Hannah’s big bike trip was over 6,000 kms from the tropical island of Penang to the spicy city of Chengdu, travelling slowly and mindfully through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and China. She logged the journey on her blog, Pai Straight Up.

“Having never ridden long-distance on a bicycle before, it is hard to believe that I can now say ‘I have done it’,” says Hannah.

Her journey began as a reaction to a stressful job, that left her feeling burnt-out and pessimistic about the world.

“At no point did I think it would be easy and, I guess, that’s the main reason why I wanted to do it. I wanted to be challenged, to experience the unknown and find out what I was capable of. I wanted the space and time to think about things, other than how to make myself happy and save the world. I wanted an experience, be it a good or a bad one.”