Night drive and rice wine
N 30°24'22.4'' E 103°28'07.8''
Date:
20.03.2016
Day: 266
Country:
China
Province:
Sichuan
Location:
Qionglai
Latitude N:
30°24’22.4”
Longitude E:
103°28’07.8”
Daily kilometers:
73 km
Total kilometers:
15,892 km
As the crow flies:
64.03 km
Average speed:
20.5 km/h
Maximum speed:
38.3 km/h
Travel time:
3:33 hrs.
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Maximum height:
500 m
Total altitude meters:
25.464 m
Altitude meters for the day:
72 m
Sunrise:
07:10 a.m.
Sunset:
7:16 pm
Temperature day max:
21°C
Temperature day min:
15°C
Departure:
06:00 a.m.
Arrival time:
11:30 a.m.
http://denis-katzer-shop.de/bucher.html
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
Excited about whether we can actually leave the city of Chengdu without its terrible traffic, we sleep badly. As planned, we get up at 4:00 a.m., carry our equipment to the first floor and load the bikes. At 6:00 a.m. sharp, we say goodbye to the two hostel staff, Linda and Momo, who got up especially for us. “Have a safe journey!” they call after us as our tires spin over the night-time asphalt after three weeks in this city. In fact, the streets are almost empty. “Fantastic!” Tanja cheers behind me. In order not to get lost, I set a point on the MAPS.ME navigation program at all important junctions and turn-offs yesterday. In this way, it is not possible for the program to guide us back onto a freeway. At 7:00 it starts to dawn and at the same time the traffic increases. We now have a good 20 kilometers behind us, which is why we have left the hustle and bustle of the city center behind us for a long time. As it gets light, a thick blanket of smog has settled over the country, as it does almost every day. It looks like we’re driving through an endless fog. After 50 km we take a short break in a village. In the middle of the small vegetable patches and fields are graves in which the local population have buried their dead. Apparently it is normal in the villages of China to bury your relatives in the garden.
Due to our early start, we reach our destination for today, the town of Qionglai, at 1:30 am. A wedding is currently taking place in our hotel. As we roll our bikes past the party crowd and park in the lobby, the festivities are interrupted for a photo shoot with us. We willingly hug strangers and laugh into the many smartphones. “May we present them with some Chinese rice wine?” asks a man from the congregation. “I’d love to,” I reply so as not to be rude.
If you would like to find out more about our adventures, you can find our books under this link.
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