The sounds of silence?

Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted anything. It has been a period of great activity punctuated by a short period of being ill.

Mei and I had a seafood dinner with Gan and his brother a couple of weeks ago and two days later all four of us were ill with stomach flu. The rest of me has just about recovered, but my stomach continues to make its discomfort with oily or substantive meals known.

I've never dealt with viruses well, and stomach flu has always been particularly vicious. This time around, I was back at work within two days, a little woozy and unfocussed, but otherwise fit enough. Not quite fit enough to get back on the bike, mind, so the last two weeks have been spent fiddling and shopping.

I've fiddled with various little things on the bike, and shopped for more various little things - I just love gadgets. I bought some reflective tape and decorated the bike in the name of safety. I also finally found the rain covers for the panniers, as well as a LowePro camera bag which I am adapting for use as a handlebar bag. I still need to rig up a rear mud-guard which I intend to fashion from the sheets of polycarbonate we have in the office.



Well, add some more reflective tape on my helmet and the bags, and the lights and I should be pretty visible in the dark or rain, no?

It finally dawned on me a few nights ago that, short of the mudguard and the camera tripod mount Johann bought for me from HongKong, the bike is as ready as it will ever be!

I've also spent a bit more time on the map and the route. Check out the map below - I've made a few changes although a few more are still to come.

The places I intend to visit are now marked in red and will be updated when I do get there. I've added the expected dates and some minor details about each location.

I've added lines marking out the general routes I will take, and have included my expected dates of travel. If anyone wants to join me on each leg, please do contact me. Email is best, at least while I ponder the merits or otherwise of posting my Malaysian phone number.

I'd like once again to thank Kelvin of Gee Hin Chan and Najib of Rodalink who've been very helpful and also Mei's good friend, Sharon Tan of M1 who loaned me a Nokia 6110 which I've been hoping to buy but has been out of stock all over Singapore. That will give me the GPS system which will help me plot my position more accurately on maps.



Gee Hin Chan, with Kelvin and Mei

OK that's it for now. Oh... except the start date which is now fixed for October 15th! Just a little after Hari Raya so the perfect time to start off on a celebratory trip!
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Happy Merdeka Day!

It was 50 years ago today...

...and I think it'll take me a little under 50 days to do this whole trip. I've taken a short break from training as a couple of things have cropped up - there's still much planning to do for one thing, and also Mei's Mum has just had an operation. The latter went well and she'll hopefully be home in two weeks.

As for the former, it has gone extremely well on one front. I met up with Reezan two nights ago and we discussed GPS, PayPal, photo albums on the blog, the wonders of hypnotherapy...

Basically, I'm looking forward to answering the request for maps with a GPS system which will tie in with Google Maps and allow me to give you a clear idea of where I've been on the trip.

As this trip is self-funded from a thin wallet, donations are also very welcome indeed. I've begun to sort out my budgetary needs and with Reezan's help and advice will be putting up a PayPal shopping cart soon. This will allow people to sponsor cash, events or items. You could sponsor a week's ride, for example. Or a day. Or a video camera. Or even any amount that you are comfortable with. I hope to get this up and running within the next week.

I'm also looking to sort out a seamless photo album experience so you can have a look at photos without jumping from site to site.

Reezan's been a great help and it's fantastic how so many people are jumping in to help. It seems the idea of 'celebrating' has captured their hearts. I hope to have a similar effect through this blog with whomever drops by.

I shall end this posting with another celebratory message. Mei and I have been married for just under a year. For me to take off on this ride with her blessings and support is something I'm immensely grateful for. I would not blame her for thinking she'd perhaps gotten into a crazy relationship, but she's never so much as voiced a squeak of protest. Just last night, in fact, she reminded me I have not done any training in the last few days. I am indeed extremely lucky to have her by my side...

On that note, I invite you to celebrate this Merdeka Day with gratitude - for the good things you do have in your life, in Malaysia. Celebrate that. And Celebrate Malaysia.


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