Nia Hao!

On Thursday evening we attended a coffee night at Trek HQ here in Beijing. The night was the first monthly meeting of the year and was attended by fifteen people - it was a small affair of Trek fans, store owners and ex-pats. We were made to feel very welcome, we both feel very at home when in the company of fellow cyclists :-) K and I were surprised to find ourselves as the special guests. We ended up giving a small presentation followed by a discussion about our plans to cycle across parts of China. It was a really good night and we met quite a few people and got some great advice for our future plans.

The modern looking Trek office. I felt right at home here :-)


We were also well fed :-)


As a result of some of the discussion that we had that evening we have decided to change our plans and we are planning to head to Lhasa via Xi'an instead of Chengdu. There is so much to see here that we have decided to focus on the areas of Shanxi and Henan, to get more cycling in and to cover less distance - we did rage across India afterall.

Until next time

Nia hao!

Language...

We are entertaining ourselves by trying to translate Chinese characters into the pinyin and then into the English translation. We have spent about 3 hours over the last day, trying to translate water bottle labels, phone instructions and street signs amongst other things. Today we purchased some biscuits which came with some tape wrapped around the packet. We thought about putting some of the tape on the bikes to decorate them, laughing to ourselves that it may say "buy one get one free" (we have 2 identical bikes) so we decided to translate it. After some work, we had discovered that it said "special promotional bundle", hmm, maybe not quite what we wanted on our bikes :-)

In restaurants we have been getting out our language book whilst the waitress patiently stands at the table and awaits our order (they do not disappear whilst you select your food and come back later as they do in the UK). We struggle through ordering but finally get there, we always get help if our pronunciation is really bad and we also point to the Chinese characters. We have been gradually expanding our vocabulary e.g thank you very much, excuse me, may I have the bill please - useful things like this. Numbers are going well and we can now count up to 999 :-) :-) I am really enjoying the Mandarin practice and I empathise with the people who we spoke to in India who wanted to practice their English - I want to constantly practice my Mandarin.

I love watching people ride by on their bicycles. Electric power assisted bikes are really popular as are folding bikes. There are also many pick up style bicycles or flat beds as well as the famous Flying Pigeon brand. Today I saw a middle aged women help an elderly man (presumably her father) into the back of a bicycle, he sat rearwards facing in a seat that was built into the flat bed behind the bike frame. She then peddled him off down the street - amazing. I guess that if you have no car then this is a way you can transport your elderly father around quite quickly :-)

Did I tell you that it is cold here! It is 14C (in the daytime, it's 5 or 6C at night) and it is chilling me through to the bone, it is a good job that I have my pink pajamas from Kodai! When we picked up the bikes yesterday it was a beautiful day
and the weather was not too cold last night, but this morning we awoke to rain and there was a brisk wind as we went out to get some lunch.

Until next time - we are off to enjoy our coffee night with the Trek guys, I have a feeling that things may get out of hand (have you seen me drink lots of caffeine after midday? I am strictly a morning only coffee girl)

Can we talk laundry????

We have been doing our own laundry more often than not, but occasionally we have sent our laundry in to the hotel - when we have jeans to wash, when the hotel is too posh or forbids doing your own laundry, when it too damp for anything to dry or when we just didn't have time because we were only there for the night and moving on the next day.

In India it was pretty cheap, in China it's quite a bit more expensive. We usually paid 5-15 rupees an item in India (at 85 rupees to the Pound) and in Hong Kong it was about HK$24 for one small load (1-7 lbs) and for another small load in Beijing we paid 59 Yuan (HK$ and Yuan are about 15 to the Pound). Yikes!

If cost doesn't get us to rethink sending our laundry off, then the abuse it takes should! Our poor underwear have had to suffer terribly! In India they ironed them, so the elastic edges have the occasional melt mark, in one place they wrote our room number on them, in Beijing they were stapled with a tag leaving behind some holes in the fabric. My linen shirt will forever have our room number written in the back and both our hankerchiefs (very handy for India where you need to wipe the dust off your face before venturing into a hotel to ask about a room for the night :) have our room number on them. One place returned our washing to us and it smelled moldy! We promptly sent them in at the next hotel as there was no place to hang them in our room.

When we arrived in China it seemed all our clothes had a not so clean smell about them. I tried to do a good job on the washing but we were a bit limited with a bucket (worse when it was a shared bathroom when you had to be quick). If we sent them off I am sure the water they were washing them in was not the cleanest and their method of washing is whacking them with something akin to a cricket bat. We dried them outside in the sun as often as possible. I once hung my just washed shorts on a line on the rooftop terrace and the wind blew them down...right into a freshly swept pile of cow manure! I washed them again and used the button to attach them to the line :)

The place we are now is really nice - far nicer than our usual accomodation. And it's a bit on the humid side here, so things are not going to dry. We will figure it out, though :) It is also considerably colder here, so the clothes are staying cleaner because we are not in sweltering heat wearing jeans and a jacket - we need our jackets so we don't freeze to death! :)

Catch you later!

Our new bikes!!!!

Yesterday we picked up two brand spanking new Trek 4500 WSD steeds in a lovely Iris Blue. Here is the catalog photo:


and here is the link to the spec:
2006 Trek 4500 WSD (if this link takes you to the main Trek site it means it needs to set up a location/language cookie - choose US/English) (links UPDATED 27/12/2012)

There are some pics of the actual bikes in the last post :)

A's bike is one size smaller than mine and because of her cycling related injury a few years ago we are running her bars a bit higher to give her an easier ride. I have flipped my stem over to make the bike fit the way I usually ride (that would be FAST! :), but we are going to be touring and I can imagine that I am going to want to have an easier rise rather than the racer-boy flat I have now...they are perfect for ripping about town at the moment, though :)

The WSD saddles are cushy, but we are still feeling the effects from all the riding yesterday after not having been on a bicycle saddle for so many months....we will toughen the old sit bones up in no time, I'm sure :)

The frames are stiff - when we hammer out of the saddle at the lights to beat everyone off the line (I told you we were nuts :) the power goes straight to the rear wheel and we are GONE! Woohoo!

The fork is cushy! And we are happy for that, as it should take some of the abuse of those 1000 meter descents in Tibet :) We did venture a bit into the rough stuff yesterday, avoiding a traffic jam, and it felt like old times (I usually ride a Gary Fisher Big Sur and A usually rides her one-off Fuel WSD).

The wheels have a double wall rim - tougher than a single wall - and we wanted V brakes rather than discs, for ease of maintenance and availability of parts (China is moving fast, but discs are not mainstream yet :)

This morning it was raining, so we gave you guys the blog posts rather than go for a ride. Tonight we have a soiree with the Trek China folks...tomorrow we will ride as we see the sights of Beijing!!!!

Onwards, to Mainland China!

Here is our cushy 2 berth cabin and one of the very strange warning signs.
They also had a warning in the train guide book about the toilets dropping right onto the tracks, so you need to be careful with keys/mobiles/wallets/etc., but they should have had a warning sign for using the squat toilet when it was raining outside (the wind brings the rain up through the hole...use your imagination!!! :)



We arrived safely in Beijing and found our way to the hotel...nice room, nice view, and a joystick to operate the faucet in the bathroom :)




After a fabulous night's sleep we headed out into the world to find the Trek office...on our way we saw some interesting things, like this scooter/rickshaw:


We found that Beijing truly is huge and ended up taking a bus instead of being able to walk to the Trek office, but we did find it!


We picked up the bikes and practically raced each other back to the hotel :) We did stop for a quick bite to eat at the Subway sandwich shop and we locked our bikes outside in the bike park (where they outclased all the other bikes! :)


and then went back to the hotel to fiddle with the bikes and set them up for our individual preferences. The people at the hotel didn't know what to do with the bikes when we arrived with them, but we asked if we could take them up to the room and they looked relieved that we had made such a good suggestion, so the bikes are staying with us :)


After we sorted the bikes we, of course, had to go for a ride :) We headed into town...




stopped for dinner and a beer (very well deserved! :)


and continued into the center




and on to Tian'anmen Square


Then we hammered it back to the hotel (even the electric bikes were working hard to keep up with us!) and crawled under the duvets for a well deserved night's rest!

Later!

Nia Hao!

It has taken some work but we finally have some photos for you. We are having to negotiate a Chinese system on the computer and do not have the CD to change it to English language! Anyway, TwoWheelsWhirled loves a challenge :-) :-)

So, back to Hong Kong.

Here is our double size hotel room - no bigger than a broom cupboard!


Chungking Mansions - where we chose not to stay! (I wonder if the rooms were any bigger!)


As we were in Hong Kong we just HAD to sample the Dim Sum :-) and then some more... We chose our dishes from the trolleys that are pushed around the restaurant, the waitresses shout out the contents.


The Dim Sum was devoured within 30 seconds because it was so tasty :-)(here is K waiting for the Ready-Set-Go :-)


...Neither of us fancied buying any of these flattened steamed ducks (complete with head) for nourishment.


The bike store in Mong Kok (a Trek dealer) where we purchased our bike bags for our future travels.


Can you imagine my delight when I spotted this Honda CB400 Super Four in parked up! This one was the same model as mine, the owner had just made a few modifications.


Another exciting moment for me - I spotted my first Wing Chun martial arts training school sign :-) :-)


...and to add to the excitement I saw this statue of the greeting that we used in Wing Chun. In fact when we went to the bike shop in Mong Kok, Ha Wai Kwang used this as we said goodbye :-) :-)


Inside the shopping mall at Times Square on Hong Kong Island. There were 13 floors, the external lifts with glass walls were great to ride in :-)


Some street shots from Kowloon. This is Nathan Road.

Skyscrapers were in abundance, as I mentioned before, they claustrophobically build 'em high in Hong Kong.

Just when you thought that there could be no space for any more people on the streets, night time arrived and humans multiplied.


English language was very helpful.


We took a ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong.

We saw some more traditional style boats.


...heading to the Star ferry terminal.



Looking across to Hong Kong Kong Island at night from Kowloon and the Avenue of Stars.



The Avenue of Stars had some of the greatest Hong Kong film directors and movie stars. Here is Chow Yun Fat.


...and me comparing my hand size to Jackie Chan's :-)


We just had to have a pint in the Murphy's pub on Nathan road to celebrate :-)

Ah...I am cycling again!
And we are in Beijing! And it is AMAZING!
And the bikes are great! (Thanks Trek!!!!)
And we went night riding...in Tian'anmen Square!

We rode about 20 miles today, after 4 months off the bikes, and we are complete nutters (as if you couldn't tell) so of course we didn't take it easy :)

Goodnight!

Nia Hao!

What a fantastic day!!! :-) :-) :-)

Today we went to the Trek Bicycle office here in Beijing to say hello and to get a few of our belongings that we had shipped there in advance (most importantly our Mandarin language book and dictionary!). Needless to say, the journey itself presented an interesting challenge...

As always, we decided to make our own way there and not get a taxi. We thought that we would be able to walk to Trek by simply following Jingshun Road (where Trek is located), it seemed very straight forward - luckily most of the main roads have their pinyin equivalents written under the Chinese characters. We walked for about 90 minutes in total. None of the buildings on Jingshun road had any numbers that we could see (we knew that Trek was number 52, Building C) which made our locating it quite a task, we did not know whether we were walking in the right direction or not. We tried to ask a number of people directions and were sent one way or another. We thought that we were actually getting somewhere because we were closing the gap having walked left and right however even though we had found number 25, we were still no where nearer. Finally we went into a flower store, we tried to converse in Mandarin but luckily for us the women at the counter knew a little English. I gave her Kai at Trek's phone number and she called him from her mobile. From this we were told that we had to catch the 915 bus and that we would ride for 20 minutes or so! She even wrote the characters for us so that we could show the bus conductor our destination. This was great. Still, we discovered how far out we were from Trek, we were quite spatially unaware of distance involved.

We arrived at Trek quite easily having spotted the Trek sign :-) :-) :-) There was nobody there however a lovely man who spotted us told us to wait (through hand signals) whilst he went and found somebody. We met 2 of the guys from distribution (we think, their English was as varied as our Mandarin :-) who knew that we may have come to collect the bikes. There was nobody else around because there was a problem with the electricity in the area and everybody was either away on business or working from home. The office was familiar, it did feel a little like a home away from home - there was a Fuel EX on display and other bikes, posters of Lance and cycling paraphernalia dotted here and there. Ah fantastic - I love bikes and I absolutley loved working at Trek, it was simply great to be in the Beijing office.

We were presented with our bikes, these are 4500 WSD 2007 models. They were perfectly set up for us and only needed some fine tuning fit adjustments (photos to follow soon). We were given our box and claimed our pump, helmets and tools as well as our much desired language books. Surprisingly we could take the bikes away with us - we did not need to hold back. Our bikes were fitted with cages and a bottle each and we were sent on our way. We could not say xie xie (thank you) or hen hao (very good) enough.

We have just spent the afternoon riding around Beijing heading downtown and back.... WOW WOW WOW WOW. :-) :-) :-)

I am so unbelievably happy. We have seen the most amazing sights already, Beijing is truly a world class city. Many people ride bikes here, there are cycle lanes everywhere so travelling via pedal power is easy. We have ridden through Tian'anmen square and cruised down the wide avenues adjacent to it which are lined with the most modern architecture, everything so well lit and bright.

So, we have ridden about about 20 miles, we have conversed in Mandarin and as a result have fried our brains as well as our bodies. We are toast. We are very tired but probably two of the most happiest people in the world right now.

So Zaijian, until tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Nia Hao!

I am finally in China after all of these years! :-)

The train ride was really interesting...

Due to the weather being so grey outside (lots of rain) it made everything seem so grim and miserable. There were lots of concrete buildings decorated entirely with small glossy tiles, they rose up high and the residential ones were big enough to house a whole town. The sprawl followed us from Hong Kong, although as soon as we left the New Territories the Pinyin and English terminated. We saw much industry, the complexes larger than anything that I have seen before (including Gujarat). Between the industrial complexes lay a blanket of agriculture - neatly manicured stretches of fields, mostly lush and green. Workers were busy kneeling at the crops or splashing water over them using a bucket and their hand to distribute the water out. Amongst the crops we saw grave markers atop small mounds, topped with what looked like white paper. We also viewed some residential areas that were single story and were mazes within compounds decorated with strips of gold coloured Chinese characters on a red background. The land for the most part was flat however we soon saw the odd hill rise up sharply in the distance which eventually took the train through plenty of tunnels. We never saw any wilderness as such, there was always a sign of human habitation or interaction with the landscape. There was a lot of deep quarrying and open mining, some of which seemed to be just dirt rather than any rock. We wondered if it was being removed so that it could be used as new topsoil elsewhere.

We have to get going so will have to share more with you later.

Nia Hao!!! We are in Beijing!!!!

Can you tell we are happy bunnies??? The train trip was really good....despite the fact that the train carriages occasionally banged in to each other as if we were being rammed from behind, once causing the thermos to fall off the small table and hit me on the head as I was laying there on the bench :)

The train was an hour and a half late (the crashing problem? We don't know - the English announcements stopped when we left Hong Kong). We decided to just get a taxi to the hotel and it was an adventure just helping the taxi driver find the place...and it was rush hour. But it was a mini scenic tour as the route took us right by Tian'anmen Square...and a thousand high rises! The roads are amazingly wide here and it reminds me of Los Angeles a lot more than New York - it's very spread out.

We will catch you later, we are off to see what we can see :)

Hello!

Seeing as we are in such a multi cultural city where the citizens speak Chinglish, it seems quite appropriate for me to greet you in the Queens tongue (sorry American readers :-).

I have suffered from some culture shock. Being away from the chaos of the land of mothballs in ATM machines and vegetarian cuisine it is surprising that I feel as though this highly western influenced city is comforting as well as hideous...

It is consumerism on steroids here. In fact I do feel as though I am witnessing a metropolis of the future. Huge skyscrapers and apartment blocks reach up high into the sky taking with them stores, cafes, residential areas, restaurants, dental surgeries, public services and hotels - the list is endless. I have spent much time travelling underground as well as high above ground. Four lane escalators help me reach another level of shopping. I sometimes wonder where the airborne personal vehicles are, half expecting one to fly past the seventh floor window where I am seated right now.

My brain is constantly bombarded with signage each bigger and brighter than the previous, glowing in neon or flashing LED. They entice you to spend your money, ensuring that you do not forget the brand or a service on offer. I can get a break from the advertising by looking at signs in Chinese characters which are equally as abundant.

In the streets and on the MTR some people where masks, I assume that they live in fear of the Avian Flu virus. There are signs telling me that I should only sneeze and cough into a hanky, that I should wash my hands all the time and that I should inform an official if I feel unwell on the metro. When we arrived at HK airport, we had to walk past a thermal imaging camera which checked our body temperature. K has already informed you about some of the other things that we have seen relating to this.

A few nights ago we went out for a drink at the Chivas bar, we sat on the waterfront and looked across to HK from Kowloon. The bar was empty but as the hours ticked by it gradually began to fill with Karaoke revellers singing along to Chinese pop music. We met a couple - Paul and Cindy and engaged in a wonderful conversation with them about language, travel and business. After some hours they had to go, only then Paul informed me that they had very kindly paid our tab. Perhaps K and I lost a little face but we shall know for next time :-)

I keep thinking about all of the Kung Fu and Chinese art house movies that I have seen. I look around me and I feel as though I am in a set sometimes. There is a block called Chunking Mansions, it is dilapidated, a recent attempt at revitalising it has bought it a new lease of life - although you would not think this from the outside. Here the most budget of accommodation can be found which entices backpackers as well as immigrants looking for a new life. I have a film based on this tower block, it is called Chungking Express, you should try and see it. When we took the ferry between islands yesterday, the choppiness of the water and the movement of the boat made me think of Bruce Lee travelling to the tournament in Enter the Dragon.

Sometimes I think that I am in London. The transport outside carries the same sound as the traffic at home, the buses are key to this. I quite often feel as though I am in Soho and that if I turn the next corner then I shall see Tottenham Court road before me, such is the familiarity of my surroundings sometimes. I used to visit Chinatown in London, excitedly taking the train from MK anticipating another glimpse of Canton in the few streets. I would buy Kung Fu books and Chinese health magazines and would savour red bean buns and vegetable dumplings. All these memories are returned to me. I think about the hours and years spent training in Siu Lim Tao, Biu gee, Chum Kiu, fighting sticky hands style and I remember all of my Wing Chun friends...

Quite often in this trip memories flash into my mind as though I am channel hopping through my life. Perhaps it is a search for some familiarity, my brain turns inwards because my receptors are not receiving the information that I seek.

I am almost through with this city, I need to see some countryside. We have not had the chance to go and see some of the areas here where there dwells less advertising and more reality, I am hoping that we shall see at least a few beautiful areas pass by from the train before we hit the sprawl of Beijing.

Trek China has been amazing. Our bicycles are built and await our arrival also J has booked our accommodation which has been a great help. I am very much looking forward to having two wheels of my own again, I don't think that I am entirely cut out for this backpacking business, I do like to have my own freedom of movement :-)

Finally - apologies for not being able to get any photos to you. I have taken plenty but have not had the opportunity to post them due to limited access on the computer. I shall spend some time in Beijing to bring you an update :-) :-)

Thanks for reading. Next time you will hear from me I will be in the land of my dreams... what will the reality unfold? :-) :-)

Civilization is a nice thing....

and we didn't even realize that we were missing it so much! We have been walking around the city for 4 days and we really like Hong Kong...but it's time to move on -we can only take so much consumerism. These people really know how to shop!

One thing I noticed on our first day here is that we never seemed to stop eating. That seems strange, but I think we got a little afraid of eating...well not afraid, just extremely cautious - so cautious that we didn't eat very often. And everyting tastes so good!!! We have had noodles and sushi, red bean cakes and dim sum. Ah, it is fabulous!!!

Everything here is so clean, it's even a bit extreme - most people carry their own toilet paper! And not because it isn't available in the public toilet, but because they don't trust the public loo paper, they want to be sure they have clean paper. We have sen quite a few people wearing masks and I have seen quite a few antibacterial hand cleaner dispensers in public places. The other thing we noticed is that all the personal cleaning supplies are in HUGE containers! We went looking for a small bottle of shampoo and it only comes in massive sizes - twice the size of regular bottles of shampoo and shower gel.

One thing I needed to do when we reached civilization is get my legs waxed...I know, it's painful, but I have alligator skin, so it doesn't hurt very much (it's well worth it! :) This was the strangest wax job I have ever had (and I have been waxing for quite a few years!). I had two women in masks, each sitting on a little stool, waxing my legs while I was standing up...very strange! They did a good job, though, and it was the easiest wax job I have ever had to recover from :)

Tomorrow we take the train to Beijing - 24 hours on the train, but we have our own sleeper compartment with 2 beds (we splurged on it - 70GBPs each :). We are going to look out the window, read and practice our Mandarin!

I know A has a bunch to say, too...catch you later!

Nei ho!

I feel like I am living in a dream, it is so absolutley amazing here. I have wanted to come to Hong Kong and China for so many years and finally I have made it. I am too overawed for words right now!! :-) :-) It is so amazing to see all of the Chinese characters everywhere, I am so happy that I studied Mandarin, albeit for a short time. That is just fantastic.



I hope to get some shots to you soon. We need to get out and walk :-)