Jiayaguan to Hami, China, June 2016

Dag 38 Jiayaguan til Hami, 592 km

I dag var en rigtig lang tur på 592 km til Hami. Hele turen var på Motorvej.

Hami ligger i provinsen Xinjiang, som er Kinas største provins. Der var åbenbart nogle uroligheder her i 2014, så der er stadigvæk forhøjet sikkerhed, hvilket vi mærkede ved at vi 3 gange skulle vise pas.

Endless road - Endeløs vej

Where did the boat come from - Hvor skal båden hen?

Desert - Ørkenen

Turen gik igennem et fladt ørkenlandskab (Gobi ørkenen), så ikke meget at berette om det, andet end, at vi kørte ca 100 km igennem en vindmøllepark. Vi er nu i en del af Kina, som er beboet af en etnisk gruppe som hedder Uighur folket, disse er hovedsaligt muslimer, så maden er her, mere central asiatisk inspireret, hvilket vil sige lammekød og brød. Så efter vi havde tjekket ind på vores hotel og været ude og gå en tur, (hvor vi fandt nye batterier til vores bil nøgle og købt brød til morgen mad), fandt vi Uighur mad på et gade marked, stegte lamme koteletter og brød til – hold da helt op hvor vi nød det.

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22nd June, distance 592 km, driving time 9 hours

Left Jiayaguan, at 9.30 am for Hami.

Since our hotel, in this new satellite town was just right outside the motor road, it took us just 2 min to reach the first toll gate.

In China, you pay a considerable sum for driving on the High Speed Highways. The cost was app 1500, for the day.

Bikers on the road - Motorcykel klub på vejen

On the highway, for more than 100 km on both the sides, was a Windmill park. This Windmill park, was so enormous that it took us 1 hour to pass it,  and on top of it, were all the transmission lines, from the windmills to the main lines. An amazing sight.

Windmills and flat land - Vindmøller og uendelig ørken

The landscape was just flat out, with a few mountains in the horizon. Reached Hami at 5.30 pm and checked into our hotel.

Street food, lovely - Gadekøkken, dejligt

Went for a short walk, around town in the blistering heat, and soon found out that the Uighur people in this district are 90 % Muslims. We enjoyed a fabulous meal of kebabs and beer. What a relief from the usual Chinese food eaten with Chop Sticks. 

Zhangye to Jiayuguan ( great wall),China. June 2016

Dag 37 Zhangye til Jiayuguan, 247 km

Her til morgen gik Michael i køkkenet for at lave omeletter til os alle sammen, vi har savnet vores vanlige morgenmad, så det var godt. Han fik også lært damen i køkkenet at lave en omelet.

Janet and Louis getting ready for todays drive -Janet og Louis vasker bil

I dag foregik næsten hele turen på motorvej. Så Michael var glad. 

                                        Driving through the desert - Vi kørte igennem ørkenen
Igennem et fladt næsten ørken lignende landskab, meget tørt. Vi var hurtigt fremme ved vores mål, som var den vestligste del af Den Kinesiske Mur. 

The Great Wall - Den kinesiske mur

                                           

Først så vi en del af den, hvor der var genopbygget en bydel, ikke ret meget af den originale mur tilbage her. Efter frokost kørte vi så til et andet sted, hvor man kunne gå på muren. Vi gik en lille tur, og nød en is og noget vandmelon inden vi fandt vores hotel.

Vores hotel lå i udkanten af byen, en helt nybygget by med flotte alleer og smukke blomster i vejkanten. Vi gik ind mod byen og fandt en restaurant.

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21st June. Distance 247 m, driving time 2½ hours

We got up early, as I had promised everybody to make breakfast.

The Chinese do not know what an omelette is, and there is no word for it in Chinese. Our guide, Sophie, and the rest of the fellow travellers, did not believe that I could cook. The next easiest thing in life is making an omelette, and I even taught their cook, who was standing and smiling next to me, how to make an omelette.

Making Omelette - Michael i køkkenet 

Saying goodbye to the ladies - Farvel til personalet

After a healthy, tasty breakfast, the staff demanded another photo shoot. They all wanted to be in the pictures, so we had to move our cars and spend the next half an hour on the photo shoot. Finally, the waitresses wanted selfies with me; I must be getting fairer day by day.

Left our hotel, with a lot of waving, byes and tears running down the waitresses cheeks.

What a drive today. We drove on the Chinese high speed highways. Since there are cameras on these highways, the Chinese stick to the speed limit of 120 km/hour. Blackie cannot get a speed ticket, so of she went, cruising at 140-150 km/hour.

                                              Amazing roads - Fantastiske veje

We reached the Great Wall of China at about 11.30 am, averaging at about 100 km/hour.

The first stop was, what I call, a duplicate Great Wall. Which I thought was a waste of time. We then drove to the original rebuild Great Wall, which was just about 10 km away, and we got lost 2 times on the way.

The Great Wall of China - Den Kinesiske Mur

We finally got to walk on the great wall, which was amazing, but a very hot, hot experience. The temp has now reached 32 to 35 degrees, and we all went for a snack of watermelon and ice cream. Fascinating sight the Great Wall. I personally believe it was build to keep the Chinese in. Such a shame, the wall has crumpled, and the Chinese have spread to all over the world.

Jiayuguan

We then drove to the town of Jiayuguan.  This town is brand new. When we say brand new, we mean, every house, road, pavement, everything is new. It amazed us to see everything lined up with trees, flowers, roads and buildings. We had dinner at a fish restaurant, where everything smelled fishy.

Xining to Zhangye, China, June 2016

Dag 36. Xining til Zhangye, 466 km

I dag kørte vi fra Xining til Zhangye. Igen en flot tur igennem bjergene det meste af turen, senere fulgte vi en bjergkæde med sneklædte toppe.

                                               Local farmer - Lokal landmand

                                                 Going downhill - På vej nedad

                                           Snow capped mountaing - Snedækkede bjerge

I dag så vi rigtig meget politi på vejene, det har vi ikke set før. Vores guide vidste ikke hvorfor, måske fordi området vi kører igennem har mere beredskab.

Da vi nåede tæt på Zhangye kørte vi i et helt fladt landskab, så stor forandring i løbet af turen. Vi valgte at køre direkte til noget som kaldes Regnbue bjergene. Danxia Rocks kaldes de her i Kina.

Flotte bjerge med gule og røde farver, de skulle være rigtig flotte i solnedgangen, men desværre

                                              Rainbow rocks - Regnbue klipperne

havde vi overskyet vejr, men flotte alligevel. Vi fandt et billigt hotel tæt på bjergene og tjekkede ind.

Nogle få observationer her i Kina. Der ryges meget og der er intet rygeforbud, så der må ryges på hotel værelser og på restauranter m.m. Man ser dog generelt ikke damer som ryger.

Offentlige toiletter er alle af start blokke typen, og generelt meget stinkende.

Der serveres ikke vand til maden, og hvis man endelig kan få vand, er det varmt.

Kinesere ser ikke ret tid udenlandske biler, så de synes vi er meget interessante og kommer gerne og kigger på bilerne.

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20th June, distance 466 km, driving time 8 hours

Today we drove from Xining to Zhangye.

Another drive through the mountains.

                                               Going downhill - På vej nedad

                                                  Beautiful scenery - Flot natur

We finally reached the flat lands and drove through a few villages, with police everywhere. There apparently was some trouble here in China, and our guide could not really explain, what it was about. We were never stopped by the police, so we charged on.

At a rest stop, again today, the Chinese flocked around our cars, and we got talking to a few of them. Whenever we chat with the Chinese, it always ends up with a photo session. Susanne and of course I, were the centre of attraction.

We drove to a beautiful spot, called the Rainbow Rocks ( Danzia Rocks).

                                              Rainbow Rocks - Regnbue klipperne

A very stunning beautiful sight. We spent a few hours here, and it was amazing to see how, these mountains turn red at sunset. We found a decent, lovely, small hotel, close by and the staff were very friendly.

Had dinner at a neighbouring restaurant, where they charged us a bomb for our food. Which tasted ok, and Chinese wine was drunk, which according to me smells and tastes like sewerage water.

Xiahe to Xining, China June 2016

Dag 35. Xiahe til Xining. 253 km

I dag kørte vi fra Xiahe kl 8, da vi skulle nå frem til BMW i Xining i ordentlig tid. Det var nok den smukkeste tur vi har kørt indtil nu. Igen et helt fantastisk bjerglandskab, først frodigt og senere brunt i brunt. Indimellem var der smukke gule raps marker. Kan slet ikke beskrives.

                                             Very pretty landscapes - Sådan en smuk natur

Jeg havde ikke forudset at Kina var sådan et smukt land. Vi nyder hver dag vores køretur.

Fremme i Xining kørte vi direkte til BMW og fandt hurtigt ud af, at det ikke var Louis bremseklodser det var galt med, men føleren til bremseklodsen som var sprunget.

Efter at det var klaret, tilbød BMW at vaske begge biler, så imens det foregik, fandt vi et sted hvor vi kunne spise frokost.

                                                                   Xining

Da vi kom til hotellet, fandt guiden ud af, at det sted hun havde booket, ikke accepterer udenlandske turister, så hun måtte hurtigt finde et andet sted.

(Her i Kina skal hotellerne have tilladelse til at have udenlandske turister boende)

Vi fandt det nye hotel, hvilede en halv time og gik så en tur i byen. Janet og Louis købte en ny mobil telefon (ved ikke om de kommer til at bruge den, for alle apps er på kinesisk). Michael besluttede, at han ikke ville spise med pinde, så vi fandt en italiensk restaurant.

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19th June, distance 253 km, driving time 4 hours.

We left Xiahe early, as we had to reach BMW in Xining, as early as possible.

In China, the scenery changes from beautiful, to more beautiful, excellent to fabulous to fascinating.

We stopped a few times on the way, to admire the scenery and to test if the BMW could brake. We reached Xining at 12.30 pm and drove straight to BMW.

                                                    Amazing scenery  - Fantastisk udsigt

                                          Building new roads - Der bygges nye veje

                                              Good roads - Gode veje

                                               Roads like in India - Veje som i Indien

Within a few minutes, BMW found out, that it was Louis brake sensor which was broken and had to be fixed. We left both the cars there, and went out for lunch at a neighbouring restaurant. I also instructed BMW to wash my car, which they did.

Left for our hotel a few hours later, and found out, that our guide Sophie had booked the wrong hotel, in centre of town. This is because foreigners are only supposed to stay a special designated hotels and not at any hotel. This was after struggling with traffic for about 45 min. Anyway, of to another hotel, where we checked in.

I was sick and tired of Chinese food, so I vetoed everyone, and we went for Italian.  Not easy to eat Italian food with Chop Sticks, and we finally enjoyed a meal, with  knife and fork.  

Ruoergai to Xiahe, China June 2016

Dag 34. Ruoergai til Xiahe, 320 km

Inden vi kørte fra Ruoergai, fik vi vasket biler. Lige overfor vores hotel var der en lille biks som vaskede biler. Ejerne havde en lille datter på ca 2 år, hun forelskede sig i mig, og ville have mig til at holde hende i hånden og gå rundt. Nuttet.

Bilvasken var spildt, for vi havde regnvejr hele vejen.

Vi kørte igen igennem det smukke græs højland, og stoppede ved nogle tibetanske telte for at tage billeder. Vi så igen mange Yak okser og nogle interessante geder med snoede horn.

                                       She took my money - Hun tog mine penge ( for smykker)

                                                 Chasing Yak - Yakken jages

                                               Strange goats - Mærkelige geder

Undervejs fandt Louis og Janet ud af, at deres bil skal have skiftet bremse klodser ( surt at BMW ikke så det, da den var til service for 2 dage siden). Så nu er der booket service til i morgen.

Vi nåede frem til Xiahe kl 14 og spiste vores frokost på hotellet. Xiahe er en hyggelig lille kloster by. Det tibetanske kloster, Labrang ligger i denne by. Et imponerende kloster med ca 1600 munke. Halvdelen af byen består af klosteret med boliger til alle munkene.

                                            The old shops in Xiahe - De gamle butikker i Xiahe

                                                    Sophie asking the way - Sophie spørger om vej

                                              Prayer wheels - Bede hjul

                                                   Labrang Monastery - Labrang klosteret

Janet, Sophie og jeg gik igennem byen til klosteret. På hoved gaden, var der de hyggeligste små butikker i gamle bygninger. Klosteret har en 3.5 km bedegang med bede hjul. Imponerende.

Janet og jeg var inde og se et af templerne, pu-ha lugten var slem, de bruger yak fedt til deres stearin lys.

Sophie ( vores guide) var ikke helt frisk, så vi måtte selv klare at bestille middag. Det gik fint, vi fik dejlig mad.

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18th June, distance 320 km, driving time 4 hours

Our hotel in Ruoergai was a lovely small Chinese/Tibetan place.

I never expected a hotel to be on top of a mountain, at 3900 m altitude, in a one street village.

Got up early, looked out of our window, to absorbe the amazing view, of the grass lands. I also noticed, that there was a Tibetan lady washing cars opposite our hotel.

I went down and chatted with her, and she agreed to wash both the cars. So up again, to wake up Louis, and the washing started.

This Tibetan couple, had a lovely 2 year old daughter, who first fell in love with me, and then Susanne. She entertained us for the next 45 min, until the cars were washed. I felt that she needed something, so I bought her a small toy, a Yak teddy bear, from the lobby of our hotel, which got her all smiling again. She wanted to join us in our car, it was sad saying bye to her.

Left our hotel, and was very disappointed, that the weather had suddenly changed, and it was raining. We drove up the grasslands, to a Tibetan camp site, and took a few pictures.

                                           The Tibetan couple - Det tibetanske par

                                                        Photo shoot  - Foto session

We meet the local Tibetans, who are very friendly. Of course they were impressed with our cars, but even more impressed with Susanne. They soon conned Susanne, to buy some of their beads, and a bracelet.

As soon as we left this place, Louis found out, that there was a problem with his brakes. The electronic display, was showing that he had only 100 km left, for a change of the brake pads, panic, panic, panic in the BMW.

We called up BMW, and requested them to change the pads at the next service station. And we carried on downhill.

Fantastic views, but spoiled by the rain and the tension of making sure that nothing was wrong with Louis’s car.

                                                        Tibetan tents - Tibetanske telte

                                                        The views - Udsigten

We reached the small town of Xiahe, and checked into our hotel. Susanne, Janet and Sophie went to see one of the biggest Monastery’s outside Tibet. This Monastery was enormous and had 1600 monks, I did not get to see anything, as I had to rest my tired limbs.

We had a great dinner at a neighbouring restaurant, and we also enjoyed ourselves  with trying to order food, without our guide.

Google translate is the best invention for tourists.