Category Archives: Route Info

Batam: Batam Center to Sekupang Ferry – 21km

Java: Jakarta to Purwokerto – 419 km

Bali: Gilimanuk to Padangbai – 260 km

Lombok: Lembar to Bangsal – 118 km

Indonesia is a gorgeous country with great culture diversity and stunning unspoiled tropical sceneries. The Indonesian people are outgoing, generous and hospitable. The inexpensive local food and hotels can be easily found around every street corner.

However, cycling experience in Indonesia can vary greatly, depending on the choices of routes. Among thousands of islands in Indonesia, we cycled in five of them – Batam, Java, Bali, Lombok and Gili Meno. We made some bad route choices that nearly broke us after 6 months cycling through Southeast Asia, but also some good ones that allowed us to appreciate the beauty of this tropical paradise.

Route to avoid: northern coast line in Java, or the entire island of Java if you dislike crowds.

In Java, we started from Jakarta and followed the northern coast line and cut across to the south when we reached Tegal. After we made it to Purwokerto, we couldn’t take it anymore so we took a train to Bangyuwangi just to escape the crowds and hassles. Constant heavy traffic that follows no obvious logic pattern, huge pot holes on pretty much every road, garbage piles everywhere, plus the heat were quite a lot to handle on a daily basis. We imagined that central Java would be better because of the mountains, but we were disappointed to find no escape. It was not much cooler either. We didn’t see any tourists, let along other cyclists in this section.

The train ride offered us a different reality. Looking out from the air conditioned carriage, we could only see luscious green rice fields zooming by. Nearing Surabaya, we had a glimpse of a quiet road, which could be a sign of better cycling conditions in eastern Java.

Routes we loved: north coast of Bali and Lombok

Bali bears little resemblance to Java. Thanks to the thriving tourism, the nature is better preserved, and accommodation is plentiful at an affordable price. The less travelled northern Bali was just like a tropical garden, except there are a lot of people living in it. The locals are very jaded for foreign travellers, especially in touristy towns such as Kuta, Ubud and Lovina.

Lombok is even less crowded than Bali. The coast line on the northwest side (north of Senggigi) was the highlight for our trip in Indonesia.

Accommodation:
An air-conditioned room costs 200,000 IDR to 300,000 IDR, while a fan room normally costs significantly less (anywhere from 100,000 IDR to 170,000 IDR). Finding a hotel is not a problem at all. We didn’t camp at all in Indonesia, mainly because there was barely any place suitable for camping.

Warungs are the best bet for good cheap meals. They are small restaurants that serve ready-cooked dishes over a plate of rice. For 10,000 IDR you can get 4 to 5 side dishes on top of a plate of rice to complete a satisfying meal. There are also ready to go food packages called bungkus on road side stalls for 2,000 IDR to 5,000 IDR each, but with less the quality and quantity . Still, they are much better than cup noodles as a quick meal on a long ferry ride.

Weather:
Not as humid as Malaysia but just as hot, if not hotter. However the temperature difference between night and day is noticeable. The weather pattern is very distinct and predictable, when we were in Java the afternoon rain storm came like clockwork. So with a little bit of planning we managed to stay dry.

[post_list name=”Indonesia route”]

Cycling in Malaysia was not the most exciting experience for us. Scenery was not the most stunning, food was not the most delicious, local people were lukewarm and the roads were not inspiring. When we found ourselves far away from the tourist crowds, all the cheap accommodations were gone too. Even we stayed on the east coast where it is supposed to be cheaper than the west coast, the price for a budget hotel room was shockingly expensive. Traveling in Malaysia is a family activity, most accommodation facilities are designed for families with kids. For Muslim couples you have to show your marriage certificate in order to get a room, so sex motels are unheard of. Only in big towns can you find budget hotels. It is apparent that local economy suffers from the lack of tourists as many small businesses were abandoned.

Hightlights:

• exotic animal sighting, most of the time in the form of roadkill;
• gorgeous beaches, free of people and garbage;
• at Lake Kenyir, the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia, we had the entire campsite to ourselves, and it was free;
• there are still some lush tropical forests to be found, despite the expansion of palm tree plantations.

Accommodation:
When you see signs for Homestays, you probably expect staying with locals at an affordable price. There are plenty of homestays in Malaysia, but they are something different than what you would expect. Malaysian homestays are fully furnished houses for either short or long term rent. With kitchen, living room, multiple bedrooms, the price starts from 100 Ringgit. Not ideal for budget cyclists, who usually travel as a pack of 2 or less.

Resorts and chalets are the best bet for cheap rooms. Again, resorts and chalets in Malaysia are different from what you would expect. Most of the time less swanky than their western counterparts, resorts and chalets mainly target familys and if you are lucky, they might have a small room for 2 people at a lower price. But still, rooms are much more expensive than Thailand.

In towns that have Chinese population, hotels run by Chinese are great – clean, functional and cheap.

Food:
Rice or roti canai with sausy chicken, fish or beef as topping are very common for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is usually less than 5 Ringgit for a serving. Along the coast you can find deep fried seafood at a very reasonable price. There are a lot of hamburger stalls, selling spicy chicken or beef hamburgers. A standard hamburger costs 2 Ringgit, great for a snack.

Alcoholic beverages are banned in the states of Kelantan and Terengganu, and you will have a hard time finding a beer in non-touristy towns. Even if you are lucky enough to find a beer in a Chinese restaurant or a 7/11 in a big city, be prepared to pay a high sin tax. Fresh coconuts are a better deal if you feel like splurging.

Terrain:
Mostly flat along the coast, the inland can be quite hilly though.

Weather:
Hot and humid. The temperature is a bit over 30 Celsius degrees but the humidity makes it feel like 40. It does get cooler during the night in the mountains, but it gets warm quickly after sunrise. In Thailand we got up early (5am) to get some milage in before it got hot, but this trick didn’t work in Malaysia.

[post_list name=”Malaysia route”]

Thailand is one of the best Southeast Asia countries for cycle touring. Thanks to the thriving tourism industry, the accommodation is cheap and abundant and you can easily find modern conveniences. Plus, who doesn’t like Thai food? Even though some places are a bit touristy, Thailand has a lot to offer.

Road condition: wide shoulder, smooth surface. We never encountered any bad road in Thailand. But the garbage on the roadside was a constant turn-off.

Culture: Thai people are very laid back. Northern Thai are more reserved compared to the extremely out-going southerners. Their proficiency in English provides us more opportunities to get to know the locals. Also, there are many expats here to make us less of a novelty item.

Terrain: mountainous up north, and it gets flat around Bangkok and flatter all the way down to the coasts.

Grocery shopping: 7/11s are everywhere. There is no need to stock up and toll extra weight around.

Accommodation: price from 200 Baht to 500 Baht. The rooms are clean and almost always come with wi-fi. Budget hotels in southern Thailand usually have cold shower and fans only. It takes a while to get used to the cold shower, but it is essential to stay cool in a fan room. Most likely you will find very cheap sex motels in touristy towns, and it is common to find complimentary condoms in most hotels too.

Food: our first choice was always bagged food from local markets. Freshly cooked during the day, they are very tasty and always come with a great variety . It usually costs 20 Baht per bag and you can get a good meal for two under 100 Baht.

Nakhon Phanom to Crazy Horse Buttress, Mae On – 958km

Crazy Horse Buttress in Mae On District was our first rock climbing destination in Thailand. The cycling journey from Nakhon Phanom to Mae On took us through some very mountainous roads in northern Thailand, but it was very rewarding.

Highlights:

• Stunning views of the colorful forests;
• Cooler weather in the northern mountains, the temperature was around teens in the morning during the winter;
• Less touristy than the south.

Chiang Mai to Satun, via Krabi – 1,751km

Krabi was the second rock climbing destination for us in Thailand, and it was a perfect tourist destination for my parents to join us for a vacation.

From Chiang Mai, riding towards the south was much easier since the terrain flats out. With the mountains behind our back, the first sight of turquoise ocean in Hua Hin marked the new stage of the journey.

Highlights:

• Riding along the picturesque Thailand coastline;
• Riding through Bangkok in rush hour traffic – drivers were exceptionally patient and courteous;
• Visiting Khao Sok National Park;
• Delicious Phad Thai everywhere.

[post_list name=”Thailand route”]

Nam Phao International Checkpoint to Vieng Kham Via Route 8 – 131km

Vieng Kham to Thakhek via Route 13 – 103km

Laos is apparently a very popular cycling tour destination. During our short jaunt cycling across Laos, we met the most cyclists since we started the trip. The pristine scenery, unique culture and hilly terrain are beyond compare to anywhere we have traveled in Asia so far.

The traffic on the road is minimal, and the drivers are cautious when overtaking cyclists. We felt pretty safe traveling through Laos. The trick is stick with major roads. We tried to cycle on Route 1E, and admitted our defeat after 10km on the unpaved road. Other than the secondary roads, all main roads are paved and smooth. Villages are sparsely located among the mountains. We enjoyed long stretches of quiet roads but the downside was the lack of accommodation facilities. We were forced into long days just to reach towns that have 1 or 2 guesthouses. The scarcity of restaurants and grocery was not a good news for cyclists either. We learned the lesson to take whatever we can find along the way and not be picky, because the next sight of civilization might be 50km away.

Google Maps has been essential to our trip. We have 1 android tablet (Google Nexus 7) with GPS. We cached maps along the routes so they were available offline. And in places like Laos, where Internet connection is non-existing, GPS is indispensable. Once GPS pinpoints our location on Google Maps, we could roughly plan stops ahead based on the offline maps. However the lack of Internet access put a strain on our planning. We had no way to learn if there would be any amenities along the way without WiFi connection. We often rely on the size of the town as shown on Google Maps, but once we were tricked into finding a completely abandoned village towards the end of a very long day of peddling. Regardless of the occasional deficiency of modern technology, traveling will not be the same if there is no adventure and uncertainty ahead..

[post_list name=”Laos”]

Mon Cai to Huu Lung – 248km

Aiming for our first climbing destination Huu Lung, we started a mountainous yet scenic journey in northern Vietnam after we crossed the border at Mon Cai/Dongxing. It took us 5 days to cover the 248km distance.

This was probably the easiest section of cycling that we did in Vietnam despite the hilly terrain. People were generous and hospitable, and thanks to the lack of tourists in the area we were rarely quoted in foreigner’s price, which is double of what locals pay. Accommodation options along the way are mainly truck stops. Buying nonperishable grocery was a bit of a challenge for us, ironically because Vietnamese diet is even healthier – local people prefer fresh ingredients for their meals, but fresh leafy vegetables and freshly butchered meat are hard to travel with. Since most people cook at home rather than eating out, the menu in local restaurants is very limited – most of time it’s either bún (thin rice noodles) or phở (flat rice noodles), with either chicken or beef on top. Luckily the abundance of bánh mì made our diet easy and very enjoyable.

The road condition also improved since we cross the China/Vietnam border. The traffic on QL18 and QL4B was light and the concrete was smooth. Once we started on AH1, the road was heavily traveled by overloaded trucks blasting 100 decibel horns. Mercifully the road shoulder is wide and smooth.

Huu Lung to Cầu Treo Border Pass – 459km

AH1 turned into a nightmare when we were getting closer to major cities. We managed to avoid traveling through Ha Noi, however even traveling on the outskirt was bad enough – millions of motorcycles stopping and merging in traffic without caution, and the road shoulder disappeared so we had to hug the very edge of the road, which was filled with garbage and broken glass. Meanwhile, our view was blocked by a double fence and merging traffic from sided road rarely yield. The road condition was much better away from the major cities,but there was barely any scenery along the road at this point.

From Vinh, we started heading west on QL8A / AH15. The road condition from Duc Tho to Pho Chau was the worst we have come through so far. It was exceptionally muddy and hilly, and unfortunately it is the only route between Vinh and Cau Treo Border crossing so heavy traffic is common.

QL8A got better once we passed Pho Chau. But it was not an easy ride either. It was pretty much all uphill all the way to the border. The road work at the last 10km was horrifying, and the road between the Vietnam/Laos check points was infamously bad. Bad road condition was coupled with the typical climate in mountainous areas – misty, humid and cold. We strongly advice cyclists, either on human-powered vehicles or on motorcycles, not to pass this section under rainy condition.

[post_list name=”Vietnam route”]

Cycling in China was both easy and hard. Paved roads are everywhere, and most of the time there are wide shoulders to ride on. Grocery shopping is very easy, every town has at least one supermarket which carries cyclist-friendly goods – oatmeal, milk powder, noodles and various types of vacuum sealed food for the toppings. There are plenty of fresh vegetable and fruit stalls along the roads. Budget hotels are easy to find, for 100 RMB you can expect a clean standard room with hot shower, AC and a kettle.

The hard part is the people. It was rare to see a smiley face and we constantly drew a huge crowd. It was a challenge to focus on our tasks when we were under the spotlight. But we eventually got rid of the stage fright by ignoring the unwanted attention. If you are a foreigner trying to sort things out, people are more entertained by watching you struggle than willing to help you out.

You will probably see a lot of things that don’t make sense to you on a daily basis. When you try to ask why, just remember, because China.

The route:
From Doumen, we followed G365 till it ends at south of Yangjiang, and picked up G325 on the north side of Yangjiang. G325 took us as far as to Qinzhou, from where we headed south on provincial road to Fangchanggang, and what appeared to be a secondary road on the map took us to Dongxing border crossing.

For our journey in China, the first problem was river crossing. Only the new S32 Coastal Highway offers bridges. Luckily there are convenient alternatives for bicycles. Following non-highway roads that end at the riverside, you will find ferries taking bicycles and motorcycles across on regular basis, only for a very small fee.

Since overloaded trucks and speeding buses avoid toll roads, they had been our faithful traveling buddies. In addition with numerous motorcycles, you won’t feel at home on G365. China indeed has an impressive amount of paved roads, however, the construction quality is very doubtful. Pot holes big enough to swallow a whole car, or surfaces that have been worn down to dirt and gravels, all these road hazards bear no warning signs. The best effort we have seen was a few branches with red plastic bags attached. For the amount of toll stations that we passed on the provincial and national roads, some maintenance work ought to be done.

Navigation:
Google Maps has been a double-bladed sword in China. Sometimes it leaves you in awe after navigating you through a path no wider than 2 meters. Sometimes a major motorway is completely missing, or miss-named on the map. Sometimes, what it appeared to be a secondary road on the map turns out to be a major road wider than a highway. Google can’t be blamed for the lag though, since China shooed Google away several years ago and still is very controlling regarding online information. Combined with the rapid construction development, hardly any map would be able to keep up. The bottom line is, always bring an old-fashioned compass for your secondary navigator. It takes no battery and at least gives you a general direction when the new technology has failed you.

Accommodation:
China has been the easiest country so far in terms of finding decent clean hotels and groceries. Sizable supermarkets combined with local wet market, and cheap hotel rooms with freshly washed bedding are abundant in most towns along the way.

[post_list name=”China Route”]