Day 19 & 20: Boys in Blue and Green.
Day 19
After resting for a day, I am now ready for the next battle. Had my breakfast and am ready to move off.
Before I did, I saw a huge message board at the guesthouse and had decided to leave a note for everyone.
This was the guesthouse that I stayed at. Nice and good. There was even a place for me to do my laundry. A good place for fellow travellers to gather and exchange information. But just too bad that due to the restriction, there are not many foreigners now.
The road was still not very good from KenDing onwards but was much better than it was yesterday. I was riding along the river all the time. By right, the feeling should be good but due to the fact that there are may constructions going on, the place became so dusty that it was not very enjoyable. We all know that China is developing very fast in the recent years and because of that they need more electricity. That is why there are all these constructions along the river.
After riding for more than half a day, I am now very near to my destination of the day. But just as I was happy that I can have an early rest, I ran into a road block.
Boys in blue came forward and checked me. After knowing that I am a foreigner, they told me that I am not allowed to go forward from this point onwards. They gave me reasons like due to the tibetians unrest, it was dangerous for me to go any further. They said it was for my safety. Then I asked them if I want to get to this place called MaErKang, how can I get there? After a small discussion, they told me that I had to make a detour. Strange, I dont feel anything wrong with the tibetians, in fact, I had a very positive experience with them. I think that they were over reacting. Anyway, I can tell from the discussion that it is in fact alright for me to cross from here. But one of them just dont want to take the risk and so he instructed the rest to tell me to turn back.
This U-turn had brought me into the area where many of the SiChun earthquake victims were being relocatoed to. I can see many tents where they now lived. People were roaming around the area looking quite lost. I felt kind of sad riding though this place. I can actually sense it as though it is in the air.
This U-turn had consumed much of my time. I had to go an extra 100 over kilometers before I reach my destination and as much as I dont like it, the sun is beginning to set and soon after, I ended up in the dark once again.
Sigh... I had no choice but to struggle in the dark. Thankfully I still have lots of petrol to burn, so it is still ok. After riding for about 3 hours in darkness, I am now at another road block, 10km away from the next town. This time round, both boys in blue and green were present. Oh no.. this should be tougher and so I thought. But to my surprise, things here were not as bad. Not only did they registered me, they also helped me to find a place for stay for the night. It was then that I realised that the boys in green were much more friendlier and easier to talk to than the boys in blue who always put on a stern face.
Day 20
Looking out of the window from the place that I stayed at, I can clearly see the military post that I was stopped at last night.
This was where I stayed.
It is a family education centre.
Took a walk around the place and realised that there are two places of interest here.
The ZhouKeJi TuSi
And the XiShou Tibetian folk houses. There tibetians minority are sub-divided into different groups and the XiShou is one of them.
My breakfast.
I rode off after breakfast but only to realise that I had a puncture. So I ended up going back to town. This is the bikeshop. I decided to have do abit of maintainace on my bike too.
I saw another bike there.
and it had a very nice and unique number plate.
He is changing his clutch and gears.
This is the cause of the puncture.
Removing the tyre manually.
Water for checking if there is still an air leakage in the tyre.
Leaking of engine oil.
Fixing back the number plate.
After having the bike for around 2 weeks, now then I realised that it has got 3 pairs of foot pegs which means to say that I can have 2 pillions. HAHA.
The weather here is cold. Thus it is common to see bike like this. They splited a old petrol tank and fix each half on one side of the bike. This is to prevent the wind from blowing at the rider's leg while riding. It keeps to keep the legs warm. I think it is very useful as I felt the chill in my legs while I ride.
What I did at the bike shop: New tyre, new inner tube, new mirrors, tighten my chain (the chian loosens very easily) and fixed back my number plate. Total cost: Slightly more than 30 Singapore dollars. Cheap right? After all these are done, I felt more ready than before. Moving off, I am back into the mountains.
and I saw the colours of nature.
The mountains did not last for long and soon I am in the grassland park in the highlands.
I know it does not look like I am in the highland but trust me, I am.
The road is so straight. I love riding in the grassland. I can go as fast as 100km/hr now.
Clear blue sky. Fresh air. Just me and the nature.
Everything is so beautiful here. Peaceful and quiet. It is like a paradise.
I am really enjoying my ride here. Soon, I arrived at NouErGai, China's most beautiful grassland.
and then I saw the first bend of Huang2 He2 (Yellow River), another famous river of China.
The surrounding of Hunag2 He2.
Sheeps!!! They look like bits of cottons from far. Haha.
I really enjoyed riding here. I am singing, screaming and shouting. WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the ride of my life!!! EEEEEEE HA!!!
I am also taking photographs while riding. This is me.
This is my best friend. He has been keeping me company all this while.
After riding through all these wonderful places, I am now near the town of NouErGai also known as Zoige in tibetian. I had rode past 5-6 military posts and road blocks today. I think it was abit exaggerating. I generally felt that the tibetians were good and friendly. No bad encounter with them so far. I wanted to fill up my petrol before I enter the town but was shocked to hear that it was sold out. I had never heard about a petrol station runniing out of petrol.
Anyway, this is the tibetian BinGuan I stayed at. I like the tibetian designs. I think it is kind of unique.
The lobby.
The room. It comes with attached toilet and TV. NICE.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
After resting for a day, I am now ready for the next battle. Had my breakfast and am ready to move off.
Before I did, I saw a huge message board at the guesthouse and had decided to leave a note for everyone.
This was the guesthouse that I stayed at. Nice and good. There was even a place for me to do my laundry. A good place for fellow travellers to gather and exchange information. But just too bad that due to the restriction, there are not many foreigners now.
The road was still not very good from KenDing onwards but was much better than it was yesterday. I was riding along the river all the time. By right, the feeling should be good but due to the fact that there are may constructions going on, the place became so dusty that it was not very enjoyable. We all know that China is developing very fast in the recent years and because of that they need more electricity. That is why there are all these constructions along the river.
After riding for more than half a day, I am now very near to my destination of the day. But just as I was happy that I can have an early rest, I ran into a road block.
Boys in blue came forward and checked me. After knowing that I am a foreigner, they told me that I am not allowed to go forward from this point onwards. They gave me reasons like due to the tibetians unrest, it was dangerous for me to go any further. They said it was for my safety. Then I asked them if I want to get to this place called MaErKang, how can I get there? After a small discussion, they told me that I had to make a detour. Strange, I dont feel anything wrong with the tibetians, in fact, I had a very positive experience with them. I think that they were over reacting. Anyway, I can tell from the discussion that it is in fact alright for me to cross from here. But one of them just dont want to take the risk and so he instructed the rest to tell me to turn back.
This U-turn had brought me into the area where many of the SiChun earthquake victims were being relocatoed to. I can see many tents where they now lived. People were roaming around the area looking quite lost. I felt kind of sad riding though this place. I can actually sense it as though it is in the air.
This U-turn had consumed much of my time. I had to go an extra 100 over kilometers before I reach my destination and as much as I dont like it, the sun is beginning to set and soon after, I ended up in the dark once again.
Sigh... I had no choice but to struggle in the dark. Thankfully I still have lots of petrol to burn, so it is still ok. After riding for about 3 hours in darkness, I am now at another road block, 10km away from the next town. This time round, both boys in blue and green were present. Oh no.. this should be tougher and so I thought. But to my surprise, things here were not as bad. Not only did they registered me, they also helped me to find a place for stay for the night. It was then that I realised that the boys in green were much more friendlier and easier to talk to than the boys in blue who always put on a stern face.
Day 20
Looking out of the window from the place that I stayed at, I can clearly see the military post that I was stopped at last night.
This was where I stayed.
It is a family education centre.
Took a walk around the place and realised that there are two places of interest here.
The ZhouKeJi TuSi
And the XiShou Tibetian folk houses. There tibetians minority are sub-divided into different groups and the XiShou is one of them.
My breakfast.
I rode off after breakfast but only to realise that I had a puncture. So I ended up going back to town. This is the bikeshop. I decided to have do abit of maintainace on my bike too.
I saw another bike there.
and it had a very nice and unique number plate.
He is changing his clutch and gears.
This is the cause of the puncture.
Removing the tyre manually.
Water for checking if there is still an air leakage in the tyre.
Leaking of engine oil.
Fixing back the number plate.
After having the bike for around 2 weeks, now then I realised that it has got 3 pairs of foot pegs which means to say that I can have 2 pillions. HAHA.
The weather here is cold. Thus it is common to see bike like this. They splited a old petrol tank and fix each half on one side of the bike. This is to prevent the wind from blowing at the rider's leg while riding. It keeps to keep the legs warm. I think it is very useful as I felt the chill in my legs while I ride.
What I did at the bike shop: New tyre, new inner tube, new mirrors, tighten my chain (the chian loosens very easily) and fixed back my number plate. Total cost: Slightly more than 30 Singapore dollars. Cheap right? After all these are done, I felt more ready than before. Moving off, I am back into the mountains.
and I saw the colours of nature.
The mountains did not last for long and soon I am in the grassland park in the highlands.
I know it does not look like I am in the highland but trust me, I am.
The road is so straight. I love riding in the grassland. I can go as fast as 100km/hr now.
Clear blue sky. Fresh air. Just me and the nature.
Everything is so beautiful here. Peaceful and quiet. It is like a paradise.
I am really enjoying my ride here. Soon, I arrived at NouErGai, China's most beautiful grassland.
and then I saw the first bend of Huang2 He2 (Yellow River), another famous river of China.
The surrounding of Hunag2 He2.
Sheeps!!! They look like bits of cottons from far. Haha.
I really enjoyed riding here. I am singing, screaming and shouting. WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the ride of my life!!! EEEEEEE HA!!!
I am also taking photographs while riding. This is me.
This is my best friend. He has been keeping me company all this while.
After riding through all these wonderful places, I am now near the town of NouErGai also known as Zoige in tibetian. I had rode past 5-6 military posts and road blocks today. I think it was abit exaggerating. I generally felt that the tibetians were good and friendly. No bad encounter with them so far. I wanted to fill up my petrol before I enter the town but was shocked to hear that it was sold out. I had never heard about a petrol station runniing out of petrol.
Anyway, this is the tibetian BinGuan I stayed at. I like the tibetian designs. I think it is kind of unique.
The lobby.
The room. It comes with attached toilet and TV. NICE.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 9:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home