I’ve been in Newcastle for three nights and two full days.

On the first full day, I was a tourist and visited The Lit and Phil Library, the Black Gate, the Newcastle Castle, Newcastle Cathedral, Grey Street, and Chinatown. Newcastle is a very walkable city and I was able to finish all the major tourist sights in one day.

Yesterday, I changed from the Albatross Hostel to Kabannas Newcastle hostel since I wanted to stay a bit longer in the city. I felt Albatross Hostel was too dark and didn’t have many talkative people. Kabannas has a nice common area with a bar. Not that I care for bars, but at least the room is well-lit.

I went to visit the Laing Art Gallery since it’s free and also checked out the Newcastle City Library that’s across from the art gallery.

When I was having some dumplings for lunch at The Little Dumpling House I chatted with a local man named Kenny. He’s a retired police officer. I told him about my bike trip, the difficulties I faced on the road, and confessed to him that I might take the ferry to The Netherlands sooner rather than later since I don’t like to cycle in the UK. He contacted a friend of his who works at the Newcastle ferry terminal and provided me a price that’s lower than what I saw online, though still expensive. Before Kenny left the restaurant he gave me £10, which was very generous of him. I didn’t expect that from a stranger whom I just met.

After I came back to the hostel and checked in I was feeling bored and depressed. The weather has been cloudy the entire time I’ve been in the UK. That must had some effect on my mood in addition to the tough cycling conditions I faced a few days earlier. I’m sort of stuck in Newcastle since I want to take a longer break and there will be two rainy days on Sunday and Monday. Since I don’t want to ride in the rain, I might end up staying in Newcastle for a total of 6 nights and 5 days, which is a long time in a small city.

On a side note, I’ve been in touch with a travel friend named Mark. I had met him back in 2003 when I rode on Greyhound buses around the United States for 45 days when I was only 19 years old. I met Mark and his friend Andrew in Austin, Texas, that summer. We’ve been friends on social media and he lives in York. I’m thinking of taking the train from Newcastle to York to see him. That might provide me with a nice break from Newcastle. I’ll have to see what happens with this plan.

I’m also thinking of visiting a few other cities in England if I can store my bike somewhere. I just don’t want to ride my bike into another city. I don’t trust myself cycling in the UK and want to avoid getting hit by cars.

My overthinking made me question myself if I could even bicycle tour the world if I can’t even cycle in the UK, which is a developed country. What would I do when I arrive in Malaysia or some other developing country where it’ll be more difficult to cycle? I guess the point of my cycling trip is to see the world. If I have to do it through backpacking and not bicycle touring would that be ok with me? And the answer is yes. Because I view the bicycle as a tool for transportation. It’ll be more of a challenge and an adventure to cycle the world, but it’s an adventure nonetheless if I choose to backpack some parts of the world. I want to be flexible enough to change my mode of transportation and make my world tour enjoyable. After all, I’m the one who is on my journey.

As I was pacing in the dorm room and thinking about these things, another traveler came in. His name is Robbie. We got along great since he’s American and lived near King of Prussia before. He quit his job as an IT manager in New York City and have been traveling the world for a year and half.

We took a walk to get dinner. Most restaurants are closed around 8 PM, which is quite early. I ended up buying a wrap at a convenience store and Robbie bought a burger at Smashburger.

From our conversations, Robbie told me two things. He said that if the bike feels like a burden then I should find another way to travel. Also, I can’t travel away my problems. I’ve learned that from my last trip when I was in Southeast Asia.

It feels so easy to say “I want to travel the world.” But what does that even mean? What am I searching for? Is it something deeper inside myself? I don’t know the answer right now. I do know that seeing the world is something I’ve always wanted to do.

What is “the world” anyway? It’s always changing. The places I’ve been to years ago have now changed. Nothing stays the same. Perhaps I want to experience life outside the ordinary, the 9 to 5, the house, the wife, the kids, etc.

Maybe I just want to live and be excited for living. This moment is precious. How many moments will be like this? I should savor it.

I’m not sure what I’ll do for today. I feel like I’ve seen everything I wanted to see in Newcastle. I guess I’ll just follow the flow and see where things lead.

Statue of a man


<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lit and Phil Library</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the library</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Gate</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle Castle</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle Cathedral</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Newcastle Cathedral</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass inside the cathedral</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Street</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Monument</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle City Library</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle and District War Memorial</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinatown arch</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinatown</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyne Theatre & Opera House</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laing Art Gallery</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A painting in the art gallery</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the galleries</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More art</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the different Arabic calligraphies on the display in the city library</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny gave me this £10 bill.</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Thomas</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newcastle University</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some British snacks</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being contemplative at the common room in the Kabannas Newcastle hostel</td></tr></tbody></table>