Name: Andrew
Age at time of blogging: 34 – 38 years old and counting
Home country: Australian
Life as a traveller:
I started living the traveling life in February 2014 after a mini stroke (transient isochemic attack) caused me to reevaluate everything. At first I thought I’d do something epic like cycle around the world. But that’s just not me. I’m a traveler who comes home between countries to earn some money, contribute to my community and create a life alongside my passport stamp collection.
Travel style:
My travel style is economy. I’m not a hardcore penny counter but I don’t like to waste money either. If given a choice between a taxi or public transport I’ll take the latter. But if a room doesn’t have aircon or wifi I’m unlikely to stay. I’m a carry on baggage only kind of guy. I don’t drink, smoke, party or lay on the beach. What I do is explore local places, ride motorbikes, hike, fall in love with cities many people hate and take a lot of photos.
Travel goals:
To travel the world searching for the meaning of life and anything else I might find along the way.
Travel philosophy:
People are all just trying to get by living a happy life, providing for their families and being kind to each other so there’s no reason to be afraid.
This blog:
I write about the places I go. This includes mini trips in my home country as well as bigger trips abroad.
Want to see more photos:Â I have lots on my Instagram and Facebook feeds, which are linked to this page.
Next adventures:Â
- Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk (New Zealand) in December 2017
- Taiwan in January 2018
- Laos in May 2018
- Six Foot Track Walk (Sydney) in May 2018
- And more …
Looking For 42 
I love the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! Yay you!
I think I will love it too. From the section I have read today, they style seems similar to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series – as in tongue in cheek humour. So I am excited to get stuck into it. I expect I will have much more reading time after I sit my last exam for this semester on Tuesday night too.
Wondered where you got to!
G’day Baz 🙂
A long way from where I was is where I got to 🙂 . With such a big life change I had to move to a new blog space to keep things tidy. I tried blogging about this new stage of life on my other site but it just didn’t work for me. Transventure didn’t quite have the right ring to it anymore. Right now I am in Murrayville in the middle of the mallee. Am headed towards Swan Hill and Echuca then down to get in a few days skiing at Hotham or Buller (all going well).
It’s been a long time since I read Hitchhikers… but I made the link as soon as I read your blog title. Very clever.
As for Terry Pratchett – huge fan!
Great blog Andrew. I look forward to reading more.
Dayna
I can’t take credit for the title. It was a friend who suggested it. Am loving Baw Baw. Went out xc skiing today and going to do more tomorrow. Wow it’s great out there off the main slopes. Will upload a blog on Friday night. Have run out of bandwidth on my laptop and mobile data is too slow to tether
The upside of staying on mountain (as I assume you are) is that you can get reception! (The communications tower is at the top of the mountain, after all.) Staying in small towns nearby won’t necessarily guarantee that as they’re mostly in valleys.
: )
Absolutely. Except that I used up my modem bandwidth (I travel with a wifi modem) so am now relying on my mobile phone data.
Hi Andrew,
I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog, and I look forward to reading more posts. Because of this, I nominated you for the Liebster Award, basically an award for starting-blogs to help each other and spread blogging-love. I nominated you here:
https://sincerelyjames1.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/accepting-the-liebster-award/
I hope you join in,
Happy Travels!
Hi James,
Thank you for the honour. As I am trying to keep my blog on topic as much as possible, I have decided not to accept any awards on my blog. However, I will come answer the questions related to the award in the comments section of your blog. I should mention that I feel very honoured that you have nominated me for the award. Thank you.
Andrew
I really like the theme of change that fuels your blog, Andrew. I have been drawn to cycling and blogging with change in mind too.
I’ll look forward to reading more. You have some excellent trips planned!
Gail
Thanks Gail. My life went through a massive change last year after I had a suspected mini stroke. I have no idea where this change is going to lead but it’s an exciting adventure. My new partner and I will be going overseas somewhere at Christmas too; we’ve just not decided where yet. I am toying with the idea of a white Christmas in the Black Forest followed by a fat biking trip to Swedish Lapland (for me) but I also want to go visit a friend in Myanmar, which is my partner’s dream holiday destination so we might end up there instead.
Hi Andrew,
Did you get my reply to your email to your question: Is flying with a bicycle easy there, that you asked in January?
I thought you’d answer so maybe not.
It is such a big question that it is difficult to answer unless you’re more specific. If you take the cheap airlines like Peach you will pay extra for the extra gear. Solaseed is a good airline to take between Kyushu and Tokyo.
I see you must have arrived by now – today!
So good luck.
I might be able to help with advice re accommodation and where to go, if you’re interested let me know your route.
If you don’t have one and looking for 42 then may I suggest Shikoku 88 Buddhist Temple Pilgrimage, a 1200km, 1200 year route round Shikoku where you can search for the 4 noble truths.. See… http://www.shikokuhenrotrail.com
If you go to Kyushu there are some neat routes there.
Hokkaiido is the best place to cycle but it is too cold this time of year. I wouldn’t go cycling in the Japan Alps, some passes are over 2000m and covered in snow.
I arrive on 19th May for my Big Japan Bike Ride No:4. Maybe we can meet and travel somewhere.
I intend to do Shikoku 88 Buddhist Temple Pilgrimage,first.
cheers,
Nigel
Hi Nigel. No your email didn’t arrive or if it did I missed it between a backlog of spam filter mailbthat built up while I had no wifi.
Thank you for the tips. Hmmm … thr promise of snow. Maybe I will just ride a little way to the edge of the snow to touch it and then ride back. Haha. It’s an Australian thing to be fascinated by thw white stuff because we only get a little bit of it in a small part of our country and I am rare because I have actually seen it three or four times (many Aussies die never seeing real snow).
Wow. Shikoku sounds amazing. I think one day I will walk it.
I arrive in Osaka at 11pm tomorrow because the airline canceled my flight to Nagoya and re routed me to what I have read is the worst airport for a cyclist to arrive in. I leave on 12 May from Tokyo so will miss you in Japan. I will look up Shikoku and Kyushu.
I have no fixed plans. I will see where the wheels and winds take me. There’s another blogger I’ve followed for a few years cycle touring Tokyo to Osaka right now so i hope to catch up with her and her friends for a drink. They are 300km north of Osaka.
I’m excited about Japan. I’ve been off my bike since I cycled from Seoul to Busan in September-October last year so will be taking things slowly.
Yay to you! Thanks for sharing your travel experiences – they are very motivating and make me want to leave my desk at work right away to go out and explore more destinations! I’m also very interested in your bike travels since I bike a lot in the city but haven’t really done any travels with it….yet! 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. I am happy to inspire 🙂 . I used to read blogs as inspiration too when I was sitting at a desk at work. So it is kind of fascinating that I am inspiring someone who is doing the same as I used to do. I do a mix of cycle, motorbike, backpack and hiking travel. I get bored easily so need to change things up all the time 😉
I know what you mean and congratulations again! I think sometimes a destination can seem a bit intimidating or maybe even too abstract and when reading other people’s experiences and seeing that it is “doable” and not just a crazy thought in your head, that is so helpful and inspiring. So thanks again! 🙂
Love your travel blog! If I could have a job to take with me, I would love to do the same! I was born in Taiwan and my family moved to Brisbane when I was 11 years old. I just want to let you know that not many people think of Taiwan as a travel destination but it is truly a friendly and beautiful country boasted with beautiful mountains. A bike ride on the Eastern region would be awesome! I hope you would have Taiwan on your agenda one day!
Taiwan is high on my list of places to visit. It was originally on my plans for after Korea but then I ended up in Indonesia. Haha. But I will definitely go there. I have heard it is good for learning scuba and also learning surfing.
Hi Andrew, so recognizable. We ‘met’ through our blogs and while reading this I am again back in the Netherlands. The reason is my mom, as you know. It IS important; family. Only there you can be who you are. And a partner for life? I have found him too! If he’s the right one, and that goes clearly for you too, you want to be with him. Spend the rest of your life with him.
Where will you be in the Netherlands? Oh… you have written that I think…
Anyway, enjoy life and I agree for years already: less possessions and responsibilities is more free.
Cindy
My dates for Holland are on my What’s Booked Next page. If you would like to have coffee let me know. 🙂 . I will be there for about 14 days spread across two months. I hope your mum is doing well.
Oh I see that they are not on there properly. I am going to be in:
– Amsterdam (27-30 Dec)
– Coevorden (30 Dec – 1 Jan)
– Hilvarenbeek (1-5 Jan leaving early on 5 Jan)
– Delft (20-24 Jan leaving early on 24 Jan)
– Hilvarenbeek (20-24 Feb leaving middle of the day 24 Feb)