Rest day in Jiayaguan...& sorry, Mr. Honda

Nice to get a lay in ... with a visit to the Great Wall of China scheduled for mid-day...

They say you can see it from space - I could not see it from here !

Found it.

Being stupid.

And this was the walk back down.

Looking back.

Hard to see but there a man welding the steel posts half way up, with about 500 mts of extension cable, joined by twisting the wires together, and running back to this shed.... the voltage drop must have been pretty major.

Oops, I only scratched the wall a bit and it crumbled in my hand ... bloody vandal, I know.

Poser.

And two of the lads decided to take a Microlight flight over the wall.

Thats Max, up there.

Down safely.

Then onto this Tourist place.

Renovated so much, it just looked new.

Although this bit of wall is evidently original.

Camel rides on offer.

And then back to the hotel to work on the bike... about 3 days prior, after a fuel stop, it just refused to start on the button.  Couldn't see anything obvious, but by shorting the solenoid (starter relay), it would fire.

So in order not to hold the group up, I removed the side panel to give easy access to the relay, and carried a screwdriver to short the terminals, in my tank bag.  It worked fine, but clearly had to be sorted, and today was the day.

Well after a lot of head scratching and tracing circuits, I was about to say "so Mr Honda, not so reliable now, eh", when I happened to notice the headlight was not on either.  Hmmm, checked the fuse marked Headlight, and it had blown.  Checked the bulb, which was one of those after-market "white-light" ones.... it had shorted out, causing the fuse to blow, and that was also the same fuse used for the starter.

New bulb, new fuse, and job done ... Yes, apologies Mr Honda, ...it was an "e-bay-made-in-china-special" that failed, not the bike, (but I have to say a better description on the fuse box would have helped).

Lavender Oil, oh, so sweet.

Leaving Hami, we did the now routine, Toll booth tango, and pushed further East.  Wasn't long before I came across this strange couple...

 
Well, two blokes actually !

They could not have dodged the toll gate barrier, so maybe with three wheels, they were classed as a car and allowed on. Chinese mentality, I suppose.   Then before long, another Police check....

The forced stop gives us a chance to chat with the strange couple.  They seemed quite normal, and were riding a Chinese made 400cc outfit, on a 3 week tour of China.  Yes, two decent bikers I thought, until they insisted on giving me a gift of Lavender Massage Oil.  Hmmmm.

With all these stops, the longer you stay, the more you attract attention... some unwanted..

and some more than welcome !

No idea where this chap came from, but it was the only other big bike I had seen in China since arriving, so it was worth a pic.

And back to mountains on the left, desert ... u got it yet  ?

Finally arriving at Jiayuguan, where we had our first rest day planned.

 ....so time for some laundry.

Then an evening meal while we were all still friends !

The background to the above comment is that inevitably in a group of 7, people take a few days to align themselves with others of similar abilities.  Myself, Jeremy & Big John, found that on the fast toll roads, we were constantly in the lead, riding at around 90-110 kmph  (60-65 mph).  The Swiss lads on the older BMW's and an Africa Twin, tended to fall to the back, happier at much slower speeds.  Alan, the older chap in the pic, sort of swapped positions on a random basis.

Meanwhile, Abdul our guide, was getting frustrated as he wanted to keep the group together as part of the Permit conditions.

The Swiss lads & Alan were also voicing concerns about the long straight roads, which were not what they signed up for, and emails started to fly to and from the UK with the tour organiser, Motoexplorers.

The 3 of us at the front accepted the route had to be changed because flooding in Tibet, had caused bridges to collapse and the Government to close roads.  We didn't blame anyone for changing the route.

However, the seeds of discontent had now been sown !

How hard can it be to get a GPS position correct.

The Turpan Hotel was a strange affair ... you approached it down this vine covered road, and which gave illusions of grandeur...

Even the lobby was magnificent ...

But then you look outside, and the hotel is partly derelict, with a couple of American cars just dumped and left to rot.

Ah well, we were leaving in 10 mins ... better get my skates on.

Filling up a few km down the road was another kettle job..

And back onto the toll road...

Big John

The Toll road authorities post a reminder about the need to drive safely.

Why so many power poles... there is nobody living for miles ?

Still can't shake that desert !

The lorries here are simply massive - must be 20 cars on this transporter...

... so you have to be quite careful when overtaking.

Cheery lot at the second fuel stop, and they filled the bikes directly, without using a kettle.

Entering Hami, heading for the wrong hotel !

We had co-ordinates on our itinerary, but they were taken from a map that was offset by 600 mts.  This may not sound a lot, but when you are tired, and with the impatient traffic drivers honking incessantly, it seemed to tarnish the end of every day.... and believe me, when you don't have a hotel name either, 600 mts off might as well be 600 miles !

But beers and food always put us in a good mood again.

Having a "Chinese" like never before.

Like a scene from Star Wars.

Heading out, there was a rumour we would go through some mountains ....

There they are.... straight ahead.

Finally, a break from the straight bits.

Stop to regroup before a Toll Booth, and this Chap screams to a halt behind us and wants to take pics,

Get to the mountain section....

...and the speed limit drops to 60 km/hr (37 mph).

We all look at each other, wondering who is going to break formation first, and I could take no more... head down, throttle open, and damn the consequences.

Went through a couple of cameras that flashed, and was lucky was when passing one cop, I was the other side of a lorry, so "sort of" didn't see him.  In China, it seems like they rely on numberplate recognition and automated devices ... never been so happy as to be on English plates.

Its even an offence here to have a dirty numberplate, so most of the bigger vehicles paint their registrations on the back in huge letters, in addition to their number plates ... guess it avoids a fine.

Stop for lunch, as ever, the tourists flock for photos by the bikes.

Wasn't sure what lunch involved, but crisps are always a safe bet.

But then with a little help from a Muslim waitress, she sorts me out...

... all for the price of a picture.

Entering Turpan.

We are booked into the Turpan Hotel ... was the best 5 star around ... in its heyday.

Find Johns (or was it Jacks) cafe, behind the hotel.

And get on with the business of making friends !

Abdul, or guide, offers to take us see the ancient Yar city.. but only 3 takers.

The city has basically been carved out of the earth.

Reminded me of that Star Wars scene !

Worth seeing ... once !

Followed by dinner in the night bazaar.

The other 4 didn't know what they were missing .....

or maybe they did !