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Cycling trip across two hemispheres
By Wu Huixin and Xu Wenwen |
June 25, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
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STUDENT He Luojie was riding his bicycle from south to north Australia, but en-route decided to continue until he reached his hometown in Zhejiang Province.Wu Huixin and Xu Wenwen report.
It was a long long journey. Nine countries, 15,000 kilometers, 461 days, from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere - He Luojie rode his bike all the way from Australia back to his hometown Jiaxing in east Zhejiang Province.
On March 13, 2011, the 24-year-old started his adventure from Tasmania where he studied at Tasmanian Polytechnic. On June 16, this year, He, wearing a washed-out blue T-shirt, reached his hometown Jiaxing and received a hero's welcome.
But to achieve this trip, He gave up his studies in University of Tasmania, where he could continue to study for a bachelor's degree. Previously, he had received an advanced diploma from Tasmanian Polytechnic.
"At that time, I did not think it was necessary to spend money to earn a degree. I preferred to spend one-tenth of the tuition traveling around Australia," He told Shanghai Daily as he passed through Hangzhou.
"Now as I look back, it was the hardest decision in my life, yet also the most correct decision," he said firmly.
Even his father, He Jikang, who had initially opposed his son's plan, agreed as "it has proved that my son's decision was right - he grew up during the tough journey."
Not constrained to any schedule, He did not stop in Australia as he firstly planned, but continued until he reached home.
His equipment comprised of: one bike - the cheapest he could get in Australia, but with refitting cost him A$1,000 (US$1,016); a waterproof bag containing daily commodities; and six large bags containing things such as clothes, food, water, maps and diary books, a total of 50 kilograms.
He's original route was from his dormitory, then Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and ending in Darwin - from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of Australia.
For first 11 days, He had sunny weather but on the 12th day, riding along the southeast coast, he stuck by the bad weather in a town named Nowa Nowa.
He took shelter in a cafe and guest house filled with the smell of cake and coffee made by a grandmother and a granddaughter, and where a warm fire crackled.
In this "fairly tale" place, He lay on his bed around midnight and had the idea "to ride on and on until he reached home."
"Why not?" He asked himself.
"A few seconds beforehand, no such idea would have entered my head, but frustration over the weather gave me more confidence," He said.
He gave himself an answer before sleep, and made a new plan.
Provided encouragement
From Australia to Zhejiang Province in China, He passed through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and six provinces of China.
He updated his trip on a weibo (Chinese equivalent of Twitter) account, gathering followers who provided encouragement during the trip.
"I thought it was a joke that people can search a walking or cycling route from one country to another by map software, but someone really did it," one netizen on weibo commented.
On parts of the route where cycling was not possible, He travelled by boat, plane, coach and sometimes hitchhiked. However, the young cyclist rode for 10,689 kilometers.
He slept in motels, youth hostels, locals' apartments, temples, and sometimes a tent.
Every day on average He rode 80 or 100 kilometers over seven to eight hours.
Not surprisingly, the long solo route brought dangers and difficulties as well as fantastic stories.
Last August He arrived in Indonesia and found a shortcut crossing a volcano. He took the so-called "shortcut" but ended up stuck on the steep volcano, unable to ascend or descend. After an entire day, he managed to get off the volcano and returned to his starting point that day.
The most fantastic part in He's trip was Thailand, he said. One night last October, he was riding in a county without a hotel, so he asked a local resident if he could sleep in her house. To He's surprise, she agreed without hesitation.
He also remembered that a kind Thai restaurant owner refused to take any payment for the meal she had served him.
On another occasion He slept overnight in a police station, provided with free food and a bath, not because he had commited any crime, but because he could not find a hotel.
"Afterwards, I really missed the pure human relationships I found in Thailand. Although the country's GDP is much lower than others, Thai people seem much happier than most people," He said.
Unfortunately, following his happy experiences in Thailand, He was attacked and robbed by two men in Vietnam. They beat him and took his iPhone and iPod, but, fortunatley, not his wallet and passport.
Plenty of anecdotes
Bidding a farewell to Vietnam, He continued through Laos, reaching China's southwestern border on February 4.
His adventures have provided him with plenty of anecdotes. In Java in Indonesia, he survived what he calls "crazy driving" - cars cutting each other off on national highways, while in China's central Hunan Province, he narrowly missed being hit by huge boulders in a landslide.
In south Yunnan Province, He decided to raise cash for new toilets for a primary school, after he discovered "the worst and dirtiest toilet" after stopping there for a toilet break.
He plans to write a book compiling his travel diaries he wrote along the trip, which may extend to more than 200,000 Chinese characters, donating profits to the school in Yunnan.
He said his epic trip in which he has seen so much has changed him.
"If I did not make this journey, I would still be in the school complaining about my life," said He.
"On the way, I have experienced warmth and indifference, poverty and wealth, but at the very end what is left is still the warmth I experienced from so many people, which is universal."
It was a long long journey. Nine countries, 15,000 kilometers, 461 days, from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere - He Luojie rode his bike all the way from Australia back to his hometown Jiaxing in east Zhejiang Province.
On March 13, 2011, the 24-year-old started his adventure from Tasmania where he studied at Tasmanian Polytechnic. On June 16, this year, He, wearing a washed-out blue T-shirt, reached his hometown Jiaxing and received a hero's welcome.
But to achieve this trip, He gave up his studies in University of Tasmania, where he could continue to study for a bachelor's degree. Previously, he had received an advanced diploma from Tasmanian Polytechnic.
"At that time, I did not think it was necessary to spend money to earn a degree. I preferred to spend one-tenth of the tuition traveling around Australia," He told Shanghai Daily as he passed through Hangzhou.
"Now as I look back, it was the hardest decision in my life, yet also the most correct decision," he said firmly.
Even his father, He Jikang, who had initially opposed his son's plan, agreed as "it has proved that my son's decision was right - he grew up during the tough journey."
Not constrained to any schedule, He did not stop in Australia as he firstly planned, but continued until he reached home.
His equipment comprised of: one bike - the cheapest he could get in Australia, but with refitting cost him A$1,000 (US$1,016); a waterproof bag containing daily commodities; and six large bags containing things such as clothes, food, water, maps and diary books, a total of 50 kilograms.
He's original route was from his dormitory, then Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and ending in Darwin - from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of Australia.
For first 11 days, He had sunny weather but on the 12th day, riding along the southeast coast, he stuck by the bad weather in a town named Nowa Nowa.
He took shelter in a cafe and guest house filled with the smell of cake and coffee made by a grandmother and a granddaughter, and where a warm fire crackled.
In this "fairly tale" place, He lay on his bed around midnight and had the idea "to ride on and on until he reached home."
"Why not?" He asked himself.
"A few seconds beforehand, no such idea would have entered my head, but frustration over the weather gave me more confidence," He said.
He gave himself an answer before sleep, and made a new plan.
Provided encouragement
From Australia to Zhejiang Province in China, He passed through Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and six provinces of China.
He updated his trip on a weibo (Chinese equivalent of Twitter) account, gathering followers who provided encouragement during the trip.
"I thought it was a joke that people can search a walking or cycling route from one country to another by map software, but someone really did it," one netizen on weibo commented.
On parts of the route where cycling was not possible, He travelled by boat, plane, coach and sometimes hitchhiked. However, the young cyclist rode for 10,689 kilometers.
He slept in motels, youth hostels, locals' apartments, temples, and sometimes a tent.
Every day on average He rode 80 or 100 kilometers over seven to eight hours.
Not surprisingly, the long solo route brought dangers and difficulties as well as fantastic stories.
Last August He arrived in Indonesia and found a shortcut crossing a volcano. He took the so-called "shortcut" but ended up stuck on the steep volcano, unable to ascend or descend. After an entire day, he managed to get off the volcano and returned to his starting point that day.
The most fantastic part in He's trip was Thailand, he said. One night last October, he was riding in a county without a hotel, so he asked a local resident if he could sleep in her house. To He's surprise, she agreed without hesitation.
He also remembered that a kind Thai restaurant owner refused to take any payment for the meal she had served him.
On another occasion He slept overnight in a police station, provided with free food and a bath, not because he had commited any crime, but because he could not find a hotel.
"Afterwards, I really missed the pure human relationships I found in Thailand. Although the country's GDP is much lower than others, Thai people seem much happier than most people," He said.
Unfortunately, following his happy experiences in Thailand, He was attacked and robbed by two men in Vietnam. They beat him and took his iPhone and iPod, but, fortunatley, not his wallet and passport.
Plenty of anecdotes
Bidding a farewell to Vietnam, He continued through Laos, reaching China's southwestern border on February 4.
His adventures have provided him with plenty of anecdotes. In Java in Indonesia, he survived what he calls "crazy driving" - cars cutting each other off on national highways, while in China's central Hunan Province, he narrowly missed being hit by huge boulders in a landslide.
In south Yunnan Province, He decided to raise cash for new toilets for a primary school, after he discovered "the worst and dirtiest toilet" after stopping there for a toilet break.
He plans to write a book compiling his travel diaries he wrote along the trip, which may extend to more than 200,000 Chinese characters, donating profits to the school in Yunnan.
He said his epic trip in which he has seen so much has changed him.
"If I did not make this journey, I would still be in the school complaining about my life," said He.
"On the way, I have experienced warmth and indifference, poverty and wealth, but at the very end what is left is still the warmth I experienced from so many people, which is universal."
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