Turning Point.....

The immense blue expanse of Lake Issy Kol occupies a flat bottomed valley sandwiched between two snow capped ranges and is undeniably beautiful, and therefore popular. The north shore is more easily accessible from Bishkek and therefore more developed but the south shore is also seeing creeping numbers of tourist yurts and camping pods with the road being upgraded to a dual carriageway. As the accommodation generally sits on the lake shore and the road is generally very close by I am not sure this will create quite the 'get away from it all' experience that people might be seeking. One development of several hundred pods laid out in a geometric grid seemed to provide no other facilities whatsoever and was a long way from any villages.

Anyway after buying 8 x 10l bottles of water as a planned stop was no longer accessible due to roadworks I turned off down to a quieter section and parked up 100 yards from the water's edge and enjoyed a warm evening and pleasantly cool night with magical views. 

Heading to Karakol the next morning the final 50 miles was a horrendous experience with unbroken roadworks and heavy traffic throwing up clouds of dust. At times tankers were spraying the carriageway which just produced slick mud which covered everything so that by the time I arrived in Karakol the van sported a fetching two-tone paint job. I found the P4N suggestion of the Riverside Guest House, nipped through the pedestrian gate, had a chat to a young lady and was instructed to open the double gates and park on the concrete yard. There were toilets out there and showers available in the main house but I didn't use them and set off down to town to check out options for the oil and filter change that was due. One place nearby seemed busy and had a couple of pits so I then walked back to the van and dug out my oil and filter. I also retrieved a new air filter and soon had that fitted with the old one certainly reflecting the dusty roads of the Stans. The owner's little lad came over with some of his toys and before long had them all set up in the van - he was quite engrossed in his little world but before long we had to create a building site outside as I wanted to go back in to town.

I visited the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church with it's shining domes, enjoyed an ice cream in a shady park and then walked over to the wooden mosque built a century or so by Chinese craftsmen. On my way in I got chatting with a retired teacher of English who offered to show me round and was good company with our discussions ranging across a variety of subjects.  Returning to the yard I went to bed around 10 but shortly after a minibus full of guests arrived and disappeared indoors - the huge distances in these countries mean that tour groups start early and finish late with only fleeting visits to the various attractions.

Thus they were off at 6am but I figured the garage wouldn't open before 9 (if at all, it being a Sunday) so I dozed for a while. I had seen the  guesthouse owner the previous evening to pay the 300som so was off out through the gates to the garage which was indeed shut....

Further down in to town though I found another place which was in fact much smarter, had a huge stock of oils and filters and were able to get on with it straight away. I had driven far enough to get the oil warm but not so far that it was at high temperature as draining the oil on a hot engine can cause problems. The lads removed the tray but decided to drain the oil using a suction tube down the dipstick opening - I was pleased they did it this way as it would be all too easy to overtighten the drain plug. Once the filter was changed they topped everything up, replaced the tray and all was well. I took the opportunity to have a quick look round underneath and all seemed well although the mud from the previous day obscured everything. They only charged £1.70 so I upped that a bit and left with everyone happy.

An hour out of town I found a perfect park up on an inlet of Issy Kol under good shade and set to to do my laundry in a bucket. A line between two trees soon saw it all dry and I enjoyed the perfect location with a couple of families a mile or so away having a picnic. With the place to myself after sunset it was a quiet evening and with no one around to be disturbed I fired up the genny, plugged it in at the end of my long lead and later enjoyed my first hot shower since mid April. The shade kept the early morning sun off me and it was very tempting to stay longer.

Back in Karakol I pulled up in the central parking area and spoke to two Italian couples from Verona in large coachbuilt vans who were heading west. The large well stocked supermarket did some excellent preprepared salads so I stocked up and headed out east towards Jyrgalan.A side turn up to Engilcek 60 miles away to the north would have taken me in to the mountains but the road was in a terrible state so mindful of my many thousands of miles needed to get home I returned to the Jyrgalan road which turned out to be even worse. Twenty miles of horror brought me to the middle of a scruffy village in the middle of nowhere and somewhat disgruntled I turned around and headed back out. Cutting across north to the Kazakh border the road climbed to a pass where I met a German couple in one of the Soviet era 'bread vans' that go on for ever. They said the track was largely OK so I carried on passing remote shepherd's camps with yurts or other temporary structures dotted around the lush pastures. A tricky descent on a scrabbly surface with steep hairpins yet again reflected the remarkable abilities of my humble home and once back on tarmac firma I was ready to pull over and found a short track down to a dry riverbed out of sight and sound of the road. 

Fifteen miles further on with the Tian Shen mountains rising above 4,000m to form the Chinese border I stopped to take a few pictures feeling slightly melancholy that the turning point of my trip was fast approaching. Others I have met are continuing east in to China and far beyond and I hugely admire their determination and ambition but for me this has been, and will be for another few months, as much if not more, as I had hoped for and for which I am supremely grateful.

The Kegen border is only open from May to October and sits high on a lonely plateau with no facilities other than the border formalities on each side. I was through both sides in half an hour, the quickest and easiest yet and 15 miles down the road pulled up in the small town of Kegen where apparently insurance could be bought. There was no indication as to where this might be achieved so I asked a policeman via Google Translate who indicated I should jump in his car. This was as decrepit as you could imagine but he literally drove me less than 50 yards to the other side of the street where we went in to a car and tractor parts store. He spoke to the assistant who nodded and indicated that I should wait whilst he served a couple of customers. These were farmers sourcing parts for a hay turner and baler and at one point he locked up the shop and we all trooped round the back to a container full of all manner of spares. Once they were sorted out he asked for my passport, V5 and driving licence before filling in a form on his computer. He then asked for my phone number but it had to be a Kazakh one so I asked him to give me ten minutes and nipped out to a local phone shop where a helpful young man soon had me set up with a 30 day SIM with unlimited data for £12. 

The insurance form could then be completed and an activation code sent to my new number so that eventually a certificate was printed off with cover valid for a month : £20. Feeling hungry by then I had an excellent lagman in a cool cafe before pulling up at the Royal Car Wash where I inserted the hose of his powerful vacuum cleaner in to the inlet and exhaust ports of the Truma water heater which has restored it to full working order. Reversing back to line up for the car wash the guy fortunately stopped me from reversing in to a concrete power pole perfectly hidden in my blind spot. Several sessions with the foam lance and the rinsing lance saw a different van emerge and I was soon on my way north after a very successful morning. 

A turn off along a 6 mile smooth tarmac road brought me to the entrance of Charyn gorge where I paid a couple of quid to get in and confirmed it would be OK to stay overnight. There were a large number of coaches, minibuses and cars parked up but I found a level spot looking down in to the gorge and set off for a look round. Most people are content with (or more likely only have time for) the half-hour walk above the Valley of Castles which is impressive enough as it looks down in to the dry side valley that eventually leads to the main gorge that contains a fast flowing river. Away to the south the Tian Shen mountains were blacked out by thunderous clouds but the afternoon sun really defined the valley's geology, partly explained by trilingual information boards. Back at the van a guy approached me for a chat, he was a Kiwi from South Island visiting the region with his Mongolian wife whilst on a break from working in a commercial gold mine in Nicaragua.....

As visitors began to head off I headed down the 250 steps to the valley floor and pretty much had the four mile walk to myself as I passed superb rocks, pillars and  eroded cliffs. A couple of the 'bread vans' were shuttling visitors back up from the river where there was a simple camping area - most were young, fit western tourists who would have gained so much more from actually making the effort but as the sun set below the gorge rim I was pleased to have this remarkable place to myself. The car park was deserted and after dark I fired up the Truma and enjoyed a good hot shower. This location marked my easternmost destination and depending on the actual route plus possible sidetracking it is about 6-8,000 miles home !

After a pleasantly cool night I was away before the day's visitors arrived and started heading towards Almaty, once the Kazakh capital and located down on the plain. Descending from the mountains the sheer vastness of the Steppes stretched away to the north and reminded of the statistic placing Kazakhstan as the 9th largest country in the world. I had intended to stay a night or two in Almaty but it was way too busy and congested for me and I knew the park up lacked shade so after an hour of snarl ups and congestion I was out and heading west. At a possible water point next to a car wash the owner had said filling up wasn't allowed so I moved on deciding to divert a few miles off the new main road to Korday on the border where I could change my remaining som in to tenge as bizarrely back at Kegen the bank had said they couldn't help. En route I spotted a free flowing pipe by a small shop who's owner (a friendly Chechen Russian) was quite happy for me to fill up whilst we showed his grandson round the van.

An hour later on the well surfaced main road I turned off to Merkel and found a shady pull in under trees behind a petrol station. It had been a hot day and the aircon was much appreciated although being a 25 year old after market retrofit it perhaps lacks the power of more modern systems. It was a hot night, staying above 19°C, so I just used my silk liner and despite long goods trains rumbling past through the night I slept well.

Today I have only moved on a hundred miles to Taraz where I have parked up next to a mall whose cool interior encouraged me inside for lunch. The mausoleums of Karakhan and Dauitbek were worth a look - they are originally 12th century but have been restored and see very few visitors compared to the hotspots of Uzbekistan.

Tomorrow sees a longish day to north of Turkistan so I will return to my downloaded archive of Desert Island Discs to keep me amused on the journey.

A few extras sit HERE 

A Karry on in Kyrgyzstan

Down by the Toktogul reservoir a truck appeared and dropped off a large metal structure of the sort used in cafes for seated dining but otherwise it was a peaceful evening and Kris and Hinda were up for a bracing early morning dip. I was about to get underway when I noticed a front OS puncture..... I got the trolley jack out and raised the offending corner but couldn't see anything in the tyre so set to to remove the wheel and replace it with the spare. With the many thousands of miles of dusty conditions I got rather grubby so rinsed off at the water's edge and headed off up to the main road. Kris had given me a hand and it was good to have all the necessary kit on board. A few miles along the road at Uc Terek one of the ubiquitous tyre workshops soon had me sorted out with a repair costing 300 som so the friendly old guy was very happy with the 500 I insisted on. He and a local trucker also in for a repair were very interested in the van and my journey, my map overcoming the language barrier once more. 

Beyond the town of Toktogul the main road to Bishkek began climbing through the dramatic Chychkan Canyon to reach the Ala-Bel Assu pass at 3184m which was chilly and remote but surrounded by the western ranges of the Tian Shen mountains.

Dropping through Otmok I eventually reached my intended turning to Chaek but after only 10 km I decided the potential 100km more through the mountains on such a poor surface was not for me - I heard later from Kris that it had indeed been a terrible road all the way. The main road north then started climbing once more and eventually crossed the range via the Too Ashuu tunnel at 3130m that avoided the pass another 400m higher. These roads must be impassable for many months over the winter and to counter this a new north south route from Bishkek to Osh is reaching completion heading in a more direct line but requiring many tunnels and potentially opening up a currently fairly inaccessible region of Kyrgyzstan.

Before hitting Bishkek I diverted south towards the Ala Archa National Park as there was  a good water point on the road heading up in to the hills. The NP is popular and plenty of locals were heading that way but before long I was parked under trees in the centre of the Kyrgyz capital. It was much hotter again so after the obligatory ice cream I visited the National Museum nearby which was spread out over five floors of a modern building. A wealth of exhibits covering all aspects of life from the early history to post Soviet times were fascinating and well labelled in Kyrgyz, Russian and English. As always I was amazed by the complex history across this vast region with empires rising and falling and national boundaries in an almost constant state of flux until recent times. 

As I walked back to the van I noticed ongoing preparations for the Bishkek International Film Festival and after a visit to the fairground later I stood and watched the opening ceremony which was followed by various local artists belting out traditional songs. Despite the large numbers of security personnel I was able so slip through the barriers and reach an area where national film stars were lining up for selfies with their fans before eventually heading back to the van which was effectively blocked in by visitors.

It was a warm night and I was away early heading east to Burana Tower which is all that remains of a mosque and even that is only half its original height. I parked under trees and within minutes a German plated high top T4 parked alongside. The three occupants were from Germany with the guy being English so, it was good to have a chat before heading to the ticket booth. I walked out to the brick built structure accessed by an external spiral staircase which led to a very steep and unlit internal stone staircase with almost no room to pass other  visitors. The views south were superb as snow clad mountains rose away to the east and west and back at ground level there were a number of carved stones gathered from across the region set in to the ground.

Heading east again through Tokmok the road climbed through the Boom Gorge and then split to send me south to Kockor passing the scenic Oro Toko Reservoir. On the outskirts of Kockor I found an idyllic park up by a shallow river and decided it would be the perfect overnight spot. There was the usual dispiriting garbage around but ten minutes with a bin liner made a huge difference and I settled in for a planning session. A family pulled up nearby and spent some time washing two huge carpets in the river but by mid evening all was quiet. Heading south to Sari Bulak there were nomadic herdsmen and their families occupying the flatter spots by the Joon Aryk river with the fermented mare's milk for sale and I was soon turning off west on the road to the Song Kol lake. A local guy was hitching for a lift so I stopped as the road was very quiet and we headed off on a rather poor surface with a few deviations to avoid wash outs. After about half an hour we reached his humble farm after which the road got more challenging and climbed steeply via numerous bumpy hairpins. I passed a heavily laden van and trailer that was heading up to the jailoo or summer pastures carrying a whole family's belongings and presumably most of the supplies they would need as it was a long way in or out. After passing some patches of snow I reached the pass at 3124m and stopped for the remarkable view of a blue lake encircled by snow capped mountains several hundred metres below. Yurts were strung out across the flat pastures, herds of cattle and horses were grazing freely as well as flocks of the curious kurdyuk or fat tailed sheep which are a cornerstone of the local economy. They have a pronounced bulge above the tail which acts like a camel's hump storing energy in the form of fat to enable them to survive harsh winters and scarce grazing. I reached the shore line and headed west meeting a Californian guy passing through on a well laden mountain bike - hugely impressive - and then reached a few yurt camps that cater for tourists seeking the nomadic experience, albeit briefly and with creature comforts perhaps not seen in the true yurt. 

I knew rain was in the forecast, that might well have turned to snow at these high altitudes and in any case would make the dirt track tricky so climbed up and out of the enormous bowl to reach a perfect spot to spend the night at 3346m, my highest ever night in the van. Neither it nor I experienced any altitude issues, not that I was exerting myself very much and the views south to 4,000m plus peaks across the wide Narin Valley were incredible. Remarkably this river eventually flows in to the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and I will be following its course north in a few weeks time and hundreds of miles away. Two local herders arrived on horseback - being young they had come up to get a signal as it was non existent around the lake but after an hour as the sun set they were off leaving me to enjoy the amazing stars appear overhead.

I was woken next morning by the van rocking gently courtesy of some cows having a good scratch so shooed them away and after a breakfast of toast and honey began the long descent on a serpentine track to reach the valley floor after twenty odd miles. P4N suggested a water point twenty miles in the wrong direction for me and as it was a poor road I turned east for Narin as I was pretty sure I had enough for another day or two. My water gauge has always had a mind of it's own and with minimal usage at the moment thanks to solo occupancy and a flannel wash I'm never quite sure of the situation. I keep 5l of drinking water in reserve so would always be OK. Similarly with my gas situation I am using far less and a cylinder has lasted a month with minimal cooking, fridge use and water boiling. On the outskirts of Narin a riverside park up required a steep and bumpy descent which I then reascended to make sure it was possible, yet again the van amazed me with its capabilities and I descended once more to park up under some trees for the rest of the day. A group of young lads of various ages were spending the day there as there was a rough football pitch, some ancient swings and a natural spring emerged from rocks giving them the opportunity to lark about. I of course was a source of great interest and they were super excited to see inside the van and totally absorbed in the maps I used to show them my route across Europe to get here. They knew all the main soccer teams in the UK and having pumped up their football we played an impromptu game up on the pitch. My position as goalie was perfect : no running around and the junior sized goal was easily enough blocked. The game ended at two all and before long as the sun set they were packing up and heading home waving wholeheartedly having brought me a few handfuls of sweets - humbling.

I woke this morning to the sound of the predicted rain so packed up very quickly anxious to get back up the track before it got too slippery, again the van was up to the task and by mid morning I was back here by the river in Kockor where the water was much muddier as a result of melting snow up in the mountains. I walked in to the village to check out the shopping options for tomorrow, found a good cafe for lunch and have been back at the van for the afternoon - a family sent over their toddler with melon and mini doughnuts and yet again I was considering how open and trusting everyone is over here: so refreshing.

Anyway I have less than a fortnight left in this beautiful country so will head east along the south shore of mighty Issy Kol lake to Karakol where I must get the van oil and filter done before starting to head home. Kyrgyzstan has been amazing so far and has more to offer so until the next post some extra photos sit HERE

Kyrgyzstan

 My intended cross country route is apparently undergoing an upgrade with the diversion following a poor dirt track for many miles so I reviewed my options and decided to head up in to the mountains beyond Jala Abad and to Arslanbob in particular as it lies at around 5,000' and would be cooler. Leaving the main Bishkek road at Bazar Korgon I followed a valley climbing steadily and at times being completely surrounded by huge flocks of sheep or herds of horses which were being moved up the valley for the summer grazing season. 

As at that point the tarmac had disappeared it was a noisy, chaotic and exhilarating dust storm created by the thousands of hooves with children as young as ten or eleven showing incredible horsemanship as they assisted the adults to keep things moving. Local drivers barged through in both directions to add to the fun but I stopped in a village to fill my tank from a stand pipe using the 10l bottles which saw livestock dispersing in to a couple of fields with water troughs. Up at Arslanbob which is a major centre for the autumn walnut harvest I found the 'Soviet' campground on the edge of the village which provided a perfect place to have a short break. A few families were occupying yurts and cooking and eating in a communal room and the guardian pointed me towards a well shaded spot under a huge walnut tree in knee high grass. He came over with a scythe and cleared an area for me and as there was a fast flowing and crystal clear stream nearby I set to to wash 3 weeks worth of laundry and the bedding before stringing a line across to the tree to get it all dry by the evening. There was a long plastic slide nearby for people to descend on rubber tyres which provided great amusement whilst also being rather too noisy for me but by late afternoon most people had settled down to eat and I had a very quiet and comfortable night. There is an 18km walk up to some waterfalls through the walnut forests but I am trying to give my knee a rest so contented myself with a walk in to the village noticing how beautifully turned out the schoolchildren were. 

It must be very hard for the mums to produce white aprons and shirts in such dusty conditions. In the village I bought a mesh gilet as when out and about I need numerous pockets but my other gilet is a bit warm for this time of year and then enjoyed a delicious plov with chay in a small cafe. Back at the site I finished one of my BorrowBox books and planned my revised onwards route.

On departure the following morning I filled up again and paid £4 a night which seemed very reasonable and returned to the main road passing the livestock moving against me once more. At Tas Komur I turned NW off the main road heading for the Sari Chelek National Park some 50 miles away in the western reaches of the enormous Tian Shen Range. The last village of any size at Carba had a few shops so I stocked up and then followed a side valley to Arkit and the NP boundary. At an initial security gate they took my and the van details and checked that I didn't have a dog, gun or fishing tackle.... At another barrier a few miles further on admission for two nights was 1100 som (about a tenner) and the woman confirmed that camping up at the end point was fine. A 12 mile dirt track snaked up in to some stunning mountains and eventually reached a large parking area overlooking beautiful Sari Chelek Lake. It was an understandably popular spot so quite busy as walks and horse treks start from there for those who want more than a picnic and a selfie. I spotted a Belgian plated LWB Iveco parked up and we both moved on to a flatter spot with some shade as day visitors left. Whilst chatting to Hinda and Kris we spotted a Toyota LandCruiser with a demountable pod sporting Australian number plates arriving. This was Paul and Robyn from NSW who had shipped their vehicle to Vladivostok, travelled through Russia to get here and are heading to Europe eventually to visit family in the UK.

It was a real change to be able to chat as a group as Kris and Hinda (both qualified doctors) had excellent English so we were able to swop tips, trips and experiences. After a quiet night we all set off for the standard six lakes walk with the younger couple adding in a tough climb to a more distant lake via an additional 500m high ridge. We were content with the 12k walk that took us past a cluster of stunning lakes, one of which provided a shaded lunch spot, before we returned to base. A few people on horseback seemed at risk of being pitched down the steep slopes as their mounts tackled the steep uneven trail, I for one would have dismounted, and we had a chat with a few other visitors as it is a popular destination for folk from the capital Bishkek and many had some basic English. Back at the car park the ranger seemed to think we should pay around a fiver a night to stay but as we had all paid to come in and an additional fee hadn't been mentioned we politely declined. To be honest if it had been a more formal arrangement we would have happily paid and either way I felt that from our immensely privileged positions it wasn't a fortune even if it had gone in to his back pocket.

One group enjoying a picnic under the trees produced a speaker and danced around for a while and encouraged us to join them and later a young Kyrgyz lad came over for a chat and again the dilemma arose as he asked me how he could come to England to work as he had heard he could earn 5 times the local salary of about £400/month. He was studying architecture and marketing and had a reasonable command of English so I pointed him to the www.gov.uk website as a source of information but also explained that the cost of living was so much higher. He was a lovely guy and so grateful but an approaching storm had encouraged his family to head down the hill leaving we three vehicles to enjoy a cool quiet night as after the thunder and lightning came the rain. Just after retiring to bed early around 9 there was a knock on the window as the ranger had come round to persuade us all to cough up but as I appeared (top) half naked he stumbled off muttering.

So today I returned to the main Bishkek road and followed it north through Kara Kol village passing through the dramatic gorge of the Narin river and have now pulled up on the shore of Toktogul reservoir which is gorgeous and cool. A few locals have been taking a dip in the still water surrounded by mountains that rise to over 4,000m. Kris and Hinda have also turned up so I'm off to see what their plans are as I still fancy a cross country route over to Song Kol and travelling en convoi would be sensible.

I have 3 more weeks in Kyrgyzstan and will then explore the eastern most parts of Kazakhstan beyond Almaty before turning for home in mid July.

A few extra pics  HERE