Tag: camping

Indonesia Part 2: Falling Victim to Sumatra’s Deadly Roads (South Sumatra 08/08//16-14/08/16)

Sep 3, 2016

The landscape was changing again. The fields of rice disappeared and the hills began to undulate once again but now they were only occasionally covered in palm or rubber trees.  Small cassava trees (a root vegetable) were growing across the hills and farmers were drying crops in the sun. It suddenly occurred to me that it … More Indonesia Part 2: Falling Victim to Sumatra’s Deadly Roads (South Sumatra 08/08//16-14/08/16)

Singapore: A City Boy Back in his Element (27/08/16-30/08/16)

Aug 23, 2016

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)

Malaysia Part 2: It’s a Small World when you’re on Two Wheels (Klang to Singapore 20/07/16-26/07/16)

Aug 6, 2016

Skipping Kuala Lumpur I headed south from Klang. It was the same old west coast Malaysian cycling – busy roads and uninspiring scenery. A few dragon fruit farms spiced up the roadside activity but as quickly as they’d appeared they faded back into endless palm oil plantations. I remember being excited when I saw my … More Malaysia Part 2: It’s a Small World when you’re on Two Wheels (Klang to Singapore 20/07/16-26/07/16)

Thailand Part 4: Eid al-Fitr in the Deep South (Krabi to Malaysia 26/06/16-07/07/16)

Jul 21, 2016

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)

Thailand Part 3: Beach Bumming with Mum (Myanmar to Krabi 11/06/16-25/06/16)

Jul 14, 2016

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)

Myanmar Part 2: Please, not the Police! (Dawei to Thailand 31/05/16-11/06/16)

Jun 27, 2016

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)

Myanmar Part 1: Meditation with the Farting Monk (Thailand to Dawei 19/05/16-30/05/16)

Jun 18, 2016

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)

Thailand Part 2: The Gypsy Curse (Chiang Mai to Myanmar 17/04/16-18/05/16)

May 30, 2016

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)

Thailand Part 1: Drowning in Songkran Festival (Laos to Chiang Mai 01/04/16-16/04/16)

May 17, 2016

I received my Laos exit stamp and walked out towards the Mekong. I crossed this same border 5 years ago – but last time you had to take a boat across. Now there’s a long ‘friendship bridge’ connecting the two countries at their most northern shared border crossing. I quickly jumped on my bike and started … More Thailand Part 1: Drowning in Songkran Festival (Laos to Chiang Mai 01/04/16-16/04/16)