As I come more west, the number of Chili peppers in a dish has been increasing. It hurts my sunburnt lips.
I can now speak simple sentences in Chinese in a restaurant, like "Is there a menu?", "Give me two cups of rice", "Give me another", "How much?", "It tastes good." Though my pronunciation is obviously strange, at least I wouldn't have to confuse people by speaking those. That makes me feel easy to go in a local restaurant as well, even when it's crowded.
However, there is a problem. Since I speak a bit, they tend to ask me more questions, which I don't understand at all. I must let them understand somehow that I actually don't understand them at all. Then they'd say, "Oh, tim buton", which means you don't understand me in hearing. I've heard that quite many times.
I've heard that dialects in China are as different as foreign language. But Pekinese is common. So it's possible that they don't understand my speaking but I should understand their Pekinese. That's probably why they continue asking me, till they finally say "tim buton." I'm always sorry to hear that.
I was wrong about English in China. I've met people who speak English quite some times, in a local restaurant, in a parking lot, or on street, in places where foreigners would rarely go, unexpectedly. The chance is much higher with young people around 20's.
The young man whom I met yesterday in a bicycle shop spoke English really well. He helped me buying repair patches of puncture (he paid for repair of puncture as I was his friend!) or interpreted questions who gathered to see the strange man with a heavily loaded bicycle. He spared long time for me in his working time. Otherwise I would have liked to ask him more questions, with treating him something back. I was sorry about it. I hope it didn't cause him trouble later with his boss. 
There was a movie village near YinCheon. I went to have a look. I didn't ride much and had a relaxed day.
14 July 2008, near 銀川(YinCheon), 3360km
