Slept in this morning after waking up to the excruitaing pain in my legs. Today however would be a relatively short ride, only 100km, to the border of Gansu/Xinjiang. I can't write much about this section as all there was to see was sand, a few rocks and sand. Highlight of the day came when suddenly i came across a heard of camels crossing the road. This would end up being a common occurance in the days ahead. Never thought there were so many wild camels out there. Must be decdendants of the silk road trading camels of yesteryear.

The stopping point for today would be a town called XingXingJia. It's lovely name is actually deception pointing to the exact opposite of what the town is really like. Having heard previously of the trouble brewing in the Xingjiang province i didn't expect to see it so soon. After passing over the border only minutes before i suddenly witnessed a massive barney (big scuffle) between a truck driver (seated in his truck and trying to get away) and about 10 other Chinese blokes whom were all throwing stones at the truck and not letting the driver pass, eventually the gang of mischevious truckies managed to pull the driver out of the truck and start beating him on the ground. Agast, i couldn't help but notice a policeman, fully clad in his police gear, witnessing the whole thing, but lookiong on with blank recognition, half in conversation with his mate next to him.

After a bite to eat, didnt bother sticking around, checked into a dormatory, bargained like a champion, before setting in for a nice sleep. Unfortunately this would be my last healthy night sleep for a while...