This is the third time I have written some parts of this post due to IT issues…I hope the frustration doesn’t show! The rain in Lanzhou continued into the next day after we arrived gradually petering out sometime in the afternoon. We had begun to wonder if it would ever stop… In Lanzhou we had…
The evening of the day I arrived in Zhangye, I met Meka from the station without a hitch and we rode back into town chatting about what we had been up to while we had been riding apart. Whether or not you hear Meka’s stories depends on Meka pulling her finger out to write about…
It turned out that we weren’t staying in Dunhuang itself but just outside of town right next to the sand dunes, which are one of the things the area is famous for. These were truly impressive with some of the dunes apparently rearing up 800m and looking very beautiful with the clear blue sky behind…
We departed Luntai a little later than we would do normally so as to take advantage of the comfort of the hotel room and the inclusive Chinese breakfast buffet, which while filling left me craving cereal quite badly. Luntai was in another oasis like green area that we got to ride through for a large…
In Aksu we didn’t do much but rest and nurse a sense of frustration at being in the hotel we were in, we also ate a lot; some of which was free as apparently being foreign does of occasion mean you get free food in China. After a day in Aksu we set off once…
We decided to spend a couple of days in Kashgar to relax, get the bikes checked over, buy supplies and to see a bit of the city. Kashgar was quite an interesting place as you can very clearly see the Uighur culture meeting the Han Chinese culture not in perhaps any great harmony. Where we…
We spent a couple of days in Osh and while there we stocked up on supplies, did some shopping and took our bikes to be checked up. It turned out this was a good thing for me as the bicycle mechanic we took our bikes to discovered that my rear axle was bent slightly. I…
On the ride from Bishkek to Toktogul Meka’s knee had started to give her some pain as it wasn’t used to being subjected to the sort of exertions that cycle touring can lead to. As this was the case we decided to stop in Toktogul for a day to let Meka’s knee rest. There isn’t…
I had originally planned to leave Bishkek on 2 June, this was curtailed by my falling sick almost as soon as I’d written a post saying I was planning on heading off. Thankfully after spending the next day in bed instead of riding towards China I was ready to depart, better late than never. Meka…
From the bay of Bang Mun I carried on northwards, heading for Bangkok and following the coastline but not always right by the sea, I often was though: It was again very pleasant riding if a bit more hilly in parts for this stretch. As I got further north there was a lot more tourist…
Riding ROUND 