Cycling Trip Recap

I stepped out of the Brisbane airport two nights ago and expected to be hit by the wall of air thickened by heat and humidity that hangs around Brisbane all summer. But no, it was actually cooler than when I left in late November! Did Australia move south by a few degrees while I was gone? Not that I am complaining, but saying this is unseasonably cool is an understatement. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. I am sure it will heat back up pretty soon. Summer is only half over.

During my trip to Vietnam and Malaysia, I anal-retentively logged all of my expenses. It is a habit I picked when I was traveling through Australia and Asia a few years back. It gives me a way to gauge the cost of traveling through a particular area and helps me set a realistic budget for other trips. Today I tabulated the expenses for this trip.

In Vietnam, I averaged US$11 per day on food and accommodation. With everything else thrown in, the average came to US$20 per day - right on target. Despite staying at the cheapest places I could find and eating street food most of the time, I never felt like I was mistreating myself (except maybe one time at a hotel where I couldn't quite tell if the rooms weren't for rent by the hour).

I posted a picture early on that showed the setup on my bike: rear panniers with a clip-on front container for valuables. Riding in Vietnam makes it easy to pack light.

These are the things I took on my trip:

Clothes:
- a light fleece jacket that packs small
- 2 T-shirts
- 1 short-sleeve cycling shirt
- 1 long-sleeve cycling shirt
- 1 pair of fast-dry pants that zips off at the knees (doubles as shorts)
- 1 pair of light-weight normal khaki pants
- 3 pairs of underwear
- 3 pairs of socks
- 1 pair of shy shorts (cycling tights with a loose-fitting nylon shell)
- 1 pair of sneakers
- 1 pair of thongs (the kind that goes on your feet, not the kind that goes up your crack)

Toiletry kit:
- shampoo in a small bottle
- soap
- facewash (the one luxury item I brought)
- toothbrush and toothpaste
- floss
- contact lenses and contact solution
- cotton swabs
- chapstick
- nail clippers
- deodorant
- razors and shaving gel
- hand cleanser
- DEET

Tools and spare parts:
- Adjustable wrench
- hand pump
- a multi-tool
- 2 spare inner tubes

Other stuff:
- flashing tail light for riding at night
- headlamp for riding at night and for blackouts
- alarm clock
- silk sleep sack for sleeping in beds of questionable hygiene
- guidebook (Lonely Planet's Cycling Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia)
- book of detailed maps of Vietnam
- Vietnamese phrase book
- Shadows and Wind (a book on the current situation of Vietnam)
- my Konica Minolta Dimage A2 camera and battery charger

The list looks long, but everything together weighs about thirteen kilos, including the clothes on my body. I put everything in plastic bags before packing them in the panniers. The few days when I got rained on, the panniers were completely soaked through. But the system worked well, my clothes and everything else stayed dry.

During the trip, I had to wash my clothes on a daily basis, but I had a very efficient way of doing laundry. Now, this works only if the bathroom floor was clean enough that I felt comfortable walking in without shoes (most places I stayed at had clean bathroom floors). I would step into the shower with my clothes on, then soap up. I would then strip off, throw the clothes on the floor, and stomp on them as I showered. By the time I finished, the clothes would only need a quick rinse and voila! Shower, done; laundry, ready to dry. By the next day, the cycling clothes would normally be dry enough to wear. If they were still a little damp, I put them on anyway - they would be soaked in sweat soon. This method served me well. I would always have fresh-smelling, if not the cleanest, clothes to wear.

And that is the secret to a successful cycling trip.