A Cambodian party..

The road changed from paved to unpaved. I was excited; this was the real work! However, this unpaved beginning was such a good strech compared to what came later..

Noooo, aaaah!! again I have to step off my bike because of a steering mistake. Manage to get on again despite almost standing still. But only for several meters. Ooooh, forgot to put my foot on the ground and I tumble down, straight in the dust. Grrrhhmm, this is making me agry! Uphill, road destroyed by heavy trucks and running water, loose rocks, gravel, sand and a beeping car behind me. "You'll wait mister" I think, and continue pushing my bike up, while my feet sometimes find grip in the dust, or just slip away. Pushing is so much harder then peddling, considering that I'm probably pushing some 65% of my own weight.
Those five days crossing the (still mined) Cardemom Mountains were hard, but definitely the best and most beautiful part of Cambodia.

During the first days in a new country, I like to notice differences between the new and the former country, just to emphasise that I've arrived in an other country. Upon entering Cambodia, the first big change was already clear; I almost bumped into a heavily loaded scooter, which I thought drove on the wrong side.. But no, it was me, driving on the wrong side. Apparently, Cambodians drive on the righthandside of the road, which I hadn't done for half a year. I was surprised that it took me several days to adapt to this again, although I've done this for (almost) 30 years. And still I prefer driving on the lefthandside, since somehow it seems more exotic to me.
Another obvious difference with Thailand was the spontanuous friendliness of the people, especially the children.

From everywhere I heard childrens voices yelling "Hello" again (though different from Indonesia, no Mister and less demanding). And many people spoke (at least some words) English. Considering that in Thailand, people warned me for the unfriendly thieves of Cambodia... (people warning me for their 'neighbours' while in the end they always turned out to be the most friendly already occured several times to me).
Other changes included the baguettes (yammie!), many scooters and less cars, churches (founded by Korean missioners), quite some English/international schools, people able to pronounce the R, dirty allday markets and especially many dirtroads. So much dust, you could not even see the sunset, since the sun dissappeard in the dust.

In the Thai bordertown I met Tom, a Lituanian cyclist. Together we drove into the beeping, smiling, dusty country of Cambodia. On the road we saw less farangs (except in Angkor Wat) and were joined by many children cycling to/from school, in their uniforms and with backpacks, but still cool enough to wear fancy hairdresses, phones and flirting with the opposite sexes. No matter where in the world you are, the youth acts everywhere the same :)

Long streches of dry nothingness with occasional small in-between tiny settlements with some houses/shops all selling the same few things (some cans of juice, crisps and sweets and small bags of shampoo/shaving gel).

At the end of the day, we found a place to put my tent and Toms hammock in such a settlement. Upon asking, people immediately agreed (as if everyday somebody asked this same question), offered us food (and whiskey) but further not even blinked in our direction.

After those dusty days in the mountains it was time to clean our bikes and ourselves (in that order of importance), once we hit the 21th century (or maybe more mid-20th century) world again. We met some cycling friends and together we drove to Phnom Phen. There, our routes seperated and while the rest is going up north, I'm waiting for my Vietnamese visa and get ready to dive into the beeping craziness of Vietnam.

Bam-bam-bam..!

Yeah, I could do it! 800 km in 6 days :). A different style of cycling then before, being on the road from 8 a.m. till sunset. But then, a new phase in my trip had indeed started; I had bought a tent and now I feel that I’ve really joined the ‘worldcyclistscene’ ;) Although some extra kgs, it feels really good to be flexible and selfsufficient.

I had a deadline for the first 800 km (Bangkok – Chiang Mai); 6 days until New Year. Which meant (for me) long days. Sometimes I longed for an easy day, but somehow I also found satisfaction in making such long days, and seeing that, despite the headwind (again...), I made quit some progress. Slowly I saw the landscape changing from rice fields (sometimes smogged because of all the ‘fertility’burnings), sugarcane-biofuel plantations (and accompanying trucks :( to more mountainous area.

Having reached CM, I headed back south again, since my parents would arrive there. Being less in a hurry, I could take the smaller roads through beautiful non-farang-visited areas. Dry, hilly areas, where the only income people could make was from some cows they had. However, in such areas people are the most friendly. I happily smiled and waved to everybody, having the feeling that I am so lucky I can experience this! Agreeing with one of my songs “Life is a journey, not a destination..”

Whenever I entered a colourful village market, I heard the buzzing of “farang, farang..”. (a sign to double the prices??). Everybody smiled happily to me and then continued rasping their papaya (salad), chitchatting with their neighbours.

On an early morning market visit, at 8.00 am sharp, the national hymn was played and everybody froze. I was surprised to see this happen, and it was so funny that I had a hard time to not burst out in laughter. After some minutes it was over, and everybody continued their normal way again.

Although not really common, I still tried to bargain. Sometimes this resulted in a kind of argument (especially with older women), in which half the market was taking part. And thanks to José, at least I never paid for a watermelon anymore ;)

In Ayuthaya, I was reunited with my parents, so nice to see them again after almost half a year! Together, we cycled for some days, before each went his own way again; they to Cambodia, I in this same direction, but on a somewhat slower pace.

Now, I’m spending my last days in Thailand the same way as I began here; at the beach. Only this time I pitched my tent J. I have spent almost 3 months in this nice and relaxing country, with people with a big, beautiful smile. After some 7500 km, I think I’m ready for some more ‘difficult’ countries; Cambodia and Laos; poorer, tougher, roads more wobbly, steeper, more authentic, ...??

Tropical dreams

Sawadeekah! I was wondering whether I would remember those few Thai words most important for a cyclist, from last year: "hello" "thank you" "water" "toilet" and "not spicy", and indeed I did :) So I could go on learning some other handy words: the numbers (so I can bargain, although the Thai apparently don't like this game) and "alone" (which in every country, the locals always ask, followed by "why are you not married or have a boyfriend" (you should ask the guys is my reply.. ;). After this, I gave up the effort to learn more Thai, since it is a tone language and trying to say "I don't eat chicken" could be understood as "I don't eat egg" (same word but different tone) and even the most simple dish I ordered (Pad Thai) is often not understood (only after repeating it many times in different tones, one person finally says "Oh, Pad Thai..." ad I think Yeah, that's what I said, not...??)
But with hand and feet, my Point It booklet, some Thai translations somebody wrote down and a big smile, I always manage to get what I needed (but not always what I intended :)

According to the books, the raining season should be over from November on. But literally, crossing the Thai border, it started raining. Still warm, but cloudy grey days, sometimes just drizzle, few heavy thunderstorms, but also some entire days with rain. However, the best thing you could actually do on such a day is cycling; once you are wet, there is nothing worse that can happen :)

Being tired of my 'race' through Malaysia, I planned to take some relaxing time in the south of Thailand. During three weeks I more or less parked my bike and enjoyed the beach, the relaxing atmosphere and the company of some really nice people; Finally chatting, enjoying and sharing again!
At Kho Lanta I joined Gerd on his scooter and together we explored the island, the local food and cosy beach bars. In Tonsai I enjoyed the relaxing, alternative climbers atmosphere and kayaked through beautiful seascapes.

At my last relaxing place, Koh Yao Noi, I visited some last year's friends, extending my stay every day with one day more, just because the laid back way of living in the hammocks of Nam Tuk was so addicting that I did not yet wanted to start cycling again (and why should I...?) Here, I also revived the thrill of climbing again, and with our Nam Tuk clan we explored the crags for several days.

My dream of the deserted tropical island came through when I kayaked with Oskar to Hong Island and stayed the night. Wow!! One of the best experiences ever, having our own private paradise, dancing in the moonlight on the beach!

After 3 relaxing weeks, the unrest to continue returned and I was ready to hit the road again. I met José, a spanish cyclist, also heading north. We rode together and chatted, had fun and shared beautiful moments. Through the most beautiful, stunning landscape of karsted limestone peaks we cycled towards Bangkok.

José introduced me to the possibility of sleeping in Buddhist temples. In the beginning, I was a bit hesitant, was this really possible? also for a woman? (as monks can not even touch women). But we were always welcomed and they seemed to already assume that we were looking for a place to sleep. Putting our mattress next to golden Buddha, sleeping in the serene atmosphere of a temple, is a special experience. Waking up by the 5/6 a.m. gong, hearing the beautiful chanting of the monks, put a big smile on my face, realizing where I am. 

Close to the border of Myanmar, we were forced to cross from west to east coast. The first real climb since several weeks made me sweat like hell.

But refusing to take a break (since getting started again on that steepsteep road is even harder), I make it and that feels good, oh yeah!! And again I realize that although hard working and 'suffering', cycling in the mountains I enjoy most!

Reaching the east coast, suddenly I'm facing the strong NE wind. Since I'm cycling more or less parallel to the railway, it is tempting to take the train. But no, that would be too easy...(I always can do that the next day...). So stubborn, I face my worst nightmare, pedaling for hours on end a slowly but steadily 16 km/h. And after 5 days (without taking any train :) I reach Bangkok. Who has ever said that cycling in this city is impossible? The contrary is true; you're way faster than cars or buses on a bicycle, able to crisscross through the traffic(jams). I enjoy this game :) (ignoring the fact that it probably is really unhealthy..)

Lying in the hammock on the rooftop terrace of the hostel, overlooking the river, I realize that I've reached my first destination of this trip: Bangkok. I always had in my head to go to Bangkok, more or less an obvious route from Indonesia on. From there, all options would be open, I could go anywhere. And here I was, in this destination, and what now?? Where should I head to, what would I choose as my next destination?

I have always said that I didn't want to stick too much to a certain plan, since I wanted to be flexible and change and join wherever and whoever I encountered. So I only made a short-term plan: that would be Chiang Mai, within one week, to celebrate New Year with Jan and Aoe. 

Thereafter, I will see what the new year will bring...

Desolate beach

Sunrise at a temple, loud Buddhist music adds to the mystic feeling

Not my way, but the Highway...

That's in general how I experienced Malaysia; Cycling Highways (although sometimes with motorbike lanes), too much traffic, endless palmoil plantations (they smell!) and heat!

However, I purposefully made the decision to take the busy and more boring west coast, instead of the more beautiful east coast, considering the amount of rain along the east coast. (Later on, I heard this was a wise decision, it turned out to be one of the wettest raining seasons in years and several eastern provinces were flooded)
The west coast did not receive so much rain, although almost every afternoon ended with a huge thunderstorm, luckily most of the times I already found shelter in a hotel. The raining season also brought the (humid) heath! Sometimes, when stepping off my bike (to pee, buy some fruit, ask for water of just waiting for a traffic light) I felt the sticky, thick blanket of heat. Thinking about doing something ridiculous as cycling in those temperatures seemed crazy :) However, to be on the bike was actually the best (coolest) thing you could do, since there always is some breeze (Although I must confess that cycling uphill through a narrow valley, with on my lefthand side a highway and righthand side trucks overtaking me slowly, exhausting black fumes, was not exactly nice, cool or healthy...)

My arms, face and shirt black of the exhaust of the cars and trucks

Apparently, the shade from the (still warm) truck is cooler then outside in the sun

In Malaysia, I notioned some changes compared to Indonesia, probably related to the different level of development: 1) the amount of cars relative to the amount of motorbikes, 2) womandrivers, 3) roads in perfect condition, 4) absence of fruit/vegetable markets, 5) toiletpaper and sitting toilets, 6) flat-like hotels instead of bungalows (implying carrying my bike up several stairs) and 7) fellow (local) cyclists. Some changes came in handy, but most of the time I missed the charme of underdevelopment when I saw the so manyth KFC or Pizzahut. And instead of the "picture Mister" I heard the more modern version "Can I add you on facebook?".

Although the roads and the landscape were not really something special, the people I met make me remember this country!
To begin with, it was really handy that everybody spoke English (being, apart from Chinese and Malay, the third national language). I was surprised the hear Chinese and Malay inhabitants speak in English to each other.
I stayed at several warmshowerhosts. All of them welcomed my with such warm hospitality, offering me a (preferably cold) shower, bed and food. But the best thing was that I had somebody to chat with (as a talkative person, that's maybe what I miss most, cycling alone :). They introduced me to their country and own specific culture. In Klang, there was Keat, a Chinese Malaysian. Together we cycled into the Cameron Highlands (the most beautiful part of Malaysia that I've seen) and he let me taste the Chinese hotpot.

Tea plantations

Then there was the David, who picked me up from Penang where I was stuck because of Thai-visa-waiting-time. David likes to host cyclists so much, that he even has spies along the road, calling him when they spot a cyclist. Being an Indian Malaysian, he took me to an Indian wedding and showed me the most delicious Indian (vegetarian) food.

Just when I thought hospitality had reached its utmost point, I arrived at the bicycle shop of father&son Muhammed. They not only let me sleep in their bikeshop, but also repaired my bike for free! Wow!! No wonder that they already hosted 80 other cyclists within one year.

Father and son Muhammed

With my Thai visa in the pocket, I continued north, towards Thailand. Looking forward to cycle something else then flat, boring roads, to relax at some tropical islands having some company of some other tourists again and finally my loving (fruit)markets :)

A personal touch to the street art in Penang

The other tourists also wanted such a picture..

Hello Mister, Mister, Mister...

In my previous blog I wrote that i expected Sumatra to be local and a complete different adventure from Bali and Lombok. Well, it certainly was! I had thought that I couldn't hear more 'Hello Misters' then in Sumbawa, but it was possible... Youngsters on scooters, overtaking me, driving next to me, stopping to overtake me again, only to get a glimpse of me, a smile, or if they were lucky a 'Hello' (I made the intention to only say hello to those who called me Miss instead of Mister, which decreased my replies with 95%). The word 'selfie' even protruted the dark jungle of Sumatra, so the daring ones asked for a selfie. Sometimes I succumbed and let them take the selfie (which never was a actual selfie, since friend B had to take the picture of friends A, C, D and me, and then friend A took a picture with friend BCD, etc.) But also many 'thumbs up' which gave me some power to continue.

some of the 'lucky ones'; the girls had the day of their lifes

But it was the most beautiful route so far! Started in the sticky, hot Padang, up the mountains riding the Trans-Sumatra highway (which was mostly just a small road, sometimes not even paved, with not too much traffic). Through the jungle with its monkeys and tiny settlements, with every so often a larger town that had a (crappy) hotel where I could sleep. Since i was depending on those hotels, there were some long, long days (110 / 130 km; 8-10 h). But I always made it and cycling through the mountains I enjoy most!
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I crossed the equator (I almost missed it) and continued on the northern hemisphere (felt more familiar suddenly :)

I just crossed the equator..

I noticed a gradient change, from mosques prayer calls to church clocks. Suddenly, also the first Bintangs (beer) and babi pangang (pork) were available, girls wearing shorts and no headscarfs and evenings filled with singing & guitar playing locals. In this Muslim country I had entered the area of the Christian Batak people.

At lake Toba I had some 'rest' days (during one I challenged the record of cycling around the island (7.30h); it took me 1h more..). My actual plan was to continue further north, before heading to Medan. Unfortunately, erupting Mt Sinabung blocked the way..

Mt Sinabung

So I decided to go straight to Medan, back to sealevel and the sticky heat. So hot that the only thing I could do when arrived is taking a cold, splashy, mandi (kind of local shower) and lie naked on the bed, while the fan was blowing over.

After 2,5 months, I left Indonesia. I really loved that country, with so many different faces. The country of the Hello Misters, the spicy GadoGado, the surfing and surfdudes, vulcanos, delicious fruits, and so much more.. Would it be that it was the first country of this trip? But now I feel that I will definitely come back! Sampa Jumpa!

Then I entered Singapore, such a different world; western, white people, english, expensive, cars, airconditioning.

Also a city can have a nice silhouette during sunset

I felt more at home in Chinatown and little India then I did in Orchard Rd with its many malls. But also the hometown of Isaac, who I met in Bali and who invited me to stay at his place :). He showed me around, let me try the multicultural diversity of delicious food and gave me a home for some days.


Today, I arrived in Malaysia. First impression: many cars, highways and way more developed then I had expected it to be. But also many familiar words and be able to speak some (little) Indonesian again (similar to Ｍalaysian). So let's see how the rest of the country will be...

girls walking home from school, preferably barefoot

they do learn English at school, but they're to shy to speak

my diary

some people use their mandi for other purposes...

bike ready for transport :)

Lombok 1,5x round and northern Bali

Since I met a lot of people here, who also asked whether I wrote some stories, I will start writing in English. For the dutch translation, you probably should scroll a bit down (voor mn verhaaltje in het NL, omlaag scrollen)


[EN]
Once in several weeks, my stomach protests against the (local) food, as it did last night. Nothing special, except that it makes me feel too weak to cycle. Having a forced "rest day" n a tiny village with nothing else to do, it makes a perfect timing to update my blog with some new stories...
Somehow, approximately a month ago, exactly the same thing happened. So I will start from there on.

Although I did not cycle much during this month, I took some other challenges (as doing nothing and being lazy is not my thing :)
I climbed mount Rinjani (app. 3750 m), which was really a nice experience of hiking, camping, too many resting (and waiting), aching mussles and an amazing sunrise at the summit! (Pictures will follow..)
Since I had no money left, and there was no ATM, I had to step on my bike again the day after we descended (aaauw!!) I spent two nights at Gili Air (again) to take some rest and celebrate my birthday.
Thereafter, my intentional plan had been to cross to Bali and cycle the north coast. But a good thing about travelling alone is that you can change plans any time you want, so 1h before the boat departed, I changed my mind and ended up at a small boat taking me back to the mainland of Lombok again, instead of heading to Bali.
Cycled to Mataram (for the 2nd time) to extend my Visa (with the help of my local sponsor Munawir :).
In Kuta Lombok, I waited for my Visa to be ready and meanwhile took some surflessons (since in the end, I could not stand having visited one of the most famous surfcountries and did not even try it myself). At the beautiful bay of Selon Blanak

Selon Blanak, at sunset when all surfers have returned to Kuta

I stood for the first time on my board. And this feeling it gave me (woehoe!!) became a bit addictive. So I ended up spending 1,5 week in Kuta Lombok, a relaxing place where I met so many nice people, surfing almsot every day (with varying successes..) After those days, my arms and skin were so sore, and a lot of people I met also left again, that I got the feeling that it was time for me to leave as well.

So I picked up my old plan, crossed to Bali and headed towards the north coast. It felt good to be on the road again and to discover new places and new people!
So here I ended up in this mountain village of Munduk, with a beautiful view to both west (slopes dotted with tiny villages and rice fields with in the very end the ocean) and east (green jungled hills and in the distance peaks the vulcano, my route for tomorrow..) Those last two days of cycling in the mountains have probably been the most beautiful and rewarding days of my trip untill now! Cycling uphill (langsam, langsam), taking smaller roads with not too much traffic, time to watch the scenery (of ricefields and kopie (luwak) plantations) pass by, with everywhere the scent of clove (which, as nutmeg and cinnamon) the Balinese themselves actually dont use, but only grow for export (to e.g. Belanda (Holland)).

My plans for the next days will be to continue to south Bali, surf there as well for several days, and then fly to Sumatra. Probably a challenging and much more local experience.. Let`s see!

Rough, grey pebbled beaches

Ricefields, greener then green

What else do you need to be happy?

Sunset at Lovina

The way I try to learn some Bahasa Indonesia..

Climbing those vulcano`s in prospect

[NL]
Om de paar weken protesteerd mn maag tegen het (lokale) eten hier, zoals ook afgelopen nacht gebeurde. Niets ernstigs, maar daardoor voel ik wel te slapjes om te fietsen. Aangezien ik nu dus een gedwongen rustdag heb in een klein dorpje met niets anders te doen, is dit dus een goed moment om mn verhalen weer eens te updaten.
Op de een of andere manier gebeurde precies hetzelfde ongeveer een maand geleden (waardoor ik mn vorige verhaaltje schreef). Hoewel ik niet veel gefietst heb afgelopen maand, heb ik me wel aan wat andere uitdagingen gewaagd (aangezien ik echt niet niets kan doen..)
Ik heb de Rinjani beklommen (ong. 3750 m), wat een mooie ervaring was, wandelen, kamperen, heel veel wachten en `rusten`, pijnlijke beenspieren en een prachtige zonsopkomst op de top! (Fotos volgen..).
Aangezien ik geen rupiahs meer had en er ook nergens een pinautomaat was, was ik gedwongen de dag na terugkomst alweer op de fiets te stappen (aaauw!!) Ik fietste naar Gili air (2e keer), waar ik wat rust nam en mn verjaardag vierde.
Mn oorspronkelijke plan was over te steken naar Bali en langs de noordkust te fietsen. Maar een van de mooie dingen van alleen reizen is dat je op elk moment je plannen kunt wijzigen. Dus een uur voordat mn eigenlijke boot vertrok, besloot ik toch naar Lombok te gaan, en stapt ik op n klein bootje wat me weer naar het vaste land van Lombok bracht.
Voor de 2e keer fietste ik naar Mataram, om daar mn Visum te verlengen. De wachtdagen bracht ik door in Kuta Lombok, om toch eens wat te surfen (ik kon toch niet een aantal maanden reizen in een vd beroemste surflanden en het niet eens zelf geprobeerd hebben..) In de mooie baai van Selon Blanak lukte het me voor het eerst n golg te nemen en te blijven staan op mn bord, wauw, wat een gevoel, joehoe!! Nu snap ik de verslaving wel een beetje van de surfers. Uiteindelijk heb ik 1,5 week in Kuta Lombok doorgebracht, een relaxte plek met fijne mensen, bijna elke dag surfend (met wisselende successen).
Na die dagen voelden mn armen en huid zo pijnlijk, en waren veel mensen die ik ontmoet had ook weer vertrokken, dat ik het gevoel kreeg dat het ook voor mij tijd was om verder te gaan.

Dus hervatte ik mn oude plan en stak over naar Bali, richting noordkust.
Ja, en het voelde erg goed om weer op weg te zijn, weer nieuwe plekken en mensen te ontdekken!
Dus hier zit ik nu, in dit kleine bergdorpje genaamd Munduk, met een prachtig uitzicht zowel richting west (hellingen met kleine dorpjes en rijstvelden, met an de horizon de zee) als oost (groene bergen met jungle en in de verte de vulkaan, mijn route voor morgen..)

De laatste twee dagen fietsen waren misschien wel de mooiste en meest voldoenende tot nu toe! Langsam, langsam bergop, kleinere weggetjes met minder verkeer, tijd om om me heen te kijken en te genieten van het landschap (rijstvelden en kopie(Luwak) plantages, en overal de geur van kruidnagel die me tegemoet komt. (Vreemd genoeg gebruiken de Balinezen zelf geen kruidnagel, en evenmin nootmuskaat en kaneel, maar verbouwen ze het overal, voor de export (naar vnl Belanda (NL))

Mijn plan voor de komende dagen is om naar zuid Bali te fietsen, hier ook weer een paar dagen te surfen, en dan naar Sumatra te vliegen.
Waarschijnlijk een stuk avontuurlijker en meer local... Ben benieuwd!