Beat Up By China

Well there is good news and there is bad news.  The good news is we are done China!  Really pleased to have completed the country as it really threw a lot at us.  And it wasn’t good stuff being thrown our way.  The last province of Yunnan turned out to be quite hilly with crappy, bumpy roads.  Other good news is we are in the tropics so that cold feeling we had in most of China is no more. 

The bad news is I face planted the pavement again but this time I was riding my bike.  As a result I have a purple eye and a bloodied up face.  Knees are also torn up and my right shoulder is hurting.  I am down for the count.  Basically I was riding down a hill and went over some water when my back tire slid and next thing I know I am crashing to the ground.  Unfortunately I had to change my back Marathon Plus tire for Trevor’s old worn down with no traction Marathon tire since my Plus tire had a bulge in it.  Having no traction, going over water and turning at a high speed isn’t a good mix.  I learned that the hard way.  Each day though I am getting better so I am optimistic I will be fine.  Time heals all.  It was annoying though the next day my right eye was closed shut so I was riding with one eye pretty much.   

In other news we were camping on the side of the road early on in Yunnan when a light flashes on my tent late in the evening.  Then I hear voices and realize crap, we’ve been had.  I open up my tent pretty freaked out as it could be anyone out there and I am in a vulnerable position.  Then I see three policemen.  They said they wanted to help us as it was cold where we were and we should pack up in the shivering night and follow them to the police station to sleep.  I tried to politely decline over and over again but the officer didn’t quite get what I was saying.  Sometime later more people arrived by vehicle and it turned out they called over an English teacher to translate.  After examining my passport and asking if they could help in any way they all finally left.  It was sort of strange looking up from my tent and seeing about 6 or 7 people hovering around my tent.  I was really glad they didn’t make us leave from our spot because it was really freezing in the night. 

We are in Mohan which is the border town with Laos.  We enter Laos and one of my most favourite regions in the world, Southeast Asia, tomorrow! 

Oh and just to forewarn, there are a few pretty grotesque pictures below so if you do not like those types of pictures better stop reading.  Viewer discretion is advised… 

The delayering begins.  Real nice not to have to wear layers upon layers.  Now it is just shorts and a shirt.  

Me taking a breather in front of some nice scenery.

Me exhausted from a crappy day of cycling around Kunming.  We tried to get on the expressway but were caught by some police officers who told us to go back and take the side roads.  The side road G213 was complete crap.  Nonstop cracks and bumps everywhere.  Plus there were so many big dump trucks always driving by and polluting the air.  So I wasn’t having a good day as evidenced by this photo. 

Here is a stretch of crappy, muddy road on the G213.  It was literally a mud bath.  Had to walk this bit.  Seriously China needs to invest some money into their infrastructure and not just their highways.  They appeared to have built their side roads many years ago and then just leave them to rot with no proper maintenance whatsoever.  We do however see road workers at times jackhammering the roads and doing horrible patch work which in effect makes the roads worse off.  Good for nothing they are. 

A lot of mornings as of late started off in the foggy mist much like this.  I don’t mind it since it cools me down now. 

In a town called Ninger I stopped for a food and drink stock up and stumbled upon a huge, happening bazaar.  I enjoy bazaars and browsing what is on offer.  I have only seen dog for sale once in China but never like this.  So this was quite surprising to see.

Larvae and huge insects for sale.  Guess they are supposed to be a tasty treat.  I’ll pass.

The most grotesque photo of all… me after falling off my bike. 

We have seen many flattened, dead snakes on the road in Yunnan but no live ones until we passed this dirt mound.  Just cycling along when a cobra pops out from one of those holes.  It hissed at us and then expanded its hood.  It was pretty cool.  Then it went back inside its small hole.  My research tells me it could have very well been a Chinese cobra.  Given we are now seeing large spiders, poisonous snakes and just thick jungle with little camping opportunities; we are hitting up hotels and guesthouses.  Probably will do this the rest of the way in Asia.    

Progress picture.  Me the following day of my tumble.  Still looks like I was mauled by a tiger but things are getting better. 

Typical Trevor fixated on his GPS not caring or bothered to look that there is an elephant behind him.  

Haven’t seen many cycling tourists in China (probably because this country is crap to cycle in).  However, the past few days we have been cycling with Paul, a British man who has been on the road for about 18 months.