Passing the Red Reiver in the can now heading to rice terraces near Nanshan, just 148k from the Vietnam border.

We stopped for roadside mangoes from the local Hani women sellers. I ate four! Fantastic!

Driving uphill a long distabce, the van overheated, worried it had died for good! With help of 3 other guys, we had to push it uphill out of this dangerous curve where it died. Hard work even with six of us pushing!!! Ken put in a couple gallons of water in it and eventually it started up like magic!

BUT, then a mile farther up the road, it became apparent that the radiator lost all it’s water again, so we are again at a pause in driving lane on this narrow road. I’m waiting to see what magic is next! At least it’s not raining!!!!!!

The van is broken sure. We are now on a local rattletrap bus heading up a steep road through very green lush valleys. The higher we go, the denser the fog. I have been assured there will be no extra charge for this additional adventure! Our destination is a large market in this former capital town. This area is populated by Hani people, who have very fancy traditional clothing; multi color embroidery on black clothing. Most of the women here are dressed in these spectacularly colorful outfits, though in this pea soup fog it’s hard to see more than 20 ft!

We’ve transferred to a taxi for the next 23k up to the large market, that hopefully will be fog-less.

This market was smaller today due to weather, but still plenty of fruits, vegetables, ducks and pigs slaughtered onsite, tobacco, stinky tofu and many other of the usual suspects in a Chinese market.

After a market walk in the rain where we were certainly most novel thing to be seen, we had a great lunch of many plates including mushrooms and green onions, cabbage, beef with mint!!!!, pork with capsicum, and very fresh sautéed bran sprouts; a beer, shot of rice wine steeped in plums and herbs. I didn’t have the cajones to try the rice wine steeped in giant hornets…

Now in a rickety taxi van back down to the next town where we will overnight and hopefully ride among the beautiful rice terraces, similar to Longhi where I was a few years ago. That is, if this dense fog and heavy rain ever stops!

Said final goodbyes at breakfast; me, Paul and Kathryn set off with Jah an Ken for our three day extension. Still raining…

We drove 3.5 hours to ZH’s Garden Hotel in Jiangshui. There is a world heritage site nearby called Tuan Shuan, the historical home if the Zhang family. During Mao’s cultural revolution, it was taken away from the Zhang’s and given to the village farmers. This was commonly done all over China; the big beautiful properties of the wealthy were given away to a village cooperative, and the previous owners cast out to fend for themselves. Still raining…

After huge lunch, we rode about 390k round trip visiting another UNESCO ancient complex today. What is more interesting is the hotel were staying was originally an old private garden and home covering a large space of many acres. Like Shaxi, the place is over four hundred years old.

In a way I think I get jaded a little when I’ve seen so much old stuff. But today we saw done carved wooden doors at that place that were truly spectacular. Also saw a bridge built in the 1600’s. And this town is known for pottery, and it’s really cool and beautiful stuff.

Tonight at din we had a spicy pork soup. It was hot hot hot! And probably the most exciting meal I’ve had here. Also pickled lotus root, broccoli, green beans, corn, and roasted duck. All of it was very good!

That night, felt proud when I got that last mosquito buzzing inside my netted bed!

A limited blog today…

Drove five hours back to Kunming, which is a major city of a couple million. Not a beautiful city on first impression. Raining…

Of note were the very realistic life size dummy of a cop standing beside the highway, encouraging the speed limit. Bizarre…

We got into town, checked into hotel, then quickly out to see the flower and bird markets nearby. Not spectacular, but the many species of birds for sale was interesting. And when was the last time you saw squirrels in cages for sale? Still raining…

The final dinner was nice; but I think some folks were happy to be done. Two weeks of Chinese food (oily veggies), language (loud at all hours), smells (stenches), traffic (horns constantly), spitting (with deep hacking up a lung, and toilets (oh the humanity) is significant!

We all exchanged emails, and they all were definitely people I’d be happy to cycle adventure with again. All in all, a great group.

My china adventure continues a couple more days with a smaller group. Still raining…

After a quiet night at the not so grand Er Yuan Hot Springs Resort, I woke up to a cacophony of birds singing their morning symphony. I recorded a few minutes of it…

Out to breakfast (now a little weary of noodles and oily veggies for breakfast) and then onto the bikes for the final 55k of biking. Yesterday, we were nasty filthy on arrival, riding through both pavement and dirt. Today promised more of the same. Actually, I drafted behind the lead car for much of the ride, so while it was wet and dirty and cold, it wasn’t particularly difficult, neither was it particularly scenic. It’s difficult to top those earlier mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge days.

Andy and I rode together for most of it. He had lots to say about his prior day of getting lost; feels Jah shares blame. I listened… But mostly we talked about the fascinating state of Thailand politics; the current “reconciliation” debate which would essentially pardon Thaksen for all his crimes and allow him to return from exile. I remember when I got stuck in Thailand when the red shirts took over the airport a few years back. After that, 91 people were killed in violence in Bangkok. The intricacies and factions that Andy spoke about were so interesting. We both agreed that the US is fed too little international news, and that Al Jazeera has become a most respected news outlet, while American networks and Fox, CNN, and the like are too unbalanced and insular to be worthwhile sources for understanding the state of world politics.

We arrived Dali around noon, making the bike run pretty nonstop. Only two of us completed the full 55k as people kept dropping off due to various reasons.

A quick shower, then off to a little shop for lunch. Most of these little places display the available vegetables out front and some of the displays are gorgeous.

At our lunch spot, Andrea Germany noted that the old guy cutting up the veggies had a cigarette in his mouth. That started a whole discussion about smoking in public; China vs everywhere else. It seems that about 50% of people smoke, and they do it just about anywhere; about the same percentage seems to be hacking up lugies just about anywhere too. What’s most funny to me about this very common public pattern is you’ll hear a big ol’ deep throated hack coming from what seems like the depths of someone’s soul, and when you look, more often then not the world class hacker will be a woman.

Dali has an “ancient” town that is full of shops; tons of interesting stuff for sale; even western style espresso shops. Aaaahhh, an espresso is a true delight after days of Nescafé instant!

Have I mentioned that it is impossible to find floss here??? What simple things we so easily take for granted…

I experienced shopping brain freeze with so much available. I did purchase a few more gifts, but was stalwart in not purchasing any more textiles since I already din in Lijiang.

Still raining, we all met for dinner, then off our separate ways. I was hanging with Kathryn, Paul, and Kathy, but Paul and Kathryn were in shopping mode again, and I needed a break from that. Jah and Jimmy had earlier talked about going to Bad Monkey Bar, so Kathy and I headed there. Never saw them, but had a drink there among the eclectic collection of locals, dreadlocks, and westerners.

Back at the hotel by 10 for a quiet sleep and mentally preparing for the five hour drive to Kunming marking nearly the end of this very interesting and rewarding trip.

Day 12 – Xia Shan Kou – Dali This morning is the last riding day as we head to the historical town of Dali (1900 m). Cycling along a flat paved road between the towering Canshan Mountain range and Er Hai Lake, we should arrive in Old Dali in time for a late lunch. This fascinating town is home to the Bai people, one of the nation’s largest minorities and once the centre of the powerful 8th-century Nanzhao Kingdom. Dali is an ex-traordinary town to explore with its gated city walls, bustling old streets and lakeside setting. In the 16th Century, Dali was an important gateway for cultural exchange and trading with Southeast Asian countries. Today, it is a melting pot of different ethnic groups, reflected aptly in its amazing architecture, cobbled streets and colorful markets. Landscape Hotel. Ride 55 km. B L D

With the previous night’s festivities fully present in my sore head, it was a hard start this morning. I am not and have never been a fan of cycling in the rain, and it has been coming down steady since sometime last night.

Leaving Shaxi, we rode out along a river valley past many farms and terraced fields. This is planting season, so everyone is busily working the fields. We are seeing more and more rice grown as water is plentiful in this region, but many other crops too.

We rode 47k to lunch, then transferred in the van up high, and the temperature has become uncomfortably cool! With the rain, clouds and fog prevail and I’m certain there is a spectacular view if we could only see it. As it turned out, everyone elected to stay in the van for the 22k downhill, except Kathy NZ since she brought a full complement of rain gear and stated her determination to use it! Totally socked in now, the weather is cold and very rainy. By the time we arrived, everyone was totally soaked, cold, and filthy.

Andy (Brit married to a Thai in Chiang Mai) is the serious cyclist. So today’s plan was to ride 47k; have lunch; ride in the van 22k up a steep hill; then cycle down 23k and a final 15k flat to the hotel. Andy wanted to ride the whole thing. Keeping this short; Andy got lost somehow and got in several hours after us. He was totally pissed feeling that Jah somehow failed him. We all think that is a risk you take when you set off on your own. Maybe his cranky will subside by the morning.

What do you envision when you hear “hot springs?” A beautiful resort with natural features abounding? A place of rest and perhaps a spa- like atmosphere? Maybe a place you could get a well earned massage? How about an older hotel beside the road that has a swimming pool heated with hot spring water? Oh yeah, baby. It was the latter. I think we had this idea of something a lot more elegant… Not so, and kinda funny in a “what were we thinking” kinda way.

Had a typical dinner here in this small roadside town; really getting ready for something different. Oily veggies have become somehow less appealing. Tomorrow, an early start for 45k to Dali; a larger city.

Kathy NZ just found out today that they were approved to purchase another farm for over $6m so she was all excited about that.

Otherwise, no major dramas today. Took very few pix due to the rain. I think the cold wet weather has kinda dampened my mood just a bit… Hoping for weather improvement tomorrow! No pix due to rain!

Day 11 – Shaxi to Shan Kou We start with another beautiful day of riding on the once very busy tea horse caravan route. The road was used by the horse caravans transporting tea and salt between villages and they went as far as to Tibet and India. We will follow the Heihui River and pass through some interesting villages. It’s f;at. Easy riding for 47 k, to Liantie Town, our lunch place. After lunch we will be transferred to the mountain pass at 3022 m. There is an exhilarating 22 km downhill on the other side. We will ride for 10 km and end the day in Xia Shan Kou where we can soothe our sore muscles in the famous hot springs. Er Yuan Hot Springs Hotel. Ride 90 km. B L D

Pickled chicken feet
Plum wine
Beer

Need I say more?

Wow, what a great day in Shaxi…. I took a ridiculously long ride on our so-called rest day; up into the national park Shi Bao Sun Mountain. I lost the rest of the gang behind me on the hill, so was on my own for six hours of pleasant riding and exploring; visiting the 600 yr old stone carvings in the caves; enjoying spectacular views from up there, probably 1000ft above the valley floor. Because the road into the park is only one way and I didn’t want to ride out the same way, I chose to walk down the mountain on a steep path with hundreds of steps. Fine, except down the two hours trail carrying my bike for at least half of it; an exhausting but fun day! I was very exposed to the sun, so used some unusual means to cover my face… Such beautiful views from up there. I finally made it back to town to find the others worried I had been missing so long.

I showered and walked over to find a cold beer, and Jimmy (Singapore) joined me. Sharing a beer and some pickled chicken feet that were surprisingly tasty, we got to talking about world politics, and especially Asian historical perspectives, world politics, the Chinese view of the USA, Asian views on many things…a very fascinating and enlightening discussion. I surreptitiously recorded about 30 minutes of our chat; anxious to listen to it when I get back. One thing to note: if you represented the world population by a value of 100; 57 would be Asian and all the peoples of North America combined would only be six!!! I often think that Americans do frequently fail to understand there is a whole world out there that does not revolve around the USA.

Then, out to dinner with the gang; was just ok. After din, had a Chinese version of a Magnum ice cream, then back to the hotel as the rain started about 9pm.

After that was the true highlight of the day! I wandered onto the little square there, meeting up at the little local bar (run by the young woman we saw at dinner two nights ago) with Jah, Ken, Mr Wong, Jimmy and three women they had met from Taipei, Hong Kong, and Beijing.

What a great fun time that was!!! Drinking beer and plum wine, it was fascinating to be part of that truly international gang talking and laughing about so many things uncommon to my experience. Trying to understand everything spoken in mixes if Cantonese and English was a thrill; so many differences, so many commonalities. And I am rather slow moving this morning as a result…

Day 10 – Shaxi Village Rest Day Shaxi started as a trading point of tea and horses during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). The prosperity of the town was at its heights during the Ming and Qing dyn-asties (1368 – 1912). This is probably the most intact horse caravan town on the Ancient tea route leading from Yunnan into Burma and Tibet. The Sideng market square of the town of Shaxi was added to the World Monuments Watch List of Most Endangered Sites in 2001.Today is a rest day in this interesting little town. This old town nestled in a valley is a perfect place to explore the surrounding vil-lages and countryside. Lao Mandian Hotel.