Hola! I'm a Malaysian Chinese, visiting South America from July 6th till October the 2nd
4 main countries that I intend to visit are Chile, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador, with my longest leg in Chile.
I have a little travel experience,
I Rubber-tramped (Sleeping in a car) in New Zealand for 3 months,
Backpacked a little here and there
Hitchhiked in Perth, Australia, as well as in the interior regions of Sarawak, Borneo
This time, having been inspired by my couch-surfing visitor who Cycled from China to Malaysia,
I'm hoping to cycle the length and breadth of Chile, with a hope of visiting the Amazon Forest and the Galapagos Islands, being a nature and outdoor fan.
i'm 28th this year, and I'm quitting my Stable income Government Job for something uncertain in the future, and I'm hoping this trip will prepare me mentally and emotionally.
Few Challenges I've set for myself-
1) learning a new language, Spanish
2)If I Can't Practice Medicine, will I still be able to support myself?
-by Playing music?- starting with a Harmonica and a flute
-by Dancing?- I've some experience in Hip Hop, Breakdancing, and if I'm able to join a dance group in Chile it'll be magnificient!
-by Cooking?- I enjoy cooking (but not so much the washing =P), and I can cook up an Asian Fare that will delight the Chileans?
3) Hiking & Biking- Books that I enjoyed were into the wild- Christopher McCandles and Wild- cheryl Strayed, and I hope to experience transcendence and enlightenment during my commune with nature
Any advice and assistance towards the above will be greatly appreciated, Gracias!~
i will be arriving in Santiago on the 7th of July. Hopefully I can negotiate with my airlines to get my bicycle on board for a cheap fee, if not, please let me know if you have a touring bike for sale, or know of good second hand bike stores, or if I can bunk-in with you for a few days while I get my bearings orientated.
Thank you for any advice, assistance in advance!
Sincerely,
KY
Hi! Sounds amazing what you're about to do!
I live in Temuco, but I'll be out from June to August. If you're passing by Temuco after that, I'd be happy to host you. You have to stay at least til September in Chile! That's when we have our national independence celebration.
About your backup living plans, I have a Temucan friend, currently living in Santiago, who's a master in the harmonica and is now accepting students. He also does online classes with Skype, so maybe you can start with some culture immersion ahead. Or maybe he can give you tips about the "music business". Tell me if you're interested.
Exotic food is getting really trendy in Santiago, but I don't know how's the business. How much time do you plan on staying in Stgo?
About bikes, I think the best option is to get a second hand basic Trek for around USD$400, or something similar. Other options may be a lot more expensive or request more time (buy the parts one by one and have it built in a bike shop).
oh hi!!! Thanks for the reply!
My plans are pretty fluid at the moment, havent even got a return ticket yet, so I'm really up for anything! haha.
I'm looking at probably a month or so in santiago or nearby provinces to soak up the culture and learn a passable level of Spanish, doing voluntary work, help exchange, WWoofing or couchsurfing, probably join a performance or two if I'm up to standard before I start my biking in earnest.
I would love to be under a guidance of a harmonica master! Took up a few lessons from street performers here in Malaysia, will be practising a bit so I have a bit of something to show when I meet the master :-)
by online classes Do you mean Spanish classes or harmonica classes? Both would be great!!
i think I got my bike sorted out,
They allow carriage of Items <23kgs with linear(combined) dimensions of 158cm.
so I think I'll be coming to chile with my bike, but It's a mountain, I hope modify it to suit touring purposes.
Thanks again!
Hi! Sounds like you have some awesome trip plans! I have some tentative plans to travel down that way - perhaps there's some scenario where we meet up? Only thing is, I won't be able to travel until December. My plan is to spend 3 weeks or so biking around the Lakes region of Argentina/Chile (likely flying into Bariloche in Argentina, biking towards Puerto Montt, Chiloe, thereabouts; or I was even thinking about trying to bike from Bariloche down towards Punta Arenas way down at the southern tip of the continent). I run a bike advocacy nonprofit in the USA - so I can get time off in the middle of the winter (when it's freezing cold) but not during our summer or fall.
I also play blues harmonica, and also guitar. It would be fun to play some sweet harmonica tunes and sip some cerveza around the old hobo campfire. Let me know if your flexible plans might end up keeping you down thereabouts in December.
Hi Jason!
Thanks for NOT thinking that my trip plans are crazy! hahaha.
I hope to be sticking around (by an old hobo campfire) by the time you arrive, by that time I think my spanish would be rather acceptable and I can guide you along! but I'm using up all my leaves from July till October, and I'm afraid I won't be around till then. :-(((
What you do seems interesting! What sort of bike advocacy non-profit is that? how does your group function?
Hmmm.. cerveza, time to look that up! Lol!
Is that something similar to Sangria, which I love? haha
updates: I've Travelled from Santiago to Talca, headed to Chillan, Temuco then Concepcion next
any riders taking the same road, I want to know! :-)
thanks!!!
There's a Facebook journal page that i keep :-)
https://www.facebook.com/bikepackingsa