Read here about my recent 2300 kilometer motorcycle journey which took me to such places as Wudang Shan, where ancient Taoism matured into a strong belief, Xian, home of the Terracotta Warriors, and the Shaolin Temple at Songshan, the birthplace of Kung Fu. Click on the map to enlarge it

I decided to leave Xian in the afternoon after viewing the Terracotta Warriors. I had no idea how long it would take me to reach my next destination and I wanted to get a head start. I knew I would only have 4 or 5 hours to drive before it got dark so I just limited my breaks to dinner and stops for gas. For this leg of the journey, I was heading back East and into Henan Province which borders Hubei Province to the South. I drove for about 6 hours before I finally stopped for the night in a little town called Lin Bao which was just inside of Henan Province. There were no real hotels in the area, but I found a  family who ran a small guest house and welcomed me to stay with them. For about 45 minutes that evening, I sat in the main room and had a simple but informative conversation with the family. The family members consisted of a mom, dad, and two daughters, ages 14 and 17. The fourteen year old was learning English in school and could say a few words but it was up to my knowledge of Chinese to have any intelligible conversation with them. I could tell that they were thrilled to have me and later I learned that I was the first foreigner that they had ever met.

The next morning, I was up at 5:30 and on my motorcycle by 6:00. The mother came out to say goodbye and point me in the right direction. I was feeling good and looking forward to what I hoped would be a shorter day of driving.

I did have my first flat tire today but it couldn't have happened at a better time. I was just pulling to a gas station in the city of Sanmenxia to fill up when I noticed that the front tire was deflated. I pointed this out to the attendant who directed me to a little shack at the side of the gas station were two men were working on an air compressor. At first they ignored me and then one of them eventually pointed to some place in the nearby city. I took off my helmet, told them I was a foreigner, and explained that I really couldn't understand what they were saying. One of them quickly jumped up and began working on my flat tire. He took the tubing out, patched it, and put it back in for me all in about 20 minutes. When I asked him how much I should pay he shook his head and used his hands to tell me that I didn't need to pay anything. I was very thankful for his help. The tire was as good as new.

I stopped in the popular Henan City of Luoyang to have a quick bite to eat. I paid three RMB for a delicious bowl of noodles but I had to endure the stares of about five people who were also eating lunch. It was after I passed through Luoyang that I became very lost. I ended up on a major highway which was a little scary. Motorcyles are not generally allowed on highways and I also found that the highway was taking me in the wrong direction. It was about 15 kilometers to the next exit and I was scared that I had just wasted a lot of time. The attendant at the toll booths confirmed for me that I was not supposed to be on the highway. When I asked him about how to continue to where I was going he just shook his head and made a sweeping motion with his hands. I had no idea what that meant so I hopped on my motorcycle and using my GPS pointed myself in the correct direction. I ended up on a small country road that seemed to be taking me directly to where I needed to go. Imagine my surprise when about 40 minutes later I ended up on National Road 207 and soon found myself driving past the famous Shaolin Temple which was my next destination. Instead of taking 10 hours as my hosts the previous night had suggested, I only spent 8.5 hours driving about 330 kilometers. My little mistake on the highway had actually ended up being a shortcut.

It took me a few hours to find a hotel this evening. I spent some time trying to find a hotel near the Shaolin Temple but after encountering a drunk hotel manager, and at another place having the keys pulled out my ignition to pressure me to stay, I decided to go into nearby Deng Feng where I found a nice place for about ten dollars a night.

The next morning, I entered the area of Songshan National Forest Park and purchased a ticket for about 12 dollars. The main attraction in this park is  Shaolin Temple which is famous for two reasons. The original temple was built at the end of 5th century in honor of  Bodhidharma, an Indian monk who founded Buddhism in China. The temple is considered to be the birthplace of the Chinese form of Buddhism. Secondly, the temple is also known as the birthplace of Kung Fu in China and the area surrounding Songshan is full of Kung Fu training schools.

Trying to make my way to the entrance of the temple was no easy task. There were thousands of tourists and there was also a televised global Kung Fu competition taking place. The interior of the temple was very interesting but I was a little disappointed because every structure had been rebuilt. A war in 1928 had destroyed most of the complex so what I was looking at were actually  clever reproductions. Still there were some ancient relics inside such as a tree with holes in the side made by monks who beat them into the tree with their fingers.

Another interesting site lay farther down the path; the Buddha Pagoda Forest. This fascinating place contains over 200 stone and brick Pagodas that contain the remains of  Buddhist officials througout Chinese history. The dates range from the eight century AD until the 19th century. Even with the thousands of tourists present, it was eerie to be walking in a forest full of dead men who were devoted followers of Buddha.

I spent the rest of the day on top of Shaoshi Peak enjoying the breathtaking scenery . I took a cable car ride both ways this time but I still got a lot of exercise because there was a beautiful path that led to another part of the mountain once I reached the summit. I turned back after I crossed a beautiful hanging bridge that spanned over a frightening drop. This experience can really only be described using pictures.

This evening, I returned to Deng Feng exhausted but happy that I had reached my three intended destinations. I decided to try some of the local foods so I ordered some noodles and a plate of grubs. I ate at one of dozens of tables that were set up every evening in the middle of the street. Hundreds of people ate nearby. At first I had to close my eyes as I popped the grubs in my mouth but the taste wasn't as bad as I had expected and the vegetables that accompanied the dish helped to improve the flavor. After eating, I spent some more time walking around the city and then I headed back to my hotel and fell into bed exhausted.

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