D0: 海口 → 徐闻

May 16, 2023

First appearance of the new version of The Form

I'm slightly miffed that the fellow I thought I was having lunch with canceled on me as I could have made plans with other people. However, on account of my not responding to the preceding day's 10 am lunch invitation until gone past 1:30 pm, I deserve it.

Everything is packed. As I don't see any reason to waste electricity when I'm sure there's nothing of value I want to store, my refrigerator and freezer have been emptied of things like "when did I buy a pineapple," "a large brick of brown sugar given as a gift in 2020," and "I think these were once strawberries."

Then, I'm off to the offices of Large Media Client for a face-to-face meeting on a variety of topics, including the reminder that my being on a bike trip won't affect my ability to work and a long discussion about the Department That Shall Not Be Named (Voldemort-style) and how I don't really care about the length of time a trustworthy State Owned Enterprise takes to pay me but I very much do care about the shifting sands of changing procedures and the promise of "real soon now" lasting for two months.

Much fuller than when I came back to Hainan last year

And the not-so-secret VIP lounge with the cold air con, the clean toilets, and the all you can drink tea is OPEN again

This means that when I arrive at the 6 pm Final Farewell Dinner at the Russian BBQ in the housing complex that used to be the container port, I've done nearly 20km instead of my expected 12, and I've had to deal with traffic and whooof am I feeling how much weight is in my panniers¹.

Last time I was here (which was also the first time I was here), I had been drunkenly talking about Social Media and influencer-type bollocks with one of the other people at the table and how making a popular video doesn't necessarily require good equipment or professional editing.

It currently has 47,500 views on WeChat Channels and 161,000 on Douyin.

One free bottle of vodka later....which, okay, did get split between 8 people, I'm feeling like maybe I should have hydrated more before hitting the sauce and, as the gently throbbing headache doesn't seem to be subsiding, I call it a night and head to the ferry port.

If I'd realized that making a successful video was going to result in free vodka, I'm not sure I'd have made the video

It turns out that this port now runs a boat once an hour, 23 times a day, and my timing is perfect for getting on the last boat of the evening with hardly any wait at all. Also, despite (or perhaps because) it being late at night, the expected hassle of my not having a Chinese name or a Chinese ID card is non-existent. Of course, I speak Chinese, I've done this before, and the newest version of The Form makes an appearance, so I imagine it might not be so easy for some other foreigner².

I'm thinking that the Airbnb studio apartment, which looks like the best price/quality ratio, will give me trouble (on account of Foreigner) and, instead, attempt to book in at a nationwide chain, maybe another kilometer down the road. Still, the OTA won't let me (on account of the English letters in my name), so I give it a go, and it's smooth as silk with an electronic passcode, and no one so much as talking to me on my way in.

It also had a kitchen and a washing machine!

¹ While the off-bike clothing and the extra shoes account for a considerable chunk of this, the "presumed difficult to resupply" foodstuffs are the main culprit.

² On the other hand, being completely helpless can lead to people going out of their way to help you in ways that being Competent doesn't get.

Today's ride: 24 km (15 miles)
Total: 150 km (93 miles)

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