Entry 008
Back to the mountains part three! (would be a nice movie name, wouldn't it?)
Friday 24.12.2006

Well that there were so many mountains again, I didn't expect. Again winter sets on and I also had some big problems with my digestion, so normally I would have to write “With a damned digestion to the south” . But every meter was worth, when I am thinking about the people I met on this way.
travelled distance: 15.276 km - Position: Kunming (China)


CHINA 

Still in China!:

Well in Chengdu I was staying for unbelievable 20 long days. When I think about that, that this is nearly one month. And I am also wondering that I was able to stay that long, because during my trip I am getting more and more restless. Well I was leaving Chengdu to the south, and really wanted to ride to Leshan, where the well known “Giant Budda” is situated, which I had seen in the Chinese television on channel CCTV 9. Well down there I got the wrong road again, because I had no map and I was trusting all these sign posts here.


1.) The head of the giant budda in Leshan, see the
people on the other side, and get a imagination
how big this head is.


3.) From the valley he is much more impressive.


5.) My friendly host family and me just a
few km after Leshan in their flat.


7.) Frozen roads and a little snow on the 2400 m
pass, luckily there wasn't the 20 cm snow
all the people were waring me for.


9.) And another host family as it began to
snow otside, can you see the as of a pig on
this picture?.


11.) On a huge lake next to Xichang.


13.) And thats the product they are producing,
the mystic Moon Valley dry red wine.


15.) And this was the bloody dusttrack.


17.) I really hate that, if I am looking for a camp site
and there are everywhere fields, fields, fields,.....


19.) Old Scool, here were made some roof tiles
and brics.


21.) Well on the main roads you hardly
won't find bad road conditions, ist just like
in central Europe.

Well to sum up, I was riding a 30 km circle so I was really bad about myself. Well luckily it


2.) A waterfall in the middle of the park where
the Giant  Budda is situated.


4.) Well another comapision how big he is,
in the back you can see his big toe.


6.) Hmm, should I change my vehicle ?


8.) And the other side was "rideable".


10.) A nosy Chinese, he had hardly any teeth left,
but he still keeps on smiling, simply amazing
these people!


12.) Here we go, me and the wine maker
a few km after Xichang.


14.) A nice made bride on the way to Kunming.


16.) And after it I had to climb again, but on
good roads it was just like dreaming.


18.) I dont know how long it was ago that I saw a
real church, but since this one I found a few
churches till Kunming, that was really surprising
for me.


20.) Dont stop Carl, do not get lazy! Well the
sun was shining after a long time so I really
was enjoying it.


22.) A water dam.

wasn't costing to much time because the average speed was around 25 km/h because of the quiet flat area and there were hardly any hills at all. The landscape was so flat toll to Leshan, where I went directly to the “Giant Budda” as I arrived, well the entrance was with 70 Yen quiet expensive, but it was worth if I compare it with a 50 Yen entrance in an Tibetan Monsatery in Shigaze. I was thinking that I will see only the Giant Budda there, but the hole area was filled with historical sculptures and houses and was like a big park. Well on this day I became some trouble, because it was getting dark again and I was still in the middle of Leshan city to ride out of it the shortest Way to find a camping site. Finally I found grassland which seems to be suitable for me, well there was a motorway next to it, but at this time I wasn't that choosy. But damn, there were coming some dogs and starting barking to me all the time . But then there was coming a Chinese man which had a fishing lake just one hill away. He was inviting me for dinner , which I accepted, because I was thinking, if he invites me to dinner then I don't have to cook at night. He had a small hut next to the lake were just one bed was inside, but he also had a really big flat in the town nearby, and to this he invited me to stay one night and so I was following him with my bike, while he was riding his motorbike. I cannot believe my luck because I also got a shower and this was really great because of the bad weather these days. I was allowed to sleep in his and his wife's bed while he and his wife were sleeping in the hut next to the lake where I met them. Well I think they do so to protect the lake against fish thief's. Simply great! Well the next day I went ahead straight to the south, and I still had no map for navigation, because my Chinese maps I bought in Chengdu were starting more in the south. But I was knowing that if I follow the road with number 306 I should come to the 108, which was right, but Chinese bureaucracy was cancelling my plans, because as I was around 160 km before I wanted to enter the 108 the was a road sign which said that this area is forbidden for aliens. Well I really wanted to cycle ahead, because I don't wanted to cycle back the hole way because there were also some smaller passes which I had to climb again then. But exactly in this moment there were a police car just 5 meters behind me. So what should I do ? I decided to try plan B and so I was asking the police if it is allowed for me to go ahead and if they can make an exception. But no chance , luckily or as I would have seen later to my bad luck one of the police man told me that here is a side way up to the mountains which I can take. Well I was glad not to have to go back the same way I was coming from, but the road was going up to the mountains all the time from now on, and the road finally gets worse. As I came close to the frost line (I saw a lot of ice on the trees up in the mountains) a street worker was explaining to me that it is not possible to cross the pass over there because there should be around 20 cm of snow on the streets (this he showed me by holding his hand around 20 cm above from the road surface). That cannot be possible I was thinking and I memorized myself back to the fail in the Transylvanian Alps in early spring, so I was scared that something like this could happen again. There I also had a hard and long way up but I still had to go back the same way. But I was too stubborn to give up that fast and so I was cycling ahead, also I wont not believe only one guy I wanted to ask some other people if this information is right. And so I was asking in a shop next to the street where the people were looking to like if I am a crazy buy who don't know about his bad luck coming up, so also these people were explaining that there are around 20-30 cm of snow on the pass. Nevertheless I cycled ahead, I cant give up so fast, but 500 m ahead the road changed to a mud track and wasn't asphalted any more. Also I was in the frost line now. And again i meet an old man sitting next to the “road” telling me it would be a better idea to go back, but because I still saw some Trucks passing me who were riding up to the pass I was thinking, if they can go across the pass then I also should be able to do that. So I was hoping that the Trucks are riding the whole way up to the pass, and do not stop somewhere to transport for example some wood like in the Transylvanian Alps or do some roadworks somewhere before the pass. The dirt on the street was frozen then, but there was still a small little creek following the road down to the valley. Well everywhere the creek came in contact with the road it was damned icy so I was forced to push the bike up to the pass all the way . All the time I met some trucks and diggers trying to repair the road as good as possible, and the people I saw working there were looking at me like if they have seen an ghost or an alien from an far planet as they saw me. Nevertheless all the time some trucks were passing me up to the pass and now I was really happy about this little traffic here, because they were using chains on their wheels so the ice crust on the road break or was roughen which gives me a better hold for my feet's just my mike was sliding around like crazy while I was pushing it up to the pass. Luckily there were deep ruts on the road because of the trucks and so the bike cannot slide away to much. Once as the road workers blocked the hole street as they were putting a lot of loose stones and dirt on it, I prepared to put down all the baggages to bring them to the other side where I can push my bike again, it was not possible to push the bike with all the luggage on it through this enormous hill of dirt and stones. But a friendly road worker helped me immediately as he saw the problem I was facing, and together with him we were pushing and lifting the bike to the other side so I didn't loose that much time and I don't had to demount all the baggages. Finally I reached the pass which was around 2400 m high. I was fucking glad as I saw that the other side of the pass was much better. The road was in better condition, and there was hardly any ice on it because it was a south sided downhill there, so I was able to ride my bike again . Later also the sun comes which I had not seen since a couple of days. Well I was getting more and more insensible for cold weather during my trip but here I really felt cold again. Well after the pass I came to an area where the people were wearing interesting clothes. The women are dressed with strange hats and everybody is running around wrapped in a blanked with a different pattern from model to model :D.
Also the Chinese language was different, there was a completely other dialect, wich seems to be a language for it own, so I didn't here a Ni Hau, I only heard a strange word which I was not able to pick up. But in one point these people are the same like the people I met before, they are very nosy. And so there was no day where I hadn't a spectator at night when I built up my tent. Well also the hospitality of this people is really great, maybe it was just because they may take pity on me. Well one day, as the weather began to change again there was coming a Chinese to the tent and invited me to stay in his house, as his children visited me before and might informed him about me. Well I disagreed to his invitation , because it was late and I already built up my tent and I wanted to be alone to read in the Bible. But through the night it began to snow, well it was too warm so the snow stay there, but everything was getting very wet and it didn't stop snowing till to the afternoon. So the old man came again in the morning and invited me for breakfast, this time I was accepting his invitation and I really have to say that I was glad about it. His hole family came then to watch the stranger coming by bike. So we were sitting around the fire place in the house and we had a lot of fun although we had some barriers concerning our languages but they learned me some words which was funny, and I was starting singing (Country roads and so on...) and playing my flute. Now I became aware again how good living conditions we have in Europe and that we should be glad about it and should stop complaining about useless things. In China you can have the same comfort in bigger cities, and there is also anything and at least a little more then in our cities, but as you came to the countryside its a complete different world. For example in this house I was invited to there you wont find a chimney, the flue gas is searching its way through the roof, and above the fire place there was hanging the as of a pig where it was curing. The chickens came into the house when it was feeding time. But there was something which you will find in any house, something which seems to be very important, yes it is a satellite antenna and a TV. Well as it stopped snowing in the afternoon I decided to cycle on after I said good bye to my host family. It was going to Xichang, but before Xichang I had to cycle a 3100 m pass, which was because of sun shine and because of a good asphalted road no problem. And again I made a mistake, because I was riding to long to the late evening and so it as getting dark again. I tried to find a camping site, but with headlamp in a area which was crowded with fields it was not possible to find a suitable place. But again god was helping me, and so I found a small little grassland in front of an entrance of an company. Well I didn't want to put my tent over here, because it was too close to the road, and so I was asking the officer who was guarding the entrance if I can put my bike behind the fence on the other side of the entrance gate. He didn't understand any English and so he was calling his boss with his mobile phone. And so he gave me his phone so I could speak to the boss which was thankfully speaking English. And he told me then that he will come in 10 minutes to talk with me. And then the big boss also came, which was a guy from Thailand and so I was invited to a dinner and for a night stay in their guest “flat”, where I fount a shower, a kitchen, a karaoke system, a TV and a huge bed, simply everything. So I cannot believe my luck, for what that was for? On the next morning I got breakfast and as I wanted to give them some money for my stay they didn't accept it and said that this was a big pleasure to bet me. Well the company was producing a dry red wine, which should get quiet good in this area because of the ideal climate. Well also the wines name makes you dream, it was called the “Moon Valley” wine. Well because I was too stupid and didn't take a glass of wine as it was offered to me I cant say how good it is, but maybe I will ask them if they can send me a bottle to Austria one day . Well I was full of energy after this pleasant stay and so I cycled along the main road to the direction of Kunming. One more it should be possible to take a side road which I really was taking then, well I was stupid in doing that. Because this road became a fuckin track again, and so I came to a downhill part which was going down to a river for around 800-1000 m, and there was dust very fine dust with a thickness of 10-15 cm all the way down there. I have never seen something like this before. If it would have been started raining then the chaos would be perfect, but luckily there were just a few raindrops all the time, not real rain. Well it was worse enough, because so the dust came on the baggages like of I would have put some glue on it. On the other side of the valley I had to go up for around 1000 meter but thankfully I found a asphalted road there. Well down to the river and on the way up there, were a lot of mines, and the Chinese people make the mountains here looking like Swiss cheese so may holes are in them. I don't know what they were looking for, is it gold or are there diamonds? Must be definitely something really valuable, because I saw all the time next to the road some holes into the rocks mad by some private people in their hope for the fast and big money. But what was bad in my opinion was the fact, that some fields where vegetables were growing are destructed because of all the mines and the loose material coming out from them. Well then there was a real wonder, as I came to the top of the pass, I saw a Christ church and after it I say a few more churches all the time. And so as I entered a shop and the business man there was asking if I am a Christ, in saying “Christ” to me by pointing at me with his finger gave me some extra cookies for free as I explained that I am a Christ. Well it is sad that I don't speak some more Chinese, but a Xie Xie I had for him which means “thank you”. But it would be very interesting in asking him some questions about how strong his believe in god is. But I believe it was quiet strong, not because he gave me some cookies for free, I was thinking so because he was talking all the time something about god and Jesus. May he find favour in gods eyes who will retaliate what he had done to me hundred times . Well I was riding ahead, and I gut some serious problems with my distinction. My stomach was blown up like a balloon at night ever day and I had no chance to get down the pressure by making a fart or burping to get down the pressure. And if this is not enough I also got a horrible cough which doesn't let me sleep at night. Well but a few days earlier I bought a cough sap which was working like a wonder, because the cough was gone away after two days taking the sap. Only the stomach was not doing right till I arrived in Kunming and all the time I got very bad diarrhoea. Well this is part of travelling, shit happens . Well just a few km before I came to Kunming, there was a tunnel which was not mentioned on my map. Before the tunnel was a traffic sign who shows a bike with a red line through it, so cycling was not allowed there and it also wasn't allowed to ride faster then 15 km/h . But well just before me there was a regional Chinese cyclist who didn't care about the sign and was riding into the tunnel , so I also decided to do so. So I ride my bike as fast as possible through the tunnel, because the air wasn't that good again although there was a good ventilation. I was riding more then 20 km/h but the Trucks and cars still were passing me like if I stay still on the road, which means that nobody cares about the signs before the tunnel. And just as I came out of the tunnel there was coming a police car on the other side of the road, thankfully they don't care about me. Finally I arrived in Kunming where the search for a hotel or hostel starts. But I was not lucky like the last time in Chengdu where a Chinese man brought me to a cheap hostel. And so I was taking my mobile phone to call the Dragon town hostel in Chengdu to ask there if they know a cheap hostel in Kunming, and finally they gave me a number from the Cloud Land hostel here in Kunming where I found a bed for 25 Yen a night in a 10 man room with bunk beds. Here in the hostel I also met an cyclist from England (Hamada Shather) www.kidderminstertothecaspianbybike.blogspot.com and later with him I met 4 girls from England (Rachel Evans, Julie Gompertz, Christine Mead and Hilary Winter)
www.freewheelingtosydney.co.uk which were between 30-40 years also from England. They have been on the road for a few years because before they started the tour to Asia they cycled through Africa. Well now they are just 3 because Hilary stopped cycling to go home for a job. Well the city Kunming has everything Chengdu has and so here are also a lot of huge shopping malls where I was able again to get cheese and bred again. Also cinemas and nice parks you will find here. Very interesting for me was as I entered one of these huge shopping malls, which was an American one, the well known Wal Mart supermarket and I was asking for butter they said they do not have butter. A few days before I always was checking the shelf where I found cheese, here must be butter I was thinking and because I might haven't seen it I was checking it a few times, well in fact there was no butter . One day later I found butter in the shelf next to the cheese. I don't know if it was because of my wish, indeed it was a welcome wonder and a nice Christmas present for me, becasue it was the 24.12.06 (The day as I found butter ). Well on the second day in Kunming I started to organize the Visas for the next few countries (Vietnam, Laos and Thailand). Luckily the embassy from Thailand and Vietnam were so friendly and accepted copies of my passport because I had to leave mine on the embassy of Laos. So they promised to me that they will prepare everything for me so I don't have to wait 4 or 5 days. Well and then I started to do a small huge homepage update again which should be done with this report and the pictures. Well after I will have all the visas I will go to the south on the fastest way where I will search for a nice beach to have a birthday party for my own, as lonely as Christmas 06, which I spent in updating my homepage and playing some Quake 4 .

Well its strange but the last time there was much more to report but this report was getting quiet big in comparison to the previous 007 report, well it might be because if you write a report after a short time you go somehow more into the depth.

Well so far, so good, till to the next time when its said "News from the road 009" from Vietnam, Laos or Thailand, who knows, who knows......


I wish you all some nice festive days and a happy and good new 2007. Dont drink too much so you dont need to puke .

The loneliness in these days hurts me hard, although I was thinking I would be the born lone wolf, but these days I think more often about my family and friends I left behind at home then ever before. But all these days will pass by and luckily I found friends on any place on this planet reassuring me and bring down my misery.