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THE NEW PLAN

On Saturday 28^th of March 2009 we embarked on a journey of a lifetime to see the world. We’ve been talking about a trip like this since we met eight years ago and over the last couple of years the travel virus has took it’s grip and we have been unable to get the idea out of our heads. Being in and experiencing new places is so addictive. When traveling we feel alive because all our senses are awakened, new sites, smells, sounds and tastes bring us into the present moment and we feel like we are really living at last. This is quite the opposite of sitting in the office staring at the computer everyday or walking around the same shopping street for the 1000^th time.

So after 3 years of living back in the Netherlands we were ready to quit our jobs and our life there for a new adventure and this time we want to see as much as possible. The idea has evolved from the traditional back packing approach to motor biking and then finally one day we somehow came to the idea of cycling. After searching a bit online we realised that many people were traveling to far off places by bicycle. Some for longer duration then others, for example one crazy German guy called Heinz Stucke (See Links) had been on his bike for 40 years and is still going, but each story sounded just as exciting as the next.

This form of travel allows you to get up close and personal with different cultures, lets you experience each country at your own pace, allows you to sneak up on nature before it realizes you’re there, gives you the time and opportunity to make lot s of nice photos and allows you a sense of true freedom out on the open road.

MINIMALISTIC LIVING

For us the equation was a simple one. The more simple you can travel = the longer you can go for and the more you can see. Cycling gives us that option and we’ll save loads of cash that would be spent on flights and buses and will keep us on the road longer. Another way of keeping the costs down will be to camp as much as possible. Tents these days are lightweight and can easily be carried on the bike along with all the other gear we need. In Asia accommodation is cheap so we won’t be camping unless we need to. For us living more simply is one of the biggest appeals. How much stuff does a person actually need to survive and do things make us happy or experiences themselves?

This had to be our philosophy over the last 2 years so that we could save the money to actually go on this adventure. We’re both not so materialistic anymore so it wasn’t hard to stop the spending. We occasionally treated ourselves to a nice dinner out but this was also a reward for saving hard and in the end it’s actually been fairly easy.

On top of this some of the more expensive gear we decided to get second hand such as the bikes and the tent and this has saved quite a bit and anything else we needed we bought online from the UK as the exchange rate when paying in Euro’s meant we could make some good savings.

Part 1 took us first from Holland to the UK and then through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece to Turkey. This part of the trip was completed for the most part on the fully loaded touring bicycles with an occasional boat or train when we needed a rest or we felt that the road was too unsafe or boring to cycle. While in Turkey we worked for 3 months before exploring Turkey. We then flew back home for a month to plan the next part of our adventure.

One of the key points of this trip has been to be as flexible as possible. The itinerary has been mapped out roughly and we will research along the way. This is not a mission to circumnavigate the world by bike alone, many people have done that already and many more will do it again in the future.

Part 2 will now see us fly out to Mumbai in India and down to Goa where we will begin a new way of traveling. We loved the cycling across Europe and it has always been our plan to cycle the most beautiful and interesting routes around the world. However, during this trip we realized that by drawing a straight line across the world we were missing so much and also some places are just not fun or safe to cycle. With this in mind we decided to swap our fully loaded bikes for two that we can fold up and take on all different kinds of transport. 

Now we can cycle the best parts of the countries and then when we feel like it fold the bikes and jump on trains, boats and buses to get to the places we want to see next. This will give us even more freedom and if we like a place we can stay longer and if not move on. We have also decided on the countries we would both most like to see and then work the route around those. The rough plan is to explore India, Nepal, South China Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and New Zealand. We have also penciled in Japan and Australia depending on our budget.

PREPARATIONS

Apart from getting all the gear that we need, we also have to move out of our apartment and put all the possessions into a garage we rented for storage. We have to hand in our notices at work and we need to cancel any subscriptions such as our phone and internet, we also made an appointment with the tropical doctor to get all our jabs and arrange any insurance that we need.

Apart from these logistical issues we also have to get in shape, make sure we know how to repair the bikes if they break and plan the route that we want to take. The hardest thing is saying goodbye to friends and family because at the end of the day this is the most important part of our lives.

WHY NOT JOIN US!

This website has been made for us so that we can share some of our experiences with friends and family and you can join us on this journey. The best thing about reading other peoples websites and the travel books is that we were able to join them on their adventure and experience it with them while being distracted from everyday life.  We also hope it inspires you follow your dream or to go on your own adventure somewhere.

Finally if it all sounds appealing and you want to come and join us for part of the adventure by bike then your more then welcome and if the cycling doesn’t appeal we can always meet you in some far off place on the other side of the world, have a couple of weeks holiday and rest our sore rear ends.