Monday November 17, 2014345 miles We have ridden long hours in the last four days because our China visas expire tomorrow – our 30 days is up. The last three have been in the mountains of South East Asia and it is everything we had pictured it to be -muddy mountain roads and lush tropical plants. It is everything we had hoped for as we have ridden and walked the sometimes steep roads through many villages. And yes we do have to walk at times as the mud literally flows and the tires just spin.
It is adventure cycling at its finest. Today we had to stop every few miles and wash our bikes or use our favorite tool, chopsticks, to dig out the mud from the tires and fenders and also the derailleurs and brakes. When clogged with mud neither will work, in fact the wheels will not roll at all. We knew there was a better way to use chopsticks!
The second and third days we were on the road over 12 hours each and well into the darkness and finally camped in China. It is illegal for foreigners to camp here but many do as there is not much in between the tiny villages. It was a bit scary as the jungle comes alive at night with birds, insects, and critters walking around. Add to that the wind blowing through the banana groves and it can get a little scary. So we both kind of napped until first light.
We arrived at the border town and splurged on a very nice hotel at $60 and turned the shower and sink into a mud bath as we cleaned everything after 4 days on the road. Tomorrow we will enter Vietnam!
Leaving the Cloudland Hostel in Kunming, China.Working our way out of the city. We saw a policeman get run over by a moped and knocked to the ground. The moped driver drove off as the policeman yelled at him.A real classic Chinese truck. Very loud.As often the case we select either noodles or rice to go along with a selection of vegetables.Our chef and waiter for dinner. Nice guys.The next day we stopped at a gas station to find something for lunch. We were invited in by these ladies to shares theirs.Our first water buffalo.The family vehicle – four on this motorbike. In Iran we saw our record of 6 on a 125 cc bike.Pomegranates in season.We stopped for a beer break and these guys invited us to their table. Fun times.A beautiful lake surrounded by a fence. There was this opening however for a photo op. After this the fence turned solid. I guess the government doesn’t want anyone looking at this beautiful lake as they drive.We met 3 Chinese cyclists on the road and enjoyed a fruit break with them. We and Wang and Samshi on the right continued to the next town and found a hotel at 9:30 pm – a long day. We then shared dinner and breakfast with them. Really nice guys who spoke excellent English.Excellent fruit that is grown on all the hillsides and covered with a bag. The fruit is peeled and there is one small seed inside. So delicious.Another water buffalo that wasn’t happy with me taking his picture.A buffet breakfast – 3 eggs, vegetables, and rice noodles. A huge bowl for $1.20.Working our way up a mountain. Construction most of the way.
The downhill finally. There is not much more beautiful then riding through a tropical rainforest mountain.Where’s Waldo?Banana fields everywhere. We earlier bought bananas so we had a few at a break. A bunch of green ones to the left of those in my hand.A beer break at this market. We saw lots of snack food and asked for drinks. A cooler was opened full of ice cold beer. Very unusual. Nice people. The man is putting together baskets for horses.It is off to work for these horses. These are the baskets put together by the guy in the previous picture.Mountain village homes with satellite dishes. Every shack has a satellite dish and everyone has a cellphone.Living on the edge!Washing our bikes. Chinese girl washing mopeds in her skirt. Thanks for the picture Jocelyn!To the right is the Red River and Vietnam.Breaking down camp early.We thought we would get on the road early but these things do happen – a flat tire. Then it started raining of course.Working our way through the mud.Vietnam across from the Red River.A fine day indeed! It must be as Jocelyn is smiling!Great tire camouflage.It did get messy the last two days.The mud and clay really sticks. So much so that the wheels would not roll at all.The derailleurs would not shift either…or the brakes.Okay, enough of this. But it is SE Asia and for the rest of our trip to Bangkok this is how it will be.Arriving at the border town there were paved roads and this car wash. A free wash for us.
