22 Mar 2015
18. China - Pt.3
With Chengdu being a big city it was good to ride out away from it. Since descending from the plateau the weather had changed, now with low clouds hovering around that were complemented by the city’s smog, adding to that slightly depressive feeling that one gets from the lack of sunlight. The next big city I’d pass through was Kunming - the capital of the Yunnan province. Founded in 765 A.D. it’s also known as the Spring city due to its weather, so is quite a popular tourist city with a reasonable amount of attractions. Following the G213 road it would take me about 8-9 days to reach.
The first two nights accommodation I was helped out by locals, the first being at grain / rice company and I simply wanted to camp on the owners land but was soon offered a spare bed. The second night I’d stopped to talk to a roadside fish seller and soon he was suggesting I sleep at his house, after eating dinner at a café his parents ran.
The route over the first few days slowly climbed back into the mountains with a noticeable increase in day-time temperatures, here the cooler air from the north clashing with this warmer air created a rather moist atmosphere and the greenery was in abundance, it felt strange for it to be November and see fields growing crops and allotments in full bloom..
This area also appeared to be quite a provider of bamboo, many-a trucks loaded to the brim…or any other vehicles for that fact!
After climbing my first big pass since Chengdu, ending with a tunnel I re-emerged into a totally different valley to the previous side. It was toward the end of the day but on descending just a few hundred metres the air seemed drier - as was the road, no longer wet and grimy. This new valley had a large river running through it with several dammed sections for hydro electric, but here even here the Chinese road expansion program was not thwarted - sitting on concrete stilts, unimpeded the road continued kilometre after kilometre.
On the third day I met a Chinese touring cyclist, Jing was on a short tour in between changing jobs and with no specific route he liked the idea of Kunming and asked if he could join forces with me, with no camping equipment this meant restrictions as to where we could stay but for now I appreciated some company and gladly said yes.
The change in weather was great, cracks in the grey clouds revealing the blue sky eager to get through and with most the traffic using the new road the old road was pretty much ours and made for some great cycling, it seemed China always had something new to offer.
Several passing cars stopped under this for a free clean, something neither of us felt we, or our bikes needed!
Pre-booking a hotel room just 70 km from where we had slept Jing had suggested we take a short day, but informing him of my tight visa schedule meant this wasn’t so easy for me and that I had to continue to stay with the 100km days (over-stayed visas in China can prove expensive). This particular morning we’d been climbing and with myself being ahead - along with my time constraint - Jing suggested if our gap gets too great then I should just press on, unfortunately the gap did widen and even with a few waits here and there I never had chance to say farewell to him, nevertheless we had a good couple of days riding together.
New hi-rise flats were on the periphery of just about every town and city I passed by, almost being built at the same pace as the allotment’s greenery!
No it’s not a new roller-coaster but the new, ever-forward-marching road!
YesIQuiteAgreeWithWhat’sBeingSaidHere.
Damm that’s big! (boom boom!)
Slowly the mountainside transforms into stepped fields as far as one can see, revealing some beautiful scenery.
This area of China was absolutely stunning yet it felt quite strange that after a few months of autumns fading sun and my subconscious preparation for the usual gloom that winter entails that I was now cycling back into the sunshine, the summer’s sun making a premature start on my body clock. Night-time temperatures were rather chilly and, after over a month of not being used - since west China! -, my tent was back in action, but the cold nights were a fair trade for what the day-time scenery gave, it really was wonderful!
Arriving in Kunming I’m soon directed toward one of the previously Google’d hostels which proved to be in a great location just around the corner from two of the city’s attractions; the impressive Yuantong Temple and the Green Lake Park.
The temple is at the foot of Yuantong Hill in the northern part of Kunming. With a history of more than 1,200 years, it is the grandest as well as the most important Buddhist temple in Yunnan Province.
Green Lake Park, or Cui Hu Park; Established in the 17th century on the west side of the Wuhua Mountain. The park consists of a group of 4 small sub-lakes linked by bridges in the traditional style. The lake was originally a water reservoir for the city. Brightly painted pavilions on the islands inside the park, tree-lined walks, flowers, and the local populace enjoying themselves by exercising in various specialist groups all add to the appeal of the park
Here is a photo-slideshow from my day off.
Taking a day off in Kunming was quite refreshing, almost a chance to pause for thought of what I’d been through in China, and also to get a much needed hair cut! December was now underway and with my visa expiring on the 9th meant I had eight days to reach the border riding 100km days. Laos was to be the next country and there were various route options to reach the border town, the quickest being a main road but wanting to maintain what I’d been on lately chose a more scenic route and this was certainly found with ease.
The quiet roads, excellent scenery, a few unexpected long climbs as it snaked along the side of the valley, crossing over the river further down then back along the opposite side climbing and climbing but normally with complimentary descents, more excellent scenery, it really proved to be cycling heaven.
A red Dandelion?
The further south I headed banana and rubber-tree plantations became an everyday sight, the bananas being covered in bags to help regulate the temperature and to protect from insects.
On the last full day of cycling in China the map I’d been using ‘ran out’, it was basically a map of the Yunnan province but only showed the more central area and now unsure how far it was to the border town of Mengla decided to ride for an hour or so after dusk, minimising the last day’s distance - again, concerned about the visa expiring. As luck would have it the following morning after a good 10 km descent past a sign saying it was only 35 km to Mengla, I’d just made it by the hair-of-my-teeth!
A few kilometres further along I notice another touring cyclist, upping my pace I catch up and we exchange stories. Eunate was from Basque Country and had been on the road for two years, recently parting company from her ride partner as she preferred to head into South-East Asia. Both heading for the same border crossing we join forces, stopping in the town for our last Chinese meal and stock up on a few bits and pieces before crossing into the next country where I discover a totally new pace of cycling!
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Hey Mark! some really beautifull pictures ! you asked if one was a red dandelion, i think it's a kind of callistermon what we call 'rince bouteille' in french. Your blog is very interesting ! Keep on going :)
ReplyDeleteBisous, Carole