Blogs from Yunnan, China, Asia - page 21

Geo: 27.8205, 99.7074From PanZhiHua I decided to get the bus to Lijiang firstly which is around 9 hours away, from the hotel I tried to get a taxi but they were all full and I was getting tight for time after collecting my visa in the morning. One of the ‘minivan' taxi's said he would take me for 12 yuen but that's double the taxi fare so I declined, instead one of the guys hanging around the hotel (looking for work I think) said he would take me for 6 yuen on his motorbike so without hesitation I jumped on and I was handed a yellow hardhat to wear, I must have looked a picture! Although helmets are not compulsory here, many wear their work hard hats on their bikes as helmets, they're all red or ... read more

Day 6Jinchuan Old TownThe road to Jinchuan today in constant sun, as usual, although coolish on bare arms until later in morning. The first 30k was along the valley heading North along what is a very busy route for lorries and every conceivable vehicle known to China, mostly the small trucks driven by donkey engines (single and twin cylinder diesels which make a loud knock when accelerated). The small trucks looked like they were in convoy there were that many of them heading to town. Those heading our way almost gassed us unless we could pass them, which was not always difficult especially on hills. The hills came in a big way with hairpin after hairpin for 25k and with a rough road surface in many places, especially on the bends. On the descent we also ... read more

The beds are so hard that I am struggling to sleep. It took several hours and many shifts of position to get any sleep at all and the the next I heard was my phone ringing at 9am. It was our guide David wanting to know if we had gone to the wrong restaurant since he had not seen us. Us being myself and room mate Jeff from Oz. Today was a steady day roaming around the many streets of this ancient city established in 1382 but much of it rebuilt in the last 20 years or so as a major tourist city occupied by mostly Bai minority people in their distinctive white and blue dresses and fancy head dresses not unlike the American Indians without the feathers. The city is set out in a grid ... read more

Mount Jizu Temple We were looking at a long day today so up at 6.35 for 7 'o' clock start to have breakfast of noodles and some unknown things to help us on our way. The one thing about Chinese meals is that you know the format of rice,noodles,cabbage etc but never know how hot the peppers are going to be until 2 minutes later and your palate shrieks out in pain.The first thing after breakfast in the lock up garage was to go up Mt Jizu by way of a 10 seater golf type buggy to the Gondola. Once out of the gondola about 300 steps got us to the top puffing and panting at 3,200m altitude. The temples up there were quite impressive with all the Buddha's on display and the ’Teapots’ where the ... read more

Here I am at home just about ready to set off for Kunming for the 2012 tour of the area from Binchuan to as far north as the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze just above the first bend in the river. I have packed my bike in a soft bag and a small suitcase for my hand luggage. On a tour like this you need to travel light and wash your clothes frequently, which I do in the showwer each night, wring them out in a towel and hope they are dry next day. This was a problem in N Vietnam due to the high altitude and cool weather for the first week. I am not looking forward to the flights, which seem to take forever, and the airport boredom and officialdom. We get in ... read more