While we admit we can’t speak
any Chinese, their interpretation of English can be amusing
“Not to parabolic”….. I think that they mean no throwing objects over the edge
This one really made us smile!
The road system has developed
dramatically over the last 10 years with hundreds of kilometers of four lane
expressways being established. In mountainous country we reckon that around 10%
consists of tunnels. Many are five to seven km. This one is 3.45km
Roads are still dangerous with
wide loads and very dangerous Chinese drivers!!!!!
The result is often …fatal! WHO report that there are 600 road fatalities
in China per day!
Finally Beijing and all the
main tourist attractions such as Tian’amen Square, the Forbidden City, the Bird
Nest Olympic Stadium,
and the Performing Arts Centre
which is a spectacular contemporary design, surrounded by water with an access
tunnel to the main area
Many interesting and bustling
restaurants with all sorts of weird and wonderful dishes but……
……our choice was a traditional
‘Peking Duck’
While I attended to repairs on
our water heater, Marina enjoyed a ‘tea ceremony’
How’s this for a beautiful if not very large Chinese copper painted vase
And of course the Great Wall
again. This time at a major restoration point on the outskirts of Beijing
The final drive to the border
with Mongolia and as usual a new four lane expressway. The contrast with what
was across the border was to be a real shock!!!
The end of China was heralded
by around 50 life size dinosaurs two of which spanned the four lane highway……
very strange
So our last night together as a
group of five vehicles and couples for the China leg was spent amidst a
Jurassic park of prehistoric monsters and wind turbines, a strange mix
The end of our Chinese driver’s
license and number plate. No, there was no need for a driving test and yes I
did have an international driver’s license so why the license? …….. just a
bureaucratic necessity I guess
The five couples and our obligatory Chinese guide Andy
As the sunset we relived our 52
days in China while being minded over by a monster from the past
Our first introduction to
Mongolia was not a good one. Mongolian drivers in Russian jeeps were
aggressive. We witnessed two fights and aggressive queue jumping; all kept in
control on the Chinese side but on the Mongolian side….. bedlam!
With more people and goods than
could fit in a vehicle, their queue jumping tactic was to drive at your vehicle
with the clear intent of hitting you. Theirs were bent and old – yours is new –
they know you will give
This guy continued to drive
with a flat tire – not enough to stop him!
After clearing the bedlam of
the Mongolian border with a slip of paper bearing our vehicle plate number and
a red stamp on it to pass for a temporary vehicle import pass, they must have
realized that all was not in place for our foreign vehicles. This lady with a
female assistant along with a young child caught up with us some three klms
down the road and completed the paper work in the front of her car for each of
us in turn. Lucky for us but also for them to have their side in order as well
….and this is Mongolia, heading
north to the capital…… multiple tracks in the sand and not even a sign post
after a four lane highway on the Chinese side. Can you believe it – you need a
map and a GPS to get from the main Chinese border crossing over 605klms NNW to
the Mongolian capital!
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