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Budgie Escapee
Budgie Escapee

Budgie Escapee

The adventures of a solo round the world cyclist

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Posted on March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 by Budgie Escapee

Episode 8 – Timor-Leste

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CategoriesAustralia, Cycling, Timor-Leste, Travel, Video Series Tagsadventure cycling, adventure film, adventure travel, bicycle, bike tour, camping, cycle touring, cycling around the world, free camping, tour, travel video, video

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Previous PostPrevious Episode 7 – Gibb River Road

Welcome to my journey

In pursuit of a dream, I left my home in Western Australia and began cycling around the world. I reached France after riding 29,600 km through 28 countries. Right now I am writing a book about the adventure while saving up money so I can return to the bike and ride the length of Africa. While you’re waiting for news, why not check out my photos from the adventure so far!

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Just to be clear as I continue to post pictures: I'm not in Kazakhstan right now, but back home in Australia, where I'm working hard to rebuild my savings so I can continue the adventure in Africa (which I'm planning to cross from top to bottom). . When I'm home, I earn money working as a zoologist, helping to investigate the potential impacts of development on threatened animals and their habitats. It's work which normally takes me to different parts of Western Australia, but at the moment is restricting me to the confines of a makeshift home-office. . 1) another beautiful memory of Kazakhstan to help me get through work until I get back on the bike 2) looking out over the Australian landscape from one of many caves I explored while searching for bats during a recent work trip 3) a Centralian Blue-tongue Skink I encountered on another recent work trip (are you an animal lover or does this make you cringe?) 4) the footpads of a dasyurid (a type of Australian marsupial) give some clues as to what species the animal is (as each species has a unique pattern of pads) 5) my home 'office' where I'm currently spending most of my days when I'm not outside chasing animals (fun facts: I made the pastel drawing on the wall when I was 12 and have used the desk/table since I was 15) 6) one of the nicest things about being home right now is that it gives me the chance to get to know my new nephew Stay safe everyone. Wishing you and your families well! #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #bicycletouring #biketravelofficial #bikewander #worldbybike34 #travelers_club_ir #adventurebybike #zoologist #australianwildlife #skink #dasyurid #workfromhome #staysafe .
After getting the bike functional again (by drilling out the eyelet and fitting a bolt, and praying that the compromised frame holds strong), I headed back out into the vast steppe. #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #biketheworld #cycletouring #worldtraveler #travelstoke #bicycletravel #adventurebybike #bikenomad #bikersaroundtheglobe #bikeride #wanderbybike #openmyworld #remoteriding #getoutdoors .
BIKE TROUBLES in Kazakhstan (diary excerpt): "Not far over the border, the bolt holding the left side of my rear rack to the frame sheared off. Try as I might, I couldn’t get it out of the frame. In the end I refit the rack to another set of eyelets. Unfortunately, this left part of my Rohloff gear system unsupported, meaning I couldn't change gears. I disconnected the cables and rode in a single gear (fifth) for the rest of the day. The ride frustratingly slow on the rough road, but I was thankful for a gusty tail wind that blew me along at times. On arrival in Beynou I checked into a guesthouse before going on search of a capable welder who might be able to help me with my ‘stuck bolt’ problem. I found a welder, but was he capable? Nope. I explained that I wanted him to fuse another bolt onto the broken one so I could easily twist the stuck bolt out. He seemed to get the idea, but then he proceeded to blast the bolt and frame with his welding torch. By the time I jumped in to stop him, my frame looked like it was on fire and the bolt had melted into a glob. As the guy stepped back. I couldn’t help but start swearing and throwing my arms up in shock and horror. The guy promptly disappeared and I never saw him again. When the frame cooled, I assessed the damage. The bolt looked like it had fused to the frame, and part of the frame next to the eyelet had melted away, leaving it weakened. Distraught, I went home and had a google-translate conversation with my guesthouse manager about how it went. She ended up calling her brother who speaks English. I explained to him what happened and he said he will ask around and try to find someone in town who can help. I am hoping to hear more from him tomorrow. Just to finish off my bad day, I received confirmation (symptoms) that Giardia is making a comeback in my system. I’ve been off the meds for a week, but it seems I still have some cysts left in my system, the spawn of which still need to be exterminated." . #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #cycletouring #bicycleadventure #travelers_club_ir #biketravelofficial #bikewander #lovebiketouring #worldbybike34 #cicloturismo #bikeon #peoplewhoadventure #humanpoweredadventures .
DIARY EXCERPT: "I ran into bike troubles over the border into Kazakhstan and, by the time I was moving again, it was pretty much time to find a place to sleep. I tried to get into the low hills over a set of train tracks to the west of the main road, but was blocked by a fence. I then scouted a pile of dirt on the eastern side that I thought might hide me from passing traffic. The dirt pile turned out to be the back of a bunker-like structure. I have set my tent up in the entrance, sheltered from the wind. A few vehicles have gone by on a dirt track right in front of me but either they didn’t see me or they chose to ignore my presence. Already feeling frustrated by the problem with my bike, I became further annoyed when I opened my front rack pack and discovered that the plastic bottle containing alcohol for my stove had been leaking, soaking into my sketchbook, travel documents and half of my pasta. I spent valuable cooking-by-sunlight time cleaning up the mess. My mood picked up after I consumed a delicious hot dinner (pasta, vegetables and tuna in a tomato-based sauce) and washed myself clean of all the dirt and dust I’d picked up through the day. Right now it’s 10pm and I’m finally ready for bed." . #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #cyclingadventures #biketouringforever #adventurebybike #cyclocamping #sleepoutside #bikecamp #nomadbiker #bikelife #adventuremore #campinglife #travelstoke #bikewander .
As I prepared to leave the chaihana (teahouse) and set off for the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, I tried to buy some lunch supplies. Such was the bareness of the place that the girl-in-charge could only offer me a single non (flat bread), and even then just out of sympathy. The chaihana had plenty of water at least. With 13L of the stuff, I set off for country number sixteen. On the Uzbek side of the border, I skipped a line of waiting vehicles and proceeded to the immigration office, arriving a convenient ten minutes before it opened for the day. My passport was inspected and my bags passed through an x-ray machine. I was asked to open each one but the man on duty barely glanced into the top of each before telling me I could go. On the Kazakh side, I was led to the very front of a long line of people and served immediately by a man who said nothing as he looked through my passport and stamped me into the country. As I pushed my bike towards the exit of the border compound, I was called to a stop by a customs officer. After a quick chat he let me go without checking my bags. I was then free to enter the dust bowl that is far western Kazakhstan. The wind was blowing a gale, throwing swirling clouds of dust across the sky. All of a sudden the excitement of the border crossing passed and I was left to confront the frustratingly rough road. #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #cycletouring #roadahead #biketravelofficial #independenttravel ##adventurebybike #worldbybike34 #bikewander #travelers_club_ir #lovebiketouring #travelawesome #sandstorm #bicycletravel #justride #bikenomad #bikelove .
The 9th largest country in the world. Home to more than 130 ethnicities. The place where horses were first domesticated. The 16th country of my trip. #budgieescapee #kazakhstan #centralasiatravel .
(🔊 ON) A couple of short clips from a video I just put together about my time cycling in TIMOR-LESTE, which was the first country I explored after Australia. If you would like to learn something about this little-visited place, follow the LINK IN MY BIO to watch the FULL 12-minute video, which is Episode 8 in my cycle touring video series available on YouTube. . (HELP me get those views up and subscribe if you're interested in seeing more 😉) . https://youtu.be/oWRaZF9CPnQ . #budgieescapee #timorleste #cycletouring #biketour #bikewander #worldbybike34 #travelers_club_ir #pedaljourneys #explorebybike #biketheworld #adventurebybike #adventurecycling #cycletraveller #worldtour #asiatravel #worldbybike #passionpassport #exploreplanetearth #seetheworld #cicloviajero #biketravelofficial .
DIARY EXCERPT - "By 1.10pm I’d ridden 100 km at an average speed of 24.8 kph. It wasn’t until I’d ridden more than 140 km that I reached some kind of notable destination. This was a small chaihana (tea-house) that represented the first and last place of the day that offered water. I am now about 20 km from the border with Kazakhstan in the hamlet of Karakalpakiya. It’s very much a frontier settlement, the only structures being crumbly buildings and rusty old caravans. Knowing that I can easily reach the border in the morning, I asked the girl running the chaihana if I could sleep the night (in the open lounge area). I'd earlier annoyed her by paying for a drink with the last of my tatty small notes, but she had since softened her attitude towards me, having realised I’d got there alone on my bicycle. I used the last of my money on a meal, but it was quite small and I resigned myself to the fact I would get a little hungry overnight. I just was about asleep when a group of loud truck drivers stepped into the teahouse. I lay still for a few minutes until it was clear that they were settling in for a while. When a few recognisable words told me that I was the subject of their attention, I decided to sit up and introduce myself. I was instantly welcomed into their circle. My not-quite-full stomach was soon overflowing with bread, meat and salad and I lost count of the number of vodka shots I had (around seven). The conversation was led passionately by one guy and seemed to involve guns. Eventually, the truck drivers returned to their machines (I think they drive in pairs, with one of each pair indulging in alcohol when they get chance) and the chaihana became quiet once again. While I was initially annoyed by having been disturbed when all I wanted to do was sleep, I was struck by the realisation that this was my last night in Uzbekistan and I should be making the most of it. I began to relish the time with the guys as a perfectly fitting farewell from a country I have grown to love." . #budgieescapee #uzbekistan #chaihana #adventurebybike #bicycletravel #cycletouring #worldtrip .
DIARY EXCERPT - "It was about 6.15pm when I came across the sign for the Lower Amudarya State Biosphere Reserve which lies on the edge of the Budai-Tugai Nature Reserve. I almost didn’t bother checking it out, but then thought why not? As I rode down the drive I passed a mother and two young kids. At the end of the drive was an empty water fountain and a few buildings. The place felt completely deserted. I sat on the edge of the fountain and waited for the woman to arrive. She didn’t speak any English, but I managed to ask if it would be fine if I spent the night here. She didn’t seem to mind. Just before I started dinner, the lady appeared with her two kids and wandered past me and into the fenced-in grounds of another building. Meeting her on the inside of the fence was a deer. I went over for a closer look. While the children stood warily to the side, the lady was pulling down the branches of a tree so that the deer could eat the leaves. I patted the deer before taking over the job of holding down the big branch. The lady explained with sign language that the deer was from the wild but got hurt from fighting with other deer. I could see open sores on its neck. Here, they are feeding it and (I think) giving it injections until it’s better, at which time they will release it back into the wild. Eventually, the lady signalled that the deer had had enough and I returned to my tent to make dinner while she returned to her house, presumably to do the same. Just as I was getting ready for bed, the family emerged with bedding material and set up their own sleeping area nearby. It's really warm, so it's a perfect night to sleep outdoors. There is no one around besides me and the family. I assume they are caretakers of the Reserve. About ten minutes ago a group of wild animals from the nature reserve sent up a ruckus, making me feel like I’m on the edge of wild jungle, but things have since quietened down. I’m lying in my tent, the stars are out and the family are chatting and giggling about ten metres away" #budgieescapee #uzbekistan #naturereserve #cyclocamping #bikecamping #sleepoutside #underthestars #campinglife #getoutstayout #outsideisfree .

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https://youtu.be/8JGsNvfP5P4

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