AWOL Geordie - Steve’s global adventure

Tonight I have been thinking of where I have been since I left home 637 days ago. First, I knocked off the remaining European countries I hadn’t been to before heading into Asia for the first time in my life. Here goes:

Newcastle, England

Aberdeen, Scotland

Lerwick, Shetland

Torshavn, Faroes Islands

Seydisfjordur, Iceland

Eglisstadir

Dalvik

Seydisfjordur

Hanstholm, Denmark

Thisted

Aalborg

Frederickshavn

Gothenburg, Sweden

Malmo

Karlshamnn

Klaipeda, Lithuania

Liepaja, Latvia

Riga

Tallin, Estonia

St Petersburg, Russia

Moscow

Ekaterinburg

Irktusk

Lastyvanka

Lake Baikal

Ulan Bataar, Mongolia

Terelj National Park

Beijing, China

Shanghai

Chongqing

Wuhan

Huangshan Mts

Shanghai

Osaka, Japan

Hiroshima

Shimonoseki

Pusan, South Korea

Seoul

Kunming, China (first flight)

Dali

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Lijiang, China

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Shangrila

Xiancheng

Litang

Kangding

Chengdu

Wuhan

Shenzen

Hong Kong

Cebu, Philippines

Malapascua Island

Singapore

Melaka, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo

Bako National Park

Pangkor Island

Penang

Hat Yai, Thailand

Krabi

Phuket

Ranong

Ko Chang

Hua Hin

Bangkok

Khorat (Udon Ratchasima)

Surin

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mui Ne

Dalat

Buon Ma Thout

Kontum

Quang Ngai

China Beach

Hue

Xepon, Laos

Savannakhet

Vientiane

Vang Viang

Luang Prabang

Pakbeng

Hou Xai

Chiang Kong, Thailand

Chiang Rai

Mae Sai

Mae Salong

Chiang Mai

Pai

Mae Hong Son

Ban Nai Soi

Ban Rak Thai

Mae Sariang

Chiang Mai

Kalisin

Bangkok

Yangon, Myanmar

Bago

Kalaw

Inle Lake

Nuang Shwe

Mandalay

Bagan

Yangon

Bangkok, Thailand

Pattaya

Bangkok

Kuala Lumpur (stopover)

Jakarta, Indonesia

Pangandaran, Java

Kuta, Bali

Ubud, Bali

Jakarta, Java

Manila, (stopover)

Taipei, Taiwan

Shulin 

Danshui

Cigu

Budai

Jiading

Alishan

Guanzilin

Manila, Philippines

Peurto Galera (Sabang)

Calapan

Victoria

Murangan

Calamba

Santa Cruz

Cigu, Taiwan

Manila, Philippines

Cigu, Taiwan

That’s a canny trip eh? Do you know how much it has cost me? About 9,200gbp. Not bad for 1yr 9mth of travelling eh? This is the total amount of money I have withdrawn from ATMs plus online flight purchases. However, I worked for 3 months in Taiwan where I never actually had to go to the ATM at all. Currently, studying Chinese in rural Taiwan is costing hardly owt. I’m also living rent-free here in Taiwan at my girlfriend’s house. This is despite my offers of money every month that she refuses to take - that’s Chinese hospitality for ya! I do take her out for many nice meals to offset this - honest. If I didn’t like beer so much this figure would be even lower!

So, I am wondering when I am going to go to India, Nepal, Oz, NZ and Fiji before hitting South America. I should’ve done all that by now but I’ve been impeded in Asia. I love Asia too much. I can’t even decide which country I like the best. I love them all.

This review has put me in a great fettle and renewed my hunger for exploration again. Aaaaahhhh, the World is too big. The problem now is that I’ve met somebody special. This has thrown a big spanner in the works. I am begging her to quit everything and come with me. However, she thinks we should sit tight in Taiwan and see what happens with my potential yacht job this summer. I’ll keep doing monthly visa runs to the Philippines for the forseeable (if my work permit doesn’t work out). Having said all that, who knows where I will be 1 month from now? My life has been pretty wild for the last couple of years and I love the feeling of the future remaining a mystery - cool!

I still dream of hiking the Inca trail, floating down the Amazon, trekking through Patagonia and Andean glacial mountains, sailing to Antarctica and chilling on a beautiful Pacific Island paradise somewhere.

We’ll see.

Pack in your shitty stressful UK lives and come and join me in Asia. That pile of bricks that you live in and are slaving away to pay for is, at the end of the day, a shitty pile of bricks. Who’ll give a shit you owned a house when you’re dead? Forget the shit weather, council tax, traffic jams etc etc and come and live the dream. Remember, Asia rocks!

再见

I have just cycled back from the night market on my recently fixed bike. I’ve had a pedal repaired and lights fitted. Anyway, I was thinking how things in Taiwan are sometimes priced differently from what we know at home. For example I saw some great brand-spanking new mountain bikes today for about 35gbp. Really good bikes an’all. They had them fancy suspension springs everywhere with modern looking brakes etc. This new-fangled suspension on modern cycles makes me laugh. Where was all this shit when we were kids eh? Also, little kids wearing helmets on bikes - little pussies. I reckon we are WAY to safety conscious these days. They’ll be wearing ‘reading helmets’ and ’shower helmets’ before too long. I’m not keen on being forced by law to wear a helmet. I reckon it should be my own choice but that’s another story.

Anyway, 35gbp for a bike is cheap by any standards. Conversely, a pear costs 1gbp! Bloody extortionate! It’s not really weird, just different from the UK I s’pose. In the UK, a bike would probably require a bank loan whereas I’m sure you could get a pear for pennies.

You might be wondering why I write gbp instead of using the pound symbol. Well these ‘Johnny Foreigner’ keyboards tend not to have the pound symbol on ‘em. So the next best thing is gbp which means Great British Pound (obviously). This is how it is represented on most currency exchange notice boards and financial websites.

On tonight’s bike ride I was also thinking about how I haven’t had a cigarette or alcoholic drink for over 3 weeks. This got me reminiscing about the old women in the fields in rural Burma who smoked MASSIVE tabs called cheroots that look like big fat reefers:

Pretty cool eh? I was also thinking how I read on the bbc news website that smoking is now banned in bars in England. I bet issues like these have never concerned the old lady in the photo. This ban worries me. What next? Coffee? Beer? Now, I would like the ‘health police’ to look at this from a different angle. I don’t particularly like screaming kids OK? Right, well I don’t go and sit in the kid’s party section at McDonalds do I? I don’t want it banned - I simply choose to not go there. I also don’t particularly like loud dance music OK? Right, well I don’t go to those places do I? I don’t want it banned - I simply choose to not go there. Similarly, if you don’t like smoking, don’t go to the bloody bars where they smoke. Simple eh? I think a fairer solution would have been to allocate 50% of bars as none smoking. I don’t smoke and I don’t live in the UK but I resent the government nannying people in this way. Are you adults there or what? Another reason Asia rocks - no shite like that!

Additionally, another point, it’s not generally the most health-minded, safety-conscious folks that attend bars is it? Think about this scenario to see how ludicrous a total ban is: I’ve just drunk a bottle of whiskey but I want one more shot before I DRIVE home and have unprotected sex with this minger I’ve just picked up. BUT, I want to complain about the smoky atmosphere. Pathetic isn’t it? And I’m a non-smoker.

I’m sure many people would disagree with me but I am all for allowing people to smoke if they want to. Drink if they want to. Ride without a helmet if they want to etc. etc. Afterall, we are adults aren’t we? Old enough to make these decisions for ourselves yes?

End rant.

再见

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