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The road after
Luoyang
is smoothly going uphill and passed through fields, occasional treelines and villages covered with coal. After a small mountain pass and lots of sweat from the humidity we arrive at the infamous Shaolin Temple Complex. We watched a brief Kung fu show, walked around the pagoda forest amidst lots of tourists, who of course didn’t fail to notice our presence. Furthermore, the once serene monastery – where apprentices learned to transcend their physical existence and control their emotions and senses – has now become a tourist attraction with lots of noise and commotion (day 160).
BLOG ENTRY
BEIJING
,
CHINA
AUGUST 7 DAY
170 KM
11266
The road after
Luoyang
is smoothly going uphill and passed through fields, occasional treelines and villages covered with coal. After a small mountain pass and lots of sweat from the humidity we arrive at the infamous Shaolin Temple Complex. We watched a brief Kung fu show, walked around the pagoda forest amidst lots of tourists, who of course didn’t fail to notice our presence. Furthermore, the once serene monastery – where apprentices learned to transcend their physical existence and control their emotions and senses – has now become a tourist attraction with lots of noise and commotion (day 160).
Vasilios is not feeling very well the next morning and we decide to go to the closest big city and find a hotel to rest. After a tiresome day in hilly terrain we approach the outskirts of
Zhengzhou
.
20 km
are left to reach downtown… We settled down in a cheap hotel and Vasilios took some medicine against fever. After several hours we hear knocks on our door and soon realize that the hotel personnel wants us to move to another hotel saying that that one was not open for foreigners. Danae got really upset and stated that we were not going anywhere, especially now that Vasilios was sick. They ended up making numerous phone calls and settling this issue, we don’t know how… (day 161)
Vasilios doesn’t feel like giving up cycling and wishes to continue on his bike as much as he can. We cross the Yellow River for the last time, and from now on we will be riding on the plains of
China
. The head wind will still keep us company as we ride towards
Beijing
… How nice of him… Sudden thunderstorms and grey weather. While trying to find a hotel room we meet a very generous gentleman on an electric scooter, who not only helps us find an “appropriate” hotel but also invites for dinner at his luxurious restaurant. For a change we eat delicious gourmet Chinese food served by endless smiling young girls (day 162).
We have decided to ride fast until
Beijing
. We must note that for the past few days we have been riding alone, away from the group. We take turns with Danae every
5 km
and ride at high speed against the headwind. Km fly by very quickly, and we can have a nice rest at our hotel in
Anyang
. We have been lately spoiled by so many fresh hotel rooms and never leave town before noon. We spent a night hosted by a very kind family, who owned a petrol station, after spending lots of time trying to find a hotel for foreigners in the area. There was only one – monopolizing the local market – so you can imagine the room rates! (day 163-164)
We had an early wake up call as each car that came into the gas station area sounded their horns asking for service. We had breakfast together with the owners and their relatives, who operate the gas station. This is the first day we can see the sun after entering the lowlands of
China
, where humidity prevails. A protein boost for lunch before yet another long search for a sleeping place. We arrive in Yuanshi at 6pm and find a hotel where at first we are allowed to stay but soon enough requested to leave – at 7pm since registration is only available to Chinese citizens. We pitch our tent outside a gas station but decide to try our luck elsewhere because of the painful noise of a neighboring factory – 8 pm – only to be once again unsuccessful when the next gas station owners tell us we cannot stay there, afraid of police checks during this sensitive period of time. Finally, we get lucky after sunset when we locate a small hotel, where registration is not required. (day 165)
Getting on the Internet in Zhengding was an adventure. Only Chinese citizens with proper id were allowed to surf the net! Thanks to a nice young man who offered us his computer terminal we were able to communicate with the world. We had previously met a group of elderly cyclists from southern
China
and ate water melon with them on the side of a busy city street becoming an attraction to the locals and creating a small traffic jam. (day 166)
Our next hotel adventure takes place in the city of
Wangdu
. This time, our Chinese driver and Marcin have agreed with the management and filled registration forms. Everything seemed to be going fine, but when we arrived we were told that the hotel was not “safe” enough for foreigners. It was getting late, and we didn’t feel like riding another
40 km
to the next town. Government officials and police officers arrive at the scene, and we have endless negotiations among the heavy and curious crowd. “You must understand us. It’s the law… Olympic Games… Safety…” When they realized we were not going anywhere they changed their minds, and the same hotel became a safe one! We passed baggage control by “specialized” room attendants J and were offered an overnight stay for free after profuse apologies… (day 167)
Today Vasilios with his limited Chinese helped the group find a hotel, and we later had a farewell party for our driver, Jan. He is leaving the following morning to deliver our luggage to our hostel in
Beijing
, where will arrive in two days. We have been hearing a lot about police scrutiny and tight security, even rumors about not being able to cycle into
Beijing
. It was much easier and quicker than we were all made to believe – we even got an ice-cream from the security personnel. The last
50 km
till the center of
Beijing
were monumental. Our trip was finishing, and we were all excited about being there.
We had a meeting at the Embassy of Luxemburg with the ambassador’s wife and family, took several photos and had some appetizers. This was a great welcoming into
Beijing
. We were soon on our way to
Tiananmen square
for our last group pictures. Amidst police men and tourists we lined up in front of Mao’s portrait. We concluded our evening with a group dinner enjoying the famous Peking duck talking about our experiences on this trip. (days 168-170)
Tags: Shaolin Temple Kung fu Beijing China Anyang Yellow River Yuanshi Zhengding Wangdu Olympic Games Embassy of Luxemburg Peking duck Tiananmen square
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