Afterthoughts.

Hrmm.... its over.Still cant believe my bike is broken.
Camped on Mount Sakurajima for a week (pictured above, I took this from a lookout spot above Kagoshima city), and passed the time fishing and hanging out with some musicians from Okinawa. For dinner I was going to visit the moon garamasala guesthouse. The owners are excellent cooks, just about 500 Yen for a delicious Okinawa style feast. They took me to a gig, and introduced me to the excellent music of Okinawa. Shoukichi Kina is a folk style artist, discovered by Ry Cooder and pretty much the only Okinawan folk singer to be heard outside Japan. 

After that I went hiking on Yakushima island for a week before I headed home. Cheapest option is the four hour ferry from Kagoshima. Take a tent and you can avoid the expense of youth hostels. Take a good one, and decent sleeping bag as the interior is very cold. Rains alomst non stop but, it's beautiful, one of the best hikes ive done. This sixteen frame panoramic photo was my favourite of the trip. This is where the Japanese animator Miyazaki was inspired to write Princess Mononoke. Yakushuma also harbours a real volcanic rotemburo set in rocks on the beach.

As a final word, if you are building a touring bike, I would urge you to get the strongest stuff available.This would equate to a steel framed mountain bike with fat tyres, 26" wheels, and possibly even lockable front suspension. The bike should be able to handle the worst conditions imaginable. I wouldnt change anything about the kit, it was pretty much perfect. Front panniers instead of the frame bag possibly. A solar charger would enable you to avoid ever staying in hostels, and this could bring the cost down even more. I'll be seeking one out for the next tour. Lots of light layers of clothing beats one really warm jacket too, as you can regulate your temperature much more easily. Thermals are a must for riding in cold wet weather.The EPIRB was probably a bit overkill, but it makes doing stuff solo a bit safer, and I was glad to have it with me.If you plan on camping alot consider a riding companion as it gets awfully boring if theres nobody else around.

Hitoyoshi to Ebino - ?? computer broken

Spent all morning climbing up some mountains, and then on the descent into Ebino disaster finally struck me down, in a callous blow of bad civil engineering.. What Ive been later told is referred to as a gai-jin trap. As you can see from photo at left, I had the choice of riding on a dangerous elevated road with no shoulder, or a leaf strewn disused service road that hairpinned down the mountain. I thought I had taken the safer option, but oblivious to the impending danger, I  plowed down the service road straight into a ditch that was concealed beneath piles of fallen leaves. I made it out relatively unscathed, the bike was however not so resilient to the impact. There was obvious damage to the handlebars, and after remvoing the frame bag I found kinks in the frame tubing that made the front wheel hit the down tube. It was basically un-ridable and I had to walk for around an hour to Ebino train station where I forced my way onto the train despite lack of regulation bicycle bag. Repair efforts in Kagoshima failed, and a new frame was sourced in Fukuoka, well outside my dwindling budget  at around $1500. Insurance policy on bike covered only damage whilst in transit,  ie on a transport service such as plane or rail so I had to finish the ride in Ebino, but will definately return to Japan in the near future, with a stronger bike. 

GAI-JIN PIT TRAP REVEALED!

Amakusa to Hitoyoshi - 76km

Spotted a ferry terminal early in the ride, and decided to head back to the mainland. Turned out to be a good choice, the road to Hitoyoshi ran alongside a river, and cherry trees were blooming. The route was 219, its very nice road for cycling but there are a couple of tunnels without shoulder, so be extremely careful not to get hit. Luckily they are short, so you have to make a quick dash as soon as the traffic stops, lights would be handy. 

Camped behind the croquet lawn in Hitoyoshi 'craft park' where I met a japanese motor bike traveller. Was introduced to the pleasures of hot shochu (distilled japanese spirit, usually from rice or sweet potatoe) and gave me details of numerous cheap places to stay en-route to Kagoshima. Nice camping ground too, cherrys all over the place.

Kumamoto to Amakusa Unzen - 96km

Cold windy ride along the coast. Road shoulder periodically disappeared leaving me exposed to the perils of heavy traffic. There were some scenic patches, and blossoms were opening in some areas. There was a particularly nice harbour town that I forget the name of where I stopped for a bento box.. I sat and watched some birds of prey fishing, swooping back and forth over the harbour.. I was aiming for a camping ground adjacent to Amakusa Onsen, which turned out to be a sento (artificial onsen). I should have known from the articial palm tree out the front. Kind of disappointing as it was my first onsen experience, and I had been expecting what I now know is actually a rotemburo (open air bath), nonetheless it was a relaxing soak for just a few dollars. The nearby campsite was freezing cold, and for once I was glad to have a 4 season tent with -7 sleeping bag.

Yame County to Kumamoto City - 74km

Apologies for being offline so long, internet access, like many things doesn't come cheap in Japan. The average internet cafe charges a minimum fee of $15, so I've been forced to neglect the blog until an opportune time of free internet.

Casting my mind all the way back, Yame county was great. Dense forests on the way through to Kumamoto, and I was invited into someones house for lunch as I took shelter from the rain. They prepared a delicious feast of local fare, including imumanji, green tea soba, croquettes, sushi and then they made a snack pack of chocolates and fruit to keep me going. Such amazing hospitality, I was truly humbled by their generosity..The man of the house was an artist, so a tour of their small art studio ensued, and they told me to come back to visit anytime.

It was cold, and absolutely poured rain all day. My thermals kept me warm but I was soaked to the bone and decided to fork out $50.00 for a youth hostel in Kumamoto and then resolved not to do so again, at least for a few weeks. The rules are pretty tight in Japanese hostels compared to elsewhere in Asia. This one had a 10pm curfew and 8am checkout. I was also made to wipe the marks from my luggage before entering the rooms.

Fukuoka to Yame County - 85km

Wow. What an amazing ride. It was a very cold , bleak morning in Fukuoka, and it wasnt for 65km that I broke out of the burbs.  I decided to completely wing it as far as the route, so I was choosing quiet back roads at random from the mapple to avoid the busy highways, that are often without a safe hard shoulder. The particular route I chose was very nice, and took me on a steep climb through some beautiful coniferous forests, and later that night I camped next to a river in some tiny village. For a few hours I sought refuge in a yakitori place, and warmed up with some tea and watched a few bouts of sumo. I made use of their facilties (heated toilet seats and all) before retiring to the tent, where it rained all night, and all the next morning.   

Fukuoka Japan

I got hold of some 'real' antibiotics in Fukuoka, the Dutch doctor advised me that Chinese pharmaceuticals are not always the real deal, the country being plagued with many bogus drug manufacturers. This would explain why my symptoms returned shortly after I was removed from the IV anti-biotics in the hospital. I bought some ridiculously expensive new antibiotics, disposed of the Chinese drugs, and it took me an extra few days to fully convalesce in Fukuoka. In the meantime I bought some parts and worked on the bike in the space I was given (2m square area of the arcade) near my hostel. With new bar tape and a few trimmings it was looking resplendant once more amongst the rest of the Japanese bikes.

Fukuoka very much reminded me of me Melbourne. It was quite bleak ugly by day, but at night it came to life. Obviously the Japanese people and signage provided a point of difference, but there was something very melbournesque about it. If i'd been less strapped for cash, in better health, and with some english speaking company I could have had a right good time exploring the numerous bars in the area.  Since this wasnt the case, I ate cheaply at convenience stores, photographed some of the bars, and tracked down 'Touring Mapple', that is apparently so essential for navigating in labrythine Japan. The Mapple turned up at a bookstore in Tenjin Core (A plaza near Tenjin Station). This place has a huge bookstore where you can buy basically any Japanese reading material you might require.

Shanghai

Having just spent the past 50-60 hours aboard crowded buses and trains, eating cup noodles and what I think was vaccum packaged tofu, I was elated to be in the seemingly clean and modern metropolis of Shanghai. This feeling of elation was however short-lived, and within 12 hours of my arrival I succumbed to an incredibly severe bout of food poisoning, landing me in hospital on an iv drip for 2 days. I never found out what it was, but the fallout was a missed flight, and an expensive medical check up when I finally arrived in Japan.  

Mekong River Flophouse to Somewhere before Lincang - 19km

Hoping I would be free of the quarry in around 10km, the horrible dusty conditions continued on and on, with more road blocks and stubborn construction foremen to deal with. Thankfully after another hour and half of this, some guy in a pickup stopped and motioned he could take me to Lincang. Rather generous guy, after dropping me at a hotel, he also gave me some water and didn't want any money for the ride. The bike was utterly filthy, dust covered everything, and had no doubt clagged the bearings in my old fashioned headset. I cleaned it all up as best as I could but later decided it probably wouldn't even last till Japan at this rate, so tｈｅ next day I took a sleeper bus to Kunming, with plans of  a sleeper train to Shanghai and then flight to Japan. The bicycle travel coupling was indispensible for this exercise.

Regarding the train connection, my timing couldn't have possibly been worse. It was the end of the Spring Festival, a time when most Chinese are returning home from visiting relatives. It is considered to be the largest annual human migration, with around 180million people coming and going on trains. Kunming station was like nothing I have ever dealt with before, it was so, so crowded and filthy. Thankfully the internal waiting rooms periodically emptied, and the toilets werent as dire as the outside ones, where hundreds of  familes were huddled under doonas, or lying on flattened boxes awaiting trains. These makeshift campgrounds seem to be a fallout of the crowd control system. It works such that you cant enter the enormous internal waiting areas without a valid ticket within that day, hence the campouts.

My own abrupt change of plans meant I hadn't the time to book a train ticket prior to departure, so the only tickets left were in the most expensive class. The skinflint in me didn't appreciate this at the time of purchase, but I later realised this was definately a blessing in disguise as the train was filled to capacity. The soft sleeper births were a haven of peace for what was nearly a 2 day journey.

Yongping to Mekong River Flophouse - 66km

Terrible, terrible day. Almost ruined the bike. Road was more like a quarry. They were mining rock from the steep cliffs straddling the road. I got stuck in 6 road blocks waiting for the dozers to clear piles of rubble , the worst of which held me up for two hours. I managed to negotiate through most  of the blockades by insisting I could carry my bike over the piles of rubble. One of the them was a little larger than I anticipated, and I almost slid down the sheer cliff face attempting to clamber across with my 40kg touring bike, it was so damn awkward.  Much to my relief a concerned worker ran to my aid and helped me across. Below is a sample of the road conditions you can expect while the 323 is under construction. Later in the day, whilst I neared the Mekong river huge explosions rocked the valley, just metres from where I was riding, gaping holes were being blown in the cliff face, and I was allowed to just wander on through as though it was perfectly safe. The lodgings as you cross the river are basic; dusty mosquitoe net hangs over a couple of mattresses, but there is nothing else until for at least 20km, and I was travelling at a speed of just 6-7km/h. The presence of an alsatian dog, going crazy in a cage out the front almost put me off going in. If your going this way the flophouse is the building directly next to the bridge. If you stand out the front next to the caged beast for long enough, the owner will emerge.