An
Introduction by Rusty BennanDubbs:
On this adventurous and cultural journey we discovered
five of the greatest wonders of Asia. Two Wonders of ancient China: the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an
and the Great Wall. The Great Wall, at
over 3,000 miles long, is the only man-made monument recognizable from space.
The 22-centuries old fortified city of Xi’an
houses stunning remains of imperial palaces and a life-size army of 10,000
individual terra cotta warriors. A
Wonder: Tibet
is a medieval treasure everyday both naturally, and culturally. A Wonder: at over 11,400 vertical feet, the
shear-rock North Wall of Mt. Everest
is incomprehensibly awesome. A
Wonder: 17th century Kathmandu
with its temples, Hindu gods, palaces, holy cows and modern King.
This motorcycle trip has never been
done…by anyone. There were few tourists
seen. The trip was tough physically on
both men and machines due to mileage, number of days, roads or lack of,
seriously high elevations and a need to keep to a flexible yet firm itinerary
whose goal is to ride to Kathmandu. This was a
big trip, as logistically and physically challenging as any expedition.
The
Ride was exhausting, fascinating, boring, insightful, exciting, and proved
“awakening” for the serendipity it allows between the people and cultures it
touches. Looking like time travelers
with colorful machines and motorcycle protective armor, this ride was spent
most of its time visiting countries where daily lifestyles remain 200 or more
years in the past.
Why
this route? My objective has been to
ride from the capital of China
through the Himalayas to the capital of Nepal. Routes through China
are many, but there are only 4 across Tibet. One route is west to east so that doesn’t
work. Two routes are roughly east to
west and then south but each has very bad road conditions with landslides often
blocking those routes. Using one of
these routes and running into a serious landslide would virtually render the
ride SOL. One route is dependable from
north going south through Golmud to Lhasa. The rest of the China
route is designed to take us past the great cultural treasures of China
yet leads us to Golmud. The route design
is a combination of dependable logistics, my wishes and Zhi Wei’s knowledge.
What is “mai won te”? A Chinese expression meaning; that’s the way
life is going; a shrug of the shoulders; time to read a book and wait; relax
and see what happens.
Tso Ba! Lets Go!
Ó Copyright, Bill Pratt, Mill Creek, WA – March
2001
