Trans-Eurasia 2005 Part 15
Trip Start
May 20, 2005
1
14
Trip End
Aug 05, 2005
Beijing,
China
Friday, July 22, 2005
truck, and the cop actually did pay for it. We don't have any tie dows
but the trucker has one big length of rope. So we get all 3 bikes tied
down in the back of this truck and we're off for Erlenhot about 700
kilometers Southwest of us. There is nothing but Gobi desert between us
and Erlenhot and I'm double glad I'm not riding my bike. It made it
across the Gobi once and it wouldn't be fair to ask it to do it twice.
It is hot besides, about 40+ C. About 5 kms outside of town the driver
leaves the path and starts bouncing across the desert in search of his
friend's yurt. The bouncing has made all 3 bikes dislodge and we have
to stop and re-tie them all down. We explain to the driver he must stay
on the path and he turns back to the path. For the rest of the day we
have to stop another 4 times to re-tie the bikes and finally about
midnight the driver stops for some sleep. Doris and Sjaak are already
asleep in the back of the truck, the driver is asleep across the front
seats, the co-droiver is sleeping under the truck, and I'm perched on a
2 X 10 board tied to the roof of the cab.
The next morning we are up fairly early and on the road again. We make
2 stops, one at a yurt for food and another at a village for diesel.
The gas station is locked up so we drive into town to find the manager.
We find him, drive him out to the pumps, and get fuel. Then he locks up
and we drive him back into town and then head further south. We finally
reach the southern border town at about 4:00 PM, and Doris finds a
hotel. It costs US$ 2.00 per night but there is no toilet or shower in
the room. In fact there is no shower in the building. But they have a
big yard where we unload our bikes. So I head off in search of better
accomodations. I check all 5 hotels in town and there is one with hot
showers and running toilets for the equivalet of US$ 7.00. We pay off
the $2.00 hotel and move over to the luxury hotel. But by the time we
get there the hot water is shut off until 8:00 PM the next night. But
still they do have cold water. And next door is a restaurant (also
closed) but they are barbequeing beef on skewars outdoords and they
allow us to eat there. We are just 5 minutes from the Chinese town of
Erlenhot but we don't know if we'll get across the border or not. So we
decide I'll try it first and if successful they'll try it next.
So late morning I ride across to the Mongolian border. Here I sit for
about 2 hours before they finally refuse to allow me to leave. They say
I have to go back into town and find the passport control officer to
get permission to cross. It's well above 40 C and I haven't eaten or
drunk anything all day.
I find the passport control officer and he takes my passport and says
he'll return in about 10 minutes. About 30 minutes later, I leave to
find some water and then return. He finally comes out of his compound
and tells me I can just go to the border and they will let me pass this
time. And they do.
Mongolian customs then wants to inspect my bike and it's contents and
finally wave me through to the Chinese side. At the Chinese side they
are curious to say the least. They want to know how my bike, which has
Chinese plates and a Chinese registration card got to be in Mongolia in
the first place. My passport indicated that when I left China it was
through the Beijing airport. I tell them I shipped my bike out and that
is all they need to hear and they wave me through. I ride into Erlenhot
and find the first hotel on the main street. It costs just 80 RMB (US$
10.00) per night and has 24 hour hot water. I take a hot shower, and
the mud is pouring off me down the drain. The streets are paved and
there are many hotels, restaurants, and shops. I even have a waterproof
cover made up for my bike while I'm waiting for Sjaak and Doris to
attempt to cross over. They make their attempt the next day but are
stopped first by the Mongolians where Sjaak has to pay a hefty fine for
overstaying his visa, and then they are stopped by the Chinese for
their bikes.
So I wait in Erlenhot for another day to see if there is some way to
get their bikes into China. I ask truckers that go back and forth to
see if they would be willing to take their bikes across the border, but
no luck. They are trying the same on the other side.
Finally Wednesday morning, figuring I can do more help from Beijing
than I can in Erlenhot, I head for home. It is really a nice paved road
almost all the way from Erlenhot to Beijing except for one nasty muddy
section just east of Duolun. But even that is under construction, so I
expect it will be paved by summer's end.
It's been a long ride; 20,000 miles if you include the circumference of
the U.S. I did last summer just as a warm-up for this ride. This ride
from Bremerhaven to Beijing was just over 7,800 miles (about 13,000
kms). My bike made it although it needed plenty of repairs mostly in
Mongolia. If you consider I stayed between the 40th and 50th parallels
for this trip we really did ride around the world. Not bad for a 36
year old bike and a 50 year old man.
The biggest surprise of the trip was how easy it is to ride across
Russia. And Russian drivers were the most courtious drivers I came
across. The biggest disappointment was how bad the "road" conditions
were in Mongolia. The prettiest part of Mongolia would be the far
western part of the country in the Altay Mountains. Unfortunately I did
alot of it at night so I missed much of the scenery between Tsagaannuur
and Olgiy. Heck, Olgiy wasn't even on my map. Somewhere earlier I
mentioned that could there be a more unappropriate vehicle for driving
in Mongolia than a Mercedes Benz 190E. Well, yes there is and it's a
1969 BMW R69S. This is not an off-road bike but I treated it like one
for 3 long weeks. But it is now resting peacefully in my garage in
Beijing, just needing a few parts and a thorough cleaning. I'm still
meeting with customs and tour companies to try anmd Get Sjaaks and
Doris' bikes across but I'm not having any luck with that either.
Monday they will arrive without their bikes to see if there is anything
they can do as well.
