S’porean cyclists on separate solo trips forge unexpected friendship when paths cross in China (2024)

SINGAPORE – As he set off from Tampines in February on a bicycle trip that was going to take him across six countries, the last person Mr Ramadhan Rajab thought he would meet after thousands of kilometres of travel was another Singaporean pedalling on two wheels.

But this became reality when Mr Ramadhan, 27, met Mr Chong Lezhen, 28, on the 124th day of his journey, after travelling some 5,090km.

The two Singaporeans had embarked on separate “bikepacking” trips almost a month apart – Mr Ramadhan on Feb 17 and Mr Chong on March 10 – and had taken different routes across parts of South-east Asia.

Bikepacking, a combination of cycling and backpacking, involves travelling long distances over several days on a bicycle.

The two Singaporeans first communicated in May, when Mr Chong reached out on Instagram and shared that he was on a similar trip.

Mr Ramadhan documents his bikepacking adventures on Instagram and now has more than 57,000 followers on the platform. He had fewer than 300 at the start of his trip.

Mr Chong told The Straits Times: “We randomly texted each other from time to time to ask about bike stuff... I didn’t think I was going to meet him.”

They later learnt that they were both headed to China and agreed to meet up on June 20 in Yuanjiang county in Yunnan’s Yuxi city.

Despite starting out as strangers, the duo spent the final days of their trip cycling around southern Yunnan and visiting cafes together.

Mr Ramadhan then flew back to Singapore on July 3, while Mr Chong will make his trip back on July 6.

“It has been nice to... use Singlish with another Singaporean,” said Mr Chong.

Over more than 100 days, the two separately cycled across the landscapes of Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and China. Mr Ramadhan was also able to traverse Cambodia and Vietnam.

He was inspired by German bikepacker Luca Montoya, who flew to Singapore in March 2023 and cycled his way up to Vietnam. “His videos made the cycling journey look so fun and free that I instantly bought a bike for the trip,” said Mr Ramadhan.

Mr Chong, meanwhile, said he embarked on his trip “on the spur of the moment”.

The recent graduate of Nanyang Technological University did not have plans to cycle to China initially, and his wanderlust was guided by a simple mantra: Head north.

“I was thinking that I would (make a) U-turn in Thailand and cycle back... but in the end, I just kept going,” he said.

He had, in January 2023, attempted a similar no-particular-destination bikepacking trip that ended prematurely in Terengganu, Malaysia, due to an injury. To continue that trip, Mr Chong chose to take a bus to Terengganu this time and began cycling from there.

One night by a grave, another by the water

While cycling across countries would inspire most to plan ahead, neither Mr Ramadhan nor Mr Chong did so.

On most nights, Mr Ramadhan would search for affordable accommodation nearby. “I’d cycle there and hope there was a room available,” he said.

Formerly a full-time retail worker, Mr Ramadhan saved up a “safe amount” of $8,000 over about eight months for the trip, including ample money for any emergency.

Any leftover money will be used for his next cycling trip across Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines, he said, once he completes his national service in-camp training in September.

Mr Chong, meanwhile, had a tighter budget of $2,000, which he saved up from fixing bicycles, something he has been doing for almost 10 years while juggling his studies.

He spent most nights at campsites or anywhere he could pitch a tent – including 10m away from a lone grave by a beach in Malaysia and next to a waterfall in Laos.

The strenuous journeys at times pushed the cyclists to other forms of transportation.

In Thailand, Mr Ramadhan hitchhiked for the first time after a spoke in the front wheel of his bicycle dislodged from its place on the inner side of the tyre, and the bicycle could not be ridden.

In the heat and during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, he was forced to walk his bicycle to the next town 10km away. “Along the way, I stuck my hand out hoping for drivers to give me a ride. No luck,” he said.

He was luckier from there, however, and over the course of the day, he was able to hitch rides on three vehicles before arriving at another town where he could get his bicycle fixed.

As he was low on energy while fasting, Mr Ramadhan also decided to take his foot off the pedal – literally – and spent part of the journey during this time experiencing overnight trains in Thailand and sleeper buses in Vietnam.

“I was left with only a week in Vietnam before my 30-day visa ended. I wanted to spend my limited days left doing the Ha Giang loop on motorbike and spend some time in Sapa rather than cycling to these two places,” he said.

Mr Chong, too, was forced to hitchhike – for him, this was in China – putting an end to his goal of a “100 per cent pedal-powered trip”.

He wanted to cycle up and down three mountains, but called it a day after the first mountain, and hitched a ride with the first vehicle that passed by.

“I was just too hungry to continue,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the challenges he faced, Mr Chong said the trip was “actually not that difficult”, adding that the toughest part was finding the motivation to “get out of the chair” in the first place.

Similarly, Mr Ramadhan said his adventure has taught him that the biggest step of any journey is the first.

“If you’re nervous or scared to do it, just do it scared. At least that’s how I did it. Eventually, things will always work out,” he said.

And one may even make a good friend along the way.