The Story Continues ... 10.000 m Overhead

We are wowed to see our article featured in AirAsia's inflight magazine Travel3Sixty. With more than 16 million passengers carried in 2010 AirAsia is Asia's largest no-frills airline and pioneered low-cost travel in Asia. Craig had the chance to meet AirAsia's CEO and staff at a venue in KL. Enjoy reading:

Double Page in AirAsia's Travel3Sixty Inflight Magazine. 

Thumbing Asia from West to East

Saya Mat Salleh tapi Anak Malaysia. Ever since my exchange year in Shah Alam, Malaysia I can't wait to return to my second home: Reunite with my Malaysian (host) family, indulge some streetside Nasi Lemak and marvel at countless serendipities: From jaw-dropping scuba diving in Terengganu to colorful Deepavali celebrations in Kota Kinabalu AirAsia made a lot possible.

But this time I don't simply want to board an aircraft. I'm curious about 9500 kilometers land that seperate Germany from Malaysia. I want to go overland by thumbing up rides with people along the Silk Road. My brother joins me staging the next level of traveling:

We hitch-hike through Asia from West to East to meet people, see places and go beyond frontiers.

Our backpacks weigh a mere six kilograms each as we hit the road in Cologne, Germany. I'm nervous for the first time: Am I gonna make it on time? University starts in six weeks time but hitch-hiking is not predictable at all. Neither is our route predictable: What if we're not granted entry at a border… What if we get ill… Let's not think about it.

If you're hitch-hiking you have to be optimist.

In bustling Istanbul, Turkey we CouchSurf with a student of engineering. CouchSurfing is a cool way to explore a place from a different perspective other than the one offered by Lonely Planet. Instead of the must-sees Furkan shows us his favorite places and gives us insights into local secrets. We share the fun with friends all over the city from dusk till dawn.

Hitch-hiking in Turkey works really well. We meet people from all walks of life: Ferhat builds aquarium tunnels like the one in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC) or on Sentosa Island in Singapore. The ride is swift and comfortable - quite the contrary to our worst experience two days later...

No lights. Only the moon crescent high above us adumbrates the horizon. No sound. The desert swallows every little noise instantly. A Turkish truck driver has just dropped us in the middle of nowhere. My brother comments our situation with a grim sense of humor:

„We wanted adventure... Here you are!“

With my heart in my mouth I notice our water bottle is empty. 30 minutes of desperate thoughts later a truck comes closer. We vigorously wave our hands. The huge vehicle comes to a halt and a young driver smiles at us. Relieved we jump in.

20 kilometers further we reach our destination: The hillside village of Mardin. We don't know where to stay. A group of men invite us to have a Chai tea. They're so excited about our story that they arrange a hostel room for free. It‘s amazing how hospitable the people are – both in Turkey and in the next country Iran.

Fresh from my letter box.

The Urmia Lake is so salty that we float on the water surface. With these zero-g-forces my book doesn't get wet. The next day we venture into Teheran - a sprawling megalopolis of 20 million. The historic old town boasts a fascinating bazaar. We stroll along the carpet shops and enjoy the fragrance of oriental herbs in the next alley. The architecture is mind-blowing. Incomparable arcades and shimmering domes with fine mosaics of turquoise and yellow tiles. This poetry flows from its visual appearance into the verses of traditional songs that our host Razor sings in the truck leaving Teheran.

The sun is burning our skin. Hitch-hiking in the hottest desert on earth is something really nerve-wracking. As we look into the clear sky we see the vapor trail of an aircraft. For a moment we imagine the comfort of an air-conditioned AirAsia Airbus. Luckily it takes us less than a minute to get a lift with an old truck from World War Two. Some kilometers further down a tyre bursts.

Within days we swap dry desert for lush rainforest in India. Palm trees drift by and the head wind sweeps my hair as I smile at the dumbstruck farmer next to me. The beat of the engine makes any conversation impossible.

It's a lifetime dream: We're hitching a tractor.

At 5 mph we come closer and closer to the world famous Taj Mahal. Between masses of tourists we stand in awe.

On the fringe of seaside Surat Thani a Thai police man means me to get into the police car. After a short ride he points at the beach: "You can put up your hammock here. Good night!" With a freshly plucked coconut in my hands I enjoy the sunset on my 'private' beach. Minutes later the monsoon starts to pour. Thanks to my rainfly the hammock stays dry.

The next morning I‘m squashed between six Thai guys in the truck cabin. Every time I try my newly learned Thai phrases we burst into laughter. I'm distracted by a roadside stall: My favorite fruit Durian. Near Hat Yai I wave a Malaysian flag. My cardboard sign reads „Saya mahu balik kampung. Shah Alam.“ (Want to come back home. Shah Alam.).

At the well lit Petronas gas station a Malay family offers to give me a lift. Chatting with them I trip down the memory lane and I catch up with speaking Malaysian over a tasty Roti Canai.

Finally: As I approach Jalan Adang No. 75 my (host) brother Danial catches sight of me. He runs into the house and yells:

"Craig is back. Craig is bearded."

Terima kasih daun keladi semoga kita berjumpa lagi.


This is the original text that I submitted!
If you want to read on head to the original blog posts.
For the full magazine go to: AirAsia Travel3Sixty.

7000 Kilometers. 107 Lifts. 5 Countries. 2 Brothers. One Road.

It's was bound to fail: Four weeks time to prepare for one month of hitchhiking along the Silk Road - today's most dangerous and both politically and infrastructurally difficult route.

But yes we did! Thumbing up truck rides in the hottest desert on earth, got lifts with public bus through Kurdish Iraq, hitched a hotel, Germanwings and longtail boat. We put up our hammocks in picturesque moon-like landscapes and on lonely Thai beaches. We hitch-hiked the newest BMW and Indian tractors. We explored Istanbul with crazy CouchSurfers, enjoyed tasty Bakhlava in Southern Anatolia and zero-g-forces in Northern Iran. We played futsal in Shiraz and learned how to wash before prayer with Furkan. We were thumbing the road for more than 5500 kms together. Craig topped the 7000-kilometer-mark hitching to his second home Malaysia.

Everywhere, one of the first questions we heard was: "Isn't it dangerous?" - No. It's not. To go by car in the first place is the dangerous thing. Hitchhiking is as safe as you make it: We only go with people with who we feel comfortable. Other questions centered around the feasibility. Despite all adverse conditions (low population density, Iranian don't know what is hitching) Iran turned out to be the best country to thumb up lifts. Even the other countries were far easier to hitchhike than Germany. With one exception … India.

We had an awesome time hitching Indian tractors etc. but we would rather go for the unforgettable train rides on future trips. Autostop in India is exhausting: Sometimes it takes you more than half an hour to only explain what you do. Other reasons: Extreme cheap public transport and scarce long distance traffic on roads. Can you imagine that one of the four principal highways leaving 20-million-Mumbai is a two-lane (!!!) road?

To all fellow hitchhikers who want to stage the Silk Road and those among them who have the dream of doing a full overland route - like we wanted in the first place: You need far more preparation time, approximately three weeks more than we had. You'd need to be fine with four days of desert only. Trust us: Desert is nice to see - but only for some hours. Another bound-to-fail-challenge: Try to make friends with somebody in the Pakistani embassy to get a visa for overland entry - otherwise it's currently impossible. Then you'd need to change and expand the route significantly going for China since there is no usable Bangladesh-Myanmar land border crossing and heaps of difficulties to get required permits for India-Myanmar border crossing let alone for the troubled Indian border state Manipur. In plain English: It's today's most difficult route to prepare and realize.

Sometimes people ask us if we go with no money. In our opinion the idea of zero-expenditure-travel is nuts and close to scrounging - and that is not what you want your hosts to think of you. It's also not practical: Perhaps we'd to bribe a border officer to enter a country. Sometimes you are simply hungry and need a Kebab or Samosa ;-) The currency you pay with while hitchhiking is entertainment.

Anyways you can still expect to enjoy a breathtaking fun time with a mini budget. We spent 100€ each to India (museum fees etc.) and another 50€ for Craig to reach Malaysia.

It's however not our financial situation that inspired this trip. It was our lust for adventure and serendipities: Meet people, see places and go beyond frontiers. As we make friends along the Silk Road we advance cultural understanding and global peace.

We'd like to express our appreciation for all the people who helped us: The gay Dutch, the Thai policeman, Germanwings for the VDB, Hennessy Hammocks for the awesome hammocks, the CouchSurfers, our Mama and Papa, our friends Felix, Dany & Robert, Craig's Malaysian family and anybody who made this trip possible.

Some people ask: "What comes next?" ... Well, perhaps 'Urban Tourism in the Bronx', 'Parachuting over North Korea' or 'Riding through Mongolia with only a donkey and a fridge'.

Taking and Giving

More than 7000 kilometers we enjoyed so much luck, love, fun and hospitality together with people from all walks of life. We want to show our appreciation by donating a part of our Germanwings gift to places in need:

The Horn of Africa is experiencing the biggest humanitarian crisis ever. More than 12 million people desperately need help. Water. Medicine. Vaccination. Food. Care. Safety.

"1 € can buy 1 week nutrition for 1 person."

Another cause we want to support is the protection of human rights. Every human on earth should enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty can fight for the rights of people along our road, free human rights activists in Iran, insist on freedom of peaceful assembly in Malaysia, support the victims of Bhopal and give a voice to the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

"Human rights. We protect them. They protect us."

Thank You. Danke. teşekkürler.   शुक्रिया.   با تشکر از شما.   ขอบคุณคุณ.   terima kasih.

Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft
Konto 51 51
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
BLZ 370 205 00
Kennwort: ARD/Ostafrika
www.entwicklung-hilft.de

Amnesty International

Konto 80 90 100

Bank für Sozialwirtschaft

BLZ 370 205 00

www.amnesty.de/

I'm happily united with my m'sian family. Summary & more vids coming soon!

Patrol

I'm still nervous. Hitching at night isn't the wise thing to do but it's apparently close to impossible in Malaysia.

Anyways, I'm in a good spot: A brightly lit Petronas gas station in the outskirts of Jitra. After some minutes chatting with motorcyclists and Petronas staff I finally get a lift with two friendly Malay guys to Alor Star - Kedah's capital which is more of a provincial town. I'm enjoying our conversation in BM so much. This time it's much better than last year. I didn't forget too many words.

As we speed into Alor Star Dzivani offers to call my friend Bob. My Malaysian mummy gave me his number. I met him only once on a trip to Sibu island - if it's that person I'm thinking of. Yes it is: "Apa khabar Bob?" ("How're u bob?"). - "Khabar baik."

With Bob & Alor Star Police Patrol in Mamak Store.

Typical Malaysian Neighborhood

Bob introduces me to his colleges at Alor Star City Council. It's already 9 o'clock but they're still working.

I enjoy the atmosphere. Everybody is impressed by my Malay - except for me! I know I used to speak even better. Never mind. We go out for a police patrol on the night market. It's nothing really thrilling: Just check if the hawker have a license and so on. There are so many officers that I feel as if I had been introduced to half the Alor Star police personnel. We do one mor round then we go to a Mamak store. It's that special kind of restaurant that I like so much about Malaysia. Usually they're open 24 hours serving all the nice everyday dishes like Nasi Lemak (coconut steamed rice with spicy sambal and condiments), Nasi Khandar (rice with selection of curries), Roti Canai (calorie packed bred ;-)) … Terima Kasih Daun Keladi Semoga Kita Berjumpa Lagi Bob! It was a real fun time with you and your friends!

Sampai!

Thailand from a different perspective.

Yaaaaaaaay! Malaysia reached! (Sampai!) My second home! The immigration officer wasn't really impressed by my BM but anyways. Outside the immigration building I start waving my hand. I'm not sure yet if here thumb is a bad or a good symbol. On the one hand Malaysia is a highly developed modern country but on the other side very traditional. So better I stick with waving hand first. My first lift is with two young Malays who just came back from a shopping spree on the border. Apparently they did not at all understand the idea of hitchhiking because they drop me at a bus stand 20 kms down the road. It's a difficult situation because it's getting dark fast and I quickly realize that people in this area are too shy or even fear giving a stranger a lift. From above a whole packed Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant is watching me. The Malays are just breaking fasting. My mood drops as two cars didn't even want to put down their windows.

Infamous Cat.

As I head to the KFC parking a car stops behind me. It's a young Chinese Malaysian. He doesn't care I'm speaking Malaysian. We continue in English. He explains that he has lived on the tourist island Langkawi before so he knows about hitchhiking. Together we go to Jitra - a small city in Kedah and known as 'The Malayisan Rice Bowl'. He promises to come back to the gas station after work to see if somebody took me or not. Thanks for that!

McFlurry Oreo & Immigration

Der Geschäftsmann aus Bangkok scheint sich nicht wirklich in Hat Yai - der südlichsten Großstadt in Thailand - auszukennen. Na gut - Ich habe auch vergessen zu überlegen, wo lang es weiter geht. Ich hab mich noch nicht für einen der beiden Grenzübergänge entschieden. Naja - erst man rauskommen aus dieser Stadt voller Staus. Übrigens bin ich hier laut Medien wieder in einer Todeszone (!). Tatsächlich leben hier aber viele nette Menschen seit in Frieden - zumindest seit mehreren Monaten schon gab es keine Bombenanschläge.

Mehrere Pick-up-Busse bringen much kostenfrei weiter Richtung Süden. In den Vorstädten von Hat Yai hisse ich zum ersten Mal meine kleine malaysische Flagge. Die vorbeifahrenden lachen darüber. Leider sind die wenigsten malaysische Autos. Ich bin aufgeregt, bald wieder Malaysisch zu sprechen.

Da … ein dickes, schnelles Auto hält an. Yahya lacht mich an - noch unwissend, dass wir ab jetzt Malaysisch sprechen werden. Er hat in Malaysia studiert, ist Muslim und wohnt auf der thailändischen Seite einer der Grenzstädte. Yahya ist begeistert und lädt mich zu sich nach Hause ein. Leider lehne ich ab, denn ich möchte  noch im Hellen ankommen.

Der Grenzort Bukit Ayer Hitam ist lebendig und bunt: Viele zollfreie Läden, viele Prostituierte, viele Kontaktleute für zwielichtige Geschäfte und viele LKWs. Bevor ich zur Immigration gehe, haue ich noch die letzten thailändischen Bahts auf den Kopf: Ein paar Souvenirs und jaaaaa … ein McFlurry Oreo … Mmmmmh lecka. 

Temperatures like East Anatolia. Chaos like India. Food like Malaysia. Fun like Leipzig!

We are having an awesome Asia dinner at Oststraße 56.

At 7 pm the first invitees - some fellow maths students - arrive escaping from studies just like me. As soon as there are enough people we start to prepare the dishes: Beni cuts mountains of carrots, Tito caringly peels potato after potato and Robert stirs the coconut rice. The air fills with the fragrances of the Orient.

Some friends chatter in my room with my favorite 'globetrotter'-playlist featuring songs from along our route and jazz, blues, guitar and hispanic music. Paqruete - an old flat share companion from France is having fun with Daniela, who will host Dario and me in Delhi thanks to her global studies year in India. There are friends from all walks of life. I love the buzz in our cozy flat share and apparently most of us do. But then: As I open my beloved anchovies pack the smell makes some escape the kitchen.

"Coconut rice, Durian & Rum soaked Banana Cake"

After roughly 90 mins of sizzling, chopping, simmering and crackling the dishes are ready. Quickly we set the 'garden', free the table of yesterday's beer bottles and clean the hammock.

Let's indulge!

For the dessert we have yummy hot banana cake - soaked with dark rum - with vanille ice cream. It's the most amazing treat I know! Only yesterday Mina and I tried to make it in memory of our trip to Centroamérica. Some also like the herbs liquor that we brought from Honduras.

"Global village at O56"

Now comes the best of all: The queen of fruits - the Durian. Some love it, some hate it! If you eat it in a Malaysian hotel you have to pay for three weeks because of the strong smell! The taste cannot be described - you have to try it yourself. Some Asian Food Shops in Germany sell it.

Yummy.

बॉन एपेतीत, selamat makan or Bon appetit!

Our Route - Built for Serendipities

We want to give everybody a short insight on our route. As you know hitchhiking is not something tightly scheduled or planned, so we might diverge from our track to other places and serendipities from time to time.

Our quest is really tough and we know that some will think: "What? - from Turkey to India in three weeks and then on to Malaysia?" Let's face it: We will be traveling in mostly developed countries so that the roads should be pretty ok and hitchhiking a fast means of transport. In big cities we try to find CouchSurfers. At sites of lush nature we camp.

Why are we forced to skip Pakistan and Myanmar? It's about political and infrastructural reasons and at the end of the day also our holiday time slot! The idea about this trip emerged six weeks before our departure: It's nuts to think you can get the visa from these four countries in this time frame. See our post on visas for more. Today the silkroad is possibly the toughest route you can travel - not in terms of transport but concerning the political circumstances. In plain English: 20 years ago, it would have been easier to travel this route. Over and over again Craig talked with the Pakistan embassy, scanned the Internet for advice and called people who managed to get an overland visa for Pakistan before. The result: If you have loads of time for organizing things (which we don't apparently) and if and only if you have connections with somebody at the Pakistan embassy you might be given a overland visa after weeks. Pakistan only issues visa if you can show a valid return air ticket. Another reason against Pakistan: it had meant five days of desert only! I think now you can understand why we skip Pakistan. Myanmar is another story. This country is essentially locked up for hitchhikers: No borders with Bangladesh or India. Once we have more time we'll come to these nice countries definitely!

"silkroad & highway, desert & rainforest, laid-back village & bustling Megalopolis."

Coming back to our route: We'll stay longer at special places and autostop approximately five hours on hitching days. We hit the road in Germany to thumb it to Stuttgart airport. But only in Istanbul the project really starts: After some days at the Bosporus (possibly Ankara) and camping around Cappadocia we'll enter Anatolia ;-) Then crossing the dusty Turkey-Iran border at Esendere moving towards Tabriz, Teheran and then the historic cities of Isfahan and Shiraz in a hot desert plain. From there - owed to above reasons - we'll catch a flight to Delhi. The route for the 1200++ kilometers to Mumbai is not fixed yet. From India Craig is going to skip Myanmar for Thailand. From there the last leg leads to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia through lush rainforests. With approximately 8500 km (shortest route) we're going to cover close to 70% of a true overland route.

"Surfing Iran, hitching Anatolia & camping jungle."

I hope that gives you an idea.

Keep thumbing ...