Day 13: With headwind from Penglai to Yantai

Distance: 79 km Travel time: 04:23 In motion: 7 hrs.

We hardly meet any other bike packers. Once we wave to a girl who is riding a fully packed touring bike, and another time we see a couple where the man has piled all of his luggage onto his bike...

Day 13 : We cover the first half of the route on empty, multi-lane roads without trucks or cars. Gentle hills offer us sweeping views of the coast, but the wind is not kind to us and vehemently opposes our forward movement. The only advantage: the air feels significantly cooler than today's 34 degrees.

Before the Zhifu District (a district of Yantai) we get closer to the beach and cycle along a varied and wide promenade. There we discover a surf café that also rents out stand-up paddle boards (SUPs). The owner of the café proudly shows us his own windsurfing equipment and wing foil board. It's cool to finally meet a surfer! I'm excited. And if he can surf as well as he makes coffee, then he must be a professional. Because his cappuccino and frappé taste excellent (there is very, very rarely really good coffee here).

Medical care : The medical care for the population in the big cities is of an extremely high standard - at least that is my conclusion from my own experience: Unfortunately, I have been suffering from toothache since we arrived in China. After I held out for two weeks, Zhaoyang's friend took us to a hospital in Dongying. Using her medical card, she checked me in at a self-service terminal that showed the available specialists and the approximate waiting time for an appointment. There are two dentists on site and the next one is available in 8 minutes.

After an initial examination, the doctor needs an x-ray. To do this, we pay the cost of EUR 8.20 in advance at another self-service terminal and straight away - without waiting - my teeth are immortalized on an x-ray film. Back at the doctor's, we watch as he completes a treatment and debriefing - all in front of an open door, there is no privacy. Next door, the other dentist is treating a patient, also visible to everyone.

It's my turn and after a short procedure it's clear that everything is fine. If my nerve doesn't calm down, the doctor recommends a root canal. That would take 10 days, which we don't have, so I'm left with the alternative of "wait and see" until the tooth (hopefully) calms down. Which luckily it did, about 3 or 4 days ago - what a relief!

Conclusion of the experience: If the health system in China works as efficiently as I experienced it, then "hats off"! Specialists on site, transparent and manageable costs, hardly any waiting times. That's what we want in Germany too...