After a long silence, I decided to write the last entry of this season. Im writing this last post exactly at the same location when I wrote the first entry on this blog… a long… long time ago. Yes, Im finally home. Im now inside my room in my homesoil in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia… and finally now, Im enjoying the heat, my aircond is still not working as usual! Im sweating while writing this! I feel so comfortable to finally sleep in my own bed in my own room. No more sleeping inside the warm sleeping bag covering myself from the deadly -30c in the Arctic. Instead, I covered myself with the thin blanket from the blood sucking mosquitos. While looking at the window, I saw exactly the same view of what Ive seen for many many years since I was a school kid, nothing much changes… except that my neighbour’s houses are getting bigger than there are less trees. Its funny to think that Im home after a long time being a nomad, yet sometimes I do close my eyes, take a deep breath and start to imagine that Im breathing the fresh air in the wild mountains of the Arctic. My mind is still there somewhere in the northern mountains. Norwegian landscapes are magical, the Norwegian fjords are legendary and the snow-capped mountains look really grand and when the northern lights show herself, dancing in the sky under the stars… it feels like you are in a huge Hollywood movie set in some Disney fantasy movies. Yet I still feel a bit of regret because I don’t have enough time to cover the whole length of Norway. I only rode almost half of Norway. I missed all the grand superlong fjords downsouth of Norway. But still, I feel so lucky to be able to get the best experience staying 88 days in the Scandinavia peninsula.

My ride ended in Trondheim of Norway. I had to cut short my ride in Norway because of visa restriction. I flew out of Europe 2 days before my 3 months visa expired. The last part of my ride, I wasn’t so lucky with the weather. It was cloudy and raining most of the time, covering the incredible view of the magnificent Norwegian fjords in the north. And the wind keeps on blowing against me. I felt less energetic due to less motivation, since I knew that Im gonna end my ride halfway in Norway. But the best part of my ride in Norway is actually the people around me. I was given the best hospitality from its people. I consider myself really lucky… and my crazy idea riding bicycle alone in the Arctic region in the middle of winter was really a good choice! On the road, I was the only cyclist who braved the harsh cold Arctic winter which makes me special to the locals. People were waving at me along the road and I even get a free ferry ride from Andalsvagen to Horn while I was riding towards the end point to Trondheim. I never paid full price for accommodation in Norway. Its either I get a very good discount or most of the time, I get to stay in hotel or cabin for free. Upon reaching Trondheim from Steinkjer, I received an email of invitation from our Indonesian sister who got my contact from one of my silent blog reader to stay in her small village up in the mountains near Hommelvik. So I took the opportunity since its very rare to meet our brothers or sisters from Indonesia in the middle of nowhere in Norway! And when I was there for 2 days, I got to meet even more locals who live in the small village in the mountain and get to share the stories of my journey with them. And basically I ended my cycling journey there since it was only some 45km towards Trondheim and the road was downhill all the way to end my journey in Trondheim.

Nelda, the Indonesian woman who was kind enough to host me for 2 days

its sooo easy to finally able to camp normally on grass. no problem pitching my tent and the pegs finally works!

When I reached Trondheim, I was greeted by my Malaysian friend who is on a vacation there. It feels really good to finally meet another Malaysian after for so long. I spent a few days there in my friend’s house, Erik, a very nice and friendly guy and the only Norwegian man who speaks Malaysian-style English hehe. After spending a few days there in Trondheim, I then took a train back to Sweden, to Uppsala then to Bjorklinge and stay a day there with Fredrik and family. It feels like Im in a totally a different world, it’s the same place but with totally a different look. The last time I left Bjorklinge was in the middle of February, which is in the middle of winter. The snow was everywhere and thick and it was really really cold. But when I got back there, it was totally different, I can enjoy walking barefooted on the grass and its so green and brown, compared to a few months ago when it was white and blue. No more wearing layers after layers, just a thin cotton shirt will do.

taking the train back to Sweden. Wheres all the snow hah??

Erik, a cool Norwegian man who has now been infected by a Malaysian. He speaks very thick Malaysian-style English lol! Good job buddy :p

back to Fredrik&Karen’s place in Sweden. Same place but big difference between winter and spring

winter vs spring

winter vs spring

Surprising, on my 3 months traveling here around Scandinavia, I spent less than I ever expected. This is the most expensive region to travel in the world and Norway being one of the most expensive country in the world to live. But somehow, for the whole 3 months… I managed to spend less money than a normal tourist would spend a week traveling here. And this is possible because most of the people that I met along my way didn’t treat me like a tourist… but they treated me like a family, like their own brother or son! I am sooo glad that I crossed path with these people while I was biking in the Scandinavia. Some of them let me to sleep in their home, some let me to stay in their hotel for free or very good discount, some cook delicious food for me, some bought me clothes, food or a coffee, some made me smile and laugh, I met so many of good people. Before I came… we were complete strangers, but we met, learn how to pronounce each other’s name and became a family. We will definitely keep in touch, as I will never let the good ones go away easily in my life :) And I learn a lot from these people.

sexy mamacota!!

Trondheim…

This journey really taught me sooo many things. It has changed me a lot! I started to learn on how to appreciate things… everything…. even the bad ones. Traveling, living my life on the road has taught me to embrace everything that comes to me, the good luck and the bad. I realized we usually forget to appreciate things that we get easily and often. In this journey, I appreciate so deeply everytime I had the chance to take shower, everytime I get the chance to sleep in a proper bed under a roof or get to eat good food… and I even appreciate the most basic thing in this life, breathing normally. It happened a few times while I was camping outside in the forest at some -20c or -30c, where I couldn’t even breath normally since my nose were filled with ice! My nose were so painful and I was struggling to breath through my mouth instead. And as we all know… breathing through our mouth for a long time, it will make our mouth feels so dry. And when its dry under extreme cold condition, it really hurts. So Ive been through the situation where I was struggling even to breath. Now I really appreciate it whenever I can breath normally again. Sometimes I even close my eyes for a moment while taking shower, thanking the creator of the universe for letting me to enjoy this very moment right here, exactly the place I should be and right now, enjoying every single drop of water that run through my skin.

the sky and water turned into gold!

Living on a bicycle also has taught me to be less materialistic. I know that if I buy more things, I will suffer more since I will be carrying heavier load on my bicycle. I just need to live simple. The less I carry, the easier I can cycle… So its actually better for me to possess less things. After a while I realized that I don’t actually need so many things to live. I realized if we want to feel rich, we don’t need to possess so many materialistic things, but instead to be grateful… and thankful. Feeling rich is more like a state of mind really. I don’t know how to put everything that I learned through my journey into words, nobody will understand. Some things, can only be taught by experience, not through reading or listening. Its just not enough… So sometimes we really have to go out there and experience it firsthand. That’s all for this season. Thank you so much for reading. I hope some of you guys will get inspired, learn a thing or two or even at least enjoy reading and looking at the pictures. May peace be upon all of you… The End.

The winter is really over in this part of the world. I can officially say now that I have survived the cold Scandinavian winter and this is one of the longest winter. I was surprised that it was snowing once even it was almost May when I was somewhere near Ornes. But the temperature is never below zero degrees anymore. Whenever the sun is shining, it feels like heaven. My skin once again be burned by the heat of the sun and it feels great to ride under the sunshine. But the problem is, the sun only appears a few minutes in a day. Most of the time, thick clouds covering the sky, making everything look dull and the rain is pouring almost all the time. Im now riding along the beautiful arctic road along the coast of Norway heading south but sadly I couldn’t see much due to the bad weather. After I rode to the most southern part of Lofoten, I took a ferry in Moskenes towards Bodo, the capital town in Nordland.

the ferry from Moskenes to Bodo

I arrived Bodo in the middle of the night when everything was closed, there was a youth hostel there not so far from the ferry terminal so I decided to wait there till morning to get a place to rest there. It was raining the whole night and I had no place to hide, so I just wait at the roadside and let the raindrops hit me all over for the whole night. I realized the night is really short now, it gets dark only around 10pm and the sky is bright again as early as 4am. In the middle of the night, the sky is not completely dark anymore. Its blue color and I don’t see the stars at all due to thick rainclouds. At around 7am, I see people start walking towards the town centre going for their everyday life routine and at around 8am I quickly went to the reception of the hostel. Too bad the hostel was fully booked and the receptionist told me that all accommodations in Bodo town centre are fully booked. I was surprised, I really thought there were not so many people coming around here during this time of the year and I was completely wrong.

I was hungry and sleepy since I was awake for the whole night, so I decided to ride only a few kilometres outside Bodo and found a campsite. The snow was melting and the ground was completely wet with melting snow, so the owner of the campsite let me to use the cabin for half the price! It was a good thing for me, at least I can hide myself under the endless rain. I took a day resting there before a long journey south towards Trondheim. The road is never flat here, always up and down which slows me down by a lot. I don’t really feel how heavy Im carrying my winter gear on my bicycle all these while when I was in Sweden because the road is mostly flat there. But here, I realized that Im actually carrying really heavy and it really slows me down by a lot especially climbing uphill. Good thing, whenever there is up, there is also down. So whenever I go downhill, its time for my legs to rest and prepared myself for another uphill climb. And the rain is pouring heavily and nonstop here, I was wet all over and my waterproof outer shell seems useless with the combination of strong wind and rain. 

While I was riding south from Bodo, I came across a campsite and decided to have a look. There were some cabins there and I tried to ask the owner if I can get a cheap price for the cabin. I would love to stay indoor to keep dry if I can get reasonable price. There is an old Norwegian man greeted me and asked me a few questions about my trip. He then told me not to camp with this condition and offer me a cabin instead. The price of the cabin was 500Kr but he was kind enough to let me stay for only 200Kr. Hehe again I got lucky here. I never have any skills on bargaining but people are just nice around here. Plus its rare to see cyclists passing through this region at this time of the year, so I got a special discount! :) There were some guys from Libya staying here in the campsite too in one of the cabins. Some of them are trying to find a job here and some are just tourist. After I was done taking hot shower, I felt so tired and didn’t even have enough energy to cook or eat dinner. I straight went to sleep in hunger.

the cabin I stayed, not so far from Bodo.

In the middle of the night while I was sleeping, one of the Libyan knocked on the door. I woke up and opened the door and was surprised to see he was holding a delicious pasta for me. I was so thankful for the good food. After finished eating it, I went outside for some fresh air and while passing the owner’s house, I saw from the glass window that the owner was having dinner together with his worker from Yemen. It touched my heart. Some employer that I see in many parts of the world, surprising even in my own society, really treated their worker like they have no value, especially foreign workers. The boss will usually have good expensive food while treating their workers cheap unhealthy food. They really set the distance between the employer and the employee. But its totally a different level here. He treated his worker like his own family. Im actually glad to see there are many immigrants here in Norway. Reason is because these people, who are mostly from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia or Libya are here for a long time, being treated really nice and they had a chance to learn the good value from the local people here… especially in the countryside. They have a chance to live in a society who lives in honesty and that will shape them.

the campsite owner, very nice man

Ali, his worker from Yemen

I ended up staying there in the cabin for 2 days waiting for the weather to turn out to be good. The campsite owner was really nice to me, offering me tea everytime when I come to visit him in his house. And he was so kind to drive me to the neaby supermarket to get some food, which is 7km away as I was lazy to ride my bicycle on my restdays. I then realized that if I keep waiting until the weather gonna turn out to be good again.. I will wait for the whole spring. So I just kept riding south through the wind and rain. I really decided wrongly, when I was in Sweden, I was riding north and the wind always coming from the north slowing me down. And here riding along the coast of Norway, the wind will either come from the west or from the south. If the wind comes from the west, it brings rain from the sea and if it comes from the south, the weather is better. Either way, it’s a tough ride for me. Most of the time, the wind will blow from the south which slows me down by a lot since Im heading south. And the weather is not better, its raining most of the time. And tunnels, I scratched my head everytime when I see tunnels in front of me. And theyre usually long, some 2-3km long and there are so many of them!

i love riding through tunnels! it feels like riding in the underworld and a new experience for me! (hows my reverse psychology skills? :))

And not so long ago…while I was in Bodo, I received a news from the Norwegian embassy in Malaysia regarding my application to extend my stay within the Schengen area. It failed… it seems that the 90 days staying inside the Schengen area is really strict and there is no way I can extend it. I can only come back here after 90 days staying out of Schengen. I was hoping that they can extend my stay here for at least another 5-6 more weeks so that I can be able to ride the whole length of Norway. But since I received the news, my plan now changes. I will ride only until Trondheim, in the middle of Norway and from there I need to get a train back to Stockholm and fly back home, away from the Schengen area before my visa expires. It is quite sad since Im gonna miss those grand huge superlong fjords in southern areas of Norway. But at least Im really happy since I got to see so many things especially the northern lights and survived the cold Scandinavian winter. And this news somehow affect my journey. After I received the news, I wasn’t feeling so energetic during my ride anymore. I couldn’t concentrate much, finally after almost a year, I started to get homesick! Cant believe that whenever I feel hungry while I was riding, I can imagine our spicy food back home, especially my favourite chicken beriani hehe.

My ride was slowed down a lot in Lofoten Island, not because of bad weather, bad roads or tough terrain, but I was slowed down by the warmth of its people. Since I crossed into Norway, I find everything very expensive.  There was once I found a hotel in a small village and asked if I can use the bathroom for a few minutes for a hot shower. Kinda shocked to know that the price is 150Kr (roughly 80 ringgit our money) just for a shower. I would like to keep clean and fresh sometimes but with this price, I think it’s a bad idea. Im not going to hug anyone at this point anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. There was once I stopped in a petrol station to get 2 juice drinks and 1 can of energy drink and it costs roughly 50 ringgit. With this rate, I believe that in a few weeks time I would be joining the horses to eat the grass and drink all the snow clean. The first 2 nights while I was camping in Lofoten, I was shocked to see my thermometer was reading at -15c at night here in Lofoten on April. And when I woke up the next morning, it was snowing and still quite cold, which is shocking to me since I never expect the coast can be as cold as the mountains. And its April!

camping somewhere near Lodingen, north of Lofoten

many bridges here crossing between the small islands

But since I crossed into Norway, I’m surrounded by great views, combination of fjords, mountains and the ocean. Its much more interesting here but the road is more hilly and my biggest headache is… tunnels! And this is my challenge here in Norway, there are thousands of tunnels here. I always fear riding in dark tunnels since I had some bad experience riding in total darkness through tunnels in China years ago while I was climbing the Sichuan Mountains. Its even more scary to see trucks here drive really fast, as in theyre in a F1 circuit. Everytime I rode through tunnels, my heart was beating fast, I rode fast through the tunnel hoping to see the sun and blue sky again. It is really the end of winter now and there is a big difference of temperature between day and night. It is around 5-6c during the day and when the sun is hiding, it can go down to -10c. The road is really icy and wet… and slippery. Everything will get wet… then it will all turn into ice. So once in a while I have to take my knife to scrape the ice from all over the small parts of my bicycle.

aww I hate tunnels!! Whhyyyy sooo many of em here???

There was once when I reached a junction, I found it hard to make my mind. There was still another 3 hours before sunset which means I can still ride another 40km roughly, but there is a small village 4km away if I take the junction. I was feeling cold since I was sweating so much and my bicycle needs some minor repair, so I finally took the junction and went to a small village. I wasn’t sure at first if it was the right choice, I saw a hotel which has the cheapest room at 500Kr. I kept going further to try if I can get lucky, trying to get a cheaper room for the night and a hot long shower. I then found a hostel which might be cheaper and was shocked to see the style which is sooo similar to Indonesian! I then began to think, no this must be Thailand, since I saw so many Thai women here married with Swedish or Norwegian. But when I looked closely, it is not Thai, it is really Indonesian! So I went in to try and pressed the bell. There was a Norwegian man greeted me and I politely asked how much does it cost for the cheapest room available. He said he can give me for 300Kr. I tried to bargain, I have a sleeping bag and I can sleep on the floor. And I wanted to stay for 2 nights here if I can get 200Kr. I really need a rest day. He then studied my face and asked me if Im Indonesian or Malaysian. I said Im a Malaysian traveling using a bicycle. He then told me to come in and I can stay for free! My heart was shouting in silence happily when he said that.

Instead of sleeping on the floor, he gave me a comfortable private room and told me to feel like home. After a good long hot shower, where I enjoyed every single drop of warm water to hit my body, he prepared food for me. He made rice and chicken for me (which is my favourite) and said if I want to eat with my hand, so that I will really feel like home back in my country. The best thing was, he even tried to speak Indonesian to me. He still remembers most words since he had been traveling a lot especially to Indonesia and sometimes to Timor Leste and Malaysia. After a long talk over the dinner, he showed me some of his traveling photos mostly in Lombok areas in Indonesia. Looking at those photos, I suddenly have this feeling that I miss home. Once in a while when I looked outside the window, it was snowing lightly outside and I saw snow mountains all over the horizon, but suddenly my mind was back in my homeland, thousands of kilometres away in the hot weather of southeast of Asia, with the green landscape of rainforest, coconut trees at the beach and even the annoying mosquitos.

the small village that I stayed a while…

arctic sun!

love all these views…!

Steinar, the hotel owner, really a nice guy!

His name is Stainer and is really a humble and good hearted guy, I ended up taking a long rest there where I stayed 4 nights in the hotel. He told me not to spend a single cent while my stay there! He laughed so hard when I told him I mostly eat spaghetti and meatballs while camping. So for my whole stay there, I really ate good food, mostly rice with delicious arctic fish which I hardly remember the name. I can surely grow fat if I stay long there. I ate a lot… really a lot while staying there as the food was great! He also drove me all around the area to show me some scenic spots with beautiful view of Lofoten Islands. We exchanged a lot of interesting ideas and he really inspires me with his life, struggled earlier in his life but finally became a successful man. The weather was quite bad, snowing heavily the whole day while my stay there, which was a good reason for me to take a long rest there before continuing my ride. After a few days of rest, the weather was getting better and he told me that he will drive me for some distance to Svolvaer, so that I can escape the longest tunnel in Lofoten, which is 6km long! When I heard about the length of the tunnel, I felt so thankful that I can escape it. We hooked my bicycle at the back of his car and he drove me to Svolvaer, where he introduced me with a friend of his, a guy from Afghanistan who has been living here in Norway for many years.

my horse being tied up in a sports car

escaping the 6km tunnel hehe!

mountains everywhere on our way to Svolvaer

Again, I got lucky. I stayed a day with Majid, the Afghan man and he served me very delicious Afghan rice, something like our Beriani, or the Uzbek plov, but maybe this one is better! He then took me to his old school, which is a school mostly for refugees, mainly from Afghanistan and some African countries. So I had the chance to share my travel experience with these students and we even exchanged contacts with each other. Its always great to make more friends from all over the world, strengthen the brotherhood among us humans. Its good to see there are many refugees here in Norway. And its good to see that the Norwegian people here are really nice to them. From my observation so far, I see the Nordic people are really good hearted. I heard from the news only a few days ago where there was a boy who found a bag in a train and discovered that the bag is full of money, total of nearly 500 000 Kr… and he returned it back to the owner, who is an old man! That news shocked me… and I actually feel really safe here. I can just leave my bicycle unlock in most places. Of course it will be different in big cities like Oslo or Stockholm, but when I ride I always escape cities and stay mostly in the wild. And its good that the refugees here learn from the people here after some years of staying here. Its really a good example for all of us to live with honesty.

macam killing fields kat cambodia.. hehe…

beautiful fishing village in Henningsvaer

I was also invited by Majid’s teacher, Else, to her home for dinner, on my way to southern Lofoten. Again, I got lucky, I was served by really delicious arctic fish and rice (again!). The problem was, after feasting all the food, I got sleepy. And I slept a while on her couch until it was too late to cycle. So she invited me to sleep a night in her house before continuing the next morning. And when I was back on my bicycle, the weather turned bad… thick clouds covering the blue sky and the sun, the landscape became dull but still interesting. Finally after months and months surviving the snow, the rain was pouring again while I was sleeping inside my tent in the south of Lofoten. This was the first time for me to see the rain after Scotland! And the rain continues all the way until I reached the ending of southern Lofoten Islands. This is bad for me. My equipments are all meant for the snow, its winter equipments. And now the spring has come and the rain started to pour, I struggled to keep everything dry. Always wet…. wet again! I also rode through many tunnels which I cannot escape. Norwegian roads mostly snake through fjords and mountains, so there are thousands of them and theres no way I can escape them. Norway even has a more than 20km long tunnel! Sometimes I went through 3 tunnels in a day. Its in good condition, some have walking path and properly lit but I just hate them. Hehe… So I can basically see what I will go through for the road ahead of me. Gonna be rain and tunnels… hmmm….

again, just wanna remind you people that I hate tunnels…

clouds are so thick like a dictionary! But the views are still awesome mate…

me and the Afghan gang! Thats Majid in the middle. Look at lot like 1 of my malay friend back home hehe… and the other guy looks a lot like chinese

making new friends! mostly Afghan and some Arabs here. The asian girl in front is our sister from Thailand! And thats Else, the teacher who cook the fish for me

some bad roads mmmm…

the last sun

Abisko was my last town in Sweden. I took a day rest in a hostel there. It was just nice, when I was done shopping with food and drinks in the supermarket there, I only have 8 Swedish Krona left, which can buy me.. nothing! Hehe… and I had some Norwegian Krona with me. So I really have to leave Sweden the next day. But when I woke up in the morning the next day to prepare to cross the border, there was a bad snowstorm outside. The wind coming from the west, which means I really have to fight the wind all the way to the border of Norway. I went outside to feel how strong the storm were, it was actually really strong but not so cold. It was only somewhere around 0c. So I said to myself, “Lets face this storm head on!”. While I was preparing, the hostel owner told me that the road up in the mountain in Bjorkliden is closed. Awww… I then asked him if I stay another day here, can I pay with Norwegian money. He said its okay but the problem is the hostel is fully booked and I cant stay there anymore. “Ahaa no worries mate, Ill camp somewhere in Bjorkliden”, I told him. He then told me to becareful of the weather and as usual I gave my automatic scripted answer, “Don’t worry, Ill push slowly”.

I then rode very slowly to Bjorkliden which is very very near. So I took my time snapping photos and really took my own sweet time along the road. I don’t really feel like struggling fighting the wind that day, I was just looking for any nice spot to camp. I then arrived Bjorkliden and found out there was a long queue of cars on the road ahead. The road was closed, but I just sneaked in with my bicycle. I didn’t plan to go far, I rode for another 5km on thick snow and found a good spot to camp. The storm never stopped blowing. As usual I did my normal routine, boil some snow, cook dinner and sleep. Early the next morning, I woke up and I thought I heard the sound of wolves. My mind was half awake, my hand automatically trying to reach my knives and wanted to go outside my tent. My mind was thinking that the wolves were trying to steal my bicycle hehe. Then when I was fully awake and my brain started to function fully, I realized that it wasn’t wolves, it was the sound of dogs and sound of kids screaming and laughing. Ahh… someone is enjoying the dog sledding! When I looked from the window of my tent, it was some happy family having fun with dog sledding in the frozen lake. After done with breakfast and packing, I cycled towards the border of Norway. The weather was calm but very cloudy and the road was really in bad condition.

Upon reaching the Norwegian border, the headwind started to blow fiercely. I kept moving forward and it was going uphill and the snow was really thick. I couldn’t cycle anymore, too tiring so I pushed my bike slowly to the border. I was surprised to see the border is really simple. This is actually my first time crossing land borders in Europe here between Sweden and Norway. Before this I entered European countries all by flights, Iceland, Scotland and Sweden. There was a simple custom building for people who need to declare goods. The wind kept blowing but I kept moving crossing the border. I then rode further for some 2km after the border. And all out of a sudden, the wind started to blow really really strong! For a while, I kept going fighting it. But in a split second, things changed into a really brutal situation, the wind produced a horror sound like a screaming woman, the air was filled with flying snow and I couldn’t see anything. It is impossible to see even 5 meters ahead. If there was a car or a truck, I could easily get hit… the visibility was zero. I was fully covered, I was wearing my balaclava and snow goggle. But I felt so painful, sharp ice and snow hit my body so hard until I could hear the sound of them hitting my body and my bicycle. I felt like I was being shot rapidly by thousands of bullets from a machine gun. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was in great danger. My heart suddenly shouted at myself, “Blizzarddd…. runnn!!!”. I quickly turned back, there was only one building that I can seek refuge, which was the custom building 2km behind me. There was nothing in front, only tundra. While I was riding back to the border, I couldn’t breath! The blizzard was really strong and I felt like I was drowned in water. This time, I was really panic and afraid. My heart was beating so fast and I was questioning, will I make it to the custom building alive? Or I have reached my time? I tried so hard to breath but not even half oxygen got to my lungs. I really felt like dying and 2km feels like so far away. There was no one there to rescue me. Finally after a few minutes (which feels like forever) I reached the custom office. I didn’t even park my bicycle properly. Right in front of the door, I simple jumped and threw my bicycle on the road and ran towards the door. I still couldn’t breath and really felt like dying.

the border of Sweden-Norway

on the Norwegian side

Once I got in the building, I ignored everything, lied against the wall, closed my eyes and took a few deep long breathe. I was making a loud sound while breathing, I really need the oxygen. After a while when I opened my eyes, I saw a few custom officers were looking at me with shocking face. I then asked them the permission to stay indoor for a while, telling them what happened as I was on my bicycle. They were all shocked to hear that I was cycling in this weather and told me that Im crazy. They were really nice people, they let me to stay indoor and gave me some coffee. After a while, one of the officer told me that the road is now closed in both sides, both Norway and Sweden. Im now stucked here at the border for god knows how long. He then told me that he will drive me to Narvik, the closest town in Norway from here. But I have to leave my bike here, stay a night there and come back here again the next morning to take my bike and ride down from the mountains when the weather is clear again. Really nice guy, he gave me some tips on cycling in Norway and contacted the cheapest hostel in Narvik to reserve me a bed for the night. After a while waiting, he then drove me to Narvik. Thank god, the blizzard started when I was still near the building. I couldn’t imagine what would happen to me if the blizzard started when I was in the middle of the arctic tundra, I could have easily died in the no man’s land. When he drove towards Narvik, the condition was really scary, the blizzard was still going on the whole day.

few hours after the blizzard

the view of the tundra on the Norwegian side the next day. Its clear and sunny now, I would have died here if I proceed the day before…

the tundra on Norwegian side

taking a quick rest in the tundra

Upon reaching Narvik, I went to the cheapest hostel to put my bags and was really starving. When I went around town to buy food, I discovered that everything was closed and it was 11.10pm. I was late by 10 minutes! I then went to a small café and saw from the glass window that the worker inside was still cleaning the shop. I was really starving, so I knocked on the door and begged her for food. She said everything is closed but I told her that I could eat anything that she gave me. I really need to eat something as I was really starving. She then went inside and talk to her boss and they were so nice to give me some chicken salad for free. Again for god knows how many times I got lucky, people seems to help me everywhere here. I slept well for the night and woke up early the next morning to have a quick breakfast, get a Norwegian simcard and took a train back to the Swedish border to get my bicycle again. Upon reaching the border, the weather was really nice, blue sky and no more strong wind in the mountains. I then took my bike and enjoy the amazing ride down from the border to the fjords of Norway through the 30km of Arctic Tundra. Once I reached the coast, I was riding really slowly, my eyes were fixed looking at the beautiful Norwegian fjords all around me. I then decided to camp in the snow to enjoy the fantastic view of the fjords. I was surprised that it was still cold here, some -10c at night but I was rewarded with beautiful view of the dancing Aurora Borealis all over the sky of Northern Norway.

riding down from the mountains to the Norwegian fjords

frozen waterfall down the mountains…

the grand Norwegian fjords all around me

enjoying the sunset

Dancing Aurora all over the Norwegian sky

I would like to say thank you to all the kind, caring and loving Swedish people that helped me out on my journey while I was riding for weeks and weeks through the Swedish forest and the extreme cold. Thank you so much for letting this homeless traveller to sleep under a roof and get warm and having a long hot shower, cooking delicious food for me, showing me direction, providing me tips and making me smiles and laugh. Helping a traveller is really a great thing and noble… and now you guys have helped me through my tough but interesting journey in Sweden, I hope that one day there will be someone to help you out when you’re in need. I believe that God hears the prayer of a traveller, and I will pray for all of you who have helped me out. I’m now riding through the fjords of Northern Norway at the time of writing, but I will never forget the kind hearted Swedish people!

Good bye Sweden… Hello Norway…