Itinerary

#travel

With only seven days to go, and the last minute panic in full swing. Did we order enough Bum Butter? (That’s chamois cream btw…….it’s not that kind of holiday😉) Have we got enough Deet spray? Where did the mosquito net go? Will the bikes be ready in time? Has all the kit been found and washed? Where will he find room for that Fedora? So many jabs, I feel like a pin cushion!…..I thought now would be a good time to sit down with a brew, and give you a few more details of the trip itinerary.

Part 1…Cycle Indochina

3 countries, 14 days and approx 513km travelled by bike.

We fly direct to Bangkok and spend a couple of days there chilling out, before meeting up with an organised group. Both of us have been there before, albeit separately and for me, a very long time ago. I was only 15 at the time but I remember loving all the temples, so I’m looking forward to visiting it again and seeing it through adult eyes.

Day 1 of the tour sees up meeting up with the group, we’ve no idea how many people are booked on with us, although the maximum group size is 18. We’ll spend the next 14 days travelling from Bangkok, through Cambodia and into Vietnam by bike, bus and boat, where we’ll get to see a little piece of everything these amazing countries have to offer. From the bustling streets of the cities, to the tranquillity of the paddy fields and the magnificence of Angkor Wat’s temples, we’re promised an incredible experience. In Vietnam we enter the Mekong Delta, and travel through the rice paddies and waterways, and we’ll end our journey in Saigon, where the pace is somewhat frenetic apparently. We will be fully guided by local guides at all times and are 95% supported by back up vehicles, carrying our luggage and hopefully plenty of snacks, water and bike spares. They provide us with the bikes, although we’ll take our own saddles, pedals and helmets, as advised. Our own bikes will fly direct to New Zealand and meet us in Auckland. We hope🤞. It always terrifies me flying my bike anywhere, I hate having it out of sight. There’s always the fear of it going missing en route.

Part 2….New Zealand….Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud)

No definite plan. Winging it!

When we get to New Zealand the plan is quite vague at the moment. We’ve got as far as, buy a camper, head north out of Auckland. We’ll probably spend a few weeks working our way down the North Island, stopping to see the family in Napier on the way and then head over to the South Island by ferry. This may change of course when we get there, and much of it will be weather dependant. From there we intend to head further south and slowly work our way back up north, riding, walking, kayaking, paddle boarding and maybe a cheeky flight, up and over mountains and lakes, rain forests and swamps, glaciers and beaches. We wanna see it all! Or at least as much as we can fit in, in the time given. We’ve got approximately 4 and a half months to do, see and experience as much as we can of this amazing country.

We have three fixed arrangements…..the first being the Art Deco Festival in Napier in February, a five day event celebrating all things Art Deco.  https://www.hawkesbaynz.com/see-and-do/art-design-and-culture/the-art-deco-guide/napier-art-deco-festival-2019/  A chance to dress up and go back in time to the 1930’s era, when the City was rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1931.

The bloke has entered the Tranz NZ Enduro, later on in February. Six days of racing multiple stages, from Christchurch to Queenstown. http://www.transnz.com/ I am not crazy enough or fit enough to enter, but I have volunteered to help, so as far as I’m aware, I’ll be manning the food station for these crazy, ultra fit lunatics, to refuel in between stages. Good luck to them all, this is not an easy ride.

We then will finish our stay in New Zealand in Rotorua, for the Crankworx Mountain Bike festival in March. https://www.crankworx.com/festival/rotorua/

From there we fly home, via Singapore for a two day stopover and a Singapore Sling in Raffles, where the bloke gets to think he’s Bond for an hour or two. A last treat before we return back to Blighty and normality and back to work.