Talking over the options over beer with David Walker and Echo and then reviewing them the next morning over my coffee, I decided that I'd just take the more expensive direct flight from Bangkok to Perth with Thai Airlines instead of waiting another 10 days in Thailand for the cheaper AirAsia flights to kick in. My adventure was over and I wasn't up to planning and executing another mini-adventure in the time left. 

I flew back to Perth on May 31 and I've had over a month to think about it all. 

So, what did I learn, you ask... 

The Apology:

First things first: I owe you, the reader, an apology for creating such an uncycling blog on a site dedicated expressly for travel cycling journeys. And I'm seriously impressed and double-down on that apology if you've read it from beginning to end. 

Costs:

Travelling Asia isn't as cheap as it used to be. 

$100ish (aud) flights from Perth to all of SE Asia were possible a few years ago, but with the drop in the OZ dollar and the spike in prices in SE Asia, those days are gone. The cheapest one way prices from Perth to Bangkok are now around $160 and for some reason it's often far more going the other way. It is now seriously expensive for me to fly to/from Myanmar to/from Perth, $400 one way is now a cheap flight. But you can always fly to Bangkok and then skip over to Myanmar and save a bundle. Flights from Bangkok to Yangon are much cheaper($60) than bus fare and many of the airlines will carry your bike for free. 

Accommodation has gone up in the last couple of years, too. A room in a cheap hotel in Thailand now costs about $20 to $25 aud. It's much the same in China. The drop in OZ dollar over the past three years doesn't help, either. The US dollar is the international benchmark travel currency and the current aud/usd exchange rate makes overseas travel expensive. Stealth camping is possible once you're outside the cities, another reason to take the tent next time. 

I discovered I can eat cheaply in China, but it depends on how much you like noodle soup. I got pretty tired of it after a while, so my food costs went up accordingly... 

The Bike:

I'm riding a hand built Surly Troll in SE Asia. It's a fine bike and will last years, but still I dream of light weight steel and 29" carbon wheels. If I win Lotto, I'll trade up, but until then she is more than good enough. Any difficulties I have going up hills is due more to the inadequacies of the rider, not the bike. Leaving it in Bangkok is so useful. If I want an exotic overseas adventure, I just pack the panniers and I'm off. How easy is that? 

The Planning:

I could have done better with my trip planning. Xi Jinping neglected to inform me that he was tearing up the entire Nujiang valley as part of their Belt and Road initiative. It will be a great ride again in 2020 when they finish the road. Had I known what they were up to, I would have chosen a different ride in Yunnan. Mind you, according to David Walker, they are tearing up and rebuilding most of China right now and it is easy to get caught out when planning a trip. 

An answer may be to travel light, but next time carry enough camping gear to allow on-the-fly alternative route planning. And that leads to the next point...

The Gear:

Ok, I could have done better here, too. In my defence, this was only suppose to be a short exploratory ride to check out a new country. But, none the less in the end, I was seriously unprepared. I should have taken a good lightweight tent, sleeping mat and better sleeping bag. That would have allowed me to go up and over the big passes, avoiding that painful bus ride back down the Nujiang river valley. Like a good Boy Scout, when consciously heading out into the unknown, I need to be better prepared than I was for this trip. 

I also need to upgrade my navigation tools. I travelled with a Motorola G4 phone loaded with Locus Pro that I used for all my navigation requirements. I also used it for on-the-fly translation and for writing my blog. It did the job, but struggled with the work load. My backup phone was my old Motorola G3, but the poor thing fell to bits after a couple of days banging around in the handlebar bag. I also took my Spot locator. I found out it doesn't like the high walled deep valleys of the remote Chinese Himalayas. Who'd have thought? Luckily it doesn't weigh much or take up much room, so I'm willing to give it another chance. 

As soon as I returned I upgraded my phone to a new Samsung S7 and loaded it with heaps of memory. It's adequately waterproofed and has enough grunt to handle all of the applications I use when on the road. I'll experiment with the phone's camera, and if it proves adequate, I may leave my Sony mirrorless camera behind on the next trip. 

I also need to find a good translation app that I can use offline in China. I used Google Translate and it did the job, but needed an internet connection for full functionality... and everything Google is banned in China. And next time I might buy a China sim card, use Baidu maps and whatsapp to help navigate and stay in touch. But on the other hand, I seriously enjoyed screwing with the Chinese police at the road blocks, checkpoints and hotel checks. Playing dumb and shrugging your shoulders every time they ask "serious" questions is a lot of fun. 

And me? 

Yeah, what did I learn? After all, that is the main reason why I travel - to learn more about myself and the world I live in. 

Well, I did learn that I like China. My one previous experience of China was a few days in Shanghai and Beijing. And it was just too unfriendly, too big, too fast, too ugly and too polluted and an overall serious waste of time and money. I was fearful that the rest of China might be the same. And Yunnan was anything but that. I could live in Kunming. I liked the people and the city. I also liked the Nujiang valley and just about everyone I met while there. 

I did learn that I do not like authoritarian police states. Ok, maybe I knew that one already, but the Chinese police certainly helped reinforce that fact for me. 

Perhaps  I might avoid these countries in the future - I'll have to think about that idea for future trip planning ...

And, I did learn that I still like to travel... even without a bike. How good is that? 

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