bicycle-thank-you-cards-printable

The aim of this page is to just show a little appreciation by saying thankyou to the people who have gone out of their way to help me along the way.  Without their help I would not of had the crazy adventures or experiences that I did.

 

Uyen and Phuong – 4&5th July 2016, Ap Phú Dinh, Vietnam – (click here)

Uyen (left) and Phuong (right) - amazing friends.Thank you for rescuing me when I spent too long taking pictures and videos in the Mekong Delta and turned up 2 hours late .

You were amazing hosts, tour guides and friends.  ‘Mama Uyen’ was an amazing cook, and I don’t think that I ave ever eaten so much food in all my life as I did during the two days that I spent with you.

Uyen – I hope the baby arrives bouncing and smiling.

Phuong – keep on rocking and travelling.

Thank you both so much for giving up your time and your generosity.

 Khoa’s family- 6th July 2016, Cái Ngang, Vietnam – (click here)

Khoa’s family took me in and showed me so much kindness.  Toan, her brother, met me in the main town and escorted me the final 3km to their village.  When I arrived they greeted me with the warmest of smiles.The aunties, uncles and cousins all come over and we had a fantastic night, even though I could not speak Vietnamese nor they a word of English.

In the morning the family gave me a tour of their village.  A brilliant and humbling experience.  Thank you so much for sharing a small piece of your lives with me.

 

 

Connor & Mok -9th July 2016, Kampong Chrey, Cambodia – (click here)

I had arranged to meet Connor at a cross roads in the middle of Padi fields at 5pm.  Thankfully the meeting went without a hitch, and he escorted me the last few km’s to the village where his wife’s family live.

My experience here was amazing.  The family were so open and warm, and showed me so much love.  Mother cooked some amazing food on her open fire behind the house. The villagers were so friendly and everywhere I went I was greeted with a smile and more often than not offered food.

Thank you to Connor for inviting me to share a little of your life.

 

Andrew & Scott – 10th July 2016, Kampot, Cambodia (click here)

Andrew and Scott at the Bokor Mountain Lodge

Andrew and Scott are the owners of Bokor Mountain Lodge and after reading about my cycle ride they got in touch to say that they could help me out if I was passing through Kampot.

They have a beautiful hotel right on the river front and the staff were brilliant.

Thanks for letting me stay,  I had a great night’s sleep.

 

 

David – 19th & 20th July 2016, Bangkok, Thailand – (click here)

David is the parent of Connor who used to attend the school where I worked in Ho Chi Minh City.

He rode his bike out to meet me and even took time off work to take me to The British Club for a bit of R&R, which was much needed after a night of drinking and dancing in Bangkok.

Thanks for letting me stay in your ‘little oasis’ in downtown Bangkok and hopefully when I cycle back through on my way back to HCMC Clare will be able to join us.

 

Paul & Natt – 22nd July 2016, Cha Am, Thailand – (click here)

Paul, being Australian, met me with a huge smile and a cold beer which was much appreciated after being blasted by winds all day.

Paul & Natt are themselves both cyclists, and for their honeymoon they cycled over 8000 km through every province in Thailand.   Over dinner that night they gave me loads of tips on the best route, and highlights of what not to miss, on my cycle further south.

They are in the process of building their dream home out of shipping containers but gave me some of the comfiest grass to pitch my tent.  It was so good I got nearly 12 hours sleep.

Em-orn & Ple – 1st Aug 2016, Trang, Thailand – (click here)

Em-orn (left) and Ple are teachers in Trang.  I met them on a Monday and this is why they are wearing their government issued uniform.  On Tuesday they wear pink and Wednesday Green, Thursday is orange and Friday blue.

They are both very enthusiastic about cycling and organise cycling meets each month in the province.  The aim is to promote exercise and it is normal for around 800 cyclists to attend these events which is amazing.

Ple is an amazing chef and he cooked us a fantastic dinner and then we sat around chatting.  I only wish that I could have stayed for longer.  Thank you Em-orn and Ple for such a wonderful evening.

WJ Lee – 8th Aug 2016, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia – (click here)

Lee has been my ‘virtual tour guide’ during my time in Malaysia; I sent him the places that I wanted to visit and he worked out the best route. He had cycled the whole of Malaysia the previous year so knew the roads well.

As Lee is still at university he couldn’t host me.  Instead, he had already paid for a hotel for me for the night which was amazing.

We had a great night swapping cycling stories, and in the short time I was in Seri Iskandar Lee took me on a culinary experience, and so as to not go hungry on my way up the Camerons he sent me on my way with a Nasi Lemak takeaway. Thank you Lee for being such a wonderful ‘host’ and friend.

 

Amri – 17th Aug 2016, Kuantan, Malaysia – (click here)

Amri in Kuantan

Amri, a man that I had never met before, paid for my hotel room, which  I think is the first place that my wife would of stayed at on this trip:

He also picked me up from the hotel and took me out for dinner in the evening where we ate satay (a Kuantan speciality) and Nesi Lemak (a Malaysian speciality).

It was great meeting him and we had a very enjoyable evening, and I just want to finish by saying thank you Amri for all your kindness and I hope that you continue to make a difference with the work you do at the Pahang Foundation.

 

 

Omar Zaini – 7th Sept 2016, Mersing, Malaysia – (click here)

I owe Omar a huge thank you as I had to return to Europe at very short notice.  I found his contact on the Warmshowers cycling website and when I rang him he came to meet me.

He stored my bike a this house for the couple of weeks that I was back in Europe, and hosted me when I returned to Mersing to collect my bike and continue cycling.

A fantastic guy with a very generous and giving nature.

 

 

 

Bob Bahari – 8th Sept 2016, Sedili, Malaysia – (click here)

Bob is a retired bank manager and he has a lovely house with lots of chickens, fish and rabbits.  He even has a boat on stilts in his garden which is converted into a bedroom for guests to stay in.

In the evening he took me out for dinner where we ate traditional Malay food at a roadside restaurant before heading for Karaoke.

The next morning he took me out for breakfast before waving me off with a cheery smile.  Although I was only in Sedili for a short time it felt like home.  Thank you for the amazing hospitality.

 

 

The Prescott Family – 11th Sept 2016, Singapore – (click here)

My time in Singapore was only short but the Prescott family really helped me out.

When I arrived at their house John ( or Johnie Oliver as he is apparently known) and Fay were busy in the kitchen preparing a full fry up, and after I took a quick shower we all sat down for a Sunday brunch.

I then packed my bike and they ran me to the airport to catch my flight to Bali.  A huge thank you to John, Fay and Clayton for all your help.

 

 

The staff of Bayan Hospital – 16th Sept 2016, Lombok – (click here)

Thank you to all of the doctors and nurses of Bayan Hospital who made me feel so welcome when I cycled into the hospital and asked to camp in the grounds.

In the morning Lilly (second from right), who was one of the midwifes at the hospital, stopped by my tent to bring me breakfast and hot coffee on her way back from the mosque.  This which was a fantastic gesture and tasted amazing as I lay in my tent enjoying ‘breakfast in bed’.

 

 

 

Brian and Marion – 24th October 2016, New Zealand – (click here)

Brian picked me up from the airport (apologies for making you wait for an hour while bio security went through my gear with a fine tooth comb)

I stayed with the family for 2 nights as I needed to buy some cold weather gear as there was snow on the mountains when I arrived.

Brian also worked with a Kiwi guy called Paul who hadcycled extensively through the South Island of New Zealand and arranged for him to come over for dinner so that we could discuss my route.

 

Sue and Derek – 5th – 7th Nov 2016, New Zealand – (click here)

 

I enjoyed a fantastic few days staying with Sue and Derek in their converted sheep shearing shed (although you wouldn’t know it)

Sue is a world champion cyclist who has won many events in New Zealand and even the Masters World Road Race Championship.

Derek used to own a bike shop and after servicing my bike it now runs without any squeaks.

They are both keen tour cyclists and have riden most of the routes that I will and so their route help was brilliant.

Team Fran – 24th Nov 2016, New Zealand – (click here)

 

I only spent 1 night with Fran, her mum, 3 kids plus Rune, Jocelyn and Kane but they welcomed me into their extended family with the biggest smiles and warmest hearts.

It was great to share time  chatting with each of them over a cup of tea, and I left with a big smile on my face for which I thank you.

 

 

Simon and Helen – 26th to 29th Nov 2016, New Zealand – (click here)

I spent a fantastic few days with Simon, Helen, the kids and the cousins in Wellington, New Zealand.

Simon was my tour guide for the time I spent with the family and we visited Zealandia (where his ‘closet’ David Attenborough came out), Peter Jackson’s Gallipoli exhibition at the Te Papa Museum, and sank a few pints en route.

Thanks for showing me such a brilliant time and I’m sure that we will meet up again somewhere in the world. (perhaps Asia when you visit Helen’s sister in her new job in Singapore !!!!)

 

Alison and Doug – 13th to 18th Dec 2016, New Zealand – (click here)

Alison is a friend from university that I last saw over 15 years ago, but when I knocked on the door it was like only yesterday that we last talked, and over the next few days we would have a ball.

It was great catching up with Alison and her family. The memories of ‘Pie Face’ and children being tied to scaffolding poles and driven around TK will stay with me forever…..

Thanks for having me to stay and hopefully it won’t be 15 years before we see each other again.

 

 

Roberto and Birgit – 5th to 8th Jan 2017, Bolivia – (click here)

 

Birgit had invited me to stay after reading about my cycling adventure on facebook.

When I landed in Bolivia Roberto met me at the airport and I spent a fantastic few days at their home while acclimatising to the near 13000ft altitude of La Paz.

It was an amazing few days that I spent with Roberto as my guide and I can say that I now have a new friend for life. Thank you for showing me such a great time whilst I was in La Paz.

 

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