I ended up spending nine days in Hong Kong and during this time I got a Thai Visa and maps along with three visits to the bike shop. I now have a Tubus rack which was sent from England and the rear wheel has been rebuilt with Swiss spokes and the noise has been eliminated from the freewheel. I had a meeting of the Rules Committee (consisted of myself) on how to get out of Hong Kong on my bike. All boarders are closed to cyclists so you have to catch a train, bus, plane or boat. I opted for the boat to Zhuhai. It takes one hour as opposed to ten minutes by train but it is crossing a river (well the mouth of it) and there is no bridge but a 29 kilometer one is being built. So I convinced myself that this arrangement was within the rules. I had a brief dipping photo session at Repulse Bay. The last time I did this it was winter but this time it was summer and the beach was crowded.
The authorities were not keen at all about me wheeling my bike across the sand and let me know of their displeasure through a loudspeaker. When I ignored this they sent a deputation but they ended up taking photographs of me. My idea of a Great Wall wine party with illegal skyrockets from China was put on hold!
On my first night back in China the waitresses kept on wanting to top up my beer glass with tea and there was loud banging on my door during the night. In the morning I found a note slipped under the door saying ‘what are your credentials?’ I suspect it was something to do with my passport but I knew I was back in China. Hong Kong is so different. I decided to take the longer coastal route to Nanning so part of it was retracing our Sing Honk ride. This was 868 kilometers in five days so I am having a few days here as it is a very nice city and I have a five star type room for 80 Yuan (NZ$13).
Nanning is located some 160 kilometers from the border with Vietnam and has a sub tropical climate and is monsoonal.
Late one day the lower jockey wheel jammed and the bearings were coming out of the side of it. It was getting too late for roadside repairs so I chartered a motorcycle cart to take me back to the hotel. The guy unloaded his current load including his wife and charged me $3NZ to take me back 30 kilometers. His wife would have been waiting for a long time at the roadside in the dark. It was just as well that I had a spare jockey wheel otherwise I would have been cycling with a shortened chain with only one gear. Another day I had a collision with a hen. It ran across in front of me which was okay but it then turned and tried to get back to the kerb through my front spokes. There was quite a loud thud and feathers were flying but I stayed on and there was no damage to the wheel. I am not to sure about the hen though.
This is my last major city in China but there is still 1,500 kilometers to the Laos border. Peter at Bike China has suggested a scenic route which is very close to the Vietnam border but the roads look a bit minor so I will probably stick to the main roads. I know it is a very roundabout route I am taking and that going through Vietnam to Laos would be shorter but it is one less visa and I like China.
I am about to book 1 Orchard Road in Singapore for two weeks but my next news will be from Thailand so it may be a while.
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