I did a 3,000 km solo bicycle tour of S.E. Asia, started in Bangkok Thailand, headed up north to get my legs and then dropped back down once I was comfortable a

I did a 3,000 km solo bicycle tour of S.E. Asia, started in Bangkok Thailand, headed up north to get my legs and then dropped back down once I was comfortable and headed off for Cambodia, crossed over to Vietnam and headed up the coast, headed east and into Laos to cross back to Thailand again. Best experience of my life. If I didn't have a dog, I would do something similar once a year. My general method was to ride for 4 hours, usually covering 100km (60 miles). Some days there isn't a good destination within that distance, or the terrain is steep, poor roads or an extreme headwind. On those days I'd put in more time or do distance (sometimes only covering 30 km). Once I got to a nice location I'd stay until I felt there wasn't anything interesting to take in, usually 1-3 days, and then I'd head back out. Sometimes you want to put in back to back rides, other times you just want to sit and relax on a beach. Food was terribly cheap while I was there, so I at at street stalls as often as I wanted. Portion sizes were small enough that you could sample a lot of cuisine. Fruit stalls were plentiful too. There is really no camping in S.E. Asia, due to land mines, etc. So you stay at guest houses, which were extremely inexpensive while I was there. People are extremely friendly and helpful. Some will try and become your friend simply because you'll buy them a meal, others to practice English or for the prestige. This was a bit annoying at times, but hardly insidious. Lots of children will run out and yell "hello" which gets tiresome on long stretches...but still rather cute. What people don't mention, is you have lots of time to your thoughts. My journals from this time period has tons of great inventions and ideas for books, businesses and what not. My writer friends were jealous of the outpouring of long form writing that I was doing at this time. I highly recommend bike tours!