23rd June to 19th July 2016 Japan is quite rightly proud of its unique culture and traditions. As an island country it’s managed to preserve its identity (helped by being cutoff from the rest of the world for two hundred years) while the rest of Asia gradually grows together. It’s a fitting place for us …
“Irasshaimase! Irasshaimase! Irasshaimase!”. Every member of staff gives a cheery welcome as soon as we walk in the door of the shop. A small robot then tries to sell us a mobile phone. As we start to fill up a basket with tasty sushi and ultra rare porridge oats, a man walks round with a …
It’s often hard to put into words exactly what we’re feeling, seeing, experiencing as we roll along each day which is why we like to take plenty of photos. As the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words. My cousin Margaret once asked me if our trip inspired us to be poetic which is an …
28th April – 15th May 2016 After a short spin from his flat Elbert delivers us to the blue line that would lead our way out of Seoul and all the way down to Busan. The next two or three weeks ought to be easy with the route largely dictated for us by the network …
Looking back it seems silly that we had any form of trepidation before crossing into China. It’s been a country that, more than any other so far, has exceeded expectations. We’ve found unbelievable generosity that goes beyond even the high benchmark set in the Muslim countries. Areas of the landscape have been unlike anything else …
Writing about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not an easy task. I can tell you about what we saw, what we did, express a few opinions and quote published facts but unlike most other countries, as a visiting foreigner it’s almost impossible to get the full picture. My account of our trip …
China is by far the noisiest country we’ve travelled through. Market stalls all have loudspeakers that shout out repetitive messages that probably say things like “Tuuuuur-nips, get your Tuuuuur-nips” or “Shoes, shoes, shoes, I’ve got shoes, shoes, shoes”. Calculators talk, street sweepers play tunes, there’s not been a single day when we haven’t seen or …
We first encountered China last year from behind the fence that had been put up along the border with Tajikistan. That was several time zones ago now. Since then it’s been lurking at the edge of all our maps like a big red shadow, nudging up against Central Asia, looming over India and Nepal, then …
10th February to 21st February 2016 “Goooood mooooooorning Vietnam!“. Kirsty would surely never get bored with me starting each day like this? As we leave the border behind our legs are spinning like a turbine. The freewheel just won’t budge anymore so we can’t stop pedalling. I feather the brakes to keep things comfortable as …
“How many bikes have you used?” is a surprisingly common question when we tell people how far we’ve ridden. It never ceases to amaze us what the trusty steed has put up with over the last 18 months on some of the worst roads and with a hefty load of luggage on board, but it’s …