Cycling in Asia
We leave Shangri-La and find quiet roads towards the Tiger Leaping Canyon. There are not many people in this area and it’s quiet with a few heavy climbs in between and some great views on white peaks in the distance. The Tibetan flat-roofed white houses disappear and make way for decorative Chinese ones.
We leave Litang and cycle over high mountain passes and pass many Tibetan villages. I always thought Tibet was like a high plain, but it’s up and down and up and down. A cutting wind chills our faces, but we enjoy every moment in the mountains. By order of the police we stay one night with a Tibetan family and we visit a monastery without monks!
As soon as we leave Kanding we start climbing towards the first 4000+ meter pass of this cycling adventure in China. Clouds are rolling in and soon we have rain, at 3600 meter it changes into snow and at 4000 meter we are pedaling through a snow storm. There’s nothing here, so we are forced to pitch our tent by the side of the road. Luckily for us, traffic is also stranded, so it’s a quiet but cold night…
On our way to the Tibetan plateau we should have brought some earplugs! Oh, the Chinese blow their horns as many time as they breath! Weather it means ‘get out of here’ or ‘hi there stranger’ I’m not sure, but for the sake of it I’ll just move…
A short holiday, just two weeks away from our busy lifes in the Netherlands. We start our adventure in Singapore and sweat our way through the jungle in Malaysia and up to the Camaron Highlands. It’s all about palm trees here! And a very happy ending…
Sometimes the unexpected happens.., and sometimes it’s a little too much adventure to your liking. While walking around in Xiahe, Elmars knees suddenly swoll and started to hurt real badly. The pain even extended to his wrists and ankles… this story is a summery of what happened on our cycling adventure during a 3-month sabbatical.
I find myself deeply tucked away into my coat. My hat almost hiding my eyes, only the tip of my nose is visible and facing the cold air. In front of me is Elmar cycling exactly in the same way. The snow is blowing horizontally, straigth into our faces. I feel the flocks melt on my cheeks.
When we arrive in Xi’an Elmar isn’t feeling very well, he has a fever and the usual stomach problems. I know it’s not right, but seeing all these Western fastfood restaurants… we can’t help ourselves after eating that Stan food for two months!
Dust in my ears.
Dust in my nose.
Dust in my eyes.
We drink water out of a dust covered water bottle.
Dust on our chain.
Dust on our clothes.
It’s nine o’clock in the evening. We are sitting on a bench near the river, the sun has set and the sky is pitch black with millions of stars. We pull the blanket a bit tighter around us. Svetlana and her two daughters join us, to check if ‘it’s’ already visible. We have absolutely no clue what we are supposed to see, but it must be special. A few minutes later the girls start to jump up and down and point towards an opening between two rocks. A bright star shines exactly in the opening. Aha! Time to hit the sack and get warm!