After I got my visa extension, I then rushed to get to Xinjiang by bus. I was first thinking to ride some kilometers in Gansu Province, from Zhangye to Jiayouguan, but looking at the time left for me in China, I rushed straight towards Xinjiang by bus. I have only a month now from the visa extension in Xi’an, so I was thinking to spend all the time in the far west of Xinjiang, riding in places that I never ride before. I used to ride from Xining to Urumqi passing by some parts of the silk road before in summer 2010 with Nancy, passing by special places like Dunhuang and Turpan, so I’m not gonna do the same route again. While in the bus, I was talking to the bus driver about my journey. He then suggested me to skip Urumqi now since the city is a bit too tense due to the bombing that killed many people in the main bus station there, and there are so many police and army patrolling there. So after hours of thinking inside the bus, I then decided to get to Aksu, a town in the Taklamakan Desert and start my ride there towards the far west of Xinjiang.
So there you go, I then went through another tough challenge of the journey. I spent more 50 hours in 3 days inside the bus! It was very tiring! I got to Aksu from Xi’an on 3 different buses. I spent 10 hours of bus ride from Xi’an to Lanzhou and slept a night there. The next day, I took another bus from Lanzhou to Urumqi, a long 28 hours of hellish bus ride before taking only an hour rest in Urumqi before taking the third bus, which took another 16 hours to Aksu. And it didn’t stop there, I reached Aksu only to discover that the guesthouses and hostels there don’t accept foreigners. So there you go, I spent another 4 hours of cycling around the very dusty town just to find a place to rest and sleep. Usually when I reach a town, I will look for cheap hostels to stay. This time though, I was searching for hotels! I was so frustrated since even some cheaper hotels, which costs about 120 yuan per night don’t accept foreigners too! They actually force foreigners to stay in expensive hotels only. I then found a hotel, which accept foreigners and wanted to charge me nearly 500 yuan per night! Gosh, then what do I eat after that… the sand of the Taklamakan Desert? After hours of searching and I was getting weaker and tired and hungry, and the raindrops started to hit my face, I finally found and settled in a hotel that accepted me with 220 yuan per night (roughly 120 ringgit our money). Since I paid so expensive just for a hot shower and a nice bed to sleep, I better really make full use of it. So I really took a long shower like someone who never takes shower for 2 years, and sleep really well in a nice bed like someone who never has a chance to sleep in a bed in his whole life!
hehe.. a nice luxury hotel for a nomad!
I spent a day taking a good rest in Aksu after the long bus journey. Don’t really like it here, didn’t even film or snap a single photo here, I don’t feel comfortable taking out my camera in this town since it looks really tense, police and army everywhere here. Maybe because of the bombing that happened in Urumqi, it affects the whole province of Xinjiang I think. I just went out to find food and to top up my local phone credit, then back to my hotel room. I had seen the town when I was cycling for 4 hours searching for a place to sleep anyway, so I had enough of it. And some people here, after knowing that I’m from Malaysia, they can simply joke about Malaysian people doesn’t know how to fly a plane. I then just laughed together with them, since I don’t know how to explain it to them with my very broken Chinese, plus I’m tired of it anyway.
Back to the bus journey though, it was very difficult since I have a bicycle with me and had problems communicating while purchasing the ticket at the counter to explain that I have a bicycle with me and had to pay extra for it. But somehow, the hospitality of the locals is always… always amazing. Seems that they know how hard it is to travel alone in a foreign land where you don’t understand the local language. People just coming up to me out of nowhere from the crowd like an angel, helping me out without asking anything in return. Then they left, disappeared back into the crowd after they have helped me. I wonder sometimes, are they really human or maybe they’re angels, helping me out when I’m having such a hard time. And the second bus driver, the one that drove from Lanzhou to Urumqi, it looks like as if he knows that I used to ride here before. He chose the same road that I used to ride 4 years ago to get to Urumqi. While on the bus, I kept admiring the landscapes and magically, I still remember each places that I used to stop to pitch my tent! Such nostalgia, I wish I could stop and snapped pictures on exactly the same place I used to snap 4 years ago so that I could compare.
beautiful sunset between Gansu and Xinjiang. I imagined myself camping here and slurping my tea while enjoying these view…
While being stucked in Xi’an for almost 2 weeks, I spent 2 days in the mountain of Hua Shan, about 130km east of Xi’an. Huashan is a mountain that I always wanted to climb since many years ago, after I saw the pictures of it from a friend who went there almost 10 years ago. Even looking from the picture, I could sense that this place is magical. It’s a special mountain, and its one of my wishlist. After days and days stucked in the busy city of Xi’an, which flooded by millions of people, I guess it’s a good idea to spend a few quiet and calm days in the mountains. After all, I always like to be in a mountain, its my most favourite place. Being in a mountain, I feel peaceful, its so quiet, since not many people want to climb to the top of a mountain, so usually being on top of a mountain, I only hear the sound of wind and birds, nothing more. Being on top of a mountain, I feel like I’m at the roof of the world, able to see far beyond the horizon, from the bird’s eye view, and I can see the blue sky at day and the stars clearly at night, since all the clouds are below me. The feeling when youre standing on top of a mountain, is magical.
But I forgot one thing, this is China! And its totally the wrong timing! I went to the bus station in Xi’an to get to Hua Shan, and realized there were soooo many people queuing up to get to the bus there. Its holiday here in China! I had a bad feeling about it, but I went anyway. Upon reaching a small village, where it’s a starting point of the climb, I went straight for the climb, ignoring all the locals offering me some food and accommodation. I wanted to do the toughest route to get to the north peak but couldn’t find it. I only found the stairs to get to the north peak of the mountain, which is still quite hard work anyway. I arrived the mountain quite late at around 5pm, and they say usually it takes about 11 hours of hard work climb to cover the full circuit. But I went late since I was confidence that I don’t need 11 hours to cover the whole thing, and it took me only 4 hours to cover the whole full circuit. I guess fighting the wind in the Mongolian steppe and the Gobi Desert has prepared me well for this kind of climb. The first few kilometers to get to the north peak from the base is quite easy. But the last 30 minutes was tough. The stairs were really steep and I got nervous at some point since it was really steep and very high. “Whatever you do, don’t look down”, I reminded myself. Right after I said that to myself, I looked down! Hehe… and it was quite scary.
this section alone has 1000 steps… and its steep, almost reaching the north peak
luckily there are chains to grab. its so steep and can be dangerous
just… dont… look down. Ok look down now!!
Luckily there are chains everywhere so you can grab it while climbing the steep, almost vertical stairs. I can imagine it can be very dangerous without the chains. Once I reach the northpeak, there were soooo many tourists, mostly young chinese groups, probably university students who are now on holiday and spending time climbing this spectacular mountain. Most of them went to the northpeak on cable car, which is a good option if you don’t have much time to enjoy the scenery here. But since I have time, I climbed all the way up and plan to go down with the cable car instead.
ok, just look down and stay calm…
hehehe… sekali sekala nak posing :D
This massive crowd really spoils the climb. Once in northpeak, it takes so long to get to the other peaks because there were so many people. And everybody were shouting so loud, celebrating and cheering on top of the peaks, it doesn’t feel like you are on top of a mountain anymore. I feel more like walking in a shopping mall on Sunday rather than climbing a mountain here in Hua Shan. On top of that, some of them, mostly the girls, taking so long capturing their selfie photos, adjusting the angle of their fingers so that the peace sign will look perfect in the photos. And adjusting the angle of their body and face… it took forever. Worst, after done with the selfie photos, they walked a few steps ahead and stopped… and repeat the whole process. Hehe… and sometimes.. I just laughed alone when I saw guys do that! It looks hillarious when a guy does that kind of thing…
the climb from the north peak to the rest of the peaks
but.. the view is awesome mate…
stylo milo!
“I’m a bad tourist”, I told myself. I should have known that it’s a holiday now in China and shouldn’t come here now. I should have waited a few more days, wait until the massive crowd leave this mountain and go. Problem is, I’m not used to be a tourist. I’m very bad when it comes to planning trips, since I usually travel freely on my bicycle, dodging cities and tourist spots since its usually expensive and I hate being in a place where there are so many people. But what can I do when I have to extend my visa here in the city and Huashan is actually one of my wishlist. Usually I will avoid this kind of places. That’s the reason why I never climb mountains like Mt Kinabalu, or other famous mountains, because its touristic and to me, it beats the purpose. I even felt bad coming here at the wrong time because I realized I spent money like water here, it feels like I’m now back in Norway! The ticket to get to the mountain is already 180 yuan (roughly nearly 100 ringgit), and a can of redbull costs almost 20 yuan. Firstly, I thought I wanna stay a few days here filming timelapse since the weather isn’t so good at the first day. But I canceled it and stayed only a night because a bed in a dorm alone costs 200 yuan per night! Its too costly for me and Im not used to spend so much money while living on the road.
from the northpeak overlooking the centre peak at night. macam dalam syurga! hehe…
early morning. macam dalam movie Avatar daaa…
So after staying a night here in a basic dorm room that costs 200 yuan, I woke up early the next morning and film the surrounding areas during the sunrise. Besides the massive crowd, the view of the mountain here is magnificent. I dare to say, its one of the best view I ever seen in my life. I really feel awed watching the view, especially when the sun was just born at the horizon, giving its special light and colours to the surrounding mountains. It makes you feel that the earth is a special place. It makes you feel that the creator of the world and the whole universe is so great. It feels magical being here. After a few hours spending time enjoying the magnificent view (by totally ignoring the crowd), I then went to the west peak to take the cable car down. It took me quite a while to decide whether to stay another day or to just go back to Xi’an, but I couldn’t take the crowd anymore. Taking the cable car, which is also very cost but I cant remember how much I paid, I then took about 22 very scenic minutes from the west peak down back to the base. The cable car is a must if you guys plan to visit this mountain. Its very highhhlyy recommended! Take the cable car from the west peak! From the north peak, its only 8 minutes. But the west peak, its 22 minutes and the view is really awesome. I was basically cruising slowly on air, watching incredible view of the mountain. There is no mountain like Huashan really! Its such a special place. So if you plan to visit this very special mountain, plan ahead and don’t come during peak season. And make sure you have a lot of time, because rushing is not a good idea when visiting this mountain. You need time to enjoy, after a tough climb. I think 3 days is ideal to spend the time here. Spend one day for the hard climb, and the other 2 days to relax and enjoy the view, and be prepared to be amazed by the colours of sunrise and sunset in this very special mountain.
My ride here in China is not as smooth as chocolate as I would imagine. My Chinese visa is now dictating my ride here in China. I tried to extend my visa while I was in Hohhot, and the officer there told me its better if I do it in Xi’an, better chance there. So I took a bus from Hohhot to Xi’an. Getting myself inside the bus is difficult, since I have my bicycle and huge luggage with me…. plus I speak poor Mandarin. Xi’an is about 1000km to the south of Hohhot. Usually, on that distance, it will take me almost a month to cover on my bicycle… or maybe 2 weeks if I’m rushing. But taking the bus, only took me 14 hours to get inside the beautiful city walls of Xi’an. Upon reaching Xi’an, I spent roughly an hour to navigate around the big city to find a cheap hostel for me to settle down for a few days. Xi’an is a big city, the population here alone is 1/3 the total population of the whole of Malaysia! I see it much bigger than Kuala Lumpur and I imagine this is only a suburb of Beijing! I spent the day walking around the city, to find out the important places for me, like where can I find good food, Muslim areas, cheap places to shop necessary things etc. The next day, I went to the immigration office to extend my visa. They told me its not possible to stay too long in China. But its good enough that I can get 1 month visa here. I tried to demand more. “Do you guys have any idea on how big China is? A month is not enough to explore the country!”, I told them. They laughed. But nothing can they do, theyre just following orders. So okay I agreed. But the process will take a while, maybe a week or more!
many Muslims in Xi’an
On the way back from the immigration office to get to my hostel, I took a cab. The cab driver was friendly to me at first, curious on where I’m from and asked. I told him I’m from Malaysia! And there you go, wrong answer. He then started to raise his voice to me and say something about feiji, which means aeroplane in Chinese. Then I catched he was saying san bai chi shi, which means 370. Ah right, he was saying something about the Malaysian Airlines missing plane. Then suddenly he showed his middle finger to me while saying Malaysia, something tells me that he was saying to hell with Malaysia. And a few seconds later, he stopped the car and asked me to leave the cab! My god that was unbelievable. Even though I’m a Malaysian, I have nothing to do with it. I’m even clueless about what really happened, nobody actually knows what happened to the plane! But okay, I just took the blow on what happened then. The next time people ask me where I’m from, I’m gonna say that I’m from Bolivia. Hehe…
sexy mamacota!
Having my passport in the immigration office, I was then stucked in Xi’an. I first felt quite bad about the cab driver thingy. But then, something good happened that made me smile again. I was coughing a bit with running nose. I stayed in 8-bed dorm and theres a Chinese girl sleeping next to my bed. We were talking about our trips together with a French couple and an American guy in the room. Then before I went to sleep, I was coughing non stop. The Chinese girl then went out without saying anything. She then came back few minutes later, with a cup of ginger tea and had me to drink it. She said its good for me since I was coughing. I was touched. She looks like an angel when she gave me the ginger tea. Other guys in the dorm were like, “wow.. what was that?”. She was really nice. And the next morning, I went out early for breakfast and when I was walking back to the hostel, I saw her again on the road, she was walking towards the bus station to get to the airport. Again, she looks like an angel. Shes tall but without wings. And she was holding some food and gave it to me. She said she bought extra breakfast to give it to me, but couldn’t find me in the hostel since I left early. Again I was touched. Things happened too fast and I didn’t even asked her name yet. She just said all the best on my cycling journey and mentioned to me that shes from Beijing. Then she left…
inside the ancient wall of Xi’an
overlooking the city of Xi’an from the ancient wall
I stayed almost 2 weeks here in Xi’an, stucked here and kinda bored sometimes. I explored all over the place from one end to another, walked the whole length of the surrounding ancient wall of Xi’an. Xi’an is the only city in China that has the complete wall surrounding it. It is one of the oldest city in China and also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road that snakes all the way to Istanbul, Turkey through Central Asian countries and Iran. Not so far from the city, lies the Terracotta Army, built for one of the Chinese Emperor, Qin Shu Huang. He ordered the construction of these massive stone armies so that he will be protected in the afterlife! A local farmer discovered these stone armies in the 70s and they are still digging the surroundings and find more and more of these until today. Each of these armies is varies in size and figures. Visiting the Terracotta warriors is quite exciting but there were sooo many people.
the Terracotta Warriors in Binmayong, not far from Xi’an
While waiting for days and days waiting for my visa approval in Xi’an, I saw a big Malaysian flag in one of the food booth here on the street in the Muslim quarter. Then at one point I saw a group of Malays chilling and went nearer to confirm that they are Malays. I then heard them speaking Malay and one of them even greeted me. Its so good to speak my own mother tongue after a few months being on the road conversing in foreign language. I was surprised that the Malaysian Prime Minister was here a few hours ago! I really missed it! Would be great to meet him here in Xi’an. Those Malay guys were actually part of the delegation. We then had a short conversation for a few minutes before they finally left. I recognized some Malaysians here in Xi’an in the past few days doing some shopping and visiting the mosque and other touristic areas.
somewhere inside the Muslim quarters
hehe… Encik Obamaoww masuk komunis!!
the great mosque of Xi’an
inside the praying hall
the wall inside the mosque!
After almost 2 weeks of waiting, I finally got the visa extension. I only have a month in China and have to exit China by the first week of July. I guess from now on I won’t be cycling since there is not enough time. I guess I will try to take a bus to get me to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang and spend the whole June cycling in Xinjiang Province. Taking a public transport can be hard especially when I don’t speak the local language. It was so complicated when I took a bus from Hohhot to Xi’an since I had my bicycle as well. But thank god now my Mandarin is getting better day by day, since I keep speaking chinese to the locals. Beside the 4 tones in Chinese language, I find the language is quite easy now. There is no such thing as complicated grammar like in English or Russian, I find Mandarin language almost doesn’t have any grammar. Its just word, word and word. But the locals find it so funny when I talked to them, because I always mix between English and Chinese words in a sentence. For example, in a restaurant when asking for the menu, I can confidently say, “Duibuchi, can I have the Yingwen caidan, ke yi ma?”, which basically means that I’m asking for the English menu. Hehehe. Some of the locals here even thought that I’m from Xinjiang, because my accent is so bad hehe. And when they asked me where I’m going next, I just told them Im going to Xinjiang… to visit my relatives!… and they laughed hard.
the shopping areas in Xi’an at night
Bell tower under the sunset colours
Bell tower under the night colours!
Spending a few days in Hohhot was amazing. For the first time since I crossed into China from Zamyn Uud of Mongolia, I finally found a local who can speak good English, who owns a small nice cheap hostel in the middle of Hohhot city. Hohhot is almost the size of KL, a city with a population of 3 million people, bad traffic and easy for me to get lost since I’m traveling without any GPS. And this is not even Beijing yet, I imagine Hohhot being only a suburb compared to Beijing. Cant imagine the size of Beijing and how hard to cycle and navigate inside Beijing city. Once I reached the city, it took me more than an hour to find the cheap hostel. The map I have isn’t so detail and asking the local people wasn’t a good idea. I got lost even more after asking some locals. So at one point I decided to follow my own instinct instead. But at least cycling here in Hohhot is not as bad compared to Urumqi a few years ago.
Manduhai park near my hostel in Hohhot
Once I found the hostel, I was greeted by a Chinese man, followed by his daughter who speaks good English. I felt so relieved that at least someone really understand what I’m saying so I took the advantage by asking her so many things that I need to know here. The first important thing that I did was to get a Chinese number so that I can make a call and can use the gps on my phone for me to navigate around the city. I went to the nearest China Mobile shop telling them that I want to buy a simcard but they told me to go to the nearest hospital. It was hilarious. Sometimes, being in a country that you don’t understand the local language can be fun. I still remember once in a restaurant in Chengdu, I was asking for the bill and the waited for more than 10 minutes, and suddenly she came with 2 eggs and a banana instead. It didn’t look so right and I was laughing so hard until I got teary.
I also found a nice delicious but quite expensive Uighur Xinjiang restaurant not far from the hostel. They greeted me in Arabic and they easily guessed that Im from Malaysia. Being so hungry, I look like a lion eating a zebra. The food was good. I also spot many Hui people around here (Chinese Muslims) in Hohhot. I went to a Giant bicycle shop near the hostel to get some minor repair on my bicycle, and everybody in the shop surrounded my bicycle. It seems that they never seen a Surly bicycle here in China… at least not here in Hohhot. Seems like a nice place here and I got everything I wanted here in this city.
the street opposite my hostel. full of nice restaurants around here
I also went to an old mosque in Hohhot, it was nothing new to me, I’ve seen many mosques before in China and they all look almost the same. But the reason I came down here is to visit the Muslim community here. When I went there, I tried to step in inside the prayer hall and someone shouted at me not to go in. I then went to him and greeted him in Arabic. I introduced myself that I’m a Muslim from Malaysia who are now cycling the world… and in less than 5 minutes, I was surrounded by so many curious Hui people. They were asking me so many questions and when I proceed to the prayer hall to perform a prayer, I realized that they were all watching me, perhaps curious on how Malay people perform the prayer… which must be exactly the same thing. It was fun to see them laughing at me struggling to pronounce each chinese words while talking to them. One of the man then took me and show me around the Chinese Muslims neighbourhood around the area. Everybody was friendly and greeted me in Arabic, “Salam Alaikum”, which means peace be on you.
finally, I found a Muslim community here!
the mosque in Hohhot
We then went to a Chinese Muslim restaurant and the owner let me to eat for free. A few Hui guys then joined us at the table to eat together. They told me to stay in their place for free. But I had to tell them no this time, since I wont be long in Hohhot. One of the asked me where do I sleep in this city. I told him in a hostel nearby the big park. He then raised his voice and tell me not to sleep there, he said something “bu hao, kafir”, which means not good, kafir. I snapped, didn’t say a word and look down a while, thinking of how to tell him. I then tried my best to explain to him with my so broken chinese, “wo men bu keyi shuo ni men kafir. Allah ke yi… but.. wo men bu ke yi”. Not sure if he really get me, but from his facial expression I think he understands me. How can we human judge someone to be a kafir. No matter what religion we believe in, no matter what we do in this life, none of us can judge others. Our knowledge is so limited. Our human brain is not built for that. We can only see the cover, but we know nothing about the inside. Only the creator of the universe can decide the destiny of each soul in the afterlife, his judgment is so deep in his knowledge is unlimited. Only He who knows our intention behind our deed, everything that belongs inside our heart… but not us humans, whos knowledge is so limited and so blind to judge others. This universe is growing in 2 different paths, it gets bigger and bigger, 99999…. (towards the greater infinity) and smaller and smaller, 0.00000….1 (towards the smallest infinity) and it is so refined. Our brain just cant comprehend so many things, yet alone to judge other soul, which requires a very deep knowledge… so its good enough if we think good on others in this life. Thats what Ive been practicing for years being on the road. Not to judge others, not to think bad about others. But sometimes I do fall inside the hole, sometimes I do think bad about others, which I’m still struggling to change. But my experience living my life on the road, as a nomad… helps. Thinking good about other soul, can lead to being grateful, which slowly can lead to happiness…
Once I crossed into China, my ride becomes much faster thanks to the good road. I had a very good tail wind and I rode about 140km in only under 7 hours without producing much sweat. But good things like this doesn’t happen everyday. After I had a 2 days rest in Sonid Youqi, the wind blew from the southwest, directly towards my face. And my ride towards Hohhot in the southwest of Sonid Youqi, was a tough one. It took me 4 days to cover 260km towards Hohhot. Not much climbing, only one small mountainpass just a few kilometers before Hohhot but the headwind is so far my biggest enemy. Luckily the distance between towns is near, always something for every 30-40km, big towns in between but cars are driving really fast which made me feel like Im riding my bicycle in a F1 circuit.
brown bull near Sonid Youqi
The first day I only did some 50km and surrended earlier, I stopped cycling as early as 4pm and couldn’t take it anymore. The wind was blowing way too strong. I just camped in the open field and setting up my tent in a very strong wind was another challenge. Right after I setup my tent, I quickly lay my sleeping bag and took a good nap. I felt so tired even to cook dinner… after fighting the wind for 50km. The next morning it was calm when I had my breakfast but once I hit the road, the headwind started blowing again. The wind is really testing me!
camping under the bad weather
camels in the Gobi desert
But thank god its not as cold anymore. I use my thick jacket only for a pillow nowadays, no more wearing it unless when it gets cold very early in the morning, which is quite rare lately. Now my sleeping bag works fine in this weather. No more subzero temperatures, my drinks never get frozen anymore overnight. But finally, I get punctures on my front tyre here. Nothing new, it’s a normal problem for a long distance tourer. People are friendly here and very talkative. The problem is only language barrier but I’m picking up my chinese fast now. I can say many things but the problem is… I don’t understand when they reply me. Hehe… people here should talk slower to foreigners, but they speak to me so fast as in I’m a native speaker. So talking to people when I wanna buy things or deal anything with them, will usually take double the time.
smaller tourist gers in Inner Mongolia
Habrah, a very nice Mongolian girl who speaks Mongolian, Chinese, English and Japanese
I still see Mongolian gers here, but seldom see the real one like in Mongolia. Most gers here are built for tourists. I went to tourist ger in a grassland north of Hohhot, and realize that the gers here are a bit different than the real one. It looks so small and cute! I showed the pictures I took in Mongolia on my phone to the Mongols here… and some were even shocked to see the gers in Mongolia. I was quite surprised that they didn’t even know how the real gers in Mongolia look like. Some never been there in Mongolia. But one good thing about the Mongols in China, they still preserve their traditional writings. In Mongolia, they have changed the writings to Cyrillic writings (Russians) but not here. At a fast glance, it looks a bit like Arabic writings, but they write vertically.
tourists surrounded the fire in the cold night
the cute Mongolian ger under the night sky
Good thing I spent time with some other tourists in the grassland from Germany and Canada. Had a good time chatting with them and did some short hiking together. Since I crossed into China, I feel a bit lonely. Its hard to find a local who speak English here. So meeting other tourists can be much fun and that’s another good reason why I like to travel alone. So I can easily get to know other tourists from a totally different part of the world and I like to make fresh friends… it’s a good thing to make a new friend who doesn’t know you background and history, everything is fresh, where usually it will start by asking “where are you from”, then start to learn how to pronounce each other’s name, followed by endless interesting conversation, because we both have been to so many places and see so many things.
a group of tourists in the grassland
walking towards the sunset
Diary Of A Traveller 