Just like marathon runners might ‘hit the wall’, the same thing can happen to someone cycling around the world but rather than a physical wall, it is a mental one – indeed, most of the challenges cycling around the world are mental. By the time I entered Thailand I was tired of cycling; no matter […]
cycling around the world
Culture Shock in Thailand: Where did the adventure go?!
For the third time of the trip I had a culture shock crossing into Thailand. The first was in Bosnia, where it became clear I was no longer in Western Europe. Heck, it didn’t even feel like Europe any more. The second was flying to India. India is India, nothing prepares you for that. But […]
Across Myanmar in 24 (mostly illegal) sleeps!
Wild Camping in Myanmar What I did in Myanmar… it was crazy. You may say stupid, and perhaps you’d be right. Foreigners must stay in a hotel every night, and it must be specially licenced to accept foreigners, i.e. very expensive. That is the law. But I didn’t want to stay in expensive hotels; it […]
A difficult border crossing: Entering Myanmar from India
This blog post was first published in February 2017 but is regularly updated. Last edited: July 2018 I hate pointless bureaucracy. Officially, part of the clause of my Myanmar visa is that I have to exit from the same border I entered from. I don’t want to do this. I want to enter Myanmar from […]
Adventure and Misadventure in East Nepal
My time in Kathmandu was frustrating. I had been lucky to stay with some fun, easy-going guys for 10 days, and enjoyed the wealth of attractions the city boasts (7 UNESCO heritage sites), but my time was consumed by near-daily trips to embassies chasing up visas for India and Myanmar, instead of the intrepid hiking […]
Miracle in North India
There’s a theory called the six degrees of separation. If you took all your friends and acquaintances, and then all their friends and acquaintances, and then all their friends and acquaintances, and so on six times, you would know everyone in the whole world. That’s how tiny and connected our world is! Amazing huh? Well, […]
Cycling Southern India – Kanyakumari to Mumbai
I pedalled from mainland India’s southernmost point, Kanyakumari with no plan except to head north. Understandable, two weeks earlier I had been expecting to be in China by now. The past week I had contacted a handful of Indian friends and friends of friends asking where the most beautiful, ‘must-see’ places were. When they mentioned […]
Reaching India – Time to cycle again!
My last blog post, now nearly three months ago, made the shock announcement that after my Chinese visa had been denied cutting me off from progressing further east, I would be flying to India to resume my journey from there. The extended silence on my blog testifies to what a miraculous, intense and incredible experience […]
High Altitude Cycling on the Pamir Plateau: Alichur to Osh
My memories of cycling from Alichur to Osh are hazy. This section forms the ‘Pamir Plateau’; the road flattens out slightly but hovers around the 4,000 metre mark, except for the handful of times it climbs even higher, eventually peaking at 4,655 metres on the lung-bursting Ak-Baital pass, notorious amongst cyclists. Having ascended to the […]
Qalai-Khumb to Khorog: A stone’s throw from Afghanistan
Reaching Qalai-Khumb had been an exciting moment for two reasons; firstly, I had joined up with the main road again, and I couldn’t wait for the road to be paved once again. Secondly, I saw my first glimpse of the River Panj, which I would cycle beside for the next 500km. The significance of this […]