Asia 2016 bicycle tour map from Garry McGivern Travelsonabike2. The map shows where Garry spent each night of his 2000-mile bike ride across India and Nepal. Behind each pin is a brief description of the day’s ride, along with the miles cycled for the day.
Garry’s original tour didn’t involve Nepal at all! Initially, he was planning to cycle around the south of India. But after discovering that he could now cross into Myanmar (Burma), he changed his plans. Instead, he decided to head east to Myanmar! Myanmar was one of the countries that Garry wanted to cycle through on his world tour in 2011, but at the time, it wasn’t permitted.
There were also one or two other changes to Garry’s route, which eventually saw Garry cycling to Nepal.
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.
To see if Garry’s away at the moment, visit the Where’s Garry
Bicycle Touring to Australia: Turkey, Time to leave
My latest bicycle touring update, cycling to Australia: in Istanbul. I checked the weather in Mumbai first thing this morning, and it’s in the 90s! I’m looking forward to that, I’ve had enough of these sub-zero temperatures! Breakfast was a drawn-out event, on purpose! The only thing I had to do today was finish packing my hand luggage, or rather my pannier. Everything else was packed away neatly into one big bag. I was quite proud of the way I’d packed everything away! One pannier as carry-on luggage, one bag to go in the plane’s hold and my bike in its box. In a thousand and one pieces!
One of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar
After my final bit of packing, I checked out of my room and placed my bags in the left luggage room, and went out for one last look around Istanbul. I like Istanbul. It’s got a good feeling, and I’ll be a bit sad to leave. While I was out in the markets, I managed to get some anti-malaria tablets for India and beyond. One less thing to worry about later on in my trip.
I’m Off
Back at the hotel, I said my final goodbyes to the staff, who had all been so friendly and helpful. It was then into a taxi and off to the airport! I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, just in case there were any problems! Which was just as well! When I checked in, I was handed a piece of paper and sent to the excess baggage desk, where they charged me £380! £380, that’s almost as much as I’d paid for my flight! To say I was surprised is an understatement! But hey, if that’s what it is, that’s what it is!
I went back to check in and gave the girl the receipt. The girl at check-in looked at the receipt and then spoke to a colleague. She then told me to wait while she wandered off to the excess baggage desk. After a few minutes, she returned and said they had overcharged me (dam right, I thought!) They charged me for excess baggage, instead of sports equipment! I got my £380 back and got charged £55 instead! That put a smile back on my face. Next stop, Mumbai!
Tour Information
It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.
If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.
Bicycle Touring to Australia: Turkey, Playing the Tourist
My latest bicycle touring update, cycling to Australia: In Istanbul. Well, I found out why my train journey took so long yesterday. The story goes that it was a German company tasked with building the track. Who, for some bizarre reason, was paid by the metre! Hence, the railway takes the longest route possible, twisting and turning around every hill and mountain! Sumeya, the waitress who was telling me this, said that anybody with any sense takes the bus; it only takes six hours!
I think I’m glad I didn’t know about the bus. It was bad enough on the short journey to meet Julie from the airport! I don’t think my nerves could have taken six hours! No, sitting on a train for eleven hours was definitely the right choice!
What To Do
It’s my last full day in Turkey. My flight to India leaves tomorrow evening, so I thought I’d better go and see what else I could find. Walking out of the hotel and past one of the shops, one of the shopkeepers called out to me, saying, “Are you back again!” That surprised me; I’d never spoken to him before! Do I stand out that much? Apparently, I do. He’d seen me the other week when I left on my bike!
Looking out over Istanbul from the Galata Tower
I decided that I’d go and look at the Galata Tower. It was one of the places I never got to see when Julie was here. Due to that stupid cruise, we got conned into going on! It was pretty good looking out over the city. I soon grew bored with that and went for a walk. That didn’t last, and I quickly bored with that as well! I’m not a very good tourist at the best of times, let alone when I’m on my own! I headed back to the hotel and sat in the bar updating the website.
Tour Information
It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.
If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.
Bicycle Touring to Australia: Turkey, Time to Dismantle My Bike
My latest bicycle touring update, cycling to Australia: in Istanbul. A productive start to the day; my flight to India was booked before going down to breakfast! I leave Wednesday evening and arrive in Mumbai in the early hours of Thursday.
Breakfast finished, and it was off to the shops. I needed a big bag for my panniers, a box for my bike, bubble wrap and gaffer tape. I managed to source everything in less than two hours! That’s one of the joys of Istanbul and the Grand Bazaar with its warren of shops. After sourcing everything I needed, I returned to the hotel and packed my bike away.
As it was midday, the bar was empty and shut; I hasten to add! So I set myself up in there, thinking all I had to do was take the pedals off and turn the handlebars, and the bike would just slip straight into the box! Haha, not a chance! So I took the front wheel off; still, it wouldn’t fit! I went on to take the front bracket and mudguard off. Still, it wouldn’t go in the box! The back wheel, rear rack, and mudguard were next to come off! Finally, I managed to get it in the box, in a thousand and one bits! Who knows if it’ll ever get it back together again!
How not to pack a bike
I’ve only ever flown with a bike once before, which was earlier this year to Spain. That time I had a giant plastic bag! And all I had to do was turn the handlebars and remove the pedals. It was so much easier! I was stressing over the flight so much, worried whether my bike would arrive in one piece! Or that it would even arrive at all! It’s one of the reasons for not wanting to fly from Ankara. I couldn’t take the stress of changing planes!
Funnily enough, it’s not stressing me out at all this time! It might be a different story when I get to India, and I can’t get it back together again!
Tour Information
It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.
If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.
