and it’s got an electric start. And, as with all vehicles here, I lost nothing on trading in the old chicken chaser. I’ve called it Jermain, because of Mr Defoe’s derby day heroics, which I watched in a bar empty save for¬†3 barcode wearing Newcastle¬†fans. What a time to be alive!