13/03/2020 – Leaving SE Asia

Not too far from the border I found a reasonably priced hotel so checked in for the night. It was a bit of a walk to the 7/11 to get some food but it was the only place around that was open.

Having stocked up on snacks I left before 8am heading to Bangkok. It was 240km and with some leeway before my flight I decided to do it in 2 days.

Like the last couple of days riding it was hot and flat. Being back on the left side of the road was a bit strange at first but you get used to it quite quickly.

The route was easy and just along a main road and upon stopping at another 7/11 I found a trio of Frenchmen who were cycling from Orleans to Bangkok so were at the end of their journey. It was great to speak to them and hear about how they felt about that journey ended knowing they at some point I’d be in the same situation as them.

I pitched up my tent in an abandoned hut that was marked on the map as a place for bike travellers which was ideal. The lack of air con made sleeping uncomfortable but it was only for 1 night.

The next day I had a short ride into Bangkok completely forgetting quite how big and busy Bangkok is. I was too preoccupied trying not to get hit so I don’t have any photos.

I checked into the hostel, had a shower and went for some food. Having been to Bangkok before on holiday I didn’t need to go round and see any of the sights so instead I focused on getting my bike ready for the flight the next day.

A quick stop to get the box and it was packed up smoothly.

Check in was straight forward with yet more temperature testing due to Coronavirus but I managed to board the plane smoothly and my bike went on without any additional charges!!

In what was a surprisingly long flight south to Perth I managed to watch some films and come to terms that I would be soon raving 5500km to Sydney! A fact I’d pushed to the back of my mind as it was always something that seemed so far away.

Flying into Australia into what seemed like an awesome city.

I was picked up at the airport by Steve who had agreed to host me for the week leading up to the race. We headed back to his house, got the bike set up and then started chatting about the race.

He’d followed it the last couple of years and was happy to be helping me out. His generosity was unrivalled as he gave me a few spare parts such as brand new tyres rather than having to buy them from the shop.

We settled in for dinner and I started to plan what to do for the week leading up to the race. Finally the real planing was starting to take place.