St. Catherine , South Sinai , Egypt
57,915 kilometres and 60 metres loaded cycling
458 kilometres and 258 metres altitude gain
5 continents, 47 countries

 

After cycling around the world for almost five years, we have decided to take a sabbatical from cycling for a year and work to top up our bank account.

In the last five years we:
cycled through 47 countries; crossed 63 borders; rode 57,915 km; climbed 458 kilometer; camped on 691 days; had 129 flat tyres; broke 53 spokes; fractured 3 bones; had 2 collisions with cars; experienced 4 national elections; sat through 1 revolution and made a hell of a lot of new friends.

Ever since we left on our round the world bicycle trip, we have struggled to keep this site up-to-date. Of course it had something to do with the fact that we wanted to discover the world and therefore didn't want to spend too much time in sparsely-lit internet cafes with dodgy electricity supplies, but also with the ever changing cyber world. When we set off in July 2006, the standard computer screen size was 800x600, now almost obsolete, and during the last five years we managed to squeeze all kinds of new gadgets, applications, films and flash players in this very small screen space. Up until now.

Because we are on a one year sabbatical from cycling (Sonya currently in Australia awaiting approval to start work in Saudi Arabia and Ali web building in Egypt), we finally had the time to undertake this massive project and refurbish the tour.tk site properly. It's not entirely finished yet, but the main pages are there, all the info is there and the lay-out is in place. We'll keep you up-to-date when we add new content or replace existing stuff.

So what's new?
Screen size width increased from 800 to 1024px * we've changed the navigation * links to the resources pages have been moved to the right side on every page and relevant links have been placed just above the page title * the main navigation is situated just underneath the clickable header/world map with logo * bigger fonts, easier to read * brand new slideshow on the on-the-road pages * there are comment boxes on pages where we would like to see feedback/suggestions/comments from visitors * we've added Twitter and Google+1 buttons on every page, as well as a Google Search bar * you can look up our adventures by country, continent, month and with the help of even more clickable maps * we have cleaned up the code... after five years it was quite a mess and this slowed down the site considerably * everything has been checked in five browsers, all links are working and we're very close to having the whole site W3C validated. We hope you enjoy it and please give us some (good or bad) feedback!

Having sold all our belongings and paid our debts; having said goodbye to our friends and packed up the bikes, we are totally excited about the big bicycle adventure. Starting off in The Netherlands on 31 July 2006, we believe we can travel on the road for about six years. That should give us enough time to stay longer in some countries, while avoiding bad weather in others. Secretly, we wouldn't even mind if our journeys take us a bit longer, because sometimes a 'no reservations' opportunity arises. And then you really should: follow your heart!

Not only do we want plenty of time to have a good look around, but also document our travels. Each monthly story, slide show and latest video can be found via the on the road section of the site. Want to know more about us or be kept up to date?: Easy: follow our blog!

Intended for both the cyclist and traveller alike, our country info pages give you an idea about the cost of living around the globe. Planning your expenses is as important as your health. There are also plenty of general facts and figures to stock up on: trip distances; climate charts; well travelled cycle routes including road conditions; bike shops; and recommended maps to use. Though some will say: follow your nose!

Maybe you'd like to know about our preparations or what previous trips inspired this change of lifestyle. Our tips & tricks also stirs a bit of interest as do the equipment and electronics we are carrying in our bags. The 'why we kept it' and 'why we threw it' review comes direct from the touring cyclist's mouth. If at all in doubt, the best advice is to: follow gut instinct.

While we don’t profess to know everything about border crossings and visas, with the help of World Travel Guide we can definitely point you in the right direction. And if we don't have the answer to your question then maybe one of the fellow travellers, cycling buddies or associated websites on our links pages does. Falling short of that, you could always contact us and we'll do our best to help you out. Hopefully, enough information is provided here to help you plan your own epic touring journey. Really it is not a big price to pay: follow your dream!

And for those just wanting to experience the ambience of on the road living, then our journal entries will keep you occupied for hours: daily details from camping wild for free to sleeping in budget guest house accommodation or local city hotels; from typical vegetarian food and drink served by street vendors to the joys of restaurant eating and supermarket shopping. So how about it: follow our tour ?!

What a wonderful world tour biking plans (as of May 2011):
Autumn	2006	Netherlands / Belgium / Luxembourg / Germany / France
Winter	2006	Spain / Portugal / Italy / Greece
Spring	2007	Turkey / Iran
Summer	2007	Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan / Kyrgyzstan / China / Pakistan
Autumn	2007	India / Nepal
Winter	2007	Malaysia / Singapore / Thailand
Spring	2008	Japan / South Korea
Summer	2008	Canada / USA
Autumn	2008	Mexico
Winter	2008	Mexico
Spring	2009	Belize / Guatemala / El Salvador / Honduras / Nicaragua / Costa Rica / Panama
Summer	2009	Colombia / Ecuador / Peru
here we change hemisphere and seasons!
Spring	2009	Bolivia / Chile / Argentina
Summer	2009	Argentina / Uruguay
Autumn	2010	Brazil
and back in the north...
Summer	2010	Germany / Netherlands / Belgium / France
Autumn	2010	France / Italy / Corsica / Sardinia
Winter	2010	Tunisia / Libya / Egypt
Spring	2011	Egypt
change of plan... 1 year sabbatical, then...
Autumn	2012	Syria / Lebanon / Turkey / Iran?
Winter	2012	Thailand / Laos / China / Vietnam / Cambodia / Malaysia / Indonesia / East Timor
and back to the south... (still grasping this? :-)
Autumn	2013	Australia
Winter	2013	Australia (finish line in Melbourne)

New and upcoming websites by www.sonali.tk - justifiable web design:

www.h2odiversdahab.com - new and exciting dive centre right in the middle of bubbly Dahab
www.bedouinbus.com - Connecting Sinai - community bus service between Dahab and St. Catherine
www.nuweibabeach.com - all accommodation in the beautiful Nuweiba region under one roof
www.ramadanbeach.com - Ramadan Camp is going to re-open their doors (under new management)
www.jewelofdahab.com - Hotel Jowhara's website has undergone some visual changes