Day 17 #B.E. Zuo Gong - Ranwu Lake : It's 1°C, I See Snow Capped Mountains and Skidding Off Tibet's Famous 99 Mountain Corners, My First Fall

There are some things in this world money can't buy, you'll find out why.

So I woke up, still feeling worried.

It was 10:00am, no news.
Then 11:00am, still no news.

By right, we would usually move off around 8:00am every morning but today was different as I didn't have the Alien Permit.

Keeping warm in my RS Taichi Heat Tech inner wear

Finally at 12 noon, my Tibet guide appears with good news that after explaining to the respective government department for hours, I'm allowed to have my Alien Permit applied and processed via fax, so we're good to go now.

PHEW.

MY film crew

Due to the delay causing us to move off late, I've got to save time by trying not to take too many stops for photo taking and having quick meals so we won't get to Ranwu Lake late.

For those who have been wondering how I've been taking all my photos myself, HERE YOU GO! :)

THIS is my camera crew! 
From the HTC Re Camera, HTC Desire Eye, HTC Butterfly II, to my Canon S100 digital camera, my Drift Action cam, selfie stick and tripod. With these, you could take some cool shots yourself too! 

Other than that, visitors at scenic spots are more than happy to help me take a photo or two too. 

All the high passes on National Road G318

If you look at the graph, they consist of ascends and descends, which is pretty much what my route is like as it allows proper acclimatization. 

LOL look at my sian face. Upon leaving Zuo Gong, there was almost 20KM worth of off road because the road was under construction. It was bumpy, and really dusty. I gave up the thought of washing my outer gears tonight because I know they’re gonna get dirty again.

My inner wear clean can already hahaha.

Look at all that window border details

Not only is it much safer traveling in the day, you get to see more too! One by one, I was admiring the detailed design of every house I passed by. It's done so meticulously, from the windows to the doors.

What a pity, their houses get stained really easily due to the heavy excess amount of mud and when it rains, it just colors everything brown.

Some houses are left in rubble, in poor ground conditions.

Behind every detail of Tibetan houses lies a meaning. Some are derived from culture and belief, some are tradition, which makes them so interesting.

Tibetan motorcyles

Wow, look at all that load! 
Who needs a motorcycle box when all you need to do is just stack one thing after another?

Back in Thailand

To think the load I had strapped onto my bike previously was a lot.. Haha.
No Rok Straps or whatever, Tibetans just use strings and ropes to tie their things down and they're good to go! Impressive..

Out of the villages and into the valleys I rode, from tarmac roads to off roads.
Until my tripod couldn't take the bumps plus it has been so heavily used, it got loose.

Using a rock to support the head of my tripod to capture a shot

I'd say traveling alone gets you creative! Haha whatever that works, to get that shot :)

Arrived at Bangda Square, a very small town to grab a quick lunch. Ack, so much greens againnn.

Highest peak for today at 4,658m

Having a too full lunch sometimes isn't good because I become all lethargic and sleepy, not good for riding. Luckily today's lunch was too filled with greens I didn't eat much haha and my energy level maintained.

Ascended to Ye La Mountain at 4,658m altitude, the highest climb for today.

Now to descend, I'll be going by Tibet's Famous 99 Mountain Bends, a dangerous downhill spiral warned by my Tibetan guide.

You know they say, "The fun isn't around the corner, it's AT the corner!"

When I looked down, there it was.

99 bends indeed. 

Intimidating indeed. 

The sign stated 72 bends but Tibetans call it The Famous 99 Bends

Since Laos, I’ve lost count of how many sharp bends and hair pin corners I’ve rode through. Easily 700km worth, or more, which was fun at the beginning but it is now exhausting.

And it’s not like the mountain is yours. You’ve got to constantly look out for oncoming vehicles and invisible pot holes.

Anyway, told myself I've got to be careful on this one. So off I went, going slow and steady. Halfway through, I was negotiating this really tight hairpin bend when I saw tiny bits of stones scattered around. 

"Oh shit" 

And I tapped on my rear brakes a bit too hard, next thing you know, my rear washed out, both my bike and I went down. 

 

Off we went, sliding.. across over to the opposite lane before hitting the barricade, coming to a stop.

Among many of the bends that didn't have a barricade, this one did. If it didn't, my bike and I would slide off and down the cliff.

PHEW.

Luckily, there weren't any vehicles behind me or coming from the opposite direction too, otherwise I might become.. Tibet roti prata.

This is where the importance of being in full riding gear with armour comes in, and super thanks to my fully armoured RS Taichi Drymaster gears from Hodaka Motoworld, I got away completely unscathed. Not one bit injured nor bruised. Just a scratched and dirty jacket.

I was alone, and I knew I had to quickly get myself and my bike off the road. First thing I did was.. to take out my camera and capture this moment hahaha.

HOW PRACTICAL. 

LOL.

See, the amount of effort I put in to bring you as much footage of my journey as possible! Hahaha. 

I hurriedly went back to my bike.

I straightened my handlebar before using all my might to pick up my bike. The air here was thinner so I kept telling myself to calm down and control my breathing. Otherwise my chest would get too tight and deprive myself of oxygen.

My back...

My guide and his driver wasn’t around. In fact, they usually aren’t because bikers would go first. The guide will tell you the destination of the day, where are the check points to stop, and off you go!
So I’m pretty much on my own still.

Bike’s back up!

My guide arrived at the scene 20 minutes later, when my bike and I were already by the side so he thought I was taking photos of the scenery. Haha.

Watch the video here on my instagram @vaunephan !

The road is wide and we are free. Let's not stop riding.

The ride continues!! :D

As I rode through villages and mountains, I realized the locals here walk a lot. They either ride a motorcycle to get to places, or they just walk. No offense but I think the distance they cover easily beats our Standard Charted 42.5KM marathon run hahaha.

Isn't the scenery beautiful? Blue skies, mountains, river.
Thanks to my HTC Re Camera, I took this on the go without even having to stop, which saves me time!

The small rivers leading to Ranwu Lake

Speed limitations here are strictly imposed and the police would know if you're going too fast or too slow based on your departure and arrival time from check point to check point.

So I always have to make sure I'm in the stipulated time frame of arrival.

Just cleared the police check point here, entering into Nyingchi Prefecture where Rawu town was was.

Part of Ranwu Lake

Currently at an altitude of 3,800m, Rawu is a small town almost in its original Tibet condition, known for snow-capped mountains and dense forests.

There you go, snow capped mountains :)

The sun was starting to set, and I could feel temperatures dropping to about 6 degrees now before three beautiful snow capped mountains slowly revealed themselves as I was riding. By then, I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. It was numb from the cold and the wind.

There are some things in this world money can't buy, and this is one of it:

As I put on my helmet and jacket to shield from the wind, this little girl ran up to me excitedly, tugged my jacket in one hand, and another hand stretched forth, wanting to give me her freshly picked vegetables. 

She was so adorable. I tried speaking to her in Mandarin, asking her where's her mommy and her house so I could take her home safely. Though she didn't quite understand,  she just kept smiling at me.

We ended up just standing there, watching the sun set behind the snow capped mountains together.

 
It's definitely not just about the destination, it's about the journey.

Life's little blessings.
Hope she grows up to become a biker chick too! ;p

 
I was racing against nightfall, hoping to reach Rawu main town where I'd be staying overnight at before it becomes completely dark on the roads. 

Halfway through, I passed by an area filled with many tents. Curious, I asked my guide if these people were camping here for the night. He told me that they're residents here! 

These tents are actually homes to the locals here! OMG, it's like really cold! How do they survive without heated beds, hot showers (I don't see no toilets here) or a fireplace? 

My guide told me that they're used to the living conditions here. They don't shower much as the weather is almost always cold, at most they'd wash up by the river. 

Okay man. Salute. 
I'm heading for my hot shower at the hotel now because it's ONE DEGREES AND IT'S FREEZING!
The wind while riding isn't helpinggg.

Blacked out town

Well waddaya knowwww! 

It's a small town here and electricity that runs this town comes from a nearby dam. The dam is interrupted and the whole town blacks out. Just like that. 

There goes my hot shower. Or so I thought.
Thankfully hotels have generator on standby in case of such black outs so it keeps some basic electricity running.

As long as I've got my hot shower to thaw my shivering body!
Goodnight.







[Singapore.Malaysia.Thailand.Laos.China.Tibet]
[Mileage Clocked: 5,702KM]
[Weather/Temperature: Sunny/12°C/Night 1°C]
[Altitude: 4,658m]
[Terrain: Mountain Roads/Tarmac/Potholes]

Next: Pomi, Tibet