Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 3 of 12 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 118
  1. #21 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    C-Moto Regular
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Tianjin
    Posts
    93
    Made it into Zhongwei, Ningxia yesterday and am taking a day off to rest up.

    I'm loosely planning to get into Kunming on June 17th and taking roughly 14 days to do the route through Xining - Yushu - Sichuan/Tibetan border - Zhongdian/Lijiang/Dali/Kunming.

    I'm using a Canon G12 that I picked up just for this trip.. still trying to learn how to use it - so I pretty much just use Auto and Landscape modes.. (although I discovered the Super Vivid Mode just in time to 'bring out the green' in the grasslands!)

    Day 5: Inner Mongolia: Hohhot to Wudang Zhao

    After resting the previous day, I woke up early and headed for the grasslands north of Hohhot. The road north of the city was mountainous, traffic was light, and the weather was perfect.

    The road twisted out of Hohhot:



    After decsending out of the mountains the terrain flattened out and after an hour or so of riding I entered the grasslands. Some areas have become tourist destinations where you can sleep in a yurt, ride horses, and sing Mongolian KTV. Hoping to avoid these spots, I rode until I saw an open plain and rode on in:



    I saw a herd of horses in the distance and set out for them. They let me ride up pretty close, but as soon as I got off the bike to take a picture, they took off!



    These guys on the other hand, moved a lot slower:



    A yurt and something that may or may not have been covered in prayer flags:



    After chasing the horses around for awhile, I had worked up an appetite and went looking for lunch. I saw a couple guys on motorcycles sitting on the side of the road and asked where I could go to eat. They asked if I wanted to ride a horse, and I told them I only ride Iron Horses. I'm not sure they got the joke. One of the guys asked if I wanted to eat at his house, thinking that this could be a cool experience, I followed him on his motorcycle... straight into one of the tourist yurt camps. Oh well!:



    I was brought into a yurt, where this little number presented herself:



    I obliged with a belly rub, not realizing in Mongolian culture I had apparently conscented to marriage. We were wed shortly thereafter in a simple ceremony:



    Full stomach and newly wed, I decided to go off in search of villages in the middle of the grasslands area. After weaving around for a bit, I came across a wind farm:



    And then this little beauty of a road:



    The road, or actually series of dirt paths, led past a number of half abandoned villages:



    The GPS quickly became useless, and I remembered reading a thread here somewhere that proposed the Theory of Following Power Lines:



    The power lines led past some more half abandoned villages:



    And then came out on this perfectly paved new road.. in the middle of nowhere:



    The new road led past another wind farm:



    A village in the shadow of wind turbines:



    Eventually I made it back out to a bigger road and set a course for Wu Dang Zhao, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. The road wound back towards and then followed the mountains:



    I made good time to the monastery, despite a couple unexpected detours - inexplicably being forced off of a perfectly good new road and into a dust bowl full of trucks, only to wind back around to the perfectly good road again. This, unfortunately, seems to be a common theme, one that would be repeated a couple days later. Hoping to spend the night in the monastery, I rushed to make it just before they closed, only to find out that visitors can't stay in the monastery, only at a little hotel next door. But all's well that end's well, as the hotel was a family run operation and everyone was incredibly friendly. And after a long chat with the husband and wife and a good dinner with four new friends that immediately invited me to their table, I called it a night.
    Last edited by Pat; 05-26-2011 at 12:13 PM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #22 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    C-Moto Regular
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Tianjin
    Posts
    93
    Day 6: Inner Mongolia: Wu Dang Zhao to Dongsheng

    The evening before, I had wound my way through the mountains looking for Wu Dang Zhao monastery, and coming around the final bend the monastery came into view:



    Every morning at 7 AM the Lamas say their morning prayers. I set the alarm for 6:30 and walked out to the monastery. It was crisp and clear, and I was the only one around. At 7:00 sharp, the Lamas came out and started:



    The monastery itself didn't open for another hour and a half, so I followed a path up the nearby mountain to get a better view:



    Once the monastery opened, I started wandering around. As I came out of one of the halls, Lama Bill accosted me with the all-to-familiar "Hello!" and we started chatting. I asked him how long he had been a monk, and he corrected me saying he wasn't a monk, but a Lama. He was Mongolian, in his mid-twenties and a student at the monastery. Of the forty monks, more than half were there to study. He was excited to graduate soon and was planning on studying for a Ph.D. at a monastery in Qinghai:



    He brought me around to the back of the monastery and to his room. The room had two bunk beds, we sat on one of them and his fellow classmates/Lamas came in one by one and gathered around us. Their ages ranged from twelve up to their early thirties. One smiling Lama told me he was planning to ride his bike to Beijing once he graduated. We continued to chat for awhile, until their teacher walked up outside and starting glaring through the window. The twelve year old Lama practically fell out of his seat, jumping up and standing at attention - hoping to avoid his teacher's wrath. Bill quickly said they had to go, but that he'd text me later, and like that the Lamas filed out to class. Alone again, I went back outside wandered around the rest of the monastery. The Lama's living quarters:



    By the time I finished wandering around the monastery and had lunch, it was already closing in on 1:00. Given the success of wandering around the grasslands the day before, I set a course for Xiang Sha Wan - which had been compared to the Sahara. I knew it was probably a tourist trap, but I was hoping once I got nearby I'd be able to find nearby roads to ride through.

    You never know what oddity will be around the next corner:



    Picturing a sea of sand stretching as far as the eye could see, I was disappointed to find out that, while beautiful, it was more of a band of "clean" desert amidst the surrounding grown over desert area. And it had indeed been converted into a tourist trap. Gondola rides, lama rides, and sand surfing for the low, low price of 300 kuai! This picture is deceiving:



    I was even more disappointed to see that there weren't any nearby roads I could take that would let me ride through the desert. It'll have to come another day (and hopefully that day will be tomorrow!).

    It was starting to get late, so I headed towards Dongsheng, a rich, rich city full of new cars and new buildings, found a hotel, and called it a day.
    Last edited by Pat; 05-26-2011 at 12:12 PM.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #23 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    Danger, Will Robinson! Lao Jia Hou's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Canada/Europe/Asia
    Posts
    1,728
    Great, great RR Pat. Fantastic pics and entertaining narrative.

    Where's your new bride? You didn't do a "runner" after consummating the marriage, did you? If so, you better keep moving, quickly

    Hope the Qingqi is purring away.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  4. #24 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Pat,

    Thanks for sharing your nuptials and fantastic ride. Envy, Envy, Envy!

    By the way, the G11/G12 functions best not in auto mode but in P (program) mode, which allows you manage the flash yourself. If you have only the Chinese operators manual, I think I can show you where to download it in English.

    To be honest, I don't think you actually need that super saturation for the colors. That camera is great at capturing natural color just as it is.

    Pix are awesome. Keep 'em coming, and ride safe!

    cheers
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  5. #25 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    C-Moto Noob
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Athens
    Posts
    9
    Be safe Pat. I'll be following your progress.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #26 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NoVA
    Posts
    2,540
    Beautiful report and looks like you're having fun! You couldn't take you new wife with you?


    CC
    ---------------------------------------------------
    Subscribe to the hippest, most happeneing Adventure Motorcycle Magazine around!
    Adventure Motorcycle Dual Sport News Magazine

    Help support MCM!! Buy "The Return - Riding Western China" DVD! -

    http://www.motocyclops.com/buydvd/

    Personal China travel info, photo and video site:

    http://www.carlparker.com

    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #27 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    C-Moto Regular
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Tianjin
    Posts
    93
    Made it into Xiahe, Gansu this afternoon. It's an amazing little place. The weather has gotten a bit dicey, but if it holds, I'll be heading for Xining tomorrow.

    Thanks for camera tip Euphonius, I took some shots today in 'P' mode and am eager to get them on the computer to see how they look. I was able to download an English manual on Canon's website.. now just need to find the time to read it!

    Day 7 - Inner Mongolia: Dongsheng to Ningxia border

    After only making it rougly 150 km the previous day, I was eager to cover more ground. I jumped on the G109, the same road I had taken out of Beijing, and headed west out of Dongsheng. The terrain was flat and arrid. I spent most of the day riding through desert areas - not pure sand - but with some vegetation.



    At times, the G109 was great, and at other times, it was great, but for some unknown reason closed for (nonexistant) "construction." At these points, I had to jump off the road into dusty bypasses:



    Here and there, the road was blocked by cones (or more often stacks of rocks), which were easy enough to simply go right through. Although ignoring the cones on one end meant I may hit one of these on the other end:




    Fortunately, there was usually *some* way around:




    When I couldn't find a way around, I had to take the bypasses. Often which required riding through half a foot of dust. They didn't teach "Riding Through Sand" at my Chinese motocycle license "classes" - and while riding through loose dirt, the bike would slide all over the place. At one bypass, the dust was especially thick, I was in the wrong gear, and all of the sudden I found myself standing with the bike lying on the ground below me:




    I tried to lifting the bike - first with my legs and then with my back - all to no avail. I walked down to the road and the first car I waved at pulled over. Two men jumped out, we climbed back up to my bike, and the three of us picked it back up no problem. They helped me push it down to the road and went on their way. I looked over the bike, didn't see anything wrong, and jumped back on the road.

    I continued to hit bypasses, and started taking them as slow as the bike would let me. On one particularly long bypass, I went past a taxi cab driver trying to shovel his stuck taxi out (in the distance:)





    I'd rather slalom through rocks than leave road for the dirt, even with the all-to-familiar oncoming trucks and plumes of dust in their wake. Here, I stopped to brace for the coming dust storm:




    Eventually I hit the S216 and happily left my old friend the G109 behind. A bit worn out, I stopped for lunch in the next small town. While eating, the sky turned from blue to gray as a band of storm clouds rolled in. The waitresses assured me that in this area when it rains, it quickly passes. I sat and watched the storm clouds from the restaurant window.. but despite the ominous look, it didn't rain. Still wanting to make up ground, I decided to chance it. And sure enough, after not 20 minutes on the road I felt a few sprinkles:




    I could see clear skies in the distance, and so I raced on, hoping to dodge the weather. Luckily, I was able to get clear of the clouds before it really opened up. The terrain continued to be flat and arrid as I made my way towards Ningxia.

    Sheep crossing:




    Closing in on 400 km for the day, I hit a small city on the border with Ningxia and decided to spend one last night in Inner Mongolia before entering a new province. Ningxia could wait for tomorrow!
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #28 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    Danger, Will Robinson! Lao Jia Hou's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Canada/Europe/Asia
    Posts
    1,728
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat View Post


    Little Miss Qingqi has an expression on her fairing-face ...

    "I can't take any more of this sand ... please Mr. Pat I need a rest! Just let me rest for 15 minutes"

    Another great update Pat - thanks!
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #29 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    C-Moto Regular
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Tianjin
    Posts
    93
    Day 8: Inner Mongolia - Zhongwei, Ningxia

    In the morning I got on the S302 and headed towards Zhongwei, Ningxia. Before long I reached Yanchi, the first city in Ningxia. I had crossed the border at some point, but it wasn't obvious I was in a new province as the terrain continued to be relatively flat and arrid. Once I realized I was in Ningxia, I saw an access road up to a cell tower, so I rode up and took a picture.

    Ningxia:




    A little further up the road was an opportunity to take the mandatory picture of a massively overloaded tractor:




    Some areas were deeply eroded, it probably doesn't take much water to cut through the dirt:



    It soon became obvious that I was no longer in Inner Mongolia. Ningxia is an automous region for the Hui people who are largely Muslim, and soon I started to pass mosques along the road.

    A mosque, blue skies, and windmills:




    Another mosque:




    I was also started passing a lot of Hui villages, the men wearing their white hats and women with covered heads:




    As I got deeper into Ningxia there was actually some elevation. A train passing in the distance:




    And then I saw this guy! I had heard about these cop statues used to police remote areas, and finding one absolutely made my day:





    After snapping this picture, instinct kicked in, and I jumped back on the bike and ran! After I was sure the cop wasn't in pursuit, I stopped for lunch. At the restaurant they seated me at a table for eight, which quickly filled up as the chefs came out one by one and sat down. I'm continually amazed at how friendly and open people are in this country. Almost without exception at every meal and every stop I make new friends:




    After lunch I got back on the road for Zhongwei. The land continued to be arrid, and yet at every turn there were farmers hard at work, trying to grow crops up out of the dust:




    And often with remarkable success:




    Women working in front of a cement factory:




    As the road shifted north, I decided to leave the named roads to take a "short" (potentially long) cut and head straight for Zhongwei. It was just after four o'clock, and the road was full of kids walking home from school:




    Before long I reached Zhongwei, a city on the southern edge of the Tengger desert. On the way in, it had that "New China City" feel to it - large eight lane roads without a car to be seen!



    The center of the city was much more lively, complete with a Drum Tower (Gulou) which reminded of Beijing. It was still early when I arrived, so after finding a hotel, I went out to find dinner. There was a pedestrian street not far from the hotel, wall-to-wall with KTV/Chuar places. After a dinner of chuanr, I walked up and down the street four times in vain looking for a "normal" bar. Denied, I opted for what was probably the wiser decision of an early night's sleep.
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #30 Re: Beijing to Kunming : A Commute to Work 
    Danger, Will Robinson! Lao Jia Hou's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Canada/Europe/Asia
    Posts
    1,728
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat View Post

    Pat - is that your DL and Registration in your left hand? Did the policeman ask for it? If so, you need to spend more time in the shade!
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 3 of 12 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Kunming -> Chengdu -> Kunming [2010]
    By slabo in forum Ride Reports and Meetings
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 04-09-2011, 02:58 AM
  2. cant work it out
    By skikman in forum Maintenance
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-07-2010, 06:41 PM
  3. Hi there! New comer from Kunming,Yunnan
    By ChinaJ in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-27-2010, 10:42 AM
  4. will work,wo`nt work (cdi problem)
    By markm111273 in forum Maintenance
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-11-2010, 03:50 PM
  5. Looking for a bike in Kunming, Yunnan
    By andre555 in forum Asia
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 11-07-2009, 02:27 AM
Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •