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I’m being followed by an unmarked white van in China🇨🇳 |S8, EP155
China Motorbike Ride: Bad Weather, Giant Drones, White Van
In this episode, I get chased by some very bad weather for a while, see the biggest drones I've ever seen, and then I'm being followed around by a white van. Another day in China.
International Paperback edition = NOT signed
Here I teach all my filming techniques including getting drone shots...
In this episode, I get chased by some very bad weather for a while, see the biggest drones I've ever seen, and then I'm being followed around by a white van. Another day in China.
Bad weather stalks the road, colossal drones fill the sky, and then there's the white van that just won't go away. In this China episode, the adventure takes an unsettling turn as an unmarked vehicle shadows the ride through yet another day of surprises. With storms closing in and the biggest drones ever seen buzzing overhead, every mile is a mix of awe, tension, and pure travel unpredictability.
In this episode, I get chased by some very bad weather for a while, see the biggest drones I've ever seen, and then I'm being followed around by a white van. Another day in China.
In the small mountain town of Arxan, close to the Mongolia border, Itchy Boots wakes to a wet, grey morning and sets her sights on Harbin. The previous day's rain had already taught her what Chinese roads can turn into, so she is wary but excited. With about 350 kilometers ahead, she and her companions, Bing and Xiao Yue, fill up the tank because there are no petrol stations along the way. Xiao Yue even secures ferry tickets for later, a small moment that shows the teamwork behind this solo-looking adventure. The sun comes out as she crosses train tracks, passing flowering fields and empty roads, and for a while it feels less like China, more like Canada or Alaska.
Then the weather turns. A dark rain front begins chasing her across the landscape, so she keeps riding hard to stay ahead of it. Along the way she spots snow still lying on the ground in the middle of summer, a reminder that this remote corner of China is tougher and wilder than it looks. At one point she passes a man on a bicycle who is somehow keeping up, and then she sees the biggest drone she has ever encountered—one of those enormous crop-spraying machines. It is a startling sight, a piece of modern China dropped into all that emptiness.
The tablet on her bike starts glitching again in the damp air, just like it once did in Angola, but she pushes on. The storm keeps following, yet she refuses to be caught. After passing through the small town of Suiling, she realizes something else: an unmarked white van has been trailing her. Every time she speeds up, it speeds up. When she slows down, it slows down. It stays right behind her through overtakes and corners, and the tension is impossible to ignore.
She decides it is time to shake it and suddenly turns off the main road. Relief comes quickly as the van disappears, and she rolls into Jalaid, where a replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the middle of a Chinese town—something she jokingly calls the 'Temu version.' The rain finally catches up just as she reaches the hotel, but she is already inside, safe and dry.
Not ready to call it a day, Itchy Boots heads out to find a gym. The first place looks completely abandoned, a huge hall with cycling bikes and table tennis, but no real fitness equipment. A second search leads her to the Minkshi Fitness Club, which turns out to be part gym, part pool hall. Inside, the locals wave her in, skip the Alipay payment, and hand her water. She gets in a surprisingly good workout, then meets Bing and Xiao Yue for dinner. It is a small, unplanned glimpse of everyday Chinese life, and exactly the kind of authentic moment that makes traveling by motorcycle so rewarding.
In this episode, Itchy Boots dodges rain, giant drones, and a mysterious white van as she rides 350 kilometers through China's flower-filled backcountry. From Arctic-like roads and summer snow to a bizarre gym encounter that turns into a free workout, her journey to Jalaid is packed with everyday surprises.
Itchy Boots rides through China's quiet backroads, outruns storms and a white van, then finds an unexpected free workout in a small-town gym.
China Motorbike Ride: Storms, White Van, Small-Town Gym
2:47 Before leaving Arxan, fill up your tank even if you think you have enough. There would be no petrol stations along the 350-kilometer route, so starting with a full tank saved her from running dry in the middle of nowhere.
4:00 Seek out quiet backroads in northern China. The route from Arxan toward Jalaid was nearly empty, with wildflowers and rolling hills, and riding there felt more like Canada or Alaska than the busy China many people expect.
5:42 When you see a rain front on the horizon, don't delay. She stopped to pull on her rain jacket before the downpour and then kept moving to stay ahead of the storm, because once it catches you, it can chase you for hours.
9:12 Keep your GPS tablet in a waterproof case during wet rides. Moisture made her tablet glitch with strange colors and stripes, a problem she'd also experienced before in Angola.
13:25 If you feel like you're being followed by a vehicle, don't panic. Try slowing down, letting other cars pass, and then taking a sudden turn off the main road. That's how she lost the white van that had stayed behind her.
16:28 Make sure you have Alipay set up when traveling in China. Many places, including small-town gyms, don't accept foreign card payments, and without Alipay you might not be able to pay for everyday services.
18:50 Don't judge a Chinese small-town gym by its entrance. The fitness club looked half abandoned and doubled as a pool hall, but inside she got a great workout, was let in for free, and was even given water.
2:47 Before leaving Arxan, fill up your tank even if you think you have enough. There would be no petrol stations along the 350-kilometer route, so starting with a full tank saved her from running dry in the middle of nowhere.
4:00 Seek out quiet backroads in northern China. The route from Arxan toward Jalaid was nearly empty, with wildflowers and rolling hills, and riding there felt more like Canada or Alaska than the busy China many people expect.
5:42 When you see a rain front on the horizon, don't delay. She stopped to pull on her rain jacket before the downpour and then kept moving to stay ahead of the storm, because once it catches you, it can chase you for hours.
9:12 Keep your GPS tablet in a waterproof case during wet rides. Moisture made her tablet glitch with strange colors and stripes, a problem she'd also experienced before in Angola.
13:25 If you feel like you're being followed by a vehicle, don't panic. Try slowing down, letting other cars pass, and then taking a sudden turn off the main road. That's how she lost the white van that had stayed behind her.
16:28 Make sure you have Alipay set up when traveling in China. Many places, including small-town gyms, don't accept foreign card payments, and without Alipay you might not be able to pay for everyday services.
18:50 Don't judge a Chinese small-town gym by its entrance. The fitness club looked half abandoned and doubled as a pool hall, but inside she got a great workout, was let in for free, and was even given water.
0:00 White van follows behind
0:36 Morning departure from Arxan
5:19 Riding through quiet backroads
11:00 Giant drone spraying crops
13:25 White van still following
14:32 Losing the white van
15:38 Rain catches up in Jalaid
18:50 Free workout at local gym
0:00 White van follows behind
0:36 Morning departure from Arxan
5:19 Riding through quiet backroads
11:00 Giant drone spraying crops
13:25 White van still following
14:32 Losing the white van
15:38 Rain catches up in Jalaid
18:50 Free workout at local gym
round the world on motorbikemotorbike travellersolo female travelleradventure rideroffroad motorcycleitchy bootsyamaha tenereyamaha xt600xt600zvintage motorcycle1987 yamaha tenerearound the worldmotorcycling chinatravel in chinaWhat was the white van following you?
A white van stayed behind me for a long time, matching my speed whenever I sped up or slowed down. I managed to lose it by suddenly turning off the main road and it didn't follow.
Why did you stop in Jalaid?
Harbin was too far to reach in one day from Arxan. Jalaid was the halfway point, and after riding through rain and being chased by a white van, I was happy to get there and rest.
How was the gym in the small town?
It looked half abandoned from the outside and doubled as a pool hall, but inside the locals were friendly. They let me in for free and even gave me water, and I had a really good workout.
What did you do about the ferry ticket?
My friend Xiao Yue helped me with that. We couldn't book online using my passport copy, so the manager secured one ticket for me and another for my bike.
