China a different country - Part two
Fredag d. 14. juli 2017 - Lørdag d. 29. juli 2017 (Update d. 17. okt. 2017)
Pausedage i Kunming
Med fly til Urumqi
Pausedage i Urumqi
Urumqi - Hubuti 73 km
Hubuti - Shihezi 80 km
Shihezi - Kuytun 101 km
Kuytun - Gaoquan (Sikeshuzhen) 85 km
Pausedag i Gaoquan
Gaoquan - Mangeling 115 km
Mangeling - Byen uden navn 66 km
Bustransport til Qingshuihe
Qingshuihe - Zharkent (Kazakstan) 79 km
Vi blev 5 nætter i Kunming og nød Vera´s selskab.
Vi havde bestemt os for ikke at forlænge vores visum, da vi ikke havde lyst til at blive i Kina, mere end højst nødvendigt og fordi at hvis vi gjorde det ville vi bruge for meget tid på at vente til forlængelsen ville gå igennem.
Ligeledes var det således, at fra den dag vi ville indlevere vores pas, det ville være fra den dag at visumet ville være gældende. Så reelt ville vi få 3 uger mere.
Så vores plan var at blive i Kunming til d. 18. juli 2017 og så tage et fly til Urumqi, som ligger i den nord østlige del af Kina og så cykle de sidste 650 kilometer til den Kazakstanske grænse.
Tiden i Kunming blev brugt på forskellige ting. Vores første plan var at pakke cyklerne, så vi kunne tage dem med til lufthavnen og sende dem med det samme fly som vi skulle med, men Vera foreslog vi kunne sende cyklerne i forvejen med et speditør firma. Det ville være meget billigere og så skulle vi ikke bøvle med at tage cyklerne med til lufthavnen. Firmaet ville endda pakke cyklerne for os.
Prisen for to cykler blev 700 YAN, godt nok endte det med at vi hjalp dem med at pakke cyklerne. Men så var vi sikker på at det var gjordt ordentligt.
En af dagene tog vi en taxi ind til Kunming centrum. Vi skulle have fat i nogle nye varme soveposer, som skulle holde os varme når vi kom til bjergene i Kyrgistan og Tajikistan. Soveposerne vi havde var kun egnet til sommervejr.
Vi måtte til 3 forskellige butikker inden vi fandt en butik, som havde alt muligt outdoor udstyr. Her fandt vi soveposer der kunne holde os varme ned til minus 18 grader. Et par nye pakkeposer og en T-shirt. Altsammen i samme kvalitet, som vi kunne finde i DK.
De gamle soveposer forærede vi til Vera. Måske kom der andre og overnattede ved hende som kunne bruge dem.
Senere samme dag havde vi lavet en aftale om at få kinesisk massage og Heidi ville prøve om de kunne hjælpe hende af med hendes tilbage vendende migræne.
Vera havde fået kontakt til en kinesisk dame via Whats.app, som havde anbefalet et sted og hende mødtes vi med. Det blev starten på en lang eftermiddag. Jeg fik en super god gang rygmassage, hvor Heidi blev analyseret via nogle elektroder og et diagram, som vi kunne se på en computer bagefter.
Det var et skræmmende hvad de kunne se ud fra det diagram. Herefter fik hun den helt store tur, først et bad, hvor hun ikke måtte være dækket helt til af vandet og ovenpå hende lå en kæmpe thepose agtig tingest. Herefter blev hendes ansigt masseret af en og to gav behandling på hver af hendes arme. Til sidst blev hun rullet med en kagerulle agtig ting på ryggen og maven. Den ændrede farve, når affaldsstofferne kom ud af kroppen. Den del tog bare en time. Da hun var færdig, havde de behandlet hende i 4 timer.
Vi tog den kinesiske dame med ud og spise bagefter, eftersom hun havde brugt hele eftermiddagen sammen med os.
Vera havde fødselsdag en af dagene vi var ved hende, så vi lavede en overraskelse. Vi havde købt en flot kage, hvorpå der stod Happy Birthday og købt nogle skægge hatte. Det endte med at vi sad med hattene på hele aftenen og snakkede.
Vi var også henne for at se hvor hun arbejdede og faktisk faldt vi godt til i nabolaget. Stedet hun boede mindede om et dansk boligkomplex, med små butikker og spisesteder.
Da vi skulle afsted fra Kunming, tog vi en taxa til lufthavnen. Turen tog næsten en time og allerede langt fra lufthavnen kunne vi se bygningerne.
Om morgenen var vi blevet ringet op af fragt firmaet, som meddelte os at cyklerne allerede var i Urumqi og at vi skulle hente dem ved fragt firmaet, næste dag.
Vi var spændte på hvordan ind checkingnen ville gå, da vi havde regnet os frem til, at vi havde 15 kilo for meget. Men fyren der checkede os ind, sagde ingenting. Så atter engang var vi heldige og vi var glade.
Ved ankomsten til Urumqi fik vi en ny oplevelse. Vi havde lavet en reservation via booking.com til Super 8 hotel, vi havde fået fortalt at de altid må have udlændinge boende.
Vi fik fat i en taxa og viste ham adressen på hotellet. Turen dertil tog kun 5 minutter, hvilket vi undrede os over. For dagen før havde vi checket på maps.me hvor hotellet lå og den havde vist 10 kilometer.
Da vi kom ind i receptionen og viser dem reservationen, siger de at det er det forkerte hotel. HVAD ???? forkerte hotel. Vi beder dem om at få fat i en anden taxa, så vi kan komme hen på det rigtige Super 8 hotel.
Men nej siger de. Det andet Super 8 hotel må ikke have udlændinge boende. HVAD???? Nu er det lige før vi flipper helt ud.
Hvordan kunne vi så lave reservationen via Booking.com???? Nu prøvede vi at spørge om vi så ikke kunne blive her på hotellet???? Nej, de må heller ikke have udlændinge boende. HVAD??? Hold nu op alting begyndte at blive for meget. Vores temperament var på kogepuktet!!! Heldigvis kom der en mand som kunne engelsk og ved hans hjælp, fandt vi frem til en løsning. Efter en masse snak frem og tilbage, blev det til, at de havde et værelse hvor vi kunne bo, men prisen var 100 YAN dyrere end det vi havde reserveret i forvejen.
Men hvad skulle vi gøre??? Klokken var mange og hvor skulle vi finde et andet hotel???
Det var ikke fordi at denne oplevelse fik os til at være mere positiv stemt for Kina.
Da vi skulle hente vores cykler næste dag, hjælper damen i receptionen os med at få fat i en stor taxa. Fragt firmaet lå ikke langt fra hotellet og da vi er tilbage, samler vi cyklerne med det samme.
Alt så fint ud og intet var beskadiget, så nu skulle vi bare have handlet snack og vand ind, så vi kunne starte turen imod Kazakstan.
Turen ud af Urumqi gik ganske let, men ingen af os var inspireret til at cykle. Det var 7 dage siden vi sidst havde cyklet og nu skulle kroppen igang igen. Vi kørte langs med en stor hovedvej og det eneste der var at se de første 30 kilometer var industri, vejarbejde og trafik.
På et tidspunkt kunne vi se der var en anden cyklist foran os og vi når at indhente ham. Det var en kinesisk fyr, som var på en 40 dages tur rundt i Kina. Han indviterer os på honningmelon og vi sidder i skyggen af nogle træer en halv times tid. Komnikationen fore gik via google translate. Han forklarede os at det var hans frokostpause og at han vil tage sig en lur. Vi bestemte os for at cykle videre. Men inden tog vi et par selfies sammen med ham.
Dagen sluttede efter 73 kilometer, hvor vi havde fået foræret en kæmpe vandmelon på 4 - 5 kilo af en mand i en bil og hvor vi havde cyklet rundt for at finde et hotel, hvor vi måtte overnatte. Vi endte på Xinjiang Wuyang Holiday Hotel. Det var det eneste hotel i byen der måtte have udlændinge.
Vi kunne cykle lige ind i receptionen via en rampe der var udenfor hotellet. Ret sjovt, da alt var bygget op i fin marmor. Her kom vi i svedigt cykeltøj og støvede cykler, direkte ind i receptionen.
De næste to dage skete der ikke så meget, landskabet var meget goldt. På den ene side havde vi lidt grønt og på den anden side kunne vi se bjerge med sne på toppen, hvilket minde os om hvad der ventede os om et par måneder.
Vejen vi fulgte var mest flad, så kilometerne forsvandt hurtigt under vores hjul. Vi var nok mest opsat på at få cyklet så mange kilometer som muligt, så vi kunne komme ud af Kina.
Undervejs kom vi igennem flere politi check. Xinjiang er et sensitivt område pga. størstedelen af kinas ca. 20 milioner muslimer bor i Xinjiang og ligesom i Tibet, ønsker Kina at have "styr" på deres minioriteter. Der lever også flere tyrkisk etniske grupper bl.a Uighur.
Det var ikke fordi vi kunne mærke nogen forskel, men en ting vi kan fremhæve, var at alle tankstationer var lukket land med et kæmpe hegn og bevogtet af vagter. Hvis nogen skulle have benzin på deres bil, skulle alle stå ud af bilen og den blev checket inden den fik lov at køre ind bag hegnet.
Så var der alle hoteller, som havde en sikkerheds karm man skulle gå igennem, men det latterlige var at den ville bippe, men ingen ville tage notits af det.
Da vi cyklede ud af Shihezi fik vi lov til at nyde deres "smukke" industri. Kæmpe store reaktorer stod lige ved siden af vejen og inde på industri området var der store lejligheds komplekser. Højst sandsynelig til de mennesker der arbejdede på stedet, så de ikke havde langt til arbejde.
Da vi havde cyklet 27 kilometer, mødte vi Bob og Hans fra Tyskland, de var cyklet fra Tyskland siden maj og deres mål havde været Shanghai, men de var blevet trætte af det kinesiske baukrati og alle deres tjek. Så de ville slutte deres tur i Urumqi og flyve hjem derfra.
Efter en hyggelig snak og et par billeder, cyklede vi i hver vores retning.
Sidst på dagen cyklede vi igennem ørken ligende landskab og da vi er 25 kilometer fra Kuytun, kan vi allerede se byen. Kæmpe højhuse stikker op ude i horisonten. Inden vi kunne komme ind i byen, blev vi atter engang tjekket af politiet.
Jagten på et hotel, blev det samme som alle andre dage. Det første sted...kun for kinesere, det næste sted er udsolgt, trejde gang lykkens gang og vi får et værelse. Det er ikke det vi har lyst til efter en lang og varm dags cykling og for hver dag der gik, så vi mere og mere frem til at forlade Kina.
Heidi var ikke frisk da vi vågnede næste dag, men tanken om at blive længere i Kina en højst nødvendingt, var ikke til at holde til. Så vi får pakket sammen og går ned for at spise morgenmad. Da vi kom ned i receptionen, mødte vi Peter fra Schweiz. Han havde været ude og morgen jogge og da han så os i cykeltøj og med cyklerne, ville han høre had vi lavede der. Det endte med at vi sad sammen og spiste morgenmad.
Han fortalte at han var computer programør for nogle store textil fabrikker og de fleste af hans kunder var fra Kina. Han skulle være i Kina i tre uger. Han viste os en video han havde taget på en af fabrikkerne, her kunne vi se hvor MEGA store deres anlæg var. Tror der var 1 kilometer fra den ene ende til den anden på en af maskinerne. Peter var så betaget af vores tur, at han ville give os nogle power gel og da han mødte os i receptionen inden vi cyklede afsted, ville han give os 300 YAN. Vi forsøgte at afslå, men det ville han ikke høre tale om. Vi takkede mange gange og nåede at tage et par billeder inden vi fortsatte vores tur.
Indtil nu havde vi fulgt vejen som løb ved siden af motorvejen og det gjorde vi også denne dag.
En politibil holdt os ind til siden, for at forklare os at vi skal passe på med trafikken på vejen og for at tjekke vores pas. Herefter cyklede vi ti kilometer, hvor vi atter mødte et politi tjek.
Her bliver vi igen tjekket og vi bliver bedt om at sidde ned. Alle betjentene er søde og rare. Vi bliver tilbudt vand. Efter 10 minutter får vi at vide vi skal vende om og cykle tilbage den vej vi er kommet af. Af sikkerhedsmæssige grunde kan vi ikke fortsætte af den vej vi befinder os på.
Vi spørger: hvor vil i have vi skal cykle hen??? Vores visum til Kina udløber om 4 dage så vi skal imod Kazakstan. Vi kan godt se at det giver dem lidt at tænke over. Så til sidst siger den ene betjent: cykel 5 kilometer tilbage og drej ind på motorvejen. Der er ingen politi tjek.
Fint nok med os, så kan vi da virkelig sætte farten op og komme til Kazakstan. Så som sagt som gjort. Vi vendte om og cyklede 5 kilometer tilbage og drejede ind på motorvejen.
Vi nåede den lille by, Gaoquan og da Heidi virkelig har kæmpet sig igennem dagen. Bliver vi enige om at blive dagen efter, så hun kunne blive frisk igen.
Da vi cyklede af sted fra Gaoquan to dage senere, havde vi sat os et mål om at komme så langt som muligt. Hvad vi ikke var klar over, var at dagen blev så varm, at vi virkelig var ved at koge over.
På strækningen vi cykler er der kun skygge under broerne der føre over motorvejen og hver gang vi kom til en bro holdt vi en pause i skyggen. Efter 91 kilometer er temperaturen oppe på 44 grader og vi koger.
Så da vi kom til en bro der førte ind under vejen vi cyklede på, tog vi alt bagagen af cyklerne og løftede det ned under broen og det samme gjorde vi med cyklerne. Nu lagde vi os i skyggen og nød det "kun" var 40 grader.
Vi holdt pause i 3 timer, hvorefter vi fortsatte. Temperaturen var stadig oppe på 42 grader og vi havde stadig 20 kilometer inden vi nåede til Mangeling. Det var lige før vi gik i panik fordi det var så varmt. Vores vand var udrikkelig, men vi var nødt til at drikke for ikke at dehydrere.
Lige inden Mangeling skulle vi igennem et politi tjek igen og her fik vi fyldt koldt vand i vores flasker. Vi tror at betjentene blev noget overrasket over, at vi drak en hel flaske med det samme. Men vi var så tørstige.
Hvis alt gik efter planen skulle vi kunne være i Kazakstan om 3 til 4 dage. Vi havde en lang opkørsel til xxx søen, som vi så frem til, da vi havde set billeder deroppe fra og det så utroligt flot ud. Det eneste der gjorde os utrygge var at varmen så ud til at blive ved og når vi kiggede ruten igennem på maps.me, var der ikke rigtig nogle byer undervejs eller steder med skygge. Så vi skulle sørge for at have nok vand med.
Planen blev vi ville cykle til en by tæt på hvor stigningen startede og overnatte der for så at starte tideligt næste dag. Men den plan skulle vise sig at gå i vasken.
Vi cyklede fra Mangeling imod byen som lå 52 kilometer efter Mangeling. På maps.me havde vi set at der var to hoteller i byen. Noget af vejen blev på en lille landevej og de sidste 22 kilometer kørte vi på motorvejen.
Vi skulle dreje fra motorvejen for at cykle 8 kilometer af vej X200 inden vi ville nå til byen vi ville sove i.
Da vi drejede fra motorvejen kom vi til et check point, her blev vi mødt af en sød kvindelig kinesisk betjent. Hun tjekkede vores pas og imens vi ventede gav hun os vand og vandmelon. Hun sagde, at der kom en politibil som ville følge os ind til byen. Men sådan blev det ikke. Lidt efter kom hun tilbage og måtte meddele os at vi ikke kunne komme til den by, da de ikke havde hoteller til udlændinge og hun måtte bede os om at cykle 22 kilometer tilbage til byen som lå der, da de måtte huse udlændinge der.
Nu var vores tålmodighed brugt op. Det var somom vi cyklede 1 skridt frem, for at blive sendt 2 skridt tilbage.
Vi var meget venlige overfor betjenten og sagde at vi godt vidste at hun bare udførte hendes arbejde og hun sagde undskyld for at vi skulle cykle tilbage.
Dette var ikke alt. Vi havde regnet med at vi kunne cykle tilbage ad motorvejen, men nej. Da vi ville cykle igennem betalings anlæget, blev vi stoppet og bedt om at cykle af en meget dårlig grusvej, der løb langs med motorvejen. Så det der kunne have taget 1 time kom til at tage 1 1/2 time.
Nu havde vi fået nok af Kina. Så på vejen tilbage, blev vi enige om at nu skulle vi bare ud af landet og vi ville se om vi kunne leje en taxa, der kunne tage os til grænsen næste dag, så vi kunne komme til Kazakstan hurtigst muligt.
Efter 1 1/2 time på cyklen ankom vi til byen hvor vi kunne overnatte. Vi fandt et hotel, hvor vi fik hjælp fra dem der bestyrede hotellet. En taxa kunne vi ikke leje, men der var en bus som kørte til Qingshuihe næste dag klokken 11:00. Så det blev planen. Vi ville tage bussen dertil og så cykle de sidste 30 kilometer til grænsen.
Bestyren af hotellet, gik med os næste dag hen til busstationen og hjalp os med at købe billetter. Nu skulle vi bare vente på bussen og derefter kunne vi slappe af på turen til Qingshuihe, velvidende at vi ville forlade Kina næste dag.
Busturen gik godt og da vi blev sat af i Qingshuihe, var det lige ud for et hotel, så det kunne ikke være mere let.
Nu skulle vi bare sove en nat mere og så ventede Kazakstan lige om hjørnet. Men det vi troede skulle blive en let sag, gik hen og blev en noget indviklet omgang.
Sidste utrolige kapitel i Kina.
Cykelturen fra Qingshuihe og til Horgasi var lige ud af landevejen. Vi havde læst at grænsen åbnede klokken 10:00 og klokken var 09:00 da vi var ved grænsen.
Vi cyklede helt op til grænsen og tog et billede, så vi kunne dokumentere at vi var på vej ud af Kina, herefter gik alt galt.
Der var ingen skilte, hvorpå der stod at her er grænsen til Kazakstan. Men vi blev enige om at den store bygning vi kunne se, måtte være grænsen. Her kunne vi se en lang kø bestående af godt og vel 1000 mennesker. Inden vi stilte os i køen, spurgte vi en vagt, om det var grænsen til Kazakstan. Først sagde han nej, men efter at have spurgt en anden sagde han ja og ledte os ind i køen.
Nu var klokken 10:00 og køen begyndte at bevæge sig fremad. Det var kun kinesere der stod i køen og her fandtes ingen kø kultur. Lige så snart at køen gik lidt fremad, blev der skubbet og snydt udenom i stor stil.
Efter 30 minutter kom vi frem til et tjek med et tælleapparat og en karm. Vi kunne se med det samme at cyklerne ikke passede igennem karmen og gjorde tegn til vagterne som stod der, om havd vi skulle gøre???
De gjorde tegn til at vi skulle igennem karmen med cykler og det hele. Marianne viste med store armbevægelser at cyklerne ikke passede igennem. Men der var ikke noget at gøre, Vagterne ville have dem igennem. Det hele endte med at Marianne´s cykle sad fast og nu skabte vi en kæmpe prop af råbende mennesker og vagter der forsøgte at få cyklen fri. Total kaos og vi kunne ikke lade vær med at tænke, hvordan er andre cyklister kommet igennem her, for vi kunne ikke være de første der skulle krydse grænsen.
Vagterne fik cyklen løs og nu skulle vi løfte cyklerne over et hegn og så derefter gennemlyse alt vores bagage og bagagen blev tjekket manuelt. Derfra i køen igen til vi kom til et andet tælleapperat. Denne gang passede cyklerne lige igennem. Nu var der gået en time og vi var nået frem til skranken hvor vi skulle vise vores pas.
Alt lignede en almindelig grænseovergang og nu glædede vi os til at få lov til at fortsætte igennem og så vi snart kunne sætte vores fødder på Kazakstansk jord.
Men nej!!!!....da vi havde afleveret vores pas og manden bag ved skranken kiggede på passene, var det eneste han sagde: NO Kazakstan border. HVAD??????? Hvordan kunne vi have stået i kø i 1 time og blevet tjekket 2 gange uden der var nogen der havde sagt til os, at vi var i den forkerte kø og hvad var det her sted så?????
Nu havde vi fået nok!!! Vi næsten råbte og skældte ud. Vi var fuldstændig ligeglade med om der stod 1000 vis af kinesere og kiggede på.
En kinesisk dame kom ud fra et kontor og sagde til os på engelsk: Turn around and go out. HVAD??? Gå tilbage af samme vej vi var kommet ind???? Du kan tro nej, sagde vi. Du følger os ud herfra og viser os hvor grænsen til Kazakstan er!!! Hvad er det her sted, hvis ikke det er grænsen. Spurgte vi.
Det viste sig at være indgangen til et told frit område, hvor kinesere kunne købe billige ting fra Kazakstan.
Damen fulgte os ud af bygningen og pegede mod højre imens hun sagde: grænsen er til venstre?????
Nu var vi endnu mere forvirret, men vi cyklede over til et sted i nærheden af, hvor vi havde været tidligere. Her fandt vi en indgang med 4 kørebaner og der var to mænd der råbte: To the left. Så nu cyklede vi helt op til hegnet på venstre side. Men hvor var indgangen til grænsen???? Alt var lukket. Der var et lille skur hvor der sad en mand indeni, men han gjorde ikke tegn til noget. Her var et stort hegn med ståltråd, men ingen port.
Så vi cyklede tilbage til de to mænd ved indgangen og de blev ved med at sige: To the left.
Tilbage igen til det lille skur og nu var der ankommet en bus fyldt med mennesker der skulle til Kazakstan og det blev vores redning, for lige ved siden af det lille skur, var der en lille åbning og det var der vi skulle igennem.
Nu stod vi i kø inde i en lille gård og dem vi stod i kø med, var tydeligvis kazakstanske.
30 minutter senere var vi inde i den rigtige imigrations bygning og herfra gik det noget mere nemt. Vi blev stemplet ud af Kina og herefter skulle vi cykle i en stor bue på 7,5 kilometer inden vi var ved den Kazakstanske imigration og det selvom at vi kunne se 500 m frem, over til den bygning vi skulle endte ved efter at have cyklet de 7,5 kilometer.
Imigrationen til Kazakstan tog kun 3 minutter og var meget afslappet. Der blev sagt Welcome to Kazakstan og vi må tilstå, vi havde lyst til at kysse jorden da vi endelig cyklede på den Kazakstankse landevej på vej mod Zarkent.
English
Friday, July 14, 2017 - Saturday, July 29, 2017 (Update 17th oct. 2017)
Restdays in in Kunming
By plane to Urumqi
Restdays in Urumqi
Urumqi - Hubuti 73 km
Hubuti - Shihezi 80 km
Shihezi - Kuytun 101 km
Kuytun - Gaoquan (Sikeshuzhen) 85 km
Rest day in Gaoquan
Gaoquan - Mangeling 115 km
Mangeling - The city without name 66 km
By Bus to Qingshuihe
Qingshuihe - Zharkent (Kazakhstan) 79 km
We stayed 5 nights in Kunming and enjoyed Vera's company.
We had decided not to extend our visa because we did not want to stay in China more than necessary and because if we did, we would spend too much time waiting for the extension to go through.
Likewise, from the day we wanted to file our passport, it would be from the date that the visa would be valid. In fact, we would only end up getting 3 weeks more.
So our plan was to stay in Kunming until 18 July 2017 and then take a plane to Urumqi, located in the north east of China and then cycle the last 650 kilometers to the Kazakh border.
The time in Kunming was used on different things. Our first plan was to pack the bikes so we could take them to the airport and send them with the same plane as we would fly with, but Vera suggested we could send the bicycles in advance with a freight company. It would be much cheaper and we should not bother taking the bikes to the airport. The company would even pack the bikes for us.
The price for two bikes was 700 YAN, wich was a good price, even though we ended up helping them pack the bikes. But then we were sure it was done properly.
One of the days we took a taxi into Kunming city center. We needed some new hot sleeping bags, which should keep us warm when we came to the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The sleeping bags we had were only suitable for summer weather.
We had to go to 3 different stores before we found a store that had all the outdoor equipment we needed. Here we found sleeping bags that could keep us warm down to minus 18 degrees. A pair of new waterproof bags and a T-shirt. All in the same quality as we could find in DK.
We gave the old sleeping bags to Vera. Maybe others came and stayed with her who could use them.
Later that day, we had made an appointment to have Chinese massage and Heidi would try if they could help her with her migraine.
Vera had contact with a Chinese lady via Whats.app, who had recommended a place and we met her. It was the start of a long afternoon. I got a great back massage, Heidi was analyzed via some electrodes and a chart that we could watch on a computer afterwards.
It was a bit scary what they could see from the chart. Then she got the big treatment, first a bath where she could not be completely covered by the water and on top of her there was a huge bag thing that looked like a big teabag. Then her face was massaged by one and two treated each of her arms. Eventually she was rolled with a cake rolling thing on her back and stomach. It changed color when the toxid came out of the body. That part only took an hour. When she was finished, they had treated her for 4 hours.
We took the Chinese lady out for dinner afterwards because she had spent the whole afternoon with us.
It was Vera´s birthday while we where with her so we made a surprise. We had bought a nice cake on which Happy Birthday was written and bought some funny hats. We ended up sitting with the hats on all night and talking.
We also went with her to see where she worked and actually we fell in love with the neighborhood. The place she lived reminded of a Danish residential complex, with small shops and eateries.
When we were leaving from Kunming, we took a taxi to the airport. The trip took almost an hour.
In the morning we had been called up by the freight company, who informed us that the bikes were already in Urumqi and that we had to pick them up at the freight company the next day.
We were excited about how the check in would go when we had figured out that we had 15 kilos too much. But the guy who checked us in said nothing. Then again we were lucky and we were happy.
On arrival at Urumqi we got a new experience. We had made a reservation via booking.com at the Super 8 hotel, we had been told that they always were allowed to have foreigners accommodation.
We grabbed a taxi and showed him the address of the hotel. The trip there only took 5 minutes, which we wondered about. The day before we had checked on maps.me where the hotel was located and it had shown 10 kilometers.
When we got to the front desk and showed them the reservation, they say it's the wrong hotel. WHAT ???? wrong hotel. We ask them to grab another taxi so we could get to the right Super 8 hotel.
But no, they say. The other Super 8 hotel may not have foreigners accommodation. WHAT???? Now it just got to much.
How could we then make the reservation via Booking.com ???? Now we tried to ask if we could stay here at the hotel ???? No, they were not allowed to have foreigners staying. WHAT??? Our temper reached the boiling point !!! Fortunately, there was a man who spoke English and with his help, we found a solution. After a lot of talk back and forth, they became aware that they had a room where we could stay, but the price was 100 YAN more expensive than what we had booked in advance.
But what should we do ??? It was late and where should we find another hotel ???
It was not because this experience made us feel more favored for China.
When we had to pick up our bikes the next day, the lady at the front desk helps us get a big taxi. The freight company was not far from the hotel and when we came back we collect the bikes right away.
Everything looked fine and nothing was damaged, so we only had to shop some snacks and water so we could start our trip towards Kazakhstan.
The trip out of Urumqi went quite easily, but none of us were inspired to ride our bikes this day. It was 7 days since we last cycled and now the body had to wake up again. We drove along a major highway and the only thing that we saw the first 30 kilometers was industry, road work and traffic.
At one point we could see there was another cyclist in front of us and so we spet up to catch him. It was a Chinese guy who was on a 40 day trip around China. He invited us for honey melon and we were sitting in the shade of some trees for half an hour. Comunication went on through google translate. He explained that it was his lunch break and that he would take a nap. We decided to ride on. But before we left we took a couple of selfies with him.
The day ended after 73 kilometers, where we had been given a huge watermelon of 4-5 kg by a man in a car. We had to cycle around for a while to find a hotel where we could stay overnight. We ended at Xinjiang Wuyang Holiday Hotel. It was the only hotel in town that may have foreigners.
We could bike right into the reception via a ramp that was outside the hotel. Quite funny when everything was built in fine marble. Here we came in sweaty bike clothes and on our dusty bikes, directly into the reception and got checked in.
The next two days not much happend, the landscape was very wast. On the one hand, we had a little green and on the other side we could see mountains with snow on top, which reminds us of what awaited us in a few months.
The road we followed was mostly flat, so the kilometers disappeared quickly under our wheels. We were most keen on cycling as many kilometers as possible so we could get out of China.
Along the way we came through several police checks. Xinjiang is a sensitive area due to the majority of China's approx. 20 million Muslims living in Xinjiang and, like Tibet, China wants to "rule" their minorities. There are also several Turkish ethnic groups, including Uighur. Wich can give some tensions sometimes.
It was not because we could feel any difference, but one thing we could emphasize was that all gas stations were closed land with a huge fence and guarded by guards. If someone wanted to have gasoline, everyone should get out of the car and it was checked before it was allowed to drive behind the fence.
Then there were all hotels that had a security frame to go through, but it was ridiculous because it would beep, but nobody would take note of it.
As we cycled out of Shihezi we were allowed to enjoy their "beautiful" industry. Huge large reactors stood right next to the road and inside the industrial area there were large apartment complexes. Most likely for the people who worked on site so they did not have far to work.
After biking for 27 kilometers, we met Bob and Hans from Germany, they had been cycling from Germany since May and their destination had been Shanghai, but they had become tired of the Chinese baukrati and all their checks. So they would end their trip in Urumqi and fly home from there.
After a nice talk and a couple of pictures, we rode in each direction.
By the end of the day we rode through a desert landscape, and when we where 25 kilometers from Kuytun, we could already see the city. Huge high-rise buildings protrude on the horizon. Before we could get into the city, we were once again checked by the police.
The pursuit of a hotel became the same as all other days. The first place ... only for Chinese people, the next place was sold out, third time was the time of luck and we got a room. That's not what we wanted after a long and hot day's cycling and for every day we went, we wished more and more to leave China.
Heidi was not well when we woke up the next day, but the idea of staying longer in China was not a great thourght. So we got packed and went down to have breakfast. When we arrived at the reception we met Peter from Switzerland. He had been out for morning jog and when he watched us in bicycle clothes and the bikes, he would like to know what we where doing there. We ended up sitting together and eating breakfast.
He told us he was a computer programmer for some big textile factories and most of his customers were from China. He should be in China for three weeks. He showed us a video he had taken at one of the factories, here we could see how MEGA big their factory was. I Think there was 1 kilometer from one end to another on one of the machines. Peter was so excited about our trip that he would give us some power gel and when he met us at the front desk before we cycled, he insisted on giving us 300 YAN. We tried to refuse, but he did not take an no for an answer. We thanked many times and managed to take a couple of pictures before continuing our trip.
Until now, we had followed the road that ran alongside the highway, and so we did this day.
A police car stopped us to explain to us that we should take care of the traffic on the road and to check our passports. Then we cycled for ten kilometers, where we once again met a police check.
Here we got checked again and we was asked to sit down. All the policemen were sweet and helpfull. We were even offered water. After 10 minutes, we got told: you have to turn around and cycle back the road you have come from. For safety reasons we can not continue on this road ou are at now.
We ask: where do you want us to ride to ??? Our visa for China expires in 4 days so we have to go towards Kazakhstan. We could see that it gave them something to think about. Then at last one servant says: bike 5 kilometers back and turn into the highway. There is no police check.
Fine enough with us, then we can really get on and get to Kazakhstan. So as said as done. We turned around and rode 5 kilometers back and turned onto the highway.
We reached the small town, Gaoquan and when Heidi really struggled throughout the day. Will we agree to stay the following day so she could recover again.
When we cycled from Gaoquan two days later, we had set a goal of getting as far as possible. What we did not realize was that the day was so hot that we were really boiling.
On the route we cycle there was only shade under the bridges that lead over the highway and every time we got to a bridge we had a break in the shade. After 91 kilometers was the temperature up to 44 degrees and we were boiling.
So when we got to a bridge that led under the highway we rode on, we took all the luggage of the bikes and lifted it down under the bridge, and also the bikes. Now we got into the shade and enjoyed that it was "only" 40 degrees.
We stopped for 3 hours, after which we continued. The temperature was still 42 degrees and we still had 20 kilometers before reaching Mangeling. We nearly panicked because it was so hot. Our water was tedious, but we had to drink to not dehydrate.
Just before Mangeling we had to go through a police check again and here we got cold water in our bottles. We think the officers were somewhat surprised that we drank a whole bottle right away. But we were so thirsty.
If everything went according to plan, we could be in Kazakhstan in 3 to 4 days. We had a long drive up to the xxx lake, wich we at first looked forward to as we had seen pictures from there and it looked incredibly nice. The only thing that made us unsafe was that the heat seemed to be continuing and when we looked through the route on maps. Me, there were not really any cities along the way or places with shadow. So we should make sure you have enough water with us.
The plan was that we wanted to ride to a city near to where the climb started and stay there overnight and then start early next day. But the plan did not turn out that way.
We rode from Mangeling to the city which was 52 kilometers after Mangeling. On maps.me we had seen that there were two hotels in the city. Some of the road was on a small country road and the last 22 kilometers we drove on the highway.
We had to turn from the highway to cycle 8 kilometers on road X200 before we would reach the city we wanted to sleep in.
When we turned from the highway we came to a checkpoint, where we were met by a sweet Chinese police woman. She checked our passports and while we waited she gave us water and watermelon. She said there was a police car that would follow us into town. But that was not how it was. Soon after, she came back and had to inform us that we could not go to that city as they did not have hotels for foreigners and she had to ask us to ride 22 kilometers back to the city that lay there as they had hotels for foreigners there.
Now our patience was used up. It was like we cycled 1 step forward to be sent 2 steps back.
We were very kind to the officer and said that we knew she was just doing her job and she felt sorry for us that we had to ride back.
This was not all. We had figured we could ride on the highway back, but no. When we wanted to ride though the pay toll, three men stopped us and told us to ride back on a very bad dirtroad beside the highway. So what could have taken 1 hour was going to take 1 1/2 hour.
Now we had enough of China. On the way back we agreed that now we just had to leave the country and we wanted to see if we could rent a taxi that could take us to the border the next day so we could get to Kazakhstan as soon as possible.
After 1 1/2 hours on the bike we arrived at the city where we could stay overnight. We found a hotel where we got help from those who managed the hotel. We could not rent a taxi, but there was a bus that drove to Qingshuihe next day at 11:00. So that was the plan. We wanted to take the bus there and then bike the last 30 kilometers to the border.
The manager of the hotel, went with us the next day to the bus station and helped us buy tickets. Now we just had to wait for the bus and then we could relax on the trip to Qingshuihe, knowing we would leave China the next day.
The bus ride went well and when we got off at Qingshuihe, it was just a hotel so it could not be easier.
Now we just had to sleep one night and Kazakhstan waited right around the corner. But what we thought would be an easy matter, went on and became a somewhat complicated game.
Last incredible chapter in China.
The bike ride from Qingshuihe to Horgasi was strait forward. We had read that the border opened at 10:00 and we were at the border at 09:00.
We cycled all the way up to the border and took a picture so we could prove that we were heading out of China, but from here on everything went wrong.
There was no sign that said that here is the border to Kazakhstan. But we saw a big building that looked like a border building and headed that way. Here we could see a long line of about 1,000 people. Before we got in the queue, we asked a guard whether it was the border with Kazakhstan. First he said no, but after asking someone else he said yes and led us into the queue.
Now it was 10:00 and the queue began to move forward. Only Chinese people were in the queue and there was no queue culture. As soon as the queue went a little forward, they pushed and cheated in great style.
After 30 minutes we arrived at a check with a counting machine and a security frame. We could see immediately that the bikes did not fit through the frame and made signs to the guards who stood there, what we should do ???
They made signs that we should go through with bikes and all of it. Marianne showed with great arm movements that the bikes did not fit. But there was nothing to do, the guards wanted them through. It all ended with Marianne's bicycle stuck and now we created a huge bunch of shouting people and guards trying to get the bike free. Total chaos and we could not help thinking how other cyclists had mannaged to come through here because we could not be the first to cross the border with bikes.
The guards got the bicycle out of the frame and we lifted the bikes over a fence and then all our luggage and bikes was checked manually. From there into another line until we came to another checkpoint with a frame. This time, the bikes fit through. Now an hour had passed and we reached the desk where we were going to show our passports.
Everything looked like a regular border crossing and now we were looking forward to being allowed to go through and so we could soon step onto Kazakhstan soil.
But no !!!! .... when we had handed our passports and the man behind the desk looked at the passports, the only thing he said was: NO Kazakhstan border. WHAT??????? How could we have stood in line for 1 hour and been checked 2 times without anyone told us that we were in the wrong queue and what was this place then ?????
Now we had enough !!! We almost shouted in sheer anger. We did not care if there were 1,000 of Chinese people that looked at us.
A Chinese lady came out of an office and told us in English: Turn around and go out. WHAT??? Going back the same way we had come in ???? NO, we said. You follow us out of here and show us where the border to Kazakhstan is !!! What's this place, if it's not the border. We asked.
It turned out to be the entrance to a duty free area where Chinese could buy cheap stuff from Kazakhstan.
The lady helped us out from the building and pointed to the right while she said: the border is on the left ?????
Now we were even more confused, but we cycled to a place near where we had been before. Here we found an entrance with 4 laneways and there were two men shouting: To the left. So now we cycled right up to the fence on the left side. But where was the entrance to the border ???? Everything was closed. There was a small shed where there was a man inside, but he did not make any signs at us. Here was a large fence with steel wire, but no gate.
Then we rode back to the two men at the entrance and they kept saying: To the left.
Back again to the small shed and now a bus filled with people who had to go to Kazakhstan had arrived and this was our rescue, because right next to the small shed there was a small opening and that was where we were going through.
Now we were in a queue inside a small yard and those we were in line with were obviously Kazakh.
30 minutes later we were inside the real imigration building and from here it went much easier. We were stamped out of China and then we had to cycle in a big bow of 7.5 kilometers before we were at the Kazakhstan's imigration and even though we could see 500m forward, over to the building we'd finish by after biking the 7.5 kilometers.
Imigration to Kazakhstan took only 3 minutes and was very relaxed. We were wellcomed with a: Welcome to Kazakhstan and we must confess we wanted to kiss the ground when we finally cycled on the Kazakhstanks highway heading towards Zarkent.
China a different country - Part one
Mandag d. 3. juli - Torsdag d. 13. juli 2017 (Update d. 17. okt. 2017)
Hekou - Xinjie 69 km
Xinjie - Xinxian 54 km
Xinxian - Honghe 41 km
Honghe - Miandianzhen 71 km
Miandianzhen - Jianshui 16 km
Jianshui pausedag
Jianshui - Gaodaxiang 64 km
Gaodaxiang - Jiangchuan 55 km
Jiangchuan pausedag
Jiangchuan - Chengjiang 57 km
Chengjiang - Kunming 60 km
Så skulle første cykeldag i Kina til at starte, men inden vi kom afsted tog det os noget tid at komme igang. Vi var kommet til en ny tidszone, som egentlig betød at vi fik en times mindre søvn og det brød vi os ikke om.
Men det lykkedes og vi var klar til at cykle da klokken var 8:30. Vi havde downloaded et kort til vores GPS, som vi kunne bruge i den del af Kina vi skulle til at cykle. Så vi fulgte GPS´en ud af byen og det må siges at gå ganske let.
Vi fandt vej G326, som vi skulle følge et ret langt stykke. Vejen løb langs den røde flod og når vi kiggede til vores venstre side kunne vi se Vietnam og på vores højre side var der frodig skov, majs plantager og banan plantager.
Det var ikke fordi der var den store forskel på at cykle her, som i Vietnam. Begge lande mindede meget om hinanden de første mange kilometer.
Landevejen vi cyklede på var i perfekt stand og der var næsten ingen trafik. Parralelt med den var der bygget en super highway. Det lød heller ikke til at der var meget trafik fra den.
Nogen gange cyklede vi lige under vejen og andre gange på højde med den. Faktisk syntes vi at det var mærkeligt at to så gode veje løb langs med hinanden og der næsten ingen trafik var. Men kineserne tænker nok fremad og ved at om 3 - 5 år vil disse veje være fyldt med biler pga. befolkningen vokser og vokser.
En stor forskel på at cykle i Kina i forhold til ander lande, var at når vi kiggede på google maps eller maps.me kunne vi ikke se byerne. Hvis vi kunne se noget, så det ud til at det var en lille bitte landsby. Udover det var der vejskiltene, som kun stod med kinesiske tegn.
Da vi regnede med at være et par kilometer fra Xinjie, kiggende vi på kortene og de viste ingenting. Så vi troede vi var nødt til at cykle 40 kilometer ekstra. Men heldigvis var byen 2 kilometer længere fremme.
Nu skulle vi finde et sted at sove og var spændte på om vi kunne finde et sted de ville lade udlændinge sove.
Det blev ganske let. Det første sted vi kig ind var OK og vi skulle ikke registreres, ikke engang vores pas ville de se. Faktsik tror vi de tog chancen og lod os bo der, i håb om at politiet ikke ville komme og tjekke.
Det var godt nok for os.
Senere skulle vi ud og have noget at spise. Det blev noget svære. Vi så noget mad ved en gadebod, som så spændende ud og brugte tegnsprog for at bestille 4 styk. Men de ville ikke sælge os noget!!! Vi et strort spørgsmålstegn???
Vi fandt en lille restaurant, hvor det lykkedes os at få bestilt noget oksekød, ris og grøntsager, efter en masse tegnsprog og pegen. Maden smagte dejligt og vi blev mætte.
Turen fra Xinjie til Xinxian blev en hård dag. Vi skulle til at cykle op i bjergene, så inden vi forlod Xinjie fyldte vi godt op af cola, vand og energidrik. Så gik det ellers afsted opad. Stille og roligt tog vi meter for meter. det var ikke så stejlt, men det var 19 kilometer vi skulle cykle opad på den første stigning.
Lige meget hvor vi kiggede hen var der høje bjerge, hvor alt var pakke ind i grøn skov og nogen steder nåletræer. Nok ikke noget vi havde regnet med at se i Asien.
Undervejs holdt vi pause i en lille landsby ved en kiosk. Her sad vi sammen med ejern og noget famillie. Hjemmefra havde vi fået lavet det vi kaldte et "magisk brev" og fået oversat det til Kinesisk. I brevet stod der lidt omkring os og vores rejse. Det viste vi til kiosk ejern og familien, så de kunne forstå, hvorfor der pludselig var to piger på cykel havnet i deres landsby.
De læste brevet og gav os tommel op efter at have læst det. Vi havde været ret skeptiske inden vi kom til Kina, med deres regering som vil have styr på alt og alle, men nu hvor vi sad her oppe i bjergne i denne lille landsby, gav det mening hvorfor vi havde valgt at cykle i Kina. Befolkningen er ikke som regeringen og slet ikke i den lille landsby.
Vi cyklede videre opad og fik at se hvordan, Kina gør når de bestemmer sig for noget. En KÆMPE togbro banede sig vej igennem det smukke landskab. På høje piller der var mindst 100 m høje, hvis ikke mere. Vi får at se et tog komme sysende og ser det forsvinde togvogn for togvogn ind i klippe tunnelen.
Sidenhen fortsatter vi opad. Ialt blev det til to lange stigninger og ialt 1500 højdemeter klatret den dag inden vi trætte nåede byen Xinxian. Igen fandt vi et hotel. Pæn og rent, men med en stærk stank af cigaretrøg.
Det skulle bliver det værdste i Kina, da næsten alle mænd ryger og alle hoteller tillader at ryge på værelserne.
Vi fandt ud af at bekæmpe noget af stanken med myggespray. Stedet vi fandt have et lille spisested, hvor vi spiste om aftenen.
Den dag kom politiet og bankede på vores dør, 3 mand stærk. Vi troede at de kom for at sige vi ikke måtte bor der, men ikke noget problem, vi skulle bare registreres og hvis vi havde problemer i Kina skulle vi ringe 110.
De næste dage cyklede vi igennem landbrugs områder, hvor kæmpe industri områder lå lige bag ved. Hvert lille sted der kunne dyrkes, blev udnyttet til dyrkning af grøntsager.
Vi var ikke fyldt med energi og når vi skulle op om morgenen var det ikke fordi vi sprang ud af sengen. Det er ikke altid man kan være oplagt til nye oplevelser, når man er på så lang en rejse og nogen gange bliver det bare nok med at finde overnatning, pakke ud og pakke ned igen og igen og igen.
Da vi var på vej til Miandianzhen, blev vi fanget i et vildt uvejr, hvor regnen piskede ned og det tordnede. Heldigvis fandt vi et lille læskur, hvor vi sad i mere end en time og undgik at blive plask våde. Cyklerne måtte stå ude midt i regnen og vi var spændte på om taskerne kunne holde vandet ude.
Da regnen var stilnet af fortsatte vi. Vi havde set at der skulle komme en grotte længere fremme af vejen. Først kom vi til et sted, hvor der stod Swallow Cave, men det så ud til at have været lukket i mange år, men da vi cyklede 500 meter længere frem, var det fordi at indgangen var blevet flyttet og grotten var åben.
Vi fandt et sted vi kunne stille cyklerne og gik til indgangen. Vi tænkte: hvor stor kan sådan en grotte være? Det skulle vise sig at være stor.....MEGA stor. Vi skulle gå et ret langt stykke af stier og trapper inden vi stod ovenfor en kæmpe åbning ind i grotten. Der var et sted mellem 50 - 75 m til loftet og det første vi så, var en fyr der viste hvordan man samler fugleredder langt oppe under grotte loftet. Uden sikkerhedsline klatrede han rundt, det så ud somom han legede sig igennem alt imens han klatrede. Vi holdt vejret i bare spænding.
Efter det gik vi længere og længere ind i grotten. En guide fortalte lystigt på kinesisk, hvad vi så undervejs.??? Vi forstod ingenting, men der var forskellige drypstens formationer og vi forsøgte at gætte hvad de forskellige sten forstillede. Vi kryssede små broer og gik op af trapper, for at stå højt oppe og kigge ned igennem grotten. Alle steder var der sat lys op i forskellige farver og de var utroligt flot. Til sidst nåede vi helt ind i bunden af grotten og her var der en restaurant, hvor der var plads til massevis af mennesker.
For at komme til udgangen blev vi sejlet tilbage i en lang dragebåd og uden vi havde bemærket det var der gået 2 timer.
Da vi havde fundet tilbage til cyklerne, cyklede vi 6 kilometer, hvorefter vi fandt et lille hotel, som belv bestyrret af en sød lille dame. Hun viste os først nogle værelser på øverste etage, men da vi var så trætte i vores ben og ikke gad at slæbe al vores bagage op på øverste etage ville vi gerne have et værelse på første etage.
Det var ikke lige til. Vi tror at damen syntes at værelserne på første etage var for dyre for os. Men vi blev ved med at spørge om vi kunne se et værelse på første etage og til sidst lykkedes det. Vi fik et fint stort værelse med badeværelse. Pænt og rent og vi skulle betale 100 YAN, som er omkring 96 kroner.
Fra Miandianzhen til Jianshui var der kun 24 kilometer. Vi havde set nogle billeder på internettet fra byen og glædede os til at se om billederne kunne leve op til vores forventninger.
Et stykke udenfor byen, kunne vi se at det var en kæmpe storby og vi blev noget overrasket over at se der var højhuse. Billederne på internettet havde vist orginale kinesiske huse.
Vi blev ikke skuffet. Vi bad maps. me om hjælp med en rute indtil byen og den ledte os igennem små smalle gader, hvor vi kunne se livets gang og se de små orginale kinesiske huse.
Jianshui er delt op i en ny og en gammel bydel og vi skulle bo i den gamle bydel. Inden vi fandt frem til det hostel vi havde udsøgt os, kom vi forbi den store byport (Chao Yang Lou) til den gamle bydel som ligger lige i midten af byen. Her sad massevis af kinesere og spillede kort eller brædtspil andre sad og snakkede. Mange mænd var klædt i den typiske Mao stil, med grøn militær jakke og en lille grøn kasket.
Vi fandt vores hostel og efter et bad, gik vi på opdagelse rundt i den gamle bydel. Her var det templer og alle bygninger var holdt fint, gaderne var belagt med brosten og der var en dejlig stemning. Bare at gå rundt i det der kaldes Hutongs (Det gamle nabolag) var en oplevelse i sig selv.
Vi blev to nætter i Jianshui, for at have tid til at besøge Confucian templet, som er et af de største af sin slags i China. Inde i templet var der en dejlig ro og vi nød at gå rundt og kigge. Specielt den store sø foran templet, som er dækket af lotus blomster i pink og hvide farver var et smukt syn.
Byen bød på noget for maven, ganen og øjenene. Helt sikkert noget af det vi havde håbet på at komme til at se imens vi var i Kina.
Da i forlod Jianshui satte vi kursen mod byen Gaodaxiang. Undervejs kom vi forbi et område hvor augbergine høsten var i fuld gang. Det gav en kæmpe trafikprop, fordi lastbiler og scooter med lad og den almindelige trafik forsøgte at køre i alle mulige retninger uden at nogen ville gi´ sig og vejen ind til hvor augberginerne skulle leveres blev blokeret. Det lykkedes for os at komme igennem trafikproppen, så vi kunne fortsætte op igennem dalen, som skulle føre os op til Gaodaxiang. Ned i bunden af dalen løb en større flod som var cacaobrun pga. al den regn der faldt. Vi måtte holde pause på et tidspunkt pga. regnen og søge ly under vores presenning.
Da klokken var 3 nåede vi byen og igen måtte vi søge ly for en kæmpe regnbyge. Den regnen holdt begyndte vi jagten på at finde et hotel. Dette skulle gå hen og blive den længste jagt til dags dato.
Vi havde set på maps. me at der skulle være to hoteller og vi skulle stå lige foran det ene. Der var ingen skilte der lignede et hotel skilt, kun en dør som måske lignede en dør til et overnatningssted. Marianne gik hen til døren og bankede på. Døren blev åbnet af en ung dame åbnede døren. Marianne brugte google translate, for at spørge om stedet var et hotel. Damen rystede på hovedet og smækkede døren i.
Vi gik lidt op af gaden for at se om pilen på maps. me bevægede sig? Ganske rigtigt den bevægede sig væk fra stedet hvor vi lige havde spurgt.
Vi spurgte tre forskellige mennesker på gaden og til sidst var der en ung fyr, som sagde at det var der, hvor vi lige havde banket på.
Marianne bankede på igen og denne gang var der en anden dame der åbnede døren og hun sagde ja til at de var et hotel?????
Kan vi sove her spurgte Marianne???? Damen sagde: ja, men i skal gå til politiet først og bliver regristreret.
Helt OK. Heidi havde set hvor politistationen var, så vi gik derhen.
På politistationen, blev vi mødt af 3 unge betjente. To fyre og en ung dame. Vi forklarede hvorfor vi havde brug for deres hjælp. Dette blev starten på en længere process.
Den en betjent forklarede, at Gaodaxiang ikke havde nogen hoteller, hvor udlændinge kunne overnatte, så han bad os faktiak om at cykle 18 kilometer til byen Tonghai, som lå på den anden side af et pas.
Hertil svarede vi at det kunne vi ikke, da vi var trætte efter en hård dag på cyklen og ville de havde vi skulle cykle i silende regn?????. Så foreslog betjenten, at de kunne finde en taxa til os, som kunne tage os til Tonghai.
Marianne sagde: kun hvis i kan finde en stor taxi som kan have begge cykler og al vores bagage. Vi var ret sikre på, at det ikke ville lykkedes politiet at finde en taxi som kunne have vores ting. Vi havde ikke set nogen store taxaer i lang tid.
Ganske rigtigt, efter vi havde ventet en halv time, kom politiet tilbage og nu havde de en anden besked til os. Vi kunne godt få lov til at sove på hotellet. De ville ringe til ejeren og forklare dem at de godt kunne lade os sove der, men vi skulle bare vente på stationen til regnen holdt op.
Nu var der gået over to timer siden vi var kommet til byen, vi var våde og kolde, så vi ville gerne til hotellet hurtigst muligt.
Enden på historien blev, at to betjente fulgte os igennem byen, hvor de holdt to paraplyer over os og cyklerne. Først fulgte de os til et lille spisested, så vi kunne få noget at spise. Her hjalp de med at bestille mad til os og derefter sagde de at vi kunne gå op på hotellet bagefter, når vi havde spist.
I kan nok forstille jer, at vi gerne ville have kunnet filme hele episoden til evig minde.
Da vi endelig kom ind på hotellet, fik vi et fint værelse med bad, eneste minus var igen en stank af gammel cigaret røg, så myggesprayen kom i brug igen.
Næste dag kunne vi se hvor heldige vi havde været, at politiet ikke havde insisteret på at vi skulle cykle de
18 km. Der var en et hård stigning vi skulle over, på cirka 8 km inden vi kunne nyde turen ned til Tonghai.
Byen Tonghai var atter en kinesisk storby og vi cyklede lige igennem den, da vi ikke brød os om byen. Kun tog vi en lille afstikker ned imod Qilu søen, da vi troede at der ville være et sted vi kunne sidde og nyde vore frokost. Men for det første var der meget længere ned til søen end vi troede og der var ingenting at se.
Sidst på dagen nåede vi til Jiangchuan, efter en tur op over et pas i 1980 m højde. Selvom byen var en større en af slagsen, havde vi problemer med at finde et hotel.
Vi havde brugt maps.me, som ledte os hen et sted vi var sikker på var et hotel. Vi fandt en "reception" og spurgte via google translate om vi kunne sove der en nat.
Damen som stod bag disken, kunne ikke sige hverken ja eller nej og vi forstod ikke en pind. Hun snakkede med nogen ude bagved og vi spurgte om det var fordi de ikke måtte have udlændinge boende??? Det kunne hun heller ikke svare på??? Efter 15 minutter gjorde hun tegn til at vi skulle komme med og til sidst forstod vi, hvorfor vi ikke kunne bo der. Det var et KÆMPE restaurant, hvor der var små private rum, hvor man kunne sidde en familie eller et andet selskab og spise. Restauranten var i to etager og når man så det udefra lignede det et hotel med værelser, for der var numre på de små spiserum.
Nu forsøgte vi en anden adresse via maps.me, men fandt heller ikke noget hotel der. Til sidst endte vi på et fint business hotel til 180 YAN pr. nat. De måtte have udlændinge boende og vi gad ikke cykle rundt mere for at finde noget andet.
Dagen efter havde Heidi migræne, så vi blev en extra nat på det fine hotel.
Turen fra Jiangchaun til Chengjiang blev en flot og meget våd tur. Først cyklede vi langs Xingyun søen og sidenhen Fuxian søen. Vi kom forbi Biun templet, som lå fint bygget ind i en stor klippe. Her holdt vi en længere pause, for at gå op af den mange trapper der var anlagt, for man kunne komme op til templet og se udsigten ud over Fuxian søen. I templet så vi hvordan de brugte ler til at bygge de forskellige figure. Dem der gjorde det var virklig dygtige. Specielt en af figurenes øjne, så så natur tro ud, at man skulle tro der var gemt et menneske indeni.
Vi var de eneste der gik rundt i templet, så vi nød stilheden og tog os god tid. Det var måske lidt dumt, for da vi var på vej ned oppe fra templet, begyndte det at regne og det tog bare mere og mere til.
Vi satte os i et lille rum ved indgangen til templet og ventede for at se om regnen ville stoppe. Men da det ikke så sådan ud, blev vi enige om at cykle afsted, fordi vi ville gerne nå til Chengjiang, så vi kunne nå Kunming dagen efter.
Turen blev en våd en af slagsen, regnen stod ned i tygge stråler og vejene blev næsten omdannet til floder nogen steder.
Vi kom frem til Chengjiang og fandt et hotel efter to forsøg og kunne komme af vores våde tøj. Cykeltaskerne var blevet utrolig beskidte, så de skulle rengøres inden vi kunne tage dem med på vores værelse.
På vej ud af byen næste morgen, fik vi et indblik i hvordan kineserne laver gynmastik i store flokke. I en park var der to store hold af mennesker igang med "morgen gymnastik". Vi holdt for at se på. Grupperne bestod af 40 - 50 mennesker, som med hver deres indsats følger en "leder" der stod oppe foran og styrede slagets gang til kinesisk aerobic musik.
Det var ikke alle der lage lige meget energi i øvelserne, men det var ældre og unge mennesker, mænd og kvinder som var igang.
For at komme til Kunming skulle vi atter over et pas, denne gang i 2100 m højde. Herefter kom vi til forstaderne til Kunming. Nogen steder kørte vi igennem kæmpe områder med fabrikker. Det mindede mest af alt om en stor spøgelsesby. Vi er ikke klar over om der var nogen der arbejdede på fabrikkerne, for vi kunne ikke se nogen biler eller mennesker.
Da vi kom tættere på Kunming, så vi kæmpe store områder med drivhuse, hvor højhusene lå lige op af og en splinterny vej, var bygget på en bro henover drivhusene.
På et tidspunkt flippede Heidi fuldstændingt ud, ja temperament har den lille dame. Vi skulle igennem et område, hvor vejen blev totalt mudderet og med kæmpe huller fyldt med vand. Det blev for meget for Heidi og Marianne fik en ordenlig omgang skæld ud. Heidi blev god igen senere og undskyldte, da hun indså at hun havde været urimelig. Marianne forsøgte at få os godt frem til Vera, en warmshower host, som vi havde lavet en aftale med og at skulle finde vej igennem en by med 8,7 milioner incl. forstader er ikke nemt.
Men vi fandt frem til hvor Vera boede, med hjælp fra nogle koordinater hun havde sendt til os. Nu skulle vi slappe af nogel dage inden vi rejste videre fra Kunming.
Vera havde selv cyklet fra Holland til Japan og var nu bosidende i Kunming det næste år måske to, da hun underviste på et engelsk institut.
English
Monday 3 July - Thursday, 13 July 2017 (Updated d. 17th. oct. 2017)
Hekou - Xinjie 69 km
Xinjie - Xinxian 54 km
Xinxian - Honghe 41 km
Honge - Miandianzhen 71 km
Miandianzhen - Jianshui 16 km
Jianshui pausag
Jianshui - Gaodaxiang 64 km
Gaodaxiang - Jiangchuan 55 km
Jiangchuan pausedag
Jiangchuan - Chengjiang 57 km
Chengjiang - Kunming 60 km
This was the first cycle day in China, but before we left, it took us some time to get started. We had come to a new time zone, which actually meant we got one hour less of sleep and we did not like it.
But we managed and we were ready to cycle at 8:30. We had downloaded a map for our GPS, which we could use in the part of China we were going to ride. So we followed the GPS out of the city and it must be said it went quite easily.
We found the road G326, which we were going to follow a fairly long distance. The road ran along the red river and when we looked to our left side we could see Vietnam and on our right side there were lush forests, corn plantations and banana plantations.
It was not because there was a big difference in cycling here, like in Vietnam. Both countries very much recalled the same the first many kilometers.
The country road we rode was in perfect condition and there was almost no traffic. Parallel with it was a super highway built. Nor did there seem to be much traffic on that.
Sometimes we cycled just beneath the road and other times in line with it. In fact, we thought it was strange that two such good roads ran alongside each other and there was virtually no traffic. But the Chinese are thinking well ahead and by 3 to 5 years, these roads will be filled with cars because the population is growing and growing.
A big difference in cycling in China compared to other countries was that when we looked at google maps or maps.me we could not see the cities. If we could see something, it seemed that it was a little tiny village. Apart from that, there were the road signs, which only stood with Chinese characters.
When we figured out to be a couple of kilometers from Xinjie, we looked at the maps and they showed nothing. So we thought we had to cycle 40 kilometers extra. But fortunately, the city was 2 kilometers further ahead.
Now we should find a place to sleep and were excited if we could find a place they would let foreigners sleep.
It became quite easy. The first place we looked into was OK and we did not have to register, not even our passports would they see. We think they took the chance and let us stay, hoping that the police would not come and check.
That was good enough for us.
Later we wanted something to eat. It became somewhat difficult. We saw some food at a street store, which looked tasty and used sign language to order 4 pieces. But they would not sell us anything !!! We were one big question mark ???
We found a small restaurant where we managed to order some beef, rice and vegetables, after a lot of sign language and pointing. The food tasted great and we were saturated.
The trip from Xinjie to Xinxian became a hard day. We had to ride up the mountains so before we left Xinjie, we filled up with cola, water and energy drinks. Then we went on. Quietly we took meters for meters. It was not that steep, but it was 19 kilometers we were going to ride up on the first climb.
No matter where we looked, there were high mountains where everything was packed into green forest and somewhere conifers. Not something we had expected to see in Asia.
Along the way we stayed in a small village at a kiosk. Here we sat together with the owner and some family. From home we had made what we called a "magic letter" and translated it to Chinese. In the letter there was a decripsion about us and our journey. We showed it to the kiosk owner and the family so they could understand why suddenly two girls by bike ended up in their village.
They read the letter and gave us thumbs up after reading it. We had been quite skeptical before we came to China, with their government going to control everything and everybody, but now that we sat up in the mountains in this little village, it made sense why we had chosen to cycle in China. The population is not like the government and at least not in the little village.
We rode upwards and got to see what China is doing when deciding on something. A BIG train bridge paved its way through the beautiful landscape. On high pills there was at least 100 m high, if not more. We get to see a train come sizzling way up there and see it disappearing tram by tram into the tunnel.
Then we continued upwards. In total, it became two long climbs and a total of 1500 altitude meters climbed that day before we tire reached the city of Xinxian. Again we found a hotel. Nice and clean, but with a strong smell of cigarette smoke.
It should be the most disgusting in China, as almost all men smoke and all hotels allow smoking in the rooms.
We found out to fight some of the stench with mosquito spray. The place we found had a small eatery where we ate in the evening.
This day the police came and knocked on our door, 3 men strong. We thought they came to say we could not stay at he hotel for the night, but no problem we just had to register and if we had problems in China we should call 110, they said before leaving.
The next few days we cycled through agricultural areas where huge industrial areas were located behind. Every little place that could be grown was used for growing vegetables.
We were not filled with energy and when we got up in the morning it was not because we ran out of bed. It's not always you can be all exited for new experiences when you are on such a long journey and sometimes it just takes time to find accommodation, unpack and unwind again and again.
When we were on our way to Miandianzhen, we were caught in a wild storm where the rain whipped down and it thundered. Fortunately, we found a little shead where we sat for more than an hour and avoided getting splash wet. The bikes had to stand out in the middle of the rain and it was interesting if the bags could keep the water out.
When the rain stopped we continued. We had seen a cave coming further ahead on the road. First we came to a place where a sign said: Swallow Cave, but it seemed to have been closed for many years, but when we rode 500 meters further it was because the entrance had been moved and the cave was open.
We found somewhere we could park the bikes and walked to the entrance. We thought: how big can such a cave be? It would turn out to be big ..... MEGA big. We had to walk a fairly long distance of paths and stairs before we stood above a huge opening into the cave. There was somewhere between 50-75 m to the cieling and the first thing we saw was a guy who showed how to gather birdnests far up under the cave ceiling. Without a safety line he climbed around, it seemed as if he was playing through everything while climbing. We kept our breath in sheer excitement.
After that we went further and further into the cave. A guide told in chinese what we saw along the way. ??? We did not understand anything, but there were different kinds of limestones and we tried to guess what the different rocks preserved. We crossed small bridges and walked up stairs to get up high and look down the cave. all over light was set up in different colors and it were incredibly beautiful. In the end, we reached the bottom of the cave and there was a restaurant where there was room for lots of people.
To get back to the entrance we were sailed back in a long tugboat and without notice we had used 2 hours in the cave.
When we had found back to the bikes, we rode 6 kilometers, after which we found a small hotel, which was run by a sweet little lady. She first showed us some rooms on the top floor but we were so tired in our legs and did not want to drag all our luggage up on the top floor we would like a room on the first floor.
It did not work out. We think the lady found that the rooms on the first floor were too expensive for us. But we kept asking if we could see a room on the first floor and eventually it succeeded. We got a nice big room with bathroom. Nice and clean and we had to pay 100 YAN, which is around 96 kroner.
From Miandianzhen to Jianshui there were only 24 kilometers. We had seen some pictures on the internet from the city and were looking forward to seeing if the photos could meet our expectations.
A bit outside the city, we could see that it was a huge city and we were somewhat surprised to see there were high rised buildings. The pictures on the internet had shown original Chinese houses.
We were not disappointed. We asked maps.me a route until the city and it led us through small narrow streets where we could see how life was lived in the chinise way and see the small orginal Chinese houses.
Jianshui is divided into a new and an old town and we stayed in the old town. Before we arrived at the hostel we had choosen via booking.com, we passed the big city gate (Chao Yang Lou) to the old town located right in the middle of town. Here a lot of Chinese people were playing board games and playing cards or others sat and talked. Many men were dressed in the typical Mao style, with green military jacket and a little green cap.
We found our hostel and after a bath, we explored the old town. Here there were temples and all buildings were kept fine, the streets were covered with cobblestones and there was a nice atmosphere. Just walking around what is called Hutongs (the old neighborhood) was an experience in itself.
We stayed two nights in Jianshui, to have time to visit the Confucian Temple, which is one of the biggest of its kind in China. Inside the temple there was a nice calm and we enjoyed walking around and explore the temple. Especially the large lake in front of the temple, which is covered in lotus flowers in pink and white colors was a beautiful sight.
The town offered something for the stomach, palate and eyes. Certainly some of what we had hoped to see while we were in China.
When you left Jianshui, we headed for the town of Gaodaxiang. Along the way we came past an area where the augbergine harvest was going on. It gave a huge traffic jam because lorries and scooters with a carridge and the regular traffic tried to drive in all directions without anyone giving up and the way to where the augbergines were to be delivered was blocked. We managed to get through the traffic jam so we could continue up through the valley, which would lead us up to Gaodaxiang. Down in the bottom of the valley ran a larger river that was cocoa-colored because of all the rain that fell. We had to pause at some point because of the rain and seek shelter under our tarp.
At 3 o'clock we reached the town and again we had to seek shelter for a huge rainfall. When the rain stopped we started searching for a hotel. This should be the longest hotel hunt to date.
We had seen on maps.me that there should be two hotels and we should stand right in front of one of them. There were no signs that looked like a hotel sign, only one door that might resemble a door to an overnight place. Marianne went to the door and knocked. The door was opened by a young lady. Marianne used google translate, to ask if the place was a hotel. The lady shook his head and slammed the door.
We walked up the street to see if the arrow on map.me would move? Quite right, it moved away from the place where we just asked.
We asked three different people on the street and at last there was a young guy who said that the hotel was where we just had knocked.
Marianne knocked on the door once again and this time there was another lady who opened the door and she said yes we are a hotel ?????
Can we sleep here asked Marianne ???? The lady said, yes, but you must go to the police first and be registered.
Completely okay. Heidi had seen where the police station was, so we went there.
At the police station, we were met by 3 young officers. Two guys and a young lady. We explained why we needed their help. This became the start of a longer process.
The servant explained that Gaodaxiang did not have any hotels where foreigners could stay, so he asked us to cycle 18 kilometers to the town of Tonghai, which was on the other side of a pass.
In addition, we replied that we could not, because we were tired after a hard day on the bike and would they ask us to ride 18 kilometer in pooring rain? Then the officer suggested that they could find a taxi for us that could take us to Tonghai.
Marianne said: Only if you can find a big taxi that can have both bikes and all our luggage. We were pretty sure that the police could not find a taxi that could have our stuff. We had not seen any big taxis for a long time.
Quite right after we waited half an hour, the police returned and now they had another message to us. We were allowed to sleep at the hotel. They would call the owner and explain to them that they could let us sleep there, but we just had to wait at the station until the rain stopped.
Now it was over two hours since we arrived, we were wet and cold, so we would like to go to the hotel as soon as possible.
The end of the story was that two officers followed us through the city where they held two umbrellas over us and the bikes. First they followed us to a small eatery so we could have something to eat. Here they helped to order food for us and then they said that we could go to the hotel afterwards when we had eaten.
You can imagine that we would have loved to be able to film the whole episode as a memory forever.
When we finally got into the hotel, we got a nice room with a bathroom, the only minus was a stench of old cigarette smoke, so the mosquito spray got back into use.
The next day we could see how lucky we had been that the police had not insisted we should ride the
18 km. There was a hard climb we had to cross about 8 km before we could enjoy the trip down to Tonghai.
The town of Tonghai was again a Chinese metropolis and we cycled through it, as we did not like the city. We only took a little detour towards the Qilu Lake as we thought there would be a place we could sit and enjoy our lunch. But first of all, there was much further down to the lake than we thought and there was nothing to see.
Late in the day we reached Jiangchuan after a trip up a pass in 1980 m height. Although the city was a major one of the kind, we were having trouble finding a hotel.
We had used maps.me who led us to somewhere we were sure was a hotel. We found a "desk" and asked via google translate if we could sleep there one night.
The lady standing behind the counter could not say yes or no and we did not understand why???. She talked to someone behind te desk and we asked if it was because they were not allowed to have foreigners staying there ??? She could not answer that either? After 15 minutes she made signs that we should come along and at last we realized why we could not stay there. It was a HUGE restaurant, where there were small private rooms where one could have a family or another company to eat. The restaurant was on two floors and when viewed from the outside, it looked like a hotel with rooms, because there were numbers outside the small dining rooms.
Now we tried another address via maps.me, but did not find any hotel there. In the end we ended up at a nice business hotel for 180 YAN per night. They were allowed to have foreigners staying and we did not hesitate to cycle around any more to find something else.
The day after, Heidi had migraine so we stayed an extra night at the nice hotel.
The trip from Jiangchaun to Chengjiang was a nice and very wet trip. First we cycled along the Xingyun Lake and then the Fuxian Lake. We passed the Biun temple, which was built into a big rock. Here we took a longer break to get up the many stairs that were built, so you could come up to the temple and look out over the Fuxian Lake. In the temple we saw how they used to laugh to build the different figures. Those who did it were really skilled. Especially one figures eyes was, so nature like that one would think there was a human being hidden inside.
We were the only ones who walked around the temple so we enjoyed the silence and took our time. It turned out be a little stupid, because when we were heading down from the temple, it started to rain and it just became more and more.
We sat in a small room at the entrance to the temple and waited to see if the rain would stop. But it did not, we agreed to ride anyways because we would like to reach Chengjiang so we could reach Kunming the following day.
The ride became a wet one of the kind, the rain poored down on us and the roads were almost transformed into rivers somewhere.
We arrived at Chengjiang and found a hotel after two attempts and could get rid of our wet clothes. The bike bags had become incredibly dirty so they had to be cleaned before we could take them to our room.
On our way out of the city the next morning, we got an insight into how the Chinese make exercise in big flocks. In a park there were two big teams of people starting with their "morning gymnastics". We stoped to look at it. The groups consisted of 40-50 people who, with their efforts, follow a "leader" who stood up in front and directed the battle to Chinese aerobics music.
It was not everyone who used as much energy in the exercises, but there were older and young people, men and women who were in the process.
To get to Kunming we again had to cross over a pass, this time at 2100 m altitude. Then we came to the suburbs of Kunming. In some places we drove through huge areas of factories. It reminded most of all about a big ghost town. We do not know if anyone was working at the factories because we could not see any cars or people.
When we came closer to Kunming, we saw huge areas of greenhouses, where the high-rise buildings were just beside the greenhouses and a brand new road was built on a bridge across the greenhouses.
At one point Heidi completely flipped out, the little lady has temperament. We went through an area where the road became totally muddy and with huge holes filled with water. It became too much for Heidi and Marianne got a good deal of yelling. Heidi recovered later and apologized when she realized she had been unreasonable. Marianne tried to find the best way to Vera, a warmshower host, who we had made a deal with and had to find her way through a city of 8.7 million incl. suburbs is not easy.
But we found out where Vera lived, with the help of some coordinates she had sent to us. Now we had to relax for a few days before we left Kunming.
Vera had even cycled from Holland to Japan and was now resident in Kunming for the next year maybe two as she taught at an English institute.
