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August 31st (Tuesday) Lhasa (Tibet)
Posted: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 20:13:28
I have again combined a couple of days so bare with me.
On August 29th I went for a walk in the park behind the Potatla
palace. The park and lake were built by the 5th Dalai Lama who
was a bit of a playboy and would venture into Lhasa in disguise.
There is a poem called the Makye Ame which is also the restaurant
I stayed at. Anyway the current Dalai Lama would often study
here in the little temple on the lake. While there I met a Tibetan
girl who studying to become a tour guide. She asked if I could
help with some of the pronunciation so I said sure why not.
Jessey was with another student and we reviewed the book and
I helped both of them with speaking English - what I find most
is people don't stop at the periods, they just keep reading.
Anyway we decided to get lunch and since we were sort of near
her home we went there. Her mother cooked me some meat and potatoes
and also some tea. They both periodically would say to me 'eat,
eat, eat' as Jessey seemed to be busy with chores. The little
boy from next door hung out with me and showed me a picture
of the Panchan Lama and dare I say the Dalai Lama. I was getting
a little antsy so I got her number and asked if I could call
her tomorrow for some Tibetan language lessons. No problem.....
Okay I left there in search of some rock carvings near the Potala
palace which had no entry fee. I managed to see some on both
sides of the mountain but I wasn't able to find a particular
cave that had carvings from the 7th century. I then walked down
to the river and then across to Sun island which has many bizarre.
I was a long walk back to the hotel and after stopping to do
some internet I was going to call it a night.
When I got back my Italian friend whom I neglected to mention
in the previous e-mail was outside having kebobs. The previous
night we had gone out for beers and had ended up at this same
kebob stand. I am not sure how this came about but the worker
there pulled out a packet of hash from his sock to show the
Italian guy. He said this always happens to him which I thought
was funny. Previous to this I had only seen marijuana growing
wild in Lanzhou. Anyway a funny story about my little Italian
friend. Earlier in his travels he had asked a monk to help him
find a washroom. No problem, but when he started to pee the
monk popped his head in to stare at his penis. I laughed my
ass off when I heard this as he had to smack the monk in the
head to get him out of the room.
August 30th I was brutally sick, the worst yet and was laid
up all day except when I staggered over to the hospital. They
were useless of course as you need to be in your death throes
before they help you. Today is the 31st and I still can't find
my guide - damn. Anyway I go to get my Everest permit and then
should be off tomorrow. It may be a few weeks before you here
anything so Colin don't eat my lays!!!!
G
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August 29th (Sunday) Lhasa (Tibet)
Posted: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 20:24:12
Warning: This is quite an extensive
e-mail as it covers from August 25th to August 28th.
The Golmud hotel also contains the CITS office which is
the government travel office for China. I purchased a ticket
to Tibet for 1700 Yuan which included a one way bus trip,
4 days accommodation and 4 days with a guide. Entrance fees
and food you pay separate. The day before I left I ran into
a German couple who were biking to Tibet without getting
a permit etc. as they met a Swiss guy who left the previous
day doing the same thing. Apparently you can ride through
the check point and wave without stopping.....
The next day I heard a knock on my door at 9:30am. It was
the travel lady and she said the bus was leaving at 10 AM
instead of 3PM that she mentioned the previous day. I still
can't believe it but I was able to get everything packed
in about 25 minutes!!!! When I got down to the lobby I was
informed I would travel by jeep (16 hours) instead of bus
(25 hours) which kind of left me in an awkward position.
I have only parted with the bike once before when I left
it locked in my hotel in Lanzhou, but now it would go on
a bus later in the day. I agreed to go by jeep but had to
ride my bike over to the bus station. After hitting the
road we crossed the first check point no questions asked.
Farther down the road we met the German couple who as predicted,
did not even stop at the check point but simply waved to
the police. The road to Lhasa is actually in pretty good
shape and very bikable except there is no shoulder. So biking
at dusk would not be an option. The next check point is
far away at the Tibetan border where we didn't even stop.
The railway line for the most part is complete up until
this point and has some trains on it moving equipment and
supplies. It is actually well built and rides over every
depression or river crossing with giant footings. There
are some sections in Tibet but no actual track is laid down.
They say it will be completed in 2006 so I suggest coming
to Tibet very soon before it is overrun by tourists.
To continue, about 30km into Tibet you cross the Tangula
mountain pass which sits at 5200 meters (17,000 ft), same
as the Everest base camp! I felt fine when we got out and
looked around but my companions were complaining of slight
headaches. The last check point is just outside of Lhasa
and then you are free to go. Lhasa itself sits at 3600 meters
or 12,000 ft so there is a slight shortness of breath from
time to time but it really hasn't bothered me.
The jeep ride (Isuzu) lasted 19 hours instead of 16 but
I have heard the bus drivers are bad and rarely have a license.
I also heard of the buses breaking down so now that we arrived
I suddenly feel better although it sucked for the last 6
hours of the ride. We had arrived at 6am so I checked in
and went to sleep. When I woke up I went to the travel agency
and picked up my Tibetan guide.
The Kering Hotel is situated just outside the Barkhor market
which surrounds the Jokhang temple which we visited. The
temple was built in 647 AD making it the oldest and most
important temple in Tibetan Buddhism. Songsten Gampo who
was the ruler of Tibet at the time had it constructed over
a small lake which is the center of Lhasa but it no longer
evident. Apparently there was a small passageway in the
temple where the monks could walk down to the water but
who knows if it is still there. The temple faces west as
the construction of it was paid for by Songsten's lovely
Nepalese wife - he also had a little Chinese hottie as well
- bastard! Songsten also had the original Potala palace
built which was the residence of his holiness the great
14th Dalai Lama. Within the Barkhor market there is a circuit
directly outside the Jokhang temple which is flooded with
people day and night walking around in a clockwise direction.
It is a very lively and clean street and were most of the
local Tibetan live.
After seeing the temple we phoned to see if my bike arrived
but it had not. Therefore we decided to visit the Lhasa
museum and giant Tangka. I went and saw the Tangka first
which is a massive mural depicting Buddhism, evolution,
spiritual places and famous holy people. I think it is about
500 meters long and was completed by 2000 Tibetan artists
from Qinghai, Sichuan and Tibet. The detail is incredible
but it is a bit of a sensory overload so I ended up skipping
the museum for now.
On a side note: Most of the people I am meeting here did
not bother getting a permit and have had no problems traveling
in Tibet. The travel book I have insists you get it so as
not to put Tibetan's who help you in some sort of jeopardy.
This is no longer the case from what I am finding as the
police presence is not very visible, or least uniformed
police that is.
We still hadn't heard anything about the bike so I decided
to go shopping for a tent and other supplies needed for
Everest. As a word of advice, they sell everything here
so if you take the route I did, don't bother lugging around
your winter equipment for 4000 kilometers, but it here.
The only thing I would buy at home would be an altimeter
as they are outrageously priced here. Something else of
note is the taxi drivers charge 10 Yuan which is extortion
but just a warn for you. When I got back to the hotel after
several trips to and from my bike had finally arrived!!!
I went for dinner at one of the hotel restaurants where
they had some live Tibetan entertainment. It was pretty
cool so I filmed some of it. While there I met a Tibetan
born and raised in Switzerland named Sony. His dad had lived
in the Sichuan province but when the red guard killed his
lord, he fled to India then Switzerland. We talked about
this and many other things and decided to head out for some
beers. We went to a few places and proceeded to get pretty
tanked - it's the altitude I swear!!! We hit two Tibetan
night clubs where singers would come out and lip sync to
the music - or so it appeared. Very strange!!! The hotel
was locked up when I got back but after knocking on the
door a person who appeared to be the jeep driver let me
in. However at this stage vision is not one great senses.
Since I didn't get up until 12 the next day I missed meeting
my guide. However I did meet the French lady I met in Xian
in the other hotel restaurant. We talked about our travels
and for the most part saw a lot of the same places. She
has traveled extensively through Southeast Asia and was
able to give the low down on all of the countries. She recommend
Nepal, India, Thailand and Laos but most notably Cambodia.
She really gave me some great tips and said it is all bikable
except for entering Burma which you must do by plane or
from China, so I may skip it altogether. I did some gift
shopping and then stopped for lunch at the Makye Anne restaurant
where I met a Tibetan man who lived in Kathmandu. The restaurant
has a roof top area where you can watch the procession along
the circuit of Jokhang. He was originally from Lhasa and
we talked for several hours about the past etc. He said
there used to be lots of street fighting in the past with
swords and the like but he said people were not very skilled
with them and rarely did anyone get hurt. He mentioned as
well during the cultural revolution people who didn't want
their homes ransacked took all of their expensive belongs,
wheeled them down to the river and dumped them. He reported
to me the situations in Nepal as well and said it is very
safe and the road although dirt, is fine for biking. I have
planned an alternate route but it appears that Nepal should
be okay. There are also a great number of people I am meeting
going there as well. Okay sorry for the long e-mail!!!!
G
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August 25th (Friday) Dulan (Qinghai) 19KM (wow!!!)
Posted: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:05:15
Today was a rest day by design and it allowed me to accomplish
many things among the most important was a shower! Anyway I
did laundry, sewed my bag..... um pannier bag that is, as it
was splitting from both sides and the old duck tape had met
it's match. I also re-wrote my phrase book which had originally
been written by Vivian. Vivian, I'm going to show this when
I get back as you are gonna laugh your ass off!!!! The town
is kind of a little oasis among desert and towering mountains,
but not much else.
G
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August 24th (Tuesday) Golmud (Qinghai) 67KM
Posted: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 19:34:40
Well the wind was much more manageable today but the bike decided
to test the old nerves. I blew the wall of the rear tire
again but this one only lasted 1500 km. I think it was probably
due to running it a bit low - not on purpose - as I couldn't
pump it any higher with the hand pump. I changed the tire and
tube as the tube is always toast after a blow out and pumped
her up. Funny enough while changing the tire I noticed one of
the few remaining spares has the wrong valve stem - Doh!!! I
started riding again and with a kilometer I got another flat
- Doh!!! I checked the tire and rim but everything appeared
okay so I changed to another tire and rode off. 5 kilometers
later sssssssssss - DOH!!!! Okay the only rarity is the tape
on the inside of the rim was sticking up a bit were the two
flats occurred. I cut it out and placed some hockey sock tape
over the area courteously of the Philly Flyers. Nathan and Brian
probably remember that night well, I however only remember Nathan
launching the Mustang into the snow bank at the hotel.....
Anyway I placed the last new tube in and pumped her up. This
was pretty unsettling as now every spare tire had a hole and
needed repairs. I rode the rest of the way to Dagur without
any problems which was good but I really wanted to get to Golmud
today even though it was a long way off. Before Dagur I met
another Chinese man biking from Lhasa. He however had started
in Chengdu and bike to Lhasa first and now was heading toward
Lanzhou. There was one pass he did that was 5200 meters!!! Anyway
he climbed the pecking order as he gave me a package of Oreo
cookies!!!!
Dagur like the last couple of towns is away from the highway,
8km to be exact so I decided to see if I could catch a bus to
Golmud. I ate at a little store by the road and when I asked
for help he walked over to the highway with me. I thought he
was going to flag down a bus but after about 20 minutes he flagged
down a dump truck. I thought fuck it, get me out of here anyway
possible!!!! Boy these trucks are in bad shape as far as alignment
etc. The driver had to use both hands the whole way. It is even
more desolate on the way to Golmud than the last couple of days,
you have mountains to the south and grey sand in every other
direction with power lines being the only sign of life. I was
happy to get to Golmud and am staying at the Golmud hotel which
was for a time the only place foreigners could stay.
G
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August 23rd (Monday) Romahom? (Qinghai) 57KM
Posted: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:34:02
Heaviest winds to date. The road was flat but the journey of
57KM took 5 hours -sob sob
G
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August 22nd (Sunday) Barun? (Qinghai) 108KM
Posted: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:30:21
I hate to repeat myself but boy is it desolate out here. I crossed
two insignificant mountain passes (both are around 3000 meters)
and the rest of the way was flat with some slight downhill sections.
To the south, towards Tibet, lie mountains of rock with no plant
life, every other directions is flat with gravel. The only thing
resembling life itself is the sage brush. Barun, well actually
it was somewhere else but close enough, is situated near a river
which is almost dry but the area around the village is well
cultivated. There are only dirt roads here and I stayed in a
room behind this guys restaurant which had five beds. The shitter
was disgusting but it was that or sleep in the desert. I have
been reading 'Crime and Punishment' as of late and like the
way it is written. I normally don't read fiction but this guy
is one of the greats so why not.
G
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August 21st (Saturday) Xiangride (Qinghai) 65KM
Posted: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:19:39
34 kilometers after leaving Dulan it is all downhill to Xiangride.
Everywhere surrounding this fertile little spot in the desert
as far as the eye can see. The grasslands are long gone and
it has become a very inhospitable and desolate place. Tomorrow's
ride should consist of 100km and another mountain pass so the
rest is well received. Thankfully the winds have died down to
a cool breeze which is pleasant when riding.
The rear tire has been low for quite some time and has been
a psychological drag for some time now as I am unable to pump
it up very high with the hand pump - side note, if your
bringing a trailer, bring a floor pump! Where is leading? Well
today I decided to take drastic measures and pull apart the
hand pump in the attempt to join it somehow with a floor pump
bought locally. As I dissembled it I broke it enough to make
it useless. I spent the next couple of hours in a local cycle/motorcycle
shop where me and a few helpers where able to fit the components
from the hand pump into a floor pump. We had to sand down the
rubber fitting which I was sure the guy fucked up as he took
the knife to it. Believe or not it worked in the end and it
only cost 15 Yuan.
The language her is ever changing and it now resembling in the
most abstract way, Russian. The words seem to flow together
now instead of the rat tat tat like in Beijing for example.
There is also kind of a slight lisp but it is hard to explain.
Anyway off to Golmud (staging point for Tibet) which should
take a few days (400KM).
G
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August 19th (Thursday) Unknown (Qinghai) 131KM
Posted: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 01:29:21
Today was a hard day, I did over 10 hours of biking and finished
in darkness. I am thinking that the rest of the rides, here
to Golmud will be much of the same. The trip started off by
biking down to the lake at Caka Yun which was a 8KM roundtrip.
There really isn't much to see except that the lake is pretty
devoid of water and this must be the salt depository for the
province as it is completely white across the whole lake. After
eating some breakfasts I left town for possibly Dulan but that
was a great distance away. Saying the wind was more ferocious
today than yesterday is a complete understatement. The first
40KM climb up to a 3672 meter pass but there is no switchbacks,
just constant incline. After that the wind got worse. On the
descent I couldn't get going over 17KM/HR and when I hit the
flats I had to granny it along at 10KM/HR. Basically if you
stopped pedaling, you stopped in about 10 feet. There was also
a little inaccuracy with my three maps - I carry a minimum of
two. There was supposed to be several small towns after about
70KM from Caka Yun that would allow me to quite for the day
if necessary. Well these towns were non-existent so I had to
keep carrying on. I was desperate enough to eat my second to
last power bar. I was very close to bivying but I stayed the
course and thankfully it paid off with a warm room and dinner.
Today was a very hard day mentally and physically, no doubt
about that but it is preparing me for future rides. As Bret
put it so poetically, 'shut up and ride'.....
On a side note: Dinner - double serving was 15 Yuan, Room 10
Yuan and breakfast 5 Yuan. In Canadian, $5.
G
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August 18th (Wednesday) Caka Yun (Qinghai) 89KM
Posted: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 01:16:37
As soon as you leave Heimahe you are on a good climb to a 3817
meter pass. The distance is about 20KM and thankfully there
is a lot of switchbacks. It's definitely not easy but the road
is good and there is little traffic. My Chinese map had it marked
with an X inside a rectangle but I figured it was a bridge or
something - my bad. Now that I see this I realize there is another
big one before Golmud as expected - now I know where it is though.
I had to stop a lot as you don't feel out of breath so much
as sapped of energy. After the pass you descend 20KM in a nasty
wind but luckily it is steep enough that pedaling is not really
required. The next 40 is relatively flat but the winds in this
valley are gusty and unforgiving. Completely serious here, it
took me 3 hours to cover 40KM on the flats. It was very demeaning
mentally. Anyway Caka Yun sits 4KM away from the lake of the
same name. There is very little here and I find regardless of
the how the map marks the size of these cities, they just keep
getting smaller and smaller.
On a side note: It seems every house, farm or hotel has a vicious
barking dog attached to a 6' chain. They honestly scare the
shit out of me.
G
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August 17th (Tuesday 10 weeks!) Heimahe (Qinghai) 63KM
Posted: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 01:05:12
I had to spend another day in Naidao as it was so relaxing and
the countryside is incredibly beautiful. Never mind the bird
sanctuary, come here just to sit and relax the soul. I spent
the morning reading about gud ol' Robby McGreager and drinking
some tea beside the river on the outskirts of the yurts (what
a rhyme). They were playing some crappy local music so I decided
to give them my Metallica CD (Binge and Purge) I bought in Lanzhou.
I didn't know it when I bought it but it is a full on video
of a concert in San Diego, but I'm thinking I will get sued
by Lars if this gets out. Funny enough they pretended to like
it and as I walked away from camp to visit the monastery Metallica
was blasting full bore - a very heart warming feeling that left
a tear in my eye. This is definitely the land of extremes as
it was freezing last night but I think I overdressed for the
hike. There was a Stuppa on the top of the mountain so I hiked
right up the middle on the billy goat trail. I wandered around
the backside of it were there was no hint of civilization and
set up a mini camp. I had pop, crackers and Rob Roy - I think
Karen can truly appreciate this, the reading part of course
- and I laid down and read for several hours in my underwear
as it was quite hot. After that I walked down to check out the
monastery which appeared to be quite new or rebuilt. The monks
were eating so I went back to camp where Metallica was still
playing - werd!!! I went to read some more but this time it
was with a few beers. I then sat with the people who ran the
place to converse a bit. There are two families sort of running
the show here and the little boy form one of the families had
caught a bird earlier in the day. I tried to convince him to
let it fly away but when he threw it in the air it just fell
to the ground with a thud. When he was distracted I hid the
bird so it could die in peace. Anyway he was at it again, trying
to catch another bird so I gave him one of my prayer beads from
Laboleng with the promise he stop chasing the birds. It worked,
but being a kid it was probably forgotten the next day. Shortly
after this girl who had the previous day started a water fight,
decided to soak me. Well I played along for a while but everyone
started getting in on it so I went and hid. They went at it
for a good hour while I dried off. That night I sat and played
some cards with Lie Xiu Fang and two Chinese tourists from Beijing.
Lie Xiu Fang was the girl who convinced me to stay at the yurts
and who happens to speak English. She does tours to the Bird
Sanctuary but let me talk about her in a bit. The Chinese tourists
were backpacking across China and though one had to go back
to Beijing the other was heading to Lhasa. They were actually
really nice guys and since they were tenting it and the weather
looked ominous I gave them one of my tarps. I taught them crazy
eights while we listened to you guessed it Metallica. I apologize
if I am jumping around a bit as I am combing 3 days into one.
Back to Lie Xiu Fang. She is currently residing here during
the summer to make money guiding. Although these people are
kind of like family, she is very reluctant to live here. The
main reason being that the drink, everyday, until their drunk.
She doesn't drink at all and despises the atmosphere when they
get this way. When I day they, I mean everyone old enough to
drink. These are nice people and I'm sure a product of their
environment but it is still hard to live this way. This is now
different from any country where there isn't much to look forward
to and the booze is surprisingly cheap. Anyway at a young age
she lost both of here parents and was raised by her grandma.
She can't afford to go to school so she learned English on here
own by buying books and studying them in here spare time. Through
this she was able to pass the guide exam in Xining. I offered
to buy her some books but she is of strong character and flatly
refused. I therefore had to offer here my 'Chinese Phrases'
book and tape some money into the map at the back of the book.
I hope she doesn't take this the wrong way as she is not a person
to be pitied. I hope some opportunities come her way sooner
rather than later as I'm sure she can make them for herself
in time.
Okay so in the morning I broke the chain and cleaned up the
bike again and headed of for Heimahe. When I was a few kilometers
outside of the tiny town I met two more Chinese backpackers
who were walking around Qinghai Hu! The distance is 400 - 500
KM so I have to bow down to these guys. They really have some
guts and have no doubt they will do it. I hope their backs and
feet don't suffer to much.
G
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August 15th (Sunday) Niao Dao (Qinghai) 92KM
Posted: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 00:25:21
The scenery was the most stunning I have seen in China to date.
It was sunny with some clouds and the clouds were hovering so
close to the ground it felt as if you could touch them. The
road was more or less flat and the countryside was rolling grasslands
speckled with yellow and purple flowers with various farm animals
roaming around. Shortly after leaving Gangoa I got a glimpse
of Qinghai Hu (Hu means lake). It was a gorgeous turquoise color
which reminded me from a distance of the Pacific ocean at Hawaii.
I said 'from a distance'. You eventually turn off the 315 highway
to the 206. It crosses over the railway tracks and then bends
to the right, STOP HERE! This is about as close as you can physically
get to the North side of the lake with out jumping barbed wire.
You can't miss it as there is a pole with prayer flags and the
beach is littered with stone mounds. After that the flies start
to number in the thousands, so just ride and try to ignore them.
The actual bird sanctuary is 16km east of the little town of
Niao Dao and there is no accommodations there so book a place
as there is only two pricey hotels. The other option is to stay
in a yurt which I did and it turned out wasn't that bad. At
the time I asked some locals if there were hotels at the sanctuary
and the said yes - bastards. One thing I find with a lot of
the people I ask questions, they feel a need to give you an
answer regardless if they know the answer. When I got to the
sight I was having problems communicating with anyone so I threw
the book at them literally. After this I got some attention
and boarded a bus to the two vantage points. The first one is
useless unless you have binoculars and the second one is okay
but it's debatable if this is worth the 60 Yuan. Anyway there
is a Tibetan monetary on the hillside above the town which I
will check out tomorrow. The sunset was so incredible I had
to have a beer.
G
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August 14th (Saturday) Gangoa (Qinghai) 106KM
Posted: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 00:08:59
Qinghai finally opened her heart to me, but she also showed
her wraith. When I awoke this morning I was a little tired as
they blasted music from the hotel club till about 3AM. Actually
I can only assume it was a bar or night club and my guess is
it must be the only one in this tiny little town. It was pouring
rain most of the morning and now it is 9AM and lightly raining.
According to the map I could do a 63KM ride or continue on to
Gangoa which was over 100KM. The elevation here ranges from
maybe 3300 - 3800 meters which is kind of a guess as I know
Qinghai Lake is sitting lower at 3200 meters. Even though it
was raining the surrounding mountains and grasslands were incredibly
beautiful. Everything is covered in grass and maybe this is
somewhat like the Scottish highlands only 2000 meters higher?
I just happen to be reading Rob Roy right now - ah he wuz a
gud lad!!! The mountainside is maybe 200 meters above the road
so you can see for quite a ways. In some places the road was
the highest elevation. There is plenty of livestock to see such
as lamb, cattle and of course Yak! The odd yurt also dots the
countryside but honestly you are really out on your own out
here. The highway was excellent as it appears to be very new
and since this is where they do the bike race it only makes
sense. As I got higher up the wind and rain picked up until
it becomes miserable. This is when to my amazement I saw another
cyclist plodding up the highway in the opposite direction. At
this point I crossed the road to meet him, no need to look before
crossing as we were the only sorry sods out here. I can only
assume I looked to him as he looked to me - eye's of desperation,
snot running down my nose and a mixture of sweat and rain dripping
off my face. He was Chinese and had left from Gangoa this morning
which he stated was about 60KM away and mostly downhill - not!!!!
We exchanged some advice about the roads and then headed off
as we must have got tired of seeing our reflection. Shortly
after the wind really started to pick up as the road was the
highest point and since I had removed my pants earlier (I was
overheating) it was getting cold. I was soaked right through
fairly quickly and kept my focus on the white line beside the
highway as a distraction and to avoid the puddles as the line
is just a fraction higher than the road. I struggled for the
next 20KM until I came across a sort gas station with now covering.
I asked to go inside to put my pants on and the attendant, bless
her heart, motioned me inside. After getting my pants on she
invited me into the next room which had a stove and hot water
- thank you! She served me three cups which I cherished and
seemed pretty surprised that I wanted to continue on my journey
out in the miserable weather. Another 40KM and I reached Gongao
but I swear the last 15KM nearly killed me. I missed lunch as
the town which I intended to stop at after 60KM didn't look
like it had anything hospitable - bad mistake. Anyway I crawled
over the last 4KM and was brought down to the level of counting
the 100 meter markers (thank you for putting those there as
I can't see any purpose to them for cars) for motivation. The
ride ended with a little pathetic hill but I swear it was the
hardest yet. Surprisingly enough or maybe not surprising at
all, this little strip of a town about a kilometer long has
two internet cafe's. Anyway this groups in with one of the hardest
days.
G
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August 13th (Friday) Huangyuan (Qinghai) 73KM
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 05:37:15
Today was better!!! The temperature is dropping rapidly, and
is somewhere around 10 degrees Celsius. I finally brought out
my hiking boots and repacked my bags so the summer cloths are
at the bottom of the main pack. I m actually wearing long underwear
today so maybe it's colder than I think. However this is very
advantageous to riding as I am drinking about 1/3 of the amount
of water and I barely sweat which helps the saddle soars. The
altitude has really started to kick in but only when miss a
breath because your drinking water or exerting yourself a bit
too much. So far Qinghai as mentioned in the previous e-mail
hasn't shown her true colours and I have only seen polluted
streets etc. which seems to come mostly from vehicles. I did
get some glimpses of grasslands though so the lay of the land
may be changing very soon. I also opted to take the Northern
highway around Qinghai Hu (Lake) which is the #315. I will join
up to the #109 near the Bird Sanctuary which takes me to Golmud
and ultimately to Tibet. On Fridays if your hotel has a night
club, you won't get much sleep, just an after thought.
G
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August 12th (Thursday) Chinghai? 76KM
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 05:27:54
Lets not kid around, today sucked!!! I got the wrong directions
twice which added 40KM the ride and worse yet I am actually
now further away from the intended destination than when I started
the day. I couldn't make the alternate destination as I got
a flat on the trailer again and decided to head back to the
last town as it was late in the day. Damn I was mad! But lets
begin with the first half of the day as I usually write what's
fresh in my mind and then backtrack which can make for hard
reading.
I woke up and walked down the hill to the Ta'er monastery but
couldn't find an English guide. I did get a map however so I
bought a ticket and started checking out some temples. The cool
thing about this site and Laboleng is you walk around the site
without buying a ticket to get a general feel of the place.
You only need a ticket to enter the temples. Even though I did
not have a guide it was okay because they had signs in English,
Tibetan an Chinese at the major temples. I communicated with
one of the old monks that I biked here and he wanted to feel
my legs. That pervert! I guess you normally just see my lower
legs which are kind of skinny because he was amazed by the size
of my..... hey, hey, --- he's monk remember. The second monk
I met was a young guy and he took me through a doorway in one
of the temples to his humble abode. It was very tiny but he
had a cell phone - werd to ya ma! He then proceeded to make
some Yak butter tea for me, umm it's not very good but I knew
that from all the books I read about Everest.
So the Ta'er Si didn't blow me away or anything but it was cool
and relaxing. Now lets get to the biking because I am still
bitter. I first started off south as there was an unmarked highway
that cut a day of travel out of the itinerary. When I thought
I had got there I waved this car down as it was a completely
muddy road and I didn't want to waste any time. He said I needed
to head back to Ta'er Si and veer off to the highway I passed
on the way there. He seemed so convincing I did and the highway
was nice and everyone I asked seemed to point to my destination.
Well deja vu struck as when I got near the downhill I realized
it took me right back to Ta'er Si. 30KM down the drain! The
second wasn't as long a detour but I decided to quite the shortcuts
at this point. This brings me to blowing the tire which actually
had a slow leak. I went back to the little garbage town and
started looking for a hotel - yes FADIAN - HOTEL - SLEEPING
GESTURE. This seemed to stump everyone but they always managed
to laugh at me! By the time I found a hotel I was in a fowl
mood (yes like bird - fuck off eh!). Okay so I went and bought
a couple of beers and came back to fix the tire. The culprit
was a little piece of metal half a centimeter long. It's always
a relief to find the cause instead of hoping it doesn't happen
again. Anyway there was this really nice kid was watching but
obviously wanted to help. I remember being the same as a kid,
just a little shy. So I got him involved and I started changing
my mood, maybe it was the beer. Anyway I handed out my chopsticks
to all the kids which they thought was great. This was a little
tiny place, so no shower. Anyway I went to a restaurant and
ate any enormous amount of food which was really good. I am
glad this day ended on a good note.
On a side note: There was a big group of French people at who
were running at various places within China, I got a brochure
but gave it to one of the kids.
G
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August 11th (Wednesday) Ta'er Si (Qinghai) 33KM
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 05:05:44
It proved very difficult to pinpoint the location of Dekster
which is the birthplace of the Dalai Lama. It is also known
as Tengster and Takster but those didn't help either so I gave
up on that one as there were too many conflicting opinions.
I am currently at Ta'er Si which is one of the six great Tibetan
buddist monestaries. I have not visited the actually site except
for a pass with the bike while looking for the hotel but I will
see it tomorrow. After that I am off to Qinghai lake to see
the Bird Sanctuary - Niao Dao - which is probably 4 days ride
from here. So far the Qinghai province hasn't impressed at all
at it is very dirty for such a small population. There was also
nothing really to see except maybe the outside of a prison in
Xining so the monestary is the only real draw so far.
G
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August 10th (Tuesday) Xining (Qinghai) 120KM
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 04:59:16
I have now been in China 9 weeks and have covered 3126 kilometers
by bike.
The ride today was basically rolling hills with very bland scenary,
so it was ofcourse uneventful except the flat I got on the trailor.
I was supposed to stop in Ping'an county as the Dalai Lama's
birthplace is supposed to be nearby but only one person heard
of the place and said it was 50KM away in a different direction
then what is in my travel guide. Xining was only another 36
KM from there so I decided to keep going and try and find out
more info there. Short e-mail eh!!!
G
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August 9th (Monday) Honghashwan? (Gansu) 115KM
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 04:48:46
Wow, I passed the 3000 KM mark!!! Today was a very flat ride
and since I topped up the old tires with air in Lanzhou I made
really good time. I finally had a role reversal as far as the
stunned look I get when I pass someone on my bike. Two Chinese
people, husband and wife passed me going the other way on two
mountain bikes geared up with huge panier bags. I was gonna
keep going but I had to go talk with them. They bought bikes
in Lhasa and where riding to Lanzhou and then somewhere else.
They took the exact same path I am taking except the downhill
route. They also had a dog a little smaller than Bandit size
in cage on the back of the guys bike which I had mixed feelings
about. He said riding in Tibet is fine as far as safety and
the roads are similar to the 109 highway we are currently on.
He did mention however that there is a huge hill before I get
to Golmud so be ready. Anyway it was great to hear from someone
who took the same path, I however cannot enter Tibet on bicycle
so I will bus from Golmud to Lhasa.
G
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August 8th (Sunday) Lanzhou (Gansu)
Posted: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 04:40:48
That was the hardest Mother F....... ride so far!!!!
Well I had to be honest for I need sympathy and
of course if any other cyclists ever read this. The 213 highway
from Linxia to Yongjing is currently under construction and even
when they finally finish it, it will seriously test your meddle.
Linxia sits at around 2000 meters and you have a flat ride for about
10KM. Then you hit an extremely brutal hill for a good 5 - 6 KM
which I in fact grannied most of it, and for a few unforgiving parts
I had to stand up off the seat to keep momentum. When I was close
to the top I stopped to prevent myself from puking and possibly
wiping out during the process. Ironically the bike dealer in Lintao
said this was a bad road but I figured how would he know? No one
in China travels more than 100KM away from home. I continued on
till I crested the hill which became a running ridge line. There
was constant climbing with short shoddy downhill's after that. The
road becomes gravel mixed with pavement at the turn off for the
212 highway to Lanzhou. This is loose and slippery and in some places
the rocks were rounded off like the ones you find at the beach,
to put it mildly, this was quality suffering! It lasts for about
50KM and then begins to descend into Yongjing. The descent is partially
paved and my guess is it will be completed in the next month or
two. Finally near Yongjing I got my first look at a really large
lake which I don't think was totally man made as the damn looks
pretty new and the Bingling grotto is 1500 years old which is at
the south end of the lake. the 213 highway literally crosses the
lake on the map and I found this is done with a short ferry ride
to the opposite side. There was a little resort on the other side
so at the top of the boat ramp I made a left (more like a u-turn).
Dad I know this is a fresh water lake but boy would this be a great
spot for an English fish n chips place! Tomorrow I travel to the
Bingling Grottoes which is 3 hours by boat.
I'm not sure if I have vertigo today as I don't have the Ontarian
litmus test with me (sorry Craig!). I took the bus to Xiahe (pronounced
Shaka as in Zulu) which sits around 3000 meters. The surrounding
mountainside ranges from 500 - 1000 meters higher and is mostly
grassland. To put it in trip terms, it is just less than half the
height of Everest. Two things I forgot to mention last week. The
first being the leaping and crawling pebbles on the highway. I tried
to avoid them the best I could but I have a long wheelbase and three
wheels and some of those damn frogs towards the middle of the road
instead of out of my path. The second thing was I witnessed my first
Chinese argument. Now the Norwegian's I met say they say a couple
fights etc. but I hadn't seen anything close until that day in Longxia.
I had just checked into my hotel and heard this sound like a distressed
dog or something. I kind of ignored it at first but after taking
a shower I had to look. It was a lady trying to get at this old
man while her husband appeared to be restraining her. This was on
the stairwell of the next building so I had a great view - not that
I like these things but I couldn't help but watch. This lady was
hysterical to put it mildly. After a while she walked down to the
next floor, so I guess these people were somewhat neighbors. Anyway
the wife of the old guy came out and started egging her on again.
Okay they didn't go at it but they were yelling at each other and
the two husbands were kind of like - we don't know these women.
Anyway I had to stop watching after about five minutes of turmoil.
Okay today I took the bus to Xiahe as it was 100km out of the way
of my itinerary and my visa is up soon, so I need to get to Lanzhou
within the next 5 days. The bus ride was incredible though as the
mountainsides are hugs and a river about 40 feet across is flowing
down one side at a pretty good velocity. I sat next to a very friendly
Italian couple (The Givrdana's - I hope I got that right) who were
busing and training it across China for the second time. We exchanged
mailing addresses and they said I should visit. On some of the mountainside
were grasslands with yurts on them, and apparently not far from
Xiahe (20km I'm told) you can camp out in one. The population here
is 50% Tibetan and I actually met my first Tibetans on the bus ride.
We didn't say much but they were very friendly and I let them look
at my map. I grabbed a meal as soon as I got into town and then
walked toward Laboleng monastery which is one of the six important
monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. I few blocks up I ran into the
Italian couple again and they bought me a beer. I left an walked
around the outskirts of the monastery and crossed the river. I walked
up the mountainside to take a couple of pictures and then proceeded
to walk down to the prayer wheels cover the circumference of the
monastery. I walked into a court yard of one of the temples which
I think I was supposed to pay for but no one was at the ticket both.
Anyway I walked around the temple spinning the wheels and then continued
spinning wheels on the outskirts again. An old monk saw me spin
one of the large wheels which felt like the price is right and point
to my arms like I was strong. We both had a good laugh at that one.
He kind of followed me around for a bit - I thought Chinese was
hard but I don't know a lick of Tibetan. On the northern outskirts
there really isn't much to see except these kind of prison sweatboxes
that were up in the hills. I later found out they were used for
meditation. I walked all the way around and back through the centre
of the monastery which brings you to kind the entrance and where
they have the big festivals. I was fortunate enough to get there
just when the English tour about to depart. The guide was a monk
(all monk's are Tibetan of course) and very friendly. He had taught
himself English and 3 other people joined or group, two Frenchman
and a man from Singapore. The tour was free and by the way it is
31 Yuan to enter and the bus was 33 Yuan roundtrip. There is definitely
a meekness about the monk's nature and they seem to tolerate the
Chinese by just shaking their heads. Maybe they figure the Chinese
are doomed or wonder how they ever were oppressed by them. Anyway
the tour was very cool, very humbling and very relaxing. The government
currently limits enrollment to 900 monks which doesn't include teachers
which brings the population here at any giving time up to 1500.
There is never space available, there is always 900, so the monks
have built minor monasteries in the surrounding area to allow for
more enrollment and teaching. The main subject taught at Laboleng
are philosophy, Astrology and medicine. The temples themselves are
pretty cool and well used. As suspected they were all destroyed
during the Cultural Revolution. This really gave me a taste of Tibet
and I can't wait to see more. This is a can't miss site.
