Give us what the locals eat !

It was all down to Emma's for the third time for a western breakfast ...

... and a group photo for her webpage.

This bunch were also selling horse rides to Tourists.

Walking back I could not help but notice the way the Chinese just shovel their unsorted rubbish straight into the river... you can see the dumping spot on the other bank.  I mean biodegradable stuff is one thing, but this was just everything from plastic bottles, to old bicycles .. the lot.  And no prizes for guessing where it all ends up ... the sea. The same one we are all supposed to share....

 ... it did sum their culture up in that they dont seem to give a monkeys about anyone else... selfish in one sense. And that came over in the driving habits too.

OK, lets chase the plastic bottles down the river.

Still cold, and now low cloud threatened us with rain....

.. but eventually it brightened.

Watch yer head.

 And then the inevitable... we were a bit slow at a Toll Booth, and the buggers got a start on us, blocking our path, and forcing us to exit onto the "old road".  Mud, slush and water now.

But eventually, we did get to some tarmac again, and the "old road" was actually quite spectacular in places.

Interesting slogan .... "Beer & Life"... wasn't going to stop him for an explanation.

And got to the hotel in Dujiangyan, splattered, but today, where I predicted it would be ....

... 0.6 km North West of Motoexplorers actual way-point ! The calculation worked.

OK toast yerself, clever clogs.

Now eating was a bit of a challenge on this particular night ... the advance scouting party had only located what we called "Hot Pot" restaurants ... you pick your food from a platter, then they throw it into a spiced boiling pot in the centre of the table. ...

Cautiously me & John carefully picked out the items that resembled either whole meat or an identifiable vegetable... then in bowls Jeremy and says, "give us what the locals eat" ... idiot !

... and that was it.  Bits I just refused to even try.

But we all left, hungry, but smiling !  The owner found it amusing too.

And despite my return to the open air bar we drank in earlier, the crowds had gone, the staff were now eating, and the evening slowly ground to a halt after a final beer.

Luxury holes in the ground.

Today's destination was Songpan, and we headed there without knowledge of what hotel we had to stay at ... just the name of a good restaurant ! Blind faith, or poor organisation ...probably both !

Must be cold staying in a tent in the winter.

No idea what this is all about (a shop, I think)

Empty roads.

Decent scenery.

Think this is a Chinese graveyard.

Stopped for gas & a pee ... luxury: a tiled hole in the ground !

The villagers make money selling horse rides to the city folks !

High up ... and therefore cold, despite the sunshine.

Yak traffic jam. Everyone just pushes their way through.

Made a mental allowance for the wrong co-ordinates, found the restaurant, met Emma ...

... and eat a Yak burger while waiting for our guide to send the correct co-ordinates for the hotel.

Which it turned out, we had already driven past. Grrr.

The boardwalk into the city had been washed away...

...so we had to walk in along the the road. Life in your hands job, it was.

No idea what this came from.

Yaks penis .... lovely !

The old walled town of Songpan...

... was now getting a little too touristy !

The Swiss lads had again decided to take a "scenic route" and arrived at the hotel some 5 hours after us, much to Abdul's annoyance.  But we re-grouped and walked back to Emma's Kitchen for our evening meal, but that was that.   All back to bed by 8pm, and I had still not spotted anywhere else to go for that final beer.

And yet again, this was another hotel which chose not to turn the heating on.  There was a glimmer of hope that seeing a switch on the air conditioning marked as "heat/cool", maybe it worked in reverse... but alas, after three hours on max heat, we got the room temp up a few degrees to 17 C.

After a cool night, it was only in the morning, did I discover a massive Karaoke bar behind the hotel... didn't think of looking there.

Yakety-yak (dont come back)

Glad I brought that jacket now ...

The hotel just would not turn the heating on.

 So after a noodle breakfast next door to the hotel, I put the thermals on and we headed out..

Heck, a Yak..... where did he spring from !

Stopped to spend a penny,  and the lady basically followed me in to collect it.

Meanwhile, John spots an opportunity to get his bike cleaned.

More Yaks.

A typical village.

And we reach our hotel in Langmusi early afternoon.... but again, no heating !

Guess this worked once.

Nice colours in the mountain behind me.

Went for a walk that afternoon, and spotted a restaurant called the Black Tent Cafe, which had a western menu, so excitedly told the news to the gang once back at the hotel.  It was a unanimous "Yes" to my suggested venue ...Pizza & Burgers ... nice change from noodles..

 But after nearly getting hit by a Yak earlier in the day, it was only fitting to eat one of his brothers !

Yak Steak .... medium rare.

On the way back, everyone headed to bed, but I had spied a coffee shop that during the day, didn't serve coffee.  So maybe in the evenings, they served beer .... only one way to find out !