Yeah, the tree makes it nice

EPILOGUE PT. I - THE ROUTE; DISTANCE; TRAVERSING A VERY VERY...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:44:00 +0100

EPILOGUE PT. I - THE ROUTE; DISTANCE; TRAVERSING A VERY VERY LARGE SPACE

From Melbourne to Frankfurt to Hannover to Berlin to Oslo to Geiranger to Oslo to Copenhagen to Skagen to Kolding to Veile to Hamburg to Hannover to Kassel to Berlin to Hamburg to St Petersburg to Moscow to Irkutsk to Olkhon to Irkutsk to Ulaanbataar to Khovd to Darvi to the river-crossing to Ulaanbataar to Choir to Sainshand to Zamiin Uud to Erenhot to Beijing to Xi’an to Chengdu to Yangshuo to Ping’An to Nanning to Hanoi to Cat Ba to Ninh Binh to Tam Diep to Hue to Hoi An to Saigon to Tokyo and back to Melbourne.

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED*:
55,203 km

BY MODE OF TRANSPORT:
Aeroplane - 31,907 km
Train - 12,251 km
Bus - 5,265 km
Car - 2,380 km
Boat - 1,698 km
Motorcycle - 857 km
Hitchhiking - 842 km

DISTANCE COVERED OVER LAND AND SEA; FRANKFURT TO SAIGON:
23,295 km

*not including the hundreds of kilometres on foot, bicycle and local transport while staying someplace, accumulated over one-hundred and fify-five days; eight countries; a dozen very large cities; many more small ones, towns, villages; countless streets, tracks, alleys, intersections, wrong turns; concrete, grass, sand, earth; paths well worn and others just an intriguing dent in the undergrowth.

DAY 156 - HOME!

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 156 - HOME!

DAY 155 - MT FUJI IN MY COFFEE, BALLON D’ESSAI,...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 155 - MT FUJI IN MY COFFEE, BALLON D’ESSAI, SHIMOKITAZAWA

(60D. If there was one constant over 155 days and eight countries, it was my search for good coffee and a lovely place to sit and drink it)

I had until 4:30 before I needed to head to the airport, so I took it easy and hung around Shimokitazawa for the day. This coffee was my last act in Tokyo and the whole trip before going into transit mode - a coffee in my favourite cafe - and i wouldn’t have had it any other way.

DAY 154 - A VERY BORED POLICEMAN, SHINTOMICHO, TOKYO (60D. He...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 154 - A VERY BORED POLICEMAN, SHINTOMICHO, TOKYO

(60D. He was sitting on benches to the left, then realised I was taking photos of him and went and stood at attention for a moment, before giving up the charade and wandered in aimless circles around the astroturf.)

I was up at 4am to get the first train to see the tuna auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market, but even that was too late - the 160 tickets were gone by the time I arrived. Konrad was staying closer and managed to get in, so I waited around and we had an incredible 6:30am sushi breakfast. We wandered the streets until the market opened for tourists at 9am, then had a look around. The thought that people are pulling that many fish out of the ocean every single day is quite horrifying.

I walked back though Nihonbashi and visited our neighbourhood from 2010, reliving a trip to Hotto Motto and eating katsudon in the park. In the afternoon I met back up with Konrad and we headed to Shinjuku and went up to a free observation deck to get a overview of the city shining in the darkness (The sun had well and truly set by 4:30). It was my last night in Tokyo so we went out for beers in Rippongi, then dinner in Tsukishima and a cocktail in Kuramae.

DAY 153 - FOLLOW THE BLUE LINE! TRANSFERRING FROM SHINJUKU TO...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 153 - FOLLOW THE BLUE LINE! TRANSFERRING FROM SHINJUKU TO MITA LINES, JIMBŌCHŌ STATION

(60D. I wish I could work out how much time I spent underground during my week in Tokyo, although maybe the answer would be a little horrifying.)

I spent the morning sitting on my futon in my host’s bedroom getting work done then went out to Koenji - another cool student neighbourhood. For dinner I decided I needed okonomiyaki, and after asking a couple of guys in the street, they walked me through the streets looking for a place, then went inside and convinced the owner to stay open a little while longer (it was 10pm). In the restaurant the table had a hotplate inset and I cooked my own okonomiyaki!

DAY 152 - LEE BURRIDGE, 4:41AM, WOMB, SHIBUYA,TOKYO (Iphone. w/...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 152 - LEE BURRIDGE, 4:41AM, WOMB, SHIBUYA,TOKYO

(Iphone. w/ four separate dancefloors, a giant mirrorball and some hilariously bad salarymen-dancing. Also, totally sweet lasers!)

The club turned the lights up at 5:30 (Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Berlin anymore) so Konrad and I rode the trains back home and both managed to sleep through the hostel’s checkout time.

After being (very politely) woken by the staff and pushing my welcome with a shower and breakfast, I went and visited Sachi (Dani’s friend who I’d met last time we were in Tokyo) at her university’s fair day. After checking out the Art and Photo Clubs’ exhibitions and watching some bands play, I headed back to Shimokitazawa for a coffee before trekking up to Sugamo to meet up with my Couchsurfing host for the rest of my stay - Jamira (Tsubasa).

DAY 151 - AND THEN HE WOKE UP, TOCO HOSTEL, SHITAYA, TAITO,...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 151 - AND THEN HE WOKE UP, TOCO HOSTEL, SHITAYA, TAITO, TOKYO

(60D. w/ a futon, tatami mats, sliding doors, a tranquil garden, and my life for 5 months stuffed in a bag.)

The day before I showed up on Toco’s doorstep looking for a dorm bed. They were full, but by sheer chance an English-Japanese guy (Sei Ryu) was there at the same time without a bed, so we chipped in together for this gorgeous double-room. Much better than a bunkbed!

I’d met Konrad (Swiss) the night before at the hostel and spent a good chunk of the day hanging out with him, then rode a bike around Asakusa. Just before the trains stopped at midnight, he and I headed out to Shibuya to get a taste of Tokyo’s nightlife…

DAY 150 - GOOD ENOUGH FOR TWITTER, RAGLA MAGLA,...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 150 - GOOD ENOUGH FOR TWITTER, RAGLA MAGLA, SHIMOKITAZAWA

(IPhone. Taken by one of the staff for their twitter feed w/ the text:
“こんばんはー！2号店レイナです！本日のお客様ご紹介((( ^x^ ))) オーストラリアからお越しいただきました！彼は5ヶ月かけて世界中をまわってるみたいですよ！またのご来店お待ちしてます。”
or (according to google translate):
“Good evening! Reina is the second shop! We had come from (((^ x ^))) Australian Testimonials today! It seems that he is turning the world over 5 months! I look forward to coming again.” )

More hanging around. Shimokitazawa is like Harajuku but cooler, so I spent the afternoon wandering around, and found the best coffee I’ve had since Melbourne.

DAY 149 - SHINJUKU AND BEYOND, TAKASHIMA TIMES SQUARE ROOF,...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 149 - SHINJUKU AND BEYOND, TAKASHIMA TIMES SQUARE ROOF, SHINJUKU

(60D. w/ an irresolvably complex mess as far as the eye can see.)

Walked from Shinjuku to Harajuku and spent most of the day looking around there, before walking down to Shibuya and meeting some couchsurfers for dinner and drinks.

DAY 148 - CAPSULE 3155, GREEN PLAZA CAPSULE HOTEL, SHINJUKU,...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 148 - CAPSULE 3155, GREEN PLAZA CAPSULE HOTEL, SHINJUKU, TOKYO

(60D. w/ decor (and technology) like the sixties’ vision of the future.)

I spent the day on two planes: Ho Chi Minh City to Guangzhou and Guangzhou to Narita. I could see Japanese cities burning bright in the sea of black. I arrived in Shinjuku around 11:30 and spent the rest of the night in the hotel restaurant followed by a hot bath in the rooftop onsen.

DAY 147 - FOR SALE HONDA WIN, PHAM NGU LAO, DISTRICT ONE,...

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 147 - FOR SALE HONDA WIN, PHAM NGU LAO, DISTRICT ONE, SAIGON

(60D. w/ a last minute price slash and time to sell almost up.)

My advertising campaign was unsuccessful. In two days I didn’t get a single call. I had a few interested parties find me through Thorntree and Couchsurfing but they came to naught. Moments after taking this photo I threw in the towel and called my backup plan - a dealer. Following a $100 loss the bike was finally; mercifully; thankfully; no longer my problem.

DAY 146 - HENRY (60D. w/ a pomelo hat.) Henry’s mum ran...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 146 - HENRY

(60D. w/ a pomelo hat.)

Henry’s mum ran the hostel across the street from PP Backpackers (where I stayed), and they spent most of their time hanging out downstairs with the manager.

Another day of bike stuff, I made posters and put them up around the big hostels then had to cross my fingers and wait for a call…

DAY 145 - FLASH FLOOD, BUI VIEN, SAIGON (60D. w/ water half way...

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 145 - FLASH FLOOD, BUI VIEN, SAIGON

(60D. w/ water half way up your shin in a matter of minutes. Disappointed I didn’t see any infamously swimming rats.)

After stumbling off the bus and navigating the insane Saigon traffic, I found a hostel and went to work getting my bike in a sellable condition (or at least finding and paying someone else to do so). My exhaust pipe had cracked clean through, the horn had stopped working, the speedo never worked, the idle was off, the bus ride messed with my front brake, oil needed changing, the rear sprocket was ridiculously loose, the chain needed shortening, the bulb in my brake light had burst at some point, one of my indicator lights was hanging by its wires, and it needed a good clean!

DAY 144 - I MADE A PROMISE, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HOI AN AND...

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 144 - I MADE A PROMISE, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HOI AN AND KONTUM

(60D. w/ my Vietnamese biking fantasy.)

In a hostel back in Xi’an, with the help from Taylor (USA), we transformed my ruined shirt into a special ‘Nam shirt with a promise to get photographic evidence. Taylor, here it is!

I rode from Hoi An to Kon Tum, driving for 10 hours straight with a few stops for photos, and once to be corralled into a yard for dried fish and a (hopefully non-alcoholic?) liquid from a giant ceramic urn with a big group of Vietnamese guys.

I was running out of time so upon arriving at Kon Tum I found a bus to Saigon, put the bike in the baggage hold, and 15 minutes later was moving again. (Cheating Pt. II)

DAY 143 - CANDLES FLOAT DOWN THE STREET, HIGH TIDE ON THE THU...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 143 - CANDLES FLOAT DOWN THE STREET, HIGH TIDE ON THE THU BON RIVER

(60D. w/ the view from our restaurant table.)

We had a goodbye breakfast for Giulia and Stefan and spent the day hanging out in various cafes. Tereza, Caro, Gaspar and I went out to our last dinner together and watched the waterfront slowly submerge with the tide while playing cards and drinking beers.

DAY 142 - SUIT UP! ROOM 209, HOA BINH HOTEL, HOI AN (60D. w/ one...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 142 - SUIT UP! ROOM 209, HOA BINH HOTEL, HOI AN

(60D. w/ one of two suits I had tailored in Hoi An. The other is a slim black number. Taken by Tereza.)

I had my third and final appointment with the tailor and walked out with two suits plus a free shirt and two ties. i was really excited to wear them so I dragged Tereza, Caro and Stefan up to my room so I could show them off before giving them back to the tailor to be shipped home.

DAY 141 - NIGHTSWIMMING ON CHINA BEACH, 15 MINUTES FROM HOI...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 141 - NIGHTSWIMMING ON CHINA BEACH, 15 MINUTES FROM HOI AN

(60D. w/ Tereza, the bike, warm ocean water, wind and spitting rain.)

My pals in Hoi An were Tereza (Czech), Caro (German), Gaspar (French), Stefan (Bulgarian Dutch) and Giulia (Italian - We first met in Halong Bay and were thrilled to meet up again by chance). I didn’t do much in Hoi An except wander around, had suit fittings and hung around with pals.

DAY 140 - A VERY HAPPY (NAKED) MAN, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HUE AND...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 140 - A VERY HAPPY (NAKED) MAN, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HUE AND HOI AN

(60D. Taken by Teng, w/ a lot more other photos of my naked body than there really should be in existence)

I met up with Teng in the morning and we rode out, stopping first at this waterfall for a swim. At this point I was incredibly happy with the decision to bring him along, as I never would have known this place existed, but my mood changed pretty quickly after that, and he managed to affirm my conviction against that kind of shitty organised tourism. That aside, we also rode through Hai Van Pass, which was phenomenal, and I went off on my own and explored the US fortifications at the top of the pass (two things I could have done without a “guide”). We had lunch in Da Nang and rode down to Hoi An. I got rid of him as soon as I could.

Gripes aside it was a pretty good day, and taught me some important lessons about dealing with shysters!

DAY 139 - STEFFI LOVES PHOTOGRAPHS, HUE CITADEL, HUE (60D. w/ an...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0100

DAY 139 - STEFFI LOVES PHOTOGRAPHS, HUE CITADEL, HUE

(60D. w/ an afternoon of exploratory limping around the Citadel and Forbidden City.)

I pulled myself out of sleep and stumbled off the train, forgetting a cherished souvenir in the process. I knew Steffi was somewhere in the city so set out to find the hotel district, puncturing a tire along the way. The bike needed some real maintenance too, so I went in search of a fabled english speaking mechanic.

On the way a guy named Teng stopped who spoke english, and I talked myself into believing that HE was the mechanic! What a stroke of luck! I began to realise this wasn’t the case, but he knew what he was talking about and helped me get everything fixed up anyway. In return, all I had to do was go on a 3 day bike tour with him around the DMZ…

I eventually managed to get away and met up with Steffi for some sightseeing, and relented in a phonecall to let him “be my guide” for my ride down to Hoi An.

DAY 138 - BIKE GETS BOXED, THANH HOA TRAIN STATION (CHEATING PT....

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0200

DAY 138 - BIKE GETS BOXED, THANH HOA TRAIN STATION (CHEATING PT. 1)

(60D. w/ an approaching typhoon, not enough time, and a far too easy way to “motorbike” around a country.)

Steffi decided she was ok to get moving, so she went out to the side of the road and waited to stop a sleeper bus heading to Hue. I couldn’t afford to wait another few days for the typhoon to pass, so drove for 2 hours in pouring rain along muddy potholed roads clogged with buses and trucks to Thanh Hoa, where I got a ticket to Hue for myself and the bike. I was so wet I had to take my boots off to pour the water out. I had a few hours, so managed to rejuvenate with a hot shower and a feed before spending the night on yet another hard sleeper.