Beasts in Jungle

October 31st: Fangchengangkou 防城港口 to Dongxing 东兴 – 28.19 miles

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Day 18

Finally we have arrived at the China / Vietnam border. Having chosen a route around many of the mountains, we’re now heading for our first climbing destination – Huu Lung, approximately 160 miles or 256 km from our current location. Upon entering Vietnam, we will no longer have the benefit of Cher’s language skills to navigate so we decided to purchase a map.

We set out on a motorcycle taxi bounding for the nearest bookstore. With the both of us on the back, we made it across the city in a matter of minutes. We both were amazed at the speed and ease of traveling on a motorcycle compared to our trikes but we quickly dismissed the thought of changing to motorcycles, since I almost killed both of us after 5 seconds on a scooter in Thailand.

There is one bonus to not knowing the language though: Cher will no longer have to endure the never-ending stream of questions she has to answer or divert on a daily basis. Last time when we were in Vietnam, I stepped up as the communicator with the locals. They would watch me performing the international body language dance for a moment, before turning to Cher as if to say, OK your white boy has had his fun, now let’s chat. They would then launch into full speed Vietnamese thinking Cher is one of their citizens, only to see the perplexed expression on Cher’s face.

To save us some trouble, we have downloaded a free pdf of Vietnamese phrases. Looking at our new phrasebook I just realized that Vietnamese is a tonal language, despite using a roman alphabet, with a variety of diacritics. No wonder no one understood my attempt at Vietnamese. As Cher can attest, in singing and Mandarin, tone is not one of my strong points.

October 30th: Qinzhou 钦州 to Fangchengangkou 防城港口 – 37.84 miles

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Day 17

Sometimes cycling is monotonous patience trying labour. The continuous revolution of the pedals, the mobs of curious onlookers, the honking motorists, the piles of rubbish all make one loath slow travel. But like all of life it’s the dark periods that make the bright periods shine much more brilliantly.

Today was one of those glorious days. Compelled by the subtle swells, passing over smooth concrete winding through countryside dotted by peaceful roadside villages, we floated through the day. What a thrill as we stealthily slid by silent villages going about their morning chores. Mothers brushing their daughter’s hair or wiping the face of their son, as they sat outside their house on little stools. Men working on motorcycles, making bricks, or spreading grain to dry. Us witnessing them in snapshots before they saw us and stirred from their daily activities. Village after village revealed quiet domestic scenes without the normal yells, hello’s, screams, barks, and whistles that punctuate our days as locals vie for our passing attention. Leaving this serene road we began to see large buildings in the distance and we both braced ourselves for the city.

People in big cities are more likely to ogle, point and poke, and photograph to the point of annoyance. With none of the manners of the rural sections, nor good sense, we are often blocked by vehicles stopped in the middle of busy roads to take pictures of us or harassed by large groups. Never did we expect that, as we rolled into the city of Fangchengang (防城港市), there would be no curious passers-by, no picture takers, no cars, no people, just empty buildings. With towering buildings of 40 stories or more, it looked like a ghostly vacant Hong Kong. Here and there were some businesses but many of the buildings were newly finished or in the process of completion. Bright photoshopped posters were everywhere along the roadside, depicting hopeful scenes of a Utopian paradise where families strolled on a man-made beach or relaxed in the courtyard of a still unfinished building. However, the newly paved road was inexplicably torn up. We both felt that odd sensation that something was out of place.

In the early afternoon we arrived in Fangchengangkou, or 防城港口. In every appearance this town was quite well off. People strolled the streets with a relaxed content air. Paved roads with clean sidewalks were lined with shops selling luxury goods and restaurants. Part tourist destination, and part shipping port, it seemed that this town offered a lot of opportunities. However, it did not provide nearly enough to support the looming ghost city we had just passed. After we found a cheap hotel in town, Cher asked the receptionist why they built such a mega city, the receptionist replied that it was in the hope to attract out-of-town investors. Cher then asked “do they have enough jobs to support that many people？” to which she did not have an answer.

This seems to be the way in China that we have seen repeatedly: don’t ask too many questions. Maybe because in the end there is no rational answer. Asking too many questions only leads to frustration which they have no power to act on. Why did they tear up the perfect new road? Why did they build the mega satellite city, knowing there will never be enough population to fill the buildings? With a shrug, one can only answer: “Because this is China.”

October 29th: Rest Day in Qinzhou

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Day 16

As is normal during our rest days, we rest our legs but are not truly at rest. I spent the day typing and in a reversal of roles Cher cleaned and lubed the trike’s drive train. A complicated procedure in our tiny, windowless but cheap hotel room. Manipulating one trike at a time we managed to squeeze the back-end into the bathroom, leaving the front end in the hallway. We place a layer of newspapers on the floor to soak up any over-spray or sludge. Our normal procedure is spray down the chain with degreaser, wipe, and then lubricate. Our chains are filthy after about 1 week. I’ve proposed doing a complete cleaning once a month, which involves removing the chain and immersing it in a solvent, scrubbing it and re-lubricating. Click here for an excellent article written by Sheldon Brown on how to keep your chain clean.

Lucky for us, most bathrooms in Asia are wonderfully suited to filthy travelers. They are tiled from floor to ceiling, with an open shower where several water faucets are available. The shower and the bathroom are one in the same. In essence you have one large shower where you can wash yourself, clothes, bags and even trikes.

Our Google Nexus tablet has been the sole means of maintaining our website. Before we left Hong Kong, I unlocked the bootloader so we can transfer files via a usb. With a simple word processing program and a cheap blue tooth keyboard, we are able to write, edit and post our blog. Cher has also discovered that we can link our cameras directly to the tablet using a OTG (on-the go) cable which allows you to link many USB devices directly to your tablet. Our tablet is a valuable resource in many other ways. It’s our multilingual dictionary, navigation, internet, and entertainment center. It’s small, portable and the battery life is better than a full-sized computer.

Taking a break from our chores, we took a stroll and sampled some of the local specialties, which were cheap and delicious.

Although our foray was brief, we sometimes feel guilty when we stay inside and rest on a beautiful day. However, we have had nothing but beautiful weather since day one. Yes, some have been unbearably hot, but we have not had one rainy day yet and this constant sun does provide us with some of the sweetest, robust fruit which we’ve been eating by the bushel. Still we hope for cooler weather, but driving into the tropics and then towards the equator, I’m not sure if we’re going to find it so soon.

October 28th: Hepu 合浦 to Qinzhou 钦州 – 48.05 miles

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Day 15

After our longest distance that we covered the previous day, we set out for Quinzhou, and the distance would make it our new longest day. Upon leaving the city, we were once again surrounded by lush fields. Cher, stopping to buy watermelon from a street stale, was told that land is cheap here and that each household owns at least a dozen acres. No wonder they shunned modern groceries, evident from the lack of garbage we saw, when they have an abundance of fresh local produce the year round.

The road was smooth with little construction with the exception of a inexplicably muddy rutted section about 100 yards long. Hills have become more pronounced, but with long sweeping descents. Passing through yet another dusty roadside town we saw a truck stopped in front of some shops with what looked like a man either napping or examining the underside of a truck. This was the same type of large truck that passes us regularly. I felt that something wasn’t quite right. I surveyed the scene without stopping and saw everything and wished that I had not.

He was not napping. Just under the front of the truck lay a crushed motorcycle and the man’s legs. I immediately understood what didn’t seem right. There was no crowd. Everyone in the vicinity stood at a distance. I guessed that they did so out of helplessness, horror, or respect. As we pedaled away I said a quick prayer thinking of this man’s family.

Reflecting on our own position, we have done our best to remain alert and to make ourselves visible, but all that it takes is one moment of lost attention by either party and their intersection. We all know that these accidents happen but nonetheless we step out of our houses and kiss our loved ones goodbye. Apart from living a bubble wrapped existence what can we do but remember to let the ones we love know that we do?

October 27th: Gaoqiaozhen 高桥镇 to Hepu 合浦 – 45.77 miles

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Day 14

What a day of rest can do! That and a gently rolling landscape. We were up and on the road by 7:30 and arrived in Hepu at 2pm, almost 46 miles away. At no time did either of us feel fatigued. We even stopped for a stretch every ten miles as the precepts of slow travel dictate. A better training regimen for the mountains that we will surely come to could not have been better designed. We are getting stronger and faster but don’t feel as if we are pushing ourselves. It has been a natural progression.

Our progression was also hastened by the cool, dry weather we had today. However, we were still coated in a thick layer of dust from the road. Since our trikes are at tire height, any large vehicles that pass throw up a cloud of dust that settles on us as we pass through it. It’s a good thing we have large flags made out of neon construction vests as well as a vest strung across the back to give us increased visibility. After seeing how much attention we have attracted, we have no doubt that we are indeed very visible and have to remove our flags at lunch so we don’t draw too much of a crowd.

Our momentum only slowed when the road suddenly narrowed to a single lane, usually with very little notice. Huge pits capable of swallowing a car to its windows were marked with only a tree limb and some orange grocery bags. These constant hazards were to our advantage because it required the truckers to remain vigilant and to drive slowly. Many of the trucks that passed us did so slowly and carefully. They always make sure to honk as they approach and pass. Although I’m thankful for this, Cher and I are almost certainly going deaf from the repeated blasts. I’m beginning to feel that the trucks may not be as menacing as they appear, although we will certainly keep on eye on the road and another on the rear view mirror.

We are seeing more fields of sugarcane, oranges, bananas, dragon fruit and pineapples as we move west. This is great for tropical fruit but bad for fair skinned white men. We exhausted our first tube of sunscreen and went looking for more. We have found that sunscreen lotions are considered a beauty product and as such comes in tiny little bottles with expensive price tags. To avoid using so much sunscreen, we’ve started covering up. Our synthetic clothing has been doing a good job at keeping us cool and dry.

While Cher was using the bathroom at a gas station, I was captured by a group of “shy” Chinese teens. Eight of them piled out of tiny van like clowns out of a clown car and rushed me. They must have been planning it while inside, because their phones and cameras were at the ready and a coordinated photo attack ensued. Without asking, arms were thrown over my shoulder and around my waist while they flashed the obligatory peace sign. I joined them, reluctantly. I snapped a photo of them checking out Cher’s trike and bombing her with the usual FAQs after she returned from the bathroom.

We quickly found a hotel in another large town and quickly dispensed with our duties – unpacking, moving the bags, hauling trikes into the room, showering, sink laundry, food, reading and then bed before 8pm, as always early.

October 26th: Rest Day and B-day in Gaoqiaozhen 高桥镇

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Day 13

To begin the celebration, Cher surprised me with a card she had stowed away since Hong Kong. Instead of our daily ration of oatmeal, we went out for a lavishing 2-course breakfast: first a stew made of offal and some leafy vegetables in a thin broth. Despite much western squeamishness at liver, intestine, heart, kidneys and the like many of these have a lot of vitamins, such as vitamin C, which you don’t get in the skeletal organs. Next a rice sheet roll (much like crepe, but made with rice flour) with minced meat and an egg, covered in fresh cilantro. It was delicious. I spent the afternoon reading. We carry a Kindle and a Google Nexus Tablet. Both of them are excellent e-readers. Since we’ve started I’ve finished Don Quixote and Cher is reading the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thanks to the technology, we are free from the heavy lifting of the books. I’ve since decided to call my trike Dapple, named after Sancho’s ass, due to its incredible comfort and faithfulness. Since many books are free 90 years after the death of the author, my reading has been around the late 19th and early 20th century. For anyone looking for books of adventure I recommend Don Quixote, Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen, Roughing It by Mark Twain, and Typee and Omoo by Herman Melville, all for free! Other than updating our website and checking emails, we have also been using the Google Nexus tablet for navigating. I previously chose a route and downloaded each section of the map for the first part of our journey so we have offline access. There are some limitations to this. First we can’t get directions so we have to estimate distances. Secondly, Google maps is not very accurate in China. The information is very outdated. It gives you a good idea about the roads and general direction, but don’t depend on it for anything else. It does pin point our location when we are lost, since our tablet has satellite GPS, and it has been good enough to get us from town to town. Knowing our general heading I also carry a good old-fashioned compass so if all else fails we can continue in the correct direction, which we have used several times when the road are lacking signs. While I was leisurely reading away my birthday, Cher busied herself updating our website. Due to some technical difficulties (long story), the pictures had to be uploaded from a computer instead of the tablet. Not being able to use the computers at the internet cafes, she took advantage of the niceness of the people in this town. The receptionist offered a room with a computer for her to use free of charge. However, the computer was locked and she couldn’t upload the pictures from our SD cards. Then the receptionist offered a computer at the neighboring truck scaling business, where Cher spent a good 3 hours working on the computer while people minded their truck weighing. We were both struck by the kindness and openness of the people here. Cher told me that they have been the first bunch of people whose first question for us wasn’t “how much are the trikes?” Instead, they were more interested in our journey itself and genuinely excited for our adventure. As we were stealing their Wi-Fi in the hotel lobby, we were invited to have tea with the staff. Cher found no difficulty in small chatting with them, as they were very passionate about the town they live in. They proudly talked about their local mangrove forest, red crabs, oranges and lychee, and promised that if we come back next year during the lychee season, we will have free access to the orchard. It was what we needed, after seeing many frowny faces along the way. We also went out for dinner and had a very fatty but delicious fish cooked in a clay pot and a heaping tray of vegetables, which we washed down with two large cold beers. It’s a great change to go out to dinner, but we haven’t been exactly starving. I’m still maintaining some good insulation and haven’t suffered in the least. Our breakfast has always been oatmeal with condensed milk or soy milk powder, mine with a cup of coffee and Cher’s with a cup of green tea. For lunch we eat at road side restaurants where we get to sample the fresh vegetables and fruits that are grown locally and for dinner we have noodles with pickled vegetables and some type of protein, such as sausage, eggs, canned fish or spicy tofu. We eat many of our meals voraciously even though many of them are the same with hunger being the best sauce.

Wild wild west

B-day dinner restaurant

Our rest day was restful. Nearing our 2 week mark it’s hard to believe that we’ve planned to do this for at least a year, but sitting here content, housed and fed it’s easy to imagine that we will both celebrate at least one more birthday on our tour.

October 25th: Pucaotang 浦草堂 to Gaoqiaozhen 高桥镇 – 24.04 miles

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Day 12

We have spent our first and last night in our hammocks. They are neither cool when it’s hot nor warm when it’s cold. To be comfortable in a hammock you either need a constant temperature or to be a contortionist. When it’s hot during the day the hammock envelopes you and cuts off all air flow and it’s stifling and when it’s cool at night convection robs heat from your your backside and you freeze. We spent the night alternately sweating or freezing. When we got cold we wrapped up in our sleeping bags, which compressed the insulation underneath us leaving our bottom still cool and our top hot. This caused us to sweat so we also became chilled. A sleeping pad is necessary to cut down the heat loss, but managing a sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the narrow confines of a slippery hammock is beyond our flexibility, co-ordination and patience.

As terrible as it sounds I did sleep quite well only waking 3 times. Cher’s sleep was much more turbulent, as her hives broke out. Cher also brought up a good point against the usage of hammocks for outdoor living, who wants to be tightly sealed in their own filth after a day of hiking?

I had fantasies of sleeping in the hammock tied to palm trees on wind swept beaches, and being safely strung over prickly undergrowth where snakes and scorpions lurk, all the time forgetting that our tent is already snake and scorpion proof. Also there are few times when we can’t find a patch of earth big enough to put up a tent, even if we have to both squeeze into the middle. Therefore we have deemed the hammock and tarp as excess weight and will be mailing it back. That’s five less pounds that we will have to slog up mountains as gravity drags us back down.

We arrived in the town of Gaoqiaozhen in the early afternoon after a short ride. It’s a pleasant town. The townspeople’s curiosity is reserved and friendly. Cher’s itchiness continues. That coupled with the coziness of the town has compelled us to stay for a rest day, which also happens to be my birthday.

October 24th: Zhanjiang 湛江 to Pucaotang 浦草堂 – 26.53 miles

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Day 11

Oh what a sweet surprise! After fleeing the city we had a pleasant ride through the countryside. That is until we were cornered by some curious passersby. First a car stopped blocking the shoulder, and young man got out to take a picture, we stopped and waved him off, but he persisted. Next a 3 wheeled cart stopped next to him, then a scooter and a pickup truck. The more that we stayed, the more that stopped until they were blocking two thirds of the road forcing tractor trailers to veer off into oncoming traffic. Feeling more or less cornered and trapped, both Cher and I lost our temper and started yelling and tailgating a motorcycle. Soon we calmed down and felt ashamed because our conduct was perhaps even worse than those that trapped us at the first place.

If seeing us on trikes is the highlight of their day so much so that they deny their own instincts of self preservation to snap a photo while stopping in traffic, it cost us nothing to remove ourselves to a safe spot until they are satisfied. However, it is very difficult to dampen that basic instinct of fight or flight when you are trapped, even if it is by a mob armed only with mobile phones. However, we both agreed that for our own health and safety that we have to be the better selves, even if that was the 7th car that day that stopped our progress.

Just after lunch we drove by a handsome forest with very little brush between the trees. They were made for hammocks! We couldn’t pass the opportunity to try out our hammocks and tarp that we had been carrying around for the past 2 weeks, even with only 2 liters of water between the two of us. Following a dirt path we pulled off and pushed our cycles into the bushes. Hot, sweaty, thirsty, dirty, and tired we pulled in and waited for the sun to set. It was 2pm and even sitting still in the shade made us sweat. We killed out time by putting up the tarp for sun protection and debating the visibility from the road. The temperature finally dropped at sunset. We should have known this was a bad omen but weren’t hammocks made in and for the tropics?

The nightmare began as Cher’s hives broke out in the middle of the night, with dirt and sweat all sealed up in the clammy hammock. Though it was grilling during the daytime, it was chilling during the night, but not quite cold enough for down sleeping bags. As a result, half of our asses were freezing in the cold breeze where they were snuggled against the hammocks, while the other half sweated under the down sleeping bags. Cher spent her itchy night listening to me snoring away, mosquitoes buzzing around and rats squeaking under our food bag. The decision that we should abandon our hammock dream was easily made the next morning.

We didn’t even really need to camp. We have not had any problem keeping our budget of 10USD per person per day so far. We will surely be enjoying our fully air-conditioned hotel rooms without worries, if we can find one that is.