Cycling China and beyond

Preparations in Jin Du @ Xi'an Shi, China

2007-03-23T19:56:00.000Z

T minus one week. There are a few things to fix, but most of them can probably wait and a lot of things we can pick up along the way.
Andreas has a lot to do though. He is ending a 2.5 year contract in Xian and he has to get rid of the apartement, fininsh up at work, send all his stuff home etc, etc. He also ordered a brand new titanium bike frame from a company here in Xian and they promised to deliver it two days before we plan to leave. After that it has to be equipped with all the gears, wires, breaks and stuff... lots of things that can cause delays..
I will be using my trusty old Marin that has taken me through parts of Europe and Asia already.

The plan is to leave Xian saturday the 31st and head south-west towards Chengdu, wich should take 2-3 weeks. This stage is more or less just a warm-up. West of Chengdu we will hit the Tibetan plateau and the fun will start, at least one month of bad roads at high altitude to Lhasa.

Two days left. Changing chain and handlebar on the bike. Tomorrow Andreas will get his bike hopefully.

Xian @ Fengyukou, China

2007-03-31T21:14:00.000Z

We left Xian around 3 in the afternoon. Just 20 km south of Xian we hit the mountains and began climbing. The weather was great but because we left so late we didnt get very far.
We found a trucker hotel where we had a beer and an early night.

Weiziping, China @ Weiziping, China

2007-04-01T13:56:00.000Z

The second day we kept climbing and cleared the first pass just over 2000 meters. We have been cycling here before and were eager to leave known roads behind. In the afternoon we passed the last village we had seen before.
The weather was not as good as the day before and the descents were pretty cold. We reached the bottom of the first valley and were both kind of tired. It was also getting late and we started looking for a place to camp or a hotel. It got closer and closer to sunset and we couldnt find anything. At 6.30 Andreas asked a woman who told us it would be 10 km to the nearest hotel and it was all uphill. While we were discussing what to do she invited us reluctantly to stay in her house and we accepted immediatley.
It turned out that we had asked her husband just before and when she found out we had talked to him before she loosened up a bit. We payed them 20 yuan for the both of us.

Wawuping, China @ Wawuping, China

2007-04-02T17:38:00.000Z

We left the nice couple at 8.30 and started climbing a long stretch of pretty steep switchbacks. We had no breakfast so it was hard work. Someone said that we had to cross 2299 m before the first village, but it turned out there was a much lower pass first and then some downhill. We rolled into the village with no energy left and had lunch.
With some food in our stomachs the rest was a piece of cake and we reached the 2299 m pass around 3 pm. It was getting really cold close to the top, sub 0 degrees, and the descent was pretty painful. Note to self: buy better gloves!

Ningshan, China @ Ningshan, China

2007-04-02T23:48:00.000Z

After a cold 30 km decent we came into the town of Ningshan. We checked into the first hotel we found.
Really looking forward to changing and cleaning some clothes and the first shower in 4 days.

Zhanlongya, China @ Zhanlongya, China

2007-04-03T18:07:00.000Z

Beautiful weather and a long, slow descent leaving Ningshan. We passed a lot of farmland. The road was good and traffic was light.
As we got close to Shiquan we passed a lot of police checkpoints but no one stopped us and we didnt think much about it. Shiquan is a pretty big place and we got a lot of attention there for some reason.. we would understand why the following morning.

Shiquan, China @ Shiquan, China

2007-04-04T15:48:00.000Z

Just outside Shiquan we passed another police checkpoint without really noticing it. A few km down the road a small police bus passed us and signed that we should stop. Two men came out and asked where we were going. When we said towards Hanzhong they told us no foreigners are allowed on this road. Andreas tried to ask why and if we could take another road but they were starting to lose their temper and just told us to take the train out of town.
We went back to Shiquan to have lunch and found out that the next train was leaving at 2.40. A man started talking to us during lunch and he did not understand why we had been stopped. As we were talking to him another man came up and said something and they both dissapeared in the middle of a sentence.
A few minutes later a young woman came and flashed her police badge. She told us to follow her to the police station, but we could finish our lunch first.
At the station they took copies of our passports and explained that we were allowed to be in Shiquan, but it was illegal to cycle there, away from, or around the town. Now we had no choice but to take the train. Hanzhong, 160km to the west, was the first town we could get off.
Taking the train didnt feel right and we missed a lot of nice scenery but we were trapped..

Shima, China @ Shima, China

2007-04-04T23:13:00.000Z

Pretty boring weather but nice mountain scenery and farmland. Beehives everywhere.

Da'an, China @ Da'an, China

2007-04-06T02:30:00.000Z

Daan was a really nice village. Andreas had a haircut and when he tried to pay for it they refused to accept his money.

Kuanchuan, China @ Kuanchuan, China

2007-04-06T15:10:00.000Z

More mountain scenery. Just outside Daan we had a pretty impressive section of switchbacks.

Ningqiang, China @ Ningqiang, China

2007-04-06T17:17:00.000Z

We stopped for lunch in Ningqiang.

Zhuandoupu, China @ Zhuandoupu, China

2007-04-06T19:27:00.000Z

At the border between Shaanxi and Sichuan we ended up on the highway by mistake but managed to leave it after 10 km. The rest of the way in to Guangyuan we followed the old road paralell to the highway. It was pretty rough and had lots of ups and downs. We also had a pretty evil headwind. 120 km this day and we arrived in Guangyan tired and hungry.

Guangyuan, China @ Guangyuan, China

2007-04-06T23:46:00.000Z

Tempel with buddha carvings outside Guangyuan.
The Sichuan hotpot is lethal but delicious. Food in general is cheap, good and easy to find (the hard part is ordering).

Baolunyuan, China @ Baolunyuan, China

2007-04-08T16:39:00.000Z

It was raining in the morning so we took a day off in Guangyuan for some rest and recreation, hotopot and internet.
We ended up staying in an apartement turned into a hotel with 6 rooms. We were probably the first guests and had the whole place to ourselves.
South of Guangyuan we passed more and more tourist areas and scenic spots. One was a pass with some buildings. I have no idea why it was called a pass because it was the lowest point.

Pu'an, China @ Pu'an, China

2007-04-08T22:26:00.000Z

Anyone for a pigface?

Yanwu, China @ Yanwu, China

2007-04-09T21:34:00.000Z

Small overloaded trucks are a common sight along the roads. We passed some kind of scenic spot coming into Zitong.

Hefengchang, China @ Hefengchang, China

2007-04-10T23:12:00.000Z

Lioujiang just north of Chengdu was a nice place. It looked like a tourist city withouth the tourists. In the morning we had breakfast and watched some kind of exercise.

Tianhuizhen, China @ Tianhuizhen, China

2007-04-11T20:29:00.000Z

Coming into Chengdu for a few days rest. So far weve cycled 850 km. Many more to come...

Chengdu, China @ Chengdu, China

2007-04-17T16:06:00.000Z

We ended up spending 6 days in chengdu. At the goodspeed bike shop we got some information on roads and changed our plans. We will take some of the smaller roads in the beginning.

Guankou, China @ Guankou, China

2007-04-17T20:02:00.000Z

We followed the highway northwest of chengdu. Still flat. In the morning the weather was great and we got the first look at the mountains.
The road into the mountains was blocked by construction but we found our way between the queues and hit the fist switchback that took us across a mountain and then down on the other side.
We left the main road and turned down a dirt road towards Wolong. It was a slow but steady climb.

Wolong @ lon: 103.31 lat: 31.09

2007-04-19T12:27:00.000Z

It is panda breeding season so we stopped in Wolong to watch pandas make new pandas. The dirt road changed between very bad and bad, and very steep and steep. The only thing constant was the heat and the dust. Luckily the scenery was great all along.

The construction crew @ lon: 102.98 lat: 30.86

2007-04-20T00:24:00.000Z

One afternoon we were looking for a place to stay without luck. One place didnt accept foreigners and another wanted 30 yuan for just a room with no beds. When we were looking for a place to camp some road construction workers drove past and invited us to stay in their tent. They took us to the company restaurant and gave us dinner as well.
In the morning we could not find any breakfast and we had no more snacks. We also had a pass ahead; 34 km uphill, about 4500 meters. After a few hours of slow progress we came across and old man that sold noodles and snacks in his small house along the road. Without him it would have been really really tough.

Ascending @ lon: 102.97 lat: 30.88

2007-04-20T16:21:00.000Z

It got colder and foggier as we made slow progress up the mountain, still on bad, dusty dirt roads with construction workers. We passed herds of yaks and saw eagles from above!
As we got closer to 4000 m we both started to feel the effects of the altitude. We had to stop often and felt a bit dizzy. Ve had heard the pass would be at around 4200 m but the road just kept going and going. Since visibility was next to nothing we couldnt see the top. It was also getting late and we got more and more frustrated at every switchback.

Dengsheng, China @ Dengsheng, China

2007-04-20T21:38:00.000Z

Finally we heard the prayer flags and saw a small temple... we had arrived at the pass! The gps said 4487 m, 9 meters higher than Matterhorn! It felt pretty damn good to have cycled there.
The weather was beautiful, around 0 C, storm and icy rain. We used the small temple to change into full combat gear for the descent, thermal underwear, shell jackets, hats and gloves.

Descending, Rilong @ lon: 102.88 lat: 30.95

2007-04-20T22:39:00.000Z

It got really cold during the descent and we had to stop a few times to warm fingers and toes. At about 7 pm we rolled into a small town, had dinner and passed out in a crummy hotel room., An easy day, 60 km more or less downhill all the time through a beautiful valley. Warm and sunny again.

lon: 102.84 lat: 31.00 @ lon: 102.84 lat: 31.00

2007-04-21T14:36:03.000Z

Meixing, China @ Meixing, China

2007-04-21T19:19:00.000Z

I have a bit of a cold and Xiaojin seems to be a pretty nice place to spend an extra day. We are also running out of money and the banks open monday morning.

Danba @ lon: 102.33 lat: 31.01

2007-04-23T16:41:00.000Z

From Xiaojin we had a short daytrip to Danba. It seemed to be a popular place for tourists but I liked Xiaojin better. We managed to miss the whole town when looking for a hotel and ended up in the outskirts. When we went for dinner and to look for an internet cafe we discovered a whole town when we thought it was just a village.
The weather this day was really nice, this would be very rare the coming days..

First real camping @ lon: 101.75 lat: 30.71

2007-04-24T16:52:00.000Z

We left Danba and it started raining. As we climbed the rain turned to hail and soon we could se the snow capped peaks, at least for a few seconds when the clouds parted (probably to prepare for the next attack). On the map it looked like there would be a few villages along the way but this was far from the truth, we couldnt find a single restaurant! We have now started to carry some food but this time we had no water to cook with. Just as we were going to get water from a river some tibetans invited us to their house and gave us hot water for our noodles and yak butter tea. Ive heard stories of how rancid this tea is but when youre cold, wet and hungry its delicious.
When we left it had stopped raining and just a few km away we found a perfect camping spot on a hill above the road. The altitude was perfect as well, about 3600 m. During the night I woke up a few times and noticed it was raining pretty hard. I also heard what i think was yaks eating grass outside the tent.
In the morning it was clear when we had breakfast, fried sausages and sesame compressed crackers which is some kind of chinese hikers food. As soon as we left the camping spot it started snowing.

Towards Tagong @ lon: 101.58 lat: 30.54

2007-04-25T15:11:00.000Z

It keept snowing all the way to the first pass, just below 4000 m. During the descent the snow turned to hail and then rain.

Qianning, China @ Qianning, China

2007-04-25T18:42:00.000Z

On the way over the next pass, also around 4000 m, the rain once again turned to hail. By now we also had a pretty strong headwind and progress was slow. We passed the town of Pamei where we had lunch and tried to drie our clothes and tents and then keept going for Tagong. We saw some hints that Tagong was a tourist place and on the road we dreamed about hot showers and coffee, bacon and toast for breakfast. We had been eating too little the last few days.

Tagong @ lon: 101.53 lat: 30.32

2007-04-25T22:15:00.000Z

In a strong headwind we crossed the Tagong grasslands and saw the newly built temple just outside Tagong. Our suspisions turned out to be right and a bit later we checked in to Snowlands Hostel and thought about if we should have yak burger or yak pizza for dinner. We also decided to stay in Tagong for two nights.
The second day the weather turned even worse and in the afternoon it was snowing.. a lot. We tried to ask about the weather but everyone said its impossible to know this season.

Lhakang, China @ Lhakang, China

2007-04-27T16:45:00.000Z

In the morning it looked pretty good and we left. After just a few km it started raining and if that was not enough Andreas right front rack broke. We managed to fix the rack and surprise, surprise: the rain turned to hail and the asphalt turned to gravel and very quickly into deep mud.
A few hours of mud later (33 km..) we arrived in Dongerlou where we were tricked into a tibetan house and offered a few bowls of rice. They also tried to convince us to stay there for the night and since it was snowing hard we thought about doing so but when they said it would be 50 yuan each we became a bit uncomfortable. When we wanted to leave they wanted 50 yuan for the food instead, 10 yuan would have been a lot. We ended up paying 20 yuan just to get out of there.

More mistakes @ lon: 101.42 lat: 30.06

2007-04-27T21:38:00.000Z

It had stopped snowing when we left the tibetans but it still felt like a bit of a chance as it was getting late and we knew we had a pass ahead of us. Andreas asked two guys along the road and they said it was 10 km to the pass and it would be just over 4100 m. He seemed to know what he was talking about so we felt pretty confident that we could do it and descend to an altitude good for camping. He was wrong.
Close to the pass it started snowing hard again and the altitude made it hard. At 4412 m we reached what would turn out to be the lowest of a double pass. By now we were in the middle of a snow storm. Our gears and breaks were frozen and didnt work anymore and we were becoming a bit nervous. The only option was to keep going, if nothing else we could probably get a lift from one of the trucks that passed us. One hour before sunset we passed the second, higher, pass and started a very tricky descent in snow and ice without breaks.
Going uphill keeps you warm, but going downhill with wet clothes gets pretty cold. At about 4000 m we saw a few small huts with lights. It was a forest ranger station and we were offered to come inside and sit by the fire. When Andreas asked about a place to stay down the road they offered us to use our sleepingbags in an empty room. They also gave us hot water for some noodles.

Recovering @ Wolongshi, China

2007-04-28T13:35:00.000Z

We left the ranger station and headed for Yajian. The weather was ok but it was still pretty cold with wet clothes. Luckily it got warmer and warmer and we started to dry up and defrost.

Yajian @ Hekou, China

2007-04-28T17:46:00.000Z

Just after we found a hotel room it started raining again...
First of may holiday is coming up in China. Everyone has a week off and it seems that everyone goes to Lhasa by jeep.. Hotels are full and expensive during this time.
We are getting pretty tired of being wet and cold all the time so well probably stay here two nights and hope for good weather.
We ended up staying in Yajiang for a week. I got some nasty stomach problems, probably giardia. Andreas had a new front rack made from scratch. It turned out pretty good.

Hekou, China @ Hekou, China

2007-05-05T14:58:00.000Z

Yajiang is at about 2600 m. Ahead of us we had a climb up to well over 4000 meters. We left late and Andreas had to take a lunch nap so we only did about 26 km that day. We found a nice camping place close to the road just before the pass at around 4250 m. As we were cooking dinner a police van stopped and the police tried to convince us that it was dangerous to camp there. They said there were wolves in the area and we should better come with them and sleep at the station. To our surprise they left when we said it was no problem but first they checked our sleeping bags.

This is how its supposed to be! @ lon: 100.87 lat: 30.01

2007-05-06T14:35:00.000Z

Another beautiful day. In the morning i woke up at around 8 and it was to hot to stay in the tent. We made breakfast and continued the last km to the pass. I dont know if the chinese exaggerate the altitude on purpose or if there are different ways of measuring, but the signs are usually 2-300 meters more than my GPS. According to my GPS this pass was 4440 m.
There was no long downhill on the other side and the next few days we would spend at between 4200 and 4500 m. It seems that both of us have acclimatized to the altitude and apart from shortness of breath we have had no problems. The can of oxygen we bought in Chengdu is still unused and dead weight in the panniers.
At night we camped on a windy hill.

Down to Litang @ lon: 100.54 lat: 30.17

2007-05-07T13:31:00.000Z

In the morning it was still windy and very cold at our camp spot. During the day it got warmer but the wind kept blowing. We passed a chinese man pushing a bicycle up a hill. On the top we talked to him a bit and it turned out he was from Chengdu on his way to Lhasa. Pretty impressive with his equippment. I guess he will have to walk more than half the distance.
We had very different opinions on the distance to Litang and it turned out to be the shortest that was correct. At the top of a particulary hard climb with strong headwinds we could se the town and it was all downhill from there.

Disaster! @ Reshuitang, China

2007-05-09T15:56:00.000Z

I broke my camera..

Batang, China @ Batang, China

2007-05-17T13:57:00.000Z

happy birthday to me!
the new camera arrived from chengdu and we could finally leave batang. the weather had been bad the last week but today was good. the policemen cheered us on as we crossed into tibet province.
after the usual instant rice dinner andreas gave me a snickers bar birthday cake!

hard! @ lon: 98.66 lat: 29.74

2007-05-18T20:59:00.000Z

cycling on the roof of the world is hard. everything is either above 4000 meters or below 3000 meters and in between its either climbing for half a day or downhill for a few hours. its never, ever flat! and its all bad dirt roads.

Gartog, China @ Gartog, China

2007-05-19T12:39:00.000Z

today a herd of yaks passed through our camping spot in the morning. we crossed a small pass and then it was downhill to about 2600 meters where we crossed the mekong. after that, surprise, surprise.. uphill again. in the late afternoon we hit a wall where they had somehow managed to carve a road in the cliff. very difficult to find camping spots in places like this. we ended up camping in some kind of quarry which is not so smart.

broken spoke @ lon: 98.32 lat: 29.57

2007-05-20T14:14:00.000Z

today we met the first cyclist since chengdu. a swiss guy coming from india via kathmandu and lhasa. the same route we want to go (reverse).
andreas has a broken spoke in the front wheel and we have no replacement.

on top of the world @ lon: 98.17 lat: 29.59

2007-05-21T13:26:00.000Z

today we set a new personal best for altitude cycling by crossing the tangda la pass at 5093 meters according to my gps. the weather was perfect!

leaving zugong @ lon: 97.31 lat: 30.16

2007-05-23T21:31:00.000Z

we spent two nights in zugong. andreas managed to get his broken spoke welded and it is actually still ok!
out of zugong we had a very gentle uphill, the weather was perfect, the road was sealed and we were making progress. we crossed a 4600m something pass and ran out of asphalt. ahead of us was the most amazing road so far. on an extremely bad dirt road we lost almost 2000 meters in altitude over 40 km of downhill. the bikes were taking a bad hit! we went from the cold windy pass into a desert valley where it felt like someone was holding a hairdryer to your face. it was hot!
it was also impossible to find a place to camp. at the bottom of the valley we found a deserted house. as i was looking to se if it would be possible to sleep there it turned out not to be deserted. it was home to 30 or so road construction workers. they offered us a room.
we cycled 165 km that day...!

the road constructin crew, part 2 @ lon: 97.21 lat: 30.10

2007-05-24T12:55:00.000Z

in the morning we followed the broken dirt road few km more.
along the way we have been reminded a few times that what we do is nothing special. we are pretty comfortable with all our expensive gear and fancy bikes. weve met chinese cyclist with almost no gear and bad one-speed bikes. today we met three tibetans doing a pilgrimage to lhasa in the slowest way possible. they lie down on the ground with their arms out, then stand up and walk to where their hands were and then lie down again. it had taken them three months from batang (it took us 7 days...) and it would take them another 8-9 months to reach lhasa!
we rolled into baxoi for lunch and decided to stay there for the night.

Rawu lake @ lon: 96.67 lat: 29.98

2007-05-25T17:22:00.000Z

From Baxoi we had a slow climb in a strong headwind that got stronger in the afternoon. We were planning on camping before a pass, but as we got closer we realized that it was only 9 km to go. Across the pass we had downhill all the way to Rawu.
In Rawu we met a group of chinese tourists.

Rawu to Bomi @ lon: 96.75 lat: 29.50

2007-05-26T14:35:00.000Z

Stunning views, bad road. We lost 900 meters during the day on a broken dirt road and did about 90 km without much effort.

4000 km from somewhere @ lon: 96.07 lat: 29.74

2007-05-27T13:05:00.000Z

We met the flag-man again. We also passed a kilometer marker that said we are 4000 km from somewhere... probably Beijing. Otherwise a short, easy day that ended in a grotty hotel in Bomi.

First flat tire, down to sea level @ lon: 95.71 lat: 29.89

2007-05-28T16:39:00.000Z

A late start and the first flat tire for Andreas, I am still waiting...
We have been loosing altitude since the pass before Rawu. A few days ago we were in the middle of snow-capped peaks and now were descending through pine forests and into rain forest with parrots and leeches. I did not expect rainforests and deserts in tibet!
The last few days it has been easier to find accomodation and this night we even got a warm shower.

...and up again @ lon: 95.09 lat: 30.10

2007-05-29T13:40:00.000Z

All the way down to 2000 meters. The last time we were at that altitude was outside chengdu about a month ago. It feels good to know that we have two more passes ahead of us before lhasa.

Another day, another pass @ lon: 94.65 lat: 29.61

2007-05-30T18:53:00.000Z

For some reason i was really tired in the morning. Andreas had to wait 40 minutes for me at the top of the pass.
In the evening we came into Bayi which is a really boring, brand new chinese city.

Bayizhen, China @ Bayizhen, China

2007-05-31T13:06:00.000Z

Easy day upstream along a river. We spent the night in Gongbo'gyamda. Lhasa is getting close!

Towards the last pass @ lon: 92.96 lat: 30.02

2007-06-01T17:53:00.000Z

Just one more pass before Lhasa. The plan is to spend the night before the pass, get up early, cross the pass and then just roll into Lhasa. The pass is only just over 5000 meters and its only about 175 km to lhasa so it should be possible.

End of stage 2 @ lon: 92.40 lat: 29.91

2007-06-02T12:44:00.000Z

The plan worked, but just barely. We got up at 06.30 and the 26 km to the pass (5009 meters) took 3 hours. At lunch the headwind and the hail and rain started. Fortunatley it stopped and the last 30-40 km to lhasa the weather and the road was great. 182 km that day and a new distance record!

Lhasa @ lon: 91.15 lat: 29.65

2007-06-02T23:14:00.000Z

3109.76 kilometers from Xian, not including one forced trainride. One flat tire. 44183 meters up, 45667 meters down. Two passes above 5000 meters. A lot of passes above 4000 meters.
16 days of cycling from Batang. Two months from Xian.
For me its 8535 km since i left home... still no flat tires!

Lhasa, China @ Lhasa, China

2007-06-06T00:43:00.000Z

One week in lhasa now. tomorrow we leave.

Leaving Lhasa @ lon: 90.64 lat: 29.23

2007-06-11T16:11:00.000Z

We left Lhasa in beautiful weather. In the beginning we were accompanied by JJ from Taiwan on a foldable bike. He had been cycling and taking trains from Beijing to Lhasa.
After we parted Andreas and I left the main "friendship highway" and turned south towards yamdrok lake. In the afternoon we started climbing the first pass. At about 4500 meters it was getting late and we found a deserted house that we decided to stay in. It looked perfect with a small stream with clean water next to it.
During the day something happened with my GPS. I lost a whole days tracklog.. no big deal but annoying..

Best camping yet @ lon: 90.64 lat: 29.23

2007-06-12T15:03:00.000Z

In the morning we climbed the rest of the pass and saw yamdrok lake. A lot of jeeps come here for the view from Lhasa so the pass was full of people selling crap and charging money for pictures together with dogs, yaks and themselves. Very annoying but understandable since the view was fantastic. The jeeps turn around and go back to Lhasa at the pass so down by the lake its easy to find a nice spot for camping and thats what we did.
In the afternoon 3 jeeps and a truck stopped a few hundred meters away. It was a group of 8 french tourists with 7(!) nepali and tibetan drivers, cooks and guides. The main guide was a very nice man from nepal who invited us over for dinner. He didnt try to hide that he was pretty tired of the french and ate with us and the rest of the crew in the kitchen tent after he had served the french.
We also had a swim in the yamdrok lake, about 4500 meters above sea level.. cold and refreshing.

Tibetan breakfast @ lon: 90.52 lat: 29.17

2007-06-13T15:46:00.000Z

When we were packing our things in the morning a tibetan family set up a picnic close to us. They invited us and we had second breakfast. Lots of pictures were taken and bicycles were tested. Lots of fun.
We left and started a very long , slow ascent to a 5030 meter pass. The weather got worse and at the pass it was hailing, a lot! The descent was also slow but the weather got better. Late at night i set up my tent and andreas continued towards Gyantze.

Gyanze to Xigaze @ lon: 89.87 lat: 28.85

2007-06-14T13:32:00.000Z

I arrived in Gyanze just before noon and found andreas hotel. He had met three Hong kong expats that we met in lhasa also. They were going to try to get to india via the Tibet-Sikkim highway.
We continued towards Xigaze. The roads were flat and good and we decided not to stop halfway as we had planned. We arrived in Xigaze just after 7 but it took 3 hours of searching in heavy rain before we found a hotel room.. or decided not to try and find something cheap. There are lots of hotels here but they are all expensive!

lon: 88.04 lat: 29.14 @ lon: 88.04 lat: 29.14

2007-06-16T21:51:49.000Z

lon: 87.49 lat: 29.02 @ lon: 87.49 lat: 29.02

2007-06-17T16:55:07.000Z

lon: 87.09 lat: 28.55 @ lon: 87.09 lat: 28.55

2007-06-19T01:07:05.000Z

lon: 87.08 lat: 28.54 @ lon: 87.08 lat: 28.54

2007-06-19T15:13:43.000Z

lon: 86.92 lat: 28.31 @ lon: 86.92 lat: 28.31

2007-06-20T15:59:21.000Z

lon: 86.84 lat: 28.17 @ lon: 86.84 lat: 28.17

2007-06-22T14:25:43.000Z

lon: 86.69 lat: 28.35 @ lon: 86.69 lat: 28.35

2007-06-23T17:43:12.000Z

lon: 86.32 lat: 28.80 @ lon: 86.32 lat: 28.80

2007-06-24T18:07:29.000Z

Congdu, China @ Congdu, China

2007-06-25T17:33:30.000Z

Zham, China @ Zham, China

2007-06-26T13:04:55.000Z

Balephi Khola, Nepal @ Balephi Khola, Nepal

2007-06-26T19:03:55.000Z

Kathmandu - end of the trip.. @ Kathmandu, Nepal

2007-06-27T17:47:00.000Z

This is it for now.. I will fly to Bangkok and then on to Sweden a while after that.
Great trip!