A five-hundred-kilometer drive to Yunhe (云和县) today. Very little traffic, the only real ‘traffic jam’ recharging near Jinhua (金华). Following a friend’s advice: “Don’t eat anything at these rest stations, on the road you don’t want an upset stomach (拉肚子).” Famous Jinhua ham (金华火腿) is on sale here too.

We drove to the famous Yunhe Rice Terraces Fields (云和梯田). The Dianping address led us to a cable cart station (120RMB), but it was locked anyway on the last day of the old year. We drive up the mountain ourselves, and arrive at the famous fields, fenced off from view. Pesky!

A ticket is 40 RMB, but there’s nobody and the gate is locked. We untwist some iron wire and go through a hole in the fence, and have the whole place for ourselves.

Ok, not totally alone. Loads of sparrows (麻雀) here. Now that’s a bird with history in China. (Not sure if visible in the photo.)

Now back north. We go without a plan, hoping we find a restaurant or hotel open.

First some fireworks on the way back. I asked if this is an old PCR test booth, but the guy laughs: “No, that’s a few hundred meters further? Do you want a PCR test now? Nobody there.”

We actually find a hotel quickly. The owner answers the phone: “We’re not really open, but I’m here with my family celebrating the New Lunar Year, you can come.”

When we arrive she says: “The chef already had some drinks, but he can still cook for you.”

I usually overthink and worry, plan too much. Always. When going on a hike, I always carry too much water. I stress about battery levels, or think about everything that could wrong. I arrive way too early at the station to catch a train. And when days divert from the plan, I get grumpy. Eva isn’t like that. And it’s true. If you don’t plan and let things unfold, usually everything turns out fine as well.