Stories From The Road

Bangkokitis \ bang-kok-i-tis \ (n.) a syndrome that occurs when traveller finds refuge in big city offering cool pristine commercial spaces, international cuisine and experiences difficulty extracting oneself from urban environment.

Symptoms: insomnia due to sub-par guesthouse; weight gain from inactivity; headaches from smog and pollution; jitteriness due to overuse of caffeine and sugar in form of overpriced beverages (also contributing to insomnia, headaches and weight gain); memory loss and confusion as one becomes unaware of the date or plans made the day before.
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It seems the typical thing to do for travellers and backpackers is to outwardly turn their nose up at big bustling cities claiming too touristy, too polluted, too busy or too easy for the rough seasoned traveller while guiltily enjoying them and lingering longer than planned. I’ve somewhat done the same however, I have no problem admitting bluntly that I actually love big city life, especially Hanoi!

After spending 3 days in my luxury 5-star Sheraton Hanoi bubble, I expelled myself back into the fast pumping heart of the Old Quarter and spent the first evening romantically watching and enjoying street life from a barstool perch at a cafe terrace while writing in my journal. Here’s a dreamy little excerpt… Read more »

Simply a quick list of “bests” from our northwest circuit, when we finally got around to the real mountains we’d been waiting for! The summits for which we’d been training. The apex of our journey and challenges. A rare ride tagged as “hard” by our friendly 2001 cycling guidebook. Our pinnacle of greatness. Well, okay, not really all that… but the guidebook bit is true! And by “bests”, I mean best highs and best lows because one month later - high or low doesn’t matter, those are all certainly the best moments! Read more »

It’s been a shaky start in dear old Vietnam. Wasn’t sure we were going to be friends, me and this country. I am, however, very happy to have a friend and travel mate here through our biking learning curve and, together, Simone and I have managed to find a silver lining to every nasty rain cloud. Of course, there’s been warm sunshine too. However, due to weather and unforeseen circumstances we’ve taken an insanely circuitous route through the south! Read more »

At the last minute - literally one hour prior to departure of our original train to Vientianne in northern Laos - we were sitting in our guesthouse chatting with Felix (author of www.mrpumpy.net, an infamous resource in the world of Asian cycling adventures and a great help to me in Bangkok when I was just taking the plunge) and made the first of now over a dozen major itinerary changes. Simone had a bag of ice balanced on her head and was holding a second bag on her right elbow. We were delirious with excitement, adrenaline and relief. We had learned our first big lesson. Read more »

“All I need is a nice black gel tipped pen Bangkok!! What have you done with all the good ink!?!? Do I have to find a quill and kill my own squid here or what?!”

[Readers note: I was having an odd day. If you’re looking for pictures of Bangkok and exciting descriptions of exotic Thailand, I suggest you move on. This post is mostly about me. Me, me, meeeee, the little piggy who went to market and possibly momentarily and mildly insane.] Read more »