On Our Own: A Bicycling Adventure in South East Asia: Volume 1 - Tapa blanda

On Our Own is about an 8000 mile journey by bicycle through the heart of Southeast Asia. Anne and Mike Poe, an American couple in their mid-fifties, journeyed for six months from Bali, Indonesia through Java, Sumatra, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China until finally reaching Hong Kong. Experience the Poes' unique adventure as they sojourn on their own with no guides to show them the way, no organized tours to fix all the problems and no translators to read the menus. Their stories tell the truth about what it really feels like to travel into the lives of the local populations. Meet head on the rising aspirations of a Third World continent banging at the door of change yet still very much imprisoned by the infrastructure and philosophical viewpoints of its past. It is, without doubt, a prime region for provocative travel experiences. A lifelong passion for adventure travel gave rise to the exotic idea. The time was right; go before the East became too like the West and while they were still young and eager. They went with their two Specialized Rock Hopper mountain bikes, two T-shirts, two pairs of riding shorts, one long pant for modesty, a 35 mm camera, 100 rolls of film, and six Lonely Planet phrase books (one for each strange language they would have to learn to communicate). They would flourish, flounder, and challenge their physical and emotional stamina as they intermingled in the daily lives of the local populations. On Our Own tells the tales in stinging and hilarious reality of Anne's and Mike's reactions to and interactions with the varied people and the intriguing cultures they encountered along the way: spirit worshipping Balinese who wore their culture proudly through the streets; hard working Javanese pressured into a meager life by over-population and competition; over-zealous Sumatrans screaming hello, chasing Anne and Mike and pulling them off their bikes; reserved Thais always ready with a helping hand; gracious Vietnamese plodding against heavy odds into a brighter future; enigmatic Chinese, pushing the western concept of honesty to the brink of extinction. Anne conveys with astonishing truth what it takes to cope with events from day to day when totally immersed in an unfamiliar world. On Our Own's stories rise out of everyday ordinary experiences made extraordinary by place, culture, custom and language. Their remarkable journey reveals a world so many know so little about.

In 1970, when Anne and Mike married, they formed a relationship based on the mutual need to explore the world by bicycle and by foot. In 1984, they bicycled from Costa Rica to Peru. In successive years they have cycle toured New Zealand, Australia, BC Canada, Alaska and the western USA. Anne published many of their cycling adventures in various bicycling magazines. Read and view photos about these and many more adventures on their website: http://hikingbikingadventures.net. ON OUR OWN in a full color PDF is sold on their website, and for Kindle readers on Amazon. Other books by Anne and Mike Poe New Zealand Favorite Scenic Bicycle Touring Routes Crested Butte Colorado 65 Scenic Day Hikes Southwest Colorado High Country Day Hikes: Ouray, Silverton, Lake City Southwest Colorado High Country Day Hikes: Telluride Utah National Parks: Arches & Canyonlands Day Hikes