(Tldr; the north of Vietnam is nice, Corona virus made us fly back home.) Cycling without bags felt like flying. We could pedal what felt like endlessly uphill without having to pause and rest our legs or our lungs. We were so happy with our decision to leave most of our gear behind and to … Continue reading Cycling in the time of Corona
Author: Sarah Crowley
South East Asia Syndrome
Over the last 8 days we had covered 700km. It was the largest distance we had pedaled in the shortest number of days over the whole trip. Although the roads had been entirely flat, the last few had been in the company of a ferocious headwind. Our bodies, brains and bums were in need of … Continue reading South East Asia Syndrome
A tour of 7-11s
If cycling in Laos was like the holiday we always needed, Thailand was like being in a spa. There was a sauna included every day and cold showers were never too far away either, which was a good thing as Thailand is surely the country where we felt the stickiest, dustiest and grossest after just … Continue reading A tour of 7-11s
Cyclists’ Christmas
After overcoming the confusion of being on the left hand side of the road, the first thing we did after crossing into Thailand was to head for the train station. It was Dec 20 and we were due to meet our Dutchie cycling pals for Christmas just south of Bangkok. There was no way that … Continue reading Cyclists’ Christmas
Review: LOMO 20l dry bag
Throughout the last year of our trip, we cycled through relatively remote regions in Central Asia and hugely populated ones in Iran, China and Southeast Asia. Sometimes we carried enough food for five days, in the wild valleys of Kyrgystan, and at other times we just had a few apples and peanuts stashed in our … Continue reading Review: LOMO 20l dry bag
A border dash with a hiccup
From Shangri-La our plans were dictated by the number of days remaining on our Chinese visa (and also our desire to meet our favourite cycling Dutchies in time for Christmas =)). We had more than 1000km to cover in just over 14 days. Given that the terrain was relatively flat (in comparison to our previous … Continue reading A border dash with a hiccup
Mei yo!
Despite our excitement, the first few days of cycling in China were undeniably difficult. Funny and interesting, but also incredibly frustrating! We seemed to face a wall of "mei-yo"s, aka "don't have". Sim card, money exchange, petrol for our stove? Mei-yo, mei-yo, mei-yo. All asked in conventional places: mobile phone shops, banks and petrol stations. … Continue reading Mei yo!
Home is where…
Just a little update for everyone concerning our whereabouts in light of the crazy state of the world right now. The past week has been an emotional rollercoaster for us. With days ticking on our Vietnam visa, chaos unfolding in Europe and borders closing all around us, our plans changed so many times in the … Continue reading Home is where…
Chhhiiiinnnaaaaa!
It was fair to say that we were both excited about entering China. We had applied for the visa months ago, when we were in Tehran, but now it was actually happening. As we kept excitedly exclaiming to one another as we cycled towards the border: "we're going to China!!". China felt far away from … Continue reading Chhhiiiinnnaaaaa!
Kyrgyzstan – from lake to lake through beautiful valleys
Like Tajikistan, there were few route options in Kyrgyzstan - take the main road to Bishkek and around Issykul lake or stay on gravel roads in the mountainous interior of the country. Given that we knew we would already be making a stop in Almaty- Kazakhstan, we decided we didn't need, or want, a second … Continue reading Kyrgyzstan – from lake to lake through beautiful valleys