He Luojie, a Cancer sign young man born in 1988 who calls himself a "hybrid" of Shaoxing and Jiaxing, lives in Jiaxing. A year ago, he was just an ordinary Australian international student who loved browsing the internet and watching movies; a year later, even he might not believe that he could shoulder a heavy backpack and cycle nearly 6,000 km alone across the Australian continent, then fly to Indonesia to begin cycling through Southeast Asia. He Luojie also plans to enter China via Laos, then cycle through cities such as Kunming, Chongqing, and Wuhan, before finally reaching his destination — Jiaxing. The domestic leg still has over 3,000 km to go.
Yesterday, He Luojie was taking a break in Luang Prabang, Laos, which is still 300 km from the border. At noon, a reporter contacted him online. He had just finished a Laotian lunch. He planned to rest for another day today before continuing his ride, with the next expected online update on February 7. After briefly answering a few questions, He Luojie provided the reporter with a travel journal detailing every moment since he set off from Australia last year.
According to He Luojie’s recollection, his initial plan was to cycle around Australia and nothing more ambitious. In December 2010, after graduating from Tasmanian Polytechnic in Tasmania, Australia, he began preparing for a bike trip around the country. He first returned home to spend the Spring Festival with his family, bought a large amount of gear both in physical stores and online, then went back to Australia and, with the help of a local interest group, assembled a bicycle and prepared to set off.
Riding solo across the Australian continent
The route across the Australian continent was mapped out by He Luojie himself. He described the route as follows: “Starting point: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; passing through Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane; ending point: Darwin. In one sentence: riding from the southernmost to the northernmost point of Australia (excluding the southeast corner). Planned total distance: 5,900 km.”
On March 13, 2011, encouraged by classmates, He Luojie set off from his school dormitory in Tasmania, beginning this brave journey.
On March 20, He Luojie spent a week cycling from Hobart to Devonport at the northern tip of Tasmania Island, then took a ferry to Melbourne to begin his journey on the Australian mainland.
After arriving on the Australian mainland, He Luojie started his trip from Melbourne to Sydney. Along the way, he met many like-minded foreign cyclists. Two weeks into the ride, he reached the small town of Wollongong near Sydney, then took a train into central Sydney. He wrote in his journal: “From Melbourne to Sydney, I stuck to the coastline and pretty much enjoyed all the most beautiful sea views.”
In Sydney, He Luojie stayed with a classmate. On May 6, he continued on to Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city. The stretch from Sydney to Brisbane is over 1,000 km. During this period, He Luojie tried various accommodation options — caravan park camping, national park camping, staying in caravans, motels, and even setting up a tent under the eaves of a public toilet on rainy days.
In June, He Luojie’s parents traveled to Australia, and the ride was paused for a while.
Between July and August, He Luojie set off again from Brisbane, spending 40 days crossing the inland areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory, cycling 3,400 km to reach Darwin Port in northern Australia. By this point, He Luojie had cycled from south to north across Australia, covering an actual distance of 5,700 km.
Cycling with friends through three Southeast Asian countries
After completing the impressive feat of cycling across Australia, He Luojie “couldn’t help but keep going,” planning to continue cycling through various Southeast Asian countries. One night while cycling from Melbourne to Sydney, staying at a caravan park at an elderly woman’s home, He Luojie suddenly got the idea to cycle back to China. He described it himself:
“It was that very night, lying in bed, that I had a sudden thought — to cycle across the Australian continent, then through Southeast Asia, and finally cycle all the way back to my hometown — Jiaxing, Zhejiang. Just seconds earlier, in over 20 years of life, I’d never had such an idea. Even when I first set off cycling, I hadn’t thought of it. My original plan was to at least cycle to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, then sell the bike and take a ship or flight to South America before returning to China. But now I’d suddenly changed my mind. Maybe it’s because having gone through setbacks and overcome them, I’ve gained the confidence to think bigger. What’s so tough about cycling for a year or a year and a half?”
On August 18, He Luojie flew from Darwin to Bali, Indonesia, where he rested for two weeks. On August 31, he was joined by his junior high school friend Wang Jianzhou, who had flown in from Hangzhou. The two agreed to cycle through Southeast Asia together.
The pair cycled through Bali and Java, experiencing very bad traffic. Then they flew from Jakarta to Singapore, cycled through Singapore, and continued on to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. While in Malaysia, the local Chinese-language newspaper 《Malaysia China News》 also reported on these two young men from Zhejiang.
Originally, Wang Jianzhou had planned to cycle all the way back home with He Luojie, but in Kuala Lumpur, he couldn’t persuade his parents, and with some family matters arising unexpectedly, on October 25, Wang Jianzhou flew back to Hangzhou from Kuala Lumpur.
300 km from the border
After cycling through three Southeast Asian countries together, with Wang Jianzhou’s return to China, He Luojie resumed his solo journey. During their time cycling together, they experienced unforgettable things they’d never faced in their lives. The reporter contacted Wang Jianzhou, who is currently in Hangzhou. He said that the days of cycling abroad were full of hardship, but they persevered. Looking back, the lessons learned may benefit them for life. Moreover, the trip reignited his interest in exploring more places. For He Luojie, who had already cycled all the way to Laos, the life insights gained from the long journey were naturally even greater.
Wang Jianzhou revealed that after he returned to China, He Luojie failed to renew his visa in Malaysia and had to take a bus with his bicycle to the Malaysia-Thailand border, entering Thailand on the last day of his visa’s validity. In Thailand, he happened to encounter the Bangkok floods, which delayed his entry into Bangkok for a few days. From there, he went to Vietnam, passed through Cambodia, and arrived in Laos.
When he reached Laos, it was already Chinese New Year. He Luojie spent a tropical New Year in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
On January 28, 2012, He Luojie arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos, staying 300 km south of the border. He would soon enter China and begin the journey to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, bringing his long overseas cycling trip to an end.
Family support all the way
He Luojie’s father is the person who knows his son’s journey best. During the days when He Luojie was cycling alone, his dad kept in touch with him via QQ and WeChat. He Dad said that every time his son entered a new country, he had to get a new phone number to stay in contact. Each time he got a new number, He Luojie would send a message home to report he was safe, and when he had time, He Dad would also check the terrain of his son’s location using Google Maps.
He Dad told reporters that he and his family initially did not agree with their son’s plan, as the journey was too far and safety could not be guaranteed.
But He Luojie was very determined, and he also wrote in his travel log: “In the process of persuading my parents, I initially used a lot of idealistic words, but they didn’t work.” “So I told them I would pay attention to safety on the road, learn knowledge, try to find business opportunities, meet more people, and build a wider network of relationships.”
He Dad said: “Mainly seeing that he had the determination to understand the world, we ultimately chose to support him.”
He Dad said that his son has cycled over 10,000 km so far, and through their communication, he felt his son’s horizons had broadened. These experiences will be very beneficial for his future work and life.
Throughout this entire cycling journey, the most worrying period for Dad He and his family was when He Luojie was crossing the desert near Darwin. There was no mobile phone signal or wireless internet in the desert, and cycling across it took about a week. During that time, the whole family was on edge. With no news from their son, Dad He could only check the desert conditions via Google Maps and silently pray. It wasn’t until He Luojie successfully crossed the desert and sent back word of his victory that the family finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the last few thousand kilometers remaining, Dad He said he would support his son all the way, and his greatest wish was for his son to arrive home safely.
Robbed in Vietnam
On January 8, 2012, while cycling in Vietnam, He Luojie had his iPhone and iPod stolen, experiencing a terrifying moment during his journey. This was the most memorable incident for Dad He, and He Luojie also mentioned it on his Weibo. In his post that day, he wrote: “Today I was robbed on a deserted mountain road. While trying to protect my phone, I was punched a few times, and in the end, my iPhone and iPod were stolen. All my photos and videos are gone. I regret not activating iCloud and Find My iPhone. I’m fine, my passport and wallet are still with me, but my bike fell and I sat on the ground for a long time, crying. Should I continue cycling through Vietnam?” When talking about this incident, Dad He still feels shaken. The security situation in Southeast Asia isn’t as good as in Australia, and his son hadn’t been vigilant enough. He Luojie was robbed by two young Vietnamese men who had been following him on a motorcycle along the deserted road before making their move. He Luojie was also punched a few times while resisting.
After being robbed, on the advice of his family, He Luojie didn’t continue his trip through Vietnam but instead hitchhiked to the Laos border. Later, he bought a new iPhone in Laos and was overjoyed to recover the videos and photos from his previous phone.
Cherishing Life More
After going through a tough journey, you realize how wonderful your original life was. This is the reflection of Wang Jianzhou, who cycled through three countries with He Luojie. Wang Jianzhou told reporters that before going on the cycling trip, he often complained about life for no reason, feeling it wasn’t good enough. But after cycling all day until he was too tired to speak, he realized how happy it was to have a bowl of hot soup or a comfortable bed to sleep in. One cycling day Wang Jianzhou will never forget was last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, when he and He Luojie cycled up a volcano on Indonesia’s Java Island, which is over 3,000 meters above sea level. They cycled from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and then, completely exhausted, they slept soundly at the resort on the mountaintop.
“Back in China, taking a five- or six-hour bus ride to a place feels exhausting, but in Indonesia, if you can get on a bus on a rugged mountain road, both He Luojie and I feel it’s an incredibly happy thing because those distances would otherwise have to be conquered by human power,” Wang Jianzhou remarked.
Wang Jianzhou said that in Indonesia, seeing the local infrastructure and experiencing the real lives of the people made him deeply realize how much the rapid development of China in recent years has benefited its people. As a result, he no longer complains about the gap between China and developed countries but cherishes his current life more and is filled with hope.
Excerpts from He Luojie’s Weibo
Shao Jia Ren: I had planned to cross into Cambodia this afternoon, but when I got to the border checkpoint, I found it was a huge border market with a scene just like the ancient Silk Road trading posts I had always imagined. So I decided to stay in Thailand one more night and cross the border early tomorrow morning. Thailand is my favorite among the five countries I’ve cycled through, and tomorrow I’ll have to say goodbye to it...
December 10, 2011, 21:06
Shao Jia Ren: I’d just entered Cambodia five minutes ago, cycling low-key, when a car came speeding toward me in my lane and honked. I thought, Cambodia really does have an aggressive culture—driving the wrong way and honking arrogantly. Later I realized that apart from me, all the vehicles on the road were driving on the wrong side. After cycling 9,000 km on the left side, switching to the right side today really threw me off for two minutes.
December 11, 2011, 17:42
Shao Jia Ren: I remember when I first set out on the journey home, I was cycling along Australia’s east coast. Now I’m on Vietnam’s east coast, and it feels like I’ve traveled back a few months. To my left was once the world’s smallest continent, Australia, and now it’s the largest, Eurasia. What hasn’t changed is the Pacific Ocean to my right.
January 3, 2012, 18:05
Shao Jia Ren: These past few days, there’s been a strong headwind every day. Roads where I could normally cycle at 20 km/h have dropped to 7–8 km/h. At its worst, even downhill stretches were hard to pedal. I’ve noticed the wind usually picks up after 8:30 a.m. I went to bed early today, planning to wake up at 4 a.m. and set off at 5 a.m. to ride 40–50 km before the wind picks up...
January 3, 2012, 21:10
Shao Jia Ren: I had planned to cycle from the Vietnam border to Laos’ capital, Vientiane, but on the first day after entering, I cycled 120 km, which aggravated the pain in my left knee injured during the robbery in Vietnam. So I hitchhiked to Vientiane last night and will stay here until the second day of the Lunar New Year. If any fellow travelers come to Vientiane, Laos, I have a sofa to offer (with a Mekong River view). Fellow adventurers, please feel free to introduce yourselves.
January 15, 2012, 21:57
Shao Jia Ren: Those who follow me may remember that after I was robbed in Vietnam, I once cried on the ground because of the lost photos and videos. The day before yesterday, with my parents’ support, I bought a new iPhone. When I connected it to the computer, I discovered that iTunes had not only synced music but also automatically synced all files (which don’t show on the computer)—I had no idea. As a result, 562 photos and 49 videos were all recovered. I was somewhat moved by Apple’s design philosophy.
January 19, 2012, 12:05
Shao Jia Ren: Spent the whole day rock climbing, did 6 routes, summited 6 times, failed twice. Very tired but so satisfying. Especially my fingers—I didn’t even have the strength to scrub my underwear while showering.
January 27, 2012, 19:51
Shao Jia Ren: I set out before dawn yesterday and didn’t arrive until it was dark. It felt like the earth was playing a joke on me. Just look at the altitude data: dropped from 1,250 m to 850 m, then rose to 1,200 m. Then came the kicker—20 km of descent into a valley 350 m below, followed by a 15 km climb up to 980 m, and finally 20 km of descent into the Mekong River area at 250 m. By the end, even the phone in my jacket pocket felt unbearably heavy.
January 31, 2012, 14:58
Shao Jia Ren: The night before arriving in Luang Prabang, I stayed at a villager’s house. His family ran a small shop, and the conditions were decent—they even had a TV. In the evening, neighbors from the village would come over to watch TV. It suddenly felt familiar, like something from 1980s China, which I’ve never experienced but only heard about from elders. And yet, here I was in Laos in 2012 witnessing it.