When I struck the tent in the morning, two small scorpions run out of the bottom. They were so small like babies as they looked almost harmless. But what if they were bigger? One hid near where my shoes were. I have to remember to shake off my shoes before going to pee at night when I camp in a desert.
The route name changed twice in a day, from 201 to 308, then to 312. Altitude which was lowered yesterday went up again over 2100m, then went down to 1600m. The desert road turned to an ordinary route that run in villages and small towns, then to the next city, Whoie (武威). The more I went, the more there were houses and people. I couldn't find any good camping site by sunset. A police car followed me a little while when I went to have a look at a temple in the late evening. I had to give up camping, and rode at night to go to a hotel in Whoie, for about 20km.
There is no light on road in China, in the area I've been, except in the center of big cities. Cars drive with high beam lights, which blinded me when they came from the opposite side. You never know what's on the road, broken bottles, big stones, gaps, a big pile of hay... It was really stressful to me. I had to go really slowly, while some Chinese people had no problem to ride around on bicycles without any lights.
It was after 10 when I finally got to the downtown. I checked in an expensive 3 star hotel after having refused in another one. I didn't have much energy left to look around more. But I got hot bath at least. So much dirt came off!
19 July 2008, 武威, 3889km
