One of the things I dislike the most about South East Asia is not being able to wild camp anywhere. There’s either too much jungle to squeeze a tent in, or people have cleared the land to farm or build a house. I miss stealth camping a lot, so when I saw a track leading … More Indonesia Part 3: Mountaintop Traffic Jams (Merak to Yogyakarta 15/08/16-23/08/16)
Singapore. Another huge personal milestone. The end of the land mass that began for me over a year and a half ago when I arrived in France. From here I can go no further without taking a boat. I had goosebumps arriving into the centre of town. Singapore is one of those few places in … More Singapore: A City Boy Back in his Element (27/08/16-30/08/16)
Still on my mini-holiday with mum, we headed over from Railay to Phi Phi island. My parents had visited Phi Phi when they back-packed South East Asia in the 80s. We were both curious to visit the place: my mum wanted to see how the new ‘poster child’ for Thai island tourism had changed and I … More Thailand Part 4: Eid al-Fitr in the Deep South (Krabi to Malaysia 26/06/16-07/07/16)
Crossing into Thailand from Laos a few months ago had prepared me for the shock getting off the boat back into Thailand and returning to the 21st Century. Air-conditioned shops, petrol stations, coffee stalls and western food outlets. I cycled onto a perfectly flat four-lane road and almost head first into a car. Whoops. I’d … More Thailand Part 3: Beach Bumming with Mum (Myanmar to Krabi 11/06/16-25/06/16)
A year ago I turned 23 in Turkey. I’d spent the night camping in petrol station owned by a lovely Kurdish family who invited me to dinner and gave me a sheltered pitch from the rain. On the 31st I woke up on my 24th birthday and started my day just as I start most … More Myanmar Part 2: Please, not the Police! (Dawei to Thailand 31/05/16-11/06/16)
I was more excited crossing into Myanmar than I remembered being at a border for a long time. Perhaps because it’s the first country on this trip that I never planned on cycling in. I’d considered it as a distant possibility before I left but it seemed like too complicated a country to ride. There … More Myanmar Part 1: Meditation with the Farting Monk (Thailand to Dawei 19/05/16-30/05/16)
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That’s what I learnt in Chiang Mai. I’ve summoned the mental strength to cycle across vast deserts and over huge mountain ranges but when it comes to resisting a social drink in good company… I simply can’t. My plan after Songkran festival was to get back into … More Thailand Part 2: The Gypsy Curse (Chiang Mai to Myanmar 17/04/16-18/05/16)
After my slightly chaotic visa run in Hong Kong, I hopped off the plane and re-entered the Middle Kingdom. I was back in China, there was no mistaking that. Two steps outside the airport exit I was mobbed by a million shouting and spitting taxi touts. I took few more days to relax in the … More China Part 5: Camping Amongst Wolves on the Tibetan Highway (Chengdu to Litang 13/01/16-27/01/16)
Langmusi was geared towards tourists, but clearly not receiving any at this time of year. There were a whole bunch of hostels in the village but every single one was closed. I haggled an open hotel room for less than a quarter of their ‘rack rate’ but it still wasn’t as a cheap as a … More China Part 4: Most Wanted in Chengdu (Langmusi to Chengdu 19/12/15-02/01/16)
