Cycle the world!!!

Sorry Itchy, we seem to have taken over your thread.

Gayle, how did you find your warm showers hosts in Japan if you didn't have a phone? Were you using a computer. I don't travel with one anymore. Weighs too much and too much to worry about with batteries and such. But of course on a long trip, i'd want one.

I suppose I could go to China. I never been really keen because most impressions i've picked up have not really excited me, though i have heard before that the food is good and I don't expect its all bad by any stretch.

My impressions have been - ugly industrial strength roads. And as a result of my trip to Japan, in comparison the people are a contrast of kindness, honesty and decency. Though this is probably not fair as people the world over are much the same. And i did meet one lovely Chinese girl in Japan. I also met an stereotypical chinese official, though he was an engineer. Scary type of guy in some ways, though probably not a scary person, just his viewpoint. I loved it when my chinese friend said that her teacher had told her that Australians are selfish. I said, Yes its true. It is certainly true when compared to the Japanese but i'm not sure it would be true compared to the chinese. What do you think, if you compare your average westerner brought up on a philosophy of individual to a chinese brought up on traditional and socialist values.

Anyway maybe i should go there. But i saw rural Kenya on tv the other night and it looked appealing and i've always wanted to go to Africa to see the animals. I'd been thinking South Africa for a long time but maybe Kenya would be cheaper to get to and in some ways easier.

Yes, newislander we were using a netbook, not heavy and with 14 hours battery life, would've struggled to get on-line in Japan without it as we were camping most of the time and there are so few intrnet cafes around. I think I might've had a similar impression of China before we went there.....and some of your impression is accurate. We first visited China with backpacks for 3 months and liked it so much that we returned with bikes for another 3 months, then on this recent journey we spent 2 more months cycling there. Maybe it helped that we'd been there already without bikes.......Yunnan & Sichuan are great places to cycle.You must do some research first to find the quieter places and of course that means away from big cities. Having said that we cycled into Beijing last October and that was fine. Away from the big cities you can easily find quiet roads. Car ownership levels are still low compared to western countries (Japan is no. 17 in the world for cars per person, China only no. 103) and that was our experience. Arriving on Honshu after Shikoku was terrible, we cycled on the pavement (like many Japanese people) for the first time in our journey and for our own safety. We didn't use trains or buses but luckily had a good map so we cold find quiet roads. Traffic levels in Japan, especially Honshu, reminded us of the UK. As for the people, we had good experiences in both JApan & China and in fact every country we've visited so I just can't generalise. In China we were much more of a novelty of course but in both countries we were often given gifts of food, drinks, asked if we needed help......at one hotel in China the manager reused payment because we had come by bike! In Shikoku we were invited to stay in the temple accomodations for the pilgrims and offered cold drinks. Chinese people were often curious and aren't shy and I like that about them, particularly young people. I'm not sure that Australians are any more or less selfish than anyone else. Perhaps the best bit of cycle-touring is that it can often blow away any pre-concieved ideas you have of places and people, that certainly happened to me in China and also in Iran & Pakistan. I think I'm a little wary to go to Africa but maybe that's a very good reason to go!!

(YES - sorry Itchy - but all useful info, no?).

Gayle - I'm now ploughing through yours and John's blog from the beginning and very entertaining it is too. You're very experienced travellers though. I've only ever managed to get away for three weeks at a time (to China, Morocco, Thailand) when I was working full time for the NHS, which just whet my appetite for more. But I'm retired now, and waiting for the geriatric dog to shuffle off before I set off for the BIG adventure (leaving the husband at home - he doesn't like travelling at all). This isn't as callous as it sounds - the dog is over 15yrs and the vet has already mentioned 'last legs' so I'm planning on a Spring departure, being as winter is the time when many spirits depart.

I first 'met' you both on Chris Pountney's blog (Really Long Way Round) - did you shake the Hungarian guy yet? I shall savour your posts and take notes.
Oh, and BTW - I have the original version of Adventure Cycling Handbook so (sadly) no reason to buy the new one methinks. But I'm sure the info will be buried in your blog en route...

I also bought the first version of the book. Yes it is useful for first time tourers planning a big tour. Even though that isn't my story, I still enjoyed reading it and probably got some value out of it too but can't remember now too.

In Japan, i planned my route to avoid the traffic and was often surprised by how quiet the roads were. I did cycle on the pavements in the Kyoto and Fukuoka and a few others spots because of lack of shoulder but generally I was not bothered by this too much.

Re staying in temples, one night i begged to be allowed to stay in one. Conditions were such that I had little choice. As someone who has experimented with Buddhism, but generally skeptical of religious professionals, I was immensely relieved at the treatment afforded me by the monk who had absolutely no reason to accommodate me apart from compassion. Apart from that I received incredible kindness from the Japanese and like you I have found this everywhere, even in Australia, much to my great delight. I think Japan is well worth visiting from the point of view of experiencing the way their tradition makes them so different to everyone else i've ever met. Its not that the Japanese are perfect by any stretch but the differences, I think are rather unique and insightful. For instance, how quiet they are; even the cities were quiet. They are so well-mannered that its a bit of a wake-up call to be honest. Their willingness to help, the gift giving traditions, their general delicacy and restraint. I found it fascinating. And this is somewhat superficial because when you meet foreigners who live in Japan, all they can do is whinge about how they are not accepted on the same level. While this is factually well known and even acknowledged by Japanese ex-pats, I think most ex-pats whinge about their adopted countries. Its certainly true of many migrant populations in Australia, even though they are safer than ever and have a better standard of living than they could have had in their original countries. I also loved the beauty of their cultural traditions - architecture, gardens, food, and so on. And my god, the cherry blossoms! Hardly any westerners travel in Japan due to the notion of it being expensive. It's not anymore. Especially if you camp.

Just remember that Central Asia can have 50 degree summre temeratures and -30 degree winter temperatures. You should do it in September and if going through China, you SHOULD be into Yunnan State by November before the first snow. That is a lot of riding but it's my suggestion.

Hey James sounds like a great trip ! check out thepushbikegirl she went from Germany to Japan in the last two years its a great blog and I'm sure you will find lots of tips.Happy trails !

This is really useful information and added to the store accumulated - thanks!

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