LIVIN MY DREAM - MY OVERLAND JOURNEY: "THE DAY WHEN HISTORY WAS CREATED": DAY 15, KARA KUL – MURGHAB

5^th June 2013

Today I am going to create history. I woke up with mixed emotions – happy, thrilled, anxious, scared...all feelings that you can name. After saying good bye to Sadat and Ben, I started my ride towards Muzkol. Ben had told me that the road after Muzkol will be dirt all the way. The weather was fine and the temperature was about 5 degrees Celsius as I pressed DREAM’s throttle heading south with the view of Kara Kul Lake and the snow capped mountains on my right hand side.

With Ben and Sadat

Not long after I started riding, I saw a group of motorbikes coming from the opposite way. This was the first time I came across a motorbike convoy ever since I started my ride, so I pulled over and waved at them. They stopped as well, and it seemed that they were from the Globe Busters Tours, doing London – Beijing in 2 months time. They were 15 bikes all together with 20 participants. They asked me, where is my other friends, and were very shocked to find out that I am all alone, and riding on such a small cc motorbike. They said that I am a very brave woman and they didn’t know where to put their faces (and their balls). HAHAHA.....that was hilarious. I asked them about the road condition ahead, the one that I was very concerned about, and they assured me that there was no snow on the track of the mountain pass.

With the Globe Busters...compare my small bike to theirs.....

We said good bye, and I continued with my ride. I reached the beginning of the Ak-Baital, and pose for pics. The pass was about 25km long on dirt and gravels rattling road which rattled all my bones and teeth. I had to grip DREAM’s handle firmly to keep it stable. After what I had experienced in Kyrgyzstan, this pass, which worried me so much before, happened not to be as difficult as I had thought. The climbing was gradual and the ‘snake’ was bigger, making it a joyful ride with incredible views to enjoy. Finally, I made it to the peak and can’t help tears when I stopped DREAM at the sign post.

The beginning of Ak-Baital Pass

The magnificent Pamir Mountain

Today, 5th June 2013, I, Anita Yusof, was the first Malaysian to conquer the Ak-Baital Pass (4655m), Pamir Mountain, Tajikistan, the 2^nd highest road in the world, the ‘Roof of the World’, exactly at 12pm, SOLO ON A MOTORBIKE. Thank you god for fulfilling my dream and my wish. Only tears of happiness can justify.

History was created.....alhamdulillah.....

After some moment of solitary, recalling all the hard work that I had done before leaving Malaysia to prepare for this ride, recalling the tense moment when Uzbek Embassy didnt want to issue me the visa until the very last minute, and recalling to all the challenges that I had to face to get to this place, I made my way down from the pass. I still had lots of adrenaline rush in me and I can’t help smiling from ear to ear. I met few more bikers in smaller groups and we stopped for a short conversation. They told me that Wakhan Valley route (which I’m supposed to head tomorrow) was very tough even for them who were guys, travelling in a group, and rode a much bigger cc and taller BMW motorbikes. They were not trying to demotivate me but despite the Wakhan Valley’s stunning view, they said that the whole 400kms stretch was totally a jeep track and there were many parts which the road were washed away with wet crossings, so I need to be really careful. Hmm...I will have to think about this matter very seriously.

I continued on, passing by the beautiful snow capped Pamirs which changed colour from brown, to orange, to grey and black, with some frozen lakes by the road side. I arrived Murghab and stopped for fuel at a cowboy style petrol station which had only RON80. After Murghab, I climbed another pass, Naizatash Pass (4314m) which was a combination of bad paved and dirt road with traces of parts washed away. I finally arrived Alichur, quite exhausted due to the strong wind and pulled over at the famous Marco Polo Home Stay.