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In the dark you can loose your bearing here and we were glad to have an iPhone compass to find the “north city gate” in the dark.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/...cbc4c654_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4471/...5f501393_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4454/...437e13b0_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...9cd6a1ef_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4460/...d3df2539_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4459/...79d4f351_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/...458dcb14_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4504/...4ee9dd61_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4472/...2b83f6c7_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4472/...e5781041_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4509/...519d718b_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...5d72e290_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/...732c35de_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/...9a9dfb2b_b.jpgChina Pingyau Acient City-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We awoke to a lot of yelling in Chinese at 630. Apparently an entire bus of Chinese tourists had checked in here as well. We and the bikes are filthy after the rain and dirty roads yesterday. It is almost impossible to get laundry done here. We have hand washed the clothes, but the suits need a machine. A car wash for the bikes is a much easier thing….maybe we will just pressure wash ourselves?! We set out at 730 and made the toll entry like pros.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4470/...cd181b65_b.jpgFILE1308 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We have 502 km to ride to Xi’an, which is where the Terracotta Warriors are found. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4449/...e4dd5a14_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-22 at 21.53.14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4464/...def46d6b_b.jpgXi'an China-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/...7eb70478_b.jpgFILE1319 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Again they will sell you gas for the bike at the pump at the highway stations where bikes are not permitted! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/...5858bde8_b.jpgFILE1328 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Orvar blew past the direction to Xian exit and had to ride back on the verge as who knows where the next exit to turn around might be!! We had decided to ride about 150 km to near Linfen to refuel and get breakfast. We parked at the restaurant and this caused a huge crowd to gather. They all wanted a photo with the foreign bikers.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...d704b40f_b.jpgFILE1338 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4470/...a259453a_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/...0029d86c_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4479/...b9cab136_b.jpgIMG_9962 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4481/...8905d6bb_b.jpgIMG_9964 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4486/...c09e3b4f_b.jpgIMG_9967 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The scenery today is industrial and the pollution horrific. There are a few breaks in the smog!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/...ca76670e_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...2d323794_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4463/...a2bed6b3_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...7e5d4551_b.jpgFILE1376 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4493/...4b8b15d0_b.jpgFILE1383 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4444/...1597e2e0_b.jpgFILE1393 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There is a break from the pollution occasionally!!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...4b2ba7e6_b.jpg |
We made another stop after 180 km and got gas since it is easy on the highway to use the pump.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4451/...362f476f_b.jpgFILE1415 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The plan was to go to the hotel, which was booked on the outskirts of the city, but near the metro. The Terracotta Museum is 30 km north east of the city. The city air quality is visibly terrible and much worse than elsewhere we have been. Arriving to the city it was enveloped in smog. I am not sue how anyone can live here. The traffic was not to heavy and we had no trouble getting to our hotel. We had a few hours to relax and the after getting some local advice we walked about 15 min to a packed restaurant for another amazing meal. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4454/...9220899a_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4449/...7804a799_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4463/...54e9bc09_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4456/...cfde6988_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4475/...31e812ab_b.jpgIMG_9971 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/...0b090474_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...4d505ed7_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...149f8a68_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/...4b2d710c_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4510/...801ce83f_b.jpg |
This guy with the phone was secretly taking pictures of Dan in the pharmacy!!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4512/...659163b4_b.jpgIMG_9978 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We were up early and walked up the street to get a Chinese breakfast pancake! YUM! Next door to the vendor is this fancy bakery! https://youtu.be/lYuyh0jX48w https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4459/...bd7d30a3_b.jpgRoad to Xi'an-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4507/...30f58c9f_b.jpgIMG_9970 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Our driver is down with the gout, but he will deliver us to the Warriors at 830. This is about 45 min away on the freeway. The place is mobbed with Chinese and a few foreign tourists. We had several hours to explore the excavated areas.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4504/...a0f09374_b.jpgIMG_9986 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4491/...31251a8f_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/...eaff44b0_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4495/...35d114c0_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4474/...8ae4d300_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/...b2964b18_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...37ddcdbb_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4506/...d5445488_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/...0a19d5f2_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/...196a26c7_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...de93d12e_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4481/...a0b7ca44_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4495/...bfebef2d_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/...5e1d38ea_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4445/...38093038_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...85fafc8b_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4496/...2483fc58_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/...d40d6de5_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/...38723ff0_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had about a hour wait for Mr Tang who was at local clinic, so Starbucks it is, and that meant it was after 2 when we got back to the hotel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/...4600a33d_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/...1c1cdbd6_b.jpgXi'an Terracotta Warriors-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4475/...101e9ba3_b.jpgIMG_9994 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/...ee03bd30_b.jpgIMG_9993 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We needed to wash the bikes they are filthy and this took over an hour for 4 bikes (with a few cars interspersed) at the shop next to the hotel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4469/...83172d99_b.jpgIMG_0004 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/...cf219e9b_b.jpgIMG_0007 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Then it was 415 when we finally set out for the metro to downtown. This takes 45 min and by the time we had walked 700 m to the museum we were told it was too crowded today and we could not get in (today there were 12,000 visitors). Disappointing as it is supposed to be very nice with artifacts from several thousand years of Chinese history. Again we could not find a cab that would take us the 5 km to the city center and after walking 2 km we got on a city bus to the Bell tower. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4457/...13ac9c9f_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/...760b69b6_b.jpgXi'an China-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...f81a51a8_b.jpgXi'an China-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4502/...d7498727_b.jpgXi'an China-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/...a2982a5f_b.jpgXi'an China-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4481/...fb3da737_b.jpgXi'an China-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4494/...3ab85428_b.jpgXi'an China-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/...3b56abc6_b.jpgIMG_0012 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/...6fc7cb88_b.jpgIMG_0016 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4474/...f9049dba_b.jpgIMG_0017 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4451/...2ff114c1_b.jpgIMG_0018 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4469/...e4b27d0f_b.jpgXi'an China-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4446/...b1d1458d_b.jpgXi'an China-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4473/...76e59604_b.jpgXi'an China-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Near here is the Muslim quarter, which is a number of streets packed with people and even kind of street food and souvenir.
https://youtu.be/c8h7GOVM6Aw https://youtu.be/d_nbuZ3D3Kw https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4463/...dccd8f08_b.jpgIMG_0022 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...6c8f8692_b.jpgXi'an China-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4456/...ef39f9bb_b.jpgXi'an China-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/...dab49cd8_b.jpgXi'an China-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4448/...aafbbb3c_b.jpgXi'an China-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4461/...0d224e1d_b.jpgXi'an China-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4443/...d549e6b4_b.jpgXi'an China-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4479/...3cf91a1c_b.jpgXi'an China-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/...3793bbeb_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4512/...b77d30d5_b.jpgXi'an China-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4476/...e4917298_b.jpgXi'an China-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4499/...a6470ecf_b.jpgXi'an China-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4483/...20547910_b.jpgXi'an China-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4487/...3c921119_b.jpgXi'an China-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4498/...62362495_b.jpgXi'an China-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4504/...da1eb300_b.jpgXi'an China-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4465/...4fa6f402_b.jpgXi'an China-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4443/...45c613ab_b.jpgXi'an China-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/...1779473a_b.jpgXi'an China-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4468/...3c3ff5f7_b.jpgXi'an China-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4490/...e1ae8ed7_b.jpgXi'an China-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/...7874d2c5_b.jpgXi'an China-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Then we made for the Drum and Bell towers again and to the subway for another 45 min ride back to the hotel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4466/...17b98f3c_b.jpgXi'an China-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4468/...30e6bdf8_b.jpgXi'an China-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4506/...5e4fa53c_b.jpgXi'an China-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a big day planned as we are trying to make miles over the next few days to Tibet. It is 550 km to Dinxi and we planned the upper route as there is less speed control for the van and less tunnels for us.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4380/...0cd20012_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-09-24 at 18.14.27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Orvar’s new Frankenscreen for highway driving. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/...41094978_b.jpgRoad to Lhasa-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did not too bad setting out at 7 am and getting out of the city and onto the G70. The scenery is more hilly, but you can barely see it do to dense pollution. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4448/...3bff4723_b.jpgFILE1425 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4469/...acd86ffa_b.jpgFILE1445 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4504/...71ce028b_b.jpgFILE1450 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped after 2 hours for breakfast and were making good time until we ran into G70 construction and the road was diverted onto the secondary road. We are pretty sure one of the drivers who was following us reported us to the toll booth as they were out in force to prevent us from getting back on the highway. Much yelling in Chinese and we had to turn around. The detour was thru an apple growing region and each fruit was individually bagged for protection.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4478/...39f6e8ef_b.jpgFILE1473 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We went up and over a mountain range and on the down side there was some kamikaze trucks passing each other. There was a huge collection of trucks at the toll and when we drove up on the right 4 agents were blocking the way. We went to the next access point, but they had obviously called ahead as the police were there too. They were very nice and spoke English. They said they had called further ahead and “thanks for helping us by turning around and going not the side road”. This was not too bad except the average speed on what is supposed to be a bigger milage day. There are a few villages, but also long stretches where you can get some speed. Passing the small trucks loaded with corn was a challenge. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4496/...a6ba73d2_b.jpgFILE1484 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/...851f8d4b_b.jpgFILE1494 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/...26490795_b.jpgFILE1522 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/...b9fc82d1_b.jpgFILE1528 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We passed a few entry points to the G70 and then took the bypass road around Pingliang. Just after here we easily made it on to the highway, but there was 3 separate toll stations over the next 15 km. Then we had several very long tunnels. We exited from a 10 km one to find comparatively clear horizons. The pollution level has dropped 90% and we can actually see our surroundings.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/...df11483f_b.jpgFILE1543 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4509/...db06b041_b.jpgFILE1532 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4467/...be6307fc_b.jpgFILE1540 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We met up with our guide and driver finally at the service centre at Jingning 130 km from Dinxi. The last part we were on the G22 and there are no tolls until the city, but getting off here was a tight squeeze beside the trucks. We are staying in a hotel owned by the Electric company. A bit run down, but easy access and exit from the city. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4495/...225cbe1e_b.jpgRoad to Lhasa-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/...7c493fb2_b.jpgRoad to Lhasa-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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