The wait in Erlianhaote , Hohhot and my first week in Beijing

I had been warned: the border procedures could take 2 to 4 days… Well, honestly, I didn't believe it first. So I spent Saturday with  getting money changed (took almost an hour and the filling out of 4 forms), cleaning up my 'home' and reading and walking some more through town. As the hotel let me plug into their electricity net I could even run my A/C which was necessary as it got around 30C during the day. In the evenings, however, it was quite comfortable.

My agent shuttled between the border offices and our hotel and was generally unreliable what concerned punctuality and prognosis of when we could continue the trip. So first it was Saturday afternoon, then Sunday morning then Sunday afternoon. Finally he told me that Monday morning at 10 would be the time and that proved correct.

But the in between period at one point got 'interesting'. First, after checking, I found out that my additional air support suspension for my rear axle apparently hadn't survived the Mongolia tracks. That's no catastrophe but eventually would need to be repaired. The rest of the day was uneventful until almost exactly midnight when I was jolted out of sleep. I first didn't know what happened and thought I had forgotten to put on the hand brake and the car had run against the wall. Quickly though I realized that I had been hit by a car. I just saw a white car speeding away and around the corner out of the hotel parking lot. I got out to look at the damage which was considerable. The motorcycle carrier was bent badly, the rear light totally destroyed and the bicycle pressed against the motorcycle which was forced out of its rail.

I woke up my agent who came down and called the police which promptly came and recorded everything. There were 3 cameras where the event was recorded but no license plate was recognizable. Anyway, the guard had noted down the numbers of the cars parked 2 hours before and there were only 4 cars missing which the police promised to check the next morning. Apparently none of those were the perpetrator, I was told, but when I claimed that the hotel was responsible and ask for damages in the amount of RMB 2500 I was given those without any further discussion which was an indication to me that it was maybe somebody from the hotel who was responsible…

I was able to repair the damage provisionally except for the rear light which I replaced today. To find it was another epic story which cost half a day despite the help of the bank's driver.

So Monday at 10 (not before and without any noticeable further action of my agent) we left for Hohhot where he lived and where I finally could leave him. My problem with him was that he spoke English relatively well and said 'yes' whenever I asked him if he understood only to realize shortly afterwards that he hadn't. That made communicating sometimes quite awkward. In the outskirts of the town they erected n 'Dinosaur Museum' consisting of 'life size' replicas of many different kinds of Dinos placed in the landscape. Quite unique and interesting (see pictures once I figured out how to get them over 'the Great Chinese Wall').  

At least the road to Hohhot was decent and the about 400 kms we had covered by about 5pm including a decent lunch on the way. I asked my agent to show me where the inner city, especially the historic part was but even that he wasn't really able to tell. But at least he pointed me in about the right direction. I took him back to his home (in a nice compound) and went back to town. He still owed me a translation for my German license which he promised me for later that evening when I would park my car near his apartment.

So I went back to town (about 3mio) and even  found a decent parking place. Most of it is modern like any other of the Chinese towns. Only the next morning (with the help of my 'Lonely Planet' guide) I was able to discover a bit of the old part of town with attractive temples and a renovated hutong area.

The night was pleasant and I got my translation and even had a hotspot where I slept so I was able to download the Presse for my breakfast. After my quick temple and old town tour I left for the drive to Beijing a bit over 500 km down the road. It gave me the introductory flavor to what I'd experience in future. The motorway was good but initially mostly under repair. Endless lines of trucks (about 50km) were waiting in the right lane and the rest of the traffic moved with about 60 km/hr. As soon as there were 2 lanes available (plus the emergency lane) a wild overtaking would take place whereby any rules that might exist were disregarded.

Generally driving is rather exciting. I understand that the rules of traffic are largely the same as in Europe. But nobody, absolutely nobody, is adhering to them. Even though I only saw 3 accidents (all apparently without people hurt) till now, one on the way to Beijing, that one you'll see the picture which looks gruesome but miraculously nobody seemed to have been hurt.

Zebra crossings are totally ignored by car drivers and if you stop you'll be fiercely honked at and everybody around will pass you. Any pedestrian will look at you totally incredulously when you should stop. Blinkers are almost never used, any gap you leave is immediately used by somebody else to squeeze in. In one word: behaviorisms are extremely rude and if you don't adapt quickly you'll lose out. I did, had to…

So eventually I arrived at the city limits and got to a toll bridge where I was denied passage. After a phone call with the office it turned out that this expressway was reserved to trucks and although my agent had told me to take this way I had to take the normal road which was a bit tedious coming down from the mountains surrounding Beijing. That day I left Hohhot which lies at about 1000m then had to cross a ridge about 1400m high and then was drifting down to about 700m when the road rather steeply descends to Beijing which lies at an altitude of about 100m.

By that time it was about 7 pm and I got stuck in traffic and didn't dare to turn towards the office where Dongmei was waiting because a sign said that that was forbidden till 8pm. Later I was told that I just should have ignored it… So I made a detour which almost took 2 hrs as the whole center was a jam. Finally I got to our office where Dongmei was already waiting and showed me my parking place and then took me across to my hotel. It felt good to lie down….

The next morning I went to the office to say hello and everybody was really extremely welcoming. Almost everybody wanted to see 'Datcha' as this type of vehicle is not very common in China yet although there are a few companies already producing van conversions.

Also to my surprise Tseng Tao and Barbara Ericsson were there on a business trip and that made a pleasant reunion including dinner.

I needed some help getting mobile internet, finding repair shops for the motorcycle and my car etc. in one word: finding out about the infrastructure. Our driver accompanied me to the motorcycle shop, the owner of which even spoke some English and to the Ford service place which did a service immediately, efficiently and even straightened out my motorcycle carrier. They most likely will also repair my air spring once I got the parts.

Almost every evening there was a lunch and/or dinner and my weight is creeping up…

So the first three days there was practically no sightseeing but mostly getting things organized whereby the refilling of one of my gas bottles appears to be a major problem. As this is mandatory for my heating system I hope I'll be able to solve it by next week.

Thursday I moved from my hotel to a extremely nice apartment of Stephen Lau and his wife Fang Fei who stayed with us last year and emjoyed the Salzkammergut… It's only about 15 min from the bank when traffic is ok…

Saturday Barbara Ericsson plus Carrie (a student working at the investment company as an intern) and I went to the Chinese Wall and the Ming Tombs. We left early to beat the crowds which worked for the first place where we visited the wall but when we got to the second place we abandoned that plan and went directly to the Ming Tombs which I also found more interesting. It is a fascinating story how they found the entrance in the 50s and quite disturbing then to read that further destructions took place during the Cultural Revolution.

Sunday was an important day: with the help of Ma Su I bought a folding e-bike (total cost Eur 380.-!), in Raiffeisen yellow and ideal to roam around Beijing as I can't use my motorcycle for lack of finding insurance. It is also more practical to go against one-ways, around hutongs and across red lights… It is quite fast and the range is sufficient for a day of sightseeing. And it fits beautifully inside the 'Datcha'.

This week was relatively relaxing and I was able to do some sightseeing the result of which I hope to be able to publish soon. It isn't easy though because of the Chinese restrictions… A highlight was the Museum of City Planning which gave me great insight how Beijing developed. The highlight though is a model of the city about 400 sqm large which is like viewing the city from a plane.

A disappointment for many people who know the 'Silk Market' will be the news that it went through a total refurbishment (already, despite being only built about 7 or 8 years ago) which means fewer and larger stalls and considerably higher prices… But thank God there is still the old Hongqiao Market which so far hasn't changed…

As it is not far from where I live I visited IKEA just to see what it looks. Rest assured, it's exactly like home and you'll find the same stuff there. Coincidentally I saw a Metro practically around the corner. That one is somewhat different and specialized on Chinese products with emphasis on food and less non-food items than in Europe. Also the local Walmart does not have quite the quality and variance in products like in the US, but it was nice to visit.

A word to the weather. When I arrived the temperature was still over 30 C and the air very bad. On Sunday it rained and the air cleared which I used to go sightseeing to Jingshan Park with its hill from where I had a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding mountains. I was sad to read that even this place had been looted by the European armies that invaded Beijing in the year 1900. But by today the old soup is back although the temperatures are lower, especially in the evening.

Last night I had dinner with the Italian couple I ran into at the Mongolian border. They had a quite adventurous 12 days in Mongolia and I'll see them again on Monday when they invited me to their home for dinner.

Today I went to see Prince Gong's Mansion, a smaller version of the Summer Palace. The crowds were incredible, almost all Chinese, they were herded through the palace and its garden in groups of about 100 and I can't believe that they were able to enjoy much. Unfortunately I couldn't find an English guided tour and the English descriptions don't give you the full story. The buildings are nicely restored but I too had the impression that especially the interiors had suffered both from the invasion during the Boxer uprising 1900 as well as during the Cultural Revolution .

What I almost enjoy most is riding through the Hutong neighbourhoods and watch the Chinese going about their daily chores. While it is true that some hutong neighbourhoods have been and are being destroyed I got the impression, both by looking at the Planning Museum and by myself, that the city is actively maintaining and renovating hutong areas of the inner city. But also by going through some of the less prominent Hutong areas I must say that living there under the present conditions is sometimes a smelly affair and lacking the comfort that we are used to. Also here the coin has two sides….

So this is it for today and next week I hope to report more...