VZFZ

凡行天下

Day 47: Sayram Lake -> Horgos (霍尔果斯)

Updated at # Journal

Waking up in a tent is not a nice experience. Worse is when it is still dark, and you are cold, everything around you is damp, and you have an upset stomach (with only icy cold water to help). That was me at 3AM this morning, when I realised the virtues of built accommodation, with comfortable beds. It is not very comfortable sleeping on your side on a thin air mat (without a pillow mind you)!

After trying to get back to sleep, I eventually got up, dug the camping stove and cups that I had brought along, and warmed myself some water. That bought me a few more hours of interrupted and low-quality sleep, until I woke half an hour before sunrise and decided to see the dawn.

3AM hot water

I will be completely honest, the dawn was not dazzling either. A pink glow from the eastward mountain pass. I made do with it for a few photos, and then got to work on boiling water for a coffee.

Dawn at Sayram Lake

Essential morning chemistry setup

The rest of the morning was quite leisurely; strolling to take photos around the area and slowly packing things up and loading the bike (all-in-all 1 hour of packing at a slow pace).

The ring road (and accompanying accommodation/vehicles/etc) at Sayram Lake

As I was about to set off, over came an angry looking person with a phone, a dog, and an authoritative vest. “You rode your motorcycle onto the grass! You are not allowed to squish the grass, so you have broken the rules.” He proceeded to take a few photos of my bike (presumably for a fine) - just as my new friend / tent neighbour interrupted him, saying “oh he’s a foreigner, he doesn’t know the rules”.

Newfound friend, before we set off

Almost immediately, the inspectors tone changed, and said “Next time you should not bring your bike onto the grass. Just park it on the road. I have deleted the photos, so you should ride your bike onto the road now to avoid any more trouble”.

I feel like this is a bit of a perverse incentive, because it doesn’t actually dissuade me from breaking the rules; the photos look nicer with the bike there, and it is slightly more convenient to unpack/pack. I would do this again, except leave a bit earlier before the inspectors start their shifts at 10AM.

One last picture at the lake

The final stretch of road in China, from Sayram Lake to the border at Horgos were pleasant mountain roads, if not breathtaking.

Today’s route in blue

Within ~1.5 hours (accounting for police checkpoints) I was there. This was the last of China!

Impressive bridge on the way to Horgos (you first ride the bridge, then loop round underneath it)

I felt quite melancholic on my way to Horgos. Some of the things I have appreciated most about China is the 热情 (warmth/friendliness) I have received from those I’ve interacted with, and the genuine 关心 (concern/caring) that is had towards others. After riding through so many provinces, from south to north, meeting people from all different ethnic groups and walks of life, one thing they had in common was a concern for their fellow person. I’ve never had strangers tell me to be safe, and actually feel their concern. It was always helpful advice (even from authoritative figures like police), such as “ride slowly, be careful around trucks, take plenty of rest and try to wait out bad weather”, rather than what I am more familiar with, which is “don’t break the rules otherwise I’ll fine you and you will lose your license”, or even a “ha! got ya!” type of vibe.

I anticipate that from tomorrow onwards:

Arriving at Horgos, I found it to be quite sad and empty…at a nearby mall, there were stores closed and unattended, and almost zero people walking about and shopping (employees definitely outnumbered customers). Employees of stores were killing the time lying on seats.

So I spent my time getting ready for Central Asia:

While doing this, I met the manager of the hotel I’m staying at. He was quite young; 24 years old, and originally from Inner Mongolia. He offered to help me with the money exchange, giving me a lift to the bank, and then waiting with me for over an hour to help with the paperwork(!). One of the topics we touched upon was being a Communist Party member (党员). I asked about the entry requirements, the responsibilities, benefits etc out of curiosity. It seems quite involved; an entry essay (2000 words), and for a select few in your organisation (school/company/etc), a year’s worth of study at part time load, followed by another exam, before membership is granted. Quite a lot of the curriculum seems to be around Socialism with Chinese Characteristics/how to govern/ and analysing speeches of current leaders. Socially, party members are expected to lead by example, and be the first to volunteer for help (e.g. during COVID, or during accidents/natural disasters), although the only obligation is to pay the annual membership, which is like 20 RMB (~$4). It seems to benefit your career, with many employers stating explicit preferences for party members in their hiring processes. When asking others about what they thought about party members (specifically, my tour guide), it was overwhelmingly positive “很厉害”, given the difficulty in getting there.

Official border crossing

Around 9PM, the feel of Horgos changed completely. What were previously empty streets started bustling with people and the city sprang to life.

Walking street in Horgos

I strolled along the main walking street, and collected a few (pretty) cigarette packs, which I’ll probably end up giving out as gifts to smokers along the way.

Compare this to all the cigarette packs you have seen in your life…then realise that tobacco is state owned and 10-15% of gov’t tax revenue in China

Tomorrow; Almaty! (Inshallah)

Some stats:

Altitude map of today’s ride

Route to date