... 24 golden hours, as the song goes.
Today, was thankfully our last border crossing involving the Russian "Stans"....
Left Taraz and headed for the border. There were two choices for getting to our next destination, Bishkek... the 300 km slog down the main highway, or a longer 500 km loop through the mountains. We opted for the latter.
Cleared the border fairly painlessly, and were helped by one of the sweetest lady immigration officers I have ever met. I didn't mind the usual questions about where we were going, and been, but then it turned to past job, family, and why I didnt have kids ! She even hinted how nice it would be to travel the world on the back of a bike. Meanwhile the waiting Krgys in the ever lengthening queue were getting more and more impatient. Played along, until I heard the cha-chunk of the stamp in my passport, then made a hasty exit.
Within minutes, we saw the snow capped mountains, and that was our route. But firstly we had 40km of unpaved road to tackle, which was relatively easy as it was a smooth gravel surface.
And then it just got better and better, (and colder), all the way to 3300 mtrs, at the top of the pass....
And finally we descended down one of the best biking roads I have ever ridden. OK, at the very end, we were hit with a US$ 5 toll charge, but it was well worth it.
And then into the Bishkek traffic...
Yes, compared to yesterday, this was such a change ... what a difference a day makes !
Today, was thankfully our last border crossing involving the Russian "Stans"....
Left Taraz and headed for the border. There were two choices for getting to our next destination, Bishkek... the 300 km slog down the main highway, or a longer 500 km loop through the mountains. We opted for the latter.
Within minutes, we saw the snow capped mountains, and that was our route. But firstly we had 40km of unpaved road to tackle, which was relatively easy as it was a smooth gravel surface.
And then it just got better and better, (and colder), all the way to 3300 mtrs, at the top of the pass....
And finally we descended down one of the best biking roads I have ever ridden. OK, at the very end, we were hit with a US$ 5 toll charge, but it was well worth it.
And then into the Bishkek traffic...
Yes, compared to yesterday, this was such a change ... what a difference a day makes !