Huaihua

It feels really nice to get to a bigger city again - I've got this love/hate relationship with cities in China - I like how I don't attract nearly as much attention, there is better food to eat and more options, and the hotels are usually nicer. However, I don't like the fact that I don't really talk to anyone, it costs a lot more, and there is pollution. However, after a few days in the countryside it feels nice to have a brief respite from the staring, the laughing (for some reason people in the countryside think it is absolutely hilarious when they see a foreigner - I suppose I am pretty goofy looking, but I try to not take it too personally). Anyways, after the strange police situation in Longtan, I am especially happy to get away from the countryside, at least for a day.

I left Longtan bright and early at 7am - I just wanted out! I didn't even stop for breakfast - I grabbed it in the neighboring town (Huangmaoyuan), and kept on going. The stretch of highway that I went along today from Longtan to Huaiyan is one of the most scenic that I have gone on yet - it had a bit of an uphill, but a long, satisfying and visually stunning downhill through steep gorges lush with greenery. It was really cool, and with the excellent weather that I enjoyed today, I took plenty of pictures.

So here's some of the photos:

A Nice little village along the way.

In the gorges.

A small cluster of traditional wooden buildings on a ridge.

A Miao Minority village located through a gorge - really pretty.

My bike is hardcore.

I'm going to be getting to Guizhou soon - there are a couple routes that I could take, and I am debating which one I should go on - the first option would get me to Guizhou tomorrow by going along the national road - it would be a better road to travel on, but it would be a national road and I don't like travelling on them. The second option would be to go north to Fenghuang, stay the night there and then go onto Guizhou the next day. Everyone has told me that the roads in Guizhou are terrible. Guizhou is the poorest province in China, and very mountainous - just looking at my guidebook which lists the per capita gdp of each province - Guizhou's is 5100 yuan (about 620 USD) a year - the next poorest is Gansu which is 7200 yuan a year. Quite a big difference. But I am excited to be getting into there - there are a lot of ethnic minorities there, so there will probably be a bit of communication troubles, but it will be pretty interesting.