I’d absolutely no idea where I was. Or at least what the small town was called. Other than being about twelve miles short of my intended stop at Dingxi. But, after a bit of hunting around, I’d managed to find a room for the night for about four pounds. With an en suite squat toilet. Very clean.
My cunning plan to use the Expressway to sprint down to Dingxi in the remaining daylight had been thwarted by an observant toll booth official. She’d spotted me tucked close in to a slow moving lorry as I’d sought to sneak past. Not to evade payment, there being no tariff for a bicycle, but to avoid being refused entry.
That had been the decider. I’d have to spend the night here. Wherever here was. Too late now to attempt the slower highway to Dingxi. Besides, it was time to reflect on progress, the ever shortening days, the road ahead. And the timeline to Hong Kong.
[Author’s note: And still no idea where I’d stopped for the night – not on my map, nor is there any discernable name to be found on Google Earth!]
