Greets China Riders!

[bigdamo]

note to self.. If I ever need any information quickly and in abundance, get my girlfriend to ask ;)

Why is she good looking?

[CrazyCarl]

Big D,

Try reading a bit more carefully before responding. I was comparing the foods and cultures between the two regions of China, not between Xinjiang and your home town. I know a few female travelers who didn't have the best of times going overland in Xinjiang. Granted, they were taking trains and buses, but nevertheless. I myself have had some negative experiences there as did my girlfriend at the time. Same was generally true of the women I met who traveld overland in the Middle East. Perhaps because you live (or lived) in Xinjiang your perspective is different, but there's no comparing the general "friendlyness" of the Tibetans to the folks of Xinjiang. The Tibetans have to be some of the nicest, most fun loving people to be around... at least as a traveler and regardless of sex. Also, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from traveling to Xinjiang, it's an amazing place with outrageous history but I'm not going to tell someone it's all hunky-dorey either when I don't believe it is. This kind of travel exists in cultural contrasts and that, I believe, it the topic of the day.

Regarding the food, kabobs, beef rice, rotisserie chicken, tomato based sauces, nan, bagels and wheat based noodles are all generally more familiar with western stomachs. Yak milk tea, with yak butter in crushed barley in hot water for breakfast, lunch and dinner is generally not. If you're lucky, you may get some sugar. Futhermore, to use the term "Muslim food" is a gross generality. There are all types of "Muslim foods" aorund the world, ranging From Lamb Kabobs to Nasi Lemak....mostly the ingredients need to be Halal.

CC

[moilami]

Hi Christine, I think I saw you over on ADVRider before? Welcome to My China Moto

I sent you a PM with some questions.

The rest of the members should be along shortly, they tend to get awfully excited when females make a post here.

Cheers!
ChinaV

(Lol, that may change, which I believe it will, when there is, say, 50/50 male/female ratio.)

Welcome to the forum MeowZeDong! I first looked your nick and though that is complicated now, but on the second look it is not. Three parts and the first part is what? I can only say a great nick :)

About what bike to chose I don't say anything since you should know it yourself after you know where you are going to ride.



(And yeah, I am excited, but I just hope the spring would come, and that should not take too long anymore.)

[moilami]

Hi ZMC888,

I'm not that picky about bikes. I'm in fact not quite a rider yet. I know how to ride scooters and I did a motorcycle tour in Taiwan (125cc). so I'm going to take private lessons from my riders friends in the States. I just want to ride something that'll run. Christine and I are determined to finish the goal we set our minds to, but we are also quite flexible. Telling us that it's difficult is not insulting but we want to learn the reasons! But telling us it's impossible will be an insult. I'm happy to learn that people here are very realistic and pragmatic!

Alright, bike talk. I can do it anytime!

I myself have 250cc air cooled Skyteam, and it is just great bike. The bigger is not better always. 250cc enduro have everything to take you from place A to place B. You might not go so quicly in highways and you might not accelerate so quicly, and thus could have less fun than with some bigger bike, but other than that 250cc is enough, and I can ride with my standard 250cc Skyteam to the places where people can't ride with typical 600cc bikes.

Last summer I did some 3000km with my Skyteam to Nordkap and saw that a scooter would had been just fine for the trip. The roads were perfect. One person rode from Australia to England with 125cc scooter. A trip is basicly more a question of can you do it? Your bike certainly can.

Anyway, if you could ride that Honda MX bike in the picture (meaning you was able to put toes of your feets on the ground when you sat on it) I would recommend you chose a 250cc enduro. You simply can't go wrong with that. But if you want a bigger bike or a scooter, fine, the choise is yours.

I wish you good luck and plenty of determination to go for your goal to ride around China! Hopefully you keep us updated on how things go. And I for one, among others I dare say, would enjoy if you would do more postings when you begin to actually chose what bike to get.

[bigdamo]

Big D,

Try reading a bit more carefully before responding. I was comparing the foods and cultures between the two regions of China, not between Xinjiang and your home town. I know a few female travelers who didn't have the best of times going overland in Xinjiang. Granted, they were taking trains and buses, but nevertheless. I myself have had some negative experiences there as did my girlfriend at the time. Same was generally true of the women I met who traveld overland in the Middle East. Perhaps because you live (or lived) in Xinjiang your perspective is different, but there's no comparing the general "friendlyness" of the Tibetans to the folks of Xinjiang. The Tibetans have to be some of the nicest, most fun loving people to be around... at least as a traveler and regardless of sex. Also, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from traveling to Xinjiang, it's an amazing place with outrageous history but I'm not going to tell someone it's all hunky-dorey either when I don't believe it is. This kind of travel exists in cultural contrasts and that, I believe, it the topic of the day.

Regarding the food, kabobs, beef rice, rotisserie chicken, tomato based sauces, nan, bagels and wheat based noodles are all generally more familiar with western stomachs. Yak milk tea, with yak butter in crushed barley in hot water for breakfast, lunch and dinner is generally not. If you're lucky, you may get some sugar. Futhermore, to use the term "Muslim food" is a gross generality. There are all types of "Muslim foods" aorund the world, ranging From Lamb Kabobs to Nasi Lemak....mostly the ingredients need to be Halal.

CC

Sorry to upset you CC.

Regarding negative experiences in Xinjiang sure it's a difficult region no doubt but if you think Tebet is hunkey-dorey I think you will find there are more provinces more accomadating.Reading carefully your post it reads that way.There are plenty of friendly people in Xinjiang.I once had bad experiences in the USA as well as the former Yugoslavia. Just a bad day and week didn't read to much into it.

It is my experience eating Uyrghur or Hui food is far from easy.They all ways test me with what I can eat.Sheeps foot was the first Uyghur food I was given and I still cannot stomach it.I can now however eat sheep's head(all of it)The food you mention is basically there simple food basically a light meal or entree.

There is quite a range of food in Xinjiang from around the surrounding countries quite alot of Chinese food to strangely enough.

You can find the local equivalent of Yak milk tea, with yak butter with fresh bread at Kazah yurts up in the mountains of Xinjiang.I didn't see any rotisserie chicken(not saying there not there)saw a bit of Kabob chicken but mostly lamb or mutton or seafood kababs.

[MeowZeDong]

Happy year of the Rabbit all!

Thanks so much for such detailed responses.....I read most but still going through them all (as I'm going through each carefully and googling more on what I'm unfamiliar with (photos, bike models that you mention, etc). Thank you, thank you.

The JH600 looks awesome! It was never a thought to ship or ride a sportbike for this trip. Dual sport, upright and rugged is what we seek.

The route Szu-Ting's amazing mind came up and suggested a few weeks ago was to start south in Yunnan; linking two trade routes (link at the end of my message of the google map) I think it's going to be amazing.....I've traveled a lot in the east and southeast (not by bike) but my greatest desire was to see more of China's west - as does Szu-Ting. We are both outdoors people and shy away from the big cities if we can. Also, we'll be able to visit and experience some of the ethnic minorities' lifestyles out this way. Can't quite contain my excitement as my colleague brought my gear to me the other day here in Singapore, although we don't plan on riding until May.

I was told I could pick up China road maps in Hong Kong when I'm there in a few days? Does anyone else have experience with picking up a good map before actually setting foot in the country? Do they have suggestions on what was the best map? Or do some use GPS? Interested in hearing the experiences. But can also do a search on the forum. *sorry*

Reading each and every posting (chuckling here and there... :) ...it's a lot...but a lot of good stuff! Hope to meet some of you along our way!

Cheers!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...06&ie=UTF8&z=4

[MeowZeDong]

Thank you! I'm glad you got the name. :) I'm sure it went over some heads. And I was never on ADVRider.com so that person wasn't me.

I sometimes use the 702 sportbike forum in Las Vegas, but the last comment I posted has been forever....it was asking whether I would die if I were to accidentally hit a small desert animal at high speeds....or would it just be like going over a bump. Had some very interesting responses. I hope there aren't a ton of animals that are collide-prone in a lot of the parts we'll be riding...but I'm sure there are. We don't plan on riding at night.

(Lol, that may change, which I believe it will, when there is, say, 50/50 male/female ratio.)

Welcome to the forum MeowZeDong! I first looked your nick and though that is complicated now, but on the second look it is not. Three parts and the first part is what? I can only say a great nick :)

About what bike to chose I don't say anything since you should know it yourself after you know where you are going to ride.



(And yeah, I am excited, but I just hope the spring would come, and that should not take too long anymore.)

[CrazyCarl]

Big D, it's all about perspective. I remember pulling into a small town on the south side of the Taklamakan Desert after having crossed the trans-desert highway (WORTH SEEING!!!). The smell of fresh bagels was all it took to light up my senses. I pulled right in front of the bagel, got a short stack and wolfed that shit down like there was no tomorrow. Where else in China you gonna get breads like that... esp. so abundant. I'm not a huge fan fo goat hooves or head myself but bagels, nan and kabaob were just about everywhere. I also seem to recall some excellent and cheap beef rice in Kashgar. When you're hungry on the road and your diet generally consists of mostly chili oil cooked foods, Xinjiang may as well be food heaven (at least for a westerner).

Meow, you'll be lucky to find any wild animals on the roads in China. When you get up to the higher altitudes, you'll find mostly picas, hares, marmots and a few grazing antellope like animals. Plenty of golden eagles sitting around as well as one of the world largest birds, the cinerous vultures. In Xinjiang, you'll see plenty of dromedary camels... other than that, some small birds and a few insects.

Also worth noting is the mosquitoes near the salt flat lakes. They got these wicked mosquities out there that are yellow with white eyes. They are more tenacious then the Tiger mosquitoes you're used to in Singapore and will make sure you keep on your way.

CC

[jape]

Even a rabbit can throw you off your bike, I nearly came off yesterday when I hit a fox carcass and skidded in all the rotting flesh and guts and so on but it was my fault, I was avoiding it Ok as I rode along, saw it fine but looked at it and all riders know if you look at something you will ride into it. So ride with your eyes shut and you will be fine.

Knobbly dual sport tyres help a lot in such situations but you need to hose the bike and your legs down later or you smell a bit from the rancid spray. A bit more than usual after a few days on the road anyway.

Don't come to Australia either, the 'rabbits' here are kangaroos up to 2 meters high. They sit on the side of the road munching the long grass then without fail they jump INTO your path. They prefer to do it at dawn and dusk when you are sleepy and cannot see very well.

The worst is snakes, they are two meters long as well and fall asleep on the warmth of the tarmac, it is just a big long rock to their senses; unlike 'roos they do try to escape when you wake them up by riding over them at a 100 kph but are angry at being disturbed and do get wrapped round your wheel and legs and inject you with deadly venom.

The crocodiles are only a problem in the Northern parts of Australia, as are the 'drop bears' in Queensland. And most of the trees they drop out of onto your heads are blown down in the Cyclones passed through yesterday. Sorry to distract you but you do have to be careful. Mozzies, huh, a big beetle or dragon fly wacking into your visor at 100 kph is a distraction too. Always wear a visor, with just goggles they can impact heavily on your face or even fly into your mouth - some flying insects are big enough they make it in bits and pieces right through your clenched teeth. Taste horrid too. A termite swarm isn't too bad, you can eat them as you go, leaves an after taste of acid and licorice. Locusts are sort of crunchy and squishy at the same time, but bland.

As CC says, in China, only small animals apart from sleeping cows, camels, wild rabid dogs, a few endangered and rare pandas hunting for habitat, mountain leopards. I don't think he mentioned the yaks? And wild ponies. And a couple of billion humans that want your bit of road?

So wear all the gear all the time, get really good medical insurance, always carry a good knife (thats what my granpa told me anyway) and travel with a buddy and a good camera so we get to see your dying breaths ...

Just make sure your friend goes first. In the end, life is about survival.

[CrazyCarl]

Ditto that on the knife.. even if it's just a pocket knife. I had someone tell me though for self defense its best to use one of those telescoping batons. Knives cut people up and get all bloody and stuff...makes a mess. A good whack to the face (or anywhere really) with a sold piece of metal (lead pipe sitting around anyone?) will probably turn someone off pretty fast unless they are super determined. If they are really THAT determined, you better have a gun in your hand or a gang standing behind you.

But really though, chances of this happening in most part of the world are extremely thin unless you're being a complete ass (which some travelers are). Of the thousands upon thousands of adventure riders that putter around the world every year, only a tiny handfull of them report ever engaging in violence (although more than a few have come pretty close!)

CC