Bad news!

Unfortunately my camera was stolen from my room in the Key Royal Angkor Guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I have been to the police and they are obviously not going to do shit about it!! Long story, will tell it later.

Pentax K7 #3428965 and Pentax FA 43mm ltd #0028350

I know I will never see either again, but at least I can try to make life as difficult as possible for the new owner.  I have now set up a tracking service on the Internet and posted to various forums.

It’s been a while since I have been on the road. But finally, time’s up and on this day I put my touring bike with all my stuff on the train. Ahead of me is a few months touring in South East Asia. First, I need to get to Copenhagen Airport where an Aeroflot plane awaits to take me to Moscow and then Bangkok. In the train I am hit with a sudden moment of inspiration as I decide that it would be fitting to do at least some riding in Denmark as part of the trip. I’m familiar with the road to get there, I know it’s about 20 km and most of it is actually a nice ride. Actually, it should not take much longer than the train.

I make a stop to take a few pictures. It is cold as in a deep freezer and it and of course it turns out I have a headwin. All things add up, so it takes a bit longer than I predicted. I even manage to make a wrong turn sending me a couple of km in the wrong direction – and how am I going to find my way in Asia with signs in strange languages I don’t read?

It’s therefore with less time, than I could have hoped for, I finally show up in the airport and occupy a space in front of Aerflot’s counter where I furiously begins dismantling my bicycle before I wrap it up in various protective materials. Nobody seems to care much, in fact the Aeroflot staff just notices my progress. When it’s paying time, the Russian hammer falls hard on my head – the charge for bringing my bicycle is almost half of my ticket. I mutter that I swear to never support anything Russian again. If the huge amount of money I had to pay for my bicycle got me hoping that the staff handling the luggage would actually treat it with care … well, think again. The guy in the odd size booth is obviously in a bad mood or just need to show who’s the king of the territory. Initially he declines to deal with my bicycle as it is to big to fit in the x-ray. I have to explain that I checked that the size confirm to airline standards and that I have had the same bicycle with me before where they didn’t feel the need to make a fuss about it. In fact, my bicycle have been x-rayed more often than I ever had. Guy grunts, x-rays my bicycle (no problem, passes right through) before he walks off with it, while I forget any hope about special treatment and reduces my ambitions from “received with no serious scratches” to “just being delivered in one piece.” Now, I only have to go through the security check and as it is clearly my lucky day, I am pulled aside and asked if I could please empty the content of my bag and explain the use of every gizmo in my bag (filled with photography stuff). That done, I have 20 minutes to run through the commercial hell that constitutes the average airport. I am finally off to Moscow.

In the connecting flight from Moscow I get company by a Russian fellow who have clearly just had a vodka or ten as he’s clearly in a splendid mood. As soon as he is seated his head drop forwards and he falls into a deep sleep. The next couple of hours he spend in this position while leaking saliva down his shirt, much to the amusement of not only me but also the other travelers who find this about as amusing as the movies on display.

In Bangkok’s airport I find my bicycle waiting for me and put up the same show only this time in reverse. Putting everything together before I decide to put the bike on a bus with the assistance of the driver, who happens to be in a terrific mood. I go straight for Chinatown where I find a hotel closely located to the main train station.

To the airport. Last ride on Danish soil for a while.

Oh ya! I just wanted to tell you that it is possible to get into Bangkok and around in Bangkok on a bicycle. Riding a bicycle in Bangkok is really not as bad as it sounds. Sure, traffic is ridiculous to a degree that it should be illegal, but that just means I could keep up with the speed of the cars. They even have a bicycle lane! Not that it was worth much, drivers had of course made it an opportunity to park their car. Getting into Bangkok it is probably more pleasant to take in on one of the trains, which can be done without any troubles. I will revisit Bangkok before I return. More about it then.

Bicycle lane in Bangkok, Thailand.

Just to let you know – I am working on updates right know … but it’s time for bed for this traveler.

It is a quite different world I have arrived at – there are backpackers and even … charter tourists (I think). I enjoy the place very much, though, and George Town is a photographer’s paradise. I have a lot of picture I need to have a closer look at.

My favorite experience so far: Pinang Peranakan Mansion – very photogenic place. Here is a random pic:

Details from the interior of the temple of Penang Mansion

I wake up a couple of times during the night. First time it is just dark in my room – like many of the cheap hotels in Malaysia it has no window. I’m slightly confused and it takes some time before I get the reality pieced together: Who am I, where am I? With these facts in place I go to sleep again … but not for long: Second time I wake up, it is probably because of an change in the auditive surroundings. It is still dark as hell, but now it is also completely silent: There is not a sound to hear. I realize it is because the power has gone, so the fan has stopped. Ouch, that will be slightly claustrophobic in my little, hot coffin. Fortunately the power comes back on after a while.

In the morning I head towards Penang and George Town on the west coast. Penang is an Island off the coast, connected to Butterworth on the mainland via a bridge. The ride is easy, but boring . The lush green surroundings have been replaced and now it’s mostly a landscape of plantations. For a stretch of more than 30 km there is nothing – no cities, no road side restaurants or shops. I economize with the water, but fortunately I don’t feel thirsty before I finally reach a small town. Then I reach the highway, but fortunately there is a path for scooters that I use. In Butterworth I head straight for the bridge. Everybody needs to pay a toll, so I head for one of the booths, where a young guy refuses to let me past. I ask: Why can’t I cross the bridge – there is even a path for scooters I can use. His reply is to giggle and indicate with his hand I must turn around. As this have repeated itself a few times with me trying to come up with various arguments in favor of my case, but his reply remains the same imbecilic giggle. I then turn around and ask in one of the booths for cars and a car passenger is able to explain that it is company policy not to allow bicycles on the bridge. But there is a ferry a few Km away. So I’m sent back towards the traffic, in the direction I came from and is now looking for a ferry instead.

Finally, in George Town, the next hurdle is to find a place to sleep.  I can head straight into town, but it looks slightly sleezy or I can turn left or right. I opt for left. George Town turns out to be a maze of Jalan Sehalan – one way streets – where I basicly have to go with the flow. I search for quite some time before I find a place. It is not welcoming and expensive so I turn around. The next place give me the impression of being a brothel so without even asking I continue my hunt. Finally, I get a map from a hotel clerk (place has a swimming pool, but is too expensive) am lead in the direction of the backpacker area. This, off course turns out to be the sleazy looking part of town where my search started.

Time for a shower!