My journey has now come to an end. I am now back in Dubai, while my bike remains waiting in Almaty. It ended similarly to how it began; on an AirArabia flight to Sharjah.

The route taken in red

I thought it would be worthwhile sharing a few reflections, and a final wrapup from my trip.

Some aggregate statistics:

• travelled 17,012 KM on my motorcycle. The longest day was 749KM (Dunhuang -> Shanshan), and on average I travelled 365KM per riding day. There were 10 rest days with no movement. Most (25) of my days were 200-400KM, with only 6 <200KM. The rest (15) were over 400KM.
• crossed 8 borders on my motorcycle (Singapore was by foot only, with my bike in JB)
• visited 8 countries in total
• used 1,063.7 L of fuel, for a total fuel efficiency of approximately ~6.3 L/100 KM
• changed my wheels twice (both sets)
• 4 crashes (all relatively minor/slow - one was on the road, up a wet corner in China on the way to Daocheng Yading. The other three were all on one day. Slow drops while riding on dirt/rock in the Wakhan.)
• many tip overs. likely over 10. My bike even fell over because of the wind on the last day!
• 2 airbag deployments (one during the first crash, which i thought was worthwhile, the other was during a standing drop which I thought was a waste)
• 193 unique interactions were had, on average ~3 per day. The most I had was 10 at Tulpar-Kul Lake (Osh → Tulpar-Kul) and the least was 0 on the ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong. The region with the most daily interactions was Central Asia (the Pamir Highway) where there are many curious locals and similar overland travellers. There was also a greater need to interact, to find out route conditions ahead, or to share stories and experiences from the road just passed. The lowest interactions per day were averaged in South East Asia (<2 per day), and the Pamir Highway regions averaged over 5 per day. China had a touch over 3 unique interactions per day on average.
• 1,598 grams of coffee consumed. Substantively all of this was prepared with the Cafec Deep87 dripper (vs the Aeropress I had also brought), because it produced better coffee and was easier to clean. I skipped coffee on 7 days. I leave with a significant surplus of coffee.

Below I’ll share some reflections on my journey. (The questions were mostly generated by AI after having read my blog).

What was the most useless object you brought? What did you regret bringing? What was unexpectedly useful?

This question is a lot harder to answer now after riding the Pamirs. I felt absurdly overprepared up until exiting China, where it seemed never too far from civilisation (with almost every night in a nice hotel).

I used almost all of the items that seemed ridiculous:

• the gas burner (for boiling water for coffee many nights, and food one night)
• tyre inflator (many times, when dealing with punctures)
• the auxiliary lights and heated grips (i rode offroad on a mountain pass at night once so the lights materially improved the safety and comfort of this section, and for unexpectedly cold and wet parts of the ride the heated grips were such a luxury)

There were some items i kept for peace of mind but didn’t need to end up using. I would definitely keep these on a future journey if it involves a lot of offroading in remote places.

• the water filter (I was tempted to use it a few times in the Pamirs, but just waited until i could find some water)
• tyre tubes - these are good to carry i think as they give ultimate peace of mind against punctures

I think the most useless item would need to be the two Walkie Talkies I’d brought along for communications with (1) Kiat and (2) the guide. It just wasn’t necessary; there was internet most of the ride up until China, and by the time I reached no internet, I wasn’t riding with anyone in a committed manner so again, no need for communication.

The expectedly useful item would probably be the hydration bladder I brought along. I thought it was a bit of a gimmick initially but I ended up using it every single day. Runner up would be the coffee thermos, which was very useful for brewing coffee as well as storing it.

If you were to do it again, what would you do differently? I would pack less items, and buy along the way if necessary. I carried way too many clothes. I think you only really need 3 pairs of tshirts, probably a weeks worth of undergarments and only one or two things for the cold. I probably also wouldn’t pack the Aeropress. The weight and bulk makes a big difference on the Desert X (which is very upright and can easily fall over). I wouldn’t change the safety gear I brought, despite how hot it was to wear. It proved very effective. I also wouldn’t change the route; I had a really good time the whole trip, and I don’t feel like I “missed out”on anything.

What was the toughest moment of your journey?

Definitely Day 54 from Murghab to Langar. This was the only moment on the trip that I felt truly exhausted and “gave up” (before getting a second wind). I also came off the bike 3 times, and needed to pick up my bike probably 8 times in total that day. The day after, I felt like I had been badly beaten up. The toughest part of the day was either when my bike fell by itself by the river, or dropping my bike in the dark while descending from the mountains to Langar.

Do you feel any longing for the road or FOMO?

As of now, no I don’t. I have thought about this as it relates to life; it is a linear journey which is best experienced as such. Very rarely do we have FOMO for earlier courses during meals when we have eaten until satisfied. Life should be lived a similar way - use your agency to seek satisfaction with your endeavours and experiences, and you won’t have regrets.

That is not to say that I would not do another road trip, or get onto the bike again; I definitely would should the opportunity present itself and make sense to do so.

What did you realise about yourself while riding? Is there anything you will do differently from now on? I think the most important realisations were:

1. it is all well and nice to pursue stoicism and solitude, but ultimately we humans are social creatures. There were lonely moments on the road. These were mostly places and experiences which I felt were amazing where I longed to share the moment with my fiance, friends and family, and other times where I felt listless, with no meaningful objective for the day (the section leading up to Xining). This helped me better understand/realise that it is important to have loved ones close by as we go through the journey of life.
2. I think through my listening to the Dao De Jing, it has helped me develop a (slightly) better understand myself and better vocalise my values. For me, that is prioritising contentment of self and true satisfaction / inner peace as the ideal state.

What was your most memorable interaction?

I think the most memorable interaction was when I was riding in Xinjiang to Turpan, and was stopped by a police officer who was clearly special needs. He refused to let me go because he was genuinely fearful for my safety on the road (I could tell he was well intentioned), and kept repeating the same thing over and over again. What was so memorable, was there was a certain amount of aggression/forcefulness in his communications that put me on edge. In the end, my tour guide came and helped extract us from the situation by being equally forceful (in tone) back. She had dealt with similar special needs kids when growing up, so had a bit more experience in this regard!

Another memorable moment was after crossing into Tajikistan via Kyzl Art with Cornelius. We were blown away by the landscape, saw stormy clouds ahead. It was when I started hearing cracks of lightening and loud thunder - in the direction we were headed - that I was like “oh shit what have I gotten myself into”. Then it started hailing. Cornelius at this moment remarked: “well we wanted an adventure…we got one!”

What did you do to pass the time while riding?

I had my airpods in the entire time on the road - so much so that my ears now hurt when I put them in!

I listened mostly to the music I’ve listened through the years (indie Latin music, watsky, above & beyond), a few audiobooks (three body problem and Dao De Jing), and some tech/history podcasts (although I tried to keep this at a minimum because I wanted to be more present and not so focused on What Is Going On In The World Right Now.)

What advice would you give to someone curious about doing such a trip?

Don’t overthink it and just do it. As Jeff the 62 year old French biker said “we don’t get two lives - we only get one - so best to do the things you want to do”.

It is not that big a time commitment in the grand scheme of things - two months takes you across Asia, three could get you to the other side of Europe, and a year could (probably) get you most of the way around the world.

In the world of AI, planning gets much easier (I let Gemini/Chatgpt do most of the research on borders/visas/documentation/route planning for me and took it for its word).

If you face trouble along the way, most of the time you can find help even if you are not carrying the right tools. The most important thing is having a good attitude.

How did things (cultures, landscapes, etc) change as you traveled and crossed borders? How immediate were the changes?

Things change gradually, and then suddenly. What amazes me is how much things change at land borders where there is no obvious natural barrier that causes people groups to be separated. For example, the Thai-Malay border; it is the same climate, landscape, and yet people are very different and speak entirely different languages.

In China, where I spent a lot of time, I saw people groups change within the day, with the primary cause being the massive natural barriers; huge mountains, valleys, and distances separated different people groups and their way of life. In this way it was amazing how much cultural distance could be bridged in a single day thanks to the infrastructure that they have built up there.

One stretch which was particularly impactful was how the built environment changed crossing from Laos into Boten (the special economic zone which Laos ceded to Chinese developers, and then into Yunnan. It feels like transitioning from a completely undeveloped agrarian society to an advanced, cyberpunk one - going from thatched huts and extremely poor quality roads to highrises and expressways which seem to defy nature.

Did you see any animals along the way?

Many cows, bison, horses and goats which roamed the countryside and the streets. The occasional gopher or rabbit running from burrow to burrow while I rode, and the occasional bird of prey circling the skies.

What was your favourite memory/moment from the trip?

I think my favourite moments were the moments of joy while riding, after passing particularly spectacular sights and just thinking “wow I can’t believe this is real”. This happened several times in the Tibetan plateau, riding around the Tibetan village at Danba, when riding to Lanzhou and seeing the highrises among dry rocky mountains, when seeing the Great Wall at Jiayuguan, and various moments on the Pamir Highway.

A standalone moment that I really enjoyed was going 4WDing in the Gobi Desert. The spontaneity of how this happened was one of the things I enjoyed most about it.

Now that you’ve finished your journey, what’s next?

The most important thing is yet to come! I will be getting married to the love of my life in September. And then I will take things day by day. I need to get the bike back to Dubai by March next year to remain in good standing on my Carnet De Pasaje, and it gets pretty cold in Central Asia after October, so that may well be my mission for October.

Detailed Route Map: The first 6 days were spent traveling to Singapore, and then up to Thailand

Then I spent the next two weeks riding north through Thailand and Laos, stopping for rest days in Phuket and Chiang Mai

Then came the “meat” of my journey; the route through China, meandering from Yunnan, to Sichuan, and then travelling to the ancient capital of Xi’an.

I then turned West, following the Silk Road through Gansu and Xinjiang, before heading Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to ride the Pamir Highway

This was a journey up and down mountains, starting at sea level and then ascending to roads at ~4600m. I crossed the second highest border crossing in the world, the Kyzl Art pass between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Favourite Photos (in chronological order):

Petronas Towers

Georgetown

With Kiat on the road in Thailand

Kanchanaburi (“Death”) Railway

Sangkhlaburi temple

Laos mud road

Dali bar

Hotel in Shangri-La

Me if i was reborn in the 1300s

Danba village helipad

Lanzhou cityscape at sunset

Zhangye Danxia

Great Wall at Jiayuguan

Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert 4wding

Salt lake in Xinjiang

Sayram Lake camping

Toktogul Lake views

Sary Mogol mafia

Lenin Peak views

Road to Kyzl-Art

Kyzl-Art Pass

Tajik Pamir

Hindu Kush Range in Afghanistan

Northern road to Dushanbe

That’s all for now. Thank you all for following along, it has been nice to share my experiences with you, and to put together a record of this trip for my future self.