World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: China
21° | sunny | km 5
The Far East
on 2016-08-25 in China
To be able to drive with your own vehicle through China you have to take care of a couple of things. You have to get a Chinese drivers license, number plate and your route has to be planned for the entire trip. Also it is not possible as an overlander to travel without a guide.
It was clear to us that we needed a travel company to take care of all the organizational hurdles. We contacted a couple of different organizations and in the end we decided to take up the offer from ChinaOverland.eu. They were always the quickest to answer any questions we had (even WhatsApp contact is possible) and in the end they even managed to get the best price for us. We recommend China Overland to anyone who thinks about traveling through China. They find a perfect route that fits your desires and try to give you the best price possible.
To make the journey through China affordable we decided to travel with a group. That is why for the next 30 days we would not be the usual threesome but actually a ninesome :). Joining us would be Gail, the American on a R1200 GSA, we traveled for some time with him and he has become almost the forth member of our group already, Fleur and Elko (Dutch guys in an old 4x4 Toyota, Jessica and Ruben (Dutch guys in a newer 4x4 Toyota) and Alan our Chinese guide.
Entering China was very exciting for us, it is one of these countries you hear a lot about before you go there. We had heard all sorts of stories also some bad ones, but since we had never been there we did not know what to expect. But now it was our time to experience this massive country for ourselves. We waited for the other cars at the Chinese border and immediately glad to see that the Chinese border officials where very friendly and relaxed. It was quite funny to watch the Mongolian border cabs cross in and out. All of them greeting us or at least staring at us. All of the cars were really old Ladas some lost some screws whilst they passed us, others got pushed over the border. The only important part was that pedestrians could not cross on their own so everyone crossing had to get into a car. From time to time we saw up to 10 people in the back of one small Lada. We did not see one car that did not have any damages to it. What was incredible that most of them were still running.
When the cars arrived at the gate, we were allowed in. It was now time to meet Alan, our Chinese guide for the next 30 days. He greeted us in good English and he was very happy to see that we all spoke English as well. Apparently he had some past experiences with travelers that could not communicate with him over the entire journey! He showed us where we could get our passport stamps and with him everything went very smooth. We went out and were looking forward to the first couple of kilometers in China with our vehicles. That's when we got the bad news. It was 12 o'clock and they would be taking a lunch brake until 3 o'clock!! Since we still needed the license plate and the drivers license Alan told us that it would probably not be possible to get all of the paperwork finished that day. The plan was to get the bikes and the permits the next day. Without a choice our group decided to make the best of it and looked for a hotel in the border town Erenhot.
That evening we got our first impression of what the next 30 days might be like. We sat in front of the hotel enjoying some beers and greeting to know each other a little bit better. After a short while a couple of people walking by wanted to take some pictures and we gladly obliged. We got greeted soon with a lot of smiles and waves from almost any direction. In the end we almost had to flee to our rooms because some of them kept buying six packs of beer for us and wanted to talk to us. Everyone was incredibly friendly and it was a great first impression for us!
It was clear to us that we needed a travel company to take care of all the organizational hurdles. We contacted a couple of different organizations and in the end we decided to take up the offer from ChinaOverland.eu. They were always the quickest to answer any questions we had (even WhatsApp contact is possible) and in the end they even managed to get the best price for us. We recommend China Overland to anyone who thinks about traveling through China. They find a perfect route that fits your desires and try to give you the best price possible.
To make the journey through China affordable we decided to travel with a group. That is why for the next 30 days we would not be the usual threesome but actually a ninesome :). Joining us would be Gail, the American on a R1200 GSA, we traveled for some time with him and he has become almost the forth member of our group already, Fleur and Elko (Dutch guys in an old 4x4 Toyota, Jessica and Ruben (Dutch guys in a newer 4x4 Toyota) and Alan our Chinese guide.
Entering China was very exciting for us, it is one of these countries you hear a lot about before you go there. We had heard all sorts of stories also some bad ones, but since we had never been there we did not know what to expect. But now it was our time to experience this massive country for ourselves. We waited for the other cars at the Chinese border and immediately glad to see that the Chinese border officials where very friendly and relaxed. It was quite funny to watch the Mongolian border cabs cross in and out. All of them greeting us or at least staring at us. All of the cars were really old Ladas some lost some screws whilst they passed us, others got pushed over the border. The only important part was that pedestrians could not cross on their own so everyone crossing had to get into a car. From time to time we saw up to 10 people in the back of one small Lada. We did not see one car that did not have any damages to it. What was incredible that most of them were still running.
When the cars arrived at the gate, we were allowed in. It was now time to meet Alan, our Chinese guide for the next 30 days. He greeted us in good English and he was very happy to see that we all spoke English as well. Apparently he had some past experiences with travelers that could not communicate with him over the entire journey! He showed us where we could get our passport stamps and with him everything went very smooth. We went out and were looking forward to the first couple of kilometers in China with our vehicles. That's when we got the bad news. It was 12 o'clock and they would be taking a lunch brake until 3 o'clock!! Since we still needed the license plate and the drivers license Alan told us that it would probably not be possible to get all of the paperwork finished that day. The plan was to get the bikes and the permits the next day. Without a choice our group decided to make the best of it and looked for a hotel in the border town Erenhot.
That evening we got our first impression of what the next 30 days might be like. We sat in front of the hotel enjoying some beers and greeting to know each other a little bit better. After a short while a couple of people walking by wanted to take some pictures and we gladly obliged. We got greeted soon with a lot of smiles and waves from almost any direction. In the end we almost had to flee to our rooms because some of them kept buying six packs of beer for us and wanted to talk to us. Everyone was incredibly friendly and it was a great first impression for us!
21° | sunny | km 769
We are riding in China!!!
on 2016-08-26 in China
The next day we spent the morning wasting time getting a big breakfast and having a small group meeting of what our plans would be for the next couple of days, right up until Alan got the call from the border official that we were cleared and ready to go. We took a cab to the border, all the paperwork was already done and we just had to walk in and pick up our vehicles from the parking lot. Next we had to ride to the police station to get our license plates and driver licenses, including a drivers test. For the test we had to go out of the parking lot and ride for 3 meters on the road and stop on the side of the road! Luckily everyone made it :). The license plate for the bike is in the format of a credit card and you can store it in your wallet which will be good if you decide not to obide by some of the street laws.
We were finally ready to head out! The first Kilometers felt amazing, it was hard to comprehend that we had made it to China and that we are riding through it on our own bikes! Motorcycles are forbidden on some of the Highways and you have to pay toll on all of them. We quickly found out that "forbidden" does not have to mean the same as in other countries :). The pavement was great almost no traffic on the highway and we were moving along quickly. The first night we camped at a new but abandoned gas station.
The next day we visited the Yungang Grottes in Datong. We had heard that sightseeing places in China would be quite expensive but when we saw the prices for the first time we still were stunned. We had to pay 20$ each for entrance, but nonetheless it was our first spot so we payed up and had a look. The castle was nice especially because it was the first real oriental building that we had seen. After that were some caves with statues of Buddha. Quite impressive at first but after some time also quite unspectacular.
We headed further east towards Beijing through some beautiful mountains with the first great paved roads in almost 3 months! We had decided to go up to the Great Wall really early in the morning, our genius guide Alan even managed to get us in before the normal opening. We took the cable car up to the wall and we were more then impressed. Shortly after 8 o'clock we were one the wall and we were the first ones up there! It is one of those things truly worth being called a world wonder! Even though we had seen pictures and heard a lot about it before hand we were still amazed every inch of the way. We walked over an hour along the wall up to the old non-restored part. The shear size and place where it had been built is hard to comprehend. What an amazing feat of mankind!
Thanks to Alan's mother we rented a cheap apartment in Beijing and became roommates.
We spent the days in Beijing visiting Tianmen square and the forbidden city. We also managed to meet up with Philipp a guy that works and lives in Beijing since a couple of years. We met him back in Pamir and we had joked about meeting in Beijing once we got there. Now we did! He showed us some great places. At first we met in a Bavarian restaurant where we enjoyed some 1 Liter Bavarian Hacker Pschorr and also some traditional snacks from Munich. After that we went to two different clubs to experience some of the local night life. Although it was very expensive we had a great time. At this point we'd like to thank Phillip again for showing us around! We relaxed the next day and washed our riding gear.
We were finally ready to head out! The first Kilometers felt amazing, it was hard to comprehend that we had made it to China and that we are riding through it on our own bikes! Motorcycles are forbidden on some of the Highways and you have to pay toll on all of them. We quickly found out that "forbidden" does not have to mean the same as in other countries :). The pavement was great almost no traffic on the highway and we were moving along quickly. The first night we camped at a new but abandoned gas station.
The next day we visited the Yungang Grottes in Datong. We had heard that sightseeing places in China would be quite expensive but when we saw the prices for the first time we still were stunned. We had to pay 20$ each for entrance, but nonetheless it was our first spot so we payed up and had a look. The castle was nice especially because it was the first real oriental building that we had seen. After that were some caves with statues of Buddha. Quite impressive at first but after some time also quite unspectacular.
We headed further east towards Beijing through some beautiful mountains with the first great paved roads in almost 3 months! We had decided to go up to the Great Wall really early in the morning, our genius guide Alan even managed to get us in before the normal opening. We took the cable car up to the wall and we were more then impressed. Shortly after 8 o'clock we were one the wall and we were the first ones up there! It is one of those things truly worth being called a world wonder! Even though we had seen pictures and heard a lot about it before hand we were still amazed every inch of the way. We walked over an hour along the wall up to the old non-restored part. The shear size and place where it had been built is hard to comprehend. What an amazing feat of mankind!
Thanks to Alan's mother we rented a cheap apartment in Beijing and became roommates.
We spent the days in Beijing visiting Tianmen square and the forbidden city. We also managed to meet up with Philipp a guy that works and lives in Beijing since a couple of years. We met him back in Pamir and we had joked about meeting in Beijing once we got there. Now we did! He showed us some great places. At first we met in a Bavarian restaurant where we enjoyed some 1 Liter Bavarian Hacker Pschorr and also some traditional snacks from Munich. After that we went to two different clubs to experience some of the local night life. Although it was very expensive we had a great time. At this point we'd like to thank Phillip again for showing us around! We relaxed the next day and washed our riding gear.
24° | sunny / cloudy | km 1961
An army for emperor Qín Shihuángdì
on 2016-09-01 in China
Our next stop was in Pingyao, one of the best preserved antique towns of the world. It was built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Even though it was clearly a tourist city we enjoyed the evening thanks to good food and live music. The streets were painted in bright neon colors because of the led lights everywhere.
The rest of our ride to Xian was pretty uneventful - we had stopped at the yellow river - to us it looked more like the brown river - but the admission fee was to high for us so we did not go very close. We managed to camp on the river though with a nice big bonfire. For Alan it was the first time camping like this and you could see that he enjoyed it very much. Basti managed to get in for free in the morning so he did get some close ups of the river which is nice. The roads were great and we were able to keep a good paste. The traffic was not as bad as we expected, even in the cities there seemed to be some structure to the traffic. It is possible that we are just so used to it after Mongolia but we did not have any problems with reckless drivers.
With just two hours left to see the terracotta Army we paid the admission fee and walked in. We went straight for the biggest Hall with the most restored soldiers. The level of detail in the statues was amazing. Sadly you could not get very close as most of the soldiers were some meters below the walkway. Nonetheless it was an incredible sight to say the least. We walked through the other chambers and a museum showing the artifacts that had been buried with the army. One of the most amazing sights were the horse carriages that had been put between the soldiers. The life sized horses with the carriage and the soldier on top must have been an incredible challenge to make. Still a lot of the Army has not been uncovered yet due to the immense amount of work out into restoring them.
After we had seen enough, we continued into the city of Xian. Alan made some reservations at a nice Hostel and we were eager to get a good nights sleep. As usual we headed out without the cars agreeing to meet later on at the Hostel. We arrived their in no time and once we had stopped to look for it we were immediately surrounded by a whole bunch of interested Chinese bystanders. Basti and Gail had their pictures taken with some of them and Fabi suddenly got a cellphone handed to him by a nice elderly women. On the phone was her daughter, we had met her just the day before at the yellow river. We had taken some pictures with her back than and she wanted to say thank you one more time. What an amazing coincidence in a country with over 1.3 billion residents.
Our entire group enjoyed a night out in Xian, at first at a bar with some dancers and karaoke. One of the singers got actually lifted up next to the bars terrace. Later we went to a club. As anyone can imagine our group stood a little bit out. But we had a great time dancing to YMCA with confetti in the air. :) The next day was spent recovering from the night before and walking in the old center of Xian. Our next stop would be in Huanglong to go up to a nature reserve. The road to the reserve was a beautiful mountain pass and it was finally time to let the bikes a little loose on the curvy roads. The view was spectacular and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Some of the oncoming traffic did not stick to their side of the road or passed in corners so we had to be alert all the time. Gail actually had some close calls but luckily managed not to get into another accident.
We arrived late in the evening and after trying to find a good camp spot for over an hour we sadly had to give up. The cars had decided to stay on the parking lot. Alan, Gail und us three decided to try to get a cheap hotel or hostel for the night. There were only two hotels that would take foreigners and both of them were actually quite expensive. Alan luckily showed us his bargaining skills and so we ended up in a beautiful hotel with a hot pool for very little cash! It was so nice that Gail, Denis and Fabi all decided to stay in the next day and just relax while Basti and Alan walked up to the national park.
The admission fee with cable car was 300 yuan (~40€) but Basti was more than happy to pay up so he could fill his sd-card with lots of pictures. Huanglong is the largest karst landscape in the world. Water runs down thousands of small colorful terraces at an average altitude of over 3550 meters. Huanglong belongs to the world natural heritage list since 1992. The wooden path leads alongside the beautiful ponds. It reminded Basti of the Plitvicer Lakes and Pamukkale all in one place. The ponds were all intact and full of water. The sheer size and the scenic background make this a very special attraction. Also worth checking out is a very colorfully lit cave underneath a Buddhist temple in the middle of the national park.
The rest of our ride to Xian was pretty uneventful - we had stopped at the yellow river - to us it looked more like the brown river - but the admission fee was to high for us so we did not go very close. We managed to camp on the river though with a nice big bonfire. For Alan it was the first time camping like this and you could see that he enjoyed it very much. Basti managed to get in for free in the morning so he did get some close ups of the river which is nice. The roads were great and we were able to keep a good paste. The traffic was not as bad as we expected, even in the cities there seemed to be some structure to the traffic. It is possible that we are just so used to it after Mongolia but we did not have any problems with reckless drivers.
With just two hours left to see the terracotta Army we paid the admission fee and walked in. We went straight for the biggest Hall with the most restored soldiers. The level of detail in the statues was amazing. Sadly you could not get very close as most of the soldiers were some meters below the walkway. Nonetheless it was an incredible sight to say the least. We walked through the other chambers and a museum showing the artifacts that had been buried with the army. One of the most amazing sights were the horse carriages that had been put between the soldiers. The life sized horses with the carriage and the soldier on top must have been an incredible challenge to make. Still a lot of the Army has not been uncovered yet due to the immense amount of work out into restoring them.
After we had seen enough, we continued into the city of Xian. Alan made some reservations at a nice Hostel and we were eager to get a good nights sleep. As usual we headed out without the cars agreeing to meet later on at the Hostel. We arrived their in no time and once we had stopped to look for it we were immediately surrounded by a whole bunch of interested Chinese bystanders. Basti and Gail had their pictures taken with some of them and Fabi suddenly got a cellphone handed to him by a nice elderly women. On the phone was her daughter, we had met her just the day before at the yellow river. We had taken some pictures with her back than and she wanted to say thank you one more time. What an amazing coincidence in a country with over 1.3 billion residents.
Our entire group enjoyed a night out in Xian, at first at a bar with some dancers and karaoke. One of the singers got actually lifted up next to the bars terrace. Later we went to a club. As anyone can imagine our group stood a little bit out. But we had a great time dancing to YMCA with confetti in the air. :) The next day was spent recovering from the night before and walking in the old center of Xian. Our next stop would be in Huanglong to go up to a nature reserve. The road to the reserve was a beautiful mountain pass and it was finally time to let the bikes a little loose on the curvy roads. The view was spectacular and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Some of the oncoming traffic did not stick to their side of the road or passed in corners so we had to be alert all the time. Gail actually had some close calls but luckily managed not to get into another accident.
We arrived late in the evening and after trying to find a good camp spot for over an hour we sadly had to give up. The cars had decided to stay on the parking lot. Alan, Gail und us three decided to try to get a cheap hotel or hostel for the night. There were only two hotels that would take foreigners and both of them were actually quite expensive. Alan luckily showed us his bargaining skills and so we ended up in a beautiful hotel with a hot pool for very little cash! It was so nice that Gail, Denis and Fabi all decided to stay in the next day and just relax while Basti and Alan walked up to the national park.
The admission fee with cable car was 300 yuan (~40€) but Basti was more than happy to pay up so he could fill his sd-card with lots of pictures. Huanglong is the largest karst landscape in the world. Water runs down thousands of small colorful terraces at an average altitude of over 3550 meters. Huanglong belongs to the world natural heritage list since 1992. The wooden path leads alongside the beautiful ponds. It reminded Basti of the Plitvicer Lakes and Pamukkale all in one place. The ponds were all intact and full of water. The sheer size and the scenic background make this a very special attraction. Also worth checking out is a very colorfully lit cave underneath a Buddhist temple in the middle of the national park.
24° | sunny | km 466
Good morning Pandas
on 2016-09-10 in China
After some of us had relaxed in Huanglong our next destination was Chengdu. The cars had traveled ahead and we got up early in the morning to cross out of the mountains and get on the big state road to ride back. The sky was blue and it was a beautiful morning to cross over the high mountain pass. We got some great footage as well and were in good spirits to go all the way to Chengdu.
The cars arrived before us and looked for a nice hostel to spend the night. Our plan was to get up really early the next day to go to the Panda place. That way we hoped to get some good pictures of the Pandas with less tourists around us. We also had heard that the Panda bears would be more active in the morning, little did we know that most of the Pandas had not gotten up yet when we got to the first cages. It was funny to watch them wake up and slowly start their morning. We could easily see some similarities between their morning rituals and ours :). It was a great experience to watch them eat and play with each other. The way they moved and behaved was very funny and we enjoyed our time there very much. Once the big tourist buses had arrived and it started to become more and more crowded we decided to head out.
We had planned to see two attractions that day so our next destination was the Giant Buddha in Leshan. He was cut into the side of the mountain and it was quite impressive to look at. Further there was a nice temple on top of the mountain that we discovered on our way out. Back at the parking lot we met some nice travelers and locals. A local monk asked us for some pictures with the bikes and we gladly obliged. We always wanted some pictures with a monk anyways!!
Our camp spot was kind of in a city, but it was nice and we enjoyed the cold beverages that the cars carried for us. :)
The cars arrived before us and looked for a nice hostel to spend the night. Our plan was to get up really early the next day to go to the Panda place. That way we hoped to get some good pictures of the Pandas with less tourists around us. We also had heard that the Panda bears would be more active in the morning, little did we know that most of the Pandas had not gotten up yet when we got to the first cages. It was funny to watch them wake up and slowly start their morning. We could easily see some similarities between their morning rituals and ours :). It was a great experience to watch them eat and play with each other. The way they moved and behaved was very funny and we enjoyed our time there very much. Once the big tourist buses had arrived and it started to become more and more crowded we decided to head out.
We had planned to see two attractions that day so our next destination was the Giant Buddha in Leshan. He was cut into the side of the mountain and it was quite impressive to look at. Further there was a nice temple on top of the mountain that we discovered on our way out. Back at the parking lot we met some nice travelers and locals. A local monk asked us for some pictures with the bikes and we gladly obliged. We always wanted some pictures with a monk anyways!!
Our camp spot was kind of in a city, but it was nice and we enjoyed the cold beverages that the cars carried for us. :)
25° | sunny | km 1037
Short visit to the monks
on 2016-09-12 in China
We spent most of the following days riding and enjoying the beautiful countryside. We had tons of fun riding up and down various mountains, one corner after another over tons of mountain passes. What an incredible time!
We spent a beautiful night at the Lugu Lake where we set up camp. The cars struggled a bit to get down to the spot that we had picked out for them. Amazing how easy it is to underestimate the slope or the depth of one step. Both drivers mastered the situation in the end and parked next to us.
One day later we already arrived in Lijiang, an old very well preserved city with lots of small rivers running through it. At night it was especially nice to look at. We enjoyed a good meal in a nice, small diner.
The next morning we had set a time to all meet in the local Walmart. The day after was the first day of the traditional Bavarian Oktoberfest. We bought a 5 liter keg of Wernesgrüner dark beer, a lot more canned beer and some bottled beers. We also bought meat and charcoal. We packed up the cars and left to find the perfect spot for our own Oktoberfest!
On our way we stopped at the famous Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La. We managed to get our first picture of a monk in front of a Temple!!
We spent a beautiful night at the Lugu Lake where we set up camp. The cars struggled a bit to get down to the spot that we had picked out for them. Amazing how easy it is to underestimate the slope or the depth of one step. Both drivers mastered the situation in the end and parked next to us.
One day later we already arrived in Lijiang, an old very well preserved city with lots of small rivers running through it. At night it was especially nice to look at. We enjoyed a good meal in a nice, small diner.
The next morning we had set a time to all meet in the local Walmart. The day after was the first day of the traditional Bavarian Oktoberfest. We bought a 5 liter keg of Wernesgrüner dark beer, a lot more canned beer and some bottled beers. We also bought meat and charcoal. We packed up the cars and left to find the perfect spot for our own Oktoberfest!
On our way we stopped at the famous Songzanlin Monastery in Shangri-La. We managed to get our first picture of a monk in front of a Temple!!
28° | sunny / cloudy / rainy | km 1592
O'zapft is!
on 2016-09-17 in China
One of the most important things for this day was finding the right camp spot. It was not as easy as one would guess. There were a lot of villages everywhere and all the open space was used to grow crops. We rode along a canyon looking for a proper place along the Mekong river. In the end we finally found a nice spot where the cars and all the tents had enough space.
We prepared everything: we cooled the 5 liter keg in the Mekong, lit the fire for the barbecue and cooled liters of canned beer in Elko's car. At 18:00 o'clock Chinese time, 12:00 o'clock in Munich we opened (O'zapft) the keg. We had prepared traditional Bavarian music the days before and we had a proper barbecue. We enjoyed the beers and the music. Later we switched to typical Oktoberfest music with Wolle Petry, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer and of course some Sierra Madre. Our Chinese guide joined in and gave his very best. We all had a great time and all survived the crazy evening. Two of the participants had some troubles getting back into their tents, one of them decided to lay down on top of it and the other one had to take a break 5 meters in front of the tent.
The next day we took our time getting ready and back on the road. Everyone was still feeling a bit of the aftermath and so we set off late afternoon. Luckily we quickly found a camp spot this time and started barbecuing the rest of the leftover meat. We crawled into bed early that night to make up for the lost sleep.
We got to the Yunnan province, which is probably the most beautiful province China's. Everything around us was in bright green colors, the view from the mountains was incredible and to the north we were really close to the Tibetan border. Our last highlight of our journey through China was visiting the Tiger Leaping Gorge north of Lijiang. Through the gorge runs a big stream with a couple of waterfalls and along the entire cliff winds an incredible mountain road. On the side of the road was a deep drop one would surely not survive. Most of the road had no guardrails, the sight down to the river was spectacular. It was a bit rainy the days that we stayed there but it was an incredible sight nonetheless.
The last days we had to make up a bit of time. The cars had decided to go on a bit further to make up some of the lost time. After leaving the Tiger Leaping Gorge in the rain we decided to get as quickly as possible back into a hotel to dry up. We decided we would rather get up early the next day and just ride the entire day on big roads. After riding 800 kilometers the next day we managed to catch back up to the cars and meet them at another hotel. Most of the time we rode on highways but even there we were able to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
The last night we spent in Mohan, a border town to Laos. We decided to go eat together one more time and have some drinks. The night was young and the Laos beer tasted great (finally above 5% alcohol again). Suddenly we came up with the idea of going to a karaoke place. After not to long everyone was convinced and just an hour later we found ourselves in a very fancy karaoke bar. It did not take long until we were singing songs from Madonna to the Village People!
We had an incredible 30 days with the entire Group and especially with our guide. We will never forget this time! Even when it was a bit stressful or we had some minor disagreements we always pulled back together. A big thanks to everyone that joined us and made this an one in a lifetime experience!
We prepared everything: we cooled the 5 liter keg in the Mekong, lit the fire for the barbecue and cooled liters of canned beer in Elko's car. At 18:00 o'clock Chinese time, 12:00 o'clock in Munich we opened (O'zapft) the keg. We had prepared traditional Bavarian music the days before and we had a proper barbecue. We enjoyed the beers and the music. Later we switched to typical Oktoberfest music with Wolle Petry, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer and of course some Sierra Madre. Our Chinese guide joined in and gave his very best. We all had a great time and all survived the crazy evening. Two of the participants had some troubles getting back into their tents, one of them decided to lay down on top of it and the other one had to take a break 5 meters in front of the tent.
The next day we took our time getting ready and back on the road. Everyone was still feeling a bit of the aftermath and so we set off late afternoon. Luckily we quickly found a camp spot this time and started barbecuing the rest of the leftover meat. We crawled into bed early that night to make up for the lost sleep.
We got to the Yunnan province, which is probably the most beautiful province China's. Everything around us was in bright green colors, the view from the mountains was incredible and to the north we were really close to the Tibetan border. Our last highlight of our journey through China was visiting the Tiger Leaping Gorge north of Lijiang. Through the gorge runs a big stream with a couple of waterfalls and along the entire cliff winds an incredible mountain road. On the side of the road was a deep drop one would surely not survive. Most of the road had no guardrails, the sight down to the river was spectacular. It was a bit rainy the days that we stayed there but it was an incredible sight nonetheless.
The last days we had to make up a bit of time. The cars had decided to go on a bit further to make up some of the lost time. After leaving the Tiger Leaping Gorge in the rain we decided to get as quickly as possible back into a hotel to dry up. We decided we would rather get up early the next day and just ride the entire day on big roads. After riding 800 kilometers the next day we managed to catch back up to the cars and meet them at another hotel. Most of the time we rode on highways but even there we were able to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
The last night we spent in Mohan, a border town to Laos. We decided to go eat together one more time and have some drinks. The night was young and the Laos beer tasted great (finally above 5% alcohol again). Suddenly we came up with the idea of going to a karaoke place. After not to long everyone was convinced and just an hour later we found ourselves in a very fancy karaoke bar. It did not take long until we were singing songs from Madonna to the Village People!
We had an incredible 30 days with the entire Group and especially with our guide. We will never forget this time! Even when it was a bit stressful or we had some minor disagreements we always pulled back together. A big thanks to everyone that joined us and made this an one in a lifetime experience!