Couple of things I had
to to today … new tyres for the bike, and a haircut for me ….
After a late evening
spent increasing the receptionists English vocabulary, I woke to the
hotel breakfast.... a knock on the door and it came served on a tray. It was
cold mashed potato and sausage … quite an ordeal first thing in the
morning.
So, hooked up with
Jeremy and we retrieved the bikes from the “lock-up” and rode around to the the bike shop. Now I assumed that as they sold a
plethora of bikes, the shop might have a workshop somewhere … no !
Jeremy had decided to carry both his tyres and change them at a later
date, but for me, I had to do the front, and would carry the rear.
Influencing this decision was the news that due to some major
flooding in Tibet last week, many bridges had been washed out and our mileage
in China might increase dramatically. Hence the plan now became to enter China
with as much tread as possible.
Anyway, the bike shop
cleared me a space and I took the front wheel out, where we carried it to a bunch of monkeys in a local car tyre place. They had not got a
clue about changing bike tyres, and half way through attempting to
change mine, I lost my rag, and took over. They were trying to fit the tube after both beads were on, using a powered machine. The rim tape had already been dislodged, and the tube was about to get mullered ... like I said, Monkeys.
So, all done to my
satisfaction, back to the bike shop, refit the wheel, then back to
the hotel for a shower. Now for the haircut ! Rode around, and you
can not believe the amount of cops just waiting for a chance to pull
you over … I mean I counted 7 cops on one 4-way junction...
waiting. Like a tiger stalks his prey.
And then there are the
Yellow Minibuses … just like Thai Tuk-Tuks, but bigger. A right
pain in the arse, and a law unto themselves.... and of course, bigger
than me, so they get the right of way !
Anyway, no dramas with
the hair … found a hairdresser, gesticulated a bit, and it was done
… £4. Can't complain. New tyre and a new look … mission
accomplished.
