53 dni

Cześć,

nie pojawiam się tutaj- przepraszam, ale przygotowania trwają i jeszcze się nie rozmyśliłam:)
w panice staram się ogarnąć listę spraw do załatwienia i zajęłam się też paszportem ...w moim przypadku to kluczowa kwestia, więc poświęcę temu oddzielny wpis:)

a dzisiaj dogrzebałam się do fajnego bloga o rowerowym podróżowaniu, polecam zainteresowanym http://www.mrpumpy.net/

a tu wycinek szczególnie mnie interesujący...


Is it safe for a woman to cycle alone?
Depending on where you go, and how you do it, cycling is very safe for women in Asia.
I've never heard of a woman on a bike being attacked in Asia. Having said that, naturally, as a woman it pays to stay attentive and not take unwarranted risks.
The biggest worry for women cyclists, as it is with women backpacking through Asia, are the social hassles; unwanted, annoying local males, and the basic drill for keeping such things to a minimum is the same for both modes of travel.
Wear modest clothes as much as possible. Make sure your tee-shirt or shirt is loose fitting and doesn't show too much flesh. Think about having a pair of loose, cotton Indian pants to cycle in/change into when you think it's appropriate.
It pays to act conservatively in public so as not encourage the misguided local view of Western women as 'brazen sex maniacs'. What's perfectly normal at home may startle the locals.
How do the locals view Western women? Now, before I get a flurry of flame males from my outraged Western cycling sisters, give me a little space here to lay down the facts as I see them, and it may be of some help.
Speaking very broadly, Western women don't have a good reputation in Asia. The basic negative, uneducated, view of Western women is one of young bodies cavorting around Asia, sleeping with anything in pants, showing off a lot of skin, drinking, taking drugs, talking loudly, swearing, making jerky movements and generally inflaming the passions of the local males.
The mother of my good Thai friend, Suda (a woman), once said to her: "Oh, those Western women, they've just gotta have it all the time!"
Suda, who used to live in Australia, naturally replied: "Wh-at?!" Her mother went on to explain that really, she didn't have a problem with this, it was just the way Western women were. Hmm, very liberal of Suda's mother, however misguided.
Even swimming in a full, one piece bathing suit is considered bad taste for women in Cambodia. So short of taking a dip in full chador, you're scarlet in the eyes of the local population.
Remember that besides a very conservative culture, you are also dealing with people who have probably not travelled out side their own home country, and may not have read or seen anything that is not in their newspapers or on their TVs. This limits the breadth of understanding severely.
On the other hand, within the local cultural context, some of this negative view is warranted. In Thailand, for example, Westerners often go ape in some beach resort areas, walk into monasteries in low cut tops and sit around in public, in shorts, with their arms around their boyfriend. Trust me, the local women are watching and are taking note.
It's no use saying: "Oh, I've seen local women do much worse!" These local women, also, are borderlined by the mainstream.
One of the most interesting cases I've seen was on a train in Sri Lanka travelling up through the mountains. A young twenty something Belgian girl got on, wearing a T-shirt and loose conservative short pants. So far so good.
She was travelling with her boyfreind, both well scrubbed, fresh faced, well meaning looking tourists. Honest, conservative, caring looking young folk, probably planning on getting married and having 2.4 children, much to the delight of the grand parents back home. OK, we're looking good!
With her boyfriend, and sat down opposite. The carriage was crowded with families, going off to visit relatives and enjoying a religious holiday.
For most of the trip the belgian girl sat
cally, Asia is very conservative and "proper" Asain female behaviour means no extra skin on show: no shorts or low cut tops. The correct body language is demure: no crossed legs and no jerky movements (which enflame the male!)
Serious assaults. Assaults on women tourists in Asia have been known to happen, and you can simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The few serious assaults I've read about have either happened in the heavy tourist spots associated with drugs and alcohol, or way off in the 'jungle' regions where the women have gotten very isolated.
The lesson here is to not stray too far off the beaten track alone. Stick to the main routes where there's enough cars going past to every now and then to add a little security in numbers.
Camping out or a hotel? As a woman cycling alone I would take care to not sleep out in a tent at night, or doss-down in a disused building of any sort.
My rule would be to make it to the next hotel, or family house, without fail, each night. This is not at all difficult to do in Asia, and in all my own ten years of riding Southeast Asia I never been caught out.

The Canadian experience. Some years back I met a Canadian woman cycling alone in southern Thailand, after which we cycled together for a few days up to Bangkok. She said her experience alone had been on the whole 'very good'. At the same time, she was happy to have a guy to cycle with, if only to ward off the curious local male approaches she sometimes encountered.
The local women. As a woman, whatever hassles you do encounter, will be compensated to some degree by the attention the Asian women will give you - you'll be invited into their houses and made to feel extremely welcome, something that is not my experience as a male cyclist.
The local women will also immediately come to your aid should there be any trouble. Their views of Western women notwithstanding, they have no illusions about their own men folk.
Which country is safest? Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam are very safe and relatively hassle free.
Parts of Indonesia can be a socially uncomfortable. The 'young, frustrated, Muslim man' factor can be a pain for Western women.
Laos is very safe and easy along the main routes, but may be dicey way out in the northern hill areas, where reports of bandits and thieves still come in.
Peep holes. Some places seem to be big on peep holes into hotel rooms. I hate to say it, but some Muslim