We just pulled into a bustling town about 350 km from Kunming where the rooms are cheap, the karaoke loud and the beer warm. As I write mosquitoes are biting my ankles and about 8 kids are watching me type away with transfixed gazes. Nobody in town speaks English as has been the case since we left Jinhong 500 km ago. After well over 3000 km of cycling, this has been the most challenging, exciting and adventurous section of our trip yet. We are definitely off the tourist trail and have not seen any travelers for 6 days The ride has been really tough. Lots of dirt, cobbles and road construction, huge climbs and huge descents. We are averaging about 100 km a day and are starting to feel our legs getting stronger. Our biggest challenge was a 30 km climb which took the better part of a day, however it all paid off today as we had a 40km downhill!!.
The geography has been really interesting. We have been riding up and over enormous valleys where Hani people have been growing rice and corn on gravity defying terraces that disappear into clouds at the peaks of the walls. Every square inch of the valleys are cultivated. At their bases, gushing rivers the colour of red mud twist their way toward Vietnam and every 30 km or so small cities which seem to have been built yesterday but are already falling apart appear around the corners. We have to watch out that we don't run into the water buffalo, chickens and pigs that hang out in the middle of the road. The ascents up the valley walls are long and slow and we are passed occasionally by small tractors full of farmers who all have a good laugh at us as we chug along. Small communities are perched at the peaks where old men sit in doorways hauling away on their bamboo bongs (for smoking tobacco) and small sturdy horses haul loads from the terraces
Its almost past midnight now and I should be getting some sleep for tomorrow's push to Yuanyang, 94 km and one big climb away. We were a little sleep deprived yesterday due to a mouse named George who dug through our bags and kept us up the whole night. Twice we almost cornered the little bugger, I mean beggar, but he was too fast. In the end we gave up and let him do his thing and slept the last two hours till the roosters started at 4:oo am. I'll have to finish this post in Kunming where I can hopefully post some pictures. Expect to hear from us in three days or so.
BTW, Thanks for all the comments. Its so much nicer to read news about things like Grandma Darling's cooking, hair-less foxes and rubber duck heists than the state affairs in Iraq.
(An add on from Chris) I just thought I'd add a bit about George's entry into the room. We're not sure how he got in, but he first made himself known when I heard some scratching above my head followed by him free-falling and landing with a plonk on my pillow. A mouse may be small but when one of the little buggers (beggars) does a back flip beside your pillow it makes you sit up and utter a few words I won't bother writing down here.
