Soul destroying

My plan today was only 80kms riding on a terrible road to the Chinese border then a guide to escort me the 200km Kashgar. I was scheduled to meet the guide at 10am but at 8.30am the bike suddenly dropped and the back wheel was rubbing on the wheel arch – rear suspension broken!! With all the pounding of the bad roads the bottom bolt of the rear suspension was broken and the rear shock absorber was left hanging. With the weight of the bike sitting on the wheel arch I couldn’t move the bike.

The border was shut today (except to me but that’s another story) so the only traffic was Chinese road builders. I flagged down a truck and lucky for me the driver had a pin that loosely fitted through one side of the rear fork. (the other side of the fork had the broken bolt). I jumped back on the bike and continued in second gear at 40km/h, 10km further the pin bent and rear shock absorber was stuck against the back wheel – no way was I going to meet the guide now.


I went back to my cave man origins and with a few rocks I banged the pin straight in an hour and rode in first gear at less than 10km/h for the last 20km.

After the border the Chinese roads were smooth and I made it 100km before the pinned snapped. The guide raced off to find a replacement while I stood on the side of the road, in the dark with the bike. New pin installed and I rode the last 100km into Kashgar – what a long day but very happy to make it.

Toughest day

To get to Kathmandu by the 25th Oct to meet Giselle, I need to get across three passes, Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan (2 passes) and Khunjab Pass into Pakistan, two at 4700m and one at 4200m.

I was 2 days late to exit Tajikistan and paid the price, with about 4 inches of snow on the passes I experienced the toughest day so far.

The first pass, Kotali Aqbaytal pass at 4755m, I fell over at the bottom doing 15km/h and ripped a hole in one of my panniers, not happy! I slowly made my way up dropping the bike only a couple of times. Once at the top the downside wasn’t too bad, just let the bike idle in first gear and the snow was fresh and soft.




A further 100km down the road was the next pass with the Tajikistan border at the top – what a cold remote place to work. Once through the border and another 200m I was at the top of the Kyzyl-Art Pass, 4283m, at 4pm. Now only about a 1000m vertically down to the Kyrgyzstan border post. The Kyrgyz side was very steep with switch backs and ice. Over the next 3 hours rode, slid and walked the bike down about 1km to where the ice and steep roads finished. In the process I had the bike fall on me several times, dropped and dinted the panniers and became physically exhausted. It was -6C and starting to snow so I pushed on a further 5km and setup the tent at 3600m at 9pm – very cold night!!

CCA - Corrupt Central Asia

After 6 weeks touring around the five Stans that make up Central Asia, I am happy to leave and head to Asia. Standing out of the crowd on a motorbike has made me a target of police. I would be stopped for the smallest traffic infringement, for example, 61km/h in a 60km/h zone. I was lucky and/or well managed by exiting the ‘Stans’ with no major problems. Some of the stories from other travellers include, car stolen by mafia in Russia with a US$5,000 return fee, fake breathalyser readings and intimidation with big guys and guns.

The police and government employees do not earn enough money to support their families and makes it understandable but not acceptable. I have heard stories how government official get positions depending on how much money they can raise for their bosses but the real problem stems from the top. When Presidents exceed their terms, become very wealthy, there is no political opposition and/or rigged elections this filters down the political and government hierarchy to effect everyone. It is so endemic that I can’t see an end to corruption within a generation. Several times I saw cars flagged down by police but the driver just speeds away. By the end I would only stop if there was a boom gate across the road.

CCA is still an interesting place to visit, great people, many interesting cultures and interesting history, especially with the Soviets coming in the 1830s. I believe travelling alone and standing out on my bike has made me a target therefore I was worn out with constantly being on guard – happy to move the next step closer to home.

Remote and Rugged Tajikistan

The poorest of all the ‘Stans’ due mainly to very little natural resources and a corrupt government does not help. The spectacular landscapes, friendly and generous people made it the most enjoyable ‘Stan’. The rugged 7000m mountains, borders with China and Afghanistan means the country is very remote.

The roads are so horrific that the 550km on the major east-west M41 highway took me 14 hours. The M41 has Chinese trucks going up and down its length, which does not do the road any good, but the main problem is the mountains. Constant rock slides and floods wash the bridges away. The road is full of pot and corrugations and in many spots it is one lane wide. It is specular too drive on the edge of the mountain with hundreds of meters drop down and with no barriers.

I arrived in the capital, Dushanbae, at 11pm and could not find the hotel. A man and his son tried to help me but the Lonely Planet map was no help to them! They offered their spare room to me, exhausted and covered in mud, I accepted. Their gate opened up to a large courtyard, with veggie patch, and massive house, these guys were wealthy for Tajik standards (average salary is US$30/week). Showered and fed, I found the hotel the next day in the back of a US embassy security 4WD.

I spent the week, in Dushanbae, fixing the protection plate on the bottom of the bike, which was ripped off from the bad roads and did alot of beer drinking with Irish lads.

Express trip through Kyrgyzstan

I entered Kyrgyzstan on the far east from Kazakhstan near the China border. The border post was the easiest so far, two houses in the middle of a beautiful green valley at about 2000m.

I drove west to Bishek to meet friends but was pulled up for doing 61km/h in a 60 km/h zone. The fine started at 300 som until I pointed out the paperwork said 200 som. I ask for a receipt, was given my money back, told to move on and with the loud statement “Kyrgyz police are all good”.

After a few beers and catchup on each others travels, I quickly drove down towards Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan is on the edge of the big mountains of the world and has beautiful mountains, upto 4500m, with green alpine slopes, which are stunning.

Europe in Central Asia

Almaty is a beautiful city at the bottom of snow capped mountains and it was a great injection of western city pleasures. The simple and enjoyable things you miss when travelling to other countries was all there:

• Expresso and WiFi
• ATM machines
• Supermarkets with Muesli and Arabica coffee
• Great Skype connection

One problem, prices were the same as London.

Kazakhstan – bloody dodgy!!!

I have experience and confidence in dealing with corrupt officials but my first night in Kazakhstan left me angry and now nervous of the police.

After a long day crossing the border from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan I left the bike at the hotel and raced to the bank for some local currency, then proceeded to the restaurant along the main street of Shymkent. I was stopped by two boys in army greens and 2 policemen who wanted to check my passport and visa. Passport was in hotel and so they proceed to document everything I had on me – specifically the contents of my wallet. They spoke no English, so after 45min of arguing, shouting and requesting help from locals walking past, I was short of 5,000 Kazak (AUD$60).

The first statement of my belongings had 20,000 Kazak, the second one had 15,000 Kazak and I had a statement from the bank that I withdrew 20,000 kazak from the bank 5 minutes before they pulled me up – they were stupid!!

They would only flash their badges so I could not write the details down so I tried to take a photo of them. I was unsuccessful and we wrestled for 5 min in the street, I then showed I had not taken a photo. They left into the park, I asked for help from locals, no one would stop. I ran back to the hotel and we rang the police to report the robbery. I described the 4 guys to the Captain, they found them and I got my money back.

I don’t care about the money but its the principle – if you can’t trust the police, the whole society falls down. I have discovered I can be pretty fiery, I gave back as good as I got and was not going to be intimidated.

Uzbekistan Tourist Route

I entered from Turkmenistan on the western border and travelled the tourist route across the county and out to Kazakhstan. After months of visiting Mosques I was a little over them but soldiered on and visited some amazing Medressas in Samarkand.

I enjoyed the tourist route where I met the same interesting people at different towns along the route. It was the travellers I met that made Uzbekistan interesting. ;-)

As you would expect of a “Stan” there was plenty of corruption in the Police Force. I paid US$5 for speeding 20km/h over the limit, the bidding started at US$200. Unlike local drivers, I was pulled over for rolling through a police checkpoint, after a few heated words I ignored the policeman and started to make my lunch – 5min later he signal to leave, no bribe paid.