Breakfast was included and it was another feast. The lady here is great. She has some expertise in nutrition from previous work so this morning she server boiled yams and potatoes with Soy milk.
I didn’t expect it to be that nice. The veggies were local and very tasty. Even the soy milk was good. (I usually find soy milk undrinkable).
You had to peel the skin off the yams and potatoes and it’s amazing how sticky the starch in them is. After peeling a few, everything sticks to your fingers. I finished quite a bit and then she said – ok boiled eggs and rice soup. I could barely eat a thing but did my best. The eggs were really nice and the rice soup was amazing. It’s made from fermented glutinous rice.
She was disappointed that I didn’t eat it all but that was an impossible task. So she filled a bag with boiled eggs, salted eggs, walnuts and mandarins. I reckon it was a couple of kilos and I had to stop her putting more in. So nice, so generous.
I packed, said goodbye and took off for the flat first 10 kms, wondering when and how I’ll get through all of the food. I was also wondering if I’d have to ride through the snow covered mountains that I could see ahead . After 10kms I turned off onto the quietest of roads for the climb and thankfully, well before any snow.
The mandarins went first then I worked on the walnuts. They were very nice and most were easy to open. I didn’t feel like eggs all day though.
It was a cold day, but out of the wind and in the sunshine it became quite warm. For part of it I was wearing a t-shirt. Unfortunately, there were no views to be had on today’s climb. There were plenty of trees the whole way that blocked any chance to see the valley below.
It got cold and windy over the top though but it was still a nice clear day in pleasant countryside with a gradual downhill.
The last part really was tedious. It was my last big ride before getting a train to Chengdu, so as I rode through the industrial and urbanised areas of Lijiang, I just wanted it to stop.
Lijiang is a large city. Even the old city is big.
There was one more hill then some bike lanes for the run into town. I got off the bike at the South Gate and walked through crowds of pedestrians to the Inn. As is now usual, googlea directions were a complete mess. Amap was more direct but struggled to pinpoint me or the final destination with any accuracy. So I asked locals. One sent me off in completely the wrong direction. I returned and asked a lady in a tea shop. She took pity on me and worked it out with some detailed directions.
Still couldn’t find it. I had almost given up hope when I looked up and saw the small name board over an entrance the size of a door. That opened out into a lovely courtyard. The owner is a great guy and we sat and drank tea for 45 minutes having a WeChat conversation. (Better than google translate because it has auto translation).
I was so relieved to get there.
Dinner was in the central area and the aftermath of that left me feeling sick for a day.