Still Blogger Is Blocked

Breckan and I bumped and jostled off the Tibetan plateau in the cab of an 18 wheeler, while sucking down coke, Chinese moon pies and billowing clouds of second hand smoke.  On the 11th day of the wilderness, as we rode into a huddle of tents and dismembered animal parts; labeled a town by a cartographer drunken on the power cartography gives, Breckan informed me of something.  Unless she got a shower on day 12, I would be looking for a  brand new bouncing Bejing bride on day 13, because she was out.  Since I am unable to speak Chinese, and the dating process in America was confusing enough, I opted for semi into Golmud and hot showers. 

 

Now for a quick aside.

 

What is it with this country and dismembered animal parts!?  Never, not once, and I'm almost 30, have I ever stepped over an animal leg (unless it was attached to a breathing animal) to get into a restaurant, hotel, or house.  Now it's like, "ya I'll be right in.  Let me just hop over this carcassy like thing in the way."  Next to having to stare other men in the eyes while taking a poop, being able to purchase human skulls in stores that also sell Coke, and watching women produce living, breathing animals out of the folds of their dresses- having to step over random, rotting legs has been the weirdest thing about China.

 

And now back to the travelogue.

 

Charlie and Kyle opted to ride into Golmud.  The city was green, and warm and pretty and except for the fact that we were kicked out of three hotels in three days, it was an enjoyable place to stay.  The kicking out started at 10 pm our first night.  We had checked in, ran out for some errands and when we came back we got the boot.  The staff kept staring at their feet and it was never made quite clear why we had to leave.  It wasn't the police.  It was the Foreign Affairs Office.  It was their Commie leaders.  It was very odd.  So we rode around to all the hotels that were going to let us stay there earlier in the day.  Now at 11 pm, they informed us they couldn't let us stay.  Again, a lot of feet staring.   Finally we found a hotel that let us stay.  The next day we were kicked out.  This went on for three days.  It was never made clear who was kicking us out, or why, and it all felt a little weird.

 

Outside of the Golmud the Tibetan plateau gave way to high desert and then high desert gave way to low desert.  As many of my friends know, I have never been to the moon and after the lunarscape we've cycled through for the last 5 days, I feel no need to.  Fields of yaks have turned into sandy dunes of camels.  Tibetans have given way to Uighur Muslims and snowstorms have given way to sand storms.

 

Breckan and I, faced with a reality check have made a route decision.  Instead of heading into the Stans, we have decided to jump on a train to Kashgar and then ride down the KKH.  We are going to spend more time trekking in Northern Pakistan before heading across India and towards Kathmandu.  As of right now, our plan is to fly out of Kathmandu for Bangkok.

 

I will be spending my 30th birthday in the second lowest place on earth.  Thus making my birthday a real low point (rimshot).