Crossing the border to Kyrgyzstan reminded me the crossing from Vietnam to China, it had the same magical sensation of entering a totally different world. Of course, there had been earlier signs of this big change in China, as I entered the province of Xinjiang and the wonderful city of Kashgar. It is there that I first discovered the busy athmosphere of the bazaars, that kebabs and nans replaced the Chinese rice and pork. In Kashgar I had my first taste of Central Asia, but it was only an appetizer.

The first sign that things would be different in Central Asia occured when I applied for my Kyrgyz visa in Urumqi. I naively asked if a same-day procedure would be possible and, instead of telling me it wasn’t, the official replied: “It is too expensive”. A big change from the more radical Chinese “Meio” I described in the previous post and a first introduction to corruption in Central Asia.

The wonderful Kyrgyz mountains right after the Torugart pass.

To enter Kyrgyzstan we had to make complicated arrangements to cross the border post located on the Torugart Pass at 3800 meters altitude. I rented a jeep with British Tom and another 4×4 was waiting for us at the kyrgyz side of the border. The Chinese side was a pain, the hords of guards at the empty border post stared at us for about 2.5 hours befored they finally decided to ask for our passports. During that time, they clearly demonstrated that they had nothing to do: they were smoking, joking and even tapping their feets while looking at us. They didn’t want to make this a pleasant experience for us.

But as soon as we entered Kyrgyzstan, the atmosphere changed. Our driver walked to us with a big smile: “Welcome to Kyrgyzstan, here you can take photos again: we are a free country!”. The Kyrgyz border officials luckily were much more cooperative too. The landscape also changed dramatically, the Chinese side was dusty and arid, while the Kyrgyz side miraculously became green and fertile!

Other changes became apparent when we arrived at the town of Naryn; the remains of the Russian occupation were everywhere: abandonned bus stops, glacial and depressingly identical housing buildings, vodka and perhaps most importantly: the Russian language! A new challenge for me after 2 months of Chinese.

Cooking Shashliks, the most common food in Central Asia

I nearly had to skip Kyrgyzstan entirely because of the revolution that occured just before I arrived. But thankfully I decided to come anyways and have not regretted it. The situation in Bishkek was absolutely normal and only some burned buildings that belonged to family and friends of the president reminded me that a revolution had happened there a few days earlier.

The advantage was that there were only a handful of tourists in the country and I met several really interesting people. Most notably two geo-archeologists, Renato and Jean-Marc, with whom me and my travel buddy Etienne spent a memorable night in Bishkek. Halfway between geniuses and madmen, these two ex-hippies entertained us with detailed stories about the fascinating history of the region mixed with some of the least politically correct cultural generalisations like (read with strong italian accent): “Russians are superior beings, if they weren’t drunk all the time, they would rule the world” or “all French people are morons. Did you ever notice that they always travel in couples? There are more than three billion women on the planet, why do they need to travel with their girlfriends?” and so on!

Kyrgyz herder

The end of my trip is slowly approaching, but Central Asia promises to be a last fantastic adventure and my morale is still high. In fact many people ask me if I never feel lonely or bored. To my own surprise, I have to say that I am not at all. Every day on the road is different and not one goes by without some totally unexpected surprise. I meet so many interesting people that it would be impossible to introduce each of them on this blog. The scenery I’ve crossed all along is ever-changing and breath-taking. And travelling overland slowly allows me to understand how many things fit together in this world. So to reassure everyone: this is without a doubt the most enriching experience I’ve had in my life and I’m enjoying every minute of it!

More pictures of Kyrgyzstan in the gallery.

My first real “culture shock” on the trip occured when I crossed the border from Vietnam to China. Suddenly, all signs became totally unreadable, and communication a whole lot harder. Nobody speaks English at the border town of Hekou, just as in most other parts of China!

Old ladies in Ya'an

In all honnesty, I had feared entering this huge country before starting my trip. The image given in Western media isn’t very reassuring most of the time, many things there seemed to be very far away from my principles and ideals. Luckily, I was going to be surprised!

The first surprise came in Jianshui at one of my first meals in the country. When I finished my dinner and was preparing to pay the bill, the guy next to me stepped in and paid for me before I could even understand what was going on. “No, No”, I naively protested. “Yes, yes I invite you” insisted my mysterious neighbour. “You are our guest here in China, I’m paying!”… And this went on until I finally gave up and accepted the gift. And this was only the first of a never-ending series of acts of hospitality and generosity displayed by the Chinese.

Not everything was that easy in China though. I soon discovered that the usual “Yes!” answer I always received in South East Asia disappeared in favour of a firm “Meio!” (=No!) in China. “Hello! I’d like to extend my Visa here in Kangding”. “Meio! You should go back to Chengdu (8 hours by bus in the mountains)”. Whatever! “Hello. I’d like to go online in your internet cafe”. “Meio! You need a card”. “Ok, I’ll buy the card”. “Meio!”. Go figure. Or even: “Can I buy some credit for my sim card?”. “Meio!” “Uh, this is a China Unicom shop, my card is China Unicom, why not?” “Meio!!”, and same answer even after three attempts in different shops! And I could go on with hotels, bus and train tickets and so on!

The stunning rice terraces of Yuanyang

I did however really enjoy the whole experience, that obviously wasn’t as easy as it was in South East Asia sipping banana milk shakes in hammocks, but definitely adventurous and enriching.

China surprised me in many ways. First of all the economic development is something to be witnessed, cities have great infrastructure and are much more modern that I imagined. The growth of the Chinese middle class is certainly no fantasy.

On the darker side, the disrespect shown by the government towards China’s ethnic minorities is even more brutal than I had envisioned. The situation for Tibetan and Uighur people is not one to be envied. They are treated as second class citizens. Their traditions are being heavily repressed, getting a passport is nearly impossible, making them prisoners in their own country. Witnessing the absolute desperation of these people was heart-braking and is a real shame.

Friendly Uighur man in the fascinating town of Kashgar

I will certainly remember my time in China, a complex country capable of the best and the worst. A country that fuels endless debates and on which everybody has its own opinion.

A few more pictures are in the Photo Gallery!

My initial goal was to cross Tibet from Chengdu to end up in Kashgar. But as I started looking more deeply in the actual details, it soon became clear that it would be impossible: a special permit to visit Tibet, an ‘Alien Travel Permit” and “Military Permit” to visit regions outside Lhasa, being accompanied by a government approved guide at all times and being forced to rent an expensive four by four… No this just didn’t sound like the way I like to travel at all.

But as I progressed through my trip, thanks to the numerous long discussions I’ve had with other travellers I realised that Tibet is far bigger than the actual Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Map of Tibet

Hope came back and I decided to follow the Northern Sichuan-Tibet highway from Chengdu right to the border of the T.A.R. through the towns of Kangding, Tagong, Daofu, Ganzi, Manigango and Dege and continue my way up to Qinghai to Yushu. The regions I’ll cross are known as the Kham and Amdo regions by the Tibetans.

My expectations were high for this part of the trip and that’s always dangerous as reality can often be dissappointing. But nothing had prepared me for what I experienced in this area. In short the culture is a joy to witness, the people are certainly among the friendliest I’ve met and the scenery en-route possibly the most stunning I have ever seen.

Yihun Lathso holy lake at more than 4000m

The region is home to numerous Tibetan nomads getting around on their horses or motorbikes blasting loud Tibetan music. Tibetan monasteries are everywhere and locals endlessly circumambulate around them spinning their prayer wheels and humming buddhist mantras “Om Mani Padme Hum”. Locals throw coloured prayer papers through the windows as the buses cross unbelievably high passes up to 5050m above sea level. Grasslands are filled with peaceful black-haired yaks and hills decorated by forests of prayer flags flapping in the wind.

Tibetan Nomad

In most towns, I was the only foreigner and have therefore had the chance to experience the life of a Rock star for three weeks. It’s impossible to avoid the “Hallo”s, “Tashi Delek”s and handshakes as you walk in the streets. Every five minutes a monk, nomad, pilgrim or even a policeman or military stops me to take a picture of me with their mobile phones. “How do you do”, “Good morning” at any time of the day and “I love you!” are common too and were practically the only words of English I heard in three weeks.

Laughing Tibetan lady

People indeed do not speak a word of English and this coupled with the horrendous road conditions, the often freezing temperatures at this early time of the year and most of all with the wild dogs do make this a very adventurous trip. Wild dogs are the worst! Tibetans are so kind that they wouldn’t kill any animal without a reason. The cities therefore pullulate with them. And of course they are not used to see strange smelling white people and it seems to not please them at all. And this is without mentioning the ferocious Tibetan herder dogs guarding the yaks in the countryside.

Unfortunately the tragic events in Yushu forced me to end the trip a little bit in advance as the police asked me to leave the area. I’ve had incredible luck being two days behind schedule, otherwise I would have been in Yushu, right at the epicentre of the earthquake. The locals weren’t as lucky though and it is deeply sad. These people do not deserve this.

But all in all, this trip was simply unbelievable and I will remember it for a long time. It was definitely a highlight on my trip so far so make sure to check out the picture gallery!

Morning prayers at Serxu Monastery

If you plan to take the same route here is a detailed itinerary with some tips:

• Chengdu: I stayed at the Mix hostel, highly recommended. 25 Yuan with breakfast and free internet! Super friendly staff and good vibe.
• Kangding: stay at Zhilam Hostel. Cozy and friendly, a last heaven before the real adventure!
• Tagong: the Jya Drolma and Gayla’s guesthouse is really nice. Contact english speaking Angela for treks and travel information: 13684493301
• Daofu: interesting Tibetan wooden houses and beautiful monastery. I stayed at the Yala hotel. Expensive but the only one I could find. All the other refused to have me in.
• Ganzi: stayed at the Himalaya hotel. Go to the lamasery and the nice ancient Tibetan town. The mountains around Ganzi are beautiful.
• Manigango: slept at the Pani Hotel. There are ok dorms for 20 Yuan. The owner collects bank notes, ask to see his collection it’s quite impressive.
• Yihun Lhatso Lake: do NOT miss this one. One of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen! 13km from Manigango. Just hitchhike. Any nomad will be glad to take you on his motorcycle.
• Dege: the town is ugly but the route to the town is the most spectacular. The printing house is another highlight making it worth the effort!
• Manigango
• Serxu: I stayed at the old town in the hotel next to the monastery. One of the best places to meet monks and experience their life.
• Xiewu: because of the earthquake I had to skip Yushu and go through this little town instead.
• Maduo: overnight stop, NOT recommended. My worst night on the trip.
• Xining.
  The whole trip took me about three weeks, but I was stuck because of heavy snow in Tagong for 6 days!

Buddhist monk in Laos

By a long series of coincidences, I found myself with Nick, a friendly Aussie girl, asking a monk in the Laotian monastery of Nakhoun Noi near Vientiane if we could stay there to learn about meditation. We were brought to Ajhan Phan, who welcomed us warmly then sent a monk to bring Nick to the nunery and agreed to be my teacher. He made a deep impression on me: he was smiling and lighthearted yet firm and authoritative. When we arrived he gave the impression he was waiting for us.

Ajhan Phan told me four meditation techniques:

• Sitting meditation: concentrate on the breathing and counting it ( inhale: one, exhale: two,… until hundred then start again).
• Walking meditation: concentrate on each step (“step right”, “step left”,…).
• Sleeping meditation: same posture as the lying buddha and stay aware without falling asleep ( when you fall asleep you wake up instantly due to the position).
• And some kind of strange yoga exercise.

Then he told me to follow this programme for one week:

• 3am: wake up
• 7am: breakfast alone in my room
• 11am: lunch alone in my room
• 5pm: shower
• 9.30pm: go to sleep

“At all other times practice the four meditation techniques, one hour each in the order you like. When you have a problem come and see me, but talk to nobody else. Meditation is very easy if you have the will.”, Ajhan Phan added. Surprisingly, with his huge smile he did make it sound really easy. It was only later that I realised how difficult it actually was!

I managed to (very approximately I confess) follow these instructions for four days, but unfortunately Ajhan Phan had to leave unexpectantly after the second day. Without a teacher, I decided that four days would be (more than) enough.

These four days have been mentally challenging. But it made me understand some basic things about meditation. Your thoughts can have a profound impact on your mood and character. Having control over them is therefore important. For example, I’m sure you, like me, must have had some sort of “obsession” or habit that you know is ridiculous but that you just can’t get out of your head. By learning how to let some thoughts go and vanish just as they arrived, you can avoid these successions of thoughts you don’t like. Advanced meditators are capable of experiencing the world without added mental constructions. Just try to look around you for 5 minutes without commenting or judging the things you see!

I’m happy to have done this retreat, it was a great experience. That being said you can rest assured: I won’t turn into a buddhist monk either!

For more information on this, I remember enjoying the talk given by the French monk Matthieu Ricard at Google.

Buddhist monks at Bayon temple in Angkor

My first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap, the gateway to the legendary Angkor temples. The majesty of Angkor Wat, the wilderness of Phrat Thom, and perhaps above all the mysterious beauty of Bayon literally blew me away. I was expecting huge ruins of temples in the jungle, but never thought I would discover such finely carved and well preserved frescos sometimes hundreds of meters long. The numerous temples are architectural wonders. Unfortunately, many people came to realize it, and with tourism growing more than 30% annually for the last ten years, it’s hard to find a bit of peace and quiet while admiring the temples. But it’s still possible luckily, so get there quickly!

Victims of the Khmer Rouges at the S-21 prison

After the wonders of the Angkorian architecture, I moved on to the capital, Phnom Penh, where I was confronted with a more recent, less glorious past of the country. From 1975 to 1979 the country was ruled by an extreme communist regime, the Khmer Rouges, that claimed two million lives in that short time span. Phnom Penh was completely emptied of its inhabitants in 48 hours, forcing its population back to the countryside to live a rural life and exterminating all its educated people. The visits of the S-21 prison and of the killing fields was intense and the worst possible reminder of where some extreme ideologies can lead.

But I ended up staying ten days in the capital for other reasons. Cambodian people are simply adorable. Lots of them love to learn English making it easier to communicate with the locals than in Thailand or Indonesia. The couple owning my guesthouse, the Blue Dog Guesthouse, even became good friends, I had an incredible time in the local cafes and karaokes. To help them I took some time to put their guesthouse on some websites and they have been extremely grateful!

My last stop was Kratie, where I went to see the Irawaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. Only 60 dolphins are left in the region and they are under severe threat of extinction.

Friendly young Cambodian monks close to Kratie

I also took the opportunity to visit the rural villages close to Kratie, just a little bit off the beaten track, but enough to meet plenty of curious and friendly locals! This ended the real rollercoaster of emotions that I experienced in Cambodia, with displays of both the best and worst sides of human nature.

Watch all my pictures from Cambodia in the gallery

Travelling has many benefits, in my opinion the world would be a better place if more people would embark on long journeys to discover it. Travelling broadens the mind, and transforms people into a real citizens of the world. It also helps to take a step back and understand your own country and culture better.

But unfortunately, travelling also has its downsides, and one of them is the negative impact it generates on the environment. As this is a concern for me, I now have a couple of rules I apply that could help you too.

Choose your transport wisely

By far the biggest carbon emmissions during your travels will come from your transport, so it is important to choose your means of transport responsibly.

Airplanes are responsible for 3% of global carbon emissions. A US return flight from coast to coast will emit as much CO2 emissions as the average frenchman in one year. And these emissions are the worst because they are at emitted at high altitude, going straight to the athmosphere. My first tip is to avoid planes as much as you can.

Now of course if you don’t have much time and plan to visit a far-away country, planes are difficult to avoid. But still, instead of taking several internal flights to try to see the whole country in two weeks, why not consider exploring only one part much more intensively and avoiding all the planes? The “highlights” mentioned in the guidebooks will only rarely be your own personal highlights. Trying to see them all at all costs is usually not a such good idea. You will be surrounded by tourists most of your time, harrassed by touts, and at a much higher risk of theft. By travelling overland instead, you will see the authentic local life, see changes occur softly and gradually and understand the country you are visiting much better.

Even for long-term travels, I would recommend not taking too many planes. Trying to see America, Europe, Asia and Africa all in one trip like many people do, will likely be too much. Adjusting to a different culture takes time, and starting from zero all over again is hard and can be tiring.

Instead of flying, I recommend taking the train when possible, or a boat or bus. For shorter distances, also consider bicycles if some are available for rent. If you try it first with the environment in mind, you will continue to do it for your own enjoyment, I guarantee!

Minimise the amount of plastic you use

Have you ever heard about a new “continent of waste” forming in the pacific ocean? It is made out of billions of small plastic particles that accumulate at this place because of a combination of currents. It is growing rapidly and is already twice the size of of the continental united states! Watch the youtube video for more information. One of the major  waste problem we face today is due to plastic. Did you know that less than  3% of the plastic we use is recycled worldwide (according to a Helmut Kaiser Consultancy report, 2006)? And it takes about 500-1000 years for plastic to biodegrade, which means that we won’t get rid of that problem any time soon, even if we were to stop using it now.

In developing countries, the chances that they will recycle or dispose plastic responsibly are very low. So it is important to use it scarcely. I always refuse plastic bags and also explain briefly that I do so because of pollution.  In South East Asia for example, they will put the single can of coke you just bought in a plastic bag!

Another big problem are the plastic bottles, and it is harder to deal with that one in countries with no drinking water on the tap. Two options though: when you can, you can boil your water (25 minutes and you’re safe!) and reuse your bottle, or filter your water.

Show the good example

Travelling is a great way to meet many people and interact with the locals. I use this opportunity to show the good example and be environmental friendly!

These are the few things I have learned on this journey, but I’d be curious to hear from you, do you have other tips or ideas to travel ecologically?

The road travelled so far

Here’s a little update on the itinerary I followed these last weeks. After my journey on the cargo ship I arrived in Singapore on the 28th of November. Singapore didn’t really manage to conquer my heart. I found the city to be very formatted to western standards and after my stay in Australia, I was impatient to discover a more authentic side of Asia. So I stayed only two days, just enough time to meet Ruth, Inna and Jean, three good friends from Google in Dublin who were in Singapore then. I also had the opportunity to meet Carlina, a very talented Canadian photographer, who showed me some great sights in the city. She also recommended me warmly not to miss Indonesia, and I’m very grateful she did!

From Singapore, I took a four hour bus to Melaka, a pleasant colonial city in Malaysia. I could sense that the athmosphere became different. I had my first meal of the trip on the streets, the traffic became more chaotic,… But this was only the start of a more radical change.

After a three hour ferry from Melaka to Dumai I arrived in Sumatra, Indonesia. Coincidently, I met a group of people who were on the the Oz Bus, the famous bus going overland from London to Sydney in three months. Honnestly these people looked exhausted and didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves much. “We spend most of our time in buses”, a middle aged Englishman from the group told me. Of course, I’m not surprised: three months is really too short for such a journey, and in an organised tour you lack the freedom that is one of the most enjoyable things in a long term travel.

When I arrived in Dumai, I was ‘welcomed’ by a hord of touts who were particularly difficult to dismiss. In Indonesia the traffic now was a total chaos, but luckily the smiles on people’s faces were growing too. Indonesia is really the first country on the trip were locals have been extremely friendly. Wherever I was, it never lasted long to have a local coming curiously: “Where are you from?”, and then starting a conversation. Several times I was stopped on the streets and asked permission to be photographed.

The sunset on Lake Maninjau seen from my hut.

The next few days, I relaxed at Lake Maninjau, in a volcano crater. This area was hit in September by a major earthquake, and the destruction caused to the houses was heart-gripping to witness.

From the nearby town of Padang, devastated by the earthquake, I took a ferry to Siberut Island for my trekking that I discussed previously. So far, it is without a doubt the highlight of my trip . Interestingly, even though Siberut was shaken just as badly as Padang, there have been no casualties on the island, and I didn’t witness any damage there. The Mentawai people told me it’s because they know how to build earthquake resistant huts, made only of wood and with foundations going deep in the ground. The second reason according to them is that the jungle, with the deep roots of the trees, absorbs the shock very effectively, unlike the area of Padang, where the jungle was burnt long ago by the locals. A pity that a knowledge that took millennia to develop is ignored today.

From then on, I went a little faster and did the exact opposite route to Melaka, then took a bus and spent a day in Kuala Lumpur, another modern town, not much different from Singapore even though I found it to be a little more friendly. To arrive on time to meet my Belgian friend Idesbald in Bangkok for Christmas and New year, I had to take a bus to Hat Yai in Thailand, and then straight away another bus to Bangkok, making it an exhausting 22 hour journey! I certainly don’t recommend doing this by bus, but in my case all trains were full due to the holidays.

I celebrated Christmas in Koh Samet, an Island close to Bangkok, and then relaxed in the city and arranged my visas for China and Vietnam. I would have liked to spend more time in Thailand, but the government has decided to only give 15 days visas to overland travellers, forcing me to shorten my stay and to reach Cambodia earlier than planned. It’s a pity!

Young boy in front of Angkor Wat

You might be wondering how I ended up trekking for two weeks to very remote tribes off the coast of Indonesia? As I wrote earlier, I really enjoyed surfing in Australia and was looking for another spot in South-East Asia. I asked my good friend Tobin and he recommended me to look into the Mentawai Islands. After some Google searches, I soon forgot about the surf and was instead very intrigued by some stories about trekking on one of these islands where some remote tribes were still living very traditionally in the jungle.

Intense stare of a Mentawai shaman

I hesitated much, and finally decided it was madness because of the terrible climate there, the dangerous ferry and it was said to be malaria infested. But I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind and when I approached the area, I decided to contact a guide and discuss it with him. He didn’t really convince me: “Maybe a little risky now, it would be better to come back in August”. But after long discussions, I became so curious that I just decided to go for it!

I was totally unprepared with no trekking shoes, no water purifying pills and so on. And I discovered that it is impossible in Indonesia to find trekking shoes with sizes larger than 43! I finally ended up with only plastic wellington boots bought at 3.50 euros at the local market. Needless to say, I was a little nervous in the 10 hours, rocky wooden ferry that took me to Siberut Island the day after! But as soon as I started the trek, I was very thankful not to have bought trekking shoes. The mud was often approaching knee level and I had to cross countless streams and rivers.

After a 10 hour ferry journey from Padang to Siberut island, followed by 5 hours of traditional wooden boat up the river, another hour trekking to a village where I stayed overnight and finally five hours of up and down trekking through the jungle I reached the remote settlement of Atabai.

Amatopele, the owner of the first house I stayed at.

I didn’t really know what to expect. But straight away found out that this would be an amazing adventure. The whole family was dressed in traditional clothes (loincloth for men, and skirt and topless for women). The owner was away to heal some people in another village. When he arrived the next day with two other shamans, I couldn’t believe my eyes! He welcomed me warmly saying I could stay for as long as I wanted to learn about the culture. After that, he started to sing a traditional song “Baaacho, baaacho kerre, baaacho baacho kerre” to the delight of his six giggling children. He was getting so much into it that he stood up and started a dance with eagle like movements while singing. No, this wasn’t going to be the usual trek.

The Mentawai culture is much more complex than I initially imagined. I was particularly impressed by their sustainable use of the jungle. What first appears as a virgin rainforest is actually a huge garden used by the Mentawais to plant all kinds of trees: the Sago tree from which they get the major part of their diet for them and their chickens and pigs, but also coconut trees, banana trees and dozens of delicious tropical fruit trees. They understood long ago that cutting the forest to have single crop plantations wasn’t sustainable and instead they spread their own trees within the jungle to keep the soil fertile.

Turu Manai, the charismatic owner of the second house I stayed at.

During the trek, I stayed in traditional huts of five different families and learned to get to know them. This led to some fantastic moments and discussions! The people were very welcoming and always proposed to share their meals with me. This is really nice when they eat some good chicken, but a lot less when they prepare to eat a huge plate of worms and look at you curiously to see if you enjoy this delicacy as much as they do…

The trek wasn’t easy either. The tracks are seriously muddy and slippery, the food is often very bland and I was constantly bitten by mosquitoes which seemed to love my mosquito repellent! My clothes were also in a constant humid state due to the very wet climate on the island. But the toughest of all for me was to get some sleep! Mentawais love to talk very late in the night right next to where you sleep and they wake up as soon as the sun rises being just as noisy again and continuing their conversations. Add to that the sounds of chickens and pigs living under the house and the mosquito bites and you get a good idea of my nights there.

Mentawai girl

But this was a reasonable price to pay considering the friendliness of the people, the beauty of the jungle and the adorable Mentawai children!

Some practical tips if you plan to trek to the Mentawai:

• Take Wellington (rubber) boots, with all the mud and with so many river crossings they will be much more convenient.
• You don’t need purifying tablets. Mentawai people will boil the water for 25 minutes before drinking it. In 12 days I haven’t been sick once while drinking it.
• Bring mosquito repellent! It is hard to find in Padang.
• You might want to have your own mattress, I didn’t have one and had to sleep on the ground the whole time (you get used to it though).
• Bring some gifts, but avoid plastic at all costs. Small pearls to make their jewels ( see my pictures) can be bought at the market in Padang, tobacco and cigarettes are also essential ( they all smoke anyways so you’re not influencing them don’t worry!).
• Book a cabin on the ferry.
• Learn some Mentawai in advance, it’s a very easy language and nobody there speaks English or Indonesian.

Watch all my pictures from the trek in the photo gallery.

The day had finally arrived, I was about to board my cargo ship from Brisbane to Singapore. Excited about my trip but also a little bit anxious to be alone for 12 days on a freighter ship, I started my day with some shopping: sea-sickness tablets, sun-screen and six books. Yes I was prepared to be really bored! I jumped in a taxi, “Brisbane Harbour, Patrick’s terminals please”. I could see the surprise on the driver’s face, I don’t think many backpackers ask to go to the commercial part of Brisbane’s harbour…

And indeed, it didn’t look at all like a tourist area once I arrived. The place was covered with containers and huge cranes were loading them on a ship. The security person looked at me: “oh you must be the passenger!”. After a signature he brought me to the ship. It was unbelievably huge! I was greeted by a worker on the ship who brought me onboard. He introduced me to a Russian crew member, Aleksander, who showed me the way to my cabin. It was much better than I expected: it had an ensuite bathroom, a tv and dvd player, a couch and a nice double bed. Still I could tell that this journey was certainly not made for passengers, the atmosphere and decoration on board is rather that of a big factory.

Our ship to Singapore, the MSC Basel

My vessel, the MSC Basel, was a monster: 51 000 tons, 216 meters long and 32 meters wide (known as Panamax, the maximum width allowed through the Panama Canal). It can carry up to 2700 containers.

Everyday, breakfast is served at 7.30, lunch at 11.30 and dinner at 17.30. On sundays and Tuesdays, ice-cream is served as dessert and cake at three o’clock. This routine reminded me a little of my time at the boarding school. I had to eat in the Mess room, the canteen for the captain and the officers and was assigned a fixed seat. There were no native English-speaking people on board. The captain was german, and the other officers were German, Russian and Estonian. There was also Mr. Singh, a trainee Nautical Officer from India.

The Mess Room

During my first dinner, I met most of them and also the other passenger, Ulrich a friendly German in his fifties. His English wasn’t the best but we still managed to communicate with a mix of simple words and gestures. A good training for my upcoming travels in Asia I suppose!

The crew consisted of 25 men, the rest of the crew (non-officers) were all from the Kiribati Islands in the Pacific, and ate in a separate room. It’s interesting to note that these brave men were on twelve months contracts, meaning they are on the boat for twelve months, working eight hours a day, seven days a week. As a comparison, the captain and Chief Engineer from Germany are on permament contracts and get 13 days of holidays for every month on the ship. The Russians were mostly on 4 months contracts.

The time I had on the boat is probably the most relaxing time in my life. There is not much to do or to worry about, except arriving on time for the meals… The ship goes very slowly, at a speed of 16 nods, which is approximately 30km/h. This can be challenging at times, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. The constant sound of the engine and the slight movement of the waves are very relaxing and guarantee you very good sleep at night. I slept like never before!

My cabin

When I wasn’t reading, eating or sleeping, I spent most of my time around the ‘swimming pool‘ often in the company of Ulrich. Other things I enjoyed were to just watch the view from the front of the ship were the vibrations of the engine were absent and the only sound were the waves crashing against the boat. The crew were also really friendly and explained me the life on the sea at lenght. As a passenger you are allowed everywhere on the ship, so I visited every corner of it!

During my stay I was able to manoeuvre the ship myself, I visited the engine room, had countless interesting discussions, spotted dolphins, active volcanoes and deserted islands with long white sand beaches. I waved back at the enthusiastic indonesians passing by on small fishing boats, cleaned the swimming pool entirely (ok well yes I was a bit bored then…), and participated in a fire drill exercise. During certain legs we had to lock all doors of the ships at night against pirates, and there was a person crew watching for them all night with a huge torch lamp. In more secure areas an unforgetable experience was swimming at night in the swimming pool under the stars in the middle of the ocean.

Navigating the ship

Ecologically these ships are a bit of a disaster though. The MSC basel requires 45 to 60 metric tons of heavy fuel a day to run! And Im’ told this is actually an eco-friendly vessel, the more recent and faster ships need up to 300 tons a day. The captain also acknowledged that they were one of the worst sources of pollution.

The Chief Officer briefing the crew

The crew’s lack of respect for the marine environment also surprised me. They basically throw everything overboard except plastic. So every time they finish a bottle of beer or a can of soft drink: they throw it in the sea. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t keep them to recycle them. The Chief officer explained it: “It’s too expensive, at the harbour they charge us for our waste so we prefer to get rid of it before that”. “Do you also have to pay to for the recyclable waste in Europe”, I asked. “No, not in Europe, it’s included in the harbour tax”. “And do you still throw everything overboard there or not?” I asked with a glimpse of hope. “Hum… yes we still do”, he admitted. I wasn’t surprised but asked him to urge the crew not to do so the next time he sails in European waters, let’s hope he listened!

That being said, I had a great time and would encourage anybody to try the experience. It’s a great opportunity to witness the life on board such a vessel! You really feel like part of the crew. I was called “Mister de Halleux”, and had to call all the officers by their titles! “Chief officer, could you pass me the salt?” A big difference as well after the relaxed attitude of the Australians.

Now I’m finally in Singapore and am planning to head very soon to Indonesia for some more adventures!

Check the photo gallery for more pictures!