Audience from the premiere of DAY 776, picture taken while making the presentation,  with the same cheap camera i recorded the stuff with. Nice party afterwards..

Gothenburg, Sweden. March 2013

IN MEMORY OF TAYLOR BOOTH

 

 "There's a fire in your heart, cant you feel it?"

Part of poem Taylor showed me in the city of Jember, Java. I dont remember the author, I do remember we slept in an abandoned sportshall the next night,  the grass was long around the building and the door open. Was so dark when we entered at late night. In the morning we saw the size of the hall, even found toilets that were working. We climbed an volcano and I got tired in my legs. On the top we cooked food and added a tomato relish Taylor had gotten from a driver in Australia, "Real man's" tomato relish it read on the label and then the picture of a man with beard who had told a funny story about Mt.Everest. Catching the rides were easy and fun, with a friend waiting between rides is not a problem, time passes so quickly. Taylor always suggested to walk alot and not stand still hitching. I like this style. We had arranged a meeting in the center of a big city. Said we meet in the central square, took us few hours but finally we did. I had not seen him since Australia and months had passed. The days we spent on the island of Java were amazing. Such beautiful memories i'll always keep.

Rest in peace dear friend

Taylors couchsurfing profile

http://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=KM67VA

Way home throught Russia

After a few days in Omsk I headed west, were lucky the first day, caught a truck going 900 km to Chelyabinsk. It wasnt really my plan to go there at that time but I changed my plan. Spending some days in Chelyabinsk with musicians, streetperformers. I made some busking. Didnt make much. Compared to China atleast. From there my luck ran out and hitchhiking went slow, perhaps first time of the trip I got tired holding my arm up trying to stop cars. waited atleast one hour between every ride, sometimes two. I remembered Russia as an easy country for hitchhiking but this was not the case for me this time. Slowly I made my progress towards Kazan and arrived one evening to this beautiful city where I stayed with couchsurfers for two days. Last bit to Moscow also went slow but made it finally. Fewer days than I planned there, decided to make it fast back to Sweden. I was just to close to home, couldnt stay anywhere more than a day or two..

A friend joined me for the Moscow St. Petersburg hitch and as a girl and a guy we made it alot faster than me alone. Also in St petersburg i didnt stay long. Went one rainy morning for the border of Finland and finally made it across after getting slow short rides the whole day. As i crossed the border it had stopped raining and the sun even peaked out for a bit. Border crossing very smooth. Got an ride to Helsinki that evening, catching cars of the highway, no problem. Got hosted by an friendly couple in Helsinki and made it to Turku the next day. There I were checking out the circus school for a bit and bought some juggling clubs from a friend.

Then the ferry. The last bit to Sweden. The ferry was full of drunken party people ofcourse and I couldnt sleep on my bench, got perhaps 1.5 h sleep and tiredly I entered a sunny Sweden in the early morning hours. Payed an totally insane price of 44kr of the subway of Stockholm and reached the hitchhiking spot close to Hallunda station. Took me an hour to get a 350km+ ride to Skara. Hitched fast some cars to my mothers house outside Ulricehamn. There i surprised my family, them not knowing im coming. Now back in my home in Västra bodarna, close to Gothenburg city.

Some statistics of the trip..(more accurate and more might come later)

Distance and lenght
Lenght: 12 November 2009 - 5 August 2012, (2 years and ~9 months)
Distance travelled: ~70 000 km
Hitchhiking: 41 000 km
Sailing: 25 000 km (13700 NM)
Trains & Buses: ~2500 km
Ferries: 2000 km
Airplane: 2000 km
Cycling: 1300 km
Walking: ??+ km

Longest time on the sea: 28 days (San fransisco- Marquesas), 26 days (Cape verde - Martinique)

Documentation
Photos and videos taken: 7000
Diaries finished: 5

Borders
Countries passed throught: ~30
Most time spent: Australia, Indonesia, China
Least time spent: Brunei, Kazakstan
Smallest country: Niue(260 km²)
Biggest country: Russia (17 075 200 km²)

Problems
Attempted robberys: 1
Successed robberys: 0
Petty theft: less than 5
Lost items: Flashlight, Small knife, Mobile phone
Country of most food poisioning: China
Worst food poisioning: Vietnam

Many nights in tents, many in peoples homes, many in Couchsurfers places. A few few in hotels which were not payed by me.

Tents bought, exchanged or found: 6

Inside my bag

1 Tshirts: 4

2 Long pants: 1

3 Shorts: 2

4 Shirts: 2

5 Juggling balls made with balloons and rice(from sweden)

6 Rain protection (used maybe 5 times in 1 year)

7 sleeping bag cover(used as sleeping bag most of the time)

8 Towel given by indonesian family

9 Bag with art stuff(brushes, sketches, photos, pens)

10 Bag with stuff( strings, screwdriver, screws, stuff)

11 socks

12 books, dictionaries, maps (bought or given in various countries)

13 winter gear (from sweden)

14 diaries

15 chargers and electronic stuff

16 hiking shoes (bought in malaysia)

17 sleeping bag (from sweden, cover from france)

18 tent rolled up in sleeping mat(tent exchanged with friends in china, sleeping mat given by friend)

19 small loudspeaker (china, 10 euros)

20 juggling torches made in china, kerosene

21 juggling clubs bought in finland, balls given in finland, contact ball gift from russia.

To theese things comes also a small bag with cameras, money, passport and so on.

First and last day of the trip.

And now what.

Waiting for cars. Pavlodar, Kazakstan - Russian border

Bishekek to Omsk

So I managed get the Russian visa. Seemed almost impossible for a moment but turned out to be not that difficult in the end. I got a original Letter of Invitation from Stantours, costed me 85$ to get it shipped to Bishkek, took no more than 1 day. With this i went to the embassy and somehow managed to convince the lady to accept my visa application without having an kyrgyz visa that would be valid 1 month after my arrival to Russia(this seem to be the new rules) applied on Thursday and picked up visa on tuesday(52$)

Wanted to make it fast to Omsk and make the most out of my 29 day russian visa that would start the day after I picked it up. I've decided to describe the hitch Bishkek-Omsk in boring statistics this time, here we go:

Kazakstan south to north

Distance: 1 809 km
Time: 51 hours
Number of vehicles: 15

     Cars: 13

     Old Kamaz truck: 1

     Milk truck: 1

Longest ride: 432 km (Karaganda-Pavlodar)

Shortest ride: 1 km ( in city of Karaganda)

Longest wait: ~1 hour (North of Pavlodar towards the border)

Shortest wait: 5 minutes

Average wait: 10 -15 minutes

Number of times police helped me get a ride: 2

Number of rides given by police: 1 (100 km Jambyl province)

Number of nights spent in Police road post: 1 (Pavlodar)

Number of nights spent in abandoned Police road post: 1 (Balkash)

Money spent: 325 Tenge (1.6 EUR)

Money earned: 170 Tenge (0.9 EUR)

Number of times asked if im married: 9

Number of times asked when i'll get married: 6

Number of times asked if i'd like to marry Kazak girl: 4

Number of hours looking out over a flat steppe: Too many

And thats it. Im in Omsk, in few days heading west west west. some cities on the way, dont know which yet, Moskva st petersburg and finland before 9th when my visa ends. Then almost home.

Friendly driver pouring Kymyz, fermented mares milk

This man stopped a truck for me

Henry throught the looking glass

               

Urumqi to the border and Kyrgyzstan

I had luck leaving urumqi in the afternoon, got a 1.5 day long ride all the way south of Taklamakan desert, to Hetian. From there i made it to Kashgar and finally the last 150 km to the border. The road was terrible the last bit and it took a day. At the border in the morning the border guards checked my passport and claimed I was lacking a exit stamp(so make it please!) The explained this was not longer the border post, the imigration has moved to Ulugqat. ULUGQAT? Thats 120 km back, on the worst road. There was no way i had to go back. Another 6 hours in a truck. In Ulugqat i was told to come back on monday(this was friday) The border is closed on the weekend.. I wanted nothing else than to cross into Kyrgyzstan but there was no way. Finally i went back to Kashgar, had dinner with some Uiguyr people i met, got a mild food poisoning, slept on the roof of an artifical cave, tried to do busking cause i was almost out of money having changed my cash earned in china to euros. Made 10 Yuan(1 euro) in 20 minutes(great huh). Hitched back towards the border, got a cold, spent some time next to a river, was given loads of nan bread and tea by the people in the villages as i was walking to make the time pass. Monday morning, caught another truck went 7 hours to the border, slept in an abandoned shop on the border. crossed finally into Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday morning. I was worried they Kyrgyz guards would make some long and uneccesary search of all my bags but nothing, the first guard greeted me with a handshake and said 'welcome!'.

Caught a Kyrgyz truck to Osh, beautiful road, so nice throught mountains and rain. Lots of yurts along the way and the horses and sheeps ofcourse. My driver invited me to his house outside Osh and i was treated with the most delicious food and then a well earned rest, having slept badly for some days. In Osh i stayed a few days with a couchsurfer. Mostly walking around and juggling in the parks ofcourse.

City of Osh seen from the sky

Next i headed northeast, taking the small road from Jalal-abad to Kazarman, the road was narrow and steep, heading up up up, into fog and rain, lots of animals on the road. Stayed one night in Kazarman with the driver and family. The onto the emty road to Ak-tal, bought some supplies and started trekking to Song kolm an lake on 3000 m. Before the evening i was offered a ride(which i later had to pay for) Another mountain pass with narrow dangerous curvs. Only this time it was in the night with a car from soviet times. So, the battery was crap i suppose, had to push it to start, sometimes overheated and we had to fill up with water, then push it downhills(backwards) for the driver to start in reverse. Doing this on the narrow road with the cliff closeby i was happy to be pushing, not driving. Rain came and ofcourse the windshield wipers occasionally stoped working making visibility hard or non existing. As a grand finale up on the pass the headlight ocassionally stopped working, leaving a pitch black narrow road in front. Scary.

Hardcore vodka drinkers of Song kol and old car

Two nights in Song kol with mixed feelings for this place i left walking.. Until a car offered to take me down the pass, some more walking and finally reached Kochkor in the evening. There happend a weird story, a little bit funny but quite sad involving 4 drunk men fighting eachother somewhat over me and then hugging crying fighting again, ah the story requires explanation however lets for now leave it to one simple explanation, Men drinking to much vodka.

Finally made it to Bishkek where im staying with Couchsurfers and making a Kazak visa. The there is two routes and i have to choose. Russia or Caucasus. I prefer russia but visa is difficult atm..

Henry managed to hitchhike a horse a few km

China

Almost 3 months ago since i wrote anything in this blog, partly because china has an internet block on certain websites, partly cause internet is hard to find unless you have a computer and partly cause i've been busy doing other things. Well im still in china, in Urumqi, a city of almost 3 million people and the city in the world furthest away from any sea.

North of Lijiang

Entering china in March from the border of Vietnam was a huge contrast, no more muddy small roads but big highway systems. I made it to Nanning as first city where i just stayed a few days with a couchsurfer at the university campus. Then heading for Kunming, Yunnan, a province in the very south west bordering Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. I stayed for some time, what was meant to be one two months across china became two months in Yunnan, mostly concentrated on busking, making juggling and acrobatic shows. The time divided between the cities of Kunming, Dali and Lijiang. Met up with friends and got a short job juggling at a festival outside of Lijiang. For one month working together with an Argentinian girl making a clown-acrobatic-juggling show which we performed on the streets of Dali and Kunming. Busking in China works well, a few places the police tells you you have to move but always in a very polite way. One visit to the police station in Lijiang i had to promise never to do busking in the ancient city of Lijiang again, IF i would do so i would be forced to pay 1000 Yuan(125Euro) in penalty, letter signed and nicely sealed with around 15 fingerprints. All  accompanied with lots of tea and a relaxed atmosphere in the police station.

Painting in Fabrizios house in Dali, 40 random words

Debora and Henrik in the mirror, Kunming

Practicing for the evening fireshow in Dali

Another Painting in Dali

Yeah time went fast in Yunnan with lots of friends and projects.. Made my second extension(and last possible for tourist visa) in Kunming, then helped my Argentinian friend who had injured her foot to the airport in Chongqing where she flew back to south america. From there, the airport of the huge city of Chongqing i started the nonstop hitch to the north. First day i didn't make it far, too many highways in every directions slowed my progress north, got hosted by the staff of a highway toll station that night, next day i made it further, still having problems explaining what im doing to most Chinese drivers thought, some times i were left in the very south of a city and ending up walking for half a day through the whole city south to north, to get on the right road again. Standing on a gas station somewhere outside Tianshui, just west of Xian, the friendly staff at the gas station offered me to sleep in the generator room and helped me catch the best ride the morning after. Two trucks carrying 19 cars each heading for Urumqi. I went with them for 50 hours, sitting in one of the cars they were carrying. Sleeping comfortably at night and in the day seeing the mostly flat landscape of northern Gansu province and east Xinjiang pass by.

I arrived in Urumqi 2 days ago and now waiting for my Kyrgyzstan visa, the cost was a hard 455 Yuan(60 euro) for the slowest process time 5 days. On Monday i pick it up and head straight for the border. Another 1500 to go in China..

Henry, Urumqi

50 hours throught Gansu and Xinjiang provinces, Western china

Vietnam

Im right at the border Vietnam-China. Entering China in about one hour. Down in the center Vietnam i continued cycling, made it up to Tuy Hoa where i decided to head into the mountains for a bit. Getting of the main AH1 highway(im sure it cannot be called a highway). The road was quieter and everything was more relaxed, until one afternoon when i must have been peddaling to hard in thoose mountains, I started getting pain in my right knee. The day after it was even worse. I could not continue anymore, I was cycling with only my left leg and still the pain in my right knee got worse. Well, i cannot continue all the way to china anyway. I've been staying to long in good people homes and the time of my visa is not enough to reach the far north. Getting a bit tired of this anyways. Yes china was calling me. The knee was a great reason to give my bike away and make nonstop hitch towards China. The last evening i ended up stuck in a small mountain pass, a missunderstanding forced me to cycle the last10 km in pitchblack darkness, so black i could hardly see the road even less the possible holes in the road, my flashlight was stolen a few days before but thats another story. It was raining and everything felt pretty miserable for a while. However i reached the city of Chuse. I never thought iwould make it with the knee, forcing me to slow down and take it so easy. In Chuse the road 25 connects with a bigger road north so would be a great place start hitchhiking.New owner of bicycle

I was hosted in a restaurant that night and traded mybicycle for two slices of watermelon with a young man who worked as an mechanic. Then i caught a few rides towards the Ah1 mainroad again. Slow hitchhiking, missunderstandings, understandings. Finally managing to make it to Quang Ngai and the AH1 road again. Hosted in an internetcafe full of mosquitos i slept badly and were tired in the morning, caught a ride with a guy heading for Hoi An, he had driven nonstop from Muine, 14 hours, and i was complaining i was tired! Outside Hoi an i planned to continue directly but met some great people who offered to host me for the night, decided to take one day to rest. Next morning i was walking along what seemed to be an never ending narrow road with construction work on both sides, not the best place to hitch a ride, however in this place where i walked and occasionally hitched i caught a truck, a man and his son heading north. And a great ride it was, we were driving nonstop for 30 hours until we reached, guess where, Lang Son, border with china. A good 1000 km+

So here iam now, ready to cross over to china. My original plan was to go to Kunming, but with the ride i had ichanged my plans and now heading for Nanning, the Kunming. And it looks like it might be a wet hitch looking at the dark clouds making this morning look like a late evening. I'll wear a raincoat.Vietnam

Im just about to leave Bangkok for Cambodia.. The last couple of months since i last wrote has been great, arriving in Malaysia after that long nonstop hitch from Jakarta. I spent few days in Melaka with couchsurfers, hitched down for few days to Singapore, more couchsurfing and busking, a few sessions of juggling and acrobatics on the street paid well. North again up to Kuala lumpur, organized a CS-juggling event which gathered not many but a few people. Some busking over there aswell which gladly paid for some birthday supplies for my host. Left for Thailand, some rides with trucks some with cars, managed to get out of KL easy, waited few minutes on the motorway paystation until a truck brought me to Ipoh. Restarea hitching just like in europe. A couple stopped and brought the 300+ km to their house and then next morning the remaining 40 km to the border to Thailand.

Ailee spinning the poi in KL

Thailand, suddently a new language, after thoose months spent in Malaysia and Indonesia, my bahasa melayu and bahasa indonesia were quite allrite for easy conversations with driver. In thai i couldnt even introduce myself or say thanks. Hitchhiking went ok though, got some rides with cars, some with motorbikes. Next day ive made it to the island of Koh samui where i met my father after not seeing him for over 2 years. We spent one week walking around the island on the beaches.. After a bit over 2 weeks on theese island i hitched towards Bangkok, had a ride with a driver going..fast.. and overtaking in the most breathtaking ways. Arrived in the evening to Bangkok where i met up with Tiphaine in the CS house of Toom. We spent few days before heading north. Hitchhiking was easy, we spent a few days, Ayuthaya, Sukothai looking at ancient temples, museums. Mostly staying in tent but sometimes were hosted in families. After Sukothai, west to Mae sod, next to Burmese border, scruffy border town i think Lonely planet would describe it as but we had interesting time there meeting people helping refugees from Burma in different ways.. North of Mae sod is the biggest refugee camp of South-east-asia, we pass an checkpoint driving a while along the camp, some barbed wire fences, lots of people walking along the road, little kid trying to hitch a ride with our driver then checkpoint again and forest, villages. Beautiful road along the river dividing Burma and Thailand.

Temples and Hitching

One night we were hosted by a police in a kind of police station, he opened the room, moved a few things, put a rifle that was leaning against the wall under the bed instead and welcomed us to sleep in the room. We made it up to Mae hng son, cold night up in the mountains, down to Chiang mai, some couchsurfing over there, few days relaxing after many nights in tent. Easy hitching to Chiang Rai, further to the border of Laos, which we entered on the 24th january.

Vientiane

Laos was harder for hitchhiking, our first day we got a ride with a Thai truck driver heading for the border of China. Stopping half the way we slept in a tent and had our coldest night up in the mountains. In the morning we were freezing and were invited to heat ourselves around the fires the kids had started to get some morning heat. COntinued with another truckdriver we made it to the junction of the north-south "highway". Not many cars, most of them Chinese. Finally a Chinese did stop and we went for hours throught mountain passes. In Muang Xai we were hosted in a classroom in a temple, got a rideto Luang Prabang with a Lao-english couple. Luang Prabang was full of tourists but we enjoyed sleeping well on the sandy riverbanks of Mekong river.. We had to wait few hours to get out of Luang prabang, finally a Lao man with his children offered to take us to Vientiane. He was not the greatest driver in the world and the roads were small, curvy and full of motorbikes on the wrong side of the road. We made it thought. Skipped Vang Vieng and its river full of drunken westerners in tractor tubes. We had not found a couchsurfing host in Vientiane so set up a tent in a park. Three soldiers came just when the tent was up told us we could not sleep there. After some gentle arguing they said we could move 30 m out of their responsibility. Woke up with 30+ Lao people around us doing their morning workout. Next night we set up a tent in a temple garden instead which was better.

Went a bit further in Laos and crossed into Thailand in Thakaek. Just one week in Laos. But somehow it did feel enough for this time. Further some days in flat but amazing eastern Thailand. Mukdahan, Ubon Ratchatani, Nang Rong. Temples, great people and park-camping.. Finally we get a ride the last 400km to Bangkok on the back of a pickup truck(and had a storm so we sat under a tarp) Back to Bangkok, back to the amazing CS house of Toom! Tiphaine went back to Indonesia a few days ago. Now im off to Cambodia in about one hour. Hoping to make it to the border before 8:30 pm not to overstay my visa. I already got my Chinese Visa here in Bangkok. but first Cambodia, Vietnam. Not sure about what to do there but have a few ideas!

Wish me luck!!

Tiphaine and friends in Mukdahan

Allready Dumai, Riau, Sumatra, INDONESIA48 h ride Lampung - Pekanbaru

Spent just one night in Jakarta, this suffocating overcrowded city. Was luckily hosted by a couchsurfer i met on a CS meeting that happened to take place. Getting out of Jakarta was allright.. Made it to the highway towards the west, (Jln Tol Jakarta - Melaka) Standing close to the Toll pay station I got a ride fairly quick, once getting out a bit of the city easy to hitch from the highway. Finally I made it to Melaka, got with a truck onto the ferry to Sumatra. Took 2h or so.

The whole trip Jakarta - Dumai (by drivers estimation around 1500 km) was more or less non stop and i realized once more importance of getting a good nights sleep(last two days way to high frequency of sit-powernaps while in cars). Got a ride with a truck driver for 48 hours, from Lampung to Pekanbaru.. The road was slow.. During thoose two days we saw about 6 or 7 trucks that had either flipped over, went down the ditch or simply crashed into something. Makes you realize how important as a hitchhiker to keep the driver somewhat alert and awake. (which is hard if you didnt have enough sleep either).

In Dumai i now finally got great some great sleep, hosted in a 'neighborhood guard station'. Hah. Tomorrow i take a ferry to Melaka, Malaysia. Down to Singapore for few days and then North north north!!

Henry

From Sabah to Brunei (And the passport stamp marathon)
Batu Niah caves Sarawak




About one month spent in Sabah Malaysia..! Travelling around, east, west, north, up, down, here, there. When time to leave after great time spent I headed for Brunei.. I had already hitched the road before, almost all way to the border.. Same road, i even ate in the same places.. First, border to Sarawak, Malaysia.. Same country but something is different.. Cant put my finger on it. Lawas.. Im going with a man heading for the TV-repairman in Lawas, as we go fast on the bumpy road the TV bounces back n forth in the backseat. (well its broken anyway right). Walking walking lah! Along the road, allready afternoon.. The rain have caught up with e few times but i always seem to get a ride before it gets really bad. The dark clouds heading southwest just like me.

Before the border to Brunei I get a ride with a Chinese man to his Timber factory in Brunei and he invites me to stay the night. Eating well with his family.. Truck from there in the morning.. This is in the eastern province of Brunei and the city is called Bangar.. Walking walking lah. Sun is hot but i feel like walking. A couple of hours just to see if anyone stops without me hitchhiking. Suddently I arrive at the border. get my exit stamp and see a car has stopped for me, young Chinese man,
- Wanna come with me to Bandar Seri Begawan?
- Sure do, thanks!
Brunei, 3000 Brunei dollar = 2340 USD

Into Sarawak again, Into Brunei again, my passport getting smashed with stamps! Bandar Seri Begawan.. a few hours.. My new-found friend takes me to the museum of the Sultan. In cold aircondition we walk around and look at different pictures of the sultan. Gifts from other countries. This n that. Few more hours a bit of food and i leave BSB. Walking again lah! Brunei is easy for hitchhike, however its just a little bit complicated cause the roads kind of looks like in western europe, there are sidewalks and the roads are narrow and fast. So i cannot find a safe place for cars to stop. Doesn't matter.. As long as someone stops before dark(or before the rain starts again). Finally getting some rides out of the city, get treated with some Bruneian hospitality in a restaurant(Im eating some kind porridge which im not sure what it contained, tastes funny eh) That night i sleep on the beach(or i actually never see the beach but i was told it was a beach)
Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan


Next morning i hitch from the highway, almost first car stops, even if going fast fast. A young girl with long black hair. Short ride, conversation goes something like this(good example of a short conversation while hitchhiking in Brunei,Sarawak,Sabah,Indonesia where the concept of hitchhiking, getting a ride for free hardly exist):
- Hi, are you heading South, towards Seria?
- Noo Seeeeria, its faaaaaar (its about 60 - 70 km but ofcourse far cause across the whole country), You have to take a taxi, or a bus.
- Im travelling by hitchhiking,(trying to explain hitchhiking but there is no word in melay, closest is "Tumpang" but is not the same thing)
Quiet moment, - Ah ok!
Moments later
- So i drop you here, you can take a bus from here to Seria!
- Oh.... ok....., Thanks alot!
(Leaving the car going out to the road again to catch another ride)
Contractor getting free fuel from his constructing site.. Diesel costs 0.32 BND per liter in Brunei($0.25 (1.6 SEK))

Sarawak, Malaysia

I make it to the border with few cars.. Into Sarawak again, heading south south, A driver told me about some caves I JUST HAVE TO visit, so I do. Batu Niah caves.. nice! I spend the night in my tent at the start point to walk to the caves. I've found out my newly Indonesian $15 tent is not as waterproof as i hoped so i usually try to find some kind of roof when setting up the tent. Here i didnt find and i was luckylucky, no rain that night.. Nice caves, nice walk.

Bla bla bla bal bla bla bla bla bal alalal bala balaballlalallaa lalala hehe haha lala.

I end up on a rest area in middle of nowhere. Gets late and I get stuck. Tired, im offered to sleep in a room above the restaurant, great sleep! The longest i've waited in Asia to get a ride but in the morning a driver comes up to me and offers e ride almost to Kuching! Yahoow. All day we go! until 2 hours before Kuching where he lives. Invites me to his home but im in little bit rush and wanna go to Kuching. Arrive in the evening. Look around, nice! Yah really, nice city. So different from other malaysian cities ive seen! I sleep in a strange place, i dont even know what it is myself its so strange. Lets just say its kind of benches for outdoor theater or something(Pls someone tell me what it is if you know, i'll send u a candy from Indonesia)
Sleeping sleeping lah, This spot behind a building in Serian, Sarawak also worked as a studio for painting a t-shirt.


Indonesia satu lagi kali

Leave Kuching. Slow short rides. Finally ride with policeman to Serian where i sleep behind a shop and meet an kind of constantly talking hobo, but that story is just too long to write here(or write anywhere acually). Again short rides to the border. Easy border crossing $25 Visa On Arrival, indonesian 1 month visa. Walking walking lah! End up in perfect place truck stop in Entikong. All trucks is going to Pontianak in the afternoon after loading barang barang from Malaysia. Get a ride with friendly man in heavy rain we go all evening into the night, sleep, up 5 arrive 8 in Pontianak.

Last night a friendly man from the harbor hosted me in his house and tonight im taking a 36 h ferry to Jakarta, hah!

(My plan was to take a boat to p.Riau, south of singapore but the boat leaves in 10 days so bah! And i've tried to ask my harbor friend about cargo ships but no no on that one. Where's my cargo ship captain friend from Surabaya when i need him?!)


One foot in the Southern hemisphere on in the northern.. THE EQUATOR, Pontianak Kalimantan Barat, INDONESIA

Leaving Yogya / Ferry to Borneo

I left Yogyakarta after great time spent there! Got more or less one long ride with a truck from Solo to Surabaya. There i waited for the ferry to Banarmasin for about 24 hours, was about 10 hours late.. Sleeping at the ferry terminal together with 100-200 other people.. Once on the ferry, found a nice spot, lay out my tent as a sleeping mat, slept, talked, slept, ate (small portion of rice) for about 22 hours. Arrived in Banjarmasin in the evening of the 12th october, my birthday. Was hosted by a family i met on the ferry.


Hitchhiking Kalimantan!
The first day of hitchhiking in Kalimantan i dont even put my hand out for a ride.. The first truck i see parked on the side of the road gives me a couple of hours ride north. The second ride, two girls on a motorbike helps me get, they have seen me on the side of the road outside Banjar and insists on buying me dinner. Then helps me getting a ride with a truck, i squeeze in between 3 guys in a small truck heading for Tanjung. Many hours and coffee breaks later we reach Tanjung which was my goal for the day. The truck driver suggests i can sleep outside the mosque, there's already a person sleeping there. So i do.. Atleast until 4 in the morning when the prayers start(and im not to far from the speakers!) I move 100 m away and continue sleep.

A couple of trucks towards Balikpapan, a few short rides with motorbikes.. The road ha so far been O.K not to bad.. Many big mosques and quite nice houses along the way! East Kalimantan is rich, alot of resources here! Timber, Petroleum, Coal.. And sadly the forests and nature suffers from this..

I reach Balikpapan with a truck transporting stone for a government project. Two persons in most trucks, one person driving the truck, one person unloading, in this case a truckload of 20 - 30 kg stones, by hand.. That day i make it to Samarinda where im hosted by a young couple with a little babygirl.

Heading up towards Bontang, the roads get worse(but still not that bad) Crossing the equator somewhere around there but not really sure where.. To Bontang with private car, otherwise mostly trucks, which is what im aiming for, little bit slower, but for free.. Up here on theese raods more and more cars are shared taxis. Another truck to Sangatta, in the evening i reach an rest area in the middle of nowhere north of Sangatta, Spend the night on a carpet in a restaurant. In the morning i get a ride with a convoy of three brand new pickup trucks heading for Palm oil plantations. They even have police escort, cause their vehicles are not yet registered.. From the morning to the evening we drive on _bad_ roads, very bad, keeping 20 -30 km/h slowing down, turning, trying to avoid the holes in the roads(many places more holes than road) They invite me to stay with them for some time and i gladly accept their invitation. spend two days there, Dayak village.. Checking out palm plantations, huge areas. Lots of beautiful forest exchanged for palm oil used for Biodiesel.. The day I've planned to leave north for Berau my new friends have to go there to get spare parts so i get a ride. few hours to get there, still bumpy road. Just one hour before Berau the roads is allright again. Berau to Tanjung Selor is pretty good road, got a ride in the afternoon and made it to Tanjung Selor in the evening.

Took me 6 days from Banjarmasin. Im not sure how far, maybe Banjarmasin - Balikpapan 800 km, Balikpapan - Tanjung Selor another 1000 km. To bad i didnt have more time(my visa finishes in few days!)

This morning i took a ferry from Tanjung selor to Tarakan where iam now.. Tomorrow i plan take a ferry to either Nunukan(close to the border) or Tawau, Malaysia. No border crossing by land possible here.. The ferry goes in rivers and deltas, thick jungle surrounding us and im sure lots of crocodiles hide in the mangroves..

Hati Hati!!!

Hitchhiking Java..
On 2nd September I arrived in Ketapang, the ferry from Gilimanuk took 45 min or so and cost me around 60 cents. Happy to be in Java i start to walk out of the city. Lots of motorbikes. Hitchhiking went slow in the beginning but it didnt really matter, walking in the sun, talking to people on the way, smiling, laughing! I get a couple of rides, I were heading to Jember to meet up with the hitchhiker Taylor. I get one long ride with a man who has a small ice-milk factory in his home, i get a plastic bag full of ice-milk (yeah ice-milk, tasting funny and icey-milkey) I get snacks from another driver and I must refuse another one. I've eaten to much sweets in one day. Finally making it to Jember i meet up with Taylor at the central square(we were lucky there was a central square) We sleep in the park that night.

Taylor and wood

Volcanic adventures and sketchy car accident

Going down in a car from the beautiful Mt. Bromo the breaks of the car stop working. The road is narrow, steep and curvy. Its me and Taylor, 4 indonesian guys heading for a hiking trip. Our driver try to use the handbrake when both breaks fails but we're going to fast for the handbrake to work.. Slaloming a bit, keeping the car on the road(not to go down the steep hill on the right side) Our driver has no choice but to crash into the mud-wall on our left side. Despite no seatbelts all of us were allright, the car is a bit smashed but not to seriously. We get help from a passing car, changing tyre and a lift down the mountain. No hiking on Mt.Bromo that night.. After a long day of walking and hitching we sleep well outside a shop(or was it a house) in a small village.Perhaps 2/3 from top of Merapi

We continue hitching west.. many nice rides, sometimes in cars sometimes going in small trucks filled with bricks, wood and plants. Some drivers spoke a bit English some didn't. Over cold mountains, beautiful scenery's meeting with good people everywhere. Finally we make it to Merapi, an active volcano(not close to as boiling as Mt.Yasur in Vanuatu thou) close to Yogyakarta. We arrive in the evening to Selo, starting point for hiking Merapi. Asking to set up a tent in a front yard of a house we are invited to sleep on a carpet in the house. Next morning we head out to reach the top of Merapi, takes us a few hours(we take special, extra exciting path involving climpbing and losing the path) The last bit, summit, is the hardest, steep and lots of rocks and ash. Finally up we enjoy a gorgeous view and noodles with a special tomato relish made by an Australian real man(inside joke).Taylor n clouds n top Merapi
Taylor n Henrik on top (photo taylor)

That day hitchhiking is slow down the mountain and we end up in a city with the funny name Blablak. There we find shelter and sleep in an indoor badminton court. Next day Taylor head north to hitch to Bogor for a wedding and i south towards Yogyakarta. Few hours walking before getting a ride(overlapping villages, loads of buses,minibuses). Finally arrive in Yogya and arrive to a couchsurfer Taylor were supposed to surf with(im substitute) Here im in the middle of extending my visa for 30 more days.

Some weeks in Java perhaps then finding a way to Kalimantan!

Brisbane - Darwin

Brisbane

I did spend quite some time in Brisbane, alltogether around 6 months. Staying all the time(except the last week) in S/Y Nekton, by the Botanical Gardens mooring right in the city center.. Time went fast as always.. I were working most of the time as a kitchenhand in a Cafe in the suburb St.Lucia. It was nice job, i learned alot about cooking and had nice time. I had also some other jobs, picking glasses in a bar, another kitchenhand job(or shall we call that one dish-monkey). Winter in Brisbane was cold, heading north felt like an excellent idea. Lukasz and Nekton left in the beginning of June for the sunshine coast to pull the boat up on land for some maintenance. That was 14 months staying on Nekton altogether, great, absolutely great time!

North

Staying with friends for the last week in Brisbane just finishing work off, i head north. Having lots of luck hitching, everything works out just the way it should, i don't worry cause i trust luck, following intuitions and keeping positive. I get some long rides, jumping Sunshine coast - Bundaberg - Rockhampton - Mackay. Waiting between 5 to 15 minutes between the rides. Talking about Pine trees and crocodiles, roads and work, future and life. In the evening I've made it to Mackay, huge mining up there, the road trains passing by with machines that big ive never could imagine.. Mackay, around 1000 km north of Brisbane its still cold in the night. The wind goes through the mangroves beside the road. Occasionally i hear weird sounds and imagining crocodile eyes observing me from the dark shadows of the swamp. Cars fewer and fewer and i decide to get some sleep and an early start.

Next day im up to early. And im tired. I listen to music and try to get a ride but most people seem to go to the mines for work. Suddenly a car stops and two french girls takes me all the way to Townsville. I decide to go in to the city(something i would regret later) walking around having lunch in the park. Im on my way to meet up with french friends i met in Brisbane with a van. To travel with then up to Cairns. Im meeting them in Ingham, 100 km north of Townsville, a short hitch but it takes time. Walking for hours to get out of Townsville i finally get a ride to a petrol station. From there another couple of short rides , jumping 20 k's 30 k's, by dusk i get the final ride with two road workers. Joining up with Claire, Gwen, Ben and Dennis we travel to a national park that night. And next day to beaches, beaches and national parks, and fun, lots of fun! Ive never before travelled in a van like that but i like it. For a while atleast. Heading up to Cairns the girls try to sell their Van and we're hanging around in different beaches with lots of people and having a good time. Watching out for the rangers and their fines( $140(or was it 120) for sleeping in a tent, in a van or on the ground in a place where its not allowed(everywhere except the $10-$15 campings more or less)) We get two warning during 10 days or so.


Outback

Deciding its time to leave i head for the outback.. A slow start, short rides, Mareeba, Atherton, Ravenshoe( Highest town in QLD, and probably coldest too) Dark clouds of rain following me but never really catch up. As dusk comes so does the rain and the cars are few. Almost giving up for the day, a van stops and a Canadian couple saves me from the rain and takes me to Innot hot springs where we set up camp and bathe in medium hot springs, hot springs and extremely hot springs. The day after they take me to Mount Garnet where they will stay and dig for Topaz. I continue the hitching. Run into a(probably very bored) cop who in a guardian voice explains i shouldn't stand in the middle of the road(which i weren't doing anyway) cause he might have to scrape me off the road and we don't want that do we?!? No sir! Sorry sir! Ironic on a road where one car every 5 minutes passes.

I get a ride with a man in a caravan heading for a fishing trip. He takes me few hours, the landscape getting flatter and flatter as further in we get. He drops me off in Georgetown(population 250) There i meet another hitchhiker heading the other way. He is from Czech republic and has been working on a farm. He says he's been standing for 5 hours and the place is cursed. 30 minutes after he gets a ride with a truck heading east. I stand for hours.. Mostly caravans pass, older couples.. More hours, more caravans, local traffic (driving 500m to the pub) As the evening comes i still hope to get a ride but the traffic is less and less.. Decide to put up my tent in a close by park. Wake up in the night as the sprinklers wash my tent. In the morning im up early.. hours pass.. hours. The Malaysian couple owning the petrol station gives me a muffin, wishing me luck. Says trucks will pass.. I juggle. Sitting in the shade. After 21 hours in Georgetown a family from Cairns takes me to Normanton and we see birds, a snake, a crocodile(freshwater), a pig and cows along the way. I stay in Normanton 1 hour to take a look at the replica of the biggest Estuarine crocodile ever captured (8.6m) Walking out of the town i get a ride in 5 minutes. 400 km of flatness and bushes to Cloncurry. Sneaking in and setting up a tent in a trailerpark. Sleep, wake up, shower, breakfast(dry bread n peanutbutter), sneak out.


I get a ride to Mount Isa, one of the worlds most productive mines (lead, silver, copper, zinc). A quick look through the city then hanging out in a petrol station, planning getting a ride with a truck going in to Northern Territory. I spend a couple of hours.. Finally a get a ride with Marty, he's heading for Camoweal just before the border of NT, and the day after he goes to Katherine just 300 km south of Darwin. A couple of hundred k's to Camoweal where he takes in to a motel(and goes to the pub) and i camp down by the river, beautiful place. In the morning we were supposed to meet up early in the morning to get early start but he wakes up 2 hours later blaming the jukebox and the rum. For the whole day we drive, Marty knows alot of things about the outback, about cattle, about many things. In the evening we arrive in Katherine where i get my final 300 km ride to Darwin, the driver is a a young helicopter pilot/hunter . 5 days it took me from Cairns to Darwin.


Darwin
Good times here.. Staying in a couchsurfers garden, in my tent, lots of people there. We were 14 people the other night. Brendon is a friendly guy, letting so many people stay there. I was helping building a boat made out of beercans for the annual Darwin Beercan regatta. The first week i was searching for a boat and i did find one, a 45 ft catamaran that will take me to Bali atleast. More about that another time cause now alot of things to do before leaving and short of time. Sailing on the 23rd.

Australia

After arriving to Brisbane, Australia in the end of November me and Karol decided to head out on a few weeks hitchhike trip south, we started right in Brisbane center, Close to stanley st. Some traffic light there and we managed to get a ride on the M3 fairly quickly, a few rides south and Byron bay became our destination that day. That place filled up with tourists, we had an nice evening thought.. Next day heading further south south, caught a couple of rides, mostly waiting between 5 and 15 minutes for a car to stop.
Somewhere around grafton we meet another hitchhiker from Wales, so suddently we are three guys trying to catch a ride on a 80km/h road, not the best odds, but after a few minutes one car stops and we get a 500 km ride with a man that liked to talk.. alot. Set up a tent outside Newcastle and next morning we get to Sydney where we are supposed to stay with a couchsurfer. Before that we almost get mugged by a guy with a knife in a park, long story short, a dutch guy saved us(and he also gave me a job the following day, how about that?! Thanks Meindert!) A few nights at gabs place, in Bondi, true couchsurf appartment. After a few days and goonsacks later we head for blue mountains, spend some days hiking and looking at views. Beautiful.
We ask a man where we can set up a tent in Wentworth falls and we end up staying for free for two nights in his Bed and breakfast(a house for ourselves, food in the fridge, thank you Ian!) Hitch down to canberra and have a fun night out with backpacks and everything, end up setting up a tent right in City hill(the pumping heart/roundabout/picknick park of the city), good night sleep. Spend some hours trying to get out of canberra, walking, walking, short ride and bang its allready dark. Now who would pick up two guys in the outskirts of canberra in the dark(reflective wristband) A 70+ year old woman, very kind of her, Almost hits a kangaroo on the road and takes us to Cooma. Setting up the tent for a cold night in the old courthouse's garden. Next day we slowly manage to make it to Thredbo and the Kosciuszko National park. Our month long goal, to climb the massive mountain, the peak of Australia(its just a hill ( 2228 m)) Spend one night half way up, and in the morning walks up to what they call the top. Then down, finished.

Hitching towards the coast, we are about to split up, karol is heading south then to Adelaide then to Alice springs(where he is on his way as im writing this i guess) Im heading back to Brisbane for christmas. However we get a ride with Cal, who convinces us to come with him to his mothers partners farm outside Tathra, seems like a fun place and we go with him, spend some great days with great people, eating good food, fishing, surfing, riding. From there i continue alone, North. Get a ride with David and his wife who invites me to stay in their house in Jervis bay, beautiful place and nice people, thanks for the beers! Next morning up to Sydney where i stay with two girls i met hitchhiking, Thank you Rachel and Caiti, Some nice days, drawing and relaxing..

North again, aiming for Coffs harbour to search for a job but end up going inland, Walcha-Armidale(cold cold up there, standing in thsirt waiting for the ride when sun is coming down, cold wind. Some kids try to help me get a ride, wants to bring me back a sandwich but i get a ride before they return) Small kangaroo filled roads to Grafton, hunger, mashed potatoes, dodgy tentspot. On my way to Coffs harbour again, feels wrong going south, walks over the road, ask a man in a bus/motorhome if he can take me abit north, he takes me for several hours and offers me a job. For one and a half day i were digging holes for a fence in Kyogle, putting in poles, cement. Rain is on its way and i decide to hitch back to Brisbane on the 23rd of December. rain for a week. Me and Lukasz make christmas food. Drink a bit of goon. Now new years, we're having a party.

Happy new year!

My tent in Grafton

Karol on the way up Kosciuszko..

Two german hoolahoop girls and Henrik juggling, byron bay(photo Karol)

Possum, canberra

Karol hitching towards Sydney