Hey all, back
again,
Well I last left you all hanging in a place called Kang Ding. As they say, this
is once again where China ends and Tibetan and other ethnic
minority people begin. The small city is about 2560 metres high and you
really start to feel the temperature change!! I think that is why there are
alot less Han Chinese there or anywhere over in Sichuan Provine. We stayed here
three nights in all and probably would have left a little earlier to restart
our bike riding to the real places we wanted to see but the weather was a bit
dodgy and although it didn't really rain much it was threatening to so we
decided to wait it out a little. While there we basically just chilled out and
had a look around the town. We also took a cable car up the hill behind the
city and got a pretty good birds eye view of it. Also up the top was a temple
and to our surprise a big open arena with traditional tibetan dancers doing
there thing in it. We sat on some stone steps around the circular arena
watching the tibetan people in their traditional tibetan colorful dress do some
of their dances for a while and took some photos but were careful not to get
too close in case we were asked to join in!!! After this we had a bit of a look
around the hill area and then walked down the back side of the hill back into
the town. Other things in town to see was a big market and late night stalls
everywhere that seemed to just pop up at dark through to the early hours of the
morning and then be gone again by the time we got out of bed.
We left Kang Ding on the morning of the 5th of October and it wasn't long
before we were out of town and back into the countryside. It was awesome.
Autunm had definitly come in full bloom and the colours out there were nothing
like I have seen any where else. Trees were everywhere in oranges,yellows and
reds and the great pines had bright green beards hanging off the branches.
Within about 1/2 an hour of getting out of town, as much as the scenery was
great, we started to realise that we had a bit of a climb on our hands but
didn't imagine it to be as big as it turned out to be. About half way up we
actually stopped to have a rest with 4 tibetan ladies who were working on the
side of the road and although we couldn't really talk with each other there
were plenty of smiles to go round and they offered us some of their apples
which we gladly accepted. We waved good bye to them, got back on the bikes and
carried on. Well, holy shit, we climbed and we climbed and for 7 1/2 hours we
climbed!!!! Switchback after switchback, it never seemed to end, and we got
higher and higher slowly leaving the trees and all their colour and starting to
get into mountain territory!! In 7 1/2 hours of continuely climbing we had done
a sad 34km!!!!! Luckliy this part of the road was sealed and in pretty good
condition otherwise it would have been very ugly compared to previous legs. As
we got higher we also started to have awesome views of snow capped mountain
ranges behind and ahead of us but the day was getting on and we still hadn't reached
the top!!!! To top it all off, in the late afternoon it actually started
snowing lightly!!!!! We couldn't believe it!!!! I never even considered seeing
snow on mountains, let alone it actually snowing on me in China and all I could
do was start laughing!!!! We eventually stopped by a stream flowing down from
one of the mountain tops for another of many rests and decided we better make a
plan!! We eventually decided that we thought we could see the summit
pass(little did we know that it was 4298 met
res high for the kiwis, about 14000 feet for you yanks so we were only just
below that!!!!) of the mountain but it was probably another hour away and we
had no idea what was over the other side in the way of camping or shelter. With
it snowing lightly and looking like it could close in and also get worse we
opted to bike back down about 1/2 km where we had spotted a little place to
camp out of sight of the road and by a small stream for cooking and refilling
water supplies. We headed back down and jumped off the road and down into a
reasonably flat but a bit of a rocky area. There was only a little bit of grass
area that was worth camping on in between the rocks and patches of snow on the
ground and the funny thing is there was a huge lone yak grazing on it with not
another in sight. His horns were pretty big with one of them having been half
broken off, probably from a fight with the last campers who tried to kick him
off his turf to put their tent up!!! HA HA. Anyway we edged in on him and he
slowly walked away a little and gave us his favourite spot. We popped the tent
up first in case we had to dive for cover from the weather then we got out the
cooker and started to boil up water for the old faithful noodles!! By now the
lone yak was getting quite comfortable with us and starting to move back in. He
was probably hanging out around 30 feet from us but keeping one eye on us and
the other on the grass. We also wondered how long before its owner came along
to check on it but couldn't see anyone or anything for as far as the eye could
see, which I could understand with us being up so high and in the middle of no
where. Anyway we cooked and ate dinner and the got into our long johns and
sleeping bags straight after due to the wind starting to get colder and colder as
the sun disappeared. Well it got bloody colder and colder and we were lying in
the tent wondering just how cold it was going to get as we looked out the door
and up at the sky, which was actually very cool with it being so clear and full
of stars. Alt
hough we were sure we would survive the night okay, but maybe not with much
sleep, we had a bit of a laugh when I said to Katherine that if it got really
bad we could always go out and catch that old yak, kill it, empty the belly out
and dive in that!!!! HA HA I think he heard me and let out a bit of a groan
from somewhere close to the tent though!! Anyway we did survive fine, but it
was bloody cold up there and we didn't really sleep a wink rather than just lie
and rest up. Got up early the next morning, with every piece of clothing on,
including gloves, and cooked breakfast. The morning was still and looked to
show the promise of a great day. Although it didn't snow anymore through the
night there was a nice thick layer of frost all over the tent confirming just
how cold the night had been!!!! Our new freind the yak was still there and
while cooking breakfast must have liked the smell because he started to move
within 5 feet of us now and I could almost reach out and grab a horn!!! We
started to pack up and load the bikes when I noticed Kath had broken another
spoke the day before so proceeded to replace it. While I was doing this
Katherine was packing down the tent and as she was folding up the fly of the
tent, from no where the wind came up all of a sudden. Not thinking, probably
from frozen brain syndrome and lack of sleep, we had pulled all the pegs on the
main body of the tent with the flexible rod frames still in. Well the next
thing we know the wind picked the bloody thing up and off it flew rolling end
over end up the hillside!!! I dropped the tools I was using to fix Kaths wheel
and sprinted after it. It was heading straight up towards the road and I knew
once it got on the top of that it would be clear out in the open and exposed to
the full winds and gone for good!!! Just what I needed first thing in the
morning, to sprint my guts out at over 4000 metres high with the air so thin,
uphill, with cold muscles, and against mother nature!!!!! HA HA Well I managed
to catch the bloody thing by some miracle
and carried it back down flying behind me like a chinese kite. As funny as it
was afterwards we were bloody lucky it didn't rip on the rocks as it was
rolling along and we certainly learn't our lesson there in keeping at least one
peg in the thing until we were ready to actually collapse it and put it in its
bag. With all the morning headaches we didn't get away until around 10.30am but
at least we still had all our gear. We said good bye to our mate the yak who I
think was as happy to see us go as we were that we didn't have to go to plan B
through the night to survive the cold!!! HA HA
Well the day turned out brilliant and the sky was clear as. We could see for
miles and the mountain ranges were awesome. We got to what we thought was the
summit pass the day before in about an hour and we were right. At the top was a
big sign saying 4298 metres and we took a photo with one of us underneath it
and then tried to take an automatic one with us both in it. Also up the top
were four old tibetan dudes and their horses who were sitting in amongst a
stacked rock shelter up there having a feed. There was also the usual prayer
flags and stacked rock monuments that the tibetans seem to fly and erect at all
the tops of any hills and mountains they can get to. Some sort of traditional
religeous thing that we still haven't quite figured out yet but see all the
time when you get into these areas. Maybe its an offering to the gods and the
tops of these mountains are the closest they can get to them????? We also got a
good look at the road we had just biked up and all those bloody switch backs we
had to knock out to get to the top.
We then proceeded to drop down the other side where it was first just open
rolling hills with snow on the tops and a gradual descent. Eventully however we
started to drop back down into the tree line and more great autumn colours and
also started to bike past cool tibetan stone country houses and tiny tibetan
villages following a river right beside the road lined in poplar
type trees. It was bloody unreal and definitly rates up there as some of the
best scenery I have ever seen!!! And to top it off the weather couldn't have
been better. We eventually stopped for a late lunch in a small tibetan village
and although we intended to just buy some bread from one of the little road
side house stores the lady instead invited us into her house to have a true
tibetan meal with her and her family!!!! We accepted and parked up and went
into their sitting area. It was very cool and a pretty good spread of local
food. They had two little kids who pretty much just sat there and stared at us
but the husband could talk chinese so we could somewhat have a three word
sentence conversation with him since we can only say 'hello' in Tibetan!!! HA
HA. After the meal we paid them for it and then they wanted us to stay the
night with them but we decided we needed to get a little further down the road
and turned the offer down. It is amazing how friendly and generous the tibetan
people are, or in fact all these many minority races that are here mixed in
amongst the Han chinese (main ethnic group of China), especially out in the
country side. They have buggar all money and live a hell of a tough life
working the land for buggar all out there yet they are always smiling and so
bloody generous it makes you wonder who really are the lucky ones???
We also bought a bunch of tibetan bread (bloody good with noodles!!!) off them
before saying good bye and heading back on the road. Just after we got down the
road a bit we stopped and looked behind us to get an awesome clear view of Mt
Gongga Shan which stands at 7556 metres (about 25000 feet for the USA crew) and
it was completely white in snow. To give you an idea how clear the weather was
Mt Gongga Shan was probably about 100km from where we were looking at it and we
could see way past that!!!!. We continued through more stone house villages and
farms with plenty of animals roaming the fields and walking up the road with
us. The locals all decked out in there bright coloured clothing were great to
and always wave and say hello.
We biked for the next couple of weeks up in the mountains of Sichuan from
Kanding heading west along the 'Sichuan Tibetan Highway' to Yajiang and west
onto Litang, which gets quite close to the Tibetan border, before heading south
again down the tibetan border line out of Sichuan Province and into Yunnan
Province to a city called Zhongdian.
It was bloody hard yakker up in Sichuan Province on the bikes in the mountains
but the scenery was just bloody awesome the whole time and if you only had a
couple of weeks to look around china and wanted to see some incredible
countryside, some real traditional china of old and some awesome ethnic
minority people and the way they have lived for years and years then Sichuan Province
and Yunnan Province are the gems of this country to me. Not only did we have
90% outstanding weather during the day, although bloody cold at night, but
timing it to be there in Autumn going on winter made the sights that much more
incredible!!!! ( Katherine can pat herself on the back for that planning!!!)
Definitly the best time of the year to be in that area if you get the great
weather we got pretty much the whole time.
The funny thing , or should that be painful???, was that after we hit a height
of 4298 metres on the first day out of Kand Ding, and thought that was amazing,
we actually biked over higher summits of 4412 metres and 4659 metres with our
highest achievment being 4718 metres!!!!! ( About 15000ft for the USA crew,
actually you pilot friends of Katherines will appreciate the heights a bit more
eh?? HA HA) We wouldn't have known we were this high if they weren't sign
posted at each summit pass. The problem was after each of these heights we
would drop anywhere from 2000 to 2500 metres only to have to climb and bloody
climb again!!! It got a bit old after awhile!!! One day we actually spent about
6 1/2 hours just cruising downhill, switch back after switch back, without
having to pedal, we lost that much height only to have to go all the way back
up again to a record new height!!! Although we did hundreds of
switch backs over the 2 or 3 weeks on the hills and mountains we actually tried
to count the number on just one of them and it was over 20 odd on it alone once
we got to the top !!!. We also knew we were up in the dizzy heights with the
amount of people we saw passing us in buses with their heads out the window
barfing!!!! HA HA Once I was lucky not to get hit by a girl rejecting her lunch
out the back window as the bus passed us!!! We also saw the odd used oxygen
bottle on the side of the road when we were up at the high points, probably
thrown out of a bus as it was going over the summits. You can buy these
bottles, that are about the size of a normal household aresol can, from the shops
to give you a quick oxygen fix when you are getting altitude sickness and I
think the chinese use them quite often. Unlike the ethnic minority people who
thrive at these heights, ( like the tibetan people), the chinese struggle a bit
I think. We really didn't have too much problem with the thin air thankfully.
Unlike the buses who come up the mountain summits into the thin air quickly we
obviuosly took alot longer and had to ca
mp full nights at different heights so we acclimatised as we ascended. The only
time we really felt it was up high at night when we were sleeping. I think when
we were biking our heart rates were up at a pace to compensate and grab more
oxygen but at nights they were having to work a bit harder at a normal resting
heart rate and I always seemed like I had to breathe a little more and quicker
to get my fix when resting in the tent.
Over the two or three weeks we probably camped about two thirds of the time in
between the major towns and although it was bloody cold some nights when we had
to stop at the higher points it was alot of fun, even if it was pretty much
noodles and tibetan bread every night for dinner HA HA. There was always plenty
of fresh water running off the mountain tops to cook and drink from and we
never got bothered by the locals, although we did make a point camping out of
sight from them each time which believe me, with 1.2 billion odd people I think
living over here , is not an easy thing to do some times HA HA. Actually one
evening, around 5 or 6pm, when I thought I had found the perfect camp spot up
behind some huge boulders off to the side of the road, I went up to check it
out properly only to find a couple of tibetan herders already lying on thier
bed sacks beside the fire they had made ready to sleep there the night!!!! Off
to the side a bit was their small herd of yak grazing away freely that I guess
they were getting to the nearest town market the next morning. Don't know where
or how far they had travelled from but it was obviously more than one days travel
by foot!!!. HA HA Anyway, luckily they didn't spot me staring at
them from behind one of the boulders and I ran back down to the road and
Katherine and I ended up having to back track about 1/4 km to find somewhere
else. They must have got up early because we didn't see or hear them pass us at
breakfast time or when we carried on that day? How the hell those blokes sleep
up at those heights and in that cold without a tent or sleeping bag is beyond
me. All they sleep in is these full length sheep wool jackets they all wear and
thats it mate!!!! Real men those blokes!! HA HA It even snowed a bit that
bloody night and all!!!! Actually one morning it had snowed so much through the
night that we actually woke up to about 2 inches of fresh snow on the ground when
we got out of the tent ( I think we emailed that photo to everyone???) the good
thing was that it was
n't as cold as some of the other nights when it was more windy than snowy but
the main thing was the days always turned out clear and warm when the sun came
up from behind the mountains and we couldn't have asked for better weather to
bike in!!!!
One night we also ended up sleeping in a small stone hut about 10ft x 10ft.
Through the mountain passes where ever there is a water source from the
mountain tops running all the way down to the road local people tap in to them
with plastic hoses and set up business cleaning and topping up the radiators of
the many trucks that drive through there carring supplies from city to city or
town to town. With the big passes through the mountains it seems like alot of
the vehicles over heat and we saw a few struggling while biking along. Anyway
one day when it was starting to get late and we were looking for a camp site we
were starting to run out of day light and the only water source we could find
in the area was by one of these water stations. It was run by this old chinese
bloke who must have been at least in his 70s and with only about 2 teeth left
in his mouth which looked like they would fall out if he coughed too hard. He
was definitly looking like he'd had a rough old life but was bloody friendly
and seemed happy enough. I think meeting us in the middle of nowhere had also
made his year since I would guess daily life way out there has got to rate up
there with watching a kettle boil!!! Well we asked him if we could camp down
below his little water station for the night and he was not only happy for us
to do that but insisted we were to sleep in his stone hut!!!! I tried to say we
didn't want to impose on him as he walked me up to the hut but on looking
inside and figuring out what he was trying to say I realized that he didn't
actually sleep there at nights and he pointed over the top of the hill where I
guess his real house was. The little stone hut just had his water station
supplies in there, an open fire with some firewood and a tea pot he used to
brew up through the day. He showed us where to sleep in the hut, to feel free
to use the fire and firewood supply and his tea pot and then told us he would
be back in the morning around 8am. So we didn't have to tent that night but we
did get bloody cold anyway sinc
e there was no door and the hut was definitly not built with warmth and
sleeping in mind!!! We lit the fire while cooking dinner and waiting to hit the
sleeping bags etc but it smoked out the place to the max and once or twice we
had to go out side to get some air!!! HA HA. Anyway we threw a few more logs on
to at least get to sleep somewhat warm and hit the sleeping bags. About 2 or 3
in the morning Katherine woke me to tell me there was something in the hut with
us and it sounded huge. I grabbed the flash light to look around and eventually
spotted a field mouse in the centre of the hut stealing one of our kit kat bar
wrappers that we had eaten after dinner. Had to laugh at Katherines 'huge'
statement although I guess the kit kat bar foil did make alot of noise when the
little guy was nibbling on it so I can see what she must have been thinking
before we spotted the little guy HA HA. The little buggar was a wee bit
startled when I shone the light on him and ran into one of the corners where he
pretty much stayed for an hour or so making more bloody noise with the foil
wrapper. Eventually however he either disappeared or we finally got back to
sleep and by the morning he was gone. If we were chinese we would have probably
caught him and cooked him for breakfast the next morning since they love the
old rat over here, along with dog, snake, frog, monkey and anything else that
walks or flys, so he can count himself lucky he was sleeping with a couple of
westerners eh?
The next morning we got up early due to it being to cold to stay in bed anyway
and sure enough the old bloke was back down at eight sharp ready to start the
day. We thanked him for the hut, offered him some food, took a photo of him
with Katherine and headed back out on the road with him waving at us the whole
time until we were out of sight.
Also on our travels through the mountains we were passed by around 250 military
trucks. They must have passed us about three times over a couple of days since
they would stop to fix break downs or over heating problems which mean't we
would catch up and pass them again or they would stop the night at one of the
military bases we saw and then all pass us again the next morning. They would
all wave at us as they passed, even if it was the second or third time!!!, and
after about the 20th truck I resorted to just nodding my head since it was
starting to get a bit old quickly!!! Anyway most of the trucks were old bedford
type things and they seriously need to up grade their fleet if they are going
to use them to go over those mountains all the time. I guess thats why the
little water station guys set up business out there?? HA HA Apparently this
Sichuan Tibetan Highway road from Kang Ding to Litang and on into Tibet is the
main road they use to enter and patrol the Tibetan area so lucky for us they
make sure it is in pretty good shape I guess???
We also saw a couple of major truck crashes on the road sides on our travels.
Didn't actually see them happen but saw the trucks all smashed up and they had
to have been fairly recent. One of them appeared to have completely missed the
corner of one of the switchbacks and ended up going over the edge and nose
diving onto the road of the next switch back below!!!! Had to have been some
fatalities I'd say. After seeing these and the way the bus drivers drive over
here I am really starting to think that I am safer on my bike!!! HA HA The
sites you see are certainly much better than from a dusty bus window screaming
pass them at any rate.
Anyway the cities and towns through these legs where we stayed for a night or
two were great. Not much in the way of sights to see but the many ethnic
minority people made up for that. Weather on a horse, motorbike, back of a
truck or just walking the street the tibetan people love to wear the brightest
colours out there and wear as much jewelley as they can carry with out falling
over. The men all wear cowboy hats or red head wraps and wear as much jewelery
bloody near as the woman!!! Alot of them wear one huge earring in an ear
hanging almost to their shoulder and I have yet to work out why they aren't
walking around in circles from the size of the thing!!! They also all carry
huge jewelery covered knifes or daggers, or both!!!, stuffed in there waist
wrap around but I have yet to work out what the hell they do with them. Maybe
they take out the odd tourist who gets to smart to them!!!! HA HA Some of the
knifes are up to 3 feet long and must be close to dragging along the ground
when they are riding there motor bikes. They also love the old gold teeth in
their mouths and when they smile you could probably just about comb your hair
in the reflection. The woman also wear as many bright coloured clothing and
jewelery they can put on themselves. But all in all they are a friendly and
generous bunch of people although a bit too curious sometimes and not afraid to
stand there and stare at you all day if you let them. I have had up to 18 of
them standing around me and the bikes staring while Kath has been inside a
guesthouse organising a room. They can't help themselves and once you have 2 or
3 standing around you everyone else decides to come over and join the party!!!!
They can't help but play with and touch the bikes and bike helmets either.
Although they have seen a few bikes, its the helmets that freak them out. No
one in China wears a helmet on a push bike and hardly anyone even wears one on
a motorbike so they have to pick it up and knock on it or try it on and laugh
at each other. Another interesting piece of
dress the 'Naxi' ethnic minority women further down south wear is a hat the
size of a bloody umbrella!!! I shit you not. The thing is that wide in diameter
that I wonder how they get through door ways with it on????. Anyway the people
are all pretty interesting and if you want to meet them you just have to sit
down for a few minutes and it isn't long before they will all start sitting
down with you finding you as interesting to them as they are to you.
Anyway back to Zhongdian we arrived there to rest after all those three or so
weeks of mountain climbing and after settling in to a guest house we discovered
another two mountain bikes at the same place. We were sitting in the bar of the
guest house later that night and finally met the owners who turned out to be
another kiwi couple doing the same thing as us!!!! So we aren't the only crazy
buggars around HA HA. Well we traded bike stories of China of course over many
beers and soon discovered that they were pretty much heading the same direction
as us over the next week or so, although were heading out the next day or two
where we were planning to stay there a bit longer. We traded email addresses
never the less and they also promised to email us with road conditions etc over
the next few legs since they would make the towns we were heading to a few days
ahead. It worked out great and we did catch up with them in the next three
towns for a beer or two each time before they finally went a different direction
to us.
We eventually did head out of Zhongdian a few days later and the funny thing
was that over the next week we would meet locals in the villages who were
expecting to see us since the other kiwi bikers had told them we would be
through in a few days!!!! It was hard case to know that the other kiwi couple
were just ahead of us by a day or so and had been experiencing and seeing what
we were the same way and then catching up to them at a town further south to
have a laugh about it all before splitting up again.
Well back to leaving Zhongdian, we got away quite late the day we left and only
biked about 4 hours through a few little Naxi villages before finding somewhere
to camp. We ended up finding a place just of to the side of the road in an
animal enclosure of all places!!!! It was just a crude constructed circular
enclosure for holding livestock I guess and was made out of stacked thorn
bushes acting like a fence. Looked like it hadn't been used for a while even
though we could see a few wooden farm shacks off in the distance but it suited
us great since it hid us from the road and pretty much from everywhere around
us. Anyway slept well and were woken up the next morning to the sound of Daisy
the yak with her bell around her neck ringing as she was walking half way up
and along the hills just behind us. I got up thinking that there had to be a
local herder following her who would spot and pay a visit but she was on her
own and just going for a morning walk I guess. Had breakfast, poached eggs, of
which we have only broken one on transit so far when we carry them HA HA, and
tibetan bread and then headed out back on the road.
Got to our next destination around lunchtime which was a place called
'Baishuitai'. By the way we had taken the back road south from Zhongdian to
Ligiang, our next main destination, rather than the main expessway for anyone
who is trying to follow this on a map. This was to check out the terraces at
Baishuitai and then bike through the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge further south
before going on to Lijiang.
So we got to Baishuitai and parked up below the terraces to get the entrance
tickets. Once again our Padi Diving cards came in handy as student cards and we
got 50% off the entrance price!!! The white calcium deposit terraces were amazing
and apparently alot like the ones in Turkey but much whiter (not that I have
been to Turkey!!!). It is pretty much a huge smooth rock face completely
covered in bright white calcium build up with the water running over the entire
surface and filling up all these staggered half moon shaped pools further down
that stick out of the rock face. The water in the pools is crystal clear and a
green colour from the reflexion of the sun I guess. The great thing was you
could walk all over them and really get a good look and great photos. Only the
chinese would let people walk all over a national treasure such as this!!! HA
HA. We wouldn't have even thought of doing it once we got up to them if it
wasn't for an old local gift seller who was out there on them waving us over to
him. There was only about 3 or 4 tourists up there when we were there and so it
was good. So good in fact that with not many people around, a hot clear day
shining all over the terraces, and being able to go pretty much all over them
we ended up taking way too many photos but there you go eh! Actually I think we
emailed one to you all with us standing on them. Even though there is water
flowing over them constantly it isn't deep enough to end up in your shoes and
you don't slip and slide on the big rock face because even though it has
smoothed and rounded over the many years and has a gradual slope downwards the
calcium deposits seem to provide a really good friction for your feet. We came
down off there after a few hours and then had lunch at the bottom with a local
lady who spent the whole time practising her english on us while we ate!!!!
Nice enough though. We then headed back out on to the road and carried on
towards the Tiger Leaping Gorge. We headed through some more great countryside
and villages meeting anoth
er local or two who had already met the other kiwi bikers ahead of us and knew
we were coming until eventually Mt Haba came into view totally covered in snow.
We biked to as close to the base of the mountain you could get by road and then
jumped up to a point in the forest where we found probably the best tent site
we have had yet!!! Not only could we see Mt Haba clearly in front but we could
also see a huge blue coloured mountain range off to the other side and down
below us were clear views of the village and farm lands we had biked out off to
the top of the hill. To top it all off the tent site was even close to being
flat and level for a change!!! HA HA It was great to watch the sun set on the
mountain that night and we also made sure we got up early enough to watch it
rise on it also. The day also once again turned out perfect and once the sun
was fully lighting up the mountain it was so clear you could see the wind
blowing the snow up and off the very tip of the mountain peak. Bet ya it was
bloody cold up there too eh? HA HA
We left there about 9am that morning and it was pretty much all down hill from
there until the head of Tiger leaping Gorge and the funny thing was that as we
headed down hill from the base of Mt Haba the terrain changed quite alot. Kath
and I felt it was like we had all of a sudden started biking through Australia
or Fiji. The hills were covered in scattered trees and the ground was all of
reddish or tannish coloured clay. It was actually a little wierd and we even
seemed to have that Aussie or Fiji sun and heat for the day to make it even
more convincing. Anyway the main thing was we were going down hill and not up
all the way to the start of the gorge!! Bloody good!!! Stopped at some water
down the road to brush our teeth and wash since we didn't have any left after
breakfast or water near by at the camp site. Went through another few Naxi
villages and farms before hitting the start of the gorge.
Tiger Leaping Gorge is about 16 km long and although the new road they have
almost finished building through there is reasonable flat and cut into the side
of the rock face which is quite the engineering feat, the cliff face up one
side goes for hundreds and hundreds of metres at quite a steep angle and the
other side drops pretty much straight down for hundreds of metres also into the
river below. It is quite spectacular and although most tourists come and walk
the many trails over a couple of days, staying at the various little
traditional guesthouses along the trails, we were planning just to stay on the
road. We biked to about the half way point at around 2pm and checked into one
of the road side guesthouses. Since there was still quite a bit of daylight
left we then decided to walk straight down from the guest house and down the
trail that takes you to the middle rapids of the river. It took about an hour
of practicaly climbing straight down dirt trail and rock steps before you got
to the water but mate was that thing humming!!!!!! The water was screaming over
the big boulders and you could kiss your arse good bye if you fell in for sure.
There are absolutly no barriers down there and one thing you start to realise
with the Chinese is they don't seem to value a life as much as us and saftey is
a non factor when it comes to the likes of construction or any other activity
going for that matter. Down there you could jump out over the boulders within
feet of the water racing past and if you slipped you'd be gone. I was reading
in a journal up at the guest house that an English guy had been through here
and he wrote in the journal how he was down at the rapids when he saw something
floating down towards him and the local guide he had hired to take him around
the trails for the day. Eventually he realised it was a man with his horse
floating not far behind him and they were both as dead as a door knob. He
pointed it out to the local guide and when the guide saw it he just sort of
acknowledged it and shrugged it of
f like it was a common thing!!!! I also read in the guide book we carry with us
that quite a few tourists have had fatal accidents at the gorge from getting
lost or falling etc over the last few years so it is still quite a raw area and
I guess there is some merit to hiring a local guide for the area. Especially
when there are no real saftey barriers anywhere in some of the areas. Where's
the fun in that though eh? HA HA Anyway we can't talk since we couldn't help
but jump the boulders ourselves to get as close to the water as possible but it
was really amazing to hear and see the tonnes of water flying over the boulders
just in front of you.
We left the guesthouse the next morning heading out the rest of the way through
the gorge passing a few road construction crews along the way, including a
prison gang all decked out in their matching prison pyjamas with a guard
watching over them!!! and stopped at a town at the end of the gorge called
'Qiaotou' for lunch. After lunch we carried on towards Lijiang knowing we had
to get there within the next three days to extend our Chinese Visa or we would
be paying some serious fines down the road for each day over (about US50$ for
every day over!!!!) We knew we had plenty of time but wanted to at least get
there with one day up our sleeve in case we had unforseen problems on the way.
We biked with in about 50 km of Lijiang that day before feeling comfortable
enough to find a guest house at the bottom of our last big climb into Lijiang
this time rather than tent. Actually a bit of a laugh happened just
before getting there. We were biking through some of the little farm houses
surrounded by the fields with the locals ploughing and working them everywhere.
I was a little ahead of Kath and as I was passing one of the field gate ways I
could see this thing coming up the dirt track towards the road we were on out
the corner of my eye. I turned to see what it was and it turned out to be a
huge water buffalo screaming right at me with eyes looking like he had just
discovered he was about to be cut up for the dinner plate. Well I bloody near
shit me pants!!! I thought he must have spotted me from the field and decided
he wanted a piece of me!!! I swerved a little but just as I thought he was
going to take me out he turned off and bolted down the road in front of me. Not
long after the farmer also came racing out of the gate and down the road after
the big boy. I soon realized that the bull was just trying to run away from
hard labour I guess??? HA HA Anyway the farmer kept after him but the bull
wouldn't slow down and actually started getting further down the road due to a
couple of vehicles trying to get past him and
honking their horns until they eventually did. Well once I realized it
wasn't me the big boy was after I decided I would do my bit for the hard
working farmers of China and head the thing off at the OK Corral for the poor
old bloke chasing after him!!! HA HA I raced after it and when I got close I
could see it had spotted me out the corner of its eye and off it sped faster.
But I finally got past it and then stopped my bike in the middle of the road to
turn it around back to the farmer. Well it did stop but didn't turn around as
planned and all of a sudden I was back to shitting me pants and wondering if I
had made a bad mistake with it just standing a few feet away staring at me with
crazed eyes. Anyway I guess it had a good think about the situation and finally
decided hard labour was better than dealing with this wierdo on the bike and
eventually it turned and headed up a house driveway back down the road a bit
where the farmer who had finally caught up had it trapped and then managed to
get hold of its neck rope again. The bloke thanked me for helping out and
little did I let on that I was just bloody glad I was still sitting on my bike
in one piece after it all!!!! HA HA
Anyway stayed at this guest house the night just out of Lijiang and it by far
had the worst toilets we have seen over here so far!!!!! We have seen some bad
ones which is always a major talking point amongst fellow back packers but this
took the cake as far as Kath and I were concerned. To give you an idea just how
bad it was without getting too graphic when I went down in the dark about 10pm
and entered the male side toilet, which simply backs on to the female side, no
sooner had I got through the door with flashlight in hand when a great bloody
rat ran out of one of the stalls and right between my bloody legs out the
door!!!!!! Once again, nearly shit me pants, but at least this time I was in
the right place to do it. HA HA Believe me, the place was BADDDDD!!!!
Anyway got out of there the next morning and hit Lijiang around 2ish I guess.
Found a great guest house recommended by some fellow travellers who had stayed
there before and settled in quickly. Actually we settled in for bloody near a
week the place was that easy to chill out in!!!! It reminded me of somewhere
like Queenstown in NZ or Old town Pasadena in Los Angeles. All old huge hand
laid stone roads and pathes, old Naxi buildings and guesthouses with heaps of
shops and most importantly heaps of Western food cafes!!!! HA HA Alot of the
cafes had outdoor seating lining the little water run ways that flow through
the town with all these cool old stone or wooden bridges to get accross. We
were staying just behind the main tourist area so it was handy to go out to eat
or look at the art and craft shops etc. We also went to a late night 'Naxi'
Orchestra playing all the old traditional music from thousands of years ago and
apparently the 'youngest' of the main musicians is 75 years old!!!! They looked
it too and although there are a few younger up and comings playing with them
they apparently are currently losing 2 of the old main musicians a year due to
old age and are concerned that the tradition will die soon. Looking at the old
guys just trying to stay upright in their seats for the whole performance I can
see why!!!! Anyway quite interesting and maybe lucky that we saw it before
another year or two passes along with some of the musicians. Also went to
Dragon Park which was so so, but mainly just chilled out and enjoyed the food
and atmosphere despite the fact the place is a bit of a tourist trap. Like I
said stayed there almost a week so was a great place to hang and enjoy life
passing by. Also hooked back up with the other kiwi biking couple there, along with
some other kiwi and english backpackers, for a night or two of beers before
they headed out south again to Dali where we were also heading a few days
later. Got our Chinese Visas extended no problem there as well so our time
their was definitly successful
and enjoyable.
Next we headed to Old town Dali which is about 180km south of Lijiang. The good
thing was that the other kiwi bikers ahead of us got there before we left
Lijiang and emailed us with road conditions and hills etc before we left so
we actually knew what we were up against before we hit the road!!! It
took us about a day and a half to get there and we found a camp site at about
the 120km mark. Once again the weather was good to us and the road was one of
the easier ones we have biked. Dali is like a smaller version of Lijiang, with
its stone roads and walkways, little cafes and many art and craft stalls. We
stayed here about 4 days and just biked around the town and out to the
outskirts, down to the lake nearby, and anywhere else worth having a nosey at.
Also caught up with the other NZ biking couple for the last time there as they
were heading to Sri Lanka next once getting out of China and we helped them
down to the bus station with their gear and saw them off safely. Met up with
another NZ couple there also and had a few beers with them over the next few
nights. The one thing we have found is the further south you head
over this side of the country the easier it is to get by. More people talk
english, there are many western style cafes and food, more backpackers and
travellers and a better set up to accommodate them. So it is quite easy for us
now and a lot different to Sichuan Province and Gansu Province where things
were alot more remote and raw.
Anyway our next leg was east to Kunming City and we actually decided to bus
this leg. Reason being we have got a bit fussy now after all the great sights
we have seen and also are getting short on time with visas in China. The road
from Dali to Kunming is all expressway and there didn't sound like we would see
too much from the road of interest so opted just to get to Kunming by bus in a
day rather than spend 3 or 4 days getting there by bike.
Got to Kunming no problem, bikes in the carriage compartment, and settled into
the main backpacker hotel there no worries. Spent a day going out to the 'Stone
Forest' by train just out of the city and it was pretty bloody good. A huge
area of big tall pointed and roundish stones that pretty much looks like a
forest of stones as the name suggests. The trip took the whole day with about 4
hours spent getting there and back and was well worth it. We also walked around
the city a bit which is one of the cleaner and nicer big cities we have been to
in China. While in Kunming we also had to get visas for Vietnam and Laos, which
are our next destinations, so we handed in our passports for the Laos visa,
which only took 3 days, and then handed them into the Vietnam office to get
their visa. Rather than hang around Kunming waiting for our passports we then
decided to head away to Yangshou area in Guangxi Province which is south east
of Kunming for most of the remainder of our Chinese visa time.
Because Yangshuo, or Guilin city, which is where the train from Kunming
arrives, is around 24 to 29 hours by train and because this was more just a
short side trip to fill in time we decided just to leave most of our stuff in
storage at the Kunming Hotel we were staying and,packing light along with our
bikes, we took the train. We got on the train with not too much problem and our
bikes packed down and wrapped up in some tarp covers but then just when we
thought we had got away with carrying them on board with us rather than putting
them in cargo and paying the frieght charge we got nabbed!!!! We had a couple
of train attendants come see us and there was a big discussion about the bikes
and that they should be in cargo and we should be paying extra etc. Even though
we knew what they were saying we played dumb and after about an hour of
discussion and us saying we didn't understand the problem or what they were
trying to tell us they eventually gave up I guess because they all just walked
away with out another word or a final decision and once they did Katherine and
I just closed and locked our compartment door and that was the last we saw of
them!!!! Anyway got underway and the train ride ended up being great with some
great sights out the window on the way or reading books and sleeping when it
was dark. We had plenty of food with us for the trip and a sleeper compartment
to ourselves so life on the train was pretty good.
We arrived into Guilin 29 hours later no worries apart from the fact that
it arrived at around 2 in the morning!!!!!! Once we got off the train we
unwrapped our bikes and put them back together out the front of the train
station under some lights and were ready to head out at 3am, but with it being
pitch black we had to sit there and wait until around 6am before we could
actually start biking!!!! To top it off it was a bit nippy and so we had to
move around a bit to keep warm and it was like watching paint dry as we waited
for the morning to come. The train staion was practically dead quiet which was
probably good in the fact that we didn't end up with an audience of chinese in
front of us while waiting there. Eventually we got away and our first
destination was actually north of Guilin City rather than south to Yangshuo to
a place called 'Longsheng'. It is about 100 km away from Guilin and about 20km
south of it is the 'Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces' which is what everyone
actually goes to see. The area where the terraces are is called 'Longji Titian'
and the little village where everyone usually stays up in amongst the terraces
themselves is called 'Ping An'. We got to Ping An village no worries about
lunchtime, due to our early get away from Guilin, and settled into one of the
many traditional wood guesthouses up there. The guesthouses are basically just
the village locals houses which are all double story and they have built some
rooms up top to accommodate tourists. The houses are pretty much made all of
wood pole supports and wood siding and are quite big in size. We had a great
room with windows looking out down the terraces somewhat and apart from the
owners and their two kids were the only ones staying there. The owners cooked
for you from a small menu of choices they had or you could just go to one of
the other many homes, come guesthouses, and eat there if you preferred what was
on their menu. We stayed here two nights and had a great look around the terraces
and another village nearby and saw the m
any local 'yao' ethnic minority women walking around with hair practically down
to their ankles!!!! I kid you not!!. They all had hair like this and the only
catch was they would keep it up in a bun on their heads and ask if you wanted a
photo with them showing their hair out for around 5 yuan. They would follow you
around for ages and nag you to pay for a photo with them which was a little
disappointing and tiring after awhile but I spose they had to earn money to pay
for all that shampoo they must have to buy to clean the mop on their heads
somehow!!! HA HA.
Anyway we were so tired of them following us that even if we had wanted a photo
we decided to refuse just to get them back for hounding us. It didn't matter anyway
because some other tourist paid for two of them to show their long locks when
we were close by and I sneaked off a quick shot then. As for the
rice terraces themselves, they were alot more impressive than I expected them
to be. The many terraces stretch up a string of 500 metre peaks and really is a
pretty bloody impressive farm engineering feat. Took way too many photos of
them but it was hard not to.
After those two days we headed out of there and back through Guilin and south
onto Yangshuo. It was about a 170km bike ride all up and was a huge day. To top
it off it also started raining just after we got to Guilin and the last 65 km
was spent biking in it. Couldn't complain since we have hardly seen rain in the
whole 5 months we have been in China and have been unbelievably lucky with the
weather. Anyway the bike ride was okay and the whole area from Guilin to
Yangshuo is surrounded by these famous limestone karst peaks everywhere which
is what everyone comes to see. They are pretty incredible and them along with
the river that flows around the area make it easy to see why it is one of the
more visited areas by backpackers in China. Also Yangshuo town is alot like
Lijiang or Dali in its setup with heaps of western style cafes and bars and
english speaking locals.
We stayed in Yanshuo about 6 days in all seeing the local sights of the place.
Biked out to and climbed Moon Hill (Rock hill with a hole in it), biked along
the river and watched the tourist boats flying up and down them as well as the
old fisherman on small one man bamboo like rafts that do 'comorant fishing'.
What they do is have two to four of these big birds sitting on their little
rafts and they send them into the water after the fish!!!!! They dive down
below, catch the fish and then bring them back to the bloke on the boat who
puts them into a big basket he sits in front of him on the raft and then sends
the birds into the water for more!!! Quite amazing and don't know how they
teach these birds to bring them back to the boat instead of eating them
theirselves but this isn't a National Geographic Documentary so I don't have to
have those answers eh???? HA HA Also biked out to Xingping village which was a
nice ride and on the way watched a bunch of local farmers washing their water buffalo
in a big old pool of water. Probably about 15 buffalo up to their necks all
having a great swim. The only bummer about Yangshuo was we didn't have the
greatest weather while there which was a shame considering the great scenery it
had to offer. Although it didn't really rain, apart from the afternoon we got
there, it was almost always overcast and had pretty poor visibilty so you
couldn't see too far out into the surrounding countryside and limestone karsts
everywhere. Hard to complain with all the great weather we had had up until
then but knew we would eventually get caught out somewhere along the road and
Yangshuo ended up being the place!!!!!. Good apart from that though and made up
for it by getting stuck into all the western food offered at the cafes HA HA.
Eventually biked out of Yangshuo early morning after about 6 days there and
back to Guilin to catch a 11.20am train back to Kunming. Had to leave from
Yangshuo to cover the 65 km ride in time for the train and made it no worries
with plenty of time to pack down and cover up the bikes in tarp again before
getting on the train. We were worried that once again we would have problems
getting the bikes on the train with us but for some reason this time no one
gave a hoot and actually helped us find somewhere to put them in
our carriage !!!!! One thing about over here is you can never expect things to
turn out as you think they will. That especially goes for food. The amount of
time I have ordered something with a picture in my head of what it should be or
look like and find when it comes out it is nothing like it!!!!! HA HA
So got back to Kunming no worries and we were actually on a faster train this
time so it only took 24 hours rather than 29 like the trip to Guilin. Checked
back into the hotel we stayed at last time and picked up our passports from the
Vietnam office which had the visas in them and were safe and sound. So
everything sweet there. Have been in Kunming only three days since getting back
from Guilin just sorting last things out before we leave for Vietnam. Oh yea,
one thing we saw in Kunming here that was pretty bloody freaky was these mini
billboards we came across on the footpath of a shopping area in quite a popular
area for locals and tourists. Katherine and I finally worked it out after we
got over the initial shock of seeing it and couldn't believe they post this
shit for the whole world, kids and all, to see. It was like China's version of
Americas 'Top Ten Most Wanted Criminals'. The difference here though was that
unlike America, who show you a photo of each most wanted criminal and just tell
you what they are wanted for, China not only shows you this but also posts up
real photos of the murder weapons and of the victims and how they were
found!!!!! The photos were unreal and so graphic. Just for some examples, one
was of a man with an axe sticking out of his forehead, one was some other bloke
all chopped up by a meat cleaver with his body parts everywhere around him, one
was of a lady with her complete face cut off, one of a kid cut to bits, and the
list goes on. We couldn't read the reports that were underneath each one but I
can only imagine it would have been as straight to the point as the photos
were. Katherine was just about sick after seeing them and it took a while to
shake them out of your mind. Freaky mate, real freaky. Anyway back
to some good news. Tomorrow we finally leave for Vietnam!!!! We get a bus from
here to a town on the chinese side of the China/Vietnam border and stay
the night there before getting back on our bikes all loaded up again and biking
over the border and into Vietnam and
heading on south through it from there. So thats the end of China for us
and I am finally up to the present day in this dribble I have been writing to
you all. Hell-a-bloody-you-ya!!!! HA HA
So far we have biked just over 3000km through China and although it probably
isn't that much over the 4 months, from when we actually started on the bikes,
it ain't bad for a couple of Joe Blogg normals who pulled their 7 year old
bikes out of the garage shed, blew the cobb webs of them and said " Hey,
lets go and try and bike some of Asia and if it dosen't work we'll just throw
them over a cliff and get on the bus"!!! HA HA Well once or twice we have
wondered what the hell we are doing but all in all it has been bloody awesome
and wouldn't want to have done it any other way. That may change once we hit
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand however??? HA But at this stage I'll stick
with my statement above!!! HA HA As for China, well I could spend quite a long
time giving my thoughts on the people here, both the good and bad!!! but one
thing is for sure, and that is the country scenery and sights and the minority
ethnic people that live in them really are awesome over in the west of China,
where we have spent most of our time, and nothing like I expected. I just hope
the chinese appreciate what they have in their back yard and don't screw it all
up in years to come with their huge drive for modernization that has already
spoiled a few of the great places we saw.
Okay, starting to get too vocal here, time to move on!! HA HA
So thats it folks and the next time I write it should hopefully be from
Vietnam. For the USA crew, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and to
everyone hope you are all fit and well and life is just rosey where ever you
are.
Take care
Andrew
P.S. Like I said at the start. Now three weeks into our Vietnam leg and getting
very close to christmas, which we will be spending somewhere in Vietnam at this
stage, probably Hanoi where we are now or Cat Ba island.
