D7: 那大 → 白沙

January 16, 2025

When using someone else's tables and chairs during an Emergency Work Break, one should always buy something; even if it ends up tasting terrible

After originally booking my café tandian for 3pm the day before, I rapidly realized that not only was it impossible for me to both make it there by that time and get to have an enjoyable day of riding, it would also be too late in the day to see if either of the two coffees that were included in the offer were any good.

So, I messaged them, both in the "organizing influencers work group" for this package, and privately.

They did not respond.

Although it's apparently something which most content creators learn about or start getting invited to do with only a few thousand followers, I only got my first through the app invitation to tandian the second week in December.

Housing for the Dan County¹ Agriculture Bureau

They've got enough motorcycles in this city that they've put motorcycle and ebike waiting boxes at the intersections, so that the squishy more responsive traffic is out of the c way by the time the cars start moving

Since that time I've used tandian to get a free ginger scalp treatment, an hour of ordinary massage, two separate oil massages (one one hour, one ninety minute), a TENS therapy massage, the worst donkeyburger I've ever eaten, some pretty good Korean fried chicken, the conceptually horrifying but actually delicious "sushi taco," a cocktail set at an outdoor bar, eyelash extensions, a free dye job that wasn't worth what I didn't pay for it, and a manicure with nail extensions that I quickly had redone by a proper lacquerista.

So, even though I've not had a huge number of sales through my affiliate links, I'm no longer completely wet-behind-the-ears ignorant of how tandian is supposed to be done.

Second round simplification for "No parking"

I've heard of a Company Town, but this is a village named "Company"

Including the fact that there is a human review stage when you either accept a tandian invitation or you go to the menu for a region to see what tandians have been posted and express interest.

Which is why I was right angry to arrive at the café and have them say "if our boss isn't here, we can't give you the free meal, can you wait 45 minutes?"

I mean yes, I absolutely am taking the piss by letting it be known in my videos that the only reason I'm at this location at this time is "they offered it to me for free," but the videos I'm making on the topic of "my actual experience as a content creator" are getting both views and sales.

Electric company workers with fascinating shoe attachments

This vicious farm dog wouldn't leave me alone

And it's not like I approached them saying I want a free meal. They offered. They posted "content creators can get a free meal in return for a short video" in a part of the app that isn't accessible to the majority of Douyin users.

So, I walked out.

I thought briefly of going back to the Thai restaurant where I'd had dinner cause I knew that I'd already been influencer enough to have two people in the WeChat groups ask me for the location, and I had reasons for wanting the owner's contact information, but I opted instead for the "not having to talk to anyone" choice of Tastien Chinese Burgers³.

I also bought some packaged snacks at the shop next door

They were intended to be a refill of v the food pannier, but most of them went on to be dinner by the side of the road

I'm guessing neolithic or paleolithic site

Then, having thought long and hard over the road options available to m me while I drank fizzy cold caffeine that was emphatically not coffee, I took the road to Baisha around the north and west sides of Songtao Reservoir because every ride I have to somehow pick something lengthy that's undergoing a twenty kilometer long stretch of massive roadworks.

Since the part of last year's Round the Island that went round the east and south sides of Songtao was my initial introduction to the Sucking Mud Hell that is now the gloriously wonderful Rainforest Tourism Road, I knew that there wouldn't be roadworks that way, but I had been looking at things more in the context of "where to spend the night" and—as it's been a shorter time period since I finished the Big Tour and I'm 20kg lighter than I was when I started last year's Round the Island—my not wanting or needing short days .

At least, unlike last year, it a) hasn't rained recently, and b) I'm on the Tour Bike.

With the exception of a friendly older English speaker who tried very hard to convince me that I didn't need to ride my bicycle, he had a truck and would be happy to drive me, nothing especially interesting happened on the way to Baisha.

Got in to town, booked myself a room at the same nationwide chain hotel I stayed at last year mostly because I knew they had a customer usable washing machine and heat, and not actually because I wanted to see if they would give me trouble at check in⁴. But, yeah, I also wanted to see if they would give me trouble.

Girding my loins for a battle that never happens

The next day I got a message from Exit and Entry that my registration had failed to process

As with the last time I passed a 40 year old topo map that I must have passed a half dozen times before, I swear these were never topo maps

Fortunately/unfortunately for determining whether or not other foreigners will have issues, I'm an Extremely Memorable Experience. So, when the front desk called the manager, although I reserved with my English name and had said nothing more than "I booked online," she referred to me by my Chinese name.

As they then used the phone app which Hainan piloted in April, I can however attest that the authorities in Baisha have made sure that the hotels got training, so my easy check-in it wasn't just because I'm me⁵.

¹ Danzhou has been a city for well over 20 years

Teasing me that the roadworks are ending

² Controlling the population means improving the quality of the people; excellent births, excellent children, excellent education, good for the family, the people, and the nation

³ They're sort of an upmarket version of Wallace but with less of a history of having once been a KFC knockoff.

⁴ Last year, they were the only hotel on the island where I needed to call the police in order to get given my room key

⁵ Unless, of course, you count my input during the programming stage as the reason why "hotel registration" is even an option on the phone app.

A reservoir that would be much prettier if the sun would come out

Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 412 km (256 miles)

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