laurainwonderland

No thanks. Definitely not doing that.

I was teaching English.

1. I bought a bike from Big C (local supermarket chain), 3 gears, here's a picture: http://laurainwonderland.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/wpid-IMG_20130403_124534.jpg

2. Well, nobody spoke English. At all. Excpet for in the big cities or the occasional teenager who could say a few sentences. So I had a few sentences written down in the local languages (like that I'm cycling to China or what I can't eat). But communication wasn't really an issue, because you don't need to speak the same language to be able to understand eachother. I once had a 10 minute long conversation about being scared of sharks without saying a word.

3. Not really. I think the most 'problematic' border was Thailand-Cambodia, because they try to scam you and get an extra 100 baht from you. But I already knew that from previous trips to Cambodia, so no problem for me. I was really surprised that the Chinese border was so..relaxed? One officer even took a picture with me!

4. I had absolutely no experience prior to this trip. Maybe 2 weeks before starting to cycle I started going to work by bicycle, but that's pretty much all the preparation I did. I never really cycled before, except for as a kid I think?

I don't know. I just woke up one day and thought 'Hey, let's buy a bicycle and cycle to China'. I'm a bit impulsive I guess.

Well a lot of people before, during and after the trip told me that I shouldn't do this as a girl. Girls shouldn't travel alone and of course they shouldn't cycle to China alone, unless they want to get raped and die.

I was always so scared of the rain! I thought it would be horrible if I got stuck in the rain. Until it actually happened, and it felt so good! Also I thought I'd get lost all the time. (I only got lost 2-3 times)