Longnan – Maijishan Grottoes

27th May 2014     16-28’C     312km
Longnan – Maijishan Grottoes

Setting out from Longnan, we stopped for fuel not far out of town, at a huge petrol station, the same type as I’ve used all through China, but this one insisted that motorbikes cannot fill up at the pump, they must use a large teapot to transfer fuel from the pump to the bike.  So the teapot was filled with 97 octane and then poured into the bike, despite being parked right next to the pump. I questioned the logic and why this process would be easier and safer than filling the bike directly, but no one could explain why it was done this way, just that “it’s the rules” and was no way I was getting fuel any other way than from the teapot.
Later I noticed other scooters being filled the same way, although it takes a long time to get the 16 litres of fuel needed for my bike, from a teapot.

At the lunch stop, an interesting dish of fat, short fried wheat noodles.  In many ways like Italian pasta, but with very Chinese flavours, served in the courtyard of a house by the road.

The landscape changed again today, and some more beautiful mountains added to the memory bank.  Most of the road today was fantastic winding country road, with an excellent sticky surface.  I passed through a number of small villages, and in one such village the road was being torn up and was restricted to a single lane. As is normal in China, there was a flagman at each end of the roadworks, trying to control the flow of traffic, to which most drivers just ignore, resulting in a huge traffic jam in the middle of the roadworks as cars try to move in opposing directions in a single lane.   As a motorbike, I too had ignored the flagman against the flow of traffic, with other bikes and cars.  This all came to a head in the middle of the roadworks, when a low loader carrying a digger came down the hill in the opposite direction.

Now everything was gridlocked.

The low loader tried to manoeuvre in the narrow space, and in the process hit an exposed piece of steel reinforcing, bursting a tyre with a huge bang and sending a cloud of dust everywhere as people scattered.  Now the loader was bottomed out on a bump.  I got off the bike and went to take a look with many other inquisitive drivers, and tried to find a way around the huge mess of cars, trucks and motorbikes.  I helped a guy carry his small scooter across a ditch so he could escape, but there was no way my bike could be carried across, so I took a few photos while the loader driver figured out how to extract his truck and trailer from the mess.  Soon everyone was forced to reverse back down the hill, my bike squeezed into a small driveway, with just 3 inches to spare as the loader sneaked past.  Finally I was clear to move on, dusty and hot.

I arrived at Maijishan Grotto later than planned, nearly 5pm, but it was worth the effort.  Into the side of the cliff, hundreds of beautiful budda statutes have been carved.  The work occurred over two dynasties, commencing in 517 AD.

Climbing up against the cliff face, the view was amazing and the shape and beauty of the budda faces magnificent.  Looking down momentarily, the drop below caused a few skipped heartbeats.

As it was now very late and approaching dusk, finding a hotel was a priority, but there were limited options nearby.  Wanting to avoid riding any further after an already long day, and with darkness near, we finally found what looked perfect, a new hotel at a great price.  Checking the rooms, everything looked good and new so we parked and unpacked.  It was only once inside that the owner happened to mention there was no hot water yet, and the lighting in the bathroom was not wired in.  After some discussion, it was agreed a bucket and a thermos of hot water could be provided, so a bucket wash was at least possible, in the dark.
The owner cooked up dinner and after a feed I headed towards bed, only to discover the ‘mattress’ and ‘pillow’ were made from straw.  The same straw I’d been riding through earlier  helping the villagers thresh on the road.  It’s going to be a very firm bed night tonight, smelling like a barn. Good fun.