10. June 2026

Good morning from Xichang. Had a good sleep and I’m looking forward to today’s route. Here is what the road book briefing from last night tells me

 Night-Before Brief — Day 11 | Wed 10 June 2026

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 Tomorrow’s Route
Xichang → Meigu (Sichuan, China)
– ️ 167 km | ⏱️ ~3h 46m
– ️ Yi Highlands — rougher asphalt on the remote S307. High elevation terrain, mountain passes.
– ️ Weather: 10–20°C with dense fog in mountain passes. Rain risk moderate.

⛽ Critical
Fuel up at Xichang before departing. Stations are sparse until Zhaojue — the next reliable fill point is 100+ km away. Do not leave on a half tank.

 Hotel Tonight
Xilai yunting hotel (喜来云庭酒店) — Meigu 
Reservation: 1578947199865162 · Confirmation: 1578947199867083 
Cost: $35 USD

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 Dining in Meigu
Meigu County is deep in Yi minority territory — zero restaurants appear on any online platform. This is as remote as it gets in Sichuan. Options:

1. Hotel restaurant — 喜来云庭酒店 almost certainly serves dinner. Safest bet after a long ride.
2. Bapu Town center — Walk toward the main street along 国道 348. Look for small 彝族餐馆 (Yi eateries). Try 坨坨肉 (Yi-style boiled pork chunks), 荞麦粑粑 (buckwheat cakes), or 杆杆酒 (bamboo-tube corn liquor).
3. Ask the hotel desk: “附近哪里有好吃的彝族菜？” Local knowledge is your only guide here.

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 Looking Ahead: Day 12 (Thursday)
Meigu → Leshan | 214 km | ~3h 13m 
– Deep gorges along the G348 Dadu River canyon. 
– Valley heat (30°C). Watch for livestock on the road (pigs/goats common). 
– Hotel: Leshan Zhuyu Hidden Luxury · Mountain View Designer Hotel — a step up in comfort.

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️ Altitude / Diamox
No alert. Still in Sichuan lowlands/valleys — altitude well under 2,500m. First threshold day remains September 1 (Day 94, Pamir approach).

 Diamox count: 37 (decremented from 38)

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 Budget Snapshot
Hotel
• USD: $35.95

Food
• USD: $40

Fuel
• USD: $20.90

**Total**
• USD: $96.83

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Ride safe, Carsten. Fog in the passes — take the S307 slowly. ️

From other descriptions, this must be one of the most remote places I will pass through. Hope it also means less traffic and more time for stops and photo shots.

Seems it will not be a long ride, I will take it slowly.

16:22

Arrived in Meigu on good roads through impressive landscapes. This is clearly an off the beaten route and location and route, far away from the big towns. People are very friendly and the majority are part of the minority population here, wearing the rich traditional costumes every day. Open markets are everywhere and like in many other places, local produce is sold along the roads every here and then. Looking at the people and way of life,it does not make me feel I’m too far away from Thailand. In fact, at the petrol station along the road, the cashier spoke some Thai with me. I was really surprised. I should have asked her where she learned it.

The weather is pleasant, even when it is cloudy, spanning from 12°C on the high plateaus (3,200 m) to 24°C here in Meigu in the afternoon.

I will check, what there is to explore here and will have dinner at the hotel, which seems to be a safe choice. For breakfast I need to find something along the road tomorrow.

Time to take a shower

I think this will be an interesting dinner, ended up next door at a local BBQ place

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This was a great dinner experience. I went to the BBQ next door and the owner came and sat with me. Helped me with ordering everything. He spoke a bit of English and was very interested in the trip, about life in Thailand and we discussed even the problems with Chinese scam syndicates in South East Asia and how those countries ate seen as dangerous now by most Chinese, due to the many abductions of Chinese tourists who disappeared in the scam centres and has been forced to the scams. Sadly, it is true, that some tourists, including known actors and influencers have been kidnapped and brought over the border to work in the centers, just behind the borders. We had a good chat, agreed on many things and these are those moments where you know humankind in general is good and follows morals.

Went to bed early, as he also confirmed it is a long day on the national roads to Lishan.