Singaporean in his 60s cycles to ancestral home in Guangdong

A Singaporean in his 60s cycled most of the way to his ancestral home town in Guangdong over about two months, Chinese reports said.

Mr Luo Run Xiang told news website southcn.com that it took five years to plan this expedition to Dabu in Meizhou county.

He began in Singapore on Nov 27, 2015, and cycled north through Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.

His bicycle broke down in Laos, where he was forced to fly to Kunming, then Shenzhen where he sent his bike for repairs.

After it was fixed, he continued from Shenzhen to Meizhou on Jan 27, reaching his home town of Dabu in nine days.

Mr Luo's bicycle was laden with luggage and five water bottles. The total weight is about 27kg, he told southcn.com.

Mr Luo, a technician, started planning the trip when he retired.

"I came to Dabu 19 years ago. Since then, I've had this dream of cycling back here," he said.

Mr Luo's father is from Meizhou. Last year, when Mr Luo came to Meizhou to check out the cycling route, he managed to locate relatives they had lost touch with.

This time, he arrived in time for the Chinese New Year, which he celebrated with his relatives.

Dabu county is the ancestral home of most Hakkas in Singapore.

This article was first published on Feb 23, 2016.
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