I first went to Europe in the summer of
88 with a school friend of mine. That
left me with such a lasting impressions
that when I went back to Canada, I was
changed for life. My grades from college
went from good to not so good because
all I could think of was to get back to
Europe. A few years later, I went back
to Europe in 91. The second time around
wasn't so exciting. The feeling of
discovery was gone. I was hitching from
Berlin to London. I got picked up and
was offer a job in Munich. After 2
months, I was getting tired. I was
making my way to London to go somewhere.
While I was in Stuttgart, I ran into
another acquaintance from South Africa.
Through him, I ended up working in
Germany for 2 years. Basically, that
financed the trip to 96.
While I was traveling in China, I met
this interesting person that bought a
cheap bike in Tibet and bought all
locally made equipment and cycle his way
out of Tibet into China. I was so
impressed that I wanted to try it
myself. I had a friend that was working
in Shanghai that bought a half decent
mountain bike. So I just bought a bunch
of equipment for that bike and took off
with it. Traveling with a bike has been
fantastic so far. It is a healthy way to
explore, plus the fact you can make
connections with the locals so easily.
The pictures from 88 to 96 are all
scanned from scratchy photos and
negatives. They were taking way too long
to fixed. So, for better or worse, they
are what they are. I didn't have an
appreciation for photography back then
as I do now. I spend a total of 15
minutes at Taj Mahal. I went in, took a
couple of photos and I was gone. I hope
when I leave for the next trip I will
have even better photos than Africa.
My most memorable moment has to be when
I rode up to
Everest Basecamp
in Tibet. I can't wait to get back to
the Himalayas.
India
is just one of those place you either
love or hate. I belong to the later
group. Yet, India remained one of my
favourite destination. It is an
experience to be in India, very much
similar to Africa.
Nepal
has a special place in my heart. Such
amazing, friendly and tolerant people.
And so much to see in such a small area.
And there are not a better bargain
anywhere on earth.
After 7 years of pain and suffering. On Sep
25/2003, I left
Canada
to start on my first leg of my journey. I
had a vague idea of what I wanted to do. But
my attitude was and still is. I take
everything as it comes. I wanted to ride
from Edmonton To Ushuaia and then perhaps
back to Vancouver. I really didn't know.
Then after that, I would have to decide if I
wanted to go to Asia again or Africa. But
things didn't work out the way I had
intended.
Fast forward to the present. My latest plan
is to go to Africa sometime early in 2005.
Then ride from Morocco to Cape Town and then
ride up the East Coast of Africa to Egypt.
Then on through the Middle East into Asia
and make my way down to Australia. That's
about it for now. Of course, I am very
flexible and my plans changes quite often.
Somewhere along the way, I like to fit a
Trans-Siberia trip in there.
To
my upper right is the route for my trip in South
America. I flew into Lima from Vancouver.
Then I rode south from Lima along the Andes
to Ushuaia. Then from Ushuaia, I rode up on
the east coast to Olinda in Brazil. I had to
take the bus a few times for various
reasons. Along the way, I was in places such
as
Machu Picchu,
Lago Titicaca,
Salar Uyuni,
Carretera Austral,
Fitz Roy,
Perito Moreno,
Torres Del Paine,
Ushuaia,
Foz Do Iguaçu,
Reserva Estero Del
Ibera,
The Pantanal......etc.
Africa
After about 1 year in
Switzerland, it was time to go to Africa. So
I flew down to Cape Town on March 30, 2005.
Africa is an amazing place. There was never
a dull moment. Of all the countries, I would
have to say Ethiopia was my favorite. You
would have a hard time believing that if you
ever saw me in Ethiopia. I was in a constant
piss-off mood while I was there. But I
met the most interesting people while I was
in Ethiopia.
I left Cape Town on
Apr12, 2005. Some of the highlights on my
way up to Israel are:
Addo Elephant Park,
Sossusvlei,
Victoria Falls,
Ngorongoro Crater,
Bwindi Impenetrable
Forest,
Simien Mountain
National Park,
Pyramids Of Giza,
Temple Of Luxor,
Temple of Karnak
and
Temple Mount...etc.
The Next Trip
Well, it's May 2009. I had been back at
Canada since May 2006. That's 3 very long
years for me. I am frankly tired of the 9 to
5 life. Unfortunately, my early exit has
been put on hold. I have been quite sick
since the beginning of 2009. I have missed
many days at work, which isn't very good for
my long term goal. My illness has prevented
me from riding my bike or going to the gym.
I spend most of my free time lying in my bed
these days. Either throwing up or just too
tired to do anything.
If
I ever get better, here is my temporary plan
for my next trip. Hopefully, that's
sometimes this year or early next year. I
will probably get a cheap flight to Bangkok.
Then ride down south to Australia/New
Zealand. Then fly back to Bangkok??? It's a
cheap hub to fly to, so it make sense. Then
make my way north through China, Mongolia,
maybe South Korea and Japan along the way
too. That will depend on any connection that
I made along the way to make that part of
the trip economically feasible. If the red
tape is not overwhelming, I would like to do
a Trans-Siberia trip. I have to ride like
hell though as I do not like to ride in the
cold. If it is not too expensive, I will do
a tour of East Europe. West Europe is
definitely out, I do not have the budget for
it. More than likely, when it gets too
expensive in Eastern Europe, I will get a
flight to Morocco. Then ride down west side
of Africa to South Africa. Since I missed so
many amazing national parks all over East
Africa, I am contemplating doing it again. I
would also like to see Victoria Fall in full
flood as well since I was so disappointed
with it in the dry season. Or spend more
time in Sousouvlei in the Namib Desert.
Anyway, make my way north toward Turkey.
Then ride towards India, then back up to
Kazakhstan. From there, I will enter into
China and then Tibet. Somewhere in the I
have to go through the Karakorum Highway.
Then I will find the next transit hub and
get a flight to Alaska or something. Naw,
that sounds very expensive. I guess I have
to make it up to Alaska cheaply and ride
down to Ecuador? Not sure yet. There are
just a few more countries that I like to
visit in South America. That would be
Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela. I do not think
I want to do another complete circuit of
South America, will see what happens. That
should take up a few years of my time.
Hopefully, I look after my budget and I will
not have to work again for the next 10-20
years. I think I will take a laptop with me
on the next trip. I would also like to get a
bike computer with GPS. I am hoping that
wearing the heart rate monitor on my chest
for 8 hours everyday is not too annoying. If
I can handle it, then I will post something
like a exercise chart with GPS as much as
possible. I might do a more detail daily log
also, will see. Wish me luck that I will
make it out of Canada this year!!! See you
on the road.
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