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Traveling to Qiandao Lake by RV | Road trip Easter 2021 | Day 1

Boondocking, service station in China is the safest place
Boondocking service station in China is the safest place
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Traveling to Qiandao Lake by RV

As usual, we hurriedly packed the car and tried to get on the road as fast as possible. Where is my driver’s license? I still have not found it as I write this blog. I wonder what the penalty in China is for not having your driver’s license with you. Able to rent the RV with wife’s driving license as required. I wonder what she does with it as she never drives here. We did not let this stop us and drove to the shop (if you can call it a shop, check the Easter 2021 Road Trip Day 0 blog). KIA Sorento 2.2CRDi is a big car, but in this case, two adults/ two kids/ and a dog + one week of changing clothes/food + we took our bed sheets, which are taking up a lot of space. Next time we will leave them at home.

KIA was packed full and promptly headed for the road to the rental place. Of course, while driving, our cleaning lady sent a picture of the kids’ luggage in their room waiting to be picked up. This means we need to drive back through Shanghai, an additional 40km on the elevated road back and forth. Hah, what a fantastic start to the day.

Guard dog in RV keeping unwanted quests away.

The kids were ready for the trip, the guard dog included. The kids were excited to head for new adventures and enjoy the road trip. My wife felt more comfortable with the dog, as it would start to growl when someone got too close to the RV.

Read More: Road trip | easter 2021 | qiandao lake lake with the 1000 islands | day 2

Warning for the roads in China

Some words of warning for the highways in China. Try to avoid driving in the dark and when it is raining. We have seen a considerable risk of accidents in these weather conditions, and the highway will be jammed. The evening after dusk with rainfall, there were four accidents within a short distance, the road was blocked for extended periods, and travel time exceeded what we had planned.

Crawling with the RV at 30-40km/h. The white flashing lights are cameras and take pictures of everyone when driving on the road. Not only when you are over-speeding. Very annoying.

Night stay at Tonglu Service Area.

Due to this, we decided to stay overnight at the service station parking lot. KFC shone in the night, welcoming us with “Eat me!”

It would be much safer to continue the trip in the morning. As a relief, these big service stations have restaurants/shops and toilets in use 24/7, and security is always available. It’s nice to have a Latte fresh from Starbucks in the morning.

This would be the end of the first day of our eight-day journey. We will continue the second day soon upon arriving at Qiandao Lake, which has beautiful views and fresh air!

Early in the morning, wake up and prepare to continue the Travel to Qiandao Lake by RV.

After waking up at Tonglu Service Station, enjoying Starbucks +, and brushing my teeth, we headed for the road again. The streets were much more empty, and we could drive at an average speed. I have not checked out the speed limit for RVs in China, so I drive 80-90km/h. That is also the comfortable and economical speed, as the pots and pans make noise.

Campground review

Tonglu Service Area

Boondocking

008657164273627

(桐庐服务区)正兴一家人

n/a

China, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, Tonglu County, 桐庐服务区 邮政编码: 311510

Boondocking, service station in China is the safest place
First day and first time of road trip China. As usual we got late start and needed to boondocking for night at Tonglu Service Area gasoline station.
DIY parking

Yes: Yes

Water

Yes

Electricity

No

EV charge

Yes

Our experience

Overall
Facilities
Quality
2.7

Summary

Staying at service station is a good idea. Security 24/7 and you can fill your supplies. Not all service stations are as good as this one.

Pros

  • KFC, Starbucks and othe shops available
  • Public toilets
  • Open 24/7
  • Security 24/7

Cons

  • It is a parking lot
  • All the trucks keep a lot of noise

Location

Boondocking
Boondocking, service station in China is the safest place
Boondocking
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User Review

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