View from my host's apartment, all seem calm now...... |
Bangkok & Southern Thailand
As you might have heard there are some serious protests
planned in Bangkok starting this coming Monday and continuing on through the
week. My luck of course….It
happens to be the exact time when I planned to be here?!?!? I wouldn’t be worried except now I have
been warned by too many people to be careful and avoid the city at all
cost. My plan? I will cancel my school visits, as they
are closing down as well for a few days and head south as soon as possible. I
needed some bike maintenance in the city and was looking forward to just
relaxing but with the situation as is, I don’t think it will be relaxing at
all! I spent an extra day down
south and got my bike all serviced, visited a school, and made some new plans
taking into consideration the Bangkok protests.
Planned protest areas in Bangkok for Monday |
I’m also working on my route through the southern part of
Thailand and trying to avoid the last three South Eastern provinces. Again, a lot of local Thais have warned
me about the Muslim extremists down there and advise me to avoid those areas as
well. I do have a couple of route
options depending on the situation the further I head south. I would like to cycle down the Eastern
side of Malaysia because it isn’t so developed, but again, it might mean taking
the Loong way to get there!
Click here for more information regarding the protests http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/world/asia/thailand-protests/
Click here for more information regarding the protests http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/world/asia/thailand-protests/
Oceania
I’m starting to think about the next continent I will be
cycling shortly and spread the word to friends for support. I’m looking for hosts in New Zealand,
Tasmania, and Australia, as well as schools to visits. Yes, those are huge countries, so to
give you a better idea of my route, here is a brief description of my
itineraries. I will fly into
Christchurch and make a loop of the south island, counterclockwise
direction. Then I will fly to
Melbourne and ride out on the Great Coastal Road for about 300 kilometers and
come back through the interior to Melbourne. From there I head to Tasmania and do a circular loop for
about three weeks. At the end of
March, I head up to Sydney where I will fly to San Fransisco, mid-April.
I am hoping to do a get-together with friends and Thomson
Bike Tour clients in both Melbourne and Sydney, where I already have a lot of
people who have graciously offered me a place to stay. I’m excited to start using my camping
gear again, but would also love to be hosted from time to time if you know of
anyone along the described routes.
Also, if you have friends or family who teach at schools in any of these
areas, I would love contacts here as well. My school visits have been few and far between in Asia due
to the holidays and the longer distances.
Thanks so much for all your support, I hope 2014 is off to a
good start!
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