All day .... staring at a wall

Now what did I do with that breakfast coupon .. oh, they never ask for it !  

Wrong ....

Never seen an entrance to a hotel restaurant like this before.  Had to blag the waiter to open the electric gates for me.

Checking our itinerary, on the first day, this was the day we had to have the bike officially cleared into China, and get our temporary driving licences  

But first, it was strongly suggested we get local mobile phone cards .... another procedure that took forever and involved many passport checks.

Once that had been accomplished, and numbers exchanged in the group, we were told to follow our guide in his car to yet another Government office about 40km away.  But with some of us now running on fumes, we though a quick fill-up would be in order...

Not as easy as you think... all stations have barriers and security guards present, and for reasons that were never explained, did not allow bikes on the forecourt.  Luckily our Guide blagged us in, and using his permit to buy fuel, got us filled up.

Then onto the Toll road, and as we approached the booth, about 3-4 officials came scurrying out, arms waving frantically, and blocking our path.

Yes, motorbikes were not allowed here either.
Again, our guide to the rescue, with many words being exchanged (and possibly money) and we were told to use the lorry lane to slide by the barriers (being slightly wider) and wait the other side.

Hmmm, I was beginning to get a bit of an inferiority complex now.  But onwards to the "Vehicle Inspection Office", where we were all told to line up against a wall in a particular order, being that of our positions on the "official permit"....

And we waited, and waited and waited.... Then went for lunch... well some us, anyway.  The menu was simple ...the waiter just pointed to a pot.  Noodles, or .... noodles. That was it.

After lunch, back to the wall and more waiting, until very close to 5pm, Mr. Policeman arrives, takes a rubbing of the bikes VIN (Engine & Chassis) numbers, sticks them to a paper form, and signs the lot off.

6 hours of waiting, 5 minutes of work, and we were free to go.  In fairness, there was other "stuff" being done by a fixer in the background, but nevertheless, apart from being necessary, it didn't seem very productive,

Fried things with yellow stuff

Back to the hotel, where we enjoyed the local culinary delights again, ready for the real start of the adventure the following morning.

Green beany looking things with something that was very hot.