China Cycling Travelogues
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Copyright © Linda Fraikin, 2007
Visit Linda's website here for more photos and additional information:
http://www.bangkok-beijingbybike.org
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. Albert Einstein May | June | July | August | September | October
Bangkok to Beijing by Bike - August
Oops, no internet for a week…
August 6, 2006 on 3:50
…not because it was not available, but because somehow I have not been able to drag myself to a wung ba, as in: that is how it would feel.
Not much has happened and then again it has. I made it to Xi’an, earlier than planned to meet up with Loes & Hans, who I know from playing tennis (Unexpected, hidden talent?) in the village, I grew up in. Unfortunately, I did not manage to meet up with them. I was secretly hoping that maybe, maybe, I would bump into them at the Terracotta Warriors… but no such luck.
Dirrty Days
August 6, 2006 on 4:35
Sanmexian > Yima > Luoyang. It seems like we are somehow transported into the German Ruhr Gebiet. There are huge chimneys everywhere and the air is one big smog blanket.
Result: Zwarte Piet is er bleek bij. How to translate this? “Black Pete looks pale in comparison“. For more on Black Pete & Sinterklaas [Saint Nicholas] click here.
Worries, worries, worries
August 7, 2006 on 2:43
It is that time of the month again. The 30 visa hassle has begun. After my visa problems in Chonqing and the smooth solution in Leshan it is now time to try my luck in Luoyang. Eelco and I, both have to extend our visas, coincidentally at the exact same day.
At 8.00 sharp, we enter a futuristic (accordion like) PSB building in Luoyang. The lady as the desk speaks English very well, but that doesn not necessary mean that everything is going to be OK. For me things are not too bad, but it is different for Eelco (guess you will have to read his site for more info). I fill in the frequired form, hand in a (beautiful) picture, make copies of my passport personal detail page + visa pages (for free!) and then check the details on the form together with the PSB lady.
She says; please fill in September 7th for the expiry date. But the old one will not expire until August 12th. We can only extend for 30 days, regulations. But in Leshan it was possible. I am not sure why they did what they did in Leshan, regulations state… Together we check the dates in my passport and she agrees to set the expiry date to September 12th. Phew, almost lost five days, but still have to leave the country (probably Hong Kong) before I will arrive in Beijing.
Anyway, before I had a change to finish my application, Eelco decided to try his luck elsewhere and jumped into a taxi back to the bin guan, to make it to the next big city by bus asap.
When I get back to the bin guan, the manager seems worried and tries to explain that Eelco (indicating tall and pointing on his bike), gathered some stuff (pointing at the stuff that is still left), and fled (waving wildly and pointing at the window). I tell him it is OK, hao, niu (OK, good, good). He looks bewildered. When is he going to come back? (indicating a loop and pointing at his watch). Err… your guess is as good as mine. Eelco promised to text me if he would be staying where ever and otherwise return sometime in the evening. The manager does not seem to be overly happy and explains to me how to lock the room door from the inside.
Trying to clarify the situation a little more, I take my phrasebook and start pointing at individual words, there is no chapter for this case (request?). The manager leaves, but returns quickly with his glasses. I decide that an emergency would easily explain the speedy disapearance of Eelco. He nods. When is he going to be back? I do not know… The manager explains how to lock the room door from the inside, yet again.
About an hour later, a translator arrives, I now understand why the manager wants to know when my husband (when did that happen? I want a divorce!) is going to return. He wants to close shop. Yesterday we were allowed to stay out until 24.00 but today I get house arrest. 20.00 the doors are going to be closed (including mine, and he explains, yet again…).
I ask if I can open a door or window from the inside to let Eelco in, if necessary. No, but I can call for the manager so he can open the door. So what is the problem? The room is on the front of the building, so I assume, that my attention would be easily drawn by noise on the outside (Eelco desperately trying climb the walls, or trying to get in through a window). The manager is still very worried and explains… I tell him not to worry, I do not worry, so neither should he! Eelco is a big (tall) boy and can take care of himself! And I am a big (tall for Chinese standards) girl and have proven (the last couple of months) that I can take perfect care of myself as well.
Eelco did not return and I did not receive the promised text message. Due to the house arrest, I could not make it to the wung ba (internet cafe) in time either.
The next day, the Manager jumps on me as soon as I leave the room. Where is your friend? Err… I make my way to the wung ba (after breakfast) and find out what happened. Everything is taking care of and Eelco will be returning tonigh. I am almost 100% sure that the manager will make a little dance of joy.
Being a “child” in China is not easy! I think.
August 7, 2006 on 18:37
Luoyang When I am walking down the street and pass a little girl, she looks up. I can tell by the look on her face, that she did not see what she expected… Her mother laughs when I say Ni Hao and before we know it we are chatting away.
She thinks I am one of the three foreign teachers in Luoyang, but I am afraid not. Than she asks me what I am looking for and I try to explain that I am looking for a place where they sell a kind of bread pizza. A big round flap of dough with some green veggies and peppers in it.
Hmmm, she asks pizza? Before I can answer she asks; Do you like Chinese food? I try to explain that the bread pizza is Chinese and that I love Chinese food, but sometimes I just like to eat without chopsticks… Before I know it she guides me to a fastfood restaurant and even better the cha fou [Carrefour?!] next door (sometimes I just need some western style convenience… and peanut butter).
Her daughter is a little shy, but although she is only seven years old, as she told me herself, she can already speak a little English. She studies hard, during her holiday (now), not only English but also Math, Music and Dance. The word play seems to be unknown in het vocab. She is a very bright and responsible girl and house sits when her mother is at work. In the evening her mother brings her to her grand parents, they/we are now on our way.
If I recall correctly, but it could be wrong, because it was ages ago, I did not have to do any homework until I was twelve years old. Summerschool? No way! Summer holiday or “big holiday” as we called it, was to explore other places; go abroad (easy enough in Europe, China would be another story) and play, read or enjoy doing nothing. And house (+ baby brother) sitting? Not until about the same age. First job at fourteen though.
I also get some info about the town; it is an industrial town (which I have already experienced in person; dirrty), and she points out the three main roads, our bin guan is on one of them. Luoyang is really very small, she says (well, small is relative, better not try and move it to the Netherlands…).
Note: living in China does have the advantage that you do not have to sit at a table for dinner, but are allowed to walk around with it…
New Pictures!
August 8, 2006 on 3:16
What are you selling?
Time to kill
August 10, 2006 on 3:02
It took a little while, but an attentive reader noticed that the planned route and the one I am currently following are not the same. I have been progressing faster than planned so I will make a little detour.
At the moment I am in Henan Province and just visited the Longmen Grottoes and are about to visit the Shaolin Temple, the most famous Buddhist temple in China. The next province will be Shandong Province. Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius will definitely be on the route.
Lonely God or A lazy day in Kaifeng
August 13, 2006 on 1:11
After a long cycling yesterday(150+ km), it is time for a little rest. For a change breakfast was included in the roomprice and I ventured downstairs to check it out (after yet again a late, late night; throw out the tewy!). No way, did I want to miss out on a freebee (Eelco thought otherwise…).
The breakfast was a buffet and consisted of a variety of steemed mini buns, boiled eggs, a large range of vegetables (many very spicy or pickled; good morning to you too), soymilk, rice porridge (I cannot think of another way to describe it) and a yellow fluid couscous like substance. Accompanied with a big spoon of sugar the warm soy milk is actually very nice.
After breakfast the to-do-list has to be compiled and executed. A day off, is usually not really a day off, unless you stay more than one day. Laundry is at the top of the list. The laundry service at the hotel is not very eager to wash a heap of stained & foul smelling textiles (they wash by hand).
Since they are not willing to wash the small stuff, an alternative has to be and is found. Things were quickly taken care off somewhere else, including the payment with discount. Next? Supermarket. Some necessities and some stuff to spoil ourselves. Result orange juice (healthy), cola (spoil) and Lonely God crisps (curiousity). Strangely enough the package features a cherub, with halo and magic wand instead of a lonely God…
At 17.50 (10 minutes early) the phone rang; Zhu Rong Bin (who was also cycling to Kaifeng when we met him), was waiting in the lobby with his best friend Song Bei Bei. They took us around Kaifeng and I mde some nice pictures. There are many beautiful old buildings in Kaifeng. When arrive at a square, next to the water and in the vicinity of a real palace, little kids are riding around on carts escaped from the fairy ground and the older kids show off their skills in roller until it gets dark, and neon lines appear on all the buildings. n-i-c-e.
De “Verre Oost Polder”
August 17, 2006 on 4:19
Jining > Qufu De “Verre Oost Polder” [Far East Polder] after the Noord-Oost Polder [North-East Polder] in the Netherlands. Strange as it may seem, the lanscape here in Shandong Province actually resembles the Netherlands; it is flatter than flat and there is a continuous headwind. There are lines and lines of young trees, planted along the new, wide roads (great, smooth surface); everything is organised and manmade.
Jijing could even be a city in the famous Dutch polder (except for all the Chinese road signs and street vendors). New buildings (and roads) with alternative architecture.
What a change, from the highly polluted areas (my shirts have, yet again a white stripe instead of a grey one) we are now riding in(to) cleaner air (or at least, so it seems). The day weather and temperatures are alternating, a clouded, cool day, followed by a warm one, etc. I can already imagine a windmill somewhere in the distance…
Some more pics
August 17, 2006 on 5:24
Locked out
Confusing Confucius
August 18, 2006 on 4:11
To follow.
Girl @ Confucius mansion
Tai Shan: 6660 steps or Planning for the next 64 year
August 23, 2006 on 6:52
To follow
Tai shan, at the top.
7654.3km
August 24, 2006 on 7:01
7654.3km, and still going strong. Time flies and the intended 8000km mark is quickly getting closer now. I will eventually make more kilometres than intended (I could never do less…). The route has been slightly changed, since I had some ‘extra’ time on my hands.
Unfortunately, I will have to leave China, before finishing in Beijing, to get a new visa. The plan is to go to Hong Kong, from either Dalian or Chenyang (Liaoning Province), probably by train, and back to start the last leg of this trip. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed…
On my own
August 25, 2006 on 3:48
Laixi On my own (yet again). Eelco has left me today (snik). He has embarked on a boat to South Korea to continue his round-the-world trip (the 2nd and last year). This leaves me on my own for the last leg of my b-bbb journey. No more; daft Dutch songs such as: Kaplaarzen [rain boots], Ik zit hier op een bank, aan de gracht [I am sitting on a bench along the canal] and other Dutch and English songs by Dutch artists.
No more government formations consisting of sports people. Johan Cruijf; Buitenlandse Zaken [Foreign Affairs], Erica Terpstra; Binnenlandse Zaken [Internal Affairs], Anton Geesink; WVC [Wellbeing, Health & Culture, although Barney would be great for Culture], Blankesteijn; Justitie [Justice], etc. There are also positions for: Ankie van Grunsven, Ronald Koeman, Evert van Benthem and Arnold Vanderleijden.
But who knows what is next, I may just ride into another cyclist… a girl for a change?
Looking back on my first posts, I noticed that I was very happily describing pretty much anything that was happening around me. At the moment I am experiencing difficulties (well, maybe that is a great word) to even write at all. It also seems that the focus has shifted from the external to the internal (although that is probably not noticable from my blog entries).
But it unfortunately has resulted in a lower amount of entries. On the other hand there have been a greater amount of pictures (guess a picture still speaks more than a thousand words…).
I still have to answer some questions before I reach Beijing and will make an efford to make regular entries in September (promise!). This should not be a problem since I would have time enough to think and no distractions…
…and the heavens burst open or A misguided rain rocket from Chonqing
August 26, 2006 on 4:55
Chingdao Only last night, I was explaining, via Skype that I had been very fortunate with the weather. I stayed ahead of the water (floods) in Southern China and the scorching heat (droughts) in Chonqing province…
Could a misguided rain rocket (they use them to create artificial rain) from Chonqing have caused the tremendous amount of water that came falling from the heavens today? I found it hard to believe that that much water would come pouring down in about an hour. It caused total chaos. The low parts of the streets were flooded, sewar lids were pushed up/open and water was bubbling up everywhere (and it was no refreshing, natural springwater).
I was in the midst of all this (before I found shelter at a covered market). In the meanwhile I did manage to get soaked to the bone and my hands looked like those of a 90 year old. I really would not like to know what kind of sh** has ended up in my shoes and on my legs… but it did smell very, very faul.
As sudden as the rain started, it also stopped, leaving the town in chaos. I continued my trip but regularly had to move onto the main road because of the flooded cycle lanes, only to get soaked again by passing busses; considerate does not seem to be a word appearing in their dictionary. Honking & splashing, yuck!
The day ended in a small but perfect bin guan in Laixi; a room of 2×3m (the bed fitted in exactly), with a bathroom (incl. toilet and much needed; hot shower)Â of 1×1.5m, a fan, a TV and, it was one of the cleanest places I have been in. Not to mention that it was strategically placed in the centre of town (pretty much on the night market) and all for 30 Yuan, I could do with a couple more of these…
Too tired to think
August 28, 2006 on 1:38
Laixi > Yantai It has been a long day, about 120km. At the beginning of the day, I was not sure if I was going to split this leg into two halves or not. But due to the lack of a strategic location of a village/city somewhere halve way, I ended up cycling all the way.
Having arrived in Yantai, the search for a bin guan began. I was heavily disappointed with the fact that in this so called developing city, a new tourist hub, reasonable, let alone, quality accommodation was non-existent, not to mention the lack of (friendly) service.
At the bottom end there were various grotty rooms (2m x 1.5m) with shared, even grottier, facilities. In the middle were slightly larger rooms with ok-ish, shared facilities, as long as you keep wearing the provided slippers (I have often wondered what is the worst of the two evils; plastic slippers that everyone has been wearing or a bare floor). The top end (in price, that is): old & mouldy rooms with private facilities. I finally settled for somewhere in the middle, mostly because I was absolutely fed up and tired.
Too tired to think as it turned out. I should have gone straight to the ferry ticket office and buy a boat ticket for Dandong or Dalian. For that same evening or the next morning (it would also have saved quite a bit of aggitation).
But, since this seems another encounter with Murphy (III), there was more to come. The next day I tried to secure a ticket to Dandong. No such luck, there are no longer ferries going to Dandong (even though my Chinese-English tourist road atlas, printed in January 2006 indicates otherwise).
Alternative? Dalian! OK! One ticket, can I take my bike? Note: a uniform is sitting opposite me (see entry: encounters). Yes, but, unreasonable sum of money, other options? No! If I buy a more expensive ticket? No! To my opinion the bike is my luggage, other people move house usually including life stock and do not have to pay extra?Regulations! Can you please show me where that is written? Me no speak Jerwan no more…
A local bystander tries to help me out with translating and tells the woman that my bike can be made smaller (by now I have missed the 9.00 ferry). She seems content with his reasoning. So when is the next ferry? 15.00. OK, one ticket, please. The ticket price has suddenly rissen… The ferry after that? Ok, but you cannot buy a ticket now. Huh? When? Later? When later? Another attack of no can speak Jerwan…
Ok, why try to argue, surely there are other ticket offices. So I try to find another ticket booth, and do. Yep, we have tickets to Dalian, same times? same ferry? The price is slightly higher (but still much cheaper than the double price incl. bike transport fee), but the bike goes for free!!!
No problem, be here at 21.00. The ferry leaves at midnight and arrives in Dalian at approximately 6.00, the next morning. Phewww. All that is left is to kill time.
So I have a, by now desperately needed rest at the bin guan until checkout time (12.00). Than I go in search of the sea and the fish market. After that I decide I need some serious pampering, because I am worth it, and I treat myself to some coconut coffee with some serious cake.
The rest of the day will be filled with reading; Moments in Peking by Lin Yutang (which I can highly recommend), eating & drinking and getting rid of my sorrows in the Internet bar (as they call it).
Moments in Peking & The Good Women of China
August 28, 2006 on 2:22
I have not been able to read as much as I would have liked to, but do manage to read a little now and again.
Moments in Peking by Lin Yutang. I can highly recommend this book, eventhough I am still reading it. If I feel like it, I may even write a little review about it when finished.
The Good Women of China by Xinran. Very interesting, but a very one-sided view. Xinran depicts Chinese women as victims only. But I have heard stories to the contrary, e.g.: due to the fact that there is a ratio of 1 woman to 7 men (one child policy resorting into the killing of many baby girls), woman can now pick and choose their men. Some woman do not mind switching now and again. Who ever is rich(er) could be next.
8000km coma
August 29, 2006 on 0:09
At 20.30 I am ready to pack and go… sh**, when I take my bike out of the storage room, it turns out that the rear tyre is flat. I then perform my quickest tyre change ever and sourt to the ticket office. When I arrive there I am greeted by Huang Yuqi and Li Hai Bo and his friend, who had met only hours earlier whilst buying their tickets.
Very conveniently for me, Huang Yuqi speaks English very well. Li Hai Bo is very fluent in one particular sentence: “Do not worry!”, and it turns out, that I do not have to, when he is in charge. A very comforting thought since it turned out that my bike had to go into the bus (there was no luggage space). Things work out OK and we make it to the harbour without any further delays.
At the harbour, we chat, and chat until we are allowed to board. “Do not worry”, I hear, yet again, when I see the plank leading on board the ferry… It really is not that steep and with a little help… On board I can tie the bike to a railing and we decide to set up camp, next to my bike (the chairs do not seem very inviting).
We continue our conversation and after a while Li Hai Bo appears with some drinks and food. Beer for the girls and ice-tea for the girls. He explains that men think as follows: If I like you, I will drink with you, and if I do not, I will still drink with you… hmm, not sure what to think of that. He also has some nice pastries that his grandmother made, who he had just visited. Yummy!
Huang Yuqi and myself decide that we will try and get some sleep on board, since we were not able to arrange an affordable bed. The boys will take care of us, so I do not worry…
I managed to get some sleep and woke up when we are almost in Dalian, where it rained, early in the morning. Unlike Yantai, I was not allowed on the bus and had to find my own way out of the harbour. Huang Yuqi and Li Hai Bo were still with me and had missed their bus.
We found shelter from the rain and made plans. Huang Yuqi called a travel agent and arranged to be picked up, Li Hai Bo would be going to the train station and I would look for a way out, but not without a map, which I received as a gift from Huang Yuqi.
The rain continued and it turned out that, yet again I have arrived in one of those cities where foreigners can only stay in expensive hotels. Not again! I just can not see the reasoning behind this. To my opinion it are usually the backpackers that go venture out to places tourists do not go. And backpackers usually have a small(er) budget. They have to spread their money over a longer period. If they do not come and discover the tourist will NOT follow.
Being p***** off and soaked to the bone I finally manage to find a liu guan (cheaper version of a bin guan, wish I knew before) and fall into a deep coma. After 18hrs of sleep I finally wake up…
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. Albert Einstein May | June | July | August | September | October
Visit Linda's website here for more photos and additional information:
http://www.bangkok-beijingbybike.org
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