I've been touring for a long time. Decades, in fact. But with the exception of one trip to Tanzania, all my touring has been in Europe and North America. As a result language difficulties haven't figured much - English as a first language, supplemented by schoolboy French and a smattering of restaurant Spanish and Italian has been enough to get me what I need.

But it would be interesting to do some developing world touring before I get too old to be adventurous. And the thread on equipment in the developing world got me thinking. How does one manage when upcountry in Myanmar, or Kyrgyzstan, or wherever and in need of repairs, or supplies, or just advice on routes when the road is washed out? There are plenty of people here with experience of touring in extremely remote and largely monolingual environments, and I'd be interested to hear stories of how they've coped. If they're funny, so much the better.