Overview day 491 - 504
7 March 2024 - 20 March 2024
1012
Km’s Cycled
4250
Altimeters
14
Stages
1
Defect
To China
We cycle out of Ha Long with screeching tires. And of course, after super bad weather on the day we go on the water, we have a beautiful day on the day of departure. We cycle along the waterfront and still see a small part of the beauty of Ha Long Bay. We also see a lot of vacant hotels and villa parks. There seems to be no question of demolition, instead, new construction is taking place. Place for even more tourists. Madness.
Our last night in Vietnam
But we don’t worry about that anymore. We are going to China. We spend our last night in Vietnam in a hotel at the border. The next morning it is only about 20 meters of cycling and we are at the border crossing. Border crossings always remain a bit exciting. There is always a special atmosphere and somewhere there is always that unreal fear that they will single you out and refuse you entry. For whatever vague reason. We are extra tense about China, but above all in a positive way. We don’t actually know the country, mainly from the news, and that is not always positive. And can you actually “know” China? The country is huge.
Crosing the border
Fortunately, no fuss is made about our bicycles at the border, we are allowed to join the queue with the other pedestrians. We’re out of Vietnam in no time. Our bags still have to be scanned (only for the form because no one is paying attention to the screen behind the device) and then we can cross the short stretch of no man’s land. We join the queue again, about 30 people in front of us. That’s not too bad. Unfortunately, we underestimated that. No idea why, but it takes a long time. The line doesn’t move forward. There seems to be something wrong with everyone, forms are not filled in, making fingerprints is problematic, discussions with the immigration officer. We just wait. We definitely don’t worry anymore, it all takes far too long for that. The “we’ll see, we’ll be happy when it’s our turn”-feeling quickly takes over. We have to keep defending our places, otherwise we will be overtaken from all sides. Fortunately, it is not very easy to overtake us because they also have to squeeze past our bicycles.
15 days to cycle
When it is finally our turn, it takes about 30 seconds and we are allowed to pass through. Why on earth does it take everyone else at least 5 minutes? We really have no idea, but after 2 hours in the fluorescent light in a border crossing hall we are happy that we can finally go through that gate! We have to put our bags through the scanner one more time (again mainly for the formality) and we are in China. Woohooo.
We do not need a visa if we stay in China for a maximum of 15 days. Hong Kong is about 1000Km away so that is feasible, provided we cycle relatively long days. Rob ensures a tight schedule with 3 rest days to do some sightseeing. On day 1 we immediately cycle 50Km.
Escape room
Our hotel on day 1 is full of technical innovations. It feels like an escape room because everything is in Chinese. We can’t open the toilet seat, the curtains are electrically controlled, no idea how it all works, but after many tries we figure it out and we sit on a lovely heated toilet seat with disco lights in the bowl.
Day 1 is over and the first impressions are good. We mainly cycle on cycling lanes, almost all mopeds are electric which saves a lot of noise, the streets are clean, the Chinese are very friendly and we had a delicious meal. That bodes well.
We're not getting sick are we?
There is only one small problem and that is that Isabelle no longer feels so energetic after 25Km. In the evening she gets a mild fever, which fortunately subsided on the mornng of day 2. So we hop on our bikes and see how it goes. We shorten day 2 to 50Km. It’s raining, we’re on a quiet road that slowly but surely gets worse and eventually turns into a big mudslide. It’s a struggle. Isabelle is still not 100% fit and Rob also suffers from general malaise.
New brakes
Our brakes were no longer quite what they used to be, but after 15Km of muddy clay, the very last remnant of brake pad has worn away. Braking power: zero. Fitness: zero. Sun: zero. Bicycle Fun: hard to find. We are happy when we arrive at the hotel drenched in rain and covered in mud up to our belly buttons. We quickly jump into the shower, with our bags (really) so that they also get a bit clean. We walk down the street for something to eat and we accidentally bump into a bicycle repairman. After dinner we bring our bikes by and he replaces our entire braking system. A bit safer now that we can brake again.
In the meantime, we also attract the attention of a number of passers-by, our western faces are interesting. We have to have our picture taken a few times, and we are offered some local specialties. Very nice, but at the moment we mainly want new brakes, out of the rain and to sleep as quickly as possible. We feel ourselves becoming less and less fit.
We do get sick
The next morning it actually rains even harder than it already did. From our hotel window we see a big gray, sad raincloud hanging over the city. And we both feel even worse than we already did. After breakfast we decide to book an extra night. Now that we know we’re not getting on the bike, we mentally give in and collapse. That day we are sick in bed and we don’t leave our hotel room. There goes our tight schedule. But the priority now is to get better.
In any case, day 4 starts off dry and lot’s of sleep has improved us somewhat. The flu is still bothering us, but we decide to get on our bikes anyway. We hope a little fresh air will do us good.
Continue cycling stubbornly
The days that follow we falter a bit. We feel a little better every day, but you can’t really call it great. The weather also continues to falter. Then it rains again, then it is dry again for a while, then it drizzles again and that is not good for our health. And to be honest, we find the cycling in China a bit boring. The roads are big, we have no beautiful views, no stops along the way. These are mainly functional kilometers. Nevertheless, the Chinese surprise us in a positive way. The restaurants and places we visit along the way and in the evening are clean, the food is (usually) very good, there is always a friendly smile, people are nice, curious and very polite.
Children speak to us very politely and once the ice is broken they are happy to have their picture taken with us. Adults too, by the way. It also happens more than once that we don’t have to pay for our food, and it doesn’t cost that much anyway. So it’s a shame about our health, the weather and the boring roads. But on the other hand, we are positively surprised by the Chinese themselves and we also experience plenty of fun moments.
Hong Kong in sight
After more than a week of struggling, we really feel a lot better and more energetic again. There is still the occasional itchy cough, but we can live with that. At the pharmacy we buy cough syrup, throat sweets and tea that’s suposed to be good for your throat. In any case, the road to healing has been started. And with that the weather is slowly improving, at least we have had no more rain the last couple of days and every now and then we even see the sun breaking through the smog.
The last part to Hong Kong we cycle through Guangzhou, the 3rd largest city in China in terms of population. And the city is gigantic. So we prepare for crowds. And it certainly is busy. The mopeds in the city are also all electric and that is very nice for our ears. Furthermore, we are not really pleased with the driving skills of the average Chinese. Everyone has mirrors, but they are mainly used to touch up makeup at the red traffic light. The rest of the time the mirrors are not used. Never. Without exception. Priority rules are also quite simple, they don’t excist. Overtaking on the right, driving against traffic, ignoring traffic lights, it’s the most normal thing in the world. At least if you’re on a moped. Cars wait politely at the red light.
Cycling FUN!
But the crowds also mean that no one can really drive fast. You have to pay attention, that’s for sure, but there are no life-threatening situations. Everything is very quiet and pleasant. And we really enjoy cycling through the city. A lot is happening around us again. We are short of eyes.
It is fortunate that Guangzhou and the surrounding area are so large, because it is more than 200 km of cycling fun.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong we managed to find a warm shower address for the first time in a long time. Fortunately, because the hotel prices did not make us very happy. We cycle towards the border crossing and we see an anthill of people standing outside. We are told by a guard to continue cycling, but because of that anthill it would have been impossible to get through. But where should we go? We ask some other guards a bit further on and after some “talking” back and forth they jump on their electric scooter and gesture for us to follow.
They send us to a remote parking garage via taxi and bus lanes. All “no cycling” signs are professionally ignored. We just follow obediently. In the parking garage we walk behind another guard who puts us in an elevator. And sure enough, that elevator ends up perfectly in front of the customs gates. We could never have found that ourselves. From there it all goes very smoothly. We cycle into Hong Kong on March 21, 2024. The sun is shining, we feel fit again, and we are in Hong Kong, who would have thought. Life smiles at us.
