25 things we love about cycle touring in Southeast Asia
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The power of a wave and a smile – the international language of friendship
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Seeing crazy scooter stuff like 5 people on a scooter, 10 year olds riding scooters, scooters piled high with stuff, scooters with crazy attachments, people riding along holding their helmets under their arm!! The list goes on…
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Finding you are no longer surprised at crazy scooter stuff after a while, in fact you come to expect it
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Friendly children, babies in slings tied onto their mothers, mothers working with kids in tow
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Learning new languages and connecting with people, finding you can ‘talk’.
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Finding yourself talking pidgin English, missing words out and using the present tense way too much
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Getting somewhere under you own steam and seeing buses pass you, sometimes the same bus several times over a few days
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Going to ‘tourist free’ places and meeting local people
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Seeing red chillies laid out on a mat, drying in the sun
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Being independent – backpackers are often at the mercy of buses, tuk tuks and boats, all weary on arrival
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Living cheaply and being self-sufficient
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Trusting people
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Traditional hill tribe women eating betel nuts that make their teeth and lips blood red as they chew
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Not knowing where you are going to sleep that night, but not worrying about it
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Trying different food and discovering just how much rice it is possible to eat in one day
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Fresh pineapple
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Cows with big floppy ears standing in the road, reluctant to move and slightly put out at you being there on their road
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Learning about the world, people, their stories, politics and culture
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Feeling you can do anything, go anywhere, trusting your instincts
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Nice feeling you get when you feel comfortable in a country and find you have relaxed
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Being in tune with the weather, reading the signs and being exposed to the elements
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Seeing giant golden buddha statues and brightly coloured, pristine temples in the most unexpected places
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Beautiful, shiny green paddy fields
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Cycling for 5 hours a day = plenty of time and space to think
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Weight loss, need I say more?!
