We had a really slim breakfast this morning. By mid-morning, my tummy was growling and I had to eat three times before dinner. Guess we are all about to lose some weight.

Forgot to mention that we had several really tame deer in our campground yesterday. Young Dave made the mistake of feeding them and then we couldn't get rid of them. They came right up to you and grabbed stuff. It was funny but irritating at the same time. You didn't dare turn your back if you laid something down.

When we arrived at the campground, there was one tent there. It was a fellow traveling by himself and he was from Seattle. Came to find out that his mother worked with rider Beth for 20 years. Beth had never met him but knew about him from his mother. Imagine traveling all over the world and meeting someone in Japan for the first time whom you've heard about for years. Unreal how small this world really is.

This morning we got up early to load gear on the trucks, then breakfast, then bussed to the airport. Lots of time spent standing in lines. When they divided the TKA gear yesterday, such as showers, massage tables, mechanic's tools, etc. for the two flights, they arrived in Osaka and found out the plane did not have enough room for the extra gear other than regular luggage. So two staff people had to drive the truck from Osaka to Fukuoka so that gear could be shipped on our plane and then drive the truck back to Osaka. I don't understand that mix-up. Again, I felt sorry for the staff.

We were on a commercial flight and had assigned seats, most of our 111 people being in a block near the rear. Once everyone got on, several people changed seats to sit near friends and Margherita, Dave, Alan and I were all able to get together. So we passed the time on this 6 hr flight by playing cards and scrabble.

Once we arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport, several people had more than a 2 hr wait for their baggage. It didn't make sense how some baggage came and then the carousel shut off. So we stood around and waited and waited. Finally after 2 hours and 20 minutes, we found out that the missing bags were on a pallet ready to be shipped to New Zealand.

We had marked our bags for New Zealand with a special colored string but were told we'd have access to them tonight at Kuala Lumpur. A few people had planned on getting into those bags one last time and had packed all their bike gear in with their camping gear. I know of one for sure whose bag is on that pallet with all her bike gear. Will be interesting how they solve that problem.

While a few of us were standing around grumbling to ourselves about all the time we wasted standing in line waiting tonight, it was brought up that we have spent 27¼  hours on a bus this week and more than 60 hours either on the buses or airplanes, or standing in line to board either of them just this week.

That doesn't leave a lot of time to see Japan. We are all getting tired of just sitting or standing. It is really hard to get any time to walk during the day. And when we don't get any exercise, we tend to get crabby more easily, or at least I do.

We are staying at a 5-star hotel tonight right here at the airport. But this is overkill. It is nice, but overly nice. Since we just arrived here, very few people had any money at all to tip the baggage boys who took our bags to our rooms. However, the service this hotel offers right here off the lobby is really convenient: internet, photocopying, postal services, etc. Things we never have time to go look for.

And to top off the day, no one at 9PM could tell us for sure about what happens tomorrow. I just hope the bikes end up with us in Hong Kong.

We had two wake up calls this morning for our 6AM breakfast. The phone was really loud and we didn't even request them. My roommate and I were just loading the baggage cart to leave our room when the fire alarm went off. Immediately, an announcement came over the loud speaker telling us that they were investigating the alarm and not to panic. Easy for them to say. We hustled down the hall and, of course, you are not supposed to use the elevators. So then we grabbed everything
and ran down the stairs. I didn't think I had it in me to carry all my bags at once, but I did. Just as we got to the main floor, they announced that it was a false alarm. Fine.

So we found new carts and proceeded to the airport to stand in line for two more hours at check-in. We were informed that our bags that we didn't receive last night would meet us in Hong Kong tonight. Well, guess what. They didn't. So I don't know where all my cool weather clothes for New Zealand are at this time.

After we made it through customs, we stood around and waited from one to four hours while we were shuttled to the hotel, 40 at a time. Such a waste of time. We arrived at the hotel and, what else, but another hour long line to check in.

I was tired and semi-crabby again tonight from just sitting and standing in lines all day so at dinner, an incident just about tipped me over the edge. We are in Hong Kong, so of course, we are served Chinese food. Great. I really like the food and many choices but we only received hot tea to drink. I was my usual thirsty self and requested water. First they brought me a pitcher of hot water. OK. Simple misunderstanding.

So I asked for cold water. The waiter brought me a glass of ice as well as for all the other nine people at the table. He then proceeded to pour bottled water in everyone's glass. I promptly drank mine and he refilled it. Then he sat a full bottle at my place. I'm thinking to myself that this is really neat, he must realize that I'm pretty thirsty. So we're siting there, chatting away and it is almost a half hour past the scheduled serving time and no food yet.

Then the waiter brings me a bill for a little over $8.00 US. I'm supposed to pay for everyone's water and I'm the only one who requested it. First of all, it wasn't listed on the drink menu as an item charged for and secondly, I did not request water for everyone. So I am trying to explain this to these Chinese waiters, of which there were four at one time standing all around me pointing to the bill. I wanted to talk to our tour organizer before I paid but they certainly did not understand that.

I finally agreed to pay for one bottle, an expensive $2. So they agreed and proceeded to collect everyone else's water from the table, whether they drank any of it or not. So weird. I was embarrassed and then I got teased about being the table's entertainment for the evening. If the truth were to be known, I was so mad, I was on the verge of tears, not from my friends but from the absurdity of it all and the insistence of those waiters. I was truly embarrassed but was not going to pay for more water than I ordered. So we all learned a lesson. Ask how much the water is before you order it.

Jim felt so bad for me that he bought me an ice cream sundae and when we got back to the hotel, Willma informed me we aren't supposed to eat ice cream while in China. Oh, well. What can I say? Just another adventure.

We are crammed in, three to a room that should only be for two, so that added insult to injury. Hardly room to turn around and nowhere to hang out laundry to dry. We'll survive but it is a pain.

The day started out with a requested 4:45AM wake up call. We had to load bags at 6AM but breakfast at 5:30AM and I had three people's bags to get downstairs. I took them on the way to breakfast to avoid the elevator crunch. We loaded, or I should say the Chinese loaded, our bags on four small panel trucks. No order or neatness. Just threw them in until they had a big pile, shut the door, and started on the next one.

We couldn't figure if the trucks couldn't hold the weight of neatly stacked bags or if that's just the way they do it. We could have put twice as many in each truck, given the opportunity to stack them ourselves. We had to load the busses at 6:30AM to get to the ferry and check in with our bags again. Remember about 40 people went off route and left their bags with various others. So now several of us are lugging bags for two or three people. Makes it really interesting to be sure.

We work in teams of three and four at times like today when we had to walk around a corner 200 plus feet to an elevator, then up two floors and down another 400 foot hall. When you have to make two or three trips, you don't want to leave bags unattended so we station ourselves on both ends and work the middle. It is still hard when 200 people are milling about and you aren't really sure where to go.

I slept well in spite of the rock hard bed but woke up with a nervous tummy. First time back on a bike in way over two weeks. As it was, I forgot my rear view mirror today and felt naked without it. I had changed both tires and one innertube last night and was hoping one wouldn't be flat this morning. I lucked out.

I had to load my bags and two other bags plus take care of a wheel and no one knew much first thing this morning. I took care of everything, I thought, and was being pressured to hurry and ride off with Ed, Willma, and Dr. Sharon. About 10 km down the road, I realized I hadn't loaded the off route bikes so had to call back and let someone know.

As we rode through town, a bicyclist with freshly plucked ducks rode by. Several with big baskets of this and that. It is amazing what they can carry on a bike. Many bikes look like huge tricycles with a cart over the rear wheels. We got out of town quickly, being a small town. But bicycle traffic was heavy.

Last night's accommodations left a lot to be desired. Our bedding smelled really bad so I used my silk liner. At midnight, I woke up cold and got up and put on a long sleeved shirt and my wind pants. That worked until about 3AM. By then, I was somewhat desperate and pulled the covers up to my knees. It smelled so bad I couldn't even sleep so I kicked them off, and tossed and turned the rest of the night. I just could not get warm. The bed was nothing more than a piece of plywood with a thin blanket on it. I had my Crazy Creek chair with me so I lay on it and felt fine other than being cold.

Breakfast was poor, in my eyes. I just couldn't make myself eat anything more than the rice. I rode with Denise today. I was worried about keeping up with her but she rode my pace and we had an enjoyable day. We stopped and took lots of pictures of rice fields in the morning and limestone karst formations in the afternoon.

Also, got some pictures of the vehicles sharing the road. Not only do we have the trucks of every size and shape, but an occasional new model 4-wheel drive or fancy big car. Then there are hundreds of bicycles, really old single speeds hauling all kinds of wares from cartons of animals to lumber to baskets of fruit and vegetables to cardboard that looked like it was being hauled off to be recycled. I'm amazed at the size of their cargo as well as the weight. Makes me want to see what I can strap on my bike when I get home.

Our beds were interesting last night. They had a plastic covering over the mattress and every time someone would move or turn over, it would make a lot of noise. Denise had a fitful sleep and tossed and turned most of the night. It was really quite funny.

Breakfast was less than desirable. I tried to eat the rice soup and it just didn't settle well. I couldn't make myself eat anything other than the fried rice and then I still didn't feel good. So I left partially hungry with Denise and Young Dave who had a bad knee and we lollygagged along today. We stopped more today than any of us remembers.

So many new things to take pictures of. The scenery was spectacular. More limestone karsts and rural traditions. We saw every imaginable vehicle possible. I'm still fascinated by the 'rototiller truck.' I hope my pictures come out well because it is really hard to describe what these people do. There were times today that there were more miscellaneous homemade vehicles on the road than there were regular vehicles. Fascinating.

And everyone going somewhere with loads of stuff, from bricks, weeds, dirt, sand, produce, and people. Yes, they haul people in the back ends of trucks, carts, wagons, on bikes, you name it. I hand it to the Chinese, they seem to be innovative with their transportation needs.

We passed a local hospital today which was a brick building in really bad shape. No door on the front (most buildings here so far have a wide open entrance in the front). It had a red cross on the side of the building and you could see the stethoscope hanging on the wall inside. Sure hope I don't need any health care services here. Yuk!

Our hotel tonight is down a grade or two from last night. Back to the hole in the floor where sink and shower all runs into the hole. Beds smell OK and the room seems to be clean.

We are staying in a real tourist town tonight. Even saw other folks like us walking the street. Internet cafés and camera shops everywhere, neither of which we've seen since we left Hong Kong. In fact, this is the first time since then I could get a phone to work.

I was walking the street just checking out things and found a little store that sold Oreos and M&M peanuts. So I won't starve after all. I'm stocking up before we leave this town because the last three days have been really slim as far as food to eat (in my opinion).

Tonight for dinner, we had a western barbecue. That means you get to cook your own meat on skewers. Took forever but was pretty good once we figured out how to cook the meat without burning our wooden skewers.

It has been really nice to have three short days in a row with so much to see. We've been able to stop and not feel rushed. This is the way I think 90% of the riders thought this trip would be, even though we knew we were to average 80 miles a day. We just thought we'd have more relaxing 80 mile days rather than killer 80 mile days.

We're happy and loving China so far.

Mileage: 71.6 / 8,107.4 (Today / Cumulative) [KM: 115.2 / 13,047.6]
Elevation gain: 1,500 ft

Woke up to a running water sound early in the morning and couldn't figure out what it was. When we got up, it was raining and the running water was from the Chinese gutters overflowing every now and then.

We are scattered throughout the town in three hotels so we had to walk to breakfast at the main hotel. I was soaked when I got there. Decided to find an internet café and park for awhile. Just as I was finishing, it rained hard and for a long time. Water was running down the streets in rivers. So I stayed for a while longer, then just decided to head back to my hotel. I bought an umbrella so I wouldn't be thoroughly drenched again since I had just dried out.