26th October 2006
Snow, Speed and Squiggles

Well I'm now in China! It's been a hectic week or so but I finally made it to Urumchi and have been here a couple of days.

I was actually rather apprehensive about China because of the language problems and the total unknown that it presented plus the fact I knew I had a big mountain pass to get over.

Ruth drove me up from Almaty to the border to again save some time and so she could see me across. It was a horrible rainy day which was not pleasant but you have to take the rough with the smooth! After the unloading of the bike out of the car (a bit of fun as they'd replaced the car (to change the oil!!) and given us a Sedan which was a bit of a game to load the bike into!). And I cycled off into a sea of lorries! It was quite a ride from the first checkpoint where Ruth had dropped me off to a second one which I think was customs but I'm not sure. It was then another longish ride to a big set of gates and loads of buildings which initially thought might be the Chinese side but I hadn't had my passport checked! I soon found it was more of the Kazakh side and I actually hadn't got through any of the necessary stages! First I was told to stand around waiting in the cold rain at the gate for no apparent reason. I eventually managed to persuade the guard to let me through and he motioned me to take the bike into the building ahead, this would've been fine apart from the six steps leading up to it! There was a ramp but it was the same steepness as the steps so I decided to investigate on foot first. There just seemed to be people milling around which wasn't particularly helpful! Everyone seemed to have bags with them so I assumed I had to get my bike in. With a run-up, help from a nearby lady and lots of grunt I got the bike up. I was still none the wiser but saw people filling in customs form so I found a blank and did that. I then joined the 'queue' of people and waited!! Eventually some said I was a tourist so should go to the other door (which had just shattered and left glass everywhere! When I did though I was quickly whisked through customs without them even looking at my form. I then went onto passport control which turned out to be a sea of people! I met a few slight English speakers who told me they’d just stopped for lunch, they also tried to get the customs official to fast-track me but that didn't seem to work (although the official said she would!) At the end of lunch it was every man for himself! My new friends decided I needed to get to the front and so began to put me + bike through the crowd! I honestly thought at times that I or others were likely to be crushed to death & it was really rather scary! With a lot of pushing and shoving I eventually got to the front and stood where the guard told me until he opened the door to let me into the passport control. I was extremely relieved! I then had to queue again to get out of the building and had to be loaded onto a bus to get to the Chinese side. It all seemed far more complicated than need be! The Chinese side was very smooth and I was fast tracked through, unfortunately I had to completely unload the bike to go through security scanners but I guess they just want to be safe! I cycled for a while on the Chinese side despite being very tempted by the Gastineetsa's (Russian for hotel) at the border. I felt a lot better about being in China once I was cycling again and slipped back into my phrasebook sign language speak quite easily! I eventually got somewhere and although they thoroughly ripped me off at 200 Yuan, it was a bed!

After a good nights sleep I headed off quite early for the mountains. I hadn't got as far as I'd hoped because of crossing the border taking so long but I still hoped to be over the mountains in the day. As I cycled on I could see them ahead and could pick out the valley that the pass went though, from here it didn't look too bad! I peddled on and stopped at the village where I had originally planned to sleep and bought food. There was a nice market and I also managed to get bread which surprised me, but not as much as its fishy taste! I pushed on and lots of people said it was a very long way and long way up and over to my expected destination but I plodded on and up. From the map it looked as if the pass peaked at a lake at 2000m but I soon found that to be rubbish! I pushed on and it was an extremely hard day, not only because of the physical exertion but I also really felt the thinning air as I climbed higher and higher. I was reaching the end of my tether as I got deeper and deeper into the snow line and at the top of one particularly long and windy section I asked 3 guys standing by the road how much further to my destination, 30km came the answer, at 5pm that was not going to happen! When I enquired about a bed though, one of the guys said he owned a dormitory which I could stay just up the road, what relief! It was a basic place and the loo was a very short drop over a cliff on the other side of the road. It was also very cold as I think I was at around 2500m or more, it took me close on an hour to properly get my breath back! Fortunately lots of layers of thermal clothes made it quite bearable and the new sleeping bag Ruth had brought over actually had me sweating in the middle of the night!

It was snowing in the morning and the clouds were sitting on top of us making the climb onwards look pretty formidable! I had a good breaky and then waited to see if it would clear. Eventually I had to ask if it was safe to continue in the mist as it didn't look to be clearing! The truck driver said it was fine and the top was just round the corner (although bikes and trucks obviously have different expectations!). The road soon deteriorated into wet mud, not great for cycling with lorries passing you but I plodded on & got very mucky as lorries splashed past me! The mist got thicker and it got a little worrying but as I reached the top it thinned out as bit. Pretty much at the top there was a lorry which had been blown over which gives you an idea of how windy it was! I was very relieved to see the lake ahead and quite a way below me! After a slow ride across the plateau I started the main decent. It was a lovely straight road that just went on and on! I maxed out at 51 mph which must have surprised the drivers of all the lorries I passed! I aimed for Wantai on my map expecting a place to stay but after I had some food I was told there wasn't anywhere so had a 40 km sprint against the sun! I was trying to stay off the motorway as it wasn't ideal but when I followed the old road it just vanished into nothing and I had to cycle an extra 2 miles to get back onto the motorway as it is completely fenced in! I eventually found a hostel which would take me although the toilet was in the bus station which I found to my surprise was locked overnight, fortunately I survived till morning!

In the morning I had a gaggle of interested people sending me off as they waited for their busses! As there were 'no cycling' signs I again tried the old road which also again disappeared and I had to go off-road round a toll station to rejoin at a service station. That was the last time I tried the old road! I stopped and asked a number of times to find another route but they all pointed me to the motorway so I followed! At my last lunch stop I asked about the distance to Kuytun and was told 18km which I though was fine so I hoped to get to Kuytun. When I stopped and asked some people at around 4pm, about 45 km after the last stop’ it was still about 60 miles away and as I hadn't seen any other habitation for 45km I stopped there at Todog! It was a nice cheap place with pretty much the standard fixtures and fittings that I've encountered in all the Chinese hotels.

Again, despite asking for another route, I was lumbered with the main road again. I was glad I stopped at Todog as there was absolutely nothing for at least 2 hours beyond it and only one junction back to Todog so I would have been stuck! At a toll I went through I got a jolly little wave from the attendant, she obviously wasn't bothered with me being on the main road! At some 'services' I stopped at the loos and the attendant seemed to live there in a tiny little room also running a shop, not a great life! After the services I went through a town and had the fun of not only trying to dodge cars passing me but also bikes and even motorbikes coming towards me on my side! It was a bit interesting but we all managed to stay alive!! Soon after the town the road became officially motorway with a 120kph limit (not a problem for me! lol) As there was no junction at that point I had little choice but to carry on. I saw a junction a little way ahead which I thought I'd come off at but as I drew closer I saw it was just an oncoming junction and to make matters worse there was a traffic cop flagging cars down just after it! As I expected he flagged me down but to my surprise he just said it was dangerous! (as if I didn't know that!) I assured him I would keep well into the hard-shoulder and he seemed satisfied! I asked about the distance to Kaitun and he said 10km which I thought was likely to be a much better estimate! After some fun negotiating a junction or two, after 10km I did indeed get to the Kaitun junction (I now recognised its squiggles!) I pulled off and it looked to be quite a big town. I aimed for what looked like the centre and after a couple of queries found the 'Orient International Hotel' a bit posher than I'm used to but at under 10 GBP I wasn't complaining! Then I had all you can eat buffet supper for about 1.50 GBP!

I asked about the best way to get out of Kaitun towards Urumchi and was told 'head East', I'd kind of worked that one out! I followed the road out though as instructed only to hit a 'T'-junction! after a bit of cycling around and only one dead end track I managed to find the right to road which ironically enough was probably more dangerous as there was no hard shoulder, only one lane each way and loads of traffic avoiding the tolls! I plodded on, regularly aborting to the dirt to avoid being run over, but at least I could stop whenever I liked on this road! I had a really nice tail wind for a lot of the day which meant I could shoot along but it was interesting to see my speed drop by at least 5mph just from a slight change in its direction making it an side-tail wind! In the centre of Shawan stopping to put my rain jacket on attracted a veritable crowd of people to such an extent it was like parting the sea when I came to leave! The road from Shawan to Shihezi was long and straight & pretty boring, particularly in the drizzle. I got there and eventually found a hotel, when I enquired about a place to store my bike I followed one of the receptionists around town only to find she was looking for someone to pump my tyres, not quite what I was wanting! Eventually they understood and let me put the bike in a cleaning cupboard. I went to the supper very early because I was working on Beijing time not Xinijing time (unofficially 2hrs behind!) but they accommodated the mad Westerner! It was a great restaurant for me because they had all the dishes laid out on a table so you could just point! You could also choose your fishy dinner from the tank but I avoided that one! I was hungry so ended up having 2 meals plus noodles and was absolutely stuffed by the end and all for about 4 GBP! (very expensive for China though) In the evening I had a strange phone call and then a bit later a knock at the door & 2 ladies came in asking if required their services, it took me a while to click but when I did they were quickly shown the door!

I was now heading more south and so was more into wind than I had been previously which made it a much slower day, fortunately Hutubi wasn't too far away so I didn't need to hurry too much. As usual I got lots of stares from the local population, I do look quite strange I must admit! I met 4 Chinese hikers who were obviously on a mission as the powered past me on one of my breaks. As I took off from there I caught the slipstream of a tractor which was great as it allowed me about half an hour at 15mph instead of 10 without too much more effort. I lost him in a village when I had to go into the cycle lane but it was a help! On my way through Manas I saw a wheelchair given by the wheelchair foundation, the same as the ones I'd helped deliver in Shymkent I couldn't help but wonder if that was another life that had been changed by Crossroads, but without any language I didn't try and ask! I heard another spoke go when I was on a break not far away from Hutubi and although I was early and possible could have made it to Changji I decided to stop and fix it. I found a truckers dormitory 'hotel' with a very short communal short drop out the back but at 1.50 GBP it was a good bed. I had a lot of fun trying to communicate my desire to phone ahead to Urumchi although I think I paid 10 times over the odds as I gave them Yuan instead of Jio (now I think about it the hotel owner dissuaded her friend from showing me a Jio note but never mind, it still wasn't a lot! I went next door for food and after looking lost for a bit they gave me noodles, lots of chillies! I got the bike fixed and even gave it a little clean :)

I was away early without having things like showers to waste my time! I ignored the no cycling signs as there was no other way for me to go and the times I hadn't ignored them had gone pear shaped! A little later on I did find a small road running parallel to the main road which was much the same but a lot quieter which was nice! I stopped at a petrol station and there were very concerned for my well being and practically made me stand by the radiator for a bit while I ate what I had bought! I got to Changji quite quickly and was glad of the usual cycle lanes throughout. Unfortunately the road out was a busy dual carriage way so I was back to lorry dodging! Fortunately I soon found another parallel road to take. I quickly reached the outskirts of Urumchi but Urumchi is big! Its the capital of the province. I cycled as far as I could on the side road but then ended up back on the main road again which was fenced in. I annoyingly saw a side road I could've taken but I was stuck on the main road by then! In town it got quite busy so I got off the main route at the first junction which looked as if it wouldn't just take me onto another main road! The road helpfully ran parallel all the way into town. I had a bit of fun finding 'Da Bazaar' as suggested by Britta. The first time I stopped to phone her the guy wouldn't let me use the public phones for some reason (they're generally in shops over here) After much negotiating I gave up and headed further into town. At one point the road was very busy with no edge bit to cycle in so I got off onto the pavement. When joining the road again a couple of kids were interested so I thought I'd try asking for da bazaar again. They were very helpful and the younger one even ran alongside me a bit to make sure I took the right road J I then stopped outside a big building with Russian Cyrillic script on it which I thought could be a bazaar as I didn't think a bazaar would be Chinese! As I stood there looking quizzical a Chinese lady came and asked if she could help in English J I asked again about da bazaar and she gave me English directions which was a great help! I followed the road as instructed, she'd said go to the end but I thought I saw the name change so I took a side street and asked some guys who pointed me down the road and right. At the end of that was a big market which I thought might be da bazaar (as it happened it was over the road) I found a phone and called Britta then waited in the shop for a bit while she toured the area trying to find me with her friend Janet！ Eventually we met up and she walked me over to a hotel then to Tad's apartment to leave the bike in his basement and then out to supper with Andrew. It was really nice to meet them all and had lots of nice local food :)

On Sunday I was mainly trying to get jobs done. Tad, a keen cyclist, said he'd help so we got on the bikes and headed round town. I was amazed but we managed to get everything done including my train ticket and changing travellers cheques! I then went with Andrew to the Vine Cafe which had been helped by Crossroads when it was being set-up and I helped with their English conversation class which was really nice to do. I then went back to Andrew's briefly, then went out to dinner with both Tad and Andrew.

Andrew and his wife Jane invited me for breakfast on Monday, unfortunately a bit of confusion with me and time zones and British summer time meant I arrived at 6 instead of the arranged 7 so I was greeted by a rather bleary eyed Andrew! Fortunately they were very forgiving and I read the guardian while they got ready! Afterwards I just planned to chill, try and catch up journal and go to an “all you can eat pizza”! I walked round a lot of the town centre trying to find a cafe I could sit in but the two I knew of weren't open so I headed over to 'People's Park' its a nice part & I sat on a couple of benches writing until I got too cold! I then went to the Texas Deli a new but very nice cafe which opened in the last few months where I a very good coffee & cookie & sat for quite a while catching up my journal! I managed to forget to pay so had to run back & sort it out, very embarrassing! I then went to the pizza place only to find it wasn't open for another hour so I wandered around the central square and a few shops before heading back. The pizza was good but I'm sure my stomach has shrunk being used to lots of small meals! I came away very very full and needed the walk back to aid digestion!!

On Tuesday I visited Goldwind after one of my lecturers at University suggested they may be able to take me out to a wind farm. They picked me up and drove me out to a large farm towards Turpan where they have 40 turbines but in total there were hundreds there. I felt a bit bad visiting even though I probably will not be going into the renewable energies industry but it was interesting to see their site. I did very little in the afternoon apart from eating quite a lot of chocolate after shopping in Carre Fur at the Grand Bazaar! In the evening I went out with Britta and some of her friends to a local restaurant with traditional dancing & music. It was a really good evening :)

On Wednesday I went up to the Heavenly Lake which was a bit of a disappointment really. The bus left at 7am so it was an early start although it didn't actually leave till nearer 7:45. I met a couple of American students who were studying in Beijing and we went together to find some breakfast as we had a while before the bus would leave. The bus took ages to leave Urumchi as we went to various places on pick-ups. The bus in the end was overfull so we also had to stop at a market to buy some stools! The journey up there was largely spoiled by the guide incessantly talking, it obviously didn't help that I didn't understand a word but it was also far too loud and actually hurt my ears! When we got there I took another bus up to the lake to save time as I thought we only had an hour, this was actually another time zone confusion and we actually had 3 hours but that still wasn't long. I found a nice set of steep long steps to climb which I thought would be empty as the Chinese generally don't seem to like exercise, I was mostly right as I only saw 3 people up there and it was good to get the heart pumping plus a great view from the top! It was a little interesting on the way down as the steps were often narrow with loose stones from land slips and there was no hand rails! I managed to get down alive though thankfully! I then walked round the lake towards a temple but it was 10 Yuan to get in and I didn't have a lot of time so headed back. Once I'd looked at the shop and made my way towards the route to walk down I was accosted by one of the guys off the bus to say there wasn't time to walk down, I thought I had 15mins longer than I did! As it happened the bus down sat around for a while so I probably could have walked down but I met a friendly British tourist in the bus so it wasn't so bad!

Tomorrow (Thursday 26th October) I get a train to Zhangye to hopefully allow me to be in Hong Kong by the beginning of December and hopefully help load one of the containers to Kazakhstan which some of the sponsor money will pay for.

As ever thank you all so much for all your support in this trip, it wouldn't be possible without you!
Thanks
Tim