20,000 km through 20 countries in 100 days
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World -
Indonesia -
Singapore to Laos -
China -
Kazakhstan -
Europe
Day 18: “Ketamin, Opium cocaine…” – Ipoh, Malaysia
Biggie and Kel drove us 140 km and then dropped us off at a petrol station, near Pinang, about 150 km from the Thailand border. We waited there for nearly two hours until someone finally picked us up. The vehicle
Day 18: Welcome to Thailand – Alor Setar, Malasia
After a brief visit to The Chief’s new house, which he proudly explained was in an affluent suburb, the bus dropped us off near Alor Setar, only 30 kilometres south of the Thailand border. We considered calling it a day
Day 19: “Sick fashion…” – Sadao
I awoke in a small attic-type room, above the bar. After the night’s heavy drinking session it was always going to be a brutal morning. Michael went through every step of his customary hangover routine, as systematic and predictable as
Day 21: “Michael’s happy dance…” – to Ratchaburi
That night we again slept in the back of the open truck as it drove through the darkness. It wasn’t as comfortable as Suwarno’s in Indonesia though, because this time we didn’t have any sleeping mats. We were on a
Day 22 – 23: “Chaos San Road…” – Bangkok
From Ratchaburi, we hitched the 100 km to Bangkok in two rides without much trouble. The first car that stopped for us typifies the Thai attitude. A car drove past us on the highway at 90 odd km per hour
Day 34: “Jimmy the crack head…” – to Chaing Rai
Feeling tired yet happy in the Thai sunshine we continued on our way from the motel that Por had dropped us in late last night. We were picked up, for the 20th time on our journey so far, in record
Day 38: “Cock blocked…” – Jinghong”
“Are you alright?” Michael asked me “Yeah” “Why are you walking like that?” “Like what?” “Like you’ve shit yourself” “Heat rash. Too much heat, sweat and walking. Need to find some baby powder” “That’s nasty” Despite the considerable discomfort of
Day 40: “The gooch scraper…” – Kunming
The contorted look of determination on the boy’s face, while he scoured away at that man’s crotch, as if he was a squire scraping the rust from a suit of armour’s cod-piece, will haunt my dreams for many years to come.
Day 41: “Fresh Prince of Huizé…” – Huizé, China
Thankfully the ride in the death car only lasted about 30 minutes. I’ve never been so terrified in a car before or since and at one point I genuinely prepared my body for the crash that seemed inevitable. The maniac
Day 45: “Funshine bear…” – Chengdu, China
Chengdu is a huge city of over 13 million people making it nearly double the population of London. It was strange for Michael and I, humble folk of the Shire, to have gone through so many mega-cities and it was