Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005

To: touring@phred.org

From: “Michael Ayers” <michael@terminalia.org>

Subject: Gondwana - A Sling to Singapore; Stage 2 in Asia set to start.

Greetings Phreds,

This will be a fairly short post, since it does not involve any actual cycling.

I’ve been here in Singapore for about 10 days now, trying to get a bunch of chores accomplished, most of which are done now, making efforts to gain a kilogram or two of body weight (always fun), and trying to rest a little, which I’ve not been too successful at, unfortunately.

Some short notes:

· The Sea Transfer

By some amazing stroke of luck I, the bike, and the box of supplies I had sent from home all made it to Adelaide in time to board the Theodor Storm before it sailed for Singapore. The box cleared customs with just 2-3 hours to spare, so I was really lucky there. In addition to skipping my desired port of Fremantle, the ship also canceled a call at Kuala Lumpor Malaysia. So instead of the 9 days at sea I expected originally, or the 12 that I expected once I learned that I would depart from Adelaide, we only spent 6 days at sea. That was nice on one hand, as it’s the first time on this tour that something went faster than I expected, but unfortunate in that I did not really have enough time to finish all of the tasks I had planned to do while at sea. Also there were some rough seas on the first two days, which had my bike and gear constantly sliding across the floor. I decided then that making repairs on the bike would be better done once back on dry land.

The officers were not quite as talkative at mealtime as on the previous ship, as they were mostly Russian and not completely fluent in English. However, on the last few days, when the sea was calm and I started visiting the bridge, we began to have some interesting discussions. At that time, as well, we passed by some interesting sights, such as going through the Sunda Straight between Java and Sumatra, where I observed the remains of the Krakatoa volcano, though I did not realize that at the time. After that there were a few more islands to pass, and no sight of the pirates that sometimes prowl the seas in that area. Then we arrived right on schedule on November 2 in Singapore, currently the world’s busiest port with 400 ships arriving and departing each day, just as the Sun was setting.

· Singapore

The city-state of Singapore is now a fully “modern” city, hectic and busy with a population of 4 million (though one cab driver kept insisting that it was 400 million). There is a rather strange feel to the city, at least as I’m concerned. There are large shopping malls at the base of virtually every building, many of which are interconnected by subterranean passages, so the city seems to one giant shopping center. There are an equal number of sources for food, both Asian and Western, so I have had some moderate success in refueling a little. The tailor shops seem to be the most interested in trying to sell their services, and it is just as difficult as always to convey the idea that while on a long bicycle tour, I really don’t need a new suit. Also, the town is one of those real “melting pot” type of places, probably more so than anyplace I’ve been so far or will pass though for quite a while, which I really like.

One of my goals here was to get three of the 6 visas I will next for this stage. With a weekend, and a holiday for the Malaysian New Year during my stay closing the embassies, and many other places, down, I only had time to get two of them and even those were a major hassle. Hopefully, I can get an Indian visa when I’m in Phnom Phen in a month or so.

· Next:

Tomorrow, I will leave heading north into Malaysia. It will be a bit of a chore to navigate through the city, which is very unfriendly to bike traffic so I will try to leave early, assuming I can wake up on time. With the early arrival here, I have plenty of time during the first half of the Stage, so I can either take three days off per week instead of two, or stay with two and cut my distance way down. Either choice will be kind of nice right about now, and I will probably do a little of each, especially since the weather will be pretty showery until I get a bit farther to the north (the first rain I’ve seen since July 21 was here).

I feel pretty good right now, just a little sleepy, and the bike is in good shape (mostly) after I replaced all of the parts which suffer wear. So I don’t anticipate any major problems in the near future. Of course, anything can happen.

Until later.

Cheers,

Mike

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The Tour of Gondwana

May 02005 - Oct 02007

http://www.terminalia.org/tour