Finally some real mountains, I lovin it!:

Well in Dushanbe I had a food poisoning, so because of this I had fever over 39 degrees and so I had to stay in the bed for one day. Well because my hosts take care about me I was healed qiet soon. Thanks to Lurdes and Peter Pichler for their support. And then also my package I sent to Dushanbe via DHL was arriving with all the spare parts in it and so I changed the chain and the tires, because everything should be ready for the Pamirs. Also my down sleeping bag, the ceramic water filter and my leather hat which I need from now on arrived. Well also my new power supply unit arrived which I wanted to test immediately. But as I was connecting it to the adaptor for my PDA it break, because the power supply was too strong for it. So I was fucked and so I wasn't able to to an electronic documentary till Kashgar (China) because I cant load my PDA any more. Well shit happens. Another problem I had was my GBAO, which is needed to be allowed going up to the Pamir highway. It seems that I sent a wrong entering and leaving date to the agency which was preparing ithe GBAO for me. As I asked them if it is possible to change the date on this piece of paper, they wanted to have some more 80 Euro for a new GBAO. As I told them that it is too expensive for me, they told me I should go to Khorog, where the Pamir highway starts, to get it maybe cheaper there. Also this wasn't a solution I was happy with, so I take a more easier way, I simply modified the GBAO I got. And so I simply chaged the date on it, because the GBAO just was a shitty piece of paper it was not hard; and on this way I got a GBAO which was one month more valid then the GBAO before :D.Well ok the GBAO was longer valid then my visa, but with some luck no one will notice that, and if yes, I was thinking it wouldn't be a problem to corrupt the officer by offering him a few dollars, because so it is working in Tajikistan, if I want it or not. Finally I left Dushanbe after I said good bye to my hosts which wont take my money as I offered it to them, again I have to say thank you very much for everything! Well the real Pamir highway is starting in Khorog, but till there I have a hard road to cycle, which was more like a track then a road. Aslo another 3000 m pass was on this way, never in my life I had been on such a height, well its better I don't know what there will come up soon. Well before I reached Khorog, there was a Checkpoint which was also having a look on my GBAO, which was notified to be original, well it was original, just a little bit modified. Well I had no Problems there so I was cycling ahead to Khorog, which is told to be a city, but it looks more then a bigger village which also has an small airport. The way from Dushanbe to Khorog was very exiting, I cycled next to some tank wrecks, was passing some mine fields and at least I saw to the other side of an river to the Pakistani side. The difference was amazing, on the Pakistani side, the houses were made of clay and the roof also was made of clay or straw. And on the Tadjik side there were tin roofs and the houses also look much more modern compared to these from the Pakistani. Also there was no road on the other side of the river, just a small track, where the Pakistani go along with their animals was made there, its not possible to cycle there, no way. Well from Khorog on the road starts up to the mountains, but before there was another checkpoint well and there were some problems then with my GBAO. The officer there told me “Problem, Problem !!”, and so I answered “No Problem, No Problem!!”. Well as I was talking to him he told me that I am not allowed to go up to the Pamir, because there was missing one village on my GBAO through which I will cycle. But at least I think the officer just wanted to get some money for his own pocket, because at first he wanted to have 10 $, otherwise I have to go back to Khorog to get a new GBAO. Then I explained that it is too expensive for me and so we come on one line with 5 $. But well as soon as I gave him the money he putted the money in his own pocket. And so it was true, he just wanted to have some money for his own pocket, I don't believe, that there was a real problem.This was exactly what Peter Pichler warned me, he told me that in Tadjikistan corruption is quiet high. But well my new GBAO was still quiet cheap, just 5 $ instead of 80 Euro, what a great business for me. Well finally I was riding ahead this strange checkpoint and now I had to cycle a 4000 m Pass, but I had no time there to acclimate myself so I was cycling the pass (4270 m) two days after I left Khorog (2070 m), it was interesting , that I didn't get any problems there. Then I was sleeping on a height of over 3500 m and the stars were so clear too see, so now I understand all the travellers where so impressed from this. Well the reason is not only that the next villages are miles away, so there isn't any light which can influence the good view up to the stars, it is also the low humidity, because of that the light inst broken and so the view is brilliant. Well but the nights were quiet cold from now on, but because of my good sleeping bag , which was suitable down to a temperature of -10 degrees it wasn't a problem. Well it was astonishing for me that the roads on the so called Pamir highway were paved from around 80 to 90 %, and there were hardly any difficult passes to ride (concerning the height differences), so I was travelling even faster across the Pamirs then I expected. 100 km a day or more were no problem, and this on such a height between 3500-4000 m all the time. On the way to Murgab (small village which want to be a town on the Pamirs) the first time in my life I saw a yurt. Well the yurt owners now have some trucks, but it still was something special for me. I was really glad because of my leather hat I sent to Dushanbe and also my microfibre hose was as much worth as gold, because it protected my ears from the sun an the very dry weather up there. As I came to Murgab I saw an Tadjik guy which was completely burnt in his face, his skin was getting down and seems to burst below it just like there will come some blood out in any time. And so it was more important to protect myself then ever before as I saw this, nevertheless I hardly was using sun cream, because I simply didn't need it. This was because I was wearing ling Shirts and trousers which was going down till to the knees, so the sun had no chance, well and at least I really don't like sun cream, especially if you cant what yourself for weeks its simply horrible to use sun cream. Well after Murgab I got the wrong way, so I found myself on a big road, which was a runway. But nothing was mentioned on my map that there is an airport in Murgab, no wonder, because the tower was just like a ruin and wasn't used any more. Well and the big road I stand wasn't a motorway or something, noi it simply was the runway from this old airport. Luckily I found back to the right road quiet soon by riding across the road. All the time till Murgab there were coming some Chinese trucks bringing goods to Murgab and Khorog, but this were the only few vehicles were riding here. So at least there isn't hardly any traffic here so I normally I had the good road for myself. That's why I was used to ride in the middle of the road :D. After Murgab also the highest pass with 4600 m in the Pamirs comes closer. Here also the weather changes quiet fast and it began to rain with some snow in it. Also during the day it was quiet cold then, but since Dushanbe I was carrying around a lot of warm stuff so it wasn't really a problem. Across the hole Pamirs I just met 2 cyclists and one guy which was riding by Jeep, this was everything I say from tourists there, so its really a untouched place. There are also hardly any bigger villages because nothing can grow here and the country is that dry. Well then I saw the first few Yak's in my life, I know I will see them also in Tibet but I didn't expect them here. Finally I reached the Karakul lake, which is an crater lake mad by an meteor and now he is running dry. From here it was just a small step to the border to Kyrgyzstan.

Transit in extremo?:

Well the last few km on the Tadjik side also was not paved any more, but the road was still quiet ok, but as I passed the Tadjik checkpoint on the border the road was getting really bad. There was a final pass and the Kyrgyzstan checkpoint was a few km after that pass down in the valley. But the road down there was terrible, well often I wasn't able to find the road, I just was riding in a kind of river bed with a lot of loose stones and mud on or in it. Well hopefully they will repair this soon, otherwise this “river bed” can't be passed any more. Well after this horrible downhill there I came to the checkpoint on the Kyrgyzstan side, but they really were not interested in me well there was just one man had a look into my passport, but I dint get a stamp with the entering date, and I don't have to show them what I was carrying around like it happened the last time in Turkmenistan. So I was thinking, when Rome do as the Romans do. Ok, then not, but beware if you want to punish me when I leave this country because I have no entry stamp! Well also the landscape here changes completely, because here were wide grass lands which you cant find on the Pamirs. And everywhere were yurts and big horse and yak herds filled these areas with life. But I had no time to loose and the weather still was not good and seems to go even more worse then it was, so I was riding in a rush to the Chinese border. But before I needed to find some food, but I had no Kyrgyzstan money. So what should I do?
Well I came to the only village on this way to Sary Tash, and there I entered a shop and was asking if they also take some Somoni (Tadjik money). I know if they accept it i will get a bad exchange for that money but that's better then nothing, I don't want to have the same problem as in Romania where I wasn't able to get rid of my Romanian Lei so it was getting dead capital for me. I really was astonished that the lady was accepting my money and so I was buying as much food as I can carry, because I wanted to get rid of my Somoni and on the other hand I rally needed it because till Kashgar there will be hardly any good places for a money exchange. Well the people here in Sray Tash were really friendly, they also were able to greet, which was great form me since I was in Uzbekistan, where a lot of people can't do that. Its sad that I just was in Transit through this country and not having ore time for it, but Tibet is calling me! Well just before Sary Tash asphalt started again, but immediately after Sary Tash to the Chinese border it ended. And another really terrible track came up. On the way to the border I met an guy from the USA, Bill Weier (www.crazyboyonabike.com), who was coming from the Chinese border and wanted to cycle to Uzbekistan afterwards he was cycling six month across China. He told me about three other cyclists he met, which also want to go up to the Tibet. And well then it was over and Kyrgyzstan died for me, because from now on I was on a pursuit, and everything which is passing may way better goes aside. So I just stopped three times till to the border, one time because I need to put out my raining stuff, the other one because I met some Kyrgyzstan people giving me some real bred, and the third time because of a puncture in my back wheel. Well the puncture was a story of itself, it was getting quiet cold, it bean to rain with some snow in it and I was riding a terrible downhill road as I saw that may back tires had hardly any air left. What a bullshit I was thinking, why exactly in that moment on such a muddy fucking road something like this must happen? I also cant move my fingers proper so it was getting a real challenge to fix the back wheel. But because of all the mud on and next to the road I had to find a big stone where I can put my wheel on it to fix it there, because otherwise the mud will come into the tire and then the next puncture will be just a question of time. As I was working next to the road a truck driver stopped and offered me a lift to the border village. But no chance, I cant take his help I was thinking, because otherwise I don't have to think about Tibet. If something happens in Tibet, I also have to do it by myself because there maybe wont be a truck driver offering me his help. After having the wheel fixed with another tube I cycled ahead and thank god, there was a asphalt road again, which was definitely made by Chinese people. It seems that the Chinese people want to export even more to Kirgisistan, but because the roads are in a so terrible condition they were helping the Kyrgyzstan people with their roads so the export ways will be secure for the future. I hope they also will fix the rest of the road to Sary Tash one day. Well and so I reached the Kyrgyzstan border checkpoint, which was nearly a small town, everywhere were standing around some trucks, a place I really don't want to stay with my tent, because it was smelling awful there and a lot of waste was lying around. Well on the checkpoint I was told that the border is closed for today, and its just allowed to enter china before lunchtime, after it it isn't allowed any more. Well Chinese rules... . And so I was turning around and cycled around 1,5 km back where I was sleeping one more Night in Kyrgyzstan. Well I really wanted to cycle Kyrgyzstan again one day, but all the countries I want to visit again are getting to many I think. Maybe I have to do the same Tour again one day with more time ??? I will see.

From Kashgar to the roof of the world (EASTERN TIBET)!:

Well in the morning I came to the checkpoint and this time I also want controlled about the stuff I am carrying around like it happened in Turkmenistan to me. Meybe it was also because they were fed up with cyclists because three cyclist passed the border a day before, so they were not any longer interested in the shit (in their eyes) such cyclists carrying around. Well a few km further I reached the Chinese Checkpoint, here the people were a little more stricter, because I had to fill out some forms, but I don't had to put all my stuff out from my baggages, they just had a small look into it and it was ok. Very interesting was that the tires of any truck and also of my bike was sprayed with disinfection fluid. The fear from SARS and other bird flu is still alive here. Well around lunchtime I came through the checkpoints and so I continued my pursuit to the three other cyclists. Well but before I was taking contact with my parents, as I saw a mobile phone antenna next to the small border village on the Chinese checkpoint. Well it was quiet long ago that I had a good mobile net like here. Well also the landscape changes immediately after the border, because here everything was quiet dry and like a desert again. But because the roads were paved all the way to Kashgar I really was able to enjoy the countryside here because I wasn't fixed all the time on bad roads like before. The mountains here were really something special, because they had so many different colours and were really rich in contrast. Well but because the day was getting old I wasn't able to catch the three people today. But on the next day I got them, as they were taking a break on lunchtime next to a small stream where I was allowed to surprise them :-). Well these people were Jessica and Sander from the Netherlands (www.oostwaarts.blogspot.com) and Beat Blaser from Switzerland (www.ontheroad.ch), who were joining them. Glad to have some dialogue partner I was riding the Rest of the way to Kashgar with them, where we met then a lot of other cyclists all over the world. Well all cyclists should be mentioned here, this were Jan and Jan from Holland and Canada (www.fromme.nl), Maurizio Ceraldi from Italy (www.mauriziotibet.blogspot.com), Stefan Raynaud from Switzerland (www.soray.name), Else and Polle from Denmark (www.elsenpolleoverzijde.be), and Heather Jilks from England. Well everybody except Beat Blaser, who wanted to cycle the Karakorum Highway to Pakistan, was cycling up to Tibet and then down to Nepal, so I was the only one who also wanted to cycle the eastern Tibet, well also Heather Jilks wanted to cycle it, but she changed her plans then. But what should I do in Nepal? On the one hand I plan a complete crossing from the Tibet and on the other hand it is very difficult to go down to Singapore by bike, because there are some problems with a few countries there. Well in Kashgar I was staying even longer as I wanted, because at first I wanted to stay maximum 3 days, but I had to stay longer to get the parcel with my KFZ adaptor for the PDA I destroyed in Dushanbe, and also a new power supply unit. So all these cyclists started one day earlier, as me, I really felt sad, as I saw them cycling away. A few of them were taking a bus down to Yecheng, so that's why they had a head start of around 3-4 days. I really wanted to start with them because I don't wanted to stay in Kashgar any longer. But I still had to wait one more day. Well but at least it wasn't that worse because Kashgar was a very interesting city where you can get nearly everything. Here I also get a new suspension seat post, because mine had an complete breakdown. I was moving around on my saddle like I am sitting on a bar stool which an move in horizontal direction. That was really terrible. But at least this seat post saved my as and my back so I really wanted to have a suspension one again. But the Chinese seat post was nothing compared with my Airwings Revolution I had before, the Chinese one was wired out after 3000 km but the Revolution did 7600 km (also it was the old version of the Revolution). When I came back to Austria I want to get an Airings again (www.airwings-systems.de). Well finally my KFZ adaptor arrive by China Post to Johns Cafe (www.johncafe.net). John was so kind and didn't want to have the 10 $ he normally want to get if somebody sent a parcel to him. Well maybe it was because the stuff I sent was packed in a letter and wasn't a parcel. Well I also wasn't used to the food here in Kashgar, which was quiet hot at all. The Chinese, which are now more people then the original population the Uighurs (which are speaking Uighur which also use Persian writings), were flavouring their food with a plenty of chilly. Well and so a few times tears came around, as I was eating tofu with hot pepper and chilly for example. This was really crazy. Bute well since then I also have a package of Chinese pepper (with chilly) on-board, because I really liked hot and spicy food since Kashgar. And so I was starting on the 05.09.2006, totally spoiled from all the good food here, armed with a few kilos of food I drove to the direction of Tibet. But it is a far way up to there. The weather wasn't that good at all as I started, but that was very suitable to ride very fast with hardly any stops, because I really wanted to catch all the others. Well and that was I was doing then, at first I got Maurizio from Italy and Stefan from Switzerland, I was driving with then just for one day as I was going ahead, because I even have to be faster then them if I also want to ride the eastern Tibet. Well because up here in the mountains there was hardly anything my reserves I bought in Kashgar were getting less and less. But luckily there was sometimes a small village, which was more a crowd of restaurants and small shops for all the Trucks passing this ways, where I was able to get some cookies and other basic stuff. Well cookies have taken a really important part in my nutrition, not only because they were not only soul food, they are also energy deliverer number one. Nevertheless bred, vegetables and fruits you hardly find here. Only in Chinese Restaurants there were served some dishes with vegetables, but such dishes I really mind because I was thinking it is too much risk in eating that stuff, well it is normally boiled wiet good, but then also the vitamins are gone so it would be useless. Luckily I found some packages with vegetables and a chilly sauce in it which was in a vacuum so it seems quiet reliable, and indeed I had no problems with it, so this I was eating with some noodles I cook. Well the variety wasn't that big but it was OK so. For breakfast I was eating muesli, and if the oats were running out I used some cookies instead of them, which I was able to get in any smaller village. On Lunchtime I didn't eat anything, therefore the cookies were used, to fill up the energy level during the day. And if I really wanted to have something else, and I don't mind the risk, I went into a Chinese restaurant in one og these small villages and ordered my favourite Chinese food “Tang Mian” (Noodles within a spicy stock), because this is served quiet hot, and the vegetables are boiled I had no fear that it could be a problem for my stomach. But as I ordered rice with vegetables which was served lukewarm, I got some problems immediately. Well that's what about I was eating during the ride through Tibet. I came to Mazar then, from where I was again on a pursuit by following some tracks on the dusty roads. These tracks were from Heather Jilks, who was starting in Kashgar on 01.09.2006. And so I met her again on the 11.09.2006 a few km after Mazar. But on the same day I catch her up again I left her, as it was going up to another pass, because I still have to catch up the people from the Netherlands and from Belgium. Heather told me that she was spending a night with them in Mazar, so they cant be far away and I would have catch up them quiet soon. Then I made a mistake, I was riding my bike till late to the night and so I was forced to build up my tent at 23:00 Bejing time in complete dankness, well I had a headlamp but it wasn't that helpful because the landscape here was not very suitable for camping. So I had to put my tent next to the road on a sandbank, well I was glad having some earplugs, there was hardly any traffic here, but sometimes a few trucks were coming, and this is simply not funny if your sleep is disrupted all the time. Well on the next day on the 11.09.2006 I catch up the cyclists Jessica and Sander from the Netherlands and Else and Polle from Belgium again just around 10 km before Xaidullao which was a small village in the middle of nowhere, having some useful shops and restaurants. Here I could be able to buy also soya bean milk powder, wow I was thinking sometimes these small shops are really surprising. In Xaidullao the left these people, because they wanted to take a day of rest here. I really had to go ahead and a day of rest wasn't a question for me. On bad roads I was riding alone again, and again I found some bicycle tracks on the roads, not older then one or two days. (I was getting really good in reading from such tracks). It was the track from Steffen Weber from Germany, which I catching up in Dahongliutan then, it was realy funny because he was thinking that he was catching up me, and not me him. Well it was because I put my tent up 25 km before Dahongliutan and the did the same but 11 km before Dahongliutan. Because I was starting earlier then him, I still was in Dahongliutan before he arrived and so he was thinking this way :D. Well so I was able to show him a good restaurant where I was eating before and the only shop in this small village. Well but nearly every restaurant also has a small shop with a few cookies included. I was riding with him up to the Aksai Qin (Aksai Chin) Plateau, which is claimed by India but is still under Chinese administration. This plateau is a very dry desert. Well because I got some problems with my knees again (well I was riding too fast and long the last few days), I decided to cycle with Steffen to recover myself and so we were riding only 50-60 km a day. Well he also had a different rhythm then me. For example he was having his coffee in the morning so he needed his stove while I just was eating cold muesli. And he was waking up quiet late in the morning. Nevertheless, as I left him I also had such a rhythm, because later in Tibet it was a need. So in the morning it was very important to get the tent and the sleeping bag dry, or to load some rechargeable batteries by solar panel ad clean the chain which was getting very dirty in such dusty areas. Well together we have seen a really strange natural phenomenon. On the 15.09.2006, as we wanted to build up our tents on an height of 4900 m in the Aksai Qin (Aksai Chin) plateau a terrible storm with a lot of sand and dust came up. We tried to find some protection behind a mountain, but is was hopelessness the wind blows down from the mountains like crazy and it was really painful if the sand touched the unprotected parts, like the face and my calf. It was impossible to build up a tent here. Luckily we found a gravel pit, which was made by some road workers were we found protection from the wind. But it was still too much so we were still not able to build up our tents. So we were waiting in the gravel pit and were hoping that the wind will lose its strength in the evening. And thank god he lost his power then and we were able to build up our tents in the gravel pit. And during night the wind stops completely. This has shown me how helpless we humans are if the nature awakes. The Aksai Qin plateau was really fascinating and we really had no water problems he as we expected first. A week earlier it was raining quiet a lot so every dry creek bed was filled with clear water. If there wouldn't be a rainfall one week earlier, water definitely would be a problem on the Aksai Qin plateau, because there was just one spring being told to be reliable. Well there was also a creek which should be reliable, but there was a lot of waste in it, and I also think it was poisoned. Well on the 18.09.2006 we were patched up by an south Korean guy called Wooki. I cannot believe as I saw him, but he really was rushing across the country, so at first we were thinking there comes a motor bike, but then as we saw his bike it was no wonder, because his bike had half of the weight of mine. Well so he was not good enough equipped to stay in such heights so why he had to cycle from one village to the other.

The one who is harder to cycle (EASTERN TIBET):

Well the eastern Tibet was much more varied then the western Tibet, and somebody who is cycling across the Tibet, but who isn't riding the eastern Tibet wasn't riding across Tibet, no he was riding on it. Because he is missing all these beautiful deep tropic valleys which you find here. Just a few km after Lhasa I also met a couple of Chinese cyclists, which were coming from Chengdu, so I was asking them if the road is paved till down to Chengdu like here, and the I got a shot and pregnant “No”, well but still I was hoping that I have asphalt as long as possible, and indeed thousands of km were paved down there. But because of all these deep valleys here I really was quiet slow. And in western Tibet I also met 3-4 times stone throwing children. And so Tibetans sank in my favour, because they are guilty if they don't give their children a good education, well Tibetans are working really hard, that's no question, but that shouldn't be an excuse, everybody who gets children if planned or not should know that it takes a lot of time to educate them and teach them a good behaviour. Well luckily all the children I met had a bad aim and as soon as I heard or saw some stones I was riding faster then before. Then I meet Jukka from Finnland, who was on the way to Lhasa and then down to Kathmandu (Nepal). And later I met a couple from the Netherlands (Aranna and Rob www.bikesportive.nl), then a couple from the USA and around 80 km after Litang on the 08.11.2006 a couple from Canada (Shauna and Julian), which was starting in Chengdu, and went down to Laos and finally to the rest of south Asia. Here I would like you to have a look at picture 190 in my China album, where you will find a small story about our meeting. Well, they also told me about a side road down to Chnegdo, which was also nearly 100 % asphalted. And so I decided shortly to take this way, which brought me to the Tagong grass lands then to Danba, and finally to the Wolong national park were I had my last pass, before it was going down to Chengdu with a long downhill. I went through a few Panda reservations there, but everywhere you have to pay entrance, so that's why I decided to spend my money, which I definitely will need in Chengdu, instead of visiting this reservations. Well one day, in the morning there was standing a Tibetan in front of my tent entrance, who invited me for breakfast. I knew, if I agreed I will be offered the well known and infamous Yak butter tea and/or Tsampa. Well I agreed, because it would be the last chance to have a taste in this stuff, and really he brought Yak tea and Tsampa. He also offered me some sugar, but I defeated, because I wanted to have the real taste of it. And I was surprised, it wasn't worse, indeed I liked it. And also Tsampa was not bad, so I also let my host know that. But it would be better if I would have my mouth closed, because they began to look for suitable plastic bags where they can put all the ingredients for Yak butter tea nad Tsampa. I tried to stop them by saying that I cant take this present, but it was too late, and so I got 1-2 kg from all these ingredients. Well the next few days I know what I will eat for breakfast, its called Tsampa :D.
Just a few km before I reached the Wolong national park, as I went up to the last pass, there were some roadworks, but as I entered the park, just a few km after the pass, there were terrible roadworks, so I cant go down faster then I cycled up to the pass. My lung was filled with dust again, it definitely was not healthy! Well finally I reached the valley, where it began to be crowded, because of the high population here. On this I have to get used again, because in Tibet I had no problems to find a good camping place, but here every place, also next to the road was used to cultivate some vegetables like salad or spices, which makes it real difficult to find a suitable camping site. And so I was forced to put my tent next to the road, where on the next morning a few stupid children came and had just shit in their brain. At first they wanted to have something to eat, and then they wanted to have money, I explained that I had nothing for them, and luckily they gone away after a half hour of bla bla bla. They had stolen one tent peg, which was not that worse but still annoying. What are they doing with a tent peg ? Cleaning their as with it? Well simply stupid, as stupid as the children I met in Gartog, where the key of my bicycle lock was stolen. At least I reached Chengdu on the 16.11.2006, a city with 8,9 million inhabitants, which was looking quiet clean and everything seems to be running in order there. Here you can find everything, from huge supermarkets, where Austrian supermarkets look tiny compared to these, noble restaurants, cinemas and bike shops, simply everything. Also the huge variety of different food let me dream, I also found Toblerone from Swizerland, Schwartau black currant jam from Germany and Austrian spread cheese in one of these big supermarkets. Well but real good mountain cheese or real crust bread I still miss here. I had real luck in finding a good hostel, because as I was asking in the first few Hotels I really wonder how expensive they are, because as I was asking for the price in the first few hotels, they wanted to have 170 Yen and more. By chance I met an chines guy who brought me to the Dragon Town hostel where also a lot of tourists take a stay. And because I said that I will stay at least for 10 days or more they gave me a special price of 30 Yen per night, which is around 3 Euro. Well OK there is no shower and no toilette on the room, but everything I found on the corridors there. I really don't need luxury, because if you are sleeping like me for month in the tent you don't need it any more. So the price was very good for me, because I expected that it could be more expensive, something like 50-60 Yen.


After I spent so many hours in the Internetcaffee here, where I was working for my homepage, I now have to care about my Visa extension, and I also have to make plans on how I should proceed my big trip. Well but the guys on the PSB (Public Security Bureau) told me it is not possible to extend the visa for 2 month, but it is possible for one month, and after it it can be extended one more time with one more month, so a maximum of 2 month is possible, well I will see...... to be continued.

Well now I hope that it was not too boring for you.

All the best and till to the next time when its said “News from the Road 008”.

Yours Carl Steiner

The shortest way to god was leading me through extreme regions around the half globe, then I was able to recognise the real size of god and saw the wonders he let occur every day, which I wasn't able to notice as wonders before, because I was blind for them.