Have wheels will travel

GLOBE-trotting on a bicycle is not everyone’s idea of adventure especially with air travel being so cheap — didn’t they say everyone can fly these days?

A young Frenchman talks about his cycling odyssey through Asia

However, for the intrepid travellers cycling offers the fascinating opportunity to feel the pulse of the places they pass through.

This was what 28-year old Nicolas Ternisien from Dieppe, France had in mind when he embarked on his two-wheel odyssey through Asia.

He worked hard and saved even harder to make his Asian dream tour come true — a quest inspired during his backpacking days in Australia. After saving for two-and-a-half years, the Frenchman quit his day job, bought himself a second-hand GIANT touring bike and from Paris, flew to Tokyo in April 2009 — the first of his many Asian pit-stops.

Sporting a crew cut, the lanky French spoke passionately about his ‘Lonely Planet’ adventures and the people he met along the way. When he arrived in Kuching early last month, he had cycled for eleven months — carrying with him 50 kilogrammes of essential gears and some books, strapped on the bicycle’s front and rear panniers.

He still had another 19 months to go and he and his best friend had spent seven months exploring Japan, two weeks in China before boarding a plane to the Philippines where he spent another two months on the saddle, sweeping through the country’s many islands.

In February, Nicolas took a ferry to Borneo; arriving first at Sandakan, Sabah and then pedalled part of the way to Kuching.

Despite the long journey, he will make time to stop and absorb the local scenes. When asked about his eccentric choice of transport, Nicolas cheerfully rationalised that cycling was faster than walking, and way cheaper than buying a car. In Japan, cycling enabled him to avoid boarding the expensive Shinkansen (bullet train).

Cycling, he said was a ‘fair means of transportation’ to meet the local people and to also go off the beaten paths inaccessible by cars.

By nightfall, Nicolas would camp near the bushes or at parks. Friendly locals would also invite him to their homes and share their meals. And when he desperately needed to do his laundry or update his family and blog, he would spend a few days in a backpackers’ lodge. However, he would rather pitch his tent because he believes no one should pay for their sleep.

His most unforgettable camping experience is the time he spent zipped in a summer sleeping bag during Japan’s cold winter nights; wearing all four layers of his clothes and clutching the pocket heater to keep his frozen feet warm.

However, cycling is not without its hazards. He had lost some of his gears to petty thieves, forced to detour or lost his way along the way. At one point in the Philippines, his rear spokes would fall apart every ten kilometres and he prayed that he could go a bit further and find a place to fix it.
Despite all the trials he had to go through the young man maintains a positive attitude. He is also prepared for the worst case scenario of losing his bicycle along the way. If that happened, Nicolas said that he would end his journey there and then.

For him, to have started this adventure and gotten this far is already a dream come true. And since he cycled at his own pace, he never had cramps or overstretch himself.

On the brighter side, things did not go wrong all the time, Nicolas quipped. There were also moments to savour and the best among them were the warm welcome from the local people who were usually fascinated by his fully loaded bicycle. Children would run along his bicycle cheering and waving. These simple gestures always motivated him.

These moments of joy and the breathtaking sights he saw along the way were better experienced than told, he said.

Nicolas records such moments, his feelings and thoughts, in a small journal which gets bulkier each day with extra notes from the many friends he made along the road.

“If you are in a good shape and have a dream to cycle around the world, your city or country, just do it. Don’t give yourself excuses. If you have no money, save. Always remember that your own trip will be the best and most special in the world.”

After Kuching, Nicolas Ternisien would head to Kalimantan before cycling through Indonesia all the way to Papua New Guinea.

After Indonesia he plans to make his way to Indo-China and India before flying back home to France. He blogs his bike touring adventures at http://nicoenasie.blogspot.com.

Rom's Homestay diminati pelancong

Ruang tamu yang santai untuk aktiviti penginap Rom's Homestay


Program homestay atau inap desa semakin mendapat tempat di kalangan para pelancong terutamanya dari luar negara.

Malah, program itu menjadi salah satu produk pelancongan utama bagi menarik pelancong luar yang mahu melihat secara dekat serta merasai sendiri pengalaman dan gaya kehidupan rakyat pelbagai kaum di negara ini.

Maka, tidak menghairankan ada di kalangan penduduk di negeri ini turut mengambil peluang daripada perkembangan industri homestay dengan menawarkan perkhidmatan untuk program tersebut.

Kebiasaannya, pelancong yang mengikuti program berkenaan akan menginap bersama pemilik rumah bagi tempoh tertentu, makan bersama di samping menjalani aktiviti bersama tuan rumah yang secara tidak langsung mengeratkan hubungan antara penduduk dengan pelancong.

Bagaimanapun, Rom's Homestay di Kampung Siol Kandis yang turut menjalankan program tersebut menawarkan satu kelainan kepada para pelancong tetapi masih dapat merasai suasana homestay.

''Di sini, kami mementingkan suasana rileks dan penginapan ala dalam taman atau dalam hutan supaya pelancong dapat menikmati ketenangan dan kehijauan alam," kata Shahir Akmal Jamaludin, 26.

Shahir Akmal yang bertanggungjawab menguruskan pusat homestay bersama ibunya, Romlah Kassim memberitahu, para pelancong juga boleh menginap di situ tanpa had masa yang memberi ruang untuk para pelancong menikmati sepenuhnya suasana homestay ini.

Menurutnya, jika pengusaha homestay lain biasanya membenarkan pelancong menginap hanya beberapa hari atau beberapa minggu sahaja, namun di sini mereka boleh tinggal sehingga setahun atau lebih daripada itu.

Dalam pada itu, sesiapa sahaja yang melangkah masuk ke perkarangan Rom's Homestay yang seluas kira-kira 0.6 hektar itu, mereka akan berasa seperti berada di dalam taman.

Ini kerana haruman bunga-bungaan yang segar dan mekar memenuhi ruang di kawasan berkenaan sambil menyajikan keindahan mata memandang.

Sementara setiap laluan kaki pula ditanam dengan pokok dan bunga yang mekar seolah-olah mengalu-alukan kehadiran pelancong yang pastinya kagum dengan kehijauan serta kesegaran yang ditawarkan di Rom's Homestay.

Di dalam kawasan Rom's Homestay itu pula mempunyai lima rumah untuk penginapan para pelancong dan ia boleh dipilih mengikut cita rasa mereka masing-masing.

Apa yang menarik dan uniknya Rom's Homestay adalah setiap rumah mempunyai nama sendiri iaitu Rumah Mariam, Rumah Baizura, Rumah Julia, Rumah Nor Hazah dan Rumah Putih.

Menurut Shahir Akmal, semua rumah ini kecuali Rumah Putih, mendapat namanya bersempena dengan nama pelawat pertama yang menginap di rumah berkenaan.

''Pemberian nama itu adalah idea ibu saya yang meminta persetujuan daripada penginap berkenaan untuk menggunakan nama mereka," katanya.

Daripada lima rumah tersebut, Rumah Mariam adalah paling besar dengan mempunyai lima bilik.

Setiap bilik pula diberikan nama tertentu seperti Mawar, Cempaka, Orkid dan Kenanga.

Sementara itu Rumah Putih pula mempunyai tiga bilik, Rumah Baizura dua bilik sementara Nor Hazah dan Julia masing-masing satu bilik.

Shahir Akmal memberitahu, segala kelengkapan pelancong disediakan seperti katil dan tilam empuk, kipas angin atau penghawa dingin, ruang tamu, dapur, bilik mandi dan sebagainya.

Jelasnya, setiap rumah pula mempunyai ruang tamu yang luas, dilengkapi sofa atau tikar rotan yang selesa untuk dijadikan tempat bersantai atau berbual-bual.

''Bagi pelancong yang inginkan kemudahan televisyen pula, mereka boleh meminta perkhidmatan tersebut kerana kemudahan ini disediakan berdasarkan permintaan.

''Untuk menjamu selera pula, pelancong tidak perlu melangkah jauh kerana di persekitaran kawasan homestay ini terdapat tempat makan yang dinamakan Rom's Little Penang Café," katanya .

Pada masa sama, Shahir Akmal berkata, kadang-kala keluarganya mengajak pelancong untuk makan bersama di rumah mereka sendiri yang hanya terletak bersebelahan yang secara tidak langsung mewujudkan hubungan mesra dengan pelancong.

Katanya, pelancong Inggeris lebih meminati program homestay kerana mereka ingin menghabiskan cuti dengan tenang sambil menikmati persekitaran desa yang damai dan hijau.

''Saya masih ingat ada seorang pelancong Inggeris yang menghabiskan masanya di dalam taman ini dari pagi hingga tengah hari dan kemudiannya melakukan perkara sama hingga ke petang dengan duduk sambil menghabiskan bacaan novel," katanya.

Sesuai dengan konsepnya sebagai homestay yang bertujuan memberi pendedahan suasana dan budaya kampung kepada para pelancong, maka disediakan satu ruang khas untuk menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti seperti persembahan kebudayaan dan tradisional, tarian ngajat dan lai-lain lagi.

Pada masa sama, pelancong turut boleh menghabiskan masa di sini untuk menonton televisyen atau berkaraoke.

''Puas berehat dan ingin menikmati suasana bandar raya Kuching, pelancong boleh menaiki kenderaan sewa untuk ke jeti Pangkalan Sapi yang jauhnya hanya mengambil masa beberapa minit sahaja.

''Dari jeti berkenaan, mereka boleh menaiki perahu tambang untuk menyeberangi Sungai Sarawak dan tiba di Tebingan Kuching," kata Shahir Akmal.

Beliau memberitahu, selain popular di kalangan pelancong Inggeris, Rom's Homestay atau nama sebenarnya Rom's Orchid Garden & Homestay cukup diminati oleh pelawat dari Semenanjung.

Katanya, status serta kerjaya para pelancong juga berbeza tetapi yang paling kerap menginap di sini adalah peguam-peguam dari Semenanjung, mereka yang berkeluarga, usahawan dan lain-lain lagi.

Dalam pada itu, menceritakan sejarah wujudnya Rom's Homestay, Shahir Akmal berkata, ia bermula dari minat ibunya yang berkebun bunga-bungaan, khasnya orkid sebelum wujud Rom's Orchid Garden sekitar tahun 1996.

Menurutnya, dua tahun kemudian, Rom's Little Penang Café dibuka di kawasan itu dan atas galakan ramai pihak, ibunya membuka pusat homestay berkenaan.

''Pada mulanya kami hanya ada dua buah rumah tetapi selepas ibu membeli tapak bersebelahan, tiga buah rumah lagi ditambah sehinggalah ia wujud seperti sekarang ini," katanya.