China

We're 4 days into China and things are going quite well.  Our chinese phrases etc are generally working so that has helped.  found a cheap questhouse for $6/night so we are taking a rest day here in Jinghong after 6 days on the road.  We'll leave tomorow for Dali which should take about 7-10 days and 600 km.  It's been fairly mountainous but not terribly steep hills.  We did ride along a major road for quite awhile the second day in and ended up going thru some long, dark (lights didn't work in the tunnel) tunnels - upto 3000mtrs, that was a bit scary riding an elevated sidewalk with holes etc and no safety railing with a 12" drop to the road bed.  Probably 8km of tunnels in all.

 

The countryside is beautiful with LOTS of banana plantations, pineapple fields, rubber trees, corn etc.  Lots of veggies all of which means lots of deforestation.  Some new dam was in the work and lots of power lines, some just transmission poles with no wires strung yet.

 

The small villages are generally dirtier than most we've been thru on our travels with the possible exception of the slums leaving Dehli in India. The roadside food stalls are a far distance from any sort of clean but at least the food is tasty!! Overall the roadsides have been fairly clean with the huge pile of trash every once in a while.  People have been really friendly and helpful.  In one village we met a group of 8 Chinese bike tourists heading for somewhere in Laos a good 3 day ride away.  The youngest was 63 and the oldest 78!!  They all looked very healthy and it was fun to meet each other.  One spoke fairly good English.

 

The food and beer is cheap, this internet place is VERY expensive so hopefully we'll find something cheaper later on.  Hope to ride quite a distance north but right now it's fairly cold up there but hopefully spring will arrive by the timewe do.  If not we'll just head east a bit sooner towards Chengdu. Don't want to double back south.

 

Camping has been a real treat especially when we find a rubber tree farm as there are lots of flat spaces, few ants, solitude and generally nice views.  The days have been warming up quite a bit so we've been trying to hit the road before 8 but not much luck yet as it's hard to get up and going in the dark at 6am.  On the other side it's nice and light till about 7:30.

 

Dont know if you, Larry & Tom, have been getting these so have copied you.  Hope to get you on the address list soon.  All the plants and birds around here you'd love it Tom.

 

Time to sign off and complete our errands for the day:  main chore is a new headlamp or two.  Our BD Spots just keep cutting out so it's time for cheap Chinese ones that probably won't last either.

 

Love,  Stan