We (Joanne Sandrin and Graydon Hazenberg) are a couple of Canadians who undertook a bicycle journey around South East Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal and India.
Our odyssey began in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on January 27th, 2001, after a brief swing through Mexico. Joanne eventually gave up on cycling in Thailand (too much of a sufferin' business) but rendezvoused with Graydon a couple of times as he continued to pedal towards Tibet. Graydon finally finished cycling in Darjeeling in December, 2001 after 11,586 kilometres. He then set off on his own in May, 2002 to try to ride from China to Turkey, but was laid low by rheumatic fever in Urumqi, bringing a premature end to his plan. This is the story of our trip, in words (by Graydon)and pictures (by Joanne). Feel free to take a look at our photos and despatches from the road.
Itinerary Overview:
Jan. 27: Arrive in Kota Kinabalu, leave bikes, climb Mt. Kinabalu, visit Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, dive at Sipadan Island, fly back to KK.
Feb. 12: Leave KK by bicycle. Ride along north coast of Sabah to Brunei and out the other side to Sarawak. Ride along Sarawak coast to Bintulu, fly to Kuching.
Mar. 5: 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, Kapas and Perhentian islands, as well as Kuala Lumpur. Lots of diving and snorkelling. Unfortunately, Joanne's father passes away suddenly and she flies back to Canada. Graydon continues cycling.
April 3: Cross into Southern Thailand. Head north via Krabi and a sidetrip to dive in the Similan Islands. Joanne returns to the trip at this point. Ride up to Damnoen Saduak and take a bus into Bangkok to catch a bus to Cambodia for a sidetrip to Angkor Wat. Ride from Damnoen Saduak to Ayutthaya. Joanne decides to abandon the bicycle, Graydon heads east towards Khao Yai Park and the Northeast of Thailand, taking in a few Khmer ruins along the way. Joanne rejoins him by bus to head into Laos.
June 17: Cross into Laos at Vientiane. Ride north to Luang Prabang and up to the Chinese border at Boten.
July 3: Enter Yunnan province, China. Ride to Jinghong and Dali then leave bike in Dali for a while. Meet up with Joanne and take trains and buses to some of the highlights of China: Lijiang, Lugu Lake, Emeishan, Leshan, Chengdu, Xian, Beijing, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze, Chongqing, Yangshuo and Hong Kong. Quick sidetrip to Taiwan.
Oct. 9: Arrive in Lhasa, poke around, then ride the Friendship Highway through Gyantse, Shigatse and Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu.
Nov. 11: Arrive in Kathmandu. Graydon's sisters meet up with him. Trekking in Helambu and Langtang. A final ride to Sikkim and Darjeeling, before flying back to Kathmandu and on to Switzerland for Christmas.
December 23: Graydon in Switzerland, Joanne in Toronto, Graydon's bike and equipment still in Kathmandu.
March-April, 2002: Joanne and Graydon go to India: a month on idyllic Havelock Island in the Andamans, and some time watching tigers in Kanha and sipping tea in Darjeeling. Joanne returns to Canada and Graydon flies to Hong Kong.
May-June, 2002: Graydon rides nearly 4000 km from Xian to Urumqi, surviving the perils of the windswept Gobi only to succumb to what turns out to be rheumatic fever in Urumqi. After a spell in hospital there, he flies back to Canada to continue his slow recovery and plot his return to the Silk Road.
Random Factoids About the Trip
Retrospective Thoughts on the Trip by Graydon
Silk Road Dispatches by Graydon (2002)
January-June 2001
July-December 2001
May-June 2002
graydonandjoanne@yahoo.com
ghazenberg@yahoo.com
