The Easiest Way to Travel in Asia

Planning an exotic bike tour, even one subject to my particular brand of fickle whimsy, typically includes hours of pouring over maps and typing tricky strings of consonants into Google (indeed, for many this is the most enjoyable part of the whole thing, or so I've been told. Anticipation can be its own raucous night out for those less prone to indulge).

It was while browsing the Asian portion of my trip I became friends with the folks at BornToBunk.com, which eventually proved to be my go-to resource for SE Asian accommodation, especially as a reference to gauge prices, facilities and pencil in possible routes.

They broker accommodation all over Asia, (even some in Europe, I discovered), chiefly of the hostel/B&B/guesthouse variety, so it's a one-stop-shop for the budget Far East traveller. Prices are ridiculously affordable and credit can be earned if one contributes blogs or reviews for the BornToBunk website, even if one's not a professional writer. The ability to book multiple cities in one place means one doesn't have to trawl the internet looking for individual accommodation, or even individual cities or countries. It's all here. Registered users can pay a deposit to hold a spot, and paying everything up front earns a discount. They even currently discount 40% of the booking fees for sharing on Facebook. It's certainly the resource I'll be using once I get past the 'Stans.

As far as my world tour is concerned, I've just completed an incredible ten week Scotland/North of England leg. I'm currently repairing and upgrading equipment for the assault on the Mediterranean countries via the rest of England, and possibly Wales. So stay tuned as blogs of this trip will be forthcoming (my notes alone amount to 14,000 words and over 1,000 photographs) in their usual haphazard fashion. Liberally sprinkled, of course, with an intoxicating blend of dubious information, questionable insight and indelicate misadventure.