Chinese Touring Motorcycle︙ Chuanzang Middle Line (川藏中线) ︙BENELLI 702︙E13
For today's ride I started off in Baiyu County in Sichuan and was heading to Gonjo County in Tibet The main road is about 263 kilometers if you stick to the asphalt But there's a shortcut that cuts it down to around 211 kilometers it's not much shorter but way more adventurous on those rough dirt roads Given that I was riding a heavy bike though I quitted at the beginning and decided to play it safe and stuck with the regular road to Jomda County in Tibet. and in this episode, I crossed the two intertwined rivers and headed onto a rough dirt road The track was too dangerous so I decided to quit and switch to the asphalt road instead I then followed the winding road along the Jinsha River and came across an amazing Tibetan valley The local guys chatted happily with me and at the end of the day I had planned to camp but because of bear activity in the area I decided it was safer to stay at a hotel instead Okay, a new day's journey 200 km on bumpy road, cragged Here's the hotel I stayed yesterday evening only 10 Euros first, I'm gonna get myself a full tank You spilled too much I decided to take a breakfast here Jinsha River, a famous one here, two rivers they meet together, but with different color one is green, like a jade, another is totally muddy 200 km Well, on my left side is that muddy river Jinsha River and the road is sort of terrible but today I got no plan to finish all just probably half or less than half of it safety is priority Ah, my cell phone just loses its signal I met three locals who told me it might be too risky to continue along on this trail so they suggest that I turn back well, after talk with locals I decided to quit because for the rest 200 km, all like this and probably I will meet no one if there's some problems with my BENELLI then I'll be just on road for days waiting for the equipments to be there even more than days, and this bike, too heavy not suitable for bumpy road as such Well, stop here for a short rest I saw a suspension bridge, so I'm gonna go and check it I just back to the normal road carriageway, rather than the bumpy roads as a motorcyclist, never do adventure pretentiously never try to be bravado, doing some dangerous things now, the suspension bridge, I'm gonna show you, and still on the Jinsha River Golden sands river in English that is a slot at the middle part of this bridge I stopped by the Jinsha River and walked down to the river bank the water was really muddy carrying fine sands downstream along the shore, all kinds of pebbles were scattered around and on nearby hilltop, I could see some old ruins Just so many white towers can not go any further to get a close up, because all thorny thorny plant, very sharp Well, I will finish my journey in Sichuan Province and then after this bridge I'll be officially in Tibet well, I think there will be a checkpoint very soon need to show your ID card can just pass them, as a motorcyclist show out your ID card yep, passed the security check it's fast, unlike 2 years ago when I was here it was crowded, long line of cars, trucks that side, Sichuan Province, and this side, Tibet Well, behind me, a small temple the monk was burning pine needles on the stove which is part of a Tibetan ritual and that's when I first noticed this rugged mountain you see that lady who is pushing the trolley with a dog back to five years ago, that was very famous and a lot of people want to be, you know, famous online they are doing this, you know, walking all the way to the Lhasa capital of Tibet At the very beginning, indeed there were some people who are trying to use this way to purify their spirits The Tibetan people They were busy harvesting highland barley and waved me over it looked like they wanted me to take some photos for them with their permission, and out of respect I'm sharing a few here Still carmine houses but, a little bit different with the ones I saw in Sichuan Province here the lower part is not stone or rock slabs kind of like mud but the upper parts, I don't see any difference The Tibetan lads asked for an aerial video for them They also lined up for more photos The scenery is jaw-dropping cannot help shooting more videos Once I emerged from the tunnel what left me utterly mesmerized was an idyllic expanse of red-roofed houses that gracefully dotted the verdant valley Wow, this is an elementary school, in a really fancy way Well, first solo traveler I've seen today I rode along hoping to camp together but he had no intention of camping today that's monkey oh, he's very angry, that guy is very angry, smaller one I'll not try to play with them their temper is capricious uh seem like uh this is not a suitable place for camping a lot of them, but I will not play with them there are just so many of them I stopped by to camp here, but the host wasn't around okay, I just spotted a site in the distance where I can camp a very beautiful patch of grassland Okay, all settled, now, time for dinner I don't have much seasoning to make the food taste good not a gourmet cooker, and also, I'm not a foodie I just cook it my way well, dinner finished, 7:30, still got some light there was a boy who just passed by here who told me like there are bears here but I'm not so sure about that, so I inquired another girl and then she told me here is safe but somewhere, um, far away from the city by the way, here, my place is about 2 km to to to the town she mentioned like, if you, like 10 km or more there are bears, but here supposed to be safe even though I don't want to infuriate them but I need to test I think it works I got a lot of firecrackers, here you see don't want to piss them off Well, I think I should quit my camping today another local passed, told me like even right now, there're some bears uh, at the river bank, there're bears let's pack up before dark I guess, I don't think that's just normal dung, from bear just exactly where I camped Hi, hello -are there a lot of bears around? -a lot If I pitch up my tent around, are there a lot of bears? Sometimes they just go down from the mountain there they go down to scavenge the trash bin there -Thank you -You are welcome After checking into the hotel I strolled through the nearby area and was captivated by the vibrant scene of locals dancing joyfully Regardless of age or gender they immersed themselves in this delightful activity turning an ordinary day into a celebration of life This simple yet profound moment revealed that happiness is not determined by one's location, beliefs, or possessions but rather by the ability to find joy in the present Well, 09:30 in the evening checked in, only 9 Euros, that's really cheap, gotta say like that so, not worth for camping, right? but, that's very important I think that one part of motorcycle adventure cook yourself, camping yourself but, priority is safety here the altitude is 3,600 or so and this town, it's not very big The hotel keeper told me, at this time of last year all full, got no room left but this year uh for this month, right now it's already 11th of this month still everyday, only half or less than a half been occupied for all rest rooms, all empty I'm doing some cooking stuff just some eggs for tomorrow considering that the price is really cheap I don't think the bedding is clean so, use my own camping gears here, if you, in future, if you want choose the middle line don't camp, a lot of bears especially when you are in Tibetan side in Sichuan side, sort of acceptable but in Tibetan side, a lot of bears all those bears are protected by government you are not allowed to, you know, to to to hurt them they like to act in team like a squad more than 5 or more, so that can be really dangerous, they can take you by surprise never do that back to 2021, when I was here, one local shared a story with me it was a true story, a mom and with her kid and they both been attacked by a bear a very strong bear and for the mom one part of the skull been removed and for kid, this side of the cheek, all removed because you know, the bear used his claw to hit both of them and then for the kid and I saw the image, it was really cruel and the the teeth could all be seen that's really terrible, so, I think, never do that adventure is adventure but you need to put your safety into the first place don't do something randomly like I said this morning pretentiously and act like a bravado that's not what we should do nature is powerful, don't try to conquer nature that is a priority
2024-12-30 23:16
