MURRAY'S COLUMN

Top 3 most beautiful rides: 1. Shangrila-Deqin (China), 2. Deqin-Weixi (China), 3. Baetov-Son Kol (Kyrg.)

Most boring ride: Vientiane to Cambodian border through Thailand, straight, flat and (too) perfect asphalt

Best dish so far: Korean barbeque

Second best dish so far: 1 kilo of Cambodian dust during cycling

Most eaten dishes: 1. Noodle soup ($0,50), 2. Fried rice ($0,50), 3. French baguette ($0,12)

Best Quotes:

1. "Keep on pedaling" (01/11) - An Australian guy we met when he waved goodbye from a passing bus leaving us is the dust.

2. "How many ideas fit in a glass of beer" (17/06) - Loesje, postcard send by Ray to Mur just before we left

3. "They will not be pleased if you refuse" (19/10) - Communist partymember about offering us a lunch

4. "Please write clearly, I can not read your characteristic hand writing" (22/09) - He Liyi, Dali China when Raymond wrote down his name for him to sign his book.

5. "If there will be one more hill, I will personally flatten it with a shuffle"- (24/09) Muriel, Dali to Heqing after 123.3km of cycling.

Best guest house: The Red Snapper, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Food for the mind (or 'what do cyclists sing'):

1. 'Another one bites the dust' - Queen: Cycling on the roads of Cambodia with a scarf in front of your mouth.

2. 'What goes up, must come down. Spinning wheels gotto go round'  - Blood, sweat and tears : After cycling 20km towards an altitude of 4265meter

3. 'Another 45 miles till I'm home' - Golden Earring: After 85km cycling from Udomxai to Pakbeng (Laos) and another 50km to go after we noticed we missed a turn off 80km back.

4. 'Always look on the bright side of life' - Monty Python:  Muriel after 35km cycling up hill at 3700m (Shangrila to Deqin) and her legs stopped pedaling.

Worst hairdresser: Muriel's hair dresser in Shangri-la (Yunnan, China) who cuts only Chinese hair which should be flat and cut off in a straight line..

The worst killer dog: No killer dogs are chained in Thailand...

Best beer tasted: Baltica (Russian)

Flat tire competition Mur vs Ray: 3-3

Most bed bugs: Hotel Qoqand, Uzbekistan (5 cockroaches)

Meals eaten with chopstick (so far): 87

Best food country: China

Most corrupt person met: The check-in steward at an airport in China, bribed by Raymond with $60,- instead of paying $90,- for the 32kg overweight

Bad mistake: Initially planning the route on a school atlas and re-checked on a road atlas. More minor roads expected and the road distances don’t deviate as much as expected.

Worst mistake: Bringing AGU panniers of a 10-year-old model that are not rain proof. Repair score: 4 shoe repair shops and 1 (steel) plate workshop.

Missed opportunities: An explanation how to clean the burner head in the manual of the stove, a new fuel hole needed to be pinched by a local farmer.

Best Purchase: One Ortlieb waterproof bag

Best local purchase: Thin sheets, so we’re able to remove the dirty hotel ones. A mandy, for showering in rivers, eating noodle soup and drinking coffee.

Biggest fan: Man along the road who stopped us twice to have a conversation and offered us watermelon to stop us. He took two of our windmill postcards

Stomach problem competition: Mur vs Ray: 14 days vs 10 days

Amount of days without sun: 18 days

Best Solution: Shoemaker in Karakol who repaired/sewed Raymond’s panniers (for free)

Worst Purchase: The Central Asia Phrasebook (buy ‘Russian phrasebook’), no Cyrillic, so if you have a bad accent you’re not getting anywhere or getting stared at with the look ‘what is he talking about’.

Most ripped-of tourist attraction: The Ancient city of Gaochang around Turpan, Xinjiang China. Where you expect ancient buildings, but is deteriorated to flatted piles of sand. For the view 'buildings' that are 'worth' visiting you had to drive (and pay) by donkey cart for 10 minutes to the other side of the premises or walk in through the dessert. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/xinjiang/turpan/gaochang.htm

Worst deal made: not yet

Best visited site/museum: Ancient city of Jiaohe around Turpan, one of the ancient capital cities in the North of China between 200BC and 1300AD, see also http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/xinjiang/turpan/jiaohe.htm

Best book read: ‘Mr. China’s Son’ by He Liyi an autobiography which recounts all the major events of China’s recent history including his own experience in the ‘reduction-through-labor camps’. A must if you visit China and in particular Yunnan province, ISBN 0-8133-1730-4 (and visit him in Dali!).

Highest point reached by bicycle: alt. 4256m

Nicest camp location: Lake Son Kol (alt. 3000m), Kyrgyzstan

Amount of kilometers cycled: 9736 km

Most wanted: Drop (Dutch liquorish), fresh bread and a Dutch cheese sandwich

Biggest bicycle problem: Ray’s Bottom bracket was ticking