Updated...almost

Chengdu

10/4/2011 to 14/04/2011

Chengdu proved to be a good place to rest up and finish the ride in  China, not because it was an amazing city, no (its a nice place but not what i call amazing), but because of the people i met here. I hung around with Leon and Mary but Leon did leave and wasn’t due back till after my departure so i said farewell, exchanged e-mails as he planned to be in Kryzikstan around the same time as i myself. I got my train booked though i wasn’t convinced the seller understood my needs, i even qued with

 my bike to the annoyance or the guards who kept telling me to leave my bike outside but i acted like i didn’t understand, but pointing at my bike didn’t seem to get through. Having the ticket interpreted he hadn’t given me a sleeper on the 36 hour journey or made a mention about my bike. I met up with Kate a French girl who lives in Chengdu that i had met in Singapore, we only met for dinner in a really nice western style restaurant, we talked about the Chinese ways and what its like being in China. Thankfully she had a lot of the same opinions as me so i was glad to know i wasn’t the only person that the Chinese drove insane. But as she was busy with University which only took place on the three days i was there otherwise she said she would have taken me for a night on the town. I also got my first view of Pandas at the Panda research centre, which is a nice way to call it a panda zoo. I only spent about an hour there as despite the signs saying to be quiet. the hords of Chinese tourist there had to scream at a panda doing anything but  sleeping, i began to boil a bit and one instant of a Chinese guy about my age ‘wooping’  right in my ear at a panda running was a breaking point. As he wooped turned and stared at him till i caught his attention then i turned and walked away. I didn’t hear him woop as i walked off and out of the park.  Apart from this i spent the rest of my time in Chengdu just endlessly cycling around eating masses upon masses of food, and i bloody enjoyed it.

Before leaving the hostel for the train Leon turned up, his plans had changed due to his visa so i said another goodbye to him and mary then went to the train station for the next stage. A Chinese train station is not a place for somebody who firstly does not speak Chinese, secondly has a bicycle and thirdly does not know how to get through the manic chaos of a Chinese train station. To begin with my bike would not be accepted, no point in arguing as no one speaks English so i staged one of the many silent protests where i would just stand there till something is done. Eventually i was take about 200m away to an oversized baggage place where there was seemingly a grumpy lady who did nothing but yell. To my luck there was a passerby who spoke very good English and h helped me. I had to take all the bags off the bike as she would not accept it with the bags on, why? Because it makes my life harder, then as in an airport my bags were scanned and she scrutinised anything that looked unusual, i had a lot of unusual things as i was cycling and camping. Time was getting on and the process was taking ages, with 15 minutes before my train they delivered a sucker punch, my bags and bike would be sent on the next train to Shanghai that would leave tomorrow and they were going to Charge me 145 yuan for the pleasure. I had no time to argue once all was done my English/ Chinese interpreter told me to run for my train. Going through more security checkpoints that were more fitting in an airport i just made my crowded train. Before i had taken my seat it was moving, i made it just in the nick of time, next stop Shanghai where its Formula 1 weekend so if luck is on my side, i have Shanghai planned out.  

36 Hour Train

14/04/2011 to 16/04/2011

After just an hour of sitting in a cramped uncomfortable seat i gave into the fact 35 more hours like this wasn’t going to work. I had originally set out for a sleeper but had been given a seat instead. I cracked and paid an extra 220 Yuan ontop of the 281 Yuan i had already paid for a sleeper, it was well worth it. I was given a sleeper at the very end on the train so it was much quieter than the other areas even though there was 5 other people in my section, 3 never got out of bed. There was only one guy who snored, he looked like a snorer and he was on the bottom across from me. To counter the snoring when it kept me awake i would shout abuse until he stopped or woke up then try to sleep. Food wise i brought as much as i thought i’d need which meant noodles, noodles, noodles.  For entertainment i had got myself a Harry Potter book fromhe book swap at a hostel, i have never read a Harry Potter book before and by the end of the train trip had almost finished wanting more!

Shanghai

16/04/2011 to 18/04/2011

Getting off the train i had a little laugh to myself, I’M IN SHANGHAI! I didn’t have a clue where i was though, my map ripped out a lonely planet book and GPS were in a bit of conflict so i had a McDonald’s breakfast to work it out. I realised why i don’t like McDonalds’ then came up with a plan, to walk south and see what came first the river which i could follow or the hostel. My GPS was massively wrong so i was lucky to have the map. I found the hostel i was looking for, it was bit pricey but this was Shanghai i expected it. Dumping the little possessions i had as the rest weren’t due till tomorrow morning i hopped onto the metro the check out the Formula 1 and maybe buy a ticket for the race tomorrow. The metro dropped me off right by the track, straight away i heard the roar of the Formula 1 cars and without thinking spent 780 Yuan on a ticket. It was most defiantly worth it, i caught the last part of the qualifying and felt that this would be a good end to china which has been incredibly hard at times.

Getting back to the hostel i wondered if i had made the right decision in blowing so much money (78GBP goes a long long way here) but it was done so after grabbing some food i let the lights of Shanghai dazzle me. I was in absolute awe of this city, it doesn’t fit in with china, thanks to the French (i believe) there is beautiful European architecture and across the river there is modern Chinese super structures and towers.

The next day i was up early to collect my bicycle from the train station, i was a little hacked off to see my pump which was strapped on to my bike had gone missing, i tried to point it out to the people who were taking care of my bike but it was the usual Chinese reaction of ‘what do you expect me to do about it stupid foreigner.’  Once back at the hostel i was straight back out again to get to the F1 circuit. While fighting the crowds on the metro i got chatting to an English guy and a Canadian who also were both heading to the F1. We chatted away which helped pass the uncomfortable metro journey and my new Canadian friend reassured me that i was right treat myself, it made me feel better about spending a week’s living in one go.

At the circuit i tried to see if i could sneak into a seat better than my own, it wasn’t happening, as the race start drew closer the seats filled so i did settle for my cheap seat which was still a pretty good view. A nice touch to the event was the large number of sellers on the wrong side of the fence where you could buy such things as beer for half the price that was being sold inside. The race was  pretty exciting as far as F1 races go and a fellow POM won so it was a pretty stellar day even though it was a long one and painful to the wallet.

My final day in China and i was over the moon about it, im looking forward so much to getting to japan and seeing a couple of good mates, drinking beer and really relaxing, it will be nice to have a break from it all. When i say break you may think me being rather soft and not realising how easy life is but when you spend every day alone with nobody to drink a beer with and talk about any old rubbish it does get to you a bit. I spend my last day wondering round (on the bicycle of course) checking out the sights and preparing my bags for the ferry journey tomorrow, of which i still have no clue whether or not my bicycle needs to be boxed as it is on a aeroplane or if it’s ok to just be rolled on and rolled off, guess i will find out tomorrow.

Shanghai/Osaka Ferry

19/04/2011 to 21/04/2011

I was up and away earlier than i needed to be but i wanted to make sure there would be no mistake with my bicycle. Thankfully there was not, arriving i was ushered to take the bags off my bike by a man who i assumed worked there then he took my bike away, no box required. There was a small queue formed so i stood in that while we all waited for 9am to come so we could begin check-in. There was another large group that had shown up and they had decided to queue at another entrance. My lot had got it wrong and from being at the front i was now much further back but worry not. A check-in lady was doing a lot of shouting to the mass group, i had no idea what as it was in Chinese but it turned out she was wanting the likes of me to skip the queue which was all one group and go through to the baggage scanners and begin the check-in process. Everything went as smooth as expected although there was a slight problem with the face recognition at the passport checks. The passport guy scanned my passport picture then pointed a camera straight at my face to make sure the faces match, unfortunately with mine in flashing red letters the words ‘face defect’ kept appearing. Obviously this isn’t something he had dealt with before and was asking about what the hell to do. In the end i think he was convinced i was the man in the picture and let me through.

Getting onto the ferry i was rather excited, i had already made friends with a Dutch couple and they were the people i hung around with the whole journey, even getting in a few games of table tennis. The food prices were already much higher than what i have been paying in china but apparently this was cheap for Japanese food. I could tell already Japan is going to be expensive! The boat was fairly subdued as everyone was sea sick or violently sea sick, compared to a lot of vomiting noises i heard i got off lightly by just feeling terrible. I did learn how to combat the sickness, by just going to sleep and when i’d wake up i would fine so i’d eat as much as i could before i would begin to feel sick again. My plan worked and as japan grew closer the seas calmed and the boat livened up. Checking in to Japan was much more awkward than checking out of china, they wanted to know every little detail about where i was staying etc. As Russell was due to meet me i had no address so they request his phone number which i couldn’t be bothered getting so told them he didn’t have one, eventually they settled just for his name. Once this process was done i was sniffed by two dogs then had all my bags checked as did everybody before finally i stepped outside into the sunshine smelt the Japanese air for the first time and waited for Russell.

Osaka

21/04/2011 to 25/04/2011

I didn’t have to wait long before Russell showed up and from the last time i had seen him he’d certainly smartened up but apparently this is what a girlfriend and trying to impress employers for a teaching job does. We had a bit of a ride into the city to get to his apartment where i was going to stay till i rode to Misazyki to meet another friend. My first impression of Japan wasn’t as i imagined, when i thought of japan i expected super modern techno looking but what i was seeing was England 1960’s apartment blocks and a never ending entanglement of motorways, its was Derek trotters paradise, nelson Mandela building galore.

Russell showed me his apartment and it was small but cosy except for the toilet which was so small sitting had to be done with the door open! Russ then showed me around Osaka centre which again wasn’t massively spectacular but different to anywhere else i had been, we then tried octopus balls which seems the be the local delight. After which it was time to try the beer, we bought a few cans and sat by the river chatting about anything. Back at his flat Jen his girlfriend showed up. I already know Jen from Sydney, we shared a dorm in a Hostel and that is how her and Russell met. Few more cans of beer later i crashed out.

The rest of the time in Osaka was spent drinking beer, sorting my Chinese visa out and getting over my Harry Potter faze by renting out 3 of the movies, the books are much better. We had one big night out where being abandoned by Russell and Jen i was left with three finish girls on their holidays for company, we all went to a night club where i had my first true experience of a Japanese toilet which has a button to lift the toilet seat, wash your backside and even call for assistance! In the club i was by far the tallest most bearded bloke inside, also you never got the feeling a scrap was going to break out, everybody was at peace. We also went for a ride out to Nara to visit a bunch of dears that when you bow, will bow back for a cracker of course. It was all capped off with a fruitless trip to the Russian embassy where the message was ‘we don’t want you in Russia and I’m not going to help you get one easily,’ all washed down with more beer.

 Japan is Go Go Go

26/04/2011: Osaka to 20km north of Sumoto, Awaji island 74.32km

It had been over two weeks since i had done my last ride in China so i was looking forward to being back on the road again but having said that i was in no rush to get moving. Having a sleep in and in general taking my time it was mid-day when i got going but a stop at ‘Life’ supermarket and a cup of extremely good tea with Russell at a Russian cafe made me even later. I said my goodbyes to Russ even though he was going to meet up with me in Saiki in a few days time. With the route i had chosen with little thought other than the way russ had cycled before sounded pretty dull so i thought i would go a different way, i would have 3 crossing to do as i would be on four different islands, i had no idea how or in some places where but decided it would be a hurdle i would overcome when i got to it.

Finally on the go Japan was pretty much how Russell had describe to me, just endless urban sprawl, i cycled 45km and nothing changed, towns cities just seem to roll into one i hoped it would be like this all the way to Mizayki. As i approached the first of my three crossing the wind got up strong that cycling on the road was taking a massive risk. The wind would catch me side on and blow me across the road, any car that happens to be overtaking would turn me and bicycle into road kill so i stayed on the pavement which in Japan is a shared cycle/pedestrian path.

There was a huge suspension bridge connecting the two island but on motor vehicles may use so i now had a mission to search for a ferry which according to google maps does exist. I had trouble finding it and now i needed somebody to ask the streets appeared to be empty! This being japan though things are either well sign posted or you just take a look at one of the many town maps hidden around. Finding the ferry terminal there was a boat waiting so i paid my 650 Yen (bit  pricey for my budget) and i took the scariest ferry ride of my life. The water was very choppy which made the little speed boat i was on fly from one to the next wave sometimes tilting the entire boat a little too far for my comfort, all i did was old on. Now i was on dry land things looked much different, it wasn’t an endless urban sprawl but rolling hills, forest and open land and plenty of camping spots. The weather ahead didn’t look promising, the wind was blowing hard, it was little chilly and it was getting late. Upon spotting a huge statue facing out to sea i thought what a great idea to camp underneath it and as luck had it there was good spot. I double checked with a local if it was ok to camp, i was given the thumbs up then he pointed out his house and said if i needed any water to knock.

I set camp up and even though i wasn’t totally hidden from sight i felt completely safe apart from the paranoid thought of a Tsunami! The reason for my security is in Japan there is virtually no need for the police, you could leave your wallet open full of money and people would just leave it alone, everybody follows the rules except for the Gaijins (foreigners) which is why the Japanese don’t want foreigners here spoiling their harmonies’  society. I slept easy.

Island hoping

27/04/2011: 20km north of sumoto (awaji island) to Oshima railway station 94.98km

(catching up)

Packing the tent away the weather didn’t look very promising for the day, the wind was also up a bit and as usual it was a head wind. I had another problem to contend with today, i had to jump across to another island the only obvious way across was via a suspension bridge which doesn’t not allow bicycles across and from what i had gathered and which was backed up a number f times there is no ferry across.

Turning off the road i had been cycling along i was nearing the end of the island and coming close to the bridge. I stopped to ask somebody how do i get to the other side, he wasn’t sure but confirmed there was no boat crossing. He told me there was a bus and then proceeded to call the bus company to find out what time it comes, where and if they take bicycles. This is so typical of Japanese people to go out of their way to help, he drew me a diagram and told me i had till 12pm when the next one would turn up. I didn’t understand his diagram much but by some miracle ended up at the place he had directed me where after a fruitless attempt at hitch hiking i waited (inside the bus shelter as it was raining cats and dogs).

The bus did arrive, on time i might add, the bus driver was too keen about my bike but in the end let me shove it in the luggage compartment underneath the bus. The initial plan was to get off as soon as i crossed the bridge but the rain was coming down hard so i enjoyed the bus ride. In Japan as nobody breaks the rules and can be trusted you pay for the bus at the end. I was in for a shock as the bus journey across the bridge cost me 1600 Yen (10GBP) which was a bit much but Japan was going to break my wallet much more than this before the end.

In the town of Tokushima i found tourist information and got myself some maps, had some lunch then battled into the head wind along what was pretty much a flat straight road. The rain threatened again and at about 5pm it was coming down hard. I had read a book by another cycle tourist who in Japan said to sleep at railway stations so when one turned up i checked it out. The waiting room had a long bench and was sheltered from the wind and rain, if i could avoid setting my tent up i would. The last train was 11pm and there was a toilet and sink which i could freshen up in. There was a couple of birds living in here too, when darkness fell they would keep the place clear of bugs. I watched them countless times fly out from their nest, catch a moth and drop it outside before sitting in their nest to rest. At about 10pm there were only 3 more trains left before the line terminated till the following day so i got some sleep and once again slept very well this time though there was no worry of a tsunami.

J Japan

28/04/2011: Oshima railway station to Awa Railway station 158.72km

I was awake just before the first train arrived and outside was a beautiful day. As i was packing away kids were on their way to school looking at me puzzlingly as they passed through to the platform.

Riding was about as good as it gets, i cycled through a stunning valley, not too hilly, not too windy under perfect blue skies. I had been feeling a bit down yesterday but today i was high as a kite really beginning to like Japan. I had no real plan of how far i wanted to cycle today i just knew i needed to get over to the next island by Saturday morning to meet Russell.  

At 1pm i was almost at Kochi so stopped for a break and gave Russell a call to sort out plans for meeting up.  Just before i left the convenience store staff decided to have a chat, as they spoke no English and i speak no Japanese it was limited but they gave me a map and translated some of the towns into English lettering for me.

Getting through Kochi was a slow process, i made poor time and saddle sore was setting in but eventually i found my way mainly thanks to the map that had been given to me and my lunch stop. At about 6pm i hit the town of Susaki and decided after my successful night in a train station the night before i would check this one out. It was very nice indeed but too nice, it was staffed and they locked it up after the last train but i got them to fill up my water bottles and headed off to the next train station. I found a little train shelter overlooking the ocean, it was a perfect spot with million dollar views. I debated whether to set my tent up but as the weather was good i decided to sleep in the shelter despite being in full view of the railway line.

I had diner got organised but my paranoid tsunami thoughts were given a real test when a world war two type warning siren went off, i kept a close eye on the sea, worked out some high ground i would run to and what was going on in the nearby town. Nothing seemed to be stirring but it left me a little nervous. Yet again i had a good night sleep mostly undisturbed, the homeless life isn’t so bad. 

On to the next island

29/04/2011: Awa railway station to Seiki 103.06km

I woke up to the most amazing view imaginable, the sun was rising out of the ocean turning the cove and sky into a fiery colour you see in holiday broachers, it was too good to take a picture of, in fact it was so beautiful i turned over and slept another 20minutes but i was out of the sleeping bag before the first train came. I had breakfast at the nearest convenience store (there is a number, Family Mart, 7/11, SunKus and my personal favourite Lawsons) where i also made use of the impeccable toilet which has more gadgets than a Formula 1 car.

I was on my way but my saddle sore from yesterday was still biting a bit and my body was feeling tired, i guess sleeping on a bench isn’t the most restful night’s sleep in the world. I didn’t have as far as i first thought to get to Sukumo where i would get the ferry across to the next island where in Seiki i would meet Russell.

I made it to Sukumo just after lunch where after a quick game of match up the Japanese letterings i found the ferry i needed. I was in perfect time as i had just enough time to casually buy a ticket and stroll onto the ferry and organise a few things for the 3 hour journey. The ferry wasn’t busy and i found a room all to myself, i laid on the floor and felt my body cease up, this little break was much needed and it gave my saddle sore which had come numb a chance to recover.

In Seiki had a little look round, mainly for a place to sleep, i found a great place to put a tent just at the end of the ferry dock car park where i cook dinner and observed a few strange goings on one of which included an hysterical argument which after a 5 minute walk turned them into a happy couple, funny old world. I was to bed later than normal but i had no rush to be up in the morning as Russell’s train wasn’t due till 12pm.