Asia to Alba

Some nights I'm so tired that I just don't give a s**t. I don't care too much about shelter, seclusion, or comfort... last night was one of those nights.
Underneath a bridge somewhere on the outskirts of Bangkok

6 DAYS - AFRICA
I'm in Bangkok now after a short-lived time in Laos. I was mainly around Vientiane and Budha Park, I'm sure the countryside of Laos is beautiful, and I would've loved to cycle throughout the mountains. However, my time in Vientiane was pretty lousy - I had my first case of theft so far, someone stole my Cycle Computer... I'm most disappointed because it was only the Trip Computer Display and they didnt even take the magnet attached to the spoke, or the reader attached to the fork... both of which are required to relay the information to the computer. Therefore, I assume it wasn't taken by a fellow cyclist - that annoys me, because it most likely won't even be getting used now... first bad experience in 60 days though isn't too bad.

From Laos, I crossed back over the Mekong to Thailand via Nhon Kai and cycled South to Udon Thani. By the time I arrived, I had just missed the last train to Bangkok. So, I cycled around the city and bought a kilogram of Jackfruit - I'd been craving it for weeks! A couple hours later and 1kg heavier, I cycled back to the Station and went about setting up a makeshift bed in the train station for the night.

The next morning I caught the train to Saraburi, a town about 100km Northeast of Bangkok. I stopped there because by the time the train arrived at the station, I had drank a couple coffees and was eager to put in a big cycle into the city. As usual, the entry to Bangkok was stressful and immediately regretted. But, there is something thrilling about cycling between traffic and keeping pace with scooters and motorbikes.

I checked into the cheapest hostel I could find, at $3 per night, it's not much... it's barely anything, but at least I can sleep in a bed and not on a floor.

The past 2 days here in Bangkok have been spent walking around aimlessly - the traveller wishing not to spend money, and simply pass time will know this daily routine all too well. Wake up late to skip breakfast, walk for hours to stray from boredom, return exhausted to sleep before hunger kicks in... and repeat. Monotonous and time-wasting was what I decided this activity was this morning...

I am the first to acknowledge that I will likely miss the comforts and relative easy lifestyle of Asia, when in Africa. So, I reminded myself to smile and view a city I've frequented no fewer than 3 times in 2 months with virgin eyes. This newfound enthusiasm led me to walk away from the main roads until I was about to cross a bridge over one of the 1000's of canals throughout Bangkok. At the crest of the bridge I noticed a thin strip of concrete about 1m wide at either side of the canals... I decided to jump down to the canals and get lost somewhere; I passed makeshift houses for those without homes, shanty-huts selling questionable fish skewers, and anglers squatting along the canal drinking Lao Cai and laughing at the rare Farang.

I eventually headed back to the hostel via a road I hadn't been on before and walked past a Fishing Shop. I've grown up with a Dad and Grandfather who love fishing, I've been taken fishing many times too.. but never was that interested. However, wandering through the canals and seeing the Thai's drinking rice wine and fishing must've subconsciously interested me... I entered the shop, and 2 minutes later exitted with a $7 telescopic rod and a $1 lure.

I figure, if I'm going to be stuck in a city I've been to many times before, it's important that I do something new to remain stimulated - Fishing in Bangkok... yep, I know the water is probably toxic, I know the fish probably shouldn't be eaten, and I know it's a weird thing to do whilst in the city... but cycling around the world is pretty weird too 😅

The best part is... the rod folds into a pole no larger than my forearm which makes it possible to travel with - only problem is, I'm flying to the Sahara. Ah well, could be a novelty to trade!

AFRICA - 10 DAYS

So, as I've said - I arrived in Vientiane, Laos with the hope of acquiring the required Chinese Visa that would enable me to cycle across China and onto Central Asia. UNABLE TO ACQUIRE at present due to Chinese New Year restricting Embassy hours and Visa output... I could wait until AFTER January 25 and reapply, however 8 days + 5 for Visa (13 days in Vientiane is NOT for me). So... I made the call.

I have wanted to experience Africa since I watched Lion King and sung my little lungs out as a child. I've been intrigued by the diverse continent through books by Theroux, Coehlo, and J. Conrad. I could list countless reasons why I wish to go... but, who am I trying to convince..? I've already been sold for years.

I will be flying into Nouakchott, Mauritania on January 28. I plan on cycling south to Senegal and The Gambia, before looping around and heading North back through Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco and eventually find myself in Spain.

I am aware it is not as "safe" as Southeast Asia, but the specific challenges and triumphs that breathe life into my soul rarely exist within the comfort of safety.
I am aware that the Australian Government advises against all travel there, but, that advisory to me... a curious young man in LOVE with new experiences... is just a fishing net that traps the majority of weak swimmers in a cocoon of stagnant growth, the strong and willing break through the net, and, I believe are rewarded with preserved cultures and vast emptiness...Free from the comforts demanded from the comfortable.

The longest train in the world, the Iron Ore train. The 2nd largest monolith on earth. The Eye of the Sahara... are just 3 of the things I'm looking forward to experiencing in Mauritania.

So, 10 days until I drop myself in the middle of the adventure I have been living in my head... to towns off maps, and cultures lost to time

Vientiane is reminiscent of French colonial dream cities - they are not for me.

I came here for a Chinese Visa and that's not what I got. Instead, I got confused with opposite road directions, confused by being a millionaire in Kip, annoyed at English/Lao food menus with 100% price differences, homesick for Suki Haeng in Thailand, and generally pi**ed off at the scale of Chinese development throughout the region.

My China vendetta runs deep. If I hear another person say Xie Xie instead of Khob Chai, I will be forced to swim back across the Mekong to Thailand.

In other news, my time in Asia is drawing to an end. It has been comfortable and enjoyable, as it always is. But, the adventure in my head has not been fulfilled here, fortunately I am in a position to relocate and continue the journey from a new destination, country, and continent!

So, for the next 12-days I have the utmost pleasure in leisurely cycling in a low gear around Laos - smelling the roses. For I know that in a little less than two weeks, I will be smelling famine, war, disease, poor sanitation, and "hell on earth"... well, that's what the Western media tell me anyway!?

COUNTDOWN -12 DAYS before I depart Asia.
I told myself, I dont like the cold, so I'll go to a desert...

MZUNGU MJINGA HUKO NOUAKCHOTT

Xie Xie, Zàijiàn... I joke.
Khob Chai, and La Kon!

54 days and 3,600km later... I exit Thailand via Nong Kai and enter into Vientiane, Laos.
This is a lot of information, so I'll write it as concise as possible.
The period from 1st January to 14th January was spent regaining momentum, confidence, and belief that I actually was capable of this journey... as well as, that I actually wanted to be doing it.
I spent the duration of this time at a Permaculture farm in Ban Pong, Trat in Eastern Thailand.

The tasks were largely varied to what I anticipated. I thought I'd be picking fruit and planting trees. Instead, I was building walls and Chicken coups, digging trenches, scything fields, paddling rivers, attending village markets, and forging family bonds with Kwan and his mother.

I value my time spent on the farm for teaching me selfless work, questioning my own wants versus needs, and patience - stopping to smell the roses *or mint, in this case.

On the 14th of January, I began cycling the 380km toward Bangkok via some camp spots along the way. I got to Chanthaburi and thought to check the bus schedule, it was 13:28... just my luck; a bus to Bangkok leaving at 13:30... 4-days of cycling became 4-hours on a bus. I was dropped at the Ekkamai Depot nearby to Lumphini and did a 40km/h cycle through heavy Bangkok traffic with no bike lights (words don't do the experience justice - it was wild) toward the main station of Hua Lamphong. I arrived dripping in sweat at 20:36, I cycled to the ticket agent and... just my luck... bought a ticket to Nong Kai departing at 20:45.

I woke up at 5am in a horizontal L-shape bent at the hips sprawled across an empty row of 4 seats, covered in dust from a cracked window of my "Rapid" train bound for the Lao border.
As I looked out at the noticeable changes in landscape, and air quality (heavy haze at this time of year), I realised that in 24 hours I had covered nearly 1,200km from the border with Cambodia, to the border of Laos via Bangkok...

If I didn't wax Kwan's stairs in the morning of the 14th, if I didn't stop to get internet at 7/11, if I didn't (at the time) reluctantly chat with that Thai guy offering peanuts in the carpark, if I didn't run those red lights cycling down Sukhumvit... it was 24 hours where life wanted me to succeed!

Now, if only my update from Laos followed the same tone... the post is getting long and I know I've lost the interest of many already, I'll write a shorter post soon. But, here is a clue...
In 2019, I began the new year held in a Transit Detention Centre in Beijing Airport - this is where my Personal Vendetta with the Chinese Government began.

Now, in 2020... it strikes again - it ain't CHINEZY, but I AFRICAN'T give up!

From Christmas until today... Kyle and I have had a wild ride - here's a summary of it all!

Big Post.

Update on the past 7 days
7 days ago - hiking up mountains, exploring canyons, chasing waterfalls in Pai... to be honest, I had a 4-paragraph long post about my thought on Pai; it wasn't positive. But I thought - what's the point? The reasons for my negativity are subjective, and not universal. So, why brandish a whole region negatively because of one tired and hungry man's experience. So, let me say this - Pai is actually great. The canyon is an ecological wonder, the amount of hot springs makes you question what's underneath, the jagged Karst cliffs are mind-boggling, the flowers in bloom... I know nothing of flowers, but I think I know colours; yellows, reds, purples... everywhere in bloom! Pai was great, and the hill climb out at 3am in pitch black and mist so thick it soaked like rain, that made it all the sweeter!

6-5 days ago - arrived back into Chiang Mai to get some repairs done on my bike. I had a crazy experience losing both front & rear brakes after downhilling the Mae Hong Son Loop - burnt out the pads completely. After inspecting the bike, I learnt there was a bit more to be done than I thought (frame-wise). So, I took the opportunity to reward myself for Christmas with a new frame! I contacted Nu (Pnug) at Triple Cats Cycle in Chiang Mai and explained the situation, making sure to note I wanted to salvage as much of my current bike as possible - especially, the pedals (If I don't make it home, rest assured, those pedals will - very special). Nu understood what I was after and within a couple days had stripped my previous-XDS and installed all possible parts to my new Surly Disc Trucker. The bike can be raved about to the manufacturer, but the friendship and service from Nu was amazing. He taught me a lot, saved me a lot, and if it wasn't for Nu's recommendation to visit Samoeng... I wouldn't of had the pleasure of meeting Nop and the Karen family out in Wat Chan!...
It's funny how connected everything is.

4 days ago - I got the message from Nu to pick up my bike, I ran there (literally, across Chiang Mai) at 8am to arrive for 9am on the dot. The bike was ready. Nu and his wife had worked through the night to complete it for me as they knew I had to be in Bangkok in a matter of days. So, 9am I picked up the bike and by 12pm I was on my way to Bangkok. I met a fellow cyclist with the exact same frame as I - Nok! The similarities didn't stop there, after chatting for some time, we asked each other "what's your job?" - he revealed that he works for Thai Airlines as an Aircraft Inspector, I laughed and told him of my previous role at Virgin Australia. What could've been a brief "nice bike" 2-min chat turned into an hour-long discussion of everything from Bike Routes, to Aircraft Faults... Nok made it very clear that he was eager to cycle a leg with me, possibly in Laos - I really hope that comes to fruition!

3 days ago - I arrived into Nakhon Sawan at about 2am after a (sorry) fu***ng mammoth journey. Sleep deprived, exhausted, disorientated and something I'm noticing a lot now - swollen eyes. I find it funny though how we as humans are creatures of habit... it was only 2 weeks ago that I had camped out in Nakhon Sawan station on my cycle north. This time, it proved to be my home away from home again, and this time... those sketchy characters fighting, shouting and barking... were all just lullabies to soothe me to sleep.

2 days ago - I cycled for 14 hours with a 1 hour break from Nakhon Sawan to Ayuttaha. It was big. Really big! The heat was relentless by 10am and didn't drop below 35°C until late afternoon. One thing I noticed was how hot my legs were from the freshly tarred roads that absorbed so much heat. The ride along the AH1 which is the main Highway South-North through Thailand was extremely boring. No corners and relatively smooth roads, did however, give me the opportunity to find equilibrium in cadence quickly, and maintain it. I actually recall thinking at one stage "it's less effort to continue peddaling, rather than stopping and starting again". I finally stopped at about 6pm at 7/11 to get some WIFI, I learnt that I was 60km out of Bangkok, had 1 hour of sunlight, and was exhausted. I conceded defeat and blew up my Air Mattress on the side of the Highway in one of the many Roadside Huts found along the AH1 in Thailand - no walls, no doors, no light... But at least a roof! It was a terrible sleep; trucks fond of Air-braking (and that loud sound that comes with it) raced past all night, that and the dogs... f**k I hate Asian dogs. When the sun goes down, that Chihuaha belonging to a little girl becomes a Werewolf hell-bent on attacking anyone or thing. Well, I've had my fair share of encounters now and know better than to run, be fearful, or be unarmed. So, I slept... with one eye open, a handful of rocks ready, and a bamboo pole by my foot. I won't go into details, but the dogs did not win this time.

Yesterday - Angrily packed my mattress at about 4:30am after the final hour of sleep had been spent intermittently warding off hungry dogs approaching my bike. I began cycling the final 60km toward Bangkok. It was apparent the Capital was close-by, suddenly 5-lanes of traffic was insufficient and traffic jams began 20km outside of the city. My average km/h dropped from approx. 20 down to 10 as I spent my morning weaving in and out of gridlock. As I got to the Don Mueng Airport the HWY split into 2, an elevated toll road that bypassed the city, and a ground-level decaying road... I took the low-road. That final 15km from DMK Airport into Bangkok killed me! Really, it did. I was cramping in my palms from holding the handlebars for the past 3 days and 680km of riding, my feet were cramping from the pedals, my stomach had been cramped for 5 hours of riding and it was only when I stretched upright at a red light did I realise it and felt the muscles in my stomach stretch, followed by real pain. My eyes were watering and nose had blood dripping from one nostril. I was a sight for sore eyes. Unfortunately, this was the period where I was in regular street traffic and off the main HWY, so red lights were frequent and motorists would pull up beside me and see this Farang that looked as if he was crying and had blood dripping from his nose... I apologise! There was some reprieve though to the pain - I passed by the Royal Thai Airforce Museum, I only know this because as I was riding I was consumed by 4 large shadows from above me... I looked up to see 4 full-size aircraft that had been fixed to large steel beams pointing nose toward the sky as a permanent sculpture... I was so disorientated that it took me a couple minutes to actually grasp what my eyes were seeing. Especially as they'd been playing tricks on my the past 48 hrs (my depth perception was wack after only looking at rising and falling knees, I had attempted to grab a coffee cup that morning and stopped 5cm short of the actual cup). But, sure enough it was real! That little moment of childhood fascination was enough to rip me out of from the world of hurt I'd been in, and give me my final wind. I arrived into Bangkok after 50 hours, 37 hours riding, 680km, 16 coffee sachets, and a mind that had thought of every possible human thought. I sat at my trusty 7/11 for free WiFi and bought some Jackfruit from a loudly-sneezing old lady who made me deliriously laugh each time she sneezed as her whole body curled and rocked. My first thing to do with WIFI... a hotel. Not a hostel, not a Couchsurfer, definitely not a highway hut... a hotel! I spent the best $32 on an old luxury hotel from the 1970's - my TV is a box and the aircon is controlled by a swivel-switch nailed into a wall. But, it has a bath! Can you imagine the smile on my face as I napped in a warm bath after the onslaught I'd been through the previous 3 days.

Today - Why did I go from Chiang Mai to Bangkok? Why did I push myself so hard? What's the point?
Well, I wouldn't do that distance in that time for anyTHING. But, I would for someone* (It would have been for two, however we are one troop down now).
Kyle arrives into Bangkok tomorrow at 19:00 from Colombo. Christmas Eve, picking up my younger brother from the Airport with a well-earnt drink in hand for us! THAT is why I travelled so far.
The only thing that motivated me to continue cycling was the fact I'd be with my brother in a matter of days, and we would continue the cycle toward Laos, and then China... although, the bikes can wait for a couple days. I just want to put my feet up, have a drink and catch-up with Kyle.

*Important thing to note -
Ryan Pollard is unwell, he's been diagnosed with Dengue Fever over in Sri Lanka. He's returning to Australia to recover, the medical attention he got in Sri Lanka was never going to be sufficient when he has a time-limit in the country, a communication barrier, and is far from his own pillow. As I have said to Rizz, I would've loved to see him, but would've hated to see him in the condition he is in. We'll only be a phone call away, and will always be 1 troop down until he returns.

Wat Chan
A very special place.
I got taken in by a local Karen family. They drove me to a local village in the Mae Hong Son province. They shared copious amounts of Lao Khao. I met brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, cousins, parents, and grandparents. I attended a local Karen festival that night. I watched Muay Thai, the Miss Karen Beauty Pageant, tossed rings and threw darts at balloons for prizes. Laughed, smiled, drank, and ate my way through the best 24 hours of the journey thus far.
After sleeping at Nop's home, the family drove me and my bike to Pai (My brakes had completely failed). However, along the way, there were a few more surprises. We drove to Nop's uncles home just outside of Wat Chan, it was there I was gifted a traditionally handmade Karen shirt. I would say the pattern looks similar to that of a Scottish kilt - I was really moved by this.
We kept driving to Pai and along the way stopped to boil eggs over a hot spring, that was not all. As we were waiting for the eggs to boil, we heard some laughing, screaming, and saw two men running whilst slapping at themselves... what!? Nop returned with another man holding... a beehive, a bee hive! We broke off parts and each tasted the Amber Gold. Never in my life have I tasted something so sweet, and addictive - pure sugar at its most natural?
It was a sad goodbye with my newly-formed family.