July 4, 2014
After sleeping
well and eating good breakfast (omelette), we were on the road. Soon, we were
in a town on our way. It was crowded and polluted. We had to bike 30 km west
to get out of this town.
One of the
things that I will always remember about China is the pollution, all kinds:
air, noise, water, etc. When you ride in China, at least in the parts I have
been, you constantly get something, a small particle in your eyes, most
probably a tiny piece of coke. Yo also get them all over your
hand, face, head, everywhere. When trucks pass you by, you should get ready to
get a layer of these small particles peppered on you.
Another thing
that I will never forget is the different kinds of chemicals that I had to
smell as I was riding, some of which were disgusting. If I were biking alone, I
would skip this part and get a bus.
After riding for
38 km, the head wind got so strong that it was not worth doing 10 km/h, so we
went to a grocery shop and had a pop. The owner gave us some ice cream for free.
We sat there for an hour, but when we rode 50 km, we stopped again, and had a
watermelon, coffee, and instant noodle for lunch. We took a long break because
of the head wind.
At 3, we started
again with me cutting the wind and Fausto following. At one point, a big truck
slowly passed by. I speeded up and stayed right behind it. Boy! It was so easy
to ride behind it. I was doing 40 km/h. Fausto was a little slow to harness the
chance. After 10-7 km, the truck stopped, and I waited for Fausto. We soon got
to a town, bought groceries, and three big bottles of beer from an interesting
Bazar. Then, as usual, we found a spot to camp. We had rice, chicken and salad
for dinner. We need a wash badly? We were dirty. All over our body there were
small black particles. I got all our empty bottles of water, and hit the road
in search of water. I would even go to people and beg water if I had to. I
needed a wash, period.
I took the dirty
dishes with me. I rode for ten minutes when I saw a well, behind which I found
clean cold water coming slowly out of a big plastic pipe. I filled the bottles,
and washed the dishes. I was so happy and relieved to have found this super
clean water. Excited, I rode back to Fausto and shared my six litters of water
with him. We took a shower with it. No one would understand how refreshing it
was to shower with this three litters--no one. Later on, I thought to myself
... How little can make us so happy and excited! On this trip, when we find a
market where we can get tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and some pasta, that’s enough to make us happy. Or when we are able to find a camping spot
where we can wash our faces and dishes, we are so relaxed.
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