Yesterday, after visiting Master Zheng, the inheritor of purple bamboo shoot tea, it was already past 8 o’clock in the evening. I found a farmhouse in the mountain for dinner. Three locals came to the table next to me. After asking, I found out that they were all the owners of the nearby B&B. They were busy during the day. Take care of business, only at this point in the evening can I have time to come out and gather with friends.
After chatting with the three bosses for a while, I found out that the main business comes from the reception of retired elderly people who come to Shanghai and surrounding areas to form a group for retirement. The air here is good and the environment is good. The farmhouse charges 80 to 100 yuan a day per person, which is very popular; the original farmhouse was 20 yuan. There was a boss from Shanghai a few years ago. Later, the business was good, and more local people participated in it. As a result, a senior care industry was formed. The government is also supporting it now, and the public facilities are getting better and better.
The three owners talked about that the farmhouse they run is next to a nearby reservoir, and the environment is so good that there are no mosquitoes; it should be the place where we plan to camp tonight.
We found a place that other car friends shared nearby that can be used as a free RV camp on an app called Woyou. Is it actually a parking lot? Of course, secure parking is key.
After having a good dinner and saying goodbye to the three bosses, I came to the free “camp” in the dark, which is actually a free parking lot next to the reservoir, with clean and tidy toilets, very quiet, and the fragrance of mist floating in the air.
I cleaned up the car and the bed with the car door open, set up a desk to write my travel notes for backup, but only one mosquito came in, I don’t know if it was caught by the electronic mosquito trap.
The mountain here is basically 300 meters above sea level. We are halfway up the mountain, and the temperature is less than 27 degrees. It’s just a little humid tonight. Turn on the silent fan and blow it on the lowest setting, so you can fall asleep refreshingly.
I had a good night’s sleep. The next morning, I was woken up by the singing of birds and the old people doing morning exercises. Only then did I realize that this was a training spot. I didn’t expect this, so I had to wake up early.
The place where we parked, accompanied by misty rain and fog in the middle of the mountain, seemed like a fairyland.
In fact, the place where we camped yesterday is such a free parking lot. Many people always ask, where to park the RV? In fact, there are many. It’s best to have a campsite, and it’s okay if you don’t have a parking lot. It’s nothing more than the difference between a star hotel and a guest house. The mood is good and the demand is low. Everywhere is a star hotel.
Looking at the landscape of this pool, parking in a beautiful scenic spot, it is a star camp.
Because the parking roof was raised, our RV became the focus of attention. Fortunately, no one came to wake us up; but once we got up and opened the door, many grandparents gathered around to learn about it and visit it. .
No one is perfect, this is something I never expected, but fortunately, I have a good night’s sleep and am very contented.
More and more people came here, and more buses and minibuses drove up, so we should hurry up and escape. We had planned to boil a pot of purple bamboo shoot tea made by Master Zheng by the side of the reservoir, but we couldn’t take care of it.
I went down the mountain to find a place for locals to eat. I wanted a bowl of noodles and a pot of local tea. I suddenly wanted to be lazy here, so I took out my computer and wrote up my travel notes.
This is the freedom we want, the freedom to do what we want, instead of going out to travel and clock in desperately.
The eldest sister who opened the shop was very honest, she kept refilling the tea, and the people next to us wanted to keep us for lunch, because we had an appointment at the next stop, so let’s leave.
The next stop is Ningguo, which is known as a natural oxygen bar, and the concentration of negative oxygen ions is rare.
Go along G318 and enjoy the greenness of this mountain.
Paul took over the steering wheel here and started his own self-driving trip in China.
G318 Day 2 From Paul
I will never forget our office setup at breakfast this morning. After some dumplings and noodles, Gaven and I, sitting on plastic stools, spent the morning doing some personal admin work on our laptops. The setting was real and raw. Our RV was parked before a paddock and centred in our view. It felt nice to be together and productive. In the afternoon, we drove to our meeting with some Ningbo Government members. It was nice to be received with an official dinner. The time and hospitality shown to us (including the Chinese white wine) was a reminder of how much meaning there is to what Gaven and I are doing – travelling across China interacting and sharing with locals and their cultural specialties and physical environment.
