Tuesday 22 December 2015

Throw back 2015


This year sees me crossing the 10000km mark into Turkey, losing a day of memory, getting stung by bee, mad dashed through Turkmenistan with a tyre burst, dealing with umpteen bureaucracy crap (a universal visa will be great!), cycling up many passes (also highest altitude to date), losing my temper to unethical men, pedalling through challenging terrains & weather conditions, having the most diarrhoea days ever in my whole life while in the 'Stans' countries (Giardiasis maybe) and after all these I am still beaming with smiles and have to say 2015 has been a blast cruising with my trusty Thorn through striking landscapes and indulging in unconditional hospitality. Even now after 18mths I find it unbelievable to be where I've been, soaking in the beauty of nature, the undisturbed, tranquil and sometimes deep silence. People still played a vital part on this tour, they showed me love, joy, magnanimous, compassion and so much more. They are like angels who appeared miraculously when you thought you had the shitty-est day, they are a reminder that its not the professions, thickness of paychecks, religion or sexuality that defines a person but ones characters. On the other hand, I see how we've let media instill fear in us or wrongly imagined a country we've never been, how men assumes solo women travellers are ''easy going'', how tourism have changed local people both good and bad ways, problems with inequality, pollution, waste disposal, dental (very young kids with a mouthful of rotten teeth) / health care / sanitary issues and how modern developments are slowly draining places of their tradition / original charm.... so much so much that I can't put down in words... I will not experienced these if I live life cautiously...

By the by, at snail speed, I am now half way through my journey and also not far from the 20000km milestones. Thank you Every Single One of you... I will keep roving after my 'winter hibernation' and lets all look forward to another great year. Best wishes to all and to my cycling friends, tailwind / good health / great weather!

Here are the common questions being asked:
1. Where are you from (asked repeatedly a zillion times daily)? 
2. Are you married? 
3. Are you alone? 
4. How old are you? On average they think I'm 22.
5. What is your religion? (especially from Turkey onwards)
6. Are you not scared? 

Thorn is still fit apart from the following:
- Punctures: Germany 2no, Austria 2no, Turkey 1no, Turkmenistan 2no, Uzbekistan 2no, Tajikistan 3no, Kyrgyzstan 2no 
- Tube: Greece 1no, Tajikistan 1no  
- Tyre: Greece 1no (manufacture problem), Tajikistan 1no (due to burst in Turkmenistan)
- V-Brake: Greece 1no (rear)
- Brake pads: Lost count

Saturday 14 November 2015

Interviewed by CycleTourSg

https://cycletoursg.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/adventure-of-a-lifetime-interviews-with-singapore-cycle-tourists/

I was recently being interviewed by Tim Wimborne, the man behind https://cycletoursg.wordpress.com which was created in the hope to provide more information for cycle tourists in Singapore and beyond. The site is still work in progress but I am honoured to be one of the interviewees to be featured on his site.  

Thursday 29 October 2015

Thursday 8 October 2015

Day 458-462: To Bulunkul

Where is blue sky

Trying to get the grey clouds behind me but with this I'm not going any faster 

Monday 28 September 2015

Day 446-453: To Khorog

A night in my bivy under the stars... waking up to realise I slept next to beekeeping boxes

He was on his way up the mountain and helped with rolling the bike down the slope from my camp spot

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Day 436-441: Dushanbe & to the Pamirs

The relaxing ride from Uzbek border to Dushanbe after being annoyed by the border officers for tossing my stuff all over the place, fiddling through medicines, gadgets etc... Luckily I showed them the most boring folder on my laptop and she lost interests especially when the queue behind was getting longer. I know they are just doing their job but they could at least have some respect.

Thursday 10 September 2015

Day 402-435: Uzbekistan route

Day 414-435: Uzbek to Kyrgyz and back to Uzbek?

 Went to Tashkent to sort out Tajik visa and also try to find a temporary tyre to last me till Dushanbe as my repaired burst tyre keeps giving me flats. Thanks to my host, Oscar for taking me to the flea market (GPS: 41.153143, 69.2109) but eventually I took a used tyre off him instead.

Wednesday 19 August 2015

Day 410-413: Samarkand

The famous place among touring cyclists

This is just a small selection of the cyclists who were here before

The famous wall

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Day 403-405: To Bukhara


After breakfast with the family. Only the dad and me (embarrassed) have a bowl of milk to eat with bread and butter while the rest of them just eat with bread dip in hot tea.

Basic kitchen outside the house

Thursday 9 July 2015