JP/Anton Muhajir

If she had waited for permission from her parents, Aristi Prajwalita Madjid might never have left on a two-month solo bike ride from Kota Bharu in Malaysia to Nha Trang in Vietnam.

The 33-year-old talked about her 980-kilometer debut international bike trip - a trip she knew would be challenging but never imagined might be dangerous - during a recent visit to Bali for a local Bike-2-Work bicycle community event.

"Actually, my parents did not realize *I was making an international bike trip*, not even at my departure from the airport. They knew that I was going to ride a bike, but not across countries," the dynamic, laidback woman told The Jakarta Post.

"But then they finally found out when *national newspaper* Suara Pembaruan wrote about it," she added, chuckling over her memories of her "white lie". "Soon after, *my parents* asked me to send at least a text message per day for updates."

Riding is a regular part of life for Aristi, a cycling enthusiast who peddles some 40 kilometers from her home in Bogor to work as an orthopedic assistant in Jakarta.

Dressed in a simple black T-shirt, khaki shorts and mountain sandals, Aristi had Bali's bicycle community gasping and whispering as she shared her highlights of the trip, rendered into an awesome visual presentation thanks to accompanying slides.

"I took a plane to my starting point in Kota Bharu. Then I hopped on my bike and began my solo bike trip - a lifelong dream. My first stop was Narathiwat in Thailand."

Aristi spent two months, from March 7 to May 5, on her bike saddle, as she was also conducting some public health services on the way, including in Cambodia, under the patronage of a Malaysian dato (aristocrat).

Amazed by the scenery that Narathiwat offered, Aristi enjoyed the early leg of her solo ride, capturing it by taking photos, another activity she loves.

"However, after I had passed along a particular road, which was oddly marked by a kind of wooden-made barrier, some local people told me that I just crossed a battlefield," Aristi said, showing a photo of the field.

Just two days before Aristi had ridden over it, it had been the scene of gunfire between Cambodian and Thai troops.

"I didn't know that Narathiwat was in the middle of such conflict, with gunfire and everything, as my Internet research informed me the place would've been safe when I got there," added the Jakarta native, who is turning 34 on Nov. 25.

The experience made Aristi realize that this bike trip was not going to be all fun and games.

She met with another heart-stopping challenge when she set up her tent in an empty space for a rest while on her Pattani-Bangkok leg of the trip.

"Setting up my tent saw me end up in a police station," she said. "I found out that setting up a tent in an open space, which means on someone's land, is prohibited in southern Thailand. I got questioned and my bags were searched, but they *police officers* . I answered their questions and explained what I was doing, but they didn't seem to buy it."

Help came from an unexpected quarter.

"A doctor came over out of nowhere, helping me to explain my reason for being in their territory. The story ended with them giving me a ride to a nearby hotel."

Aristi, who has traveled alone before, including in India, said she had to take the train from Bangkok to Poipet, to cross the border into Vietnam.

"There was no way I could have peddled out of Thailand because of all the riots going on," she said, referring to the heated political situation at the time.

In Cambodia, she was stopped and questioned three times by local authorities. "Maybe they got suspicious over my bike riding alone - and the fact that I'm a woman, and my outfit, which was a simple T-shirt and shorts. They asked a lot of questions, they even asked my religion; I'm a Muslim."

She was once prevented from doing her Ashar (afternoon) prayer at a mosque in Cambodia.

"Maybe because I was dressed differently," she said. "I wasn't wearing a jilbab *headscarf* or clothing that covered all my body." She added that she refused to say the shahadat (a declaration of faith needed to convert to Islam) to proof her Muslim faith when asked.

Language also proved a real challenge for Aristi during her journey, which cost her a total of US$900.

"I got so tired but didn't know how many more kilometers I had to go to reach the nearest motel. No one spoke English," she said. "Once I even cried on the side of the road. Fortunately a young boy approached me, asking me *what was wrong* in English and telling me that a motel was just two kilometers away. Such relief!"

Despite all the hurdles she had to deal with, Aristi said how she was grateful to have been able to see another part of the world.

"I was moved when I passed Angkor and the Killing Fields in Cambodia where skulls weren't buried but just lay around here and there. After seeing that, I realized just how cheap human life could be."

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