A New Beginning

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

Flying into Dushanbe I was full of mixed emotions. Leaving behind a group of great friends was hard but I was also excited to meet my new entourage. To take my mind off all this Turkish Airlines decided they would lose 1 of my bags containing my tent, sleeping mat and a pillow. Fortunately for me there were some spare items on the truck which I have been able to utilise. The company I have joined with is Madventure and they had already started in London approximately 2 months before and the trip continues through Central Asia, into South East Asia and finishes in Sydney.

One of the many valleys we wound our way through

Fresh mountain water mixing with the Oxus river

 

Now Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are not exactly tourist meccas but they do have their drawcards. Over 50% of Tajikistan is over 3000m and contains the Pamir Hwy, an old route through the mountains which once formed part of the Silk Road and had visitors such as Marco Polo and Alexander the Great. Being the adventurous type we decided to skip the start of the Pamir Hwy and go scouting for future trips through the Wakhan Valley which follows the Afghanistan border which is split by the ancient Oxus river. The scenery was stunning with 7000m peaks visible over the border in Pakistan but our luck ran out ¾ of the way down the valley when we hit a hairpin bend our truck could not get around. Admitting defeat we drove back to Khorog, losing 2 days in the process. On the way back we heard gunfire over the border in Afghanistan but could not see anything so we weren't sure whether it was a gunfight or just training.

A damaged bridge we had to wait at while they re-welded it

Scenic bush camping

Typical Pamir Hwy scene

My first Yak sighting

The view from the highest pass; 4655m

At the last pass of 4282m we came to the Kyrgyzstan border up in the mountains. After negotiating our way through and making my last passport swap we drove down with a couple of Ukrainian hitch-hikers whom we dropped in Osh a couple of days later. The roads in Kyrgyzstan immediately improved and there were some magnificent descents like the picture below. We spent half a day in Osh and grabbed supplies then continued on, climbing and descending our way towards Lake Song Kol. Just before we arrived however we noticed a group of villagers on horseback all gathered around and stopped for a look. Here we had the great fortune of being able to watch them play a game of Ulak Tartysh, a sport played on horseback similar to polo, except instead of a ball they struggle over a decapitated goats body which they are trying to pick and throw onto opposing mounds of dirt at either end of the field. It is quite a rough sport with the men grappling over the goat and ramming their horses into each other. One of our group, Kate, who is a rider at home jumped on a horse and got into the thick of it and helped score a goal for the blue team.

One of the many great drives down into a valley

Common rural dwellings in Kyrgyzstan

Locals playing Ulak Tartysh

Kate in the thick of it

Shepherds herding their Yaks

Mr Ed at Lake Song Kol

We made it to Lake Song Kol the next day where we finally got to enjoy a day free of driving. With a full day off and no signs of civilization apart from distant yurts we were able to really relax, breath the mountain air and explore the area, whether it be by foot or by horse. We had organised to stay in a yurt on our 2nd night which was much more comfortable and warmer then our tents and it also kept you safe from the many roaming cows, donkeys, goats and horses who had a unhealthy attraction to our tents. Refreshed and revitalized we made our way up to the capital Bishkek where we are currently staying for 3 nights. 5 of our group are returning home from here, leaving just a cosy 15 on a truck that can fit 40. From here we are to enter Tibet but we are delaying this as much as we can as the Chinese require you to buy permits that stipulate which way you are going to travel and an exact itinerary however this does not suit us at the moment as the road we need to enter Nepal on has been blocked by a landslide and is not due to open until mid September. We are not sure which way we are likely to be going and I will be absolutely gutted if we miss Nepal but the show must go on.





more...