November 3rd
126km (1,260m vertical)
Dull day of cycling. Nothing looked scenic surrounded by smog. It was bad. We arrived at the hotel covered with a gritty, oily black film. (I wonder how much of this stuff is settling in my lungs.) I suspect that pollution is also a main reason that locals spit so often in public. (The other being the prevalence of chain-smoking.) It is disgusting. They even spit indoors...like while sitting at an internet cafe. They spit right onto the floor beside them...and beside me.
Traffic is also getting crazier. In effect, there are no traffic rules: locals drive the wrong way down streets, ignore traffic lights, and turn without checking for oncoming traffic! (They assume priority from the right...even when turning onto a main road from a small alley.) In response, truck drivers preemptively blast their air-horns for fear of being cut-off. With the constant honking, I'm sure to suffer long term hearing loss in my left ear.
I always assumed that communist countries would have larger police presences and more orderly traffic. We see a lot of police officers sitting at the side of the road each day, but none of them seem bothered by the traffic chaos around them.
A creative Chinese retail concept:
Statue of Mao against a backdrop of industrial progress:
The pollution leaves me disgustingly dirty at the end of a ride:
1 comment:
Longo!! You look skinny!!! Eat more yummy Chinese food!!!!! Or is it too spicy for you? ;)
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