Wherever I went in Indonesia people would always ask me ‘go to Bali?’. It was as if they thought I’d taken the wrong bus by accident and ended up in their village when I was supposed to be in Bali. Most of the foreign tourists coming here end up on Bali & Gili and they … More Indonesia Part 5: Attack of the Monkeys (Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa Islands 30/08/16-09/09/16)
After a day off in Yogyakarta I could leave with something resembling a plan. I would head north to the other side of Java and follow the coastal road east towards Bali. As the road headed north I could see Merapi looming to my left. My last visit to Yogykarta was in 2011, just a year … More Indonesia Part 4: Climbing Volcanoes in East Java (Yogyakarta to Banywuangi 24/08/16-30/08/16)
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)
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)
It was time for the last push to Australia. Leaving the glossy world of Singapore behind me I caught the boat for Pulau Batam – my first stop in Indonesia. On my last trip to South East Asia I made the same trip across the water, so I was prepared for the culture shock of … More Indonesia Part 1: Sailing into the Southern Hemisphere (Pulau Batam & South Sumatra 30/07/15-08/08/15)
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)
I’ll be honest. The only reason I took the boat over to Langkawi from Thailand was because I’d heard that the island was duty free. I’d also heard that booze was expensive in the rest of the country. That didn’t surprise me – Muslim countries have a habit of sticking a mean tax rate on … More Malaysia Part 1: 25,000km and Still Going Strong (Thailand to Klang 07/07/16-19/07/16)
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)
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)
JKB's Bike Ride 