Thailand (all)

Janos and I have cycled in Thailand before. The people are friendly, there are a variety of landscapes, the busier roads almost always have a wide shoulder, hotels and guest houses are inexpensive, the food is great. And so to escape the cold winter at home, we embark on our third adventure in Thailand. We get more hot weather than we bargained for ...

My goal for this Tour was to visit all of the major inhabited parts of the former supercontinent of Gondwana. Today, those places are mostly located in the Southern Hemisphere. Another aspect of my plan was to avoid long airplane trips by crossing oceans on container ships. That part of my Tour frequently caused problems, but I did hold fast to that idea, more or less. I traveled alone during 40 months and covered a little over 86,000 km by bike in 44 countries. My primary interest was the simple joy of cycling in new places, but I also concentrated on Natural History, Flora and Fauna, Ancient Sites and Diverse Cultures. My site contains sections describing Tour preparations, detailed logs, photos, posts written during the Tour, and a collection of essays written once it was complete.

Summer has almost arrived here in California. The weather in May is nice and I should be happy to be comfortable at home and to cyle around the area where I live, but I get restless and bored with the same scenery and that is my problem. I haven't been on a multi-day bike tour since I cycled in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in March and I've had no additional tour plans until July, when I've penciled out a ride in Europe. What to do during the three month intern is the question. I love cycling and especially riding in my favorite county, Thailand, so why not return for one more ride. I've never cycled there in May though, and with good reason, as it rains a lot. The 'wet season' extends from April thru early November. The weather in May and June, when I will be there will be hot, 90 to 100+ degrees, and wet. I just hope it doesn't rain all day every day. My experience cycling there at other times of the year is that it rains mostly in the afternoons and at night. If that is the case, I will have done the day's ride and be settled in a nice hotel room by late afternoon and the rains would not be so much of a bother. That is my hope.

Trans Asia on a single speed bicycle with just a small backpack as luggage. The ultimate light weight experience. On Januari 10th we will start our Fixed & Free Challenge from Singapore. Cycling through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China we are aiming to arrive in Shanghai in May 2010.

Already on our fully loaded expeditions we have been constantly minimising our gear and now we even go without gears. Although limited by our 25 litre backpacks we will carry more than enough for a journey like this including a Macbook and camera each.

We will cover this journey on www.osmosno.wordpress.com

A solo cycling journey from Shanghai, China to Padang, West Sumatra During the spring/summer of 2009 I determined to cycle departing from my pre-war apartment in Shanghai and to continue as far as I could in the three months time I had from April 11th until July 11th. 8000 eventful Kilometers later I finally reached Padang, West Sumatra.

Aside from only one ferry ride connecting Penang, Malaysia to the Port of Belawan, North Sumatra the whole trip was by bicycle. During the trip I encountered fierce rains and winds, steep climbs and endless mountains, roads that went from pavement to mud and rocks, monkeys jumping down from the trees, snakes the length of baseball bats, lizards the size of big cats, Hmong Guerillas with AK47's on a misty mountain pass. I experienced the kindness of strangers as well as the indecency of others. I pushed my middle-aged body to the limit and achieved a personal record in northern Thailand by cycling 263 kilometers non-stop in one truly eventful day of fast and hard riding.

It is difficult for the pictures I shot of myself (with my outdated 5 mega-pixel camera's auto shoot feature) to capture the true essence of this journey. They can't capture the nearly 2000 kilometers of continuous climbs from western Guangxi through North/Central Laos and the often steep ascents, fierce winds and heavy rains encountered there. The lonely days of riding up and up and the anguish felt after reaching a pass and realizing there are only more mountains to cross in the horizon. Nor can they capture the lighting fast descents on winding mountain roads with hair pin turns, where I have mastered the act of riding without my hands, singing and strumming along to the thumping tunes on my ipod. Pictures can't capture the restless nights sleeping alone in the jungle, in a bamboo hut open to all the elements, the night creatures taunting and wailing out load as if in mocking and the loud claps of thunder that drown out the sound of the jungle creatures. Pictures can't capture the struggle of lifting a fully loaded touring bike and hand carrying it over mud and rock slides which persist kilometer after kilometer during the rainy seasons in China's western regions. Pictures cant capture the taunting calls of 'hello mister' or 'tourist' by the locals in all of Sumatra or the endearing smiles on faces of Laotian children as I ride by, they can't capture the maddening and often dangerous traffic in parts of China and Sumatra and the disregard of truck drivers and other motor vehicles for the lone cyclist on the rode and they can't capture the army of bugs at dusk flying into my face, eyes and clothes, pelting me as if hail from the skies above. [...]

``On a bicycle you are forced into intimate contact with your surroundings, the grass on the side of the road, the vehicles that drive past, the farmer in the field, that damn hill under your wells, the rain on your face, the smell of the wild flowers (or the broken sewerage pipe for that matter). This interaction gives a real sense of the place, the traffic tells you what kind of things are going on in the area, tourism, logging, farming, industry etc. The constant exposure to the weather gives an astute awareness of the day to day changes, or in the case of a strong head wind, any natural feature which will give some shelter . Hungry, thirsty and tired, a warm smile and a few words (or more often hand signals) is all it takes to find a place to pitch the tent for the night, on real ground with a newly gained sense of the place after a long day in the saddle''

With a focus on photography, this site will give the viewer a real sense of life on the road as a cycle tourist.

An ``aventure bicyclétale'', it's a two-wheeled little miracle which combines discoveries around the world, respect of others and protection of the environment. So let's get in the saddle!

After 10 years in Asia, I've decided to go home, to Châteaudun in France. I left on Sunday the 29th of June 08 from Bangkok, I'm on my way.

We are entering our fourth year on our tandem adventure 'round the world'. We have visited Mexico, Central & South America, New Zeland, Australia, South East Asia, China, and Europe. We are now wintering over on the Costa Del Sol, Spain. Off to Morocco in Feb. 09 then back into Europe for 09.

People often ask why with budget airlines making travel so inexpensive I still plan on making a bike trip to Thailand. They say the journey may be physically demanding at my age (56) and dangerous as I would ride from Tumpat, Kelantan Malaysia right into the three hot spots in southern Thailand.

The southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani have been terrorized by regular attacks since early 2004, when a separatist movement flared after a lull of more than two decades.

Attacks generally take the form of drive-by shootings and small-scale bombings intended to frighten Buddhist residents into leaving the area. Suspected insurgents mainly target people seen as collaborating with the government, including soldiers, police, informants and civilians.

Nachdem wir einige Tage in Bangkok verbracht haben, sind wir mit dem Zug nach Norden gefahren, wo wir von Nong Khai bis Sukhothai 580 km radelten. Anschließend haben wir Chiang Mai und Ayuthaya besucht.

Diese ist ein Bericht über eine dreimonatige Reise in den Ländern Thailand, Kambodscha und China, die wir zwischen Dezember 2007 und März 2008 gemacht haben.

A collection of tours that will eventually link up as a global circumnavigation. Fast riding with little luggage.

Come see the adventures of Warren Music and Baba Spokie. Our website shows tours we have done in Asia and North / Central America. on bicycle. We have commentary, gear/kit analysis and recommendations and everything a bicycle tourist would like to read about.

We are Tim and Cindie Travis.

We left our Arizona, USA home back in March ( 2002), and have been traveling by bicycle throughout the world. We have peddled through Arizona, Mexico, Central and South America. Our future plans include Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, Russia, Canada, and the USA. Our plans will take us the next several years to complete.

Visit our popular web site that is updated frequently as we travel. You will enjoy thousands of pictures, our daily journal, and the online discussion.

This is our second big trip with bicycle. It just started 1998 from Germany over Africa up to Asia with the destination South Korea (2000). Now, again on the road, we are travelling by bicycle in South America. We are since 06/2005 again on the road.

Dies ist nun schon unsere zweite grosse Radtour. Es begann 1998 in Deutschland mit dem Weg nach Suedkorea und einem Abstecher in Afrika. Nun, seit 06/2005, sind wir mit unseren Raedern in Suedamerika unterwegs.

Here are the day-by-day detailed route notes of the ten day, 248 mile, 398 kilometer ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Here are the day-by-day detailed route notes of the thirteen day ride from Bangkok to Phuket in Thailand.

In May 2004, after having worked for 18 months in China, I decided to hit the road to fulfill my dream of a lifetime: to travel extensively in Asia and Oceania without the pressure of time and the necessity of airplane travel. My idea was to travel mostly overland and give myself enough time to get to know faraway countries and different cultures by living as close as possible to the local realities.

Having met Fred during my last months in China and finding his ``RTW by bicycle'' a very stimulating way of traveling, I planned my journey in such a way as to be able to join him in the Philippines and spend 6 months on the road with him. The experience was a success and when Fred took the road to Europe from India, I decided to continue traveling by bicycle on my own in South-East Asia and finally Australia.

Planète D. is our volunteering and filming world tour on the tandem bike. It’s that simple.

We cycle.
We film, edit and share videos.
We volunteer for NGOs.

Read about my adventures by bicycle around the world,taking in Europe, the Near East, India, South East Asia, Australasia, and the USA on Route 66.

For something a little less ambitious, I have prepared details of a three-week tour of the beautiful landscapes of central Portugal.

Or if you prefer a central base and some day rides, read about my routes on the Spanish island of Mallorca - a cyclist's paradise, with warm weather, flat hinterland, stunning mountain climbs, and huge ice-creams!

We are performing a 2 years (theoretically) trip around Eurasia. During the trip, we are performing a photo documentation for ICOMOS, an expert organization of UNESCO about cultural heritage. The database created will be available on the website.

We wish with this project to perform some challenging cycling, linking with useful actions.

Our website relates our diary and we are putting plenty of photos and comments (and lots of other fields are going to come, such as advices, technical data...).

Welcome to the Wish Tour!

Below you will find the photos and journal from a two-year, 20,000-mile bicycle journey around the world.

Starting in July 2005, this journal will take readers across the United States, Europe, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

The journey began more than 20 years ago, as the seeds of a dream to circumnavigate the globe were cultivated from a deeply personal and painful experience.

[Absolutely stunning pictures.]

We are Sarah Erck and James Welle, two 27 year old ex-Microsoft employees who decided to get married, quit our jobs, sell all of our material possessions, and travel around the world on our bicycles for one year...or more!

It all began innocently enough in 2005 when Sarah's mom gave James the book Miles from Nowhere on his birthday. Sarah, being the bookworm that she is, read the book immediately and fell in love with the idea of riding a bicycle around the world. James was a little more reluctant at first; he was an avid cyclist but was worried about quitting his job and spending a lot of money on a trip like this. Sarah persisted and in the end she was able to convice James to take the plunge and in September of 2006 they decided to officially do the trip after James finished his work on Windows Vista. The fall of 2006 was spent furiously planning and preparing for our departure date of January 2007!

A 40,000 km. 3 year ride through 30 countries, from far eastern Russia (Siberia) in winter, to London England, via Australia. Trying to cover the whole route by bicycle and boat only. I have encountered plenty of good times and a few tough ones, noteably in Siberia (camping at minus forty), Papua New Guinea (pushing my bike down a beach as no roads) and Tibet (in winter).

This was our first go at cycling in Asia. Our route along the Mekong and to Sukhothai was an excellent choice for a short bike trip in Thailand - villages, beautiful scenery, good roads and little traffic. We loved it. We also spent some time in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ayuthaya.

We are now in Cambodia, after 10 months of cycling thru New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand. Our site is bilingual.

Our web site is about the trip that we are now realizing. We have gone across the world to go back to Canada. We already crossed 5 different countries in 10 months. We will keep biking for around 2 more years. The subject treated by the web page is mostly about our trip (story, pictures, organisation) but we added a lot of other stuff like recipes, rock climbing, and small articles. We are French-Canadian, so our web site is belingual.

The Route:

Americas: Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
Atlantic Traverse: Azores Islands [Portugal]
Europe: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey
The Middle East: Iran
Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, India
South East Asia: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Australasia: Australia

Welcome to the Brink Expedition!

Imagine attempting a global traverse that would take you 50,000 kilometres through some of the most difficult terrain and extreme weather on the planet, all the time attempting to use only human power and the natural elements.

Starting deep in the heart of Amazonian South America the Brink Expedition will encounter unforgiving Patagonian winds, snowed over Himalayan Mountain passes, monsoons on the sub-continent and the oppressive heat of Australia's Red Centre.

So while the clock ticks, the seasons will turn, making this a full-throttled Race Against the Elements!

Photo albums and brief travelogues from two bicycle trips in South-East Asia in 2001 and 2002, repectively. The trip 2001 started in Singapore and took us through Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Lao. The journey in 2002 started in Chiang Mai, took us through Northern Lao, Isan, and Cambodia.

In 2001 vanuit Nederland vertrokken en nu okt 2005 meer dan 65.000 km en al meer dan 40 landen doorgefietst.

Ja, hebben jullie het al gezien, we zijn meer dan 4 jaar onderweg. Wat een tijd en toch.... we genieten er nog elke dag van. Nu zijn we in Jujuy, noord Argentinië. Via Chili gaan we binnenkort naar Bolivia, waar we een tijdlang niet zullen kunnen internetten. We zullen op grote hoogte gaan fietsen, hoogtes waar we nog niet eerder waren. Of dat prettig is.. jullie zullen het later lezen.

In the fall of 1998 I set off on a long journey by bike. It covered more than 15000 kilometers and 14 countries. During this trip I was hit by rocks and cars, I was baked, soaked, and deep frozen by the weather gods. Mostly, however, I had a superb opportunity to see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, meet wonderful people and enjoy the culture of widely differing lands. This site is about my bike trip from Sweden to South-East Asia via Eastern Europe, The Middle East, Pakistan, China, and Tibet. It also contains general information and links on bicycle touring and travelling in general.

A site filled with tours all over Europe, Africa, Asia, and America.