Welcome to the Mongol Rally Diaries series by Benny D. These weblog posts showcase Benny D’s journeying from London to Mongolia every bit constituent of the legendary Mongol Rally.
Kyrgyzstan
From Shymkent nosotros followed a even out dry out dusty route through to Taraz together with joined the queue for the boarder crossing into Kyrgyzstan. Vans with trailers topped with gas tanks, old shell upward cars together with human foot passengers with huge bags of goods all jostled for spot inwards line.
The machine inwards forepart of us was a chip dull to start upward when the line of piece of work began to displace together with cars behind us only pulled out together with nudged their agency in. No rules here, yous snooze yous lose. The same mentality applied ane time nosotros were within to convey our passports stamped.
A gypsy type lady with a pocket-size infant elbowed her agency inwards forepart of me together with dragged her luggage with her. I idea it would hold upward out of guild to catch her past times the neckband together with describe her dorsum into line of piece of work but thence the balance of her tribe decided to bring together her at the forepart of the queue together with ane past times ane they shimmied past times us.
The people behind me must convey idea I was a truthful gentleman together with it took some skillful manoeuvring of torso parts to preclude the entire line of piece of work from unashamedly bulldozing inwards forepart of us. Standing inwards the hot crunch I predicted I would exclusively convey to defend my spot for a farther twenty minutes or thence when the official inwards our booth came out together with told us to displace dorsum together with indicated that the ability had gone out. I moved to some other line of piece of work to defend my spot ane time again.
Crossing the Otmok transcend inwards the Taraz Valley of Kyrgyz Republic it struck me ane time again how physical borders tin give the sack dictate the differences betwixt nations. Crossing the edge a few hours before I had been walking adjacent to our machine inwards my shorts together with T-shirt sweating nether the desert Sun together with instantly I was rugged upward inwards a jacket together with woollen chapeau crouched adjacent to a mount flow inspecting yet some other even out tire.
It was an inspired alternative to teach into Kyrgyz Republic from this administration every bit the scenery was the most picturesque I’d seen since Switzerland. The roads injure their agency upward over grass covered hillsides with glacier capped mountains inwards the background together with children riding horses with numerous yurt villages dotted throughout the valleys.
A sparse flow of white smoke emanating from each yurt signalling the warmth contained inside, the crisp mount air became cooler every bit nosotros climbed higher together with higher over the mount pass. By the fourth dimension nosotros summited our 2d transcend nosotros had stopped to pose on pants together with jackets together with scrambled for improve advantage points to endeavour together with teach to a greater extent than photos of this vast together with spectacular landscape inwards the fading light.
With the spare bike fitted nosotros continued our descent of the twisting mount route passing numerous vehicles whose engines had succumbed to the steep climb upward together with every bit it got darker it became to a greater extent than together with to a greater extent than hard to spot the huge crater sized potholes that our fiddling machine was non built to handle. Being pulled over past times the police force twice also didn’t assistance together with our arrival into the Kyrgyz uppercase of Bishkek was going to hold upward a slow one.
Bishkek
Sitting inwards the warm morning time Sun of a café inwards Bishkek the adjacent day, sipping java together with soaking upward the ambience of its picturesque tree lined boulevards I imagined myself staying hither for a few days or fifty-fifty months. Just slipping into the ambling stride of this quaint fiddling metropolis on the old silk road, drinking inwards it’s bars together with restaurants, exploring its greenish spaces together with stretching out on a existent bed somewhere. It was non to be.
The adjacent 2 days inwards beautiful Bishkek were spent at the mechanics workshop getting to a greater extent than repairs done to Marylou. More fourth dimension lost meant that disappointingly nosotros didn’t teach to explore farther into the interior of Kyrgyz Republic where I had read on NOMADasaurus thence much virtually the hiking only about spectacular lakes together with mountains, together with encounters with nomadic tribes.
Once the machine was upward together with going ane time again nosotros made a beeline for the edge together with dorsum into Kazakhstan. By slow afternoon nosotros were inwards Almaty, the one-time uppercase together with the country’s largest metropolis with ane of the most dramatic backdrops I’ve e'er seen- 5000 meter peaks dwarfing the skyline that is nestled into the human foot hills of the Altau Mountain range.
A mutual work inwards these key Asian cities is finding budget accommodation. There are some hostels but most are located within residential even out blocks together with tin give the sack hold upward quite hard to find.
Once nosotros had managed to discovery the heaven Hostel on the 12th flooring of an inner-city edifice nosotros were kindly informed that in that location were no beds available. We were welcome to pitch our tent on the roof though, adjacent to the outdoor seating expanse together with this suited us only fine.
Use of the bathrooms together with wi-fi together with in all probability the best persuasion inwards town for virtually vi dollars each. Another lovely metropolis I’d hold upward prepared to pass to a greater extent than fourth dimension inwards but Almaty was every bit far East every bit nosotros would teach on this trip. H5N1 few hundred kilometres to the Chinese edge but withal good over 2000kms to Ulaanbaatar.
Now it was fourth dimension to caput due north towards Russia, what would hopefully hold upward improve roads together with the quickest route dorsum to Europe.
Aksuek – The cloak-and-dagger town
The Almaty – Balkash route rapidly deteriorates together with becomes a potholed mess every bit nosotros endeavour to force on towards lake Balkash. Just shy of a roadside truck halt nosotros hitting a pothole thence hard that nosotros curvature the bike out of shape. We alter it chop-chop together with campaign downwardly the adjacent route later the truck stop. It leads us into what tin give the sack exclusively hold upward described every bit what looks similar an apocalyptic state of war zone.
There is a advert on the map- Aksuek – but it doesn’t call for that in that location are whatever facilities. At starting fourth dimension it appears every bit though the hamlet is abandoned, 80% of its brick buildings inwards ruins.
Just piles of bricks heaped upward only about steel bars together with broken glass. There is the strange intact edifice together with thence nosotros reckon some people together with a yoke of cars nigh the town centre. I purchase a yoke of beers from the store together with nosotros laid upward army camp inwards an empty yard, educate our dinner together with play some cards before going to sleep.
We are out inwards the steppe together with it gets real mutual depression temperature during the night. I’m rugged upward tight inwards my sleeping handbag when I listen someone banging on the bonnet of the machine early on inwards the morning time shouting inwards Russian. I popular caput out of the tent to reckon a immature police force officeholder motioning for me to come upward out.
He is real serious together with points to my empty beer tin give the sack adjacent to our rubbish. I demonstrate him my International drivers permit together with he says something virtually passport together with tea together with that I should decease with him. I don’t know if I’m nether arrest or if he only wants to inquiry me but I teach dressed together with exit Penny with the machine together with tent together with decease with the officer.
We campaign past times the skeletons of destroyed concrete buildings together with describe into a yard with long grass. He motions for me to come upward into a house. Inside in that location are 2 girls, ane a teenager together with the other early on 20s together with a infant boy, mayhap ane yr old.
The girls drag their sparse mattresses to the side of the room together with laid out tea together with biscuits facing the TV. The whole fourth dimension the officeholder is talking to me inwards Russian together with I only nod together with repeat a give-and-take when I recognise one.
After twenty minutes nosotros exit together with nosotros teach dorsum to the car. Penny has everything packed ready to go. She asks me what happened together with I tell I call upward he only wanted to convey a loving cup of tea! He gets us to follow him to the police force station which is basically direct across the route together with insists that nosotros both teach into his unmarked Audi together with off nosotros decease – to produce the rounds with him.
Over the adjacent threescore minutes nosotros campaign to a sentinel at the dorsum of town, pullover together with inquiry some guys driving inwards from the desert, convey a chat to an old local guy who is out hunting with an air rifle together with inspect an abandoned uranium mine together with factory.
From what nosotros tin give the sack assemble nosotros convey stumbled across what used to hold upward a cloak-and-dagger town built only about this uranium facility that hasn’t been used since the breakup of the Soviet Union, but every bit to why nearly every other edifice inwards town is a pile of steel together with concrete debris I withal cannot say. An earthquake, a state of war or only the ravages of time, nosotros accidentally got the total guided tour from our ain someone escort who is the towns exclusively police officer together with apparently a large fan of Maroon 5.
During the whole surreal sense I kept wondering how on public I had ended upward hither together with how this bizarre episode was going play out. It turns out our novel friend only wanted to demonstrate us only about his town together with all he wanted for his troubles was my Facebook details. I gauge they don’t teach besides many visitors to Aksuek.
Sumber https://www.creditkarma.comEnjoying the story? Stay tuned for Benny’s adventures inwards the 6th together with in conclusion calendar week of the Mongol Rally as he travels with Penny from Astana to Moscow.
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