Lost in Guangxi ~ The broken spoke diaries

[Suprsignet]

Thursday, April 10

We set off at 10am on Thursday morning determined to make it to Guangxi's own monkey mountain. We had been planning the trip for quite sometime but the weather had never seemed to co-operate with our desires and we had been forced to delay repeatedly. Traveling on a motorcycle is always fun, but it always a lot more fun when the weather is good and the sun is shining.

Earlier in the year during the Chinese New Year break from school we had thought of doing a similar trip on our now old and abused 48cc bike. The weather at that time had been the worst this province had seen in 50 years and the thought of riding two up with all of our gear through mountains and cold weather spured the desire for a new bike and the idea that maybe waiting out the cod weather was the best possible plan at that time.


The new bike had arrived and had been broken in with little trouble. Confidence was high for the bike's first real trip out into the world. We had be studying the weather reports for sometime trying to pick the most ideal time to ride. The wife had never been out on any type of road trip before and in the interest of future support for wild and crazy adventures the first trip should always be the smoothest. With the notice of a couple of clear days ahead we pack up the soft bags with enough underwear and socks for an over night trip.

[Suprsignet]

The morning was warm and nice. This was the type of weather we had been waiting for.

Our route was planned to take us through Nanning, to the monkey mountain, down to a Daxin, then back through Chongzuo, Shangse, Dazhi and home. All of this was about 600km round trip and seemed like a perfect start to our touring relationship.

Ever since the new bike had arrived, the wife had been dying to get out on the road. She had also on several occasions hinted at the want for her own two wheels to ride along with me. As a man who loves to ride I thought to myself that this might be the trip that seals the deal and starts a new chapter in our relationship.

The ride north was comfortable whit the ocasional stop to snap some pics of some plane jane Chinese pesent villages. Most people can only imagine to themselves and try to deduce from what media coverage they have about what life in China must be like for most people. As a foriegner living here I am often awstruck at what people make by with and how much they can enjoy their lives. All talk of govrenment and politics aside I can't help thinking how content so many people are with a simple life.



While these ideals hold true for some there is always the dream for something better and something lacking in most people's lives. I talked to a few people walking down the steps fom the road into the village and they said life there was nice but they longed for the new big Chinese wants for themselves and their kids. The few I did tak to seemed more interested in my bike than actually talking about their lives in the village. What I did manage to squeeze from one of them is he liked his life close to his family, but wanted to move to a big city like Nanning, buy an apartment and get a nice big T.V.

[Suprsignet]

Continued at http://www.mychinamoto.com

Come have a read for monkies, mountains and really big chopsticks.

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7

[Dragon]

Looks like Chinariders has got competition. Where are the monkeys?

[Suprsignet]

The monkies are just outside of Nanning, in Guangxi, China. It's a nice park, but is a litte exoensive for most of the locals and the monkies are everywhere.

[katoranger]

Nice looking site, but I only have enough time for one forum.

I guess CrazyCarl couldn't stand not having any pizazz. He did a nice job with the design and great pics.

Allen