First post! And it's just a short intro for those of you who might not know me or the purpose of this site:
Me and my bike, somewhere in Fraser Hill, Malaysia.
My name is Gabriel Chin, i'm a 22 year old Singaporean, born 29/06/85. I studied at Bukit Panjang Primary, Chua Chu Kang Secondary and took a diploma in Information Technology in Ngee Ann Polytechnic before serving my National Service. My ORD was just 2 months ago (June 8th) and i'm flying to Japan next Thursday (August 16th) to begin a cycling trip starting from Fukuoka (Kyushu) towards Hokkaido.
My trip's duration is planned for 3 months and i am cycling ALONE. I have never been to Japan before and i do not speak Japanese (i have taken 1 semester of Basic Japanese in Ngee Ann Polytechnic though, though besides that fact no other memory of that class remains). Put it down to foolishness or maybe a bit of over-confidence on my part, but any factors that stack up against me completing my trip will only make my journey more challenging and exciting.
Why Japan? Since about 5 years ago i picked up this interest in anything Japanese; anime, music and J-dramas etc and i've always wanted to make a trip over to see the country. Of course anybody can just fly to Japan and have a nice and proper holiday, so to make my trip more memorable and meaningful, i will be doing a cycling tour by myself instead.
This will be a massive learning experience for me as well. I would be lying if i said i'm well-prepared in terms of route, accomodations etc but since i'm not hindered by budget or time-constraint i intend to make plans as i go along. So besides booking a place for my first night stay upon arriving in Fukuoka, everything else will be 'ad-libbed'. Only time will tell (and God-willing) whether my confidence in my abilities will translate to a successful trip.
The purpose of this blog is to record whatever experiences i encounter during my trip. My plan is to blog daily (or when i can find Internet access) and post pictures whenever possible as i progress. Hopefully i will have good memories and experiences on my trip to look back on when i get back.
In case you were wondering, this is the bike i will be using on my trip. And it weighs a ton even without a full load in the bags:
This picture was taken quite a few months ago when i first bought it. I'll post pics of my trusty steed after i pack and gear it up.
