THE END OF RIDE....

19^th  & 20^th June 2013: DAY 29 & 30, TASHKENT – KUL – IPOH

The day had finally arrived. Today, I am going back home. I felt sad to leave my new friends whom I already felt like family – Ridzuan, Yati and her adorable son, Aisy. All of them including Mr Mahmud, the driver, sent me to the final door at the airport where we hugged and said good bye. Thank you all for the nice hospitality that you had given me. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life.

My flight was delayed, however it was not a full flight. So, I managed to get 4 rows of the seat and caught some sleep. Upon arrival at KLIA, I was so surprised to see a number of unfamiliar bikers who had been waiting to welcome me back home. Ohhh....and reporters too!!! They made me felt like a hero. I really had no idea that this solo ride that I’m doing had created a phenomena in Malaysian biking world. I was deeply touched. Some of my friends were there to meet me too. However, I was sad that my sifu, Hadi Hussein (KL – London solo rider on a kapchai in 2010), the one whom I really wanted to see, couldn’t make it due to some personal matters. I can't help tears.....

 

The next day, after clearing dusty & muddy DREAM (which he collected from Tajik, Afghan & Uzbek) at the customs, I rode my last 300km route back.....the same way that I had taken one month ago.....to Ipoh, my home sweet home....all along the way, feeling so lucky to be borned Malaysian. From now on, good paved road will be considered as one of the blessings in life.....  

With that, my Central Asia 'STANS' Solo Ride had now reached its end....
 

Some stats for this ride:

LONGEST DISTANCE COVERED IN A DAY:    635km
SHORTEST DISTANCE COVERED IN A DAY:   100km
LONGEST DAY WITHOUT SHOWER:   2 days
LONGEST TIME WITHOUT RICE:   7 days
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE:   52° Celsius
LOWEST TEMPERATURE:   2° Celsius
HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PASS:   Ak Baital, Tajik (4655m)
LOWEST MOUNTAIN PASS:   Shurubod, Tajik (2200m)
SCARIEST MOUNTAIN PASS:   Ak Moinak & Kulak Assu (Kyrgyz)

MOST CHALLENGING RIDE:  Tash Rabat - Jalalabad (Kyrgyz)
MOST RELAXING RIDE:   Almaty - Korday (Kazakh)
MOST ENJOYFUL RIDE:   Circling Issykul Lake (Kyrgyz)
MOST STRESSFUL RIDE:   Kaldama Pass (Kyrgyz)
MOST SPECTACULAR VIEW:   Balykchyi - Narin - Tash Rabat - Osh (Kyrgyz) - Kara Kul (Tajik)
BEST PAVED ROAD:   Korday - Kaskelen (Kazakh)
WORST PAVED ROAD:   Sherobod - Bukhara (Uzbek)
BEST OFFROAD EXPERIENCE:   Tash Rabat (Kyrgyz)
UNFORGETTABLE OFFROAD EXPERIENCE:   Khorog - Kulyob (Tajik)
TOTAL BIKE FALL:   10

MOST HOSPITABLE PEOPLE:   Nomads & the mountain tribes
MOST HARD TO DEAL PEOPLE:   Uzbek authorities
MOST HANDSOME MEN:   Southern Tajik & Afghan
MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN:   Uzbek & Kazakh
COOLEST DRIVER:   Chinese lorry drivers @ Pamir Highway
WORST DRIVER:   Kazakh
MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY:    Kyrgyzstan
MOST UNIQUE LANDSCAPE:   Tajikistan
MOST HISTORICAL COUNTRY:  Uzbekistan
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE:   Dehydration due to the heat of 52° Celsius in Tajik's low land
SWEETEST MEMORY: Visiting Saidina Ali's Mausoleum in Afghan

 
p/s: A more detailed story about my journey will be told in my upcoming book. More beautiful pics of course. STAY TUNED.....