Category Archives: China (Qinghai)

Today’s distance / ???????: 18.6 miles / 29.9km
Average speed / ????: 5.2mph / 8.3km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 3h 35m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5524mi plus 377mi (?) / 8891km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 1455m
Descent / ??: 500m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N37° 56′ 31.50″, E100° 19′ 54.50″

Note that the distance for today is only skateboarding distance. I walked at least 15km in addition to that!

It was not until I was 1 hour into my ride today, when I stopped in at a road construction headquarters to warm up and have a bite to eat, that I found out that not only about 20km of the road up ahead was unpaved, but there was a lumping great 4,190m high pass to cross. Perfect. That’s the stuff a good adventure is made of, if you ask me.

On the paved section, it was tough going. Chiling is at about 2,800m, and the paved section of Provincial Road 204 heading directly south to Qinghai Lake continued until about 3,500m. Below is the demise of the pavement.

Had the weather been fine, and the road dry, the smooth parts of the dirt road may well have been skate-able. It was not fine, and the road was wet, with a fine misty rain falling, and the road was spongy. There was nothing for it but to pull my gear by hand and walk. With my skateboard strapped to my trailer, I hauled the whole setup like a suitcase…just the same…except in no way similar.

Switching pulling hands ever so often to battle the fatigue on my forearms, I made satisfactory progress up the often steep switchbacks.

It was cold. I was wearing all my clothes. Every stitch of clothing I had in my pack I was wearing. This kept me warm enough so long as I was moving. Stopping for any period of time, and I would cool down. My inner layers were wet from sweat, and my legs were drenched, due to the terrible cheap non-breathable waterproof pants I was wearing.

Walking was strangely refreshing. The slow pace made me appreciate even more the surroundings.

I was offered many rides up the hill, none of which I accepted. By hook or by crook I’ll make it to the top of this pass on my own, I stubbornly insisted.

I finally arrived at the top at 7pm. One an a half hours before dark.

Clouds enveloped the heights, shrouding the prayer flag tower eerily.

The ride down the other side of the pass included less vertical descent than I had expected. While the road up from Chiling was about 60km of pure uphill, the descent was onto somewhat of a plateau, only descending about 500m, compared with the steep 1,500m ascent from Chiling. The road was still unpaved and soggy for about 10km of the descent, however gravity kept me rolling over the rough surface. Jolly good fun.

I could have kissed the pavement when it resumed. With no town in sight however, and it getting dark, I began to formulate my strategy for camping for the night. By 9:30pm, well after dark, I realised that I would have to camp.

I was still at 3,750m, it was still drizzling slightly, and it was still cold. I was still damp from sweat. Not a good combination when the overnight low could easily drop below freezing.

I pulled off the road, and with no other choice, set my tent fly up. Remember, I sent my tent and sleeping bag ahead of me to Shanghai, thinking I would never need them in the summer heat of China.

I managed to set the tent fly up, using pocket knives, skate tools, bungee cords, and a wire fence. With the fly edges touching the ground, most of the breeze was cut off.

Despite the fact that I was wearing every stitch of clothing I owned, I still had one more trick up my sleeve. I never leave home without a foil emergency blanket, and tonight it well and truly came to the rescue. I crawled under the fly – it was no higher than 30cm off the ground – wrapped myself up in the emergency blanket, and assumed the foetal position.

I was warm enough for the first hour, but I knew in the back of my mind that I would gradually lose body heat as my metabolism slowed. In particular I could feel a chill coming from my legs. The non-breathable rain pants were not letting my thermal leggings and trousers to dry out with my body heat. My upper body, despite me wearing my water-proof jacket, dried out completely overnight, thanks to the breathable material of the jacket. This is where a breathable material comes in the most use. No breathable waterproof material will be breathable enough to keep you dry during intense activity, but when you stop, that’s when it proves its worth.

Despite my chilly legs, my core temperature remained enough that I did not shiver. I dozed on and off until 4am, when I became aware of the cooler temperature of the early morning. Sneaky cold drafts made their way through openings in the emergency blanket, stabbing me with their icy fingers.

My hips were hurting from keeping the same foetal position all night, despite the soft Thermarest mat, but I dared not turn over, with fear of disrupting the delicate equilibrium I had created with the emergency blanket wrapped tightly around me.

I waited until the sky had become light before cracking open my personal microcosm of warmth. The low clouds overnight had kept off any freezing temperatures, and all I found on the inside of the tent fly was condensation, not ice.

I packed up hastily, trying to keep moving to warm myself up….

(continued on Day 739)

Today’s distance / ???????: 44.4 miles / 71.4km
Average speed / ????: 9.5mph / 15.3km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 4h 40m
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5506mi plus 377mi (?) / 8861km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 400m
Descent / ??: 885m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N38° 10′ 26.10″, E100° 14′ 53.90″

Today I had two choices. The road forks at O-po. To the direct south, Highway 227 continues directly on to Xining, 200km away. To the west, there is a longer detour of nearly twice that distance, 380km, along Qinghai Provincial Roads 304 and 204. Highway 227 to the south I know is paved all the way. I also know that there is a 3,800m high pass in there somewhere.

The longer detour however is not so certain. Most people say that it is all paved, and the highest pass is 3,400m.

In the end however, there is not much argument about which road to take. From the direction of Highway 227, there is a constant stream of jeeps and cars. From the direction of Provincial Road 304, there is nothing but the occasional motorbike with a warmly wrapped up Tib*etan in traditional clothing gripping the handlebars.

Provincial Road 304 it is.

It begins with a rough start…literally.

The dirt road is smooth however, and a slight downhill and tailwind aids progress on the slightly spongy surface.

After 5km of dirt, the pavement resumes with only occasional road works. The pavement is not as smooth as Highway 227, Provincial Road 304 being mostly moderate chipseal.

I am in my element however. How long have I put up with busy roads?! My original intent when leaving Japan was to get off the beaten track. Ever since I got onto this skateboard, I have been well and truely on the beaten track. For the first time in well over a year, I feel back in the environment I love the best. Away from it all. An environment where the road is the intruder. An environment where the environment itself holds dominance, not human influence.

Towards noon, I spied an interesting looking structure surrounded by some low-lying buildings. Upon closer inspection, it was the Arou Tib*etan Buddhist Monastery. I rolled up for a closer look, and soon became the center of attention.

The younger monks were naturally very interested in the longboard. I waited in suspense for one of them to get their robe caught in the wheels, but thankfully they escaped their test-rides unscathed.

“How old do you have to be to become a monk?” I asked one of the monks who could speak Chinese.

“Ten years old, and you can become a monk,” he replied.

As we were chatting, a few of the monks had their mobile phones out, taking photos of us talking.

I was given a tour of the fantastic monastery. Photos do much more justice than my words ever could.

The monastery’s claim to fame is the world’s largest (Guinness Record for 8 years running) yak fur tent. The whole thing is made from woven yak fur.

It was not until 2pm that I made it out of the monastery.

I continued skating west along Provincial Road 304, along the wide descending river plain.

About 10km out of Chiling, my destination for the day, it began raining. The smart thing would have been to put on my waterproof trousers. I kept skating.

The road into Chiling was gritty and covered in a fine silt that was flicked up onto my clothing. I arrived in the city a sodden dirty mess, but stoked with a great adventurous day!

Arrival in Chiling did not spell the end of adventure however. After checking out a few cheap hotels, I finally found one that gave me a room for 30RMB (3 Euro). It was a small family business, and they were delightful.

“You came from O-po today?! That is so far. Look at you, you’re all dirty and wet. You can pay once you’ve got all cleaned up. Here is your room…”

In the evening I visited the local internet cafe to upload photos. I was there two hours before two police officers arrived.

“Can we speak to you a second, please sir?” they asked in Chinese.

At this juncture, I should have just played the “I can’t speak Chinese” card. However, the day was going great, and I wanted to be friendly.

“Sure, just let me gather my things,” I replied in Chinese.

I followed them to their car just outside the internet cafe.

“Where are you from?” they began.

“Where are you staying?” they asked.

It was here that I knew I was ruined.

I told them that I was staying at a place up the road. No, I can’t remember the name.

“You can show us the way,” one of the officers said.

There was no way out, so I directed them to the small, clean family-run travel inn. We parked outside, and after just one look at the outside of the inn, they said “you cannot stay here, we will show you to another hotel.”

This was all I needed. I cracked. I got annoyed.

“This is rediculous! The place is just fine. It is clean and new, the staff are helpful! All my gear is there, I am comfortable. It is 9pm, and it will take time to go to another hotel. Plus, I have been on the road for 2 years. I cannot afford to stay at expensive hotels!” I said very firmly.

“How much can you afford?” they asked.

“20RMB, and no more,” I replied.

“OK, we will find you a good hotel for 20RMB,” they replied.

No way that would be happening I thought, but I had to go with it. We dashed into the travel inn and removed all my gear, me none too happy about it, and the owners of the travel inn also giving the police an earful about how they should not harass their guests.

The police took me to one hotel, and sure enough, it was 100RMB a night.

“100RMB?” the young officers asked incredulously. Obviously they were not expecting it to be this much.

One of the officers made a phone call on his cell phone. “Hello sir,” I overheard him say. I did not catch all of the conversation, but did hear the words “two years travel, needs cheap place to stay, New Zealand”.

It appears that their boss was understanding towards my plight, and told the younger officers to take me back to the original inn. I continued to show my displeasure at being uprooted and driven around the town, and they left me at the original inn, them apologising profusely.

What a palava.

Today’s distance / ???????: 4.6 miles / 7.5km
Average speed / ????: 6.4mph / 10.3km/h
Time on skateboard / ????: 43 minutes
Total skateboarding distance to date / ????????????: 5462mi plus 377mi (?) / 8790km plus 606km (?)
Ascent / ??: 185m
Descent / ??: 315m
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N37° 58′ 07.70″, E100° 56′ 03.30″

The day began with death.

The father of the household said last night that they would be slaughtering a sheep tomorrow morning, and that I should stay to eat some of it with them. I was surprised to wake in the morning with muffled grunts coming from outside the tent. Rousing myself, I see a still sheep on its back on the grass. Motionless. With rope tied tightly around its nose and mouth.

“In New Zealand, we would cut its throat,” I said, gesturing to the sheep’s throat.

“That is not the Buddhist way,” the father replied.

He then proceeded to cut a small hole just below the sheep’s rib cage. Putting his hand into the sheep via the hole, up to his fore-arm, he seemed to be searching for something. A few moments later he removed his hand. I’m still not sure what he was doing. Checking that the sheep was dead?

After this ‘surgery’ the butchering began. Began by skinning the animal.

Then gut the animal and carefully extract the blood for future use.

Take the carcass away to be sold, and keep all the innards for the family’s consumption.

Including the head. The head was an interesting one. You see, the mission was to break the jaw away from the cranium. This proved harder than normal, and even with two people yanking on the dismembered head, it took some serious pulling to get the jaw to part with the head.

The two girls, both around 15 years old, were not perturbed at all with all the blood and guts. They made me recall the girlstudents from the outdoor education camp that I worked at in Switzerland. The commotion that this activity would have caused amongst that lot would have been incredible.

Even cleaning out the colossal stomach was no issue.

Now, the intestines were an interesting part of the process. I knew that intestines are often used as ‘containers’ for sausages. I never considered however the fact that they come out of the animal full of poo. That is, before you use them, you’ve got to clean all the poo out.

It’s a rather labour intensive undertaking. Squeeze out most of the poo, and then flush the intestine out with water. Blow into the intestine to get the water through…

Nothing on the animal was wasted. The entire innards was minced and stuffed into sausages. The lungs, the liver, kidneys, the blood, the fat… Flavouring was salt, spring onion, and curry powder.

The sausages were all cooked together in a big pot on the stove. The stove burned dry yak poo, which is in a much larger abundance than wood in this area.

The sausages were palatable. The blood and fat sausage was far too rare for my liking, although the more well done sections were passable. The lung and meat sausage was the best of the tough menu, and unfortunately the white sausage consisting of flour and white fat just did not do it for me.

All this protein and fat was enough to energise me for the short skate to O-po. After a quick group photo, thanks, and a farewell I was off.

The push up to the summit of the pass was a short but steep one. I was still feeling under the weather, my sinuses stuffed up. My first pass over 3,500m on the board, I was happy. Pushed the entire way, no walking (plenty of stops, mind you!). Stoked.

The descent into O-po town was quick. Despite it only being 12 noon, I decided that I would take the rest of the day off. It was at least 70km to the next town, and I didn’t have it in me to push on today.

For the first time here in O-po, I noticed Tib*etan writing on signs.