We (Joanne Sandrin and Graydon Hazenberg) are setting out on a bicycle journey around South East Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India and, maybe, Central Asia and Iran as well.
Our odyssey begins in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on January 27th, 2001.
Feel free to take a look at our photos and our updates from the road.
Planned Itinerary:
Jan. 27: Arrive in Kota Kinabalu, leave bikes, climb Mt. Kinabalu, visit Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, bus back to KK.
Feb. 4: Leave KK by bicycle. Ride along north coast of Sabah to Brunei and out the other side to Sarawak. From Miri take a flight up to Bario to do some walking, then fly back to the bikes. Ride along Sarawak coast to Kuching, perhaps with a sidetrip up one of the rivers.
Mar. 3: Fly to Johor Bahru and ride across the causeway to Singapore. Ride from Singapore up the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, stopping for beaches and sidetrips to Tioman, Sibu, Kapas and Perhentian islands, as well as Kuala Lumpur and maybe the Taman Negarah National Park. Lots of diving and snorkelling.
April 1: Cross into Southern Thailand. Head north via Krabi and then a lengthy sidetrip to Ko Tau and Ko Phan Ngan. Ride up to Kanchanaburi and take a bus into Bangkok to get visas. Ride from Kanchanaburi to Ayutthaya and Lopburi, then east towards Khao Yai Park and the Cambodian border. Take a sidetrip to Angkor Wat, then ride north to Vientiane.
May 15: Cross into Laos at Vientiane. Ride north to Luang Prabang, then fly or boat back to Vientiane and ride south along the Mekong before cutting into Vietnam.
June 15: Enter Vietnam near Khe Sanh. Ride to Hue, double south to Hoi An, then ride north again along coast to Ha Long Bay. Cut inland to Hanoi and continue northwest to the Chinese border.
July 15: Enter Yunnan province, China. Ride to Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Chengdu and Chongqing. Take a boat down the Yangtze Gorges, then ride south to Guilin and Yangshuo. Take a boat to Guangdong and on to Hong Kong.
Oct. 25: Arrive in Lhasa, poke around, then ride to Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp and maybe Shishapangma Base Camp.
Nov. 25: Arrive in Kathmandu. Raft the Karnali River (if it's not too late in the year), trek the Annapurna Circuit, then ride to Darjeeling and south to Calcutta.
Jan. 10: Arrive in Calcutta. Take a boat to the Andamans and decide what to do next while relaxing on the beach. The Chinese Silk Road, Central Asia, Iran and on to Turkey in the spring? It would be nice....
Joanne Sandrin
