October 17: Yekeng 叶坑 to Yangjiang 阳江 – 31 miles
Day 4
We peddled a beautiful stretch today. A well shaded road, lined with trees and beyond them verdant green rice fields. There was actual grass instead of heaps of garbage along the shoulder. We had to stop several times for maintenance and adjustments. Bumpy roads and loads on the trikes shook the bolts loose and rattled anything not fully secured. While we stopped, we were visited by a slender old man, probably in his 70’s riding an equally old bicycle. Although there wasn’t a speck of paint on the bike, it was well oiled and maintained. The old man was nice enough to agree to pose for pictures and demonstrate his riding. After telling him that we came from Hong Kong, he told us it was as good as himself going to Hong Kong as his pictures will travel back to Hong Kong with us.
Shortly after leaving this peaceful clean road, we entered a town uncharacteristically strewn with garbage and grim faces. Despite thinking this was a bad place to stop, we stopped to get groceries. As usual, Cher went into the store and I waited outside to guard the trikes. As usual, a crowd gathered, but this crowd was not polite. Their curiosity was forceful and intrusive and there weren’t any smiles. An older man with alcohol on his breath began poking our bags and I waved him off, yet he did it again. I made clear signs that I didn’t want him touching our things, then a 3rd time he tried to pull back the top of a bag, and I foolishly reached over and opened his mobile phone holder on his hip trying to teach him a lesson. I could have escalated the situation and had an angry mob or a fist fight instead of an annoying old man as Cher pointed out. Cher came out just in time to make our quick escape through the crowd, which only reluctantly gave way to avoid being bumped into. We both promised to trust our instincts and to avoid stopping in any sinister looking areas, and I had to promise to keep my cool.
After several more dusty, dirty roadside towns we started down a stretch of highway without a shoulder and had to pull off into the gravel and garbage to avoid tractor trailers with no room to go around us. Tired and dusty we entered Yangjiang at around 4pm and stopped at a hotel. Cher asked for a room at a cheap motel and just as we brought the trikes in, we were refused because they didn’t have a scanner for foreign id’s. We were directed to a hotel twice as expensive that had a scanner, but we found out that the hotel couldn’t accept foreigners because their scanner stopped working. As we were pulling out, Cher asked another staff member who just came out to take our pictures if we can stay, she guaranteed to take us if we had our marriage certificate or if we took 2 rooms. After some pressing by Cher and asserting that she would call the police herself, the scanner magically worked and we were able to get a room. I’ve learned that the scanning of IDs is a way to ensure surveillance of foreign visitors. The regulation is more strictly enforced in large cities, and some small cities.
We had a place that we could have camped earlier in the day at just 25 miles but decided to press on. When we reached Yangjiang it was too late to risk getting caught on a dangerous highway as it was getting dark. As a result, we were forced to stay in an expensive hotel in Yangjiang. We have to remember that we aren’t in a rush and to take the opportunity to stop when it presents itself.