Hello again!
I've just wrote a very long post, only to discover that nothing was saved and I can start all over again. so this post will be shorter than planned, because I don't feel like writing that much again... ;) I started cycling in the morning and I loved the crazy road! Transportation outside the city is done zith busses, minibusses (four times the people to the number of seats), official taxi and unofficial taxis (aka every car that stops to pick you up). The road I was cycling on is a very busy road and has an enormous amount of traffic, ramps and exits. Nonetheless it was a very nice road and I thoroughly enjoyed cycling on it. At malls (seventhousand tiny tiny shops packed together) there was a bustling of cars and buses dropping people off, taking people in and cars passing it all. It was a lot of fun cycling in there, but you do have to watch out. The cars are not used to cyclists and have no idea if they can or can't pass you. Sometimes they had to wait (patiently) for a long while before I actually passed and other times I had to brake in order to not run into the car that did pass me. The road went up and down, but always gently and I really enjoyed it. Did see some roadkill (dogs) though :( they smell very bad.... I saw some flocks of sheep and cows and men on horses that waved at me. This was fun! After lunch in the shade and some waiting for the warmest hours to pass (around 35°C - 40°C here!) I cycled on and stopped next to the road in the evening. I ate some food, but I was so tired that I couldn't eat a lot. I pitched my tent underneath the trees and once everything was set up I noticed some disturbing and weird thoughts in my head. I mulled them over and over, to see where they were coming from and what I could do to change them. I tried to go to bed early, but the thoughts kept me up until midnight. The next morning I packed everything and started towards Bishkek. In three days I should be there! After 3 kilometers I stopped. The 'spark' of travelling was gone and even though I really enjoyed cycling and camping, I couldn't find the 'spark' that I had at other times. I decided to follow my heart and turned around, back to Almaty. When I arrived at the hostel, the manager asked me what happened and all I could say was 'I want to go home' while crying tears of joy. The next day I got help buying plastic to wrap my bicycle up for the airplane and at 22h the taxi drove me to the airport. There I bought my tickets and waited for my flight at 5h. I had a stop in Kiev and at 13h I was back in Brussels. I unpacked my bicycle and went home. I didn't have a key to the house with me and nobody knew I was back. I wanted to surprise my boyfriend and waited until he would return home. I hid my bicycle close by and stood somewhere he shouldn't see me. It started storming badly, but luckily I could wait in the entrance hall of an apartment building. He didn't come home.... And after a while I figured out he must have gone to the movie theatre and wouldn't be back for a long while. I decided to go to a friends house nearby and she was very happy to see me. She tried contacting him to figure out when he would be home. We had dinner together and finally we received answer that he was home. I drove home with a gigantic smile on my face and couldn't wait to see his face when he opened the door and I stood there. He was very surprised of course and couldn't believe I was actually back. He was afraid that he would wake up in the morning to discover it was a dream and I wasn't there. But I was, and I will remain here... . I followed my dream, only to discover that it was no longer my dream. I've found a Home, a place where I belong, 'roots'. I never travelled to find a place where I belong, but I could travel freely because I wasn't bound to a place. Now that I discovered that I am bound I want to have different adventures. I long for a nice house, a German Shepherd, kids and above all being together with the man of my dreams. Even though I've planned this trip for years and really looked forward to it, I do not regret at all coming back after two weeks. I feel lucky that I have been able to discover these feelings and I'm happy that I finally feel so connected to someone that I am willing and with great ease give up the liefestyle I had before: crazy, weird and on my own. I look forward to settling down, starting a family and living a plain, 'boring' life. Some part of me tells me that I'll always remain crazy, but there is a whisper now that tells me it's okay if I'm no longer crazy. This is totally new for me and I still ahve to get used to these thoughts and ideas, but I'm discovering that I really like them and would have no problem at all living the 'boring' way. I look forward to it and so I say Farewell to my crazy childhood, adolescent years and early twenties and Welcome my new lifestyle with open arms and a big smile. I'm ready for a whole different kind of adventure! Over and out, Kelly
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- Did you know that... - travelling by train is very comfortable? - you have your own bed to sleep in at night and sheets are provided? - there should be showers, but I couldn't find them? - the water in the sink of the toilet doesn't work? - I washed myself with my own water? - this was possible because I had a bottle of 5 liters water with me? - I had to pour the water into my food bowl first and then in the small water bottle? - this wasn't easy on a moving train? - the toilet ran out of toilet paper sometimes? - the lady that took care of our carriage was very nice to foreigners? - she couldn't speak any English? - Moscow only has gigantic buildings? - they had some kind of festival dedicated to icecream? - the Kremlin and Red square were beautiful? - there were a lot of Chinese tourists there? - I didn't really see a lot of tourists elsewhere in Moscow? - I had to wait in the station for 6 hours before I had my train to Almaty? - I've read 6 or 7 books during that first week on the train? - the train stops at night as well? - the train stopped for 20 minutes in stations with foodstalls? - the foodstalls even sell warm meals, in plastic bags? - I arrived in Almaty at 7h in the morning? - by the time I unpacked my bicycle and found the tourist information it was already 10h? - the tourist information center was closed because of a holiday? - It took me until 13h to find the hostel without a map? - I still can't deal with derailleurs on bicycle? - luckily someone helped me? - the hostel Loco is AMAZING? - this mainly is because they have people with dreadlocks and cool graffiti and incense? - it rained a lot when we visited the Big Almaty Lake? - we even heard thunder? - 1 euro is 370tenge? - I can buy 2 loafs of bread, 1 liter of Coca-Cola and a pot of jam for 1000tenge? - this price was mainly because of the jam, that was 620tenge? - the Grand Bazaar is very organized inside and all the same food is placed together? - outside of the Grand Bazaar there is an entire maze of tiny stalls, also organized? - I saw like 20 stalls that sell shoes? - I leave tomorrow for Bishkek? - it should take me four days to reach Bishkek? - I'm nervous about leaving, but also very excited? - it's quite hard to find a computer with internet in hostels nowadays? - this is because they have wifi everywhere? - they let me use the personal pc of someone else? After the fun farewell party the hardest thing to do was to say goodbye to my boyfriend. I still get tears in my eyes thinking about it, but we both agree that I should at least try this even though it hurts! Getting all the luggage on the train and off and on again was a bit of a hassle, but in the Paris metro I got help when I had to take stairs. The train from Paris to Moscow was very comfortable and I shared it first with a Russian lady that could speak French. Near the end of the trip a Polish lady with her daughter joined us, but they only spoke Polish and Russian. Our carriage was of course the one where the airco didn't work, but they got it working in the end! In Brest we stopped for 2 hours because they had to put other wheels on the train. I got off with a British couple and we waited a bit in the nice and cool waiting room. When I arrived in Moscow I decided to take a taxi and tudum.... first rip-off! The guy told me it was 1500roebles. Something about big luggage and fance car with leather seating. I knew it was way too much, but I was tired and didn't want to argue longer... So I got it. Once we were driving I realised that he asked almost 25euros and that's more than half of my budget... . I couldn't check in yet, so I walked around (without luggage, that could stay in the hostel) without a map, without any idea what I had to do. In the end I sat in a cafe drinking a coke. I hadn't eaten since the morning on the train and was getting hungry, but no idea what I could order, since everything is in Russian... . Toilet wasn't there, so no toilet either. I finally got checked in and walked around more after that. I felt quite lonely and stupid and didn't want to be there. It's not that I was homesick or wanted to go home, I just didn't want to be there... . The second day I checked out and went to the Kremlin and red square. WAUW! That was amazing... I sat there for a couple of hours enjoying the views, people (lots of Chinese tourists) and reading a book in the shade. In the afternoon I went back to the hostel and asked for a taxi. Tourist information said it couldn't be more than 350roebles for the first 20minutes. In the end I paid 300roebles and had a very funny taxidriver that could speak a bit of English. He made the day amazing. I arrived at the trainstation 6hours early and well... read books. There were so many people.... and so many people waiting for the train to Almaty as well... . I got on pretty okay, but I couldn't fit my luggage underneath my bed, because there was other stuff lying there. My bag with wheels could go above the door and the purple one stayed on my bed. For the most part of the trip I shared my space with two brothers (the youngest was 12, the older one... 16?), they could speak some English. Border control was quite okay, but frightening for a bit. The first time they announced we had to go to the toilet now, becauce you can't go when the train is stopped. Then they started opening hidden storage rooms and vacuuming everywhere. When border control (exit Russia) entered we all had to go to our bunkbeds. They constantly asked who's bag it was above the door and left it alone when I told them it was mine. scary, but I got through everything quite smoothly. For a couple of hours there were other tourists and I had a nice chat with a black guy from France, when the lady from The Netherlands went to sleep. The guy told me that he got 60 to 70 requests daily to take a picture with him, just because he was black.
How did I know that there were other tourists? The lady of my carriage was always looking after me at border control and was so sweet. When the tourists came on the train, she came to my bunk and gestured that I had to come see, with the sweetest smile ever. She kept looking after me the entire time, even though the only English she could was 'ok'. After 3 full days and 4 nights I finally arrived in Almaty. I unloaded my bicycle and fixed it. Of course the quiet corner wasn't so quiet, it was the smokers corner apparently... so lots of people looking. In the end I managed it and left for the Tourist Information Center. It was closed... National Holiday apparently... . On one map I saw the street of the hostel where I knew was a cyclist living, so I tried to find it... Took me about 2 or 3 hours, but I found it. I first took a very long long shower and then I rearranged my bags so I have space again. During cycling I noticed that my shifters aren't completely okay yet, so I hope the cyclist can help me out. Yesterday I booked a tour and went to the Almaty big lake. Afterwards I visited the Green Bazaar. I really wanted to see Kaindy lake as well, but it's two days and quite costly unless you go with at least 4 people. Tomorrow I start cycling to Bishkek! Excited! (but I'm still missing my boyfriend a lot. It's okay during the day when I'm busy, but in the evening it's quite hard... .) More pictures can be found on my photo website! See you next time! Hello again! Of course you also want to know what I'm taking with me to fix my bicycle! I don't know much about fixing bicycles, so I'm taking basics with me. Ducktape, rope, tiewraps and thinking out of the box will do the rest! Here's my toolbox: Again, no numbers this time. All the way up you can see my pump: a bit big and heavy, but very good. The black round thing is where I keep all my tools (what you see in the plastic bags and in the bottom of the picture. I also take some oil, a spare inner tube and reserve brake pads. The tool in the middle is to loosen and strengthen my S&S couplings on my bike (the thing that lets me break my frame in two). Packed it looks like this: The pump and the inner tube with the oil (in the grey Ezy bag) go into my panniers and the black toolbox can be placed on my frame or in my panniers, depending on the amount of water I need to transport.
So, that was everything about my packing gear! If you have questions: contact me or look at the FAQ page "packing list", where you can find a detailed list of items I take with me and their weight! Have fun! Hello! In this day and age it's hard to go anywhere without a bunch of electronic devices with you. I've always tried to minimalise the impact of these devices on my life and the same applies to me being on a holiday. I take very little electronics with me and no cellphone, gps or tablet for the first part (Until December). For the second part I will take a tablet with me. That way I can notice the difference between taking it or not. During the second part I'll have a lot more opportunities for wifi and internet, so it's logical to take it with me to enjoy some perks of modern day life. I just hope I won't grow into someone that's always depending on her tablet, cause I hate that... . So, enough chitchat, what DO I take with me: No numbers this time, because of lack of time. What do you see? The red thing is my e-reader, filled with books, pdf's with useful information (hospitals, specific information, ...) and some pictures. The blue thing is my mp3, filled with music and some videos for my taiko-challenge. The big grey thing is my tablet, which I will only take with me in the second part. The white round thing is my world plug and the square white thing with a face is a card reader, which I only take in the first part. In the upper right corner you can see my micro-SD cards, to ensure I won't run out of memory and a spare battery. The other items are charging cables.
As you can see I travel quite minimal and that is intentional. We are too hooked up elektronically for me to really enjoy the perks that every day life offers... So the first part of the trip I try to minimalise everything, but do give me the luxury of some music and lots of good books! ;) Hello again! So, this time I'll tell you all about my complete packing list. I'll let you know what I'm taking with me and where I'll put it in my bag. So: My right bag is my sleeping room, bathroom and clothing. So, all of this fits in my right pannier. This pannier is meant for things that I need in the evening while camping, or in general whenever I'm not cycling. 1 Sleeping bag Cumulus 600 2 Liner silk bag SeaToSummit (not in a bag, so it looks a lot bigger now) 3 thin vest for in the evenings, in hostels, ... 4 Cycling vest for cold cycling days 5 Tripod for my camera 6 Bathroom (see post of 18th of April 2016) 7 Elektronica (chargers, SD-card reader, extra battery camera,...) 8 E-reader Kobo Touch 9 small down jacket 10 shirt and trousers for a 'tourism day' 11 Accessories for warm weather: cold scarf, pj's/swimming clothes, ...) 12 Sleeping mat, pillow with buff, headlight Petzl and travel clock 13 Underwear 14 Cycling shirt and pants 15 Cycling shirt and pants So, of course I also have a left pannier, mainly filled with items I don't need for a longer time and items that I need during the day. This is now filled with clothing for cold weather, bike maintenance stuff and cooking gear. This is what it looks like: 1 First aid kit and medication 2 Rain coat, rain trousers, warm gloves and overshoes (cold and rainy days) 3 accessoires for cold weather (extra buff, undergloves, warm hat, undershirt, ...) 4 bag with kitchen supplies (see post of 3th of April 2016) 5 waterbag 6 sarong (long, thin cloth that can be used as towel, dress, skirt, scarf, blanket, ....) 7 bottle with tools 8 thermal underwear 9 pump 10 kitchen supplies (see post of 3th of April 2016) 11 Bag with assorted items for quick use: maps, insect repellent, sunscreen, moneybelt, ...) 12 innertube So, is this all? Almost. On my handlebar I've attached straps to hold my tent and groundsheet. Furthermore I'll attach a small bag to my handlebar as well to put my camera, passport and money in: close by and easy to take with me if I leave the bike for a bit. I also have a helmet, shoes, buff and cycling gloves with me, but I'll be wearing those all the time. Here is a picture of my bicycle all ready to go: You'll see that the helmet and shoes are underneath a net. This net can be stretched out if needed and is very usefull to put some extra food or water under, when necessary. In the mountains I can put my raingear underneath is for easy access as well. When it's warm and my clothes or towel needs to dry, I can hang them there as well, without having to worry that they will fall off.
Ready? Set? Go!! Hello again! After my kitchen, bathroom and bedroom it's time to tell you more about the clothing I'll be taking with me. I'll be cycling in warm weather (30°C - 40°C) but in the mountains it can be a lot colder (10°C and -5°C at night), so I need to take clothes for cold weather as well. When I meet up with my boyfriend in Vietnam he'll take the clothing for cold and wet weather with him, so that I have more space (will not have high mountains again). Here's a picture first: So, what are all these piles?
1 Cycling pants and shirt 2 tourism pants and shirt 3 accessories for warm weather (pj's/swimming gear, cycling underpants, cold scarf) 4 down jacket (for colder evenings in the tent) 5 cycling pants and shirt 6 thermal underwear 7 accessories for cold weather (undergloves, extra buff, warm hat, undershirt, waterproof socks and warm socks) 8 raingear (rain jacket, rain pants and overshoes) 9 cycling vest (colder days) 10 tourism vest (evenings, hostels, ...) 11 sarong (dress, skirt, towel, blanket, scarf, ...) 12 underwear 13 Keen sandals 14 Kuro, our cat (will be with me in thought only!) In December my boyfriend will take the thermal underwear, accessories for cold weather, raingear and down jacket with him. That will save me a lot of weight and space for the next part of my trip. Next time I'll tell you about my bicycle repair kit and about my electronics. See you soon again! (by the way: in 10 days I'm leaving already!!) Kelly Hello again!
Let me tell you some more about the procedures I had to follow to obtain my visa. First of all I've decided that I want all my visa until China. After China I'll be in South East Asia, where (most of the time) it's quite easy to get a visa at the border or get it quickly. Russia, China, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan however are visa that cannot be obtained at the border and need to be obtained earlier. For Kazachstan (15 days) and Kyrgyzstan (60days) I do not need a visa. Because the train Paris to Moscow passes Belarus I would also need a transitvisum for Belarus. After some searching I discovered that it would be a lot easier to obtain my visa for Tadjikistan (and the GBAO permit necessary to cycle the Pamir Highway) during my travels, in Bishkek. There I should be able to get my visa the same day, or the next. One visa less to worry about! I first applied for the Uzbek visa. The procedure and documents where pretty easy, so this was a good starting point. When I came to the embassy I only had to drop off my documents and 2 minutes later I was out of the door. One week later I could pick it up. When I arrived however, it turned out that the guy responsible for the visa wasn't around because of a delegation arriving in Zaventem. He would be back in one to one and a half hour, so I waited. When he arrived, he recognised me immediately and gave me my passport. The payment (80euros) I could do at home, through internetbanking (cash would've been 100euros...). After this visa I wanted to apply for the Russian visa. This requires an appointment, but unfortunately there is a waiting list of 3 weeks - 1 month! This meant that I couldn't get my Russian visa before June, as I planned. So I studied the month of June very closely in my agenda and decided to apply for the Chinese visa first (in June). To get the Chinese visa I had to book a flight to China and back out again. Furthermore I need to have hotels booked for the entire period I'm being there. I made a fake itinerary in the hope of getting a 3 month visa (telling them you're cycling is a certain way to get a no...). Unfortunately that wasn't possible, but they did provide me with a multiple entry for 30 days. This means I get to enter China twice and stay for 30 days each time. The other positive thing is that this visa is valid for 6 months instead of 3. This means I don't have to hurry to get into China. To abide by the 30 days I've decided to cut my plans in China in two. I'll cycle as planned to Chengdu, where I'll take a plane or train (depending on the time, possibilities and prices) to Hong Kong. After a stay in Hong Kong (no idea how long, but probably at least a week, maybe two or more) I'll take a train to somewhere in China and cycle to Laos. After that hurdle I thought I could handle everything, but along came Russia... . On the day of my appointment they told me that I wasn't allowed to ask a transit visa. I had researched and taken with me all the documents necessary to get a transit visa. I would arrive by train in Moscow on the 1st (in the morning) and leave for Kazachstan the next day in the evening. The lady at the embassy told me that 36hours in Moscow is too long for a transitvisa and that I would need to apply for a tourist visa. This meant that I would have to book a hostel that would give me the necessary documents and then come back to apply again. The lady told me I didn't need to make a new appointment (thank God! I wouldn't have been able to do that AND leave at the planned time) and could come in at any time. I immediately booked a hostel and asked for the paper. The next day I asked again for the paper. Since I didn't receive any respons I decided to contact STANtours. This is an organisation that helped me with a lot of questions. They provided me with the necessary documents, but it still took me almost a week before I could apply again. This time my application was approved and I can pick it up next week. 2 days later I'll apply for my Belarus visum. I can only do this two days later, because of the opening hours of the embassy of Belarus. For Belarus I need a transitvisa, because my train will pass Belarus. I will not get off the train there or visit anything. To get this visa I'll need prove that I'm allowed to enter the country of destination (Russian visa) and the trainticket. I'll also have to pay the fee for this visa in advance and bring proof of the payment. I'll probably have to ask express service, but it will be doable (just). Fingers crossed and let's hope that I won't have any issues anymore! :) Greetings, Kelly Hello again! This time I'll walk you through my bedroom. You already saw my tent, but let's start with two pictures of my inner tent, to get an idea of where I'll sleep. They aren't the best pictures, but it will have to do for now. So now you have seen the inner tent. As you know, I have quite a big tent. The inner tent however isn't that big, but that's okay. It's big enough to put everything in there that I need. So let's start with how my bedroom looks when packed: As you can see, I have two set-ups. Both consist of my tent in the middle, my sleeping mat, pillow and light on the right and my liner in the smallest bag (no picture yet). The first one, with the Panyam 600 sleeping bag on the left, is the set-up I'll start with. The second one, with the Liteline 300 sleeping bag on the left, is the set-up for the rest of the trip. The third picture is a comparison between the two sleeping bags. So, let's start with the Panyam 600 sleeping bag. The original colour is orange, but I ordered it in blue. This sleeping bag is shortened for me and has a comfort temperature of - 8°C. This is the temperature in which it's comfortable to sleep for a woman. The reason I start with this sleeping bag is because I'll be cycling the Pamir Highway. The highest point is 4655m, which means: cold! As you can see on the picture, the sleeping bag doesn't fit completely inside the provided bag, so I'm now looking for a new one. I'll be only using this up in the mountains. The other parts that I'm cycling will be very hot, so I won't need a warm sleeping bag. For those parts I'll only use my liner: a purple silk-stretch very thin sleeping bag. A liner is what you use to put inside your normal sleeping bag, to keep it clean. My other sleeping bag is the Cumulus LiteLine 300, which was also shortened for me. It has a comfort temperature of about 2 to 3°C. This is the sleeping bag that I'll use during the second part of my trip, from January 2017 till the end. Often this sleeping bag will also be too warm, but you never know when it will be a bit colder. Of course I won't sleep on the floor directly! I have bought a new sleeping mat: a Thermarest Neo-air Xlite Women. The womens version is only 165cm long, but that's enough for me! It's extremely light and packs very small (as you can see on the photo. Inside the bag for my sleeping mat I also put my pillow, with a buff to make it softer and a headlight. This all fits in the small bag, so that's very useful! The pillow is a bit big, but I got it very cheap and it is a good one, so I'll keep it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my entire set-up while camping, so I can't show you a complete picture. In June I hope to do a small camping trip, in which I'll try to take the necessary pictures! So if you want to have pictures of certain items: let me know! :)
See you next time! It has finally arrived: my bicycle! I cycled 25km on it so far and I absolutely love it! Still have to get used to it a bit, but I can tell we'll be best buddies very fast! My bicycle has some very nice features, but the thing I fell in love with is the fact that my feet can touch the ground while I'm sitting on my bicycle! Being short as I am (1m50cm), this is an incredible feature! But of course you want to know what else is special about this bicycle! First some general information: My bicycle has 26inch wheels. These wheels are smaller compared to bicycles here in Belgium (normally 28inch), but are the common size in Asia and practically everywhere in the world. My bicycle is made from steel, so that I can get it fixed in a lot more places! It's still lighter than my previous Vlerick bicycle, it weighs just under 14kg (my Vlerick was 15kg500). Now for some more specific things: I have 3 bottle cages: 2 for normal bottles and one that can hold a bottle of 1.5liters (the bottle in the picture is a 1 liter bottle). It has a nice little, but very loud bell attached to it as well. I also have a bicycle computer that tells me how many kilometers I'm doing and how slow I'm riding. It can't tell me how high I am riding, though... I also have a bidon to put some gear in. It has an extra wide opening, to fit tools in easily. My bicycle has simple gear, that doesn't require a lot of technology to work. This way it will be easier to fix things along the way, both for me or for bicycle repair shops along the way. My pedals are the next feature I'd like to introduce. Normally it's a pain to remove pedals when you have to pack your bicycle, because you need a special (and heavy) tool for it and it's often hard to remove. My pedals are special in that they don't need any tool to be removed, but remain securely fastened when attached to my bicycle. Nice bonus feature is that they come with a nice little bag to store your pedals. The most special feature about my bicycle are the S&S couplers. These couplers make it possible to split my frame in two. Because of this I"ll be able to pack my bicycle a lot smaller and more efficiently. My cables can be cut in two as well, so that I don't have to fiddle with my cables when I'm packing my bicycle. My bicycle is still as strong as other bicycles and it's very safe to travel with these couplers. So, I think those were the most important things to know about my bicycle. Because I can't get enough of it, I'll give you another picture to end this blogpost with! ;)
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July 2016
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