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ECOLOGIST AND CYCLIST
The dream
In high school, I was voted as the most likely to disappear by my friends, and I can’t say I haven’t proven them wrong. For years, I have been infected with this idea to disappear into the tantalizing vastness of our world and ride a bicycle from Asia to Europe. This dream emerged during my gap year in 2018 when I had met my friend, Juanita, who cycled solo from Vietnam to Spain. This dream could have just been a fleeting thought but, due to my upbringing, I knew it was not impossible.
The upbringing
I’ve been exposed to cycling since I was in my mother’s womb. My adventure addict dad was racing his bicycle in New Zealand when the support caravan, which housed my mum and unborn-me, plunged off a cliff. One tree held the fate of our lives in its roots; luckily, we all survived. Being brought up into this world, where my dad had wanted boys but ended up with two girls, I was taught to rough it out from a young age. Bare foot squabbles and holidays with enduring 8-hour cycles for leisure became the norm. We moved around a lot too, following my dad’s career as an airline pilot throughout Asia. I was first put on a bike before I turned five, and by the time my sixth birthday came along I found myself in a youth mountain bike race in Switzerland (supported by my older brother as I hadn’t mastered the art of balancing on a bike yet). My dad used to “drive” me to school by bike with me sitting cross-legged on the front stem with just a towel for padding. My first mountain bike and long-distance bike packing adventure was when I was 13 in the nomadic plateaus of Kazakhstan. By this time, I lived away from my dad and just visited him annually, as my mum, sister and I had moved back to Malaysia (where I was born). Before settling back to Malaysia, I had lived in India, Kazakhstan and Australia and had learnt Malay, French, Hindi, Russian, Kazakh and Jawi before I even really mastered English. My teenage hood saw another shift to Australia, where we settled in Queensland, my dad's birthplace.
Out of the cage
Throughout high school, it became apparent that Science would be my destiny, but all I wanted to do was travel. So, I persuaded my mum to let me go on a gap year, and moved to Hanoi where my dad was living and flying for Jetstar. With my dad, we would cycle 1000km across northern Vietnam, taking in the colourful parade of Tet (Vietnamese New Year) goers filling the streets. My dad and I would go on to walk an ancient pilgrimage in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture, the Kumano Kodo. Ancient footsteps traced the moss laden path leading from temples on mountain tops to the ocean spraying our faces with salt and sand. My favourite journey was cycling Kathmandu valley alone, for seven days - and no it didn’t go smoothly, I ended up carrying my bike up 1000’s stairs as I had routed myself on a walking trail! You can watch that here. My dad arrived after my solo adventure, and we cycled to 5416m around the Annapurna circuit. Challenging my body and mind, never have I been transported to such a heavenly place with people so kind and hospitable.
Into a cage
I married my partner at the time at 18 too. I thought, this was it, this was my partner for life. My Islamic upbringing taught me that anyways. We were happy at times, but that didn’t always last. We were both so young, and our lives evolved so rapidly - who could think you’d fall in love with the same person that you had met at such a young age? Feeling so lost and unloved I accidentally joined a cult at 22. Once again, I felt accepted, seen and heard. But what filled me also took away my passion for travelling and my curiosity for life because everything became about worship. My partner at the time came back into my life and persuaded me out all that. I struggled with saying no to anything that came my way and felt that my early 20’s was like riding a roller coaster without having any control of where I wanted to get off. I finally said no to my partner too and broke free from the cage.
Out of the cage again
I met Huy and I told him I was in the midst of a divorce and not looking for anything serious. He was kind; he respected what I had said. I learned to stand my ground, say what I wanted to say without fear, not be afraid to say no, and eventually, grew into this person I wanted to be. That’s where the rekindling for cycling came back when I had shared my dream with the people dearest to me. They saw my flame grow bigger and bigger, and after several weeks of the idea churning in Huy’s head, he finally told me one day that he would join the ride too.
That was when we made a pact, to fulfill this dream together.
And from that promise, Lestari Cycle was born:
a living testament to dreams and childlike wonder
weaving curiosity into a tangible journey.
A truly divine recollection of wonder and innocence,
bodying forth the journey and
exploring what it truly means to Be.
To simply be human, to experience the pure act of being.
To learn from people and our planet,
to turn our gaze inward and reignite
our gentle, flickering flame for life.
This is what the journey means to me.
And I hope it whispers to you,
reminding you what it is to be
your freest, truest self too.
Just a dude and a dreamer
The Beatings That Led Me to Freedom
I’ve always been curious and not the kind that gets you a scholarship. More like testing the limits of my parents’ patience, strangers’ patience, and my own pain tolerance. My parents didn’t believe in time-outs. They believed in beatings.
Now that I’m older, I see I inherited some of their traits too, being a bit silly, loving a good laugh. They must have literally beaten that into me.
Back then, travelling wasn’t even on my radar. My world was just whatever was in front of me. I never thought long-term, just about how to have fun in the moment. I’d do ridiculous things for a laugh, and maybe for a bit of attention. The only reason I wasn’t a complete social reject was meeting David, the golden child of our school. He had this effortless way of making friends, and in a way, he taught me how to be human.
Reconnecting
Fast forward to my early twenties - life felt heavy. I felt lonely, directionless, and had bailed on more than one uni degree. Then, out of nowhere, I reconnected with David. He was living with a few of our old school mates, and they welcomed me in like family.
Somewhere during that time, something shifted in me. I started meeting more and more people from completely different walks of life. People with upbringings nothing like mine, with wildly different lifestyles, passions, and beliefs. Yet so many of them were eager to share their world with me, to invite me into their lives without hesitation. I became fascinated by that, the way each person carries their own story, their own rhythm, and how willing they are to open that door for you.
Travel, I would later realise, was just an extension of that curiosity.
The Trip That Changed Everything
Not long after reconnecting with the group, we decided we needed an escape. That escape was Japan.
It was life-changing. I fell in love with the country, the culture, the people, the food, the late night laughter with friends. Everything about that trip reignited something in me. I felt like a kid again - free, curious, alive.
Seeing the World for What It Is
Travelling didn’t completely change my worldview, but it sharpened it. The world can be an unfair place. Society often serves the rich, power can corrupt, and the 9–5 grind can feel like modern-day slavery. But travelling also showed me the kind of beauty that’s impossible to ignore:
- The kindness strangers show each other
- Traditions kept alive for generations
- Music and food that carry centuries of history
- The joy of being welcomed into someone else’s way of life
Why I’m Cycling Across Continents
Now, I’m setting out on the Lestari Cycle journey - our own Journey to the West. Yes, it’s about sustainability, but for me, it’s also about chasing the purest form of freedom I’ve ever known: seeking out the people and cultures I share this world with, listening to their stories, and seeing life through their eyes. It’s about learning from them, their traditions, their struggles, their joys, and carrying those lessons forward. It’s about offering my hands where they’re needed, helping conservation efforts so that the generations after us inherit a world still rich in kindness, beauty, and wild places.
And maybe, if I can collect these moments and stories, if I can pass them on, then my journey will have been worth more than the miles. Because in the end, the real destination isn’t a place, it’s the love, understanding, and hope we leave behind.
Mission & Vision
We envision a world where human connection, cultural understanding, and environmental stewardship are central to how we live and travel. By reimagining exploration as a slower, more intentional act, we hope to inspire individuals and communities to value sustainability, empathy, and the stories that make our world extraordinary.
Lestari Cycle is a pedal-powered storytelling movement that travels the world to uncover and share the overlooked beauty of people, cultures, and landscapes. Through immersive cinematography, photography, and meaningful encounters, we aim to amplify voices rarely heard, spark curiosity, and foster respect for the richness of our planet’s diversity.
We invite you to be part of this journey. Follow our adventures, engage with the stories we tell, and support the communities we feature. Whether through sharing our content, connecting with the NGOs we highlight, or joining us on the road or in spirit, your involvement helps bring this movement to life.
Our STORY
Lestari means ‘sustainable’ in Bahasa Malaysia (Tash’s mother tongue). Sustainability is often referenced in an environmental, economic or social context. At Lestari Cycle, we see sustainability as more than just a concept - it’s a way of moving, discovering and sustaining oneself on a bicycle for a prolonged time.
Lestari Cycle was inspired after meeting a Colombian cyclist, Juanita Arias Palacio (lajuana.bike), who cycled solo from Vietnam to Spain in 2018. Filled with wonder, Lestari Cycle emulates her journey with our very first Lestari Cycle expedition; Journey to the West.
We have decided to start in Singapore, since it is the closest place to fly to from Australia that is connected to the rest of Asia by land. After venturing through Southeast Asia, the challenge will be to cross central Asia before settling down for the winter. When spring comes around again, we will cycle through the Balkans before crossing central Europe to Ireland and the UK. After our second winter, the goal is to finish up through Scandinavia. Our route remains flexible to weather, foreign affairs, health and other random life events.
The magic of bikepacking involves the serendipitous interaction of people in places not many frequent. As we cycle across wild and urban landscapes, we will inevitably meet with many people from unique cultures and lifestyles. This will shed a light on how people live, adapt and preserve their way of life in a sea of global challenges. These challenges often sit at the interface of human development and environmental concerns: human-wildlife relationships. How can we develop economically whilst preserving our world’s diversity? How is our consumption enabling the vanishing of precious natural resources?
Geared with a mutual love for the creative arts (having always made films and taken photos since we were teenagers) we aim to document and share these stories through film, story and photography. We wish to seek out people and organisations that support environmental and cultural preservation, sharing their work and creating a space where others can engage and learn. Through our stories, we offer an intimate perspective on the world’s challenges and innovations. Journey to the West, our current expedition from Asia to Europe, is our first step in this mission; one pedal stroke at a time.
