The night sleep did nothing for the flu that was starting to manifest from the previous day. The 60 km into Hami were a bit of a struggle. The Bogota mountains rose up sharply in the north to take my breath away with jagged peaks clad in snow complete with glaciers and the like. The weather was bitterly cold however and my sinuses were not coping with the dry air.

Limping into Hami after the 60km ride, which felt more like 600km, finding a hotel became an arduous task and finally settled for a 3 star place at 150 RMB a night (quite a bit over budget). A little venture around the town later i settled in for the night to hopefully, miraculously, shake off the plaguing flu.