After a short flight with Pegasus Airlines, we land in Istanbul at 18:00 in the evening, in stormy winds and heavy rain. Someone is waiting for us at the airport, and after a 45-minute drive we reach the Hotel Blue Tuana, booked in advance, not far from the Blue Mosque.
The rooms are extremely small, and right outside the window rattles read more

Before crossing the border from Turkey into Iran, it's time for a change of outfit. In the middle of a lorry queue about 5 kilometres long, we say goodbye to our casual cycling clothes and change into "morally appropriate" ones. Long trousers for the man; hair covered with a headscarf, a long-sleeved shirt and of course long trousers for the woman! read more

At 10:00 we are standing at the Iran-Turkmenistan customs. Although there is a ramp for processing, we have to carry the bikes and luggage up 5 steps into the building. A sign directs tourists on foot to this entrance, and no exception is made for us either. The usual procedure: wait, wait, wait, and watch read more

30 kilometres after the border we look for a suitable place to sleep. This doesn't seem to be so easy here, because large areas are used for farming. Seen from the road, places to pitch the tent look suitable. Looked at a little more closely, it's a completely different picture. The "idyllic" finds are covered with thorns read more

Getting through Uzbek customs took strong nerves. Endless queuing, and at the check all our bags were rummaged through! Just before 10:00 everything has finally been checked, and we get our exit stamp. The Tajik entry formalities go quickly, and half an hour later we are in our 5th country since the start of the journey. read more

The change of country from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan doesn't go as usual. After the Tajik passport control at 4,220 m above sea level, there are still 2 kilometres of unpaved, bumpy track to the "Kyzyl-Art Pass" at 4,290 m. That means that after clearing customs we are already outside the country's border, but in the 22-kilometre-wide "corridor" read more

The change of culture and climate from China to Laos could not be greater. A change of country in the truest sense of the word! We are pleasantly surprised. Just a few kilometres after the border we are already in the middle of the jungle of the provinces of Oudômxai and Louangphabang. Not a single square metre that isn't covered with deep green read more

Changing countries from Laos to Cambodia at the Veun Kham border crossing was free of red tape and quick. The customs officers are friendly and speak English! Fill in a form, hand over a photo, and we get our 30-day visa. With the Angkor Wat temple complex, Cambodia is a tourist highlight. read more

The biggest change of all was driving on the left. There was no sign when we entered to tell us "which way to go". Although the customs building was on the left side of the road, we carried on riding on the right. The Thais are very considerate drivers. No honking or head-shaking read more

There are still 800 kilometres to go to the border with Singapore. We had planned our route along the better-developed west coast. Adding another country, "Borneo", at short notice brings new momentum to things. We decide on the route along the east coast through the states of read more

We have reached our planned destination! How time flies!
The huge metropolis of Singapore, at the end of the Malay Peninsula. Since the start in Istanbul 9 months ago, we have covered 12,000 kilometres and 113,000 metres of climbing in 794 hours of riding. Even the border crossing to Johor Bahru read more

At first the name Borneo was a little confusing for us. Where is this island, what links it with Malaysia, where are Sabah and the town of Lahad Datu? The explanation:
Borneo, the island in the Indonesian archipelago of South-East Asia read more