2 Weeks - Kunming -> Lijiang -> ? on GW250

[JayDee]

As most of us, I will have some days off in September/October during "Golden Week" for a trip - 19 days from start to finish. Not just any trip, possibly the last China-based holiday, since we will follow a new opportunity in another country end of the year. A bit surprising, I just bought the Suzuki this summer, but couldn't say no.

Anyway, we (JD + girlfriend) want to ride through Yunnan, inspired by some RR and pictures in this forum and the fact that we haven't been there yet.
The plan is to ship the bike from Tianjin to Kunming (preferebly via Deppon, since almost same price and shorter leadtime than train + box), follow by plane, get the bike and start, ride around, end somewhere and ship the bike and us back.
Must-see is Dali, Lijiang, Deqen. Rest is open to suggestions!

This is the route I have in mind.
route.jpg

I calculate that receiving and shipping the bike back will eat one day each (if things go well ), and maybe we will stay at a nice place for an additonal day to look at things... then there might not be much cushion for technical problems, really bad weather or the like for 2500km...


What do you think? What should I add on the route, what can I leave out?

We will ride two-up on the GW250. I will take some basic tools, a tire repair kit. And a couple of locks .
If anyone in the Tianjin/Beijing area has panniers for the GW250 he would rent out for this period it would be much appreciated! Otherwise we would have to fit our stuff on the bikes' rack I added, or find another solution.

Anything else I need to consider, but possibly didn't? Road condition? Weather condition? A tent? A bunch of tourists looking at the same things at the same time?

I'm thankful for any input!

[Lao Jia Hou]

Looks like a great trip!

I don't have hard bags for a GW (unless you have the specific Tourfella brackets), but I do have an extra set of the canvas throw-over bags that a lot of people swear by - made by a British guy down south, and people claim they are very durable and also waterproof. They are also easy to put on/take off the bike for when you want to carry stuff into a hotel, etc.

The bags have already done one extended round-China trip, but are still in pretty good shape. It is best, however, if you have a rack that keeps them away from the wheel, chain, exhaust, etc. You can borrow them, no charge, as long as you return them when you are done. They aren't worth much, I don't think.

A few MCM members use these bags. Here is Milton on his JH600 with his set ...

[prince666]

Hi JayDee

Sounds like a great trip this is the area i would love to do as well , check out http://www.thegreatrideofchina.com/ its a guy called Buck and his wife Amy who are on a 30.000 km around china who at some point soon we be in this area maybe you can meet up or if you miss him maybe check out the places he went to ! i am still trying to find a way to get my bike into Thailand by way of laos not the route but how to do it with out paying loads of money to allow my bike into Thailand well good luck

[JayDee]

Wow, thanks LJH, that's perfect! I read Miltons Silk-Road story before, I'm sure that will do for us as well. At least I can't loose them when someone is sitting on it. And if it's too uncomfortable I at least know a purpose now for that stupid pillow she bought at Ikea recently.
Of course we will take good care and return them in at least the same condition. I hope there will be a chance to return the favor.
I think exhaust-wise it should be fine, since the GW250 pipes are low. Maybe I need to get something like this for 200 kuai. Did you ever try them on your GW250?

Prince, I stumbled upon that website already and will follow it. I wish I could do a trip like that, but well, can't have everything.

The flights are booked! And I asked one of my chinese colleagues to double-check with the local Deppon Rep. about some details that were beyond my mandarin skills to avoid misunderstandings... he then told her they can not ship a motorbike, never did, never will and she should please, please, call another company. That's not quite the information I got the first time I contacted the office. He obviously didn't like the hassle involved with such a mission, TIC.
We tried the hotline again, got hold of someone more competent, and the ball's rolling.

[euphonius]

...The flights are booked! And I asked one of my chinese colleagues to double-check with the local Deppon Rep. about some details that were beyond my mandarin skills to avoid misunderstandings... he then told her they can not ship a motorbike, never did, never will and she should please, please, call another company. That's not quite the information I got the first time I contacted the office. He obviously didn't like the hassle involved with such a mission, TIC.
We tried the hotline again, got hold of someone more competent, and the ball's rolling.

In your original post you said you dismissed shipment by train because of "lead time and box." Many of us have shipped often by train, and it's generally the most efficient and cost-effective, assuming you can find the right people at the train station and there's a through train to your destination. There is no box involved. You roll up to the checked baggage desk, show them that your gas tank is bone dry, do a bit of paperwork, and they roll your bike into the bowels of the station. Several days later it's rolled out at your destination, generally in good condition. If someone told you you needed to box the bike, you were at the freight department, not the checked baggage department. Completely different operation, expensive and inefficient.

Is there a direct train from Tianjin to Kunming or wherever you are jumping off? If so, you should have plenty of time to get it there before the October holiday. To get the proper information, you should just go to Tianjin station, find the right counter and ask. Shanghai to Kunming for my 200kg Jialing would be about 800 rmb, I'm guessing. From Tianjin probably 1,000. Don't forget to buy insurance, which is cheap. There's a whole MCM thread on shipping by train.

Looks like a fantastic trip. Let us know how you get on.

cheers
euphonius

[JayDee]

With "+ box" I meant that Deppon boxes the bike, which I find more safe, while the bike would go unprotected to the train. Sorry, was not very clear to understand.

First thing I checked was the train station, I found the thread you mentioned earlier already. I surprisingly found somebody right away who knew it is possible and how to do it. Price was ~700 CNY (GW is smaller?), but he said it would take the bike 14 days to arrive. Train station is also not very near to my home, and within the bike-banned city area, but that doesn't really bother me.

Deppon will pick up the bike at my home, box it, ship it to the hotel in Kunming/wherever and vice versa (well, that's what they said) and leadtime is 5-6 days. Price is with ~1000 CNY just slightly more expensive, so I find it the better offer. Also means 18 days less "without bike" in Tianjin due to transportation. Anyway I will double check again with the trainstation, as one always should, before I make the final decision. Maybe I get a different answer this time.

[felix]

Quick tip regarding your route. You should take the eastern road along erhai lake near Dali. The west road is nothing. The east road is bike heaven. And you can stop in shuanglang which is very pretty and has some great lodges on the lake if you want to spend a night there.

And Dali old town is not in dali town, i presume you're looking for the old one.

I highly recommend adding Shaxi to your route. It's an old town that's been much better preserved than dali/lijiang, without all the tourists, and the road to get there awesome fun.

I modified your route for you: http://goo.gl/maps/QBhYm

[JayDee]

Thanks for the route advise Felix, I saved it!
The more we look into the route and things around, the more I get the feeling the schedule might be too tight, but as a plan B we can shortcut the circle and return straight to Kunming, if time runs out.
What about a tent to camp on the way, does that make sense? We would like to, here and there, but don't want to take the additional weight if it doesn't make sense and it may be a hassle to find a nice spot. Sorry for the stupid questions, the closest I came to the area has been Chengdu, and I never left the city ... ;-)

BTW, I found out that the GDW saddlebag I borrowed from LJH (thanks again!) holds exactly a 22l 'Samla' box from Ikea on each side. Close the lit and you have an (almost) waterproof box. Doesn't work on the GW250 though, since it's back is too wide. The bag needs to be soft to snug around. But good thing is I won't need a new rack, if the bags are filled they can't touch anything they aren't supposed to touch.

[juice]

i am still trying to find a way to get my bike into Thailand by way of laos not the route but how to do it with out paying loads of money to allow my bike into Thailand

I am shipping my bike to Kunming tomorrow the 5th and flying there the 11th-18th.

Sorry to Hijack but is there an official answer to getting the bike in & out of Laos?

We went there last December and rented dirt bikes for 10 days. I'd like to go back on my own bike but I'm worried about getting the bike back into China.

[JayDee]

I am shipping my bike to Kunming tomorrow the 5th and flying there the 11th-18th.

To make it a bit less off-topic you could at least mention how you ship it!


I did my second round of checking today, and now that they realize I really want to ship a real bike and they really have to look up how much that is, instead of just saying a number on the phone, the values changed a little bit.

Deppon revised their quote to ~2300 CNY incl. insurance & box. No pick-up or delivery (costs 100 CNY more), but that's ok since I found out they are right around the corner and also in Kunming not too far, which would make crating and uncrating easier. Leadtime 6 days. I will go there on Friday to check again in person with bike.

Tianjin Train Cargo Department quotes 1800 CNY + 250 insurance + 550 box. It can't go without box. Leadtime 6 days.

Tianjin Train Checked Luggage Department says they can not transport anything over 50Kg, never could, never will and stick to the story. Maybe they thought I want to take the bike as hand baggage? I guess I will have to go there directly in person this week to check again. On Tuesday I have to ship the bike if I want to have it in Kunming in time.


The involved budget changed, but now I have to walk the walk. Not sure where the past prices came from, I already gave them size, weight and destination before... but I live here long enough to not be surprised that much.
Alternative might be renting a (legal) bike in Kunming for the trip, but I don't really want that. We will see.