More than one year after traveling India, I finally found some energy to write about this awesome place. The Indian Himalaya is definitely one of the best bits of my route I had cycled. Landscape-, people- and food-wise simply fantastic!
I struggled writing about these three weeks because of a personal reason. But that’s just as a side-note.
My bicycle trip officially came to an end yesterday. But my adventure isn’t over yet!! I just changed my mode of transport for the next couple of months…
Here in Kyrgyzstan, with a lot of help from Iron Horse Nomads (www.ihn.kg), I bought a Russian minivan. It’s a UAZ 452, better known as “Buchanka” which translates to “loaf of bread” thanks to it’s typical form. Since I saw this van for the first time spring/summer 2015 in Georgia (and later Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), I thought of buying it. Now the time has come, and I actually DID buy it. Hooray!!
I plan to spend the winter here in Central Asia, travel around, go snowboarding and/or snowboard-touring and change the van into a campervan. Then, beginning of next year sometime, I am going to start my roadtrip to Europe… Altough I am not cycling anymore, I keep travelling. So stay still tuned about my trip here on this blog!
I just returned from a ride to the actual world’s highest motorable* pass**, which is open to individually traveling foreigners*** with a permit; Chang La, 5360 m. I am proud of what I am physically and mentally able to do. And I feel happy about this great achievement, and super powerful.
But at the same time, I feel tired. Tired of cycling, maybe also a bit of traveling. New plans are developing, and most of them are pointing westwards – probably it’s time to turn around soon. For now, I’m going to take a few weeks rest without cycle touring to figure out the details of my next steps…
Meanwhile I let you wondering about the details, updates will follow whenever I feel ready to tell!
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* Motorable: A road where an average skilled driver can take an SUV car having high ground clearance (4×2 or 4×4) irrespective of the fact whether the road is metaled / tarred or unpaved / dirt track as long as such a vehicle can be driven and maintain decent connectivity. Source: devilonwheels.
** There is a higher motorable road in Bolivia that is not a pass, leading to an abandoned mine.
*** There are many higher motorable passes (about seven), but usually no permits are given to foreigners.
The American guy Brian who I met along New Zealands west coast, accepted my invitation to join me cycling across Australia. Hooray, how cool is that to keep a cycling buddy! Now looking back, the Australian Outback might be pretty boring on your own…
Sydney was our first destination. Back in January, I wasn’t allowed to check-in for the flight to New Zealand without a return ticket. So I had to buy immediately a flight to somewhere – and Sydney sounded pretty alright. Thanks to Brian’s Australian friends in the States, who still have lots of friends all over Australia, we got a place to stay in one of the quiet areas of the city.
Thanks to a longer break with baking cake and cookies in Westport I was able to recharge my battery (and sore legs) after the Heaphy Track and the days cycling to and from it. I felt great when I left, even the rain and mist on the “wetcoast” couldn’t really bother me.
First thing to see south of Westport: The famous “Pancake Rocks” in Punakaiki. The cliffs consist of a mix of sediments, which got washed out by the sea and wind in a special way that it looks like layers of pancakes (or whatever). There are also blowholes where you can watch the water shooting through like a geyser when a big wave hits the cliff.
Life is great! Trust me, I am having a really good time here in NZ!
It’s been a while now since I landed in Wellington, and I could tell you heaps of stories. Probably you’ll read here just a part of them.
Having traveled the north island already, I find myself now at the wild west coast of the south island. In Westport, where I enjoy the hostels facilities such as a shower, a comfortable bed and a fully equipped kitchen including an oven (yes, I miss baking!).
Christmas, New Year, and altogether just a great time at home!! I was eating Swiss food as cheese, potatoes, fondue, bread, cordonbleu, rösti, etc. like a tourist during the three weeks I spent in Switzerland. I met a lot of friends, went climbing (indoor) and road cycling, and came around here and there. And I did some improvements and replacements on my bike and gear…
On Tuesday 12th of January, I started for my trip the second time. From Zurich I flew back to Kuala Lumpur, where my luggage was waiting for me. It was like arriving at home in a way. The hostel was familiar, so was the culture and the food. And when I stepped into the house, I realized that V and Sara, two girls I had met in December in this hostel, were still there. Yay, like coming home! 🙂 Two other cyclists stayed there as well, Korean Lino and Italian Giacomo. We had a good and relaxed time, thanks guys for the week together.
Most of the time I spent in the hostel or the area around, cleaning all my equipment for entering Australia/New Zealand. And I worked on my blog, sent mails and organized some stuff. One day I went to KLCC (the city center), walked around Chinatown, visited a Hindu temple, strolled around some old buildings and mosques, then went to see the Petronas towers and other skyscrapers and finally had a ride with the monorail back to the hostel. Here are some impressions, that’s my last blogpost in Asia for a while…
Although a lot of travelers rave about southeast Asia, I did not enjoy the time a lot. I was always told, that Thailand was very cheap (“you can have a bungalow at the beach for three dollars!”) – which I definitely do not agree with. Yes, it is cheap compared to Europe. But it ain’t as cheap as people told me. And because of the heat and humidity, and because there are people everywhere, I never camped. So I had to pay for a guesthouse/motel every night. Not three dollars, it was more about ten dollars, and wasn’t a bungalow at a beach…
But the prices were not the only thing that bothered me. It’s more the feeling I had so far in southeast Asia. Not camping, not cycling a lot, and staying in guesthouses, eating in restaurants/at markets everytime, this made me feel like a typical tourist. And the locals also treated me like a tourist, I miss the hospitality and the chats that made me feel welcome. I just didn’t feel comfortable traveling like that, it didn’t feel like in central Asia or Europe…
Christmas without any snow, sitting lonely on a beach eating one more Thai curry? No, not with me!
I am coming home!
I am looking forward to see you at home, to eat beef filet at Christmas Eve, to see snow fall outside and to listen to all the stories that happened in Switzerland.
If anyone wants to watch how I get shocked by the Swiss temperatures or the Swiss accuracy – don’t hesitate to come and say hello at the airport. It would be cool, to see some familiar faces! Estimated arrival: Tuesday, December 22, 7 am.
Cambodia gave me definitively the boost I needed to pedal on. Such a big change!! Everything attracted my attention, from roadsigns to hawkers to nature. Wow…
But: About Cambodia, I do have mixed feelings. On one hand, it was just great to cycle. The main road we took was smooth and flat, there wasn’t much traffic except small motorbikes, the food was amazingly delicious (coming from Central Asia) and available at every corner, it was cheap, and the sights like temples in Angkor Wat definitively a must-see. But on the other hand, I felt like tourism had been growing too fast in Cambodia. The people aren’t as kind as people in other countries I’ve visited. That means, they just saw two tourists in us – ATM’s on wheels. Everything did cost 1$ at the start – food, drinks, fruits, etc. Yes, that is cheap. But in reality, it would often be even cheaper. Example: A pineapple – peeled, cut in pieces, including sticks and something to dip in – started with «one dollaaar». I never found out how much Cambodian paid, but we never paid more than half.
Während meiner gesamten Reise beschäftigen mich einige Gedanken übers Reisen. Die unterschiedlichen Leute die ich getroffen habe – Radreisende, Backpacker, Touristen, aber auch Einheimische, Expats und Lebenskünstler – sie alle haben mich in einer Weise beeinflusst und mir zu Denken gegeben.
Ich sitze gerade in einem regelrechten Travellers-Nest auf einer thailändischen Insel. Und genau hier, umgebend von dutzenden Backpackern kreisen meine Gedanken wieder stark um die Art des Reisens. Denn ich reise nicht wie andere.
Loooooong stretches without anything than a straight road and a powerline next to it. Heat, dryness, wild horses and camels. Yes, we arrived in Kazakhstan again! Entering the country was the most uncomplicated border crossing since Europe, without any visa or questioning. We got our stamps, and we were in. Because Kazakhstan has changed its visa regulations since we’ve been there. Now Swiss can enter visafree for two weeks. Yay!
It’s been a while since my “real” last blogpost. It’s because I wanted to enjoy the company of Franci and everyone else in the places I would have had time to write. Yesterday, Franci left South-East-Asia. He flew home, because he will start his new job on December first. Right now it feels strange to be on my own again… At the moment I am staying on an island in Thailand. Relaxing, writing and accustoming to the new situation.
Where to start? Kyrgystan. Uff – a long time ago… And weird to tell you about it with the sound of the ocean in my ears…
Kyrgystan, a green country crowded with yurts and horses – that was my expectations first. And yes, indeed: With the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, the landscape changed immediately! The gray moonscape turned into green pastures. Unbelievable, from one side of the pass to the other! With Nita and Kieran we rolled down late in the evening, hurrying up because of a storm coming up. We decided to leave Tajikistan that day and cycled two fourthousanders in one day just to reach the lower altitude in Kyrgystan. And we were right: Tajikistan in the back of us was covered white the next morning! So far I already told you last time. The road to Osh crossed several smaller passes, and we bumped into the four French/Turkish more than just once.
So far we crossed Cambodia, visited Angkor Wat, met Mirko (the Italian cyclist we met in Baku the first time) and Mischa (from Lucerne, we met him un Uzbekistan) again, crossed over to Thailand and reached huge Bangkok. A complete change: fresh and delicious food at every corner, heat and humidity, good and flat roads, riding left, and an alphabet we cannot even read… And in Bangkok Gary from England (we met him in Uzbekistan as well) arrived from Myanmar.
Here in the capital of Thailand I had to fix my bike, my front hub was broken. We enjoyed the busy city, cruised on the river, strolled through chinatown and just relaxed. And we joined a tourists-tour for two days. Now we changed our plans for the next stage. Instead of cycling to Phuket we will take the train…
Franci will fly back home soon, from Phuket. He will start work in December, than I will cycle on my own again. And: update my blog properly! 🙂 All the stories about Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand I will tell you end of November. I promise!
Plans have changed slightly, it’s getting cold over here. To avoid the visa-stress, we decided not to go to China at the moment…
Instead: The flight is booked. Cambodia, here we come!! But first we have to cycle to Almaty, Kazakhstan…
I’m sorry for not writing about Usbekistan. Maybe I’ll have enough time and energy to do it later… But first about Tajikistan and the Pamirs: It was amazing, but also exhausting.
Right now we are staying in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. Time is running fast, and pretty much is going on… For example, we were nineteen cyclists at this hostel (all of them are gone, but new ones arrived) – so there is/was no time to write. Sorry! But you can have a look at the images, and you may imagine how the last month must have been…
Tomorrow we’ll leave direction Pamir Mountains, hoping for a better situation than we heard. During the last days, there were several mudflows in the Pamirs due to the extremely warm summer and melting glaciers. Rivers are raising and some streets are closed – like the main road to Korogh. We really hope, the situation will normalize until we reach the panj valley. Otherwise we’ll have to return and see for plan B or even C. Wish us luck and power!
Kazakh steppe, beginning of June: What do you expect?
Sandy, dusty plain without anything alive at all?
Nope, wrong answer.
It’s green over here as far as you can see. And the steppe is alive. There are tons of crickets (I hate them!), lots of dung beetles, camel spiders, salamanders, snakes, hedgehogs and suricates… And probably a lot more other animals we haven’t seen yet.
First I have to tell you something: I am not really in the mood to write the blog. Today we wanted to print some photos and send them as postcards to Switzerland. In Beyneus photostudio they connected my camera to the computer … and all of a sudden, my images were gone. 1500 photos. Goodbye, tschau tschüss. Damn!
At least Franci still has his pictures, so we’ll upload those. For this entry and for the ferry-post.
Maybe I do not write very enthusiastic now, although Kazakhstan is an interesting and for me as nature-lover beautiful country. Sorry for that! Let’s try…
We heard and read a lot of stories about the famous ferry from Baku (AZ) to Aktau (KZ)… That made us aware of the difficulties about getting a ticket and/or catching the ferry. We even already got help from Dave and Christa (from Transa BS, traveling by minivan to Mongolia) in advance, they told us about their experience and where we would find the port.
The main difficulties we heard about:
A) There is no timetable, the ferry leaves when it is fully loaded; there are just cargo ferries.
B) Only one person at the office speaks English.
C) There are two ports – and ferries even leaves at different docks at those ports.
D) Ticket office changes its location quite frequently.
E) You have to be patient… Waiting for the ferry, waiting on the ferry to leave, a loooong passage, waiting on the ferry in front of the port on the other side, and waiting in the port again.
F) There might be no food and water on the ship, so you have to take lunch for several days (6 days was the most we heard!).
To be honest, it wasn’t as horrible as we expected. No, it was quite easy to find and embark, and the ferry looked better than we expected!
Welcome Franci!! Franci arrived in Tbilisi on the 3rd of May, he flew from Switzerland and will join me cycling at least to China. Yay, I’m looking forward to the time together!
In Tbilisi we had a good time. Patrik showed us around the city, some sights, and his family invited us for a delicious georgian dinner with homemade wine. This was amazing, thanks a lot again for the hospitality and your time with us!
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It has been a long time, since I shared some stories with you… A long time in which a lot happened. That’s why I divide my post in two parts.
Let’s start in Ilic where I took a train. First of all: No, this is not cheating. It’s just a part of my travel. I do not approach to cycle every single meter to China. 🙂 No, I just want to enjoy every day on track and spend time with good people.
WOOOW, turkey i love you! It’s impossible to tell everything, cause so much happened every day! I met so many very welcoming people, the landscape is amazing, and the food delicious! It’s a long time now since my last blogpost… I hope i can give you a good overview of my journey through this beautiful country (which is still not finished yet).
Wow, THIS was a start in Turkey!
From Athens/Pireaus I took the ferry to the Greek island Kos. I wanted to disembark at the south coast of Turkey, to see the Mediterrean again, and then cross Turkey northwards. Due to there’s no direct ferry between Greece and Turkey (south coast; maybe there is one to the west coast?), I had to stop and change the ferry on an island. So I arrived on Kos very early in the morning (5 a.m. was scheduled) and took the small boat to Turkey in the afternoon.
The ride with the ferry to Kos took a long time. About 14 hours I spent on the boat, most of them eating, reading and trying to sleep with my sleeping bag in the cafeteria… Later in the morning, I slept on the beach on Kos until the sun rose. Kos itself is a very nice town, I spent the whole day riding through it. At the port I had a small second breakfast and a cool conversation with the fishermen…
It was definitely worth it, to stay one day in Himare and wait for better weather! The next day was the warmest one since I left: I rolled up my trousers and changed to the short-sleeve shirt. Yeeha!
Cause we had lots of old dry bread that day, we were thinking about using it for dinner. Shall we do “Fozzelschnitten” or “Apfelrösti”, typical sweet Swiss dinners? Then Angela suggested to cook “Semmelknödel”, for me THAT typical Bavarian dish. The decision was taken quickly: I never have eaten semmelknödel so far, so I wanted to try that. It couldn’t be so difficult to cook, for me it sounded like doing hamburgers – but just out of bread instead of meat… 🙂 We strapped the bread on the top of our luggage and let it dry completely in the sun the rest of the day until we found a perfect small bay to camp. We the girls started to cook, and Luca lit a campfire at the beach. Fredi, the owner of that property showed up several times, brought some tools for cutting wood, a grill for doing bbq and finally opened the fridge of his beachbar! Woooohooo, Weizen-beer with the semmelknödel, I thought it couldn’t get better!
But it got… 🙂
Sooner than expected I am able to write about my time in Montenegro and Albania! Due to the weather yesterday, we stopped before the border to Greece and take a day off. The wind is blowing strong, and so its raining horizontally… Well, its not that funny to ride like this, so we spend our last albanian leke here in Himare, waiting for better weather.
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In Dubrovnik I met Angela from Bavaria, a super-cool girl cycling from Germany to Rio de Janeiro. All the way on the Croation coast, we were like hunting each other although we didn`t know about each other. And so, we decided to cycle together from now on, as far as our way will be the same. Probably to the border of Greece? We don`t know yet, just see what every day will bring.
Uff, that´s really pretty windy here in Croatia… I just want to say THANKS to everyone I met on the road so far! You really made my trip very special!
For all my Italian, Slowenian and Croatian friends I met on the road so far – and of course for all those I will meet in the future, I will write my blog in English. Sorry for all you Swiss guys out there, sorry mom and dad, but I think you’ll find someone who may translate… 🙂
Right now, I am already in Croatia. In detail: in Rovinj, a very beautiful small city in Istria – the northern part of the Croatian Coast. I’m staying in a small private Guesthouse, the pansion petra. The first shower since five days 🙂
Frueher als erwartet, hier schon die ersten News… Gestartet sind wir am Sonntag in St.Moritz, leider nicht wie angekuendigt bei Sonnenschein sondern bei Schneefall. 🙂 Auf teils schneebedeckter Strasse sind wir bis Maloja, wo wir gleich von zum Zmittag eingeladen wurden! Danke Guillaume und Nadine!! Im Schneesturm rutschten wir danach den Malojapass runter (-3 Grad) und erreichten am Abend das etwas waermere Chiavenna. Auf einer Wiese hinter einem Bauernhof durften wir “windgeschuetzt” zelten. haha!! In der Nacht hats dann so stark gewindet – so was hab ich im Zelt noch nie erlebt.
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Wir sind dann mal weg…