They also insisted I should stay overnight as it was impossible to reach the next town on the bike - how will I do the 350k the next day? Anyway, it was 17 so despite the now pleasant northern breeze I followed (6 of) them to the only hotel for foreigners where it took an hour for them to registrer me. USD 12 for a basic room, hard bed, disgusting common toilets and not even a common shower - by far the most expensive place i have stayed in China and one of the worst - monopoly at its worst. I stocked up and spent the evening updating my blog - at least the internet was decent....