Entering China

Jeremy had set the alarm for 6am... no bloody need, I think the frostbite woke me way before then...

Yes, that's snow on the bike.

The Yurts are heated with a small stove, that burns dried Yak dung .... seriously ! The hosts light it 20 mins before bed, and hope you fall asleep before it goes out.  I think Jeremy smuggled some more dung in and kept it stoked most of the night. Thanks Mate, much appreciated ... but hope no offence, because I would not eat that bit of bread you passed me at breakfast time!

Got on our way about 8am, and after the gravel track back to the main road, it was back to amazing tarmac, and quality scenery.  The most surprising thing was that considering this was one of the few entrances to China, there was no traffic... so why build such a good road ?

After an hour, got to the first of several check-points.  As with all police, army & immigration checks, cameras are strictly prohibited, so excuse the distant shots...

Then more beautiful backdrops as we drive many more km to the actual border.

Get to the Kyrgyzstan final c/p after a couple of hours, and strangely, no queue to speak of.  Got ushered into the building, and had the various documents checked, paid a $30 (I think) "environmental" fee which none of knew anything about, and then rode the final 8km up to the actual spot on the map where the border is (the Tourgart pass itself).

There is a gate there, and we are lucky because the border closes for lunch ... this takes from 11am, to whenever the lazy buggers have finished stuffing their faces and slept it off .... 3 hours are usually quoted. Guess thanks are in order, because Max's BMW refused to start, making us about 10 mins late, but they graciously waited for us, where our Kyrgyzstan guide, handed us over to the Chinese guide.

The tourist group were doing a similar transfer, which included a change of bus.

Passports were checked and checked again, then once in China, we made our way past the queuing lorries to the Customs post, roughly 5 km from the border gate.

The truckers were so pleased to see us, they kept suggesting we rode two by two (at least that what I think they meant)

Last pic before I hid the camera...

The check itself was strange ... they selected a few bags at random from the bikes, passed them through an X-ray machine mounted in a scrapped Transit van, then handed them back.  They did not seem to worry whose bag was whose, or to check the bikes with "fixed" panniers, so presumably lip service is good enough.

And once through, we rode one of the worst potholed roads ever...

But after 50 km it steadily improved and the mountainous scenery soon made us forget the dust and potholes of the previous hour.

And then another customs check, but this was probably more like a "disease prevention point" ... there was a bit of a hold up as all cars and lorries pass through a mechanised water spray, which wheels itself out on a track, then emits a mist as they drive through.

Evidently they had never done motorbikes before !! So visors down, the first of us rode through ... but then some of the group decided it could not just be water and hesitated.  In the mean time, the officials had decided that the mist clearly wasn't even touching the small bikes, so just waved the remainder of us through....

Next was the "proper" immigration check (now 100km from the border), which resulted in some delays as despite having our documents & route submitted it to Beijing 3 months prior, it had not been sent back the nominated entry point. So we waited in the baking sun for 2 hours while the paperwork slowly worked its way down the chain...

Had to smile at this ... comfortable indeed ! You should have seen inside !

 And then with the sun setting, we completed the last 50km onto our first night in China ... Kashgar.

Stayed at this rather posh hotel...

... and eat in their rather post restaurant.

And as I forgot the introductions earlier, (L to R) we now have "Big John" from Canada, Jeremy from the UK who I have been riding with since Turkey, and Alan ... a Brit who last year, actually rode from Thai to the UK.

There are also 3 lads from Switzerland with us now, but I think their tolerance level for strange food was not as high as ours, as the empty "pot noodle" containers in their room would suggest ! 

Yurt central

Woke dreading breakfast ... I was still stuffed as the pizza had not yet worked its way through.

So suited and booted, we followed Alan to the "only" fuel station he had spotted the day before ... which after going round in circles for 15 minutes, he admitted he could not remember where it was.  I asked why he didn't way-point it on his Garmin ... "what's a way-point?" was the reply !

Now we had lost Jeremy too, but using a well rehearsed plan ... we simply fell back on the "everyone for himself" routine !  Me & Alan eventually found a fuel station, then another, then another, and two more on the road out of Naryn that we should have taken in the first place.  Bloody rumours again !

Heading out, the first 5 km looked like a farm track, and we were dreading another 150km of this .... then it just changed suddenly, to a race track!  Why they started 5km outside of town beats me, but this sort of planning is becoming the norm the more I ride in Asia.

And then there was this Muppet ... guess he fell asleep !

We then turn off towards our camp site.

This is the actual caravanserai called Tash Rabat, which gives the area its name.

Quite scenic, but was a lot colder than the sunshine makes it look.

Well signposted, at least.

Looks desolate.

And there we were ... in a Yurt camp.

And I bet this one was ours !

Doesn't look like it will stay up all night.

Four beds in each .... pink sheets ! Hmmm. 

Getting ready for the sun to set.... about 5 degrees now.

The toilet block... holes in the ground inside, really.

And we sit down for an evening meal .... with cold beer (what else).

Goodnight.

 China tomorrow ....

Leaving civilisation

Today we were heading for a place called Naryn, which had been described as a small town, with nowhere to stay, no fuel to buy, and no food to eat !  So that's was it... fill up every receptacle with petrol, and stuff the pockets full of Snickers bars.

Still can't shake the mountains on our left.

Some wild horses ... a bit like the New Forest but they move faster.

Not long before the climb.

And finally, mountains.

The road was amazing, considering it pretty much led to no-where.

Nice lakes ....

... and the rivers that feed them.

But eventually we got to a bit they had not finished yet.

Waiting on Jeremy

Then as we got closer, some road works appeared, and I was confused.

After all, Naryn was supposed to be the last outpost before China... maybe the rumours were wrong, maybe it had gone through a renaissance, but we headed for a "new" hotel that Jeremy had dug up on the net.  It wasn't through a booking site, just a poor website that was not in English and seemed dated.

The gates were locked, so we rode around them expecting to find a derelict or abandoned place, but instead found a spotless collection of three new hotel buildings, set in soon to be manicured grounds...

The first was a wooden affair...

... with the other two rather more conventional.

The restaurant (and chandeliers) would not have looked out of place in Buckingham Palace....

.... and they served Pizza !!

Well, what an end to the day ... and it just goes to show when touring ... expect the unexpected.  So after stuffing my face on pizza & beer (probably the last for a month) I retired to my "log cabin".  Honestly, I think I was the first to sleep in the room, judging by the manufacturing stickers still in the shower tray and lining the bog !

For future global travellers, its called the Khan Tengri Hotel, and as with everywhere I stay, it will be on Open Street Map for all to find.

So a final good nights sleep was planned, as tomorrow night was going to be in a freezing tent at 3000 mts .... and thats assuming we could find fuel to get there.
zzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzz

Bishkek rest day

Ah, a day of rest ....

But a bike to clean, clothes to wash, and a tyre to change first.

Got some directions to a local laundry, but just could not find it ... but did stumble on a car wash.  Paid a pound and the Trannie had a half-arsed clean by some young girl, who had the incredible talent of being able to  pressure wash a motorbike, while continuing a conversation with what sounded like her boyfriend, on a mobile phone held by her contorted neck.

The clothes can wait, so back to the hotel to change the tyre.

You know, I'm going to miss that tyre ... a bit like a lady on the back ...
except, you don't have to feed it, clothe it, listen to it,.... and it actually comes in useful one day !

Job done, and ready to roll in the morning .  Went out to eat with Jeremy fairly early in the evening, but after my third beer, and Jeremy on the coffee, I politely suggested he might want to go back to the hotel, and leave me there... which he did!

I'm back by 9.30, but its a Saturday night ... "OK Google ... nightclubs in Bishkek".  Evidently Bar 12 was the place to be seen, so a quick change, and into a taxi.

3 hours, $12, and 4 Corona's later, I was back... nice rooftop place, full of beautiful women.... all in their 20-30's. Yup, I was right out of place.  Home to bed....

What a difference a day makes ...

... 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 !