Ni hao!
We are at Hua Shan, one of five sacred mountains of China, has 2 days of cycling from Xi'an. We arrive almost at the beginning and / or end of the Silk Road. Istanbul and Xi'an, the two extremes have been pedalo, remains only to bridge the distance between two cities ...
Our departure from Beijing, saying the return on the road was difficult. After a day 1 / 2 Bike, we were fully prepared, as Rupert has me back in Beijing and end our trip. During lunchtime, Rupert wanted to make 1 / 2 turn on the road. I told him that the decision was too quick. I wanted people to pedal a day or two to get to the next town and take the train, this time, we could also think about it really. We met at Cafe Olimpico on the terrace this summer ... Generally around 30C the day, camping only 2 consecutive nights is difficult for us 3. Perspiration, salt on the skin as if it came out of the ocean, suntan lotion, and sometimes even anti-mosquito, no shower for only 2 nights proves unbearable. It is not obvious to find water for us, "rinse an area." While I filter the water in Latin America, we buy most of the time in the bottle. Filter 2 times 6 liters of water is a hard work ... It is very rare that we ayions the water where we camped. Ecological principles have also disappeared with the purchase of wipes to clean themselves before going to sleep lightly. Oceanne sleeps a lot worse in the heat of the tent, and is not long nap in the trailer also because of the heat. She also had to adapt again to this nomadic life. After spending time in Turkey with Mum, fly to Beijing two weeks over there and live hunting visas, all of this, it was felt, the "has disturbed. Rupert and I were feeling extreme fatigue Travel, 8 months on the road with your family, we thought that was enough. On the other hand, we had put so much energy to hunt for visas, and Central Asia is part of the journey that attracts me the more we wanted to push a little further. No trains to the next town, we try to go up to Xi'an and see after. Oceanne was re-adapt. It is also true that, almost 3 years these needs and interests are different than when we started the trip. It is therefore more attention. Not more than 2 nights in tents, and the night at the hotel allows us to recover all of the accumulated fatigue. For the days visit which cuts on the day of cycling.
After Anyang, we stopped 3 days Luoyang. We went to visit the Longmen Grottoes or thousands of Buddha statues were carved. It's impressive. We spent another day at Shaolin, the birthplace of Kung Fu. We attended a show as well as outdoor training of thousands of young people. There are several small schools in the mountain, but that this site would have 7,000 students! The Shaolin Temple is to remind us that cultivating the mind is as important as cultivating the body for Buddhists. We both lived in the same day. The 3rd day, Rupert went to night in Beijing to retrieve the passport french Oceanne of the embassy. It had to do during our hunt for visas, thinking it would help for the rest of the trip. We could not do mine because I could not return my old passport which is somewhere in the boxes in Montreal. Rupert came back the next night. Meanwhile, I visited the old city of Luoyang, the ancient houses called hutongs, with Oceanne, and we ate french fries with ketchup at KFC! Then after the stop Luoyang Hua Shan was here. This sacred mountain consists of 5 peaks above or below 2000m. Rupert made the ascent from last night to get a 23h at sunrise. Surprise, he ended up with about 2000 other people! Thousands of stairs and ladders to climb the cliff side. I went back this morning with the Oceanne by cable! Family, there are concessions to ... At 11am, even at almost 2000m, the heat was unbelievable. The mountains are all green, it's wonderful. The road was built long ago. Steps carved in stone. There are also temples on the road. It's impressive to see what has been built from the hand of man. The Chinese are really capable of everything. Like all other tourist sites we visited, there is always a lot of Chinese. For this mountain, there are hotels at the top of the food and drinks kiosks around the path. Everything is still landscaping job, with little excess. We are always be the few Western sites. People often think that we live in China because they are surprised to see us are places. Rare are the times where we explain that we travel by bicycle. And in China, only those possessing a Chinese driving license can drive. So for foreigners, residents must be able to drive (so it is very difficult to rent a car). The train is extremely well developed. The bus also, but it is a little less pleasant, particularly because of the horns was standing on the road.
I wanted to write you this message to you about our family life. Driven by our curiosity, we continue. The daily discoveries motivate us. But I admit that there is a fatigue of travel probably disappear once in Montreal. A beautiful life experience! I will write a message next to speak Chinese!
you soon,
Dorothee
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