Zhangye-Jiayuguan

It has been a solitary 262 kms since Zhangye. The landscape has been amazing. I have been riding a road that is sandwiched between the western reaches of the Gobi to my right

and the Qilian shan to my left.

This left me singing a warped version of Steelers Wheel's Stuck in the Middle for some time...anything to pass the time, on roads like this there's not much in the way of sights to take in.

Aside from being famed for being a corridor between two rather inhospitable landscapes (Hexi/Gansu corridor), this area appears to be the onion capital of China, if not the world...there were onions everywhere (removing some of the stench of the revolting revolting toilets), even the sheep were eating onions. I was a little surprised (but not all that upset) not to get any of this particular local delicacy in my noodles.

Other than that the only thing to break up the monotony of various shades of desert brown were these really bizarre little pink houses. Given that all the other buildings are mud/clay/brick constructions in the same old shade of desert brown I'm not sure what happened here. Maybe the local officianado got a job lot of candy shade pink cheap...

Along the way the towns were less frequent than has been the case to date, and often they were little more than villages with a pool table (they have a lot of outdoor pool tables here) and a shop. However, I have managed to find places to stay, just don't ask about the amenities and don't expect to be able to use ANY of the taps (Justine the hand sanitiser came into its own - thanks!) - why they have basins and taps if there is no running water is beyond me.