Smorgasbord of upcoming trips to the Middle and Far East

Next weekend I will be flying to the FAR EAST to visit family. This will be a grand time spending precious time with my loved ones and travelling with them as well. My parents are getting old—my dad turns 70 and the family will be holding a big feast for him, hence this trip. My mom cannot travel long distance as well to visit me because of her health, so we recently made a pact that we’ll just travel locally, within the Asian region, as long as it’s not a flight of more than 4 hours.



Family is important and when you live across the globe, those few moments every year when visiting should be well spent.



So here’s my a lil bit crazy travel itinerary:



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates







I have never been to Dubai so I am very excited for this stop over. I will be staying a night and a whole day in Dubai and have already mapped out my agenda. I even booked an afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar of the only 7-star luxury hotel in the world (I know there is no such thing), Burj Al Arab! I cannot wait!



Also, I am quite relieved that the Dutchman is not travelling with me this time because in Dubai you can get in prison for giving a peck on the cheek to your other half or even just by mere holding hands! And its Ramadan so they are uber strict. You know, I cannot get off my hands from the Dutchman.



SINGAPORE







Will be staying a few days with the sister who lives in sunny Singapore. I will do the rounds while she works during the day. In the evening we’ll paint the town red. Wait, I think I am too old for that.



This is going to be 2 trips to Singapore and I'm crafting my agenda to cover many things to see and do, stuff that I have missed since my last visit several years ago.



CEBU, Philippines!







Ah, my home (is)land. Daddy’s big party -- he turns 70! This is going to be a massive family reunion as well. I am really curious about my relatives from both sides of extended families. How they look like now, how they are now, their kids, what they are busy with now, etcetera. I do have good relationship with a few of my cousins but for the rest, I haven’t seen them for a very long time. I was 21 years old when I left Cebu (I am 43 now), thus I rarely joined extended family gatherings.



I just realised that I have lived more than half of my life on earth outside Cebu. That is a milestone.



HONGKONG SAR







A week (well 5 days) in this busy metropolis with mom, dad and my sister. Brother and his family will not be joining because someone needs to run the business at home and pay for this trip, haha. The last time I was in this city was 11 years ago. That long.



MACAU SAR







The perfect side trip from Hongkong, but what I am really thrilled is the Portuguese Pastel de Nata (egg tart) and the bakeries in Macau are selling them. They are sooooooooo good.



Macau was once a Portuguese colony.



MALACCA, KUALA LUMPUR & CAMERON HIGHLANDS in Malaysia







A road trip with my mom! And oh, driving right hand on the left hand side of the road is going to be a bit of a challenge I am sure! Not panicking =)



We will see a little bit of culture and history in Malacca. I read that this used to be under Dutch territory so I am quite curious to see some Dutch architecture and influence in this city. KL for a quick stop over to admire the Petronas Towers, then we head off to the Cameron Highlands for some nature tripping and a lovely cup of tea in the middle of the luscious tea plantation. I heard they have a strawberry farm there as well.



So much to look forward to with the family.



July-August

Asia Travel

Goodbye Camaguey and off to Bayamo!

We slept very well in Camaguey. We liked our room, colonial styled yet simple, and I made sure that the air-conditioning is blowing on my side of the bed and not on Blondine’s. She cannot handle the air-conditioning while I cannot sleep without it. This is the dilemma we always have when travelling together which is quite odd.

Blondine, who is born in the Netherlands have low tolerance with the cold weather. She is always bundled up at 15C when we go out and cannot handle too much air-conditioning otherwise she will get sick. While I, born and bred in the tropics prefer to go out at 15C (as long as it’s not too windy) without a coat and will not survive the night if it’s too warm in the bedroom. I prefer the air-conditioning blowing on my face and body. Odd, I know.

Breakfast at Camino de Hierro Hotel in Camaguey consists of papaya shake and fresh tropical fruits: guava, pineapple and mango. Then we had some omelette as well.

Across the hotel we saw young students waiting for the rain to stop.

We woke up quite early the next day and had our breakfast before 8 in the morning. We were first served with fruits and a papaya fruit shake. Then we had omelette and some bread. Healthy start for the day I must say.

After breakfast we went to the bank and withdrew money against our Mastercard credit cards. The transaction went smooth and quick. We were actually a bit worried that the same problem at Sancti Spiritus will occur (no connection with Havana), but everything went on as planned.

Funnily, the cashier at the bank asked Blondine to sign on the paper several times because her signature varies greatly from her other signatures. This is (backward) banking in Cuba which means lots of paper trail and signature samples matching each other. Reminds me of the Philippines 15 years ago when I worked at a large IT multinational there. I was managing the payment solutions product line and my customers are the top 20 banks of the country. Back then, there were more banks and mergers are not heard of. I used to sit down with managers and executives discussing about paper trail and how to eliminate this through digitalization. It was a difficult and tedious subject because many banks then were not ready. I am sure the situation in the Philippines now has changed. Here in the Netherlands banking has become teller-less and paperless, and I love it.

Our next main destination is Santiago de Cuba located at the southern tip of the country, and is the second largest city of Cuba. However, we will have a stopover at Bayamo for lunch and a quick city tour.

Click here to check our route: Cuban Road Trip

Manuevering our way around Camaguey. Finding our way out of the city to the main road without a street-detailed map is always a challenge.

Finally, we are on the main road to Bayamo!

While on the way to Bayamo, we encountered this charming Paladar Paraiso 672 along the highway. Here, we stopped for some coffee break. Camaguey to Bayamo is about 3 hours so this was a timely break in our journey.

I ordered the usual black Cuban coffee while Blondine had hers with some milk. She did not like the milk in it. I think in Cuba you better stick to drinking pure coffee with a bit of sugar. You can get good coffee in Cuba almost everywhere. And do trust me because I know good coffee.

This is one of the few nice pitstops in Cuba. CUC$1 for coffee. Take note this is between Camaguey and Bayamo.

The Grass is Always Greener...

As the summer season of bike shopping continues, some are still looking for the right bicycle while others have already snagged one. And if the emails I receive are any indication, those in the latter category are often plagued with "the grass is greener" regrets.



I bought a Dutch bike, but now I'm thinking it's kind of heavy. Should I have gotten a mixte?



I bought a mixte, but now I'm thinking it's kind of aggressive and twitchy. Should I have gotten a Dutch bike?



I bought a vintage bike, but the components are creaky and it seems unreliable. Wish I'd sucked it up and bought a new one.



I bought a new bike and sold my old rust bucket on C-List. Now I wish I hadn't, because the old one was so much more comfortable!



Look: I don't know what to tell you, except that all of these scenarios make sense. No bicycle is perfect. How do you think I ended up with three transportation bikes?... And even that has not made me immune to the "grass is always greener" effect. Having delivered the Pilen to the venue from whence it will be shipped to the give-away recipient, I am now nostalgic for its super-stable ride and off-road capacity. I remain haunted by the memories of riding Anna's ridiculously gorgeous Retrovelo last year. And seeing the Rivendell Betty Foy makes me wistful every time, just because it is so iconic.



I don't think there is a moral to this story, except that we humans are annoyingly indecisive, covetous creatures. And perhaps also that there is a greater choice for wonderful transportation bicycles out there than ever. Determine what your priorities are, conduct thorough test rides, and don't expect the impossible. No matter how wonderful your new bicycle is, you will always discover an aspect of it where the one you had been considering instead might have fared better.

Central Kansas :: Another Sunset

Sunday, May 8th - - After my brief visit at Mushroom Rock State Park I continued west a short distance to Ellsworth. Then I spent a few hours driving around Russell County, part of which lies north of Interstate 70, and Barton County, which is to the south of Russell County and also south of I-70. You may be asking, Why?



After residing in Iowa for a short time (circa 1866-1868), my third great-grandparents, Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin returned to Whitley County, Indiana. In 1877 they once again sold their land in Whitley County and headed west, this time to Odin, Cheyenne Township, Barton County, Kansas. Here they remained until 1891 when they moved to near Lyndon in Osage County in eastern Kansas.



I really couldn't do research – it was Sunday! Poor timing on my part. I did make a stop at the library in Great Bend for several hours and took a look at some of the books they had. Basically, I simply wanted to see what the countryside was like. The terrain to the north of I-70 differs dramatically from the land that lies to the south, at least in that immediate area. Russell County north of I-70 has hills, large hills. And gullies, deep and big. Southern Russel County and most of Barton County are relatively flat in comparison. Good farming land.



I considered staying in the area another night but decided against it, for various reasons. Instead I continued west on State Road 4 and stopped for the night at Cedar Bluff State Park near the small town of Brownell. It was another hot and windy day, with the temperature nearly reaching 100 degrees. And the air conditioning in the van wasn't working.



The site I had selected was in the shade near the beach. Even in the shade the heat was almost unbearable and I was thankful for the strong breeze that was blowing. My neighbors were a nice young couple. We weren't so lucky with the group that arrived in the early evening. They were loud with the stereo blaring, really inconsiderate. After about 15 minutes I left to find another site (it was a self-serve campground) in another area of the park. The new site turned out to be much better – flush toilets nearby! ;-)



It was also a better campsite because it offered a very nice view of the lake and the sunset, which was once again highly colorful due to the hazy sky. Thankfully, once the sun went down it cooled off considerably!

Misadventures in the Thaw

As you may have inferred from the dearth of personal posts and new pictures, there has not been a great deal of cycling lately. But suddenly, yesterday: a thaw. A cursory glance outside suggested that the streets hadsomewhatcleared of snow, and so I eagerly dragged out the bike. But what was meant to be a productive day, became instead a frazzled misadventure.



Liberated from the heaps of snow under which it's sat for over a month, my entire street now looks like it's being dug for trenches. I am amazed that this could happen over the course of a single winter, especially since they'd just recently repaved it. There is barely a foot of road where the asphalt is not broken, and it's nearly impossible to cycle through what is essentially one big ditch.



Soon I was on the main road, which has bike lanes in both directions. That is the bike lane in the picture above. When the blizzards were in full force, it was understandable that the bike lanes were not cleared. The whole town was covered in yards of snow, and I don't think bike lanes deserve special treatment compared to traffic lanes and sidewalks. But they do deserve equaltreatment, and for the past couple of weeks they have not been getting it, as far as I can see. Everything except for the bike lanes is now cleared.



After a couple of swerves and dodges, I decided to get out of the bike lane altogether and cycle on the road. The drivers thought I was insane. Apparently, they are no longer sympathetic to cyclists being in the traffic lane, because the conditions aren't harsh enough to evoke the "winter weather mode of politeness." I got a couple of "what are you doing??" gestures through rolled down windows, and my feeble attempts to point at the slush and ice in the bike lane elicited only blank stares. The bike lane looked fine to them - at least fine enough to make it no longer acceptable for me to be out in the traffic lane. After this happened a couple of times, I gave in. I didn't want to be right. I just wanted to get where I needed to go without arguing with every third car that passed me. So I got back in the bike lane. And that's when it happened: My first near-accident.



I don't have pictures of what the spot looked like, but it was similar to the watery area you see behind the bike here. I was cycling along a more or less clear portion of the bike lane, when suddenly I approached what looked like water with some slushy edging to it. It was getting dark at this point, and I considered that the water might in fact be covering a layer of ice. But by the time this thought entered my mind, I had a choice to either brake suddenly, swerve around it, or go through it. Looking over my shoulder, there was no room to swerve. And braking seemed like a bad idea in that particular spot. So I went through it. There was indeed ice underneath the water, and the bike's reaction surprised me. It did not slide out from underneath me or flip over upon hitting the ice, but remained upright while "skating" in a zig-zag, much like a car would on an icy road. Incredibly, I kept my balance and tried to contain the zig-zagging within the bike lane, as there was a steady flow of cars to my left. It seemed to me that this went on forever, but in all likelihood it was probably over in less than 10 seconds. I looked back afterward, and the ice-watery stretch was a quarter of a block long. I feel comfortable classifying that as a safety hazard.



I don't mind admitting that the experience left me a bit shaken, and I decided to turn back before reaching my intended destination. I switched on my lights and cycled on the road again, not caring whom I was inconveniencing and how they chose to express that. Then I stopped by a shop near my house to get some olives.



Not having taken my pannier along, I put the olives in a paper bag and secured the package via "rat-trap" - which made me think about rack design again. It is surprising to me that the Gazelle rack, which is rated for a huge amount of weight, has no provisions for bungee cord attachment. I don't really trust these rat trap thingies.I also have mixed feelings about "cafe locks." They are heavy, they are not always easy to use, and you can hurt your fingers if they get in the way of the lever popping back up when the lock is released - which is exactly what happened after my olive purchase.



I arrived home without further incident, albeit trailing olive brine from the rat trap having pressed into the container. A notification of a missed package greeted me with a malicious grin, as I removed the leaking packet from my bike rack and prepared to drag the Gazelle up the stairs. A productive afternoon it was not.



But surely there are lessons to be learned from this. The lure of the first thaw is not to be trusted? Water-covered ice is more treacherous than packed snow? Don't let drivers bully you into a bike lane that you feel is unsafe? Yes, all of those certainly seem to fit, but somehow I don't feel a whole lot wiser after the experience. What exactly am I supposed to do next time, cycle on the road and be shouted at the whole way? Or stay off the bike until the city finally decides to clear the sides of the roads? Neither is an appealing option.

Review of "Eustacia Vye": Pashley Princess Sovereign

[Edited to add: There is now an updated review of this bicycle here. I suggest reading the updated version first, as it's the most complete.]



Meet Eustacia Vye:my precious and unique beauty, made by Pashley and customised by the fine people at Harris Cyclery. If you are familiar with the works of Thomas Hardy, you probably got the reference of the name. (If not, read Thomas Hardy!) Eustacia roams the heaths and meadows with wild abandon, seducing those whom she encounters with her regal beauty. And she is excellent in Boston traffic.



Here are the front and back views. If you are interested in how I came to select this bicycle, you can read about it here.



I. THE BICYCLE:



The Pashley Princess Sovereign is a classic "loop-frame" ladies bicycle. It comes standard with fenders, a fully enclosed chaincase, dress-guards, a heavy-duty black Pletscher rack, a hub-driven dynamo headlight and an LED rear light, a Brooks B66S saddle (sprung, suspended leather), enclosed hub brakes, puncture-resistant Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, a pump attached to the frame with braze-ons, an "O-Lock" for the back wheel, a "ding-dong" bell, and an enormous wicker basket. My Princess is the 20" frame (51 cm), which fits my 5'7" (170 cm) proportions perfectly. Standard specs for the Princess Sovereign can be viewed on Pashley's website here.



For those not familiar with Pashley, they are an English manufacturer and have been making traditional bicycles since 1926, specialising in transport cycles and classic English roadsters.



A close-up of the Pashley headbadge.



This is a traditionally lugged and brazed handbuilt frame. The frame is powder-coated and the paintjob is very durable (a powder coated finish will scratch and scuff, whereas a liquid-coated finish will chip). The Princess is available in two colours: "Buckingham Black" and "Regency Green." I chose the green, because it seemed to have a stronger personality, and because I generally like green bicycles. The shade is a dark and subdued "British racing green".



Pashley bicycles are made in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Some cool photos of their factory, including the brazing process, can be viewed here.



II. CUSTOMISATIONS:



As mentioned earlier, many customisations have been done to this bicycle. Here they are, not at all in the order of importance or magnitude:



Dress-guards: We replaced the standard dressguard pictured here with a netted dress-guard I bought in Germany. I wanted a dressguard that resembled latticed wroght iron rather than transparent plastic. This one certainly does. It also covers more of the wheel than the original dressguard.



Here is a close-up of the netting over the chaincase...



... and around the opening for the "O-Lock". The O-Lock is a European locking system that locks the rear wheel, making the bicycle impossible to be ridden away by a thief. In most areas in the US, it is probably prudent to use this for supplementary purposes only.



Kickstand: We replaced the standard Princess kickstand with the Pletscher Twin-Legger, which provides support on both sides of the bicycle and lifts either the back or the front wheel off the ground (you can adjust the balance to determine which).



Not all bicycles will accommodate this kickstand, but the Princess has a special braze-on below the bottom bracket for this purpose.



Grips: We replaced the standard Raleigh-style plastic grips with Brooks leather washer grips in brown. These are probably the most comfortable handlebar grips I have ever tried: They provide just the right amount of texture, softness, suppleness and durability. And they look gorgeous!



Gearing and Brakes: But wait, what's this next to the right grip? The Princess Sovereign comes with a Sturmey Archer 5-speed hub. Mine has been replaced with a 7-speed Shimano Nexus coasterbrake hub (and yes, the gear-shifter has been twined and shellacked). This is by far the most dramatic customisation, and I cannot thank Harris Cyclery enough for doing such an amazing job.



I wanted a coaster brake on the back wheel instead of the (hand-operated) drum brake that Pashley bicycles normally come with. Most people would have been glad to have the standard hand-operated brake option, but I wanted a coaster brake due to some problems with the nerves in my right hand. I can operate a hand-brake, but in stop-and-go traffic a coaster brake is more comfortable.



To accommodate this, the wheelbuilder at Harris Cyclery rebuilt the back wheel of the bicycle. This was done so impeccably, that it looks stock and absolutely flawless. I also asked Harris to set the gears lower, to make it easier to climb hills. They used a 23-tooth cog, which provided the lowest setting possible, given the enclosed chaincase. The 2 extra gears that came with the Nexus hub were pretty helpful in the hill-climbing aspect as well!



The front wheel retained the original Sturmey Archer hub dynamo/drum brake.



If you're confused, this means that I have a hand-operated front-wheel brake on the left handlebar, a 7-speed gear shifter on the right handlebar, and a coaster brake on the back-wheel that is operated with the feet by pedaling backwards.



Lights: We have added extra lights to supplement the standard lighting system.



Saddlebag: Not exactly a customisation, but the bag on the rear rack is a Carradice Barley. I absolutely love these remarkably roomy and attractive bags.



Initially, I had considered also replacing the basket and saddle, but on further testing decided to keep the originals. Please note that the 20" and 22.5" frames apparently come with a larger and more sturdy basket than the 17" frame.



III. IMPRESSIONS:



My first impressions of Eustacia can be summarised as "gorgeous, fits me perfectly and rolls like a dream... but unreasonably heavy". I had tested the Pashley Princess before purchase and had also tried several Dutch bikes -- so I thought I was prepared for the weight. But that was before I had to carry it up and down the porch stairs every time I wanted to ride it. I admit that during the first few days of ownership, I cursed and despaired, gave myself many bruises, and almost fell down the stairs a couple of times under Eustacia's weight. I was pretty upset about it and could not reconcile the fact that I had the most beautiful, elegant bike in the world and found it unmanageable.



Then, after a week, something magical happened: The bicycle miraculously lost weight! Well, either that, or I developed arm strength. Either way, carrying it up and down the porch stairs now takes only a couple of seconds and I take it in stride. Do I wish it were a lighter bicycle? I honestly cannot say for sure: Its weight also contributes to its stability, comfort on the road, reliability in traffic and tank-like indifference to pot-holes. (Edited to add: See also this post about speed.)



A summary of pros and cons:



Pros:

. stunning looks

. quality construction

. utilitarian add-ons

. luxurious accessories

. curved step-trough frame for easy on-off with skirts

. roomy and well-proportioned, with 3 frame sizes to choose from (I am 5'7", got a 20" frame, and can just reach the ground with my toes in the lowest saddle position).

. upright posture for relaxed riding, great views of surroundings, and visibility to traffic

. enclosed hub brakes make it weather resistant

. puncture-resistant tires are pretty much indestructible

. super stable

. handles extremely well in traffic

. sneers at pot-holes



Cons:

. heavy (specs state 45lb, but more like 50lb once you add accessories)

. not "agile" or sporty by any means; slow to accelerate

. upright posture restricts speed and uphill cycling

. saddle adjustment can be tricky with a "sliding off effect" unless perfectly tweaked

. if you are a private person who dislikes being approached by strangers, you might be overwhelmed with the attention this bike will get you. I get an average of 2-3 comments each time I take it out of the house.



IV. CONCLUSIONS:



The Pashley Princess Sovereign will give you elegant utility, with the bonus gift of increased upper body strength. As a town-and-country bike and a transport bike, it is a success. An agile, sporty bike it is not (and to be fair, does not claim to be). As with any bicycle, you can always customise components, which includes lowering the gears if you live in a hilly area. Enjoy the city and the meadows, and be prepared for lots of attention when people see this bicycle!





Edited to add:



Since this review, I have aded updates that may also be useful:

Pashley Princess as winter bike



Pashley Princess after some modificationsPashley Princess with cream Delta Cruiser tires

For other perspectives on the Pashley Princess, you may also want to check out...

.Miss Sarah atGirls and Bicycles

.Sigrid atMy Hyggelig.Michael atEcoVelo

.Lorenza atWhere Do Roots Belong

.Dottie atLet's Go Ride a Bike