Photo Blog

Xingshubanna rainforest

My favorite kinda sign

Puer Countryside

Chinese roads at their finest

Lunch with Lily and her family

Nice little waterfall

Lunch

Mmmm fried potatoes

Yi food in Chuxiong

This surface made for a long 50km on the way to Xingyun

Bill and his wife

Picking cilantro for the noodle soup in the morning

The old city in Xingyun

On the road to Dali

Fried bread with sweetness inside

I like bicycles

Erhai lake near Dali

Dali countryside

Around Dali

Working on getting one of these sent to Timberhaven for you Dad

The Road from Chuxiong to Dali

 
I have spent the last few day here basically relaxing and enjoying having conversations with other English speakers.  I was suppose to leave today and yesterday but neither really worked out, but tomorrow the 30th is the likely day of departure towards Lijiang and from there climbing over 4000 meters to Litang near the Tibet border where I will try really hard not to sneak into Tibet.

Just to clear things up for my mother, yes people are still being kind to me, except the bathroom keeper in Dali. I went to use the public toliets in the city and was immediately berated by a man sitting outside. Apparently, I was suppose to pay, but there was no sign so how was to know. I decided after being yelled at that I longer needed the bathroom and defiantly was not giving that man 1Y for his toliets.  Plus Chinese public toliets have been some of the worse I have ever encountered in my young life. For example, I have never had to squat over a trough before in a line of ladies.  The only way to I can use the public "holes" here is too hold my breath, close my eyes, and hope for the best!

On a differet note, I was able to connect with a Chinese cyclist (Bill) through couchsurfing and stay a night with him and his family Xingyun.  When I arrived in Xingyun I called Bill to find a meeting point and he told me to stand in the middle of the street and he would find me, sure enough I did and he found me shortly after.  I followed him to his house where I was welcomed as part of the family it felt really good to be in a family atmosphere and not a dingy Chinese guesthouse.  His wife cooked an amazing dinner and we shared beers including his 11 year old daughter, apparently beer is not alcohol in China.  Bill was super helpful in drawing me a map for the next days ride to Dali and giving me helpful info about the ins and outs of Chinese.  I was relieved that I had yet to do anything culturally offensive yet, at least that I know of.

The cycling will continue high up into the mountains on dirt roads and I am super excited for them.  I never really thought I would enjoy China this much from the scenerary to the people and especially the food. Maybe I will just have to come back and teach English here.

Jenna Lee

Photo Blog

Woo! Chiang Rai!!

Later Thailand!

Road-side snack

Laos countryside

Life is not easy

Looking for dinner

China looms

Staying dry

Chinese tuk tuk

Tea anyone?

My favorite picnic spot thus far

Traffic jam

Nothing but the best!

19 days, 1464 kms

I have now been on the road for almost three weeks and it seems the time is flying by especailly since I often lose track of the date and the days of the week. I have now been in China for almost 11 days and after the intial adjustment period things are coming together as I am feeling more and more comfortable here.  My Chinese language skills are pretty much non existent but I have been trying and can now sucessfully order some food, find a room, and understand the numbers pretty well.  However, it gets a bit difficult when I am staying in remote areas where they all speak different Chinese dialects.  My favorite ethnic group so far were the Dai in the Xishuangbanna region, because they speak a language similar to Nothern Thai so I was able to half communicate with them!  As for the hospitality of the Chinese as a whole I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, I do get lots of wierd looks and stared at especailly in the small towns, but when I have stopped to ask to for help or needed something they have only been kind to me.  When I do enter the small towns I get the feeling I arrived at a party that I was not invited too as everything seems to stop, including the intense card games, and all eyes are on me :)  Good thing I like attention!  The old ladies with the gold teeth probably have been favorite so far, because when they discover I am solo then begin lecturing me. My translation of what they are saying is "Honey you have way to pretty of a face to be go'in out there on your own!"  But thats just me.

As for cycling, it has been great so far and seems to just keep getting better.  There are lots of mountains thats for sure but I no longer wonder if I will climb it, I just ask myself when I will take it on.  At this point my body is fit and the big climbs do not intimidate me I just take them nice and slow and remind myself there is a top somewhere.  When I do reach the top there is no better feeling then coming down excpet when the temperture drops, the rain starts, and I am in Chacos haha. That was the last day  I wore my Chacos as my feet were numb by the time I reached the bottom. I learned quickly that cycling in the mountains can bring about abrupt changes in the weather and scenary. I have have cycled through rainforests, along river valleys, down into canyons, and high above in pine tree and tea country. I always know I am getting close to the top when I start eyeing the tea plantations and pine trees.

Up until now I have not had any major problems.  Most of problems come from trying to navigate my way out of the big cities onto the correct road.  Coming out of Puer, I could not find the utility road for bicyles just the highway. I was bored of trying to find it so I figured I would try my luck on the highway hoping they would let me pass because well I am a foreigner and we are not very smart sometimes. Of course as I went through the toll both alarms stared sounding and a man chased me down. I cooly pulled out my map played dumb and asked for directions to the utility road, which he gave me all in Chinese andd I half understood them and made my way to the correct road haha!  Or as I did a couple days back I get on the complete wrong road and do not figure this out until after cycling 80km, but at least it was in the semi right direction now I am just not going to Kunming anymore because I do not feel like back tracking.  This turned out to be a good mistake as the road I have been on has been spectatular especailly my 30 km decent along the rim on the canyon with birds racing along with me. Of course I made the accent of the same degree today, but that only means that tomorrow I get to go down again I hope :)

Up to this point of my little escapade, I feel this is one of my best ideas in my young life.  Being on a bicyle lets you see everything up close and interact with the people on the daily basis whether you want to or not,  its not watching life go by from a bus or train window.  I am able to stop and go as I please, basically I make all the decisions. I am truly the boss lady!

Special thanks to Ms. Castellani my official blog updater!

Chiang Mai to Luang Nam Tha

I have now been on the road for one week exactly and arrived in Mengla, China this afternoon. As for China, the countryside is beautiful, however the cities will take some adjusting too, put it this way if looks could kill, I would  already be dead.

If the rest of the weeks go as smoothly as the first one did it will be clear sailing from here on out.  I headed north out of Chiang Mai on May 3rd towards Chiang Rai. The first couple days were relatively uneventful except for the amazing tan lines I am forming.  It took about half way through the first day for me to realize I am holiday for next seven months as I laid down to take a nap on a bench inside a national park. I continued on to small town about 86 kms outside of Chiang Mai and just south of The Cabbages and Condoms resort where their motto is:  "We promise you won't get knocked up here."  The next day I cycled the remaining 114 km to Chiang Rai.

The cycling to Chiang Rai was not that great, but maybe thats because I have been spoiled by Thailand.  However, as I left Chiang Rai towards Mengrai I was able top take the backroads thanks to a nice lady in Chiang Rai who gave me great directions taking me on the 1152 towards Mengrai. I stayed at a nice family run resort on the outskirts of MengRai going towards Chiang Kong on the 1174.  After Mengrai I made my way 60km to the border and officially said good bye to Thailand and hello to Beer Lao. I had no problems at the border, the boat guys were very helpful in loading my bags and bike on the boat at no extra charge. 

Once in Laos the pace immediately slows down and brings a smile to my face.  I spent most of the afternoon in Huay Xai eating, sleeping and preparing for the 180km to Luang Nam Tha.  The next morning, I thankfully grabbed a couple sandwiches and fruit for the road as there are very few options for food and water the next 70 km once you leave Huay Xai and there are a couple big climbs.  The sun was brutal this day as was the cycling and the theme of the day was "Man that's gotta be the top!"  The freshwater springs coming down the mountains were lifesavers as the provided water and a quick rinse, because there was very little shade on this route and the roads were a mix of gravel, dirt, and pavement.  I ended up cycling 120 km this day and the biggest climb of the day started at kilometer 75 haha.  The day was straining but the people along the way keep your spirits up. The truck drivers and construction workers were my biggest fans no suprise there really.  The locals were great too always greeting me with a smile and Sabadee, Hello, Bye...  At the end of the day after 8.5 hrs on the bike and just before dark I landed in Viengphoukha at Thong My Xai Guesthouse.  The lady brought me fried rice and a Beer Lao right to my table on the porch overlooking the river and its probably the best fried rice and beer I have ever tasted.  I highly reccomend this place for people around the area who want a day to relax and lay in the hammock by the river,which is what I did the following day before heading to Luang Nam Tha.

The next day was an easy 60km to Luang Nam Tha where I spent the day preparing for China as I set to completerly leave my comfort zone. I will be honest I sat at the Laos border today and stared at China and was wondering if I really wanted to leave the lovely peopl of Laos.  I took the plunge though and now I am here for the next 60 days. Let the adventure truly begin!

Why?

I have been asked this question over a 100 times since I made the decision to cycle my way from Thailand to the UK. My first response is laughter followed by "for the adventure" or simply "I want to."  This journey will challenge me both mentally and physically and I look forward to it all.  There will be amazing days and not so good days, I am confident the good days will out number the bad ones. 

At this point the preparation is almost complete, however I am not sure you can ever feel completely prepared for something like this.  In my kit I have clothes for all the elements mother nature will throw at me plus spare parts for the bicycle and camping equipment. I feel I can fix most problems with my bike, but I am still unsure if I really will be able to mend a broken spoke or some unforeseen malfunction.  I am sure the most difficult repairs will come in the most remote place where its only me to fix the problem. I look forward to this and hope I am resourceful enough to fix it and move on even it does mean crying under a tree before regaining composure and tackling the issue. 

My wheels

My loyal mechanic/teacher in Chiang Mai

        One of the major goals of this trip, besides survival, is to keep this blog updated as much as possible with stories of adventure and the complete strangers who will help along the way while welcoming me into their community or house.  I have a strong faith in humanity and this faith gives me the confidence that this adventure can be completed before the end of 2011.