Day 11: Sore bottom to Yangshuo

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Distance: 80km

Today is a bit of a blur because my bottom hurts from so much riding. I don't have a problem with the hills, I don't have a problem with the roads. I just have a very sore bottom.

I skipped breakfast today because I'm feeling full of noodles. Instead, I bought some bananas and stuff from a bakery, which I ate while taking advantage of wifi in the lobby. Our hotel, the Grand Global Hotel, is just awful. Condom packets for purchase in the bathroom, a toilet that only flushes by lifting the cistern lid and pulling a wire, doona/duves hidden in a cupboard rather than on the beds, doors that scrape as they open/close, rusted surfaces. The whole place made me feel so dirty that I didn't even take a shower because I felt it would make me MORE dirty!

We started the day by driving an hour out of town, then chilling about 40km. We stopped for lunch in domes town, then continued another 40km. Problem was, I just couldn't get comfortable on my bike seat. I tried putting a pair of socks under the gel seat. I tried putting a pair of socks down my pants. I tried removing everything and going back to a bare seat. Nothing worked!

After lunch I had our truck driver pump up my front tyre because it was losing pressure. Then, a bit later, I discovered that it was flat! Moreso, the truck had gone ahead rather than trailing. Fine, so it would take a while for a repair. Frank, our tour leader, rode past me a bit later and said he'll get the truck to come back. Then, as I later discovered, HE got a flat too and had to walk some of the distance! I had a nice "bottom rest" while waiting for the truck and Birgit joined me for an Oreo Picnic. (They come in many flavours here, like orange or berry.)

Once the truck swapped out my tyre, I was back out again. I passed through a village and greeted many school children, observed the meat shop (a table outside with raw meat on it) and acted as a minor celebrity in this backroad town. Eventually I caught up with the van, a job well done. That is, until Frank said "Let's go!" and I discovered that we had another 5km to ride. Ouch!

We finally made it to Yangshuo, which can best be described as a holiday village. There are many, many pedestrians streets with small shops, stalls and restaurants. Similar to Surfers Paradise and Hong Kong combined. We had a good dinner and then walked back through the shopping area.

We will be spending 3 nights here, riding and sampling some of the local tourist activities.

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