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!
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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 |
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