Uhh This Naughty Headwind!!
The ride to Urumqi was very very toughhh!!!! The terrain is quite flat, its a climb but only around 100m vertically for every 5km, the road is good but the wind… constantly blowing against me. Its like this northern wind doesnt want me to proceed north towards Russia! And it seems like the wind wants me to go to India! Why wind why? I even stopped riding at 1 point and start talking to the wind, “Woi dah dah la tu!”, hoping that the wind understands malay? :)
The ride from Turpan to the next available town is only some 40km away. Without bringing any food and much water, we rode to the town. The unexpected headwind really slowed us down, it took me 10 minutes to cover 1km! The 40km ride that was supposed to take less than 2 hours ended up the whole day, making me didnt eat for the whole day and became so weak. The next day was the same, i only ate a little during breakfast and after whole day fighting the strong wind, i became sick again. Didnt eat proper and ended up losing appetite to eat. When i forced myself to eat… i vomited few times. Once we reached the next town i had no more energy and decided to take another day rest before reaching Urumqi.
At 1 point while i took a rest, i met an engineer doing some work at the roadside. He started to talk to me, he speaks good english. He then started to ask me the usual questions, like where did i start my ride and where am i going bla bla bla. Then he asked me how old am i. I answered 30, well im going to be 30 in 10 days anyway :) He then said that hes 30 too and asked me what is my job. I told him i was a lecturer before, but now im jobless. He got shocked for that, and told me in China, job is very important to a man. When a man loses his job here in China, its like the end of the world. I then told him yea actually its the same everywhere nowadays, but i like to be free like a bird. His face somehow tells me that he really disagree with me and looking down on me. Well hehe thats to be expected. We are at the same age, but hes look much older, like someones father. Uhh.. i guess he must have kids then.
I dont know, after that conversation, while i continue resting and enjoying the scenery, i started to get emotional. Hmm… i have the freedom, free like a bird, but im nothing compared to him. I assume he has a family, probably good salary, a house, car etc. Me… the most expensive thing that i posses now is my bicycle, followed by my camera, tent, sleeping bag, toiletries, clothes and LITTLE money inside my bank account. My friends back home, most have stable jobs, some have kids, uhh… some even have 3 kids already hehe. Some, 3-4 years younger than me, also already have kids, and look much older. Well im not complaining, each soul in this world is unique. I understand that… just that when u choose 1, u will lose another.
Diary Of A Traveller 
Heyyyyy the pics r AWESOME!!!! WOW!! thts really eye catching!! good job dude! :)
“As you make your bed, so you must lie upon it.” Don’t regret or dwell on “what if”s. You never know the luck and fortune that may come your way during you travels. You can easily catch up on all the worldly things possessed by your friends, later. What they will never have is your experience – simply priceless!! And I, already envy you for that…
wey, you r definitely NOT nothing compared to that engineer, you have no idea how many out there are willing to be in yr position. Me for instance.
i c u begin to hav doubts in yr mind, well, am not a bit surprising since you have the time of the world to do a lot of thinking. a healthy body = healthy mind, you are ill, tired and exhausted now. go grab a bar of chocolate and I guarantee tht you will feel differently.
yes, the engineer has a job and has many other responsibilities and mouths to feed. Somehow, I do not think you should worry abt yr job and security in the near future right now, especially half way during yr quest. You have had a head start and a great opportunity in life, not many can reply “well, I cycled around half of the world !” when ask during a job interview. if I am the boss/interviewer, you will be right at the top of my candidate list. YOu ahve set yr goal, don’t give up now.
you r now only 30, havent even reached the peak of yr life. Let me reaffirm, dun worry abt what u have right now.
p/s you ex-boss may surprised you by offering yr old job if he knows what u r up to. Go on, write him an email with the rest of yr sponsorship seeking letters.
p/s don repeat yr mistake (for not carrying food supply). Do u carry a small butane stove and instant noodles?
p/s still suffering punctures? i c u put most of yr stuffs on the back of the bicycle, are you distributing the weight equally between back and front?
keep yr chin up!
may be a bit late now
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Cycled-World/dp/0593062337
hehe thank you for the comments… i felt good after reading it actually :) dont get me wrong, i never regret this. ive been thinking over it for a long time before i started this journey. i gave up everything in kl. if i go back kl, im as good as dead. but the good thing is my mind is so clear, far away from the tension of city life which i hate all my life. Its acidic and the air we breath is poisonous. If i have a choice i dont want to raise my kids 1 day in a polluted city… not good for the body and mind.
jj – yeap.. im carrying some 30kg of luggage, i have complete almost everything. cooking stuff, bike repair equipments, everything. And yes i put em everything at the back, its not stable but ive no other choice. U can never find front panniers in China. Ppl here never heard of it. So ive no other choice but to pack everything behind. Hope i can find a good front panniers in central asia or russia…
thx for the link.. but ive seen much more crazy guy than that, i met a european cyclist few weeks back, who already cycled around the world for 6 times and been living on his bike for 40 years already :)