Day 37:
The day started off alright. The sun was shining, I slept in late (8:00) and got a late start. First I headed along the Black Sea coast to Trabzon and then turned south towards Macka and the Meryemana Monastery. The monastery is located in the mountains and built into a cliff face. It was supposed to be very beautiful and I suppose it was but like when I tried to visit the Terra cotta soldiers, the trip to the very crowded touristy site was slow and I quickly got frustrated. So once I had the monastery in view, I took a couple pictures and got out of there and back on the main road as quickly as possible.
The roads out of Macka were perfectly smooth mountain roads with nice wide turns. Most cars were doing 100km or more easily but up to now I didn't have any experience taking turns that quickly. So I experimented with speeds until my rear wheel began to slip a bit. While traveling through a long tunnel though I felt a familiar wobbling and heard a terrible grinding sound. I tried my rear brake and found that it didn't work. Once again, my bearings had broken. I drove and quickly as I dared out of the tunnel and found a vacant parking lot near the small village of Torul. I didn't have any spares so, with the help of some nearby mechanics at a car shop, I propped up the bike, took off the rear wheel and brought the one still whole bearing with me back to Trabzon by bus. I trusted the mechanics to watch my stuff and left my helmet near the bike.
In Trabzon, and hour later, I very quickly found a store right near the bus station that seemed only to sell bearings. What luck! I bought four and found a bus on its way back to Torlu. When I got there, it was about 4:00 now, I quickly replaced the bearings and started getting ready to set off only to find my helmet was missing... The mechanics helped me call the police. There was a security camera across the road but the guy in charge of the cameras had gone home and wouldn't be back until morning. A bit frustrated, I decided to stay at the village hotel that night. The police were very friendly and helped me find a secure place to park the motorcycle, and hotel and then drove me into town for dinner the whole time making sure I wasn't made to pay the foreigner price anywhere.
Day 38:
I woke up and found the police. This wasn't hard. I was in a very small village. They told me that they couldn't see anything. I wondered later if this meant that they couldn't see my motorcycle because it was out of view of the camera or if it meant that they couldn't see anyone approaching my motorcycle. If it was the latter, Probably the mechanics had stolen my helmet. Anyway, before I left that morning I decided to have one last look around the parking lot where my bike was. As luck would have it, at the far end near a big pile of dirt and an old truck I found my helmet! completely destroyed. Whoever had taken it decided to remove every removable piece, probably searching for money, and then it looked like they kicked it around for a while. I gathered all the pieces only missing one screw and surprisingly was able to completely reassemble it. Only a few of the plastic bits were slightly broken! I got a replacement screw from a nearby shop and was ready to go.
I started off down the winding highway roads slowly just in case my bearings decide to break again as they had last time. But about 10km down the road everything seemed fine so I picked up speed and resumed my fast turn tests. I arrived at Gumushane around 11:00 in the afternoon and while putting though town, I heard grinding. The rear brakes didn't work again. The bearings yet again had broken. I kinda expected this to happen so I wasn't too upset. I pulled over and set to work on the now all too familiar task of replacing the rear bearings. Luckily this time I had spares. A quick half hour later (I'm quite good at doing this now) I was back on the road and more confident now. It couldn't possible happen again...
I left the village and traveled about 10km before... once again... the grinding started. This time I was in the middle of the mountains without a building, parking lot, or bit of shade in sight. It was very hot that day. I had no replacements. This was a problem.
I have had incredibly good luck when in trouble on this trip and it didn't fail me here. Almost immediately, a friendly looking man pulled over and asked me if I needed any help. He lived just about 1km back towards town and offered to drive me and my motorcycle back into town on his neighbor's flatbed ford Transit. Perfect! I wondered how much he would charge but decided to leave that for later. I needed this and I guess I'd have to pay whatever he asked. His neighbor was an older man, probably in his 60s, with his typical Turkish mustache, big gut and incredibly low rumbling voice, reminded me of a Turkish Santa. At first he was a bit intimidating but later he turned out to be a very friendly and open minded guy. He had worked in Istanbul for 30 years before retiring. He and his wife bought this plot of land in the mountains, he built the house himself, and now spends his retirement years turning the milk from his cow into yogurt.
We got to the village but couldn't find any spare parts so the old man offered to drive me and the motorcycle to the nearest city, 120km away. Finally I had to ask how much it would cost and me told me that I would only have to pay for gas. On the way, we dropped off the neighbor who had found me and picked up the old man's best friend and the three of us piled into the front of the Transit. On the way we talked about our lives (good chance for me to practice my Turkish) our religious philosophies and political ideas.
When I got to the mechanic's shop in Erzincan, he was just about to close. He discovered a flaw in my motorcycle's wheel system that destroyed bearings if the wheel axle wasn't tightened extremely tightly. With new bearings, spares, a fixed wheel and a renewed confidence in the motorcycle, I said my goodbyes to my new friends and headed off to find a place to camp. It was almost dark so I made it about 50km out of the city before finding a field near a creek just off the main road. Hopefully, that would be the end of my mechanical troubles...
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Days 35+36: Through Georgia and back into Turkey!
Day 35:
I woke up and, in what now has become a relaxing routine, drank some coffee while watching the sun rise. Then I was off. The first part of the day took me along the Caucasus through farmland. Here I saw my first medieval style walled monastery castles built up on small steep mountains. Some were still active and sold wine and cheese but they were all closed this early in the morning.
As part of my attempt to forestal my arrival in Istanbul, I decided to continue following the Caucuses along back roads until I was directly north of Tblisi. This turned out to be an adventure as the road I choose soon turned into a narrow loose gravel track and wound through steep forested mountains. This lasted for about an hour. One of the greatest feelings you can get riding a motorcycle is the feeling of perfectly smooth asphalt after an hour of rough gravel and northern Georgia allowed me that just before I turned south towards Tblisi.
In Tblisi, I stopped quickly at a hotel cafe to use their internet and then after a frustrating hour spent lost in the city's narrow streets I speed off south into the high mountains near the border of Armenia. At this point I have grown tired of Cities and touristy places. They are crowded, and waste a lot of time that I would much rather spend on some mountain road or in a village somewhere. So I can't really say I saw Tblisi.
The afternoon's drive reminded me of the Tibetan Plateau portion that I crossed earlier in the Trip. After a couple hours I was in a large cold treeless landscape. The roads which were decent at this point, wound around low rolling hills and past large cold lakes. Soon the sun light started creeping up my wind shield and I started searching for a camp site. I drove off the main road onto the mostly flat grassland and soon found a perfect location behind a small hill next to a river canyon. I watched the sun set, ate some noodles and then set up my tent.
Day 36:
Up at dawn, coffee, sunrise and then I was back on the road by about 6:30. The day started out as it had ended but soon the road turned again to loose gravel. This road, I was told, should have been asphalt but I guess I had been lied too. For those who are curious this road goes from Akhaltsikhi to near Khulo, just unded 100km. Loose gravel isn't so bad but when on narrow mountain roads it can be a bit of a challenge. However soon the road turned to loose gravel with large mellon sized rocks scattered around. The turns became unreasonably tight and the road very steep. First it wound through forested mountains but soon I was back above the tree line and the road passed along steep hillsides and cliffs. One big rock hit too fast and I could fall a good 50ft or more off the side of the narrow road. So I went pretty slow.
On the way down the mountain pass, about three quarters of the way through this road I met a bicyclist going to opposite direction who also had been tricked into taking this road by some Georgians earlier in his trip. I guess this is some kind of Georgian joke. He told me about his trip and I mine and then we discussed the road ahead. It ended up being a pretty interesting conversation. We happened to meet just about where the road changes from bad to VERY bad. I had just come from the worst section and had gotten used to its challenges and he from the much easier part. So when he asked me how it was, I just said its pretty much the same as it is here and it doesn't really get worse. He told me about two VERY bad sections and we both went our separate ways with very wrong ideas in our heads. The road improved dramatically for me and when I got to the difficult sections he'd talked about, they were no where near as bad as the entire road behind me and ahead of him.
The road became very fun when the asphalt returned but it wasn't very smooth so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as before. I arrived in Batumi mid afternoon and headed along the Black Sea to the Turkish Border. The crossing was easy. I was still able to buy a sticker visa. And then there I was, back in Turkey after a year and a half away! It was getting dark so I started looking for a camp site but couldn't find anything good so I stayed in a hotel in Rize.
I woke up and, in what now has become a relaxing routine, drank some coffee while watching the sun rise. Then I was off. The first part of the day took me along the Caucasus through farmland. Here I saw my first medieval style walled monastery castles built up on small steep mountains. Some were still active and sold wine and cheese but they were all closed this early in the morning.
As part of my attempt to forestal my arrival in Istanbul, I decided to continue following the Caucuses along back roads until I was directly north of Tblisi. This turned out to be an adventure as the road I choose soon turned into a narrow loose gravel track and wound through steep forested mountains. This lasted for about an hour. One of the greatest feelings you can get riding a motorcycle is the feeling of perfectly smooth asphalt after an hour of rough gravel and northern Georgia allowed me that just before I turned south towards Tblisi.
In Tblisi, I stopped quickly at a hotel cafe to use their internet and then after a frustrating hour spent lost in the city's narrow streets I speed off south into the high mountains near the border of Armenia. At this point I have grown tired of Cities and touristy places. They are crowded, and waste a lot of time that I would much rather spend on some mountain road or in a village somewhere. So I can't really say I saw Tblisi.
The afternoon's drive reminded me of the Tibetan Plateau portion that I crossed earlier in the Trip. After a couple hours I was in a large cold treeless landscape. The roads which were decent at this point, wound around low rolling hills and past large cold lakes. Soon the sun light started creeping up my wind shield and I started searching for a camp site. I drove off the main road onto the mostly flat grassland and soon found a perfect location behind a small hill next to a river canyon. I watched the sun set, ate some noodles and then set up my tent.
Day 36:
Up at dawn, coffee, sunrise and then I was back on the road by about 6:30. The day started out as it had ended but soon the road turned again to loose gravel. This road, I was told, should have been asphalt but I guess I had been lied too. For those who are curious this road goes from Akhaltsikhi to near Khulo, just unded 100km. Loose gravel isn't so bad but when on narrow mountain roads it can be a bit of a challenge. However soon the road turned to loose gravel with large mellon sized rocks scattered around. The turns became unreasonably tight and the road very steep. First it wound through forested mountains but soon I was back above the tree line and the road passed along steep hillsides and cliffs. One big rock hit too fast and I could fall a good 50ft or more off the side of the narrow road. So I went pretty slow.
On the way down the mountain pass, about three quarters of the way through this road I met a bicyclist going to opposite direction who also had been tricked into taking this road by some Georgians earlier in his trip. I guess this is some kind of Georgian joke. He told me about his trip and I mine and then we discussed the road ahead. It ended up being a pretty interesting conversation. We happened to meet just about where the road changes from bad to VERY bad. I had just come from the worst section and had gotten used to its challenges and he from the much easier part. So when he asked me how it was, I just said its pretty much the same as it is here and it doesn't really get worse. He told me about two VERY bad sections and we both went our separate ways with very wrong ideas in our heads. The road improved dramatically for me and when I got to the difficult sections he'd talked about, they were no where near as bad as the entire road behind me and ahead of him.
The road became very fun when the asphalt returned but it wasn't very smooth so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as before. I arrived in Batumi mid afternoon and headed along the Black Sea to the Turkish Border. The crossing was easy. I was still able to buy a sticker visa. And then there I was, back in Turkey after a year and a half away! It was getting dark so I started looking for a camp site but couldn't find anything good so I stayed in a hotel in Rize.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Days 32-34: Crossing the Caspian and Azerbaijan Too Quickly
Day 32:
I woke up and drove into Aktau arriving at the port around 10:00am. I had expected to wait here for up to a week waiting for a boat but I arrived to find that a boat was leaving that evening. Unfortunately, they had just sold out of passenger tickets. They could take my motorcycle across though so I decided to ship the bike and take a plane to Baku. At first this actually looked like a cheaper option but in the end I think it was about $50 more.
I spent most of that day running around the port collecting stamps from various unmarked offices. Afterwards I headed to the airport and caught a flight leaving at 01:30 the next day.
Day 33:
I arrived in Baku at 3:00 or so in the morning and after trying to stay up all night so I wouldn't have to pay for two nights in a hotel, I gave up and found a nice couch in the airport to sleep on.
In the day, I found a nice cheap hostel in the old city, took a nap, found the port and then wandered around the city for a while. Its a really beautiful place and Azerbaijan has now become my second choice after Turkey for assignment if I'm accepted into the foreign service.
Day 34:
I picked up my motorcycle from the port at 6:30am and found that I had to spend a bunch more money on two tickets (one from the port and one from some ticket guy) and "safe keeping" bribes to the crew of the ship. I should have just driven off after getting my customs papers...
Azerbaijan is a beautiful country. I started off in hot arid hills. Then I reached the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains where I saw large forests for the first time in a long time. I followed the northern road along the Caucasus through Shamakhi, Sheki to the border crossing at Balakan. I had expected to arrive too late to cross that day but they were still open when I arrived in the late afternoon so I crossed into Georgia. Azerbaijan took me one day to drive across. This was way to fast. I needed to slow down or I would arrive in Istanbul too early.
I found a camp site behind some trees in a field just outside of Lagodekhi and thought about how I could extend my trip. I like driving until dusk and can't seem to make myself quit early if the plan is to camp. Turkey will be expensive and while I'm ahead of schedule I'm exactly on budget and traveling for longer will put me behind. So I decided if I can't do fewer kilometers in a day, I'll just have to pick rougher longer routes and camp pretty much every night. (except tonight...)
I woke up and drove into Aktau arriving at the port around 10:00am. I had expected to wait here for up to a week waiting for a boat but I arrived to find that a boat was leaving that evening. Unfortunately, they had just sold out of passenger tickets. They could take my motorcycle across though so I decided to ship the bike and take a plane to Baku. At first this actually looked like a cheaper option but in the end I think it was about $50 more.
I spent most of that day running around the port collecting stamps from various unmarked offices. Afterwards I headed to the airport and caught a flight leaving at 01:30 the next day.
Day 33:
I arrived in Baku at 3:00 or so in the morning and after trying to stay up all night so I wouldn't have to pay for two nights in a hotel, I gave up and found a nice couch in the airport to sleep on.
In the day, I found a nice cheap hostel in the old city, took a nap, found the port and then wandered around the city for a while. Its a really beautiful place and Azerbaijan has now become my second choice after Turkey for assignment if I'm accepted into the foreign service.
Day 34:
I picked up my motorcycle from the port at 6:30am and found that I had to spend a bunch more money on two tickets (one from the port and one from some ticket guy) and "safe keeping" bribes to the crew of the ship. I should have just driven off after getting my customs papers...
Azerbaijan is a beautiful country. I started off in hot arid hills. Then I reached the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains where I saw large forests for the first time in a long time. I followed the northern road along the Caucasus through Shamakhi, Sheki to the border crossing at Balakan. I had expected to arrive too late to cross that day but they were still open when I arrived in the late afternoon so I crossed into Georgia. Azerbaijan took me one day to drive across. This was way to fast. I needed to slow down or I would arrive in Istanbul too early.
I found a camp site behind some trees in a field just outside of Lagodekhi and thought about how I could extend my trip. I like driving until dusk and can't seem to make myself quit early if the plan is to camp. Turkey will be expensive and while I'm ahead of schedule I'm exactly on budget and traveling for longer will put me behind. So I decided if I can't do fewer kilometers in a day, I'll just have to pick rougher longer routes and camp pretty much every night. (except tonight...)
Day 30 and 31: Bad Roads to Aktau
Day 30:
Nukus had no gas stations so I had to find a guy selling gas from water bottles. I expected this section of desert, the road from Kungrad to the Kazakhstan border, to be really long and difficult. On my map, I had only seen one village along the entire 320km stretch. This however would be just a warm up for the really rough road from Beyneu to Aktau which I would tackle the next day. Much to my surprise though the roads on this day were nearly perfect the whole way with only one small section of construction work. I made great time. Late that afternoon, I crossed the border without any trouble whatsoever. Not even a check of my bags or carefully collected hotel registration slips.. I guess I could have camped once or twice.
Once across the border the roads worsened a bit and it started to get dark. I turned off the main road and into the desert making for some low hills off in the distance to hide my camp site behind.
Day 31:
This was supposed to be the most difficult part of the whole trip: The road through the desert from Beyneu to Aktau particularly the 300km between Beyneu and Shetpe the first city in the caspian sea region of south western Kazakhstan. I'd heard that most of it was unpaved and occasionally sandy. On my maps there were no towns no buildings, nothing along that whole section.
After a quick breakfast and resupply stop in Beyneu, I was pleasantly surprised by the perfectly paved road leading out of the city. Soon there was a section of old road and some dirt and I began to feel confident that maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all. I was wrong. After a long section of old potholed pavement, the road became gravel and then the dreaded dust started appearing. This is the same dust I fell in back in China. Soon I reached a part where they were repaving the old road and traffic was directed off on to an entirely dust section. Trucks were stopped, perhaps stuck and I took one look at the 6 or more inches of dust covering the entire track and decided to try my luck making my own trail through the desert. This was mostly better but still exhausting. Soon the main road looked better so I made my way back towards it.
For the rest of this first half the road looked the same: Main road (sometimes newly paved, sometimes loose gravel, sometimes inaccessible) surrounded by deep ruts and dirt tracks covered in this deep dust. Beyond this it was desert which was mostly potholed hard dirt ground but occasionally car tracks filled with dust crossed through it.
After a struggle with the dust section surrounding the main road I made it to the main road which turned out to be gravel. Soon though this was blocked and I was forced back into the dust. This pattern continued for most of the morning.
My first fall happened just at the end of this really bad section. The road became good gravel and I picked up speed. Suddenly there was a big section of dust stretching all the way across the road. I couldn't slow down enough (which would be down to about 20kmh) and I fell. Some damage to the panniers.
After the fall the road was good for the next 100km before I reached the mountains. Here the road snaked down through table top mountains along an entirely dirt road. It wouldn't have been so bad but just before I arrived at the one really steep downhill section, a truck had sprayed water all over one lane of the dirt road. Normally this is good but in this case it just turned the lane into mud. I tried to go down it and quickly fell.
After this section, the road was good all the way to Aktau. I didn't quite make it to the city before dark so I followed the road to the top of a low mountain before driving off into the desert again to find a secluded area.
Nukus had no gas stations so I had to find a guy selling gas from water bottles. I expected this section of desert, the road from Kungrad to the Kazakhstan border, to be really long and difficult. On my map, I had only seen one village along the entire 320km stretch. This however would be just a warm up for the really rough road from Beyneu to Aktau which I would tackle the next day. Much to my surprise though the roads on this day were nearly perfect the whole way with only one small section of construction work. I made great time. Late that afternoon, I crossed the border without any trouble whatsoever. Not even a check of my bags or carefully collected hotel registration slips.. I guess I could have camped once or twice.
Once across the border the roads worsened a bit and it started to get dark. I turned off the main road and into the desert making for some low hills off in the distance to hide my camp site behind.
Day 31:
This was supposed to be the most difficult part of the whole trip: The road through the desert from Beyneu to Aktau particularly the 300km between Beyneu and Shetpe the first city in the caspian sea region of south western Kazakhstan. I'd heard that most of it was unpaved and occasionally sandy. On my maps there were no towns no buildings, nothing along that whole section.
After a quick breakfast and resupply stop in Beyneu, I was pleasantly surprised by the perfectly paved road leading out of the city. Soon there was a section of old road and some dirt and I began to feel confident that maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all. I was wrong. After a long section of old potholed pavement, the road became gravel and then the dreaded dust started appearing. This is the same dust I fell in back in China. Soon I reached a part where they were repaving the old road and traffic was directed off on to an entirely dust section. Trucks were stopped, perhaps stuck and I took one look at the 6 or more inches of dust covering the entire track and decided to try my luck making my own trail through the desert. This was mostly better but still exhausting. Soon the main road looked better so I made my way back towards it.
For the rest of this first half the road looked the same: Main road (sometimes newly paved, sometimes loose gravel, sometimes inaccessible) surrounded by deep ruts and dirt tracks covered in this deep dust. Beyond this it was desert which was mostly potholed hard dirt ground but occasionally car tracks filled with dust crossed through it.
After a struggle with the dust section surrounding the main road I made it to the main road which turned out to be gravel. Soon though this was blocked and I was forced back into the dust. This pattern continued for most of the morning.
My first fall happened just at the end of this really bad section. The road became good gravel and I picked up speed. Suddenly there was a big section of dust stretching all the way across the road. I couldn't slow down enough (which would be down to about 20kmh) and I fell. Some damage to the panniers.
After the fall the road was good for the next 100km before I reached the mountains. Here the road snaked down through table top mountains along an entirely dirt road. It wouldn't have been so bad but just before I arrived at the one really steep downhill section, a truck had sprayed water all over one lane of the dirt road. Normally this is good but in this case it just turned the lane into mud. I tried to go down it and quickly fell.
After this section, the road was good all the way to Aktau. I didn't quite make it to the city before dark so I followed the road to the top of a low mountain before driving off into the desert again to find a secluded area.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Days 26-29: Tourism and Gas Problems in Uzbekistan
Day 26:
The plan for the day was to make it to Tashkent crossing the border at Uchkurgan. From others in the Bishkek hostel and elsewhere I'd heard that police in Uzbekistan, especially in the south were exceptionally corrupt and a few people had horror stories to tell. Police check points were everywhere as well as marked, unmarked and fake police road blocks. At any of these stops, an officer may steal your passport and demand a bribe.
I'd also heard that the border control process was long and thorough. Two rules particularly worried me. The first was that you are required to stay in a hotel every night of your stay in Uzbekistan. At the border you have to show the police a registration slip for each night and if you're missing one you could be forced to pay a huge fine or bribe. The second rule was that you have to declare all cash on you and if you have more money on you when you leave, they may take it. Also, I was told to expect a very thorough search of all my belongings at each border crossing.
I woke up early, and made my way to the border. On the Kyrgyzstan side, I nearly missed the border control station. The whole operation consisted of a stop sign, two officers and two trailers. I was the first through so they made me wait out side the gate for a bit then It took maybe 15 minutes and I was in no man's land. The Uzbek border was a bit more official looking complete with real buildings and cement walls. It hadn't opened yet so I waited around in no man's land and made a cup of coffee on my stove. The border control process was definitely more involved but nothing like the stories I'd been told. The officers were friendly and helpful. They did search my bags. At one point a scorpion jumped out of my tank bag at an officer while he searched it. They looked at my books and asked if my journal contained any terrorist writings but that was about it. No searching my phone or camera, no looking for money, no bribes. And it only took an hour or so.
In the east of Uzbekistan, its portion of the Fergana valley, I saw mostly pastoral countryside. I stopped in a village and had some barbecue and here the crowds returned. It was just like China again. The same questions (probably, at least I told them the same things) photos, thorough inspections of the motorcycle. I also noticed other drivers in Uzbekistan wave much more often and I soon I felt like I was on Vinalhaven. Every once and a while a car would flash its lights at me or pull up beside me and shout. It was kinda nice.
Later in the day I came across another motorcyclist on a nice Italian bike. When I stopped he pulled up beside me. He turned out to be an Uzbek investment banker living in Hong Kong. He showed me the way to the city and we had a cup of coffee together while I searched for a place to stay. Then he was nice enough to call and drive me there. He did offer me a place to stay but I was worried about the hotel rule.
All in all a good start. I did notice that a number of gas stations were closed but most were open so I didn't think much of it.
Day 27:
I left my nice hostel in Tashkent early, filled up my tank and jerry can and headed for Samarkand. It was a relaxing day, only about 300km and I got there around 4 in the afternoon. At this point I haven't had cell phone service or reliable internet outside of my hotels for a while so I've been downloading my maps for the next day to my phone and using those. The locator function still works without internet so its usually just as good.
Samarkand was a beautiful city. I walked around the Registan, the most famous building in Uzbekistan but it was too late to go inside. Then had a dinner of kebab and went back to the hostel to sleep.
Day 28:
Today I was headed for Bukhara. The motorcyclist had told me that this was his favorite of the old cities in Uzbekistan. The trip was very short, only 275km, and I arrived early in the afternoon. The morning was when I first really noticed how bad the gas situation was in this country. I tried for an hour or so to find an open station but finally had to settle on a station that was selling gas in plastic 5 liter water bottles kept in their basement. I'm not sure if its always like this but there was definitely a shortage of gas in the country. On the way to Bukhara, despite having plenty of fuel, I stopped at a few decent looking gas station but found they also had nothing to sell.
I arrived early enough in Bukhara to do a bit of city walking. I found the old section of the city, which is still pretty much intact, and got lost for a few hours among the short old buildings and narrow winding roads, not wide enough for a car. Eventually I found the center of the old city: Mosques with turquoise tiled domes and beautiful artwork and arabic writing covering their faces and minarets and markets filled with touristy things, silks, spices and local crafts. There I found a blacksmith and picked out a nice gift for myself.
Day 29:
Today I was to get back into adventure riding. The plan was to make it to Khiva, the last silk road city in Uzbekistan but to get there I had to cross the first bit of the Kyzyl Kum desert. In all my planned route would be over 450km, 350km of which would be through the desert. I found a gas station on the edge of town and loaded up. My tank's range is a pretty decent 430-460km and with the 5 liters of extra fuel in the jerry can, I can easily go about 550-600km without needing a gas station.
Once I got into the desert, the temperature rose above 100 degrees and the wind picked up. I quickly learned that riding with your jacket open to the desert wind is a big mistake so I closed all my jacket's air vents and zipped up. The wind in the desert feels like wind from a furnace even when you're going 80 kmh and it dries your sweat too quickly. I had actually read about this before and bought this jacket instead of a mesh one just for this reason. Zipped up with a bit of water down my shirt I felt perfectly fine.
This desert seemed more beautiful than the Taklimakan. The dirt had a redish color and it was covered in small plants. In this desert as in China, there were a few people living out there in the middle of nowhere. In this part of the desert the people operated cafes or shops which made the ride much easier than I had anticipated.
When I got near Khiva, it was still early so I decided to go on to Nukus. A further 210km but this put me over my gas range. Once again the stations I tried had nothing. The people I asked knew nothing. Eventually, I found one of those plastic bottle gas sellers and bought 5 liters (1.3 gallons) for $6.50, a ridiculous price. Nearly twice what the gas stations charge.
This section was another desolate one. After 100km or so the sun started shining in my face and I started to get anxious. I needed a hotel but with little day light left I'd be forced to stay at the first cheapish one I could find. To make things worse, my phone ran out of batteries so I had no map. I got to the city and eventually found a $70 hotel, the most I've spent on a hotel yet. The internet didn't even work but they did share some of a strange looking melon with me before I went to sleep.
This was one of the longest days. Including all the driving around looking for gas, I totaled 610km.
The plan for the day was to make it to Tashkent crossing the border at Uchkurgan. From others in the Bishkek hostel and elsewhere I'd heard that police in Uzbekistan, especially in the south were exceptionally corrupt and a few people had horror stories to tell. Police check points were everywhere as well as marked, unmarked and fake police road blocks. At any of these stops, an officer may steal your passport and demand a bribe.
I'd also heard that the border control process was long and thorough. Two rules particularly worried me. The first was that you are required to stay in a hotel every night of your stay in Uzbekistan. At the border you have to show the police a registration slip for each night and if you're missing one you could be forced to pay a huge fine or bribe. The second rule was that you have to declare all cash on you and if you have more money on you when you leave, they may take it. Also, I was told to expect a very thorough search of all my belongings at each border crossing.
I woke up early, and made my way to the border. On the Kyrgyzstan side, I nearly missed the border control station. The whole operation consisted of a stop sign, two officers and two trailers. I was the first through so they made me wait out side the gate for a bit then It took maybe 15 minutes and I was in no man's land. The Uzbek border was a bit more official looking complete with real buildings and cement walls. It hadn't opened yet so I waited around in no man's land and made a cup of coffee on my stove. The border control process was definitely more involved but nothing like the stories I'd been told. The officers were friendly and helpful. They did search my bags. At one point a scorpion jumped out of my tank bag at an officer while he searched it. They looked at my books and asked if my journal contained any terrorist writings but that was about it. No searching my phone or camera, no looking for money, no bribes. And it only took an hour or so.
In the east of Uzbekistan, its portion of the Fergana valley, I saw mostly pastoral countryside. I stopped in a village and had some barbecue and here the crowds returned. It was just like China again. The same questions (probably, at least I told them the same things) photos, thorough inspections of the motorcycle. I also noticed other drivers in Uzbekistan wave much more often and I soon I felt like I was on Vinalhaven. Every once and a while a car would flash its lights at me or pull up beside me and shout. It was kinda nice.
Later in the day I came across another motorcyclist on a nice Italian bike. When I stopped he pulled up beside me. He turned out to be an Uzbek investment banker living in Hong Kong. He showed me the way to the city and we had a cup of coffee together while I searched for a place to stay. Then he was nice enough to call and drive me there. He did offer me a place to stay but I was worried about the hotel rule.
All in all a good start. I did notice that a number of gas stations were closed but most were open so I didn't think much of it.
Day 27:
I left my nice hostel in Tashkent early, filled up my tank and jerry can and headed for Samarkand. It was a relaxing day, only about 300km and I got there around 4 in the afternoon. At this point I haven't had cell phone service or reliable internet outside of my hotels for a while so I've been downloading my maps for the next day to my phone and using those. The locator function still works without internet so its usually just as good.
Samarkand was a beautiful city. I walked around the Registan, the most famous building in Uzbekistan but it was too late to go inside. Then had a dinner of kebab and went back to the hostel to sleep.
Day 28:
Today I was headed for Bukhara. The motorcyclist had told me that this was his favorite of the old cities in Uzbekistan. The trip was very short, only 275km, and I arrived early in the afternoon. The morning was when I first really noticed how bad the gas situation was in this country. I tried for an hour or so to find an open station but finally had to settle on a station that was selling gas in plastic 5 liter water bottles kept in their basement. I'm not sure if its always like this but there was definitely a shortage of gas in the country. On the way to Bukhara, despite having plenty of fuel, I stopped at a few decent looking gas station but found they also had nothing to sell.
I arrived early enough in Bukhara to do a bit of city walking. I found the old section of the city, which is still pretty much intact, and got lost for a few hours among the short old buildings and narrow winding roads, not wide enough for a car. Eventually I found the center of the old city: Mosques with turquoise tiled domes and beautiful artwork and arabic writing covering their faces and minarets and markets filled with touristy things, silks, spices and local crafts. There I found a blacksmith and picked out a nice gift for myself.
Day 29:
Today I was to get back into adventure riding. The plan was to make it to Khiva, the last silk road city in Uzbekistan but to get there I had to cross the first bit of the Kyzyl Kum desert. In all my planned route would be over 450km, 350km of which would be through the desert. I found a gas station on the edge of town and loaded up. My tank's range is a pretty decent 430-460km and with the 5 liters of extra fuel in the jerry can, I can easily go about 550-600km without needing a gas station.
Once I got into the desert, the temperature rose above 100 degrees and the wind picked up. I quickly learned that riding with your jacket open to the desert wind is a big mistake so I closed all my jacket's air vents and zipped up. The wind in the desert feels like wind from a furnace even when you're going 80 kmh and it dries your sweat too quickly. I had actually read about this before and bought this jacket instead of a mesh one just for this reason. Zipped up with a bit of water down my shirt I felt perfectly fine.
This desert seemed more beautiful than the Taklimakan. The dirt had a redish color and it was covered in small plants. In this desert as in China, there were a few people living out there in the middle of nowhere. In this part of the desert the people operated cafes or shops which made the ride much easier than I had anticipated.
When I got near Khiva, it was still early so I decided to go on to Nukus. A further 210km but this put me over my gas range. Once again the stations I tried had nothing. The people I asked knew nothing. Eventually, I found one of those plastic bottle gas sellers and bought 5 liters (1.3 gallons) for $6.50, a ridiculous price. Nearly twice what the gas stations charge.
This section was another desolate one. After 100km or so the sun started shining in my face and I started to get anxious. I needed a hotel but with little day light left I'd be forced to stay at the first cheapish one I could find. To make things worse, my phone ran out of batteries so I had no map. I got to the city and eventually found a $70 hotel, the most I've spent on a hotel yet. The internet didn't even work but they did share some of a strange looking melon with me before I went to sleep.
This was one of the longest days. Including all the driving around looking for gas, I totaled 610km.
Day 24+25: The False Start and Driving in Kyrgyzstan
Day 24
The next morning, I said my goodbyes and packed my motorcycle for the first time in a few days. I'd forgotten a few packing tricks but soon I was on my way. The first kilometer felt great. After the long break I was fully rested and ready for a beautiful day of cool mountain driving. During the second, I began to hear a familiar rattling sound. I slowed and checked for loose parts but found nothing. Soon the rattling became a loud grinding and I pulled over in a parking lot in the center of Bishkek. The new bearing that I had just installed the previous day had broken already. This time I had no garage to keep the bike in so the parking lot would have to do.
First I thought I could just get some new bearings from the shop and do the whole fix in the lot. So I locked the bike, took my valuables and caught a cab. I was exhausted and it was a hot day so I didn't pay attention to where I was going. After a few minutes I realized that the cab was not going to where I had asked. This could be bad. Then he pulled over to "take a piss" but just walked around the cab and took out his phone. I grabbed my bags gave the guy some money and left. I'd heard a few stories of tourists getting robbed in this town so I was on my guard for the rest of the day and in this situation, bike unguarded in the city and me obviously carrying valuable things, I was particularly vulnerable.
Eventually I got the parts and made it back to the bike but found I couldn't remove that stupid ring again. I tried pounding it out using my axle and a rock but nothing. So I put my bags in a furniture shop nearby and carried the wheel, AGAIN, to the same garage of Russian mechanics. The same mechanics from the day before were once again successful this time though they charged me a few dollars. Japanese bearings (not chinese like the day before) in hand I headed back to my motorcycle which was now laying on its side in the parking lot waiting for the rear wheel.
With the help of a passing motorcycle enthusiast I replaced the wheel and some brake fluid that had spilled and was ready to go. It was 5:00 in the afternoon. I had started the day 2km away at about 10:00am. My lazy side carried the day and I turned around and went back to the hostel.
Day 25
After saying my goodbyes again I headed off passing the parking lot and finally making it out of the city. Today I would head west out of the city towards the Uzbek border near Urckurgan passing Toktogul lake and two mountain ranges
The roads were beautiful as were the gas station attendants. Kyrgyzstan is an amazing place and it reminded me a lot of the last days in China south of Urumqi. Herds of horses and sheep grazing along the road side in large mostly green fields with tall snow capped mountains in the distance.
The mountains I passed through were just what I needed. The first was difficult and at one point I came very close to snow covered peaks. It was freezing but after yesterday's adventure in the hot sunny city it felt great. Near the top of the range, my motorcycle struggling a bit from the altitude and my jacket closed as tight as I could make it, I arrived at a very long tunnel. The tunnel was unlit and poorly (if at all) ventilated and only about a lane and a half wide. As I normally do, I raised my black tinted visor at the beginning so I could see but soon my eyes were full of soot and aching badly. So visor down I followed the dim lights of the car in front of me through the rest of the unusually long tunnel.
After the long decent from the snowy peaks, I arrived at yurts and grassland and found a cafe for lunch.
The second mountain crossing was beautiful but uneventful and I began to get excited about camping. The sun started creeping up my wind shield meaning I should start looking for a camp site. Traveling west all the time this can become annoying. I found one shielded from the road by a big pile of gravel and next to a perfectly clear river. I cooked my egg noodle dinner, did a bit of writing and set up the tent. That night I left the rain fly off the tent and slept under the stars.
======================================================================
I've gone back and added the rest of my photos of China up to day 18. My phone is broken and its difficult to upload photos to my computer now so I've been a bit lazy.
The next morning, I said my goodbyes and packed my motorcycle for the first time in a few days. I'd forgotten a few packing tricks but soon I was on my way. The first kilometer felt great. After the long break I was fully rested and ready for a beautiful day of cool mountain driving. During the second, I began to hear a familiar rattling sound. I slowed and checked for loose parts but found nothing. Soon the rattling became a loud grinding and I pulled over in a parking lot in the center of Bishkek. The new bearing that I had just installed the previous day had broken already. This time I had no garage to keep the bike in so the parking lot would have to do.
First I thought I could just get some new bearings from the shop and do the whole fix in the lot. So I locked the bike, took my valuables and caught a cab. I was exhausted and it was a hot day so I didn't pay attention to where I was going. After a few minutes I realized that the cab was not going to where I had asked. This could be bad. Then he pulled over to "take a piss" but just walked around the cab and took out his phone. I grabbed my bags gave the guy some money and left. I'd heard a few stories of tourists getting robbed in this town so I was on my guard for the rest of the day and in this situation, bike unguarded in the city and me obviously carrying valuable things, I was particularly vulnerable.
Eventually I got the parts and made it back to the bike but found I couldn't remove that stupid ring again. I tried pounding it out using my axle and a rock but nothing. So I put my bags in a furniture shop nearby and carried the wheel, AGAIN, to the same garage of Russian mechanics. The same mechanics from the day before were once again successful this time though they charged me a few dollars. Japanese bearings (not chinese like the day before) in hand I headed back to my motorcycle which was now laying on its side in the parking lot waiting for the rear wheel.
With the help of a passing motorcycle enthusiast I replaced the wheel and some brake fluid that had spilled and was ready to go. It was 5:00 in the afternoon. I had started the day 2km away at about 10:00am. My lazy side carried the day and I turned around and went back to the hostel.
Day 25
After saying my goodbyes again I headed off passing the parking lot and finally making it out of the city. Today I would head west out of the city towards the Uzbek border near Urckurgan passing Toktogul lake and two mountain ranges
The roads were beautiful as were the gas station attendants. Kyrgyzstan is an amazing place and it reminded me a lot of the last days in China south of Urumqi. Herds of horses and sheep grazing along the road side in large mostly green fields with tall snow capped mountains in the distance.
The mountains I passed through were just what I needed. The first was difficult and at one point I came very close to snow covered peaks. It was freezing but after yesterday's adventure in the hot sunny city it felt great. Near the top of the range, my motorcycle struggling a bit from the altitude and my jacket closed as tight as I could make it, I arrived at a very long tunnel. The tunnel was unlit and poorly (if at all) ventilated and only about a lane and a half wide. As I normally do, I raised my black tinted visor at the beginning so I could see but soon my eyes were full of soot and aching badly. So visor down I followed the dim lights of the car in front of me through the rest of the unusually long tunnel.
After the long decent from the snowy peaks, I arrived at yurts and grassland and found a cafe for lunch.
The second mountain crossing was beautiful but uneventful and I began to get excited about camping. The sun started creeping up my wind shield meaning I should start looking for a camp site. Traveling west all the time this can become annoying. I found one shielded from the road by a big pile of gravel and next to a perfectly clear river. I cooked my egg noodle dinner, did a bit of writing and set up the tent. That night I left the rain fly off the tent and slept under the stars.
======================================================================
I've gone back and added the rest of my photos of China up to day 18. My phone is broken and its difficult to upload photos to my computer now so I've been a bit lazy.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Day 20 and the long break
Day 20-23
I left my broom closet at sunrise, said my goodbyes and set off for the Kyrgyzstan border and Bishkek. The road started off urban but soon passed through farmland and eventually a mountain pass over relatively smooth mountains. The roads today were much better and my ass was much happier.
I arrived at the border around the middle of the day. The crossing actually went very smoothly with only one minor problem that I didn't really understand at the time but now realize was actually potentially catastrophic. The border control officers kept asking for a paper that I thought I had already given them. So after trying to argue a bit with them in Turkish and rushing around to the different offices I had visited for a while to try to find this mysterious paper the police at the border just gave up and let me through.
My plan was to stay in Bishkek and get my Uzbek and Azeri visas. I knew I could get the Uzbek visa in about 10 minutes but had planned for the Azeri visa to take a few days. So I found a good hostel and settled in for a nice relaxing break. I found the BEST hostel I have yet stated in. The owners are great and there is a garage and even a pool. I've met quite a few interesting people here, two in particular: The Dutch BMW rider and the American state department intern.
Anyway, the next day I toured the city and found the two embassies I needed. The Azeri embassy was closed until the 11th of August, so the plan has become to apply for that visa in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and if necessary pick it up at the consulate in Aktau. The Uzbek Embassy required an appointment. Later in the day, the Dutch BMW rider and I went in search of a good parts store rumored to be located in a market where all the stores were built of shipping containers. We eventually found it but by the time we arrived the parts store was closed. So that day I found everything, didn't get anything done, but was ready for tomorrow.
The next day, I got my visa and found the store. They had almost everything I needed. So I went back to the hostel to prepare my motorcycle for the second half of the trip: new tires, new chain, new oil etc. The BMW guy helped me out with this but soon we discovered that my rear bearing was nearly destroyed. So I wasn't leaving the next day.
That day I met the American State Dept. Intern. He was a great guy and it was nice to finally hang out with an American again and let my accent return a little. He was stationed in Astana Kazakhstan and when I told him about my border crossing he was shocked. Apparently, foreigners are supposed to register with the police somewhere once they enter the country and I had forgotten to do this. This has become a huge problem at the Embassy as many American tourists don't know about this rule. Once they finish their vacation and try to leave the country they are denied and forced either to pay 400USD or spend 10 days in jail. They form that the border police kept asking me for I in fact never had and could have been stuck in that terrible situation. Maybe it was my Turkish, or maybe they thought they had lost it, either way I was incredibly lucky.
The fourth day including my arrival to Kyrgyzstan (which is actually today! first time I'm actually caught up with this thing) I spent repairing my motorcycle. I took the rear wheel back to the shop to get new bearings. Luckily they had exactly the right size but when we tried to remove the broken one, we discovered that the outer rim of the bearing housing had fused itself to the inside of my wheel. The shop owner and I went from shop to shop in the motorcycle market where he was located to find a way to remove this little ring of metal eventually ending up about two hours later at a shop owned by a very Russian car mechanic. While I waited there, half a dozen other mechanics stopped by to try their hand at smashing the ring out of the wheel. Eventually, another hour later, after the blow torch, electric saw crow bar and various home made tools had failed, a couple of mechanics managed to knock it out with a bit of metal tube. We installed the new bearings and 3 hours and 4 dollars later I was on my way back to the hostel to install the new wheel. They all refused to take any extra money from me. I guess they liked the challenge.
So thats the end of the break. Tomorrow I'll set off to see the rest of Kyrgyzstan and then on to Uzbekistan.
I left my broom closet at sunrise, said my goodbyes and set off for the Kyrgyzstan border and Bishkek. The road started off urban but soon passed through farmland and eventually a mountain pass over relatively smooth mountains. The roads today were much better and my ass was much happier.
I arrived at the border around the middle of the day. The crossing actually went very smoothly with only one minor problem that I didn't really understand at the time but now realize was actually potentially catastrophic. The border control officers kept asking for a paper that I thought I had already given them. So after trying to argue a bit with them in Turkish and rushing around to the different offices I had visited for a while to try to find this mysterious paper the police at the border just gave up and let me through.
My plan was to stay in Bishkek and get my Uzbek and Azeri visas. I knew I could get the Uzbek visa in about 10 minutes but had planned for the Azeri visa to take a few days. So I found a good hostel and settled in for a nice relaxing break. I found the BEST hostel I have yet stated in. The owners are great and there is a garage and even a pool. I've met quite a few interesting people here, two in particular: The Dutch BMW rider and the American state department intern.
Anyway, the next day I toured the city and found the two embassies I needed. The Azeri embassy was closed until the 11th of August, so the plan has become to apply for that visa in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and if necessary pick it up at the consulate in Aktau. The Uzbek Embassy required an appointment. Later in the day, the Dutch BMW rider and I went in search of a good parts store rumored to be located in a market where all the stores were built of shipping containers. We eventually found it but by the time we arrived the parts store was closed. So that day I found everything, didn't get anything done, but was ready for tomorrow.
The next day, I got my visa and found the store. They had almost everything I needed. So I went back to the hostel to prepare my motorcycle for the second half of the trip: new tires, new chain, new oil etc. The BMW guy helped me out with this but soon we discovered that my rear bearing was nearly destroyed. So I wasn't leaving the next day.
That day I met the American State Dept. Intern. He was a great guy and it was nice to finally hang out with an American again and let my accent return a little. He was stationed in Astana Kazakhstan and when I told him about my border crossing he was shocked. Apparently, foreigners are supposed to register with the police somewhere once they enter the country and I had forgotten to do this. This has become a huge problem at the Embassy as many American tourists don't know about this rule. Once they finish their vacation and try to leave the country they are denied and forced either to pay 400USD or spend 10 days in jail. They form that the border police kept asking me for I in fact never had and could have been stuck in that terrible situation. Maybe it was my Turkish, or maybe they thought they had lost it, either way I was incredibly lucky.
The fourth day including my arrival to Kyrgyzstan (which is actually today! first time I'm actually caught up with this thing) I spent repairing my motorcycle. I took the rear wheel back to the shop to get new bearings. Luckily they had exactly the right size but when we tried to remove the broken one, we discovered that the outer rim of the bearing housing had fused itself to the inside of my wheel. The shop owner and I went from shop to shop in the motorcycle market where he was located to find a way to remove this little ring of metal eventually ending up about two hours later at a shop owned by a very Russian car mechanic. While I waited there, half a dozen other mechanics stopped by to try their hand at smashing the ring out of the wheel. Eventually, another hour later, after the blow torch, electric saw crow bar and various home made tools had failed, a couple of mechanics managed to knock it out with a bit of metal tube. We installed the new bearings and 3 hours and 4 dollars later I was on my way back to the hostel to install the new wheel. They all refused to take any extra money from me. I guess they liked the challenge.
So thats the end of the break. Tomorrow I'll set off to see the rest of Kyrgyzstan and then on to Uzbekistan.
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