September 3, 2015 Erenhot to Ulanchap

Since we knew the motorcycle would not be released from the impound lot before noon, we had plenty of time to experience our first Chinese breakfast.  The hotel buffet had lots of noodles, rice and meats and fish that we do not normally consider eating first thing in the morning.  Included on the menu was hard boiled eggs and bread, so we eased into the cuisine.  After breakfast, I returned to the room to wait for the call from the guides alerting us to our departure time.  David went to a little store around the corner to pick up some snack food for lunch.  

In Beijing, where we are headed today, the Chinese government was holding the largest military parade in history to commemorate the nation’s victory over the "evil" Japanese empire.  For the last two weeks all of Beijing’s industry was shut down to improve the air quality for the visiting dignitaries.  All Chinese citizens were ordered to watch the parade on TV.  While David was in the shop buying our food, an official entered and ordered the owner to shut down.  Even though the shopkeeper had the parade on the store TV, he had to go home to watch the parade.   Thankfully, not before Dave purchased our sustenance.

When he returned to the hotel, Dave turned on the TV.  All the Chinese channels were carrying the parade.  We watched as various foreign officials were welcomed.  Putin was there, but the US sent lower state department officials.

A little after noon, we were notified that the motorcycles were released.  We packed our bags into taxis and headed back over to the border to continue the Epic Journey.

When we returned to the impound lot, we pulled out jackets and helmets out of the van.  Put water, food, and other necessary equipment in the panniers.  Mike was ready to go…

and soon everyone else was as well.

But first we had to go to the local police station to pick up our Chinese licenses and tags.  We had a 2:30 appointment.  Hah!

We wound up sitting around for what was theoretically to be another hour.  It was getting hot, so we found what shade we could.

We did have some visitors.  This older man sat down next to Randy and they “talked” back and forth.  Neither understood the other, but there were lots of smiles.  The old man was especially interested in Randy’s arm hair, since he himself had none.  Another younger man, also stopped to talk a bit about the motorcycles.  He left, but returned shortly with a bag full of cold sodas!  The world is full of kind people.

At 3pm, the office opened and we were able to wait inside the building where it was somewhat cooler.  Doesn’t John look happy?

Finally, at 3:30 the official came out and started examining the bikes.  Once again they wanted to see the VIN numbers.  Really?!  Yesterday at the border wasn’t enough?  But like bureaucracies world wide, this was a different department.  The police were not issuing tags unless they were sure the bike wasn’t stolen.  Steve’s bike was nearly disallowed because they thought his VIN plate was a fake since it was welded onto the frame.  Fortunately, he knew another place where the number could also be seen.

Dave had no trouble getting his tag and Chinese drivers license.

Things were taking way to long.  It was getting late in the afternoon, we still had 350km (219 miles) to our next hotel.  Driving after dark is dangerous enough, but the failing eyesight of the over 60 crowd adds a whole other dimension to the trip.  Furthermore, we found out that Mike, our sweep guide for the day, was back at the hotel, curled up on the bathroom floor, stricken with food poisoning.  John was doing his best to get the bikes through inspection, and arrange for a driver to take the van to tonight’s destination.

A little after 4pm the police had us line our motorcycles up on the street for one more picture.  Did they really need a picture of all the bikes for their files, or for their own personal trophy?!

When asked to smile, John did his best.

Needless to say, we attracted a lot of attention and iPhones.

We got on the road to Ulanchap at 4:40 in the afternoon, just over two hours before sunset.  Some of us were not happy with the decision to ride in the dark, but it was a Hobson's choice.

Earlier in the morning, during our forced relaxation period, I read a brochure about Erenhot.  Besides having many funny misusage of the English language, it expounded on the abundance of wind energy produced in the region.

The pamphlet didn’t say anything about dinosaurs, but all along the highway outside of the city were models of the beasts.

…and then this giant gateway.

Our Round the World Unlimited friends had also broken loose from the grips of the Chinese police.  They had there own difficulties.  One of the cars had broken down and had to be towed to the police station and then, presumably to a repair shop.

Motorcycles in China are not allowed on the freeway because the Chinese bikes cannot go fast enough.  However, they make no exception for the more powerful BMWs.  Therefore, we were forced to turn off the highway onto the  smaller and slower national roads that go through all the small towns.

We saw the toll booth for the highway just next to our road.  During the next month, we will often see the highway paralleling our route, but will rarely be allowed to drive on it.  Welcome to China!

Once off the highway, the guides first challenge was to find gas.  Shouldn’t be too hard, right?  Wrong.  For the most part, motorcycles are not allowed to fill up at the pump.  The only reasonable explanation I heard is because they don’t want the riders to mix oil and gasoline at the pumping station – a mostly obsolete reason.  Nevertheless, unless our riding guide, Yingchu, can sweet talk the station help into filling the bike at the pump, we have to fill the bikes by the “teapot” method.

We arrived at the first gas station, Yingchu jumped off John’s bike and tried to talk the attendant into filling the bikes at the pump.

 It was a no-go at the EasyJoy gas station.  So, back on the motorbikes and down the road to another station.

Almost as soon as we arrived, the police showed up.  The first station must have called them.

We were forced to use the “teapot” method.  Basically, we had to fill the tanks using a watering can.  Both environmentally unfriendly, as gas was spilled, and time consuming, which is why we don’t want to do it.  Welcome to China!

The police didn’t leave until we were finished.

At first we thought this might be a paddy wagon for all of us, but instead it’s just a means to control traffic.

 Livestock along the road still was common.  We’re still on the southern part of the Gobi desert.

The small towns still reminded us of the villages in Africa, with dirt leading up to small strips of shops.

Leaving so late in the afternoon meant that more than half of our ride was going to be in the dark.

The sunset on the clouds was a pretty sight.

The darkness forced us to slow dramatically.  First we had concerns about wildlife, or in this case, sheep.  We passed several flocks close to the road.  Some had shepherds nearby, but not all.  The second concern was diminished night time vision.  It didn’t help that most vehicles used their high beams as they approached, nearly blinding all of us.

We arrived in Ulanchap around nine o’clock.  But John, or rather his GPS, had one more adventure in store for us.  We were routed up a gravel embankment onto unfinished section of highway.  Skirting barriers, we found the road to our hotel. 

It was lit up like Las Vegas.

The Blue Horizon International Hotel was a grand place.  The lobby was bright with high ceilings.

I couldn’t resist getting a photo of this cute little girl.

Dinner was quickly arranged and eaten without changing out of our Klim suits.

We were delighted by the sight of a large king bed in a magnificent suite.  Too bad we couldn’t have gotten here earlier to really enjoy it.  But for the moment, we dropped into bed for a good night’s sleep.