Western Forest Complex: Day 5-7 (and to Chiang Mai)

Morning at our camp at the Sri Nakharin Lake. Kevin is making coffee and oatmeal.

Ready for another day of cycling.

A typical lunch restaurant in a mountain village on the road.

Small country roads in a farming landscape.

Kids getting ready to soak the crazy foreigners (falang bah!) with their buckets of water. Songkran water festival in western Thailand.

During the fifth day we basically cycle east ocer two nountain passes. After that we follow the eastern edge of the Western Forest Complex to the north.

Flores - A summary

The colored crater lakes at Kelimutu, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.

Rumors had it that Flores would be tough to cycle on. The Lonely Planet author was writing about razor sharp ridges and v-shaped valleys, and that cycling was not to think about except for Tour de France trainees. There are some sharp ridges, steep mountain sides, and narrow valleys, but it's not extreme in any way, and the main road (and a few others) is paved, and is not too steep when it winds its way up and down mountain sides, over passes, down to river crossings, and along steep sea shores, with hundreds of ravines. I cycled from west to east; Labuanbajo to Larantuka, and had a few days rest in Ende along the way. It was four and a half cycling days to Ende, and another three and a half to Larantuka, including the detour to Kelimutu.



Things to see include the spectacular crater lakes at Kelimutu. The three lakes can be seen from one hill in the middle, and the colors of the lakes are changing color, due to chemical processes in the craters. Unfortunately two of the most beautiful lakes had exactly the same color when I was there. It's possible to cycle all the way up to the parking lot next to the sight, and camp there, as I did. A few ladies walk the 7 kilometers here every morning and arrive at 4.30 a.m. to welcome the tourists with sales pitches for ikat cloth, coffee and snacks. At sunset they walk the same way back with all the unsold stuff on their heads.

Snorkeling, swimming and diving is another thing to do around the island. I only had a dip along the road at a small and empty beach to cool off one morning. There are plenty of reefs and white sand beaches visible from the main highway, and a lot more further away, and on smaller islands nearby.

Around Bejawa many villages are very traditional, and still use their odd looking houses, and rituals. There are also at least three volcanoes to climb (and many more around the island).

The Flores Hobbit, a recent relative to our own species, was found here in a cave.

The inhabitants of today look more Malay in the west, and more Polynesian in the east. They are all very friendly and cheerful, and love to see a crazy foreigner cycling through on a bicycle. I was invited to sleep and/or eat with families at several occations along the way.

Cycling with skis: To Norway

2008-06-02: Gränjesåsvallen - Grøndalen (108 km)

The ride from Gränjesåsvallen to Idre is great fun. After a short steep climb there is a nice gradual slope down to the valley for almost 10 kilometers. No need to pedal and not too steep. Construction work is starting half way down the hills. There will be a new ski resort at Mt. Himmeråsen - The Himmelsfjäll ski resort. I shop in Idre and continue toward the Norway/Sweden border further west. There are some hard climbs in the beginning but higher up the landscape is flat with lakes, bogs and hills in the distance. I buy some raisins and sweets in a small village shop just before the border. Norway has a reputation for being even more expensive than Sweden.


Beach at Lake Femunden with Femundmarka National Park in the background.

There are great views of lake Femunden and the Norwegian mountains along the highway, and hardly any traffic. After Gröndalen I pitch my tent on a slope facing Mt. Sølen.

A small farm at the Norway/Sweden border with Mt. Sølen in the background.

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