DAY 8, TUP – KARAKOL – BALYKCHYI (265KM)

29^th May 2013

It was already 9am when I wake up, and this was due to the sun which shone directly into my tent and makes me felt so hot and stuffy inside my sleeping bag. It was weird to think how the temperature changed very drastically here. I peeped outside and was amazed to see how beautiful this place actually was. There was a small hill with a gorge on my left and a river on my right. It was very peaceful. I boiled water to make Nescafe and heated my yesterdays left over curry chicken to be eaten with bread for my breakfast. Then, I just lazed, and almost fall back to sleep under a tree next to my tent.

 

 

 

 

The wind was blowing so nice and I felt so sleepy, however the ride must go on. I packed all my stuff and headed to Karakol, which was actually only 5kms away. I stopped at the Tourist Information Centre in Karakol to get some infos, use the internet and tried to find a gas canister for my portable stove. However, the gas canister sold here didn’t match my stove’s hose. Then, I continued on with my ride. I have been facing problem with my GPS since the past few days. Its charger (on my bike) became faulty and couldn’t charge normally. There were many times that my GPS was turned off by itself. Because of this, and since the locals whom I asked, were telling me different directions, I faced some difficulties to exit Karakol town.

 

 

After quite some time, I made the exit after all and was riding on the southern road of Issyk Kul. The road condition was not so good and there are certain winding and climbing parts to be done with caution. However, the view was much more beautiful here compared to the northern road. There were many times that the blue lake was near to the road side and I saw some people camping at the lake bank. It will be nice to camp here, but I really can’t take the chill.

 

I had thought of putting the night at a guest house in Ottuk, but it was such a small place and with no such facility. I need to get a quality sleep tonight and charge my gadgets, so I rode on to Balykchyi. A local helped me to find a home stay not so far from the banks of Issyk Kul. I took the opportunity for some photo shooting at Issyk Kul during sunset.

After that, since there is no place nearby for me to buy food, some locals who stayed at the home stay offered to take me out to buy food. Of course I agreed to the offer. However, after they send me back to the home stay, they asked me for ‘transportation money’. Hmmmm, not all help is genuine after all :)

 

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

DAY 7, ALMATY – KORDAY – TOKMOK – BALYKCHYI – CHOLPON-ATA – TUP (635KM)

28^th May 2013

Today I am going to enter Kyrgyzstan. Before checking out, I distribute the memento calendar to Alicia (the hostel owner), her staff and some guests at the hostel. To my surprise, Alicia gave me USD20. She said, “You are so brave. Not only you did a solo ride but you help promoting your country during your ride. I am very proud of you....so you stay free for 1 night”. Woww....this is very sweet of her. Can u imagine how I feel? I felt sooo touched. She’s not a Malaysian, but she can say such words to me who is not a Kazakh citizen. I thanked her and make a move out of Almaty. Again, my GPS kept directing me to slip road; however I managed to exit Almaty in less than 30 minutes time. I rode the same way back on M39, all the way to Korday. This time, I got a tail wind, so the ride was much easier, compared to the other day. I stopped many times for pics and enjoying the beautiful view.

 

 

I reached Korday border after 4 hours riding. Border crossing was smooth. The officers at Kazakh side were very friendly. I need only 30 minutes to exit Kazakh. Entering Kyrgyzstan was even easier. I didn’t even need to do a customs declaration to bring DREAM into this country. Passport control took only 10 minutes, and very soon, DREAM was hitting the roads in Kyrgyz.

 

It says, "KORDAY"

Welcome to Kyrgyzstan

I changed some money first (never change more than you need because the rate exchange at the border is normally poor), and spotted 2 motorbikes which I couldn’t recognize the brand. This was the first time I saw motorbikes ever since I started my ride. The road from Korday, to Tokmok (bypassing Bishkek) was a good 2 lanes. I rode along the beautiful Shoestring Gorge and green colour Chui River. This must have been the same river which I have seen in Zahariz’s pics which made me fall in love with Kyrgyzstan.

They just lay side y side, but the view between Kazakh and Kyrgyz is totally different

Chui River

Very soon, the road deteriorates due to road constructions which continued for 120kms on and off, until I reached Balykchyi.

 

I was getting hungry and DREAM needed fuel, so I stopped at a nice petrol station. I had some snacks and tried to make conversation with the workers. I asked them for money changers and they told me that there is no money changer in Kyrgyzstan, and that I have to change money at the bank. It was already 4pm at that time and the banks are closed.
 

I continued towards the northern road of Issykul Lake, and when instinct told me to turn my view to the right side, I saw the very blue pristine lake. It was soooo beautiful that I was screaming with joy while riding DREAM. This lake was the reason why I wanted to visit Kyrgyzstan. I can’t believe that I was actually seeing it with my own eyes at last. It was hard to focus my concentration on the road as I kept turning to the right to view the lake. 



Beautiful Issyk Kul



It was getting late, and I am still far from Karakol, the place where I am supposed to pitch my tent for the night. The temperature dropped to 15 degrees Celsius as I am ascending to more than 2000m above sea level. The road condition was uneven with bad patches here and there. I noticed that the locals either drove an old Opel, or 4WD with big tyres to suit with the road condition. I was riding fast, and at one time, while taking a sharp corner, I almost collided with a car coming from the opposite. It was soooo close that I can feel my heart skipped a beat.

I stopped by the road side to check on my map to see if there is any river nearby, suitable for me to pitch my tent. Before long, a group of men came and started to have a conversation with me. I don’t have time for a chit chat. Some of them tried to take my GPS and my map from my hand. This is not good, and from the smell of their breath, I knew that they were drunk from too much vodka. I hurriedly start DREAM’s engine and sped off. Luckily, as the last light of the sun remained, I saw a bridge and an off road near to a Health Resort. I followed the off road, and took a trail which leads near to the river. I pitched my tent in darkness. It was difficult to get the tent standing bcos I can’t see a thing. I don’t want to start DREAM’s engine to get the light from the head lamp, as to avoid unwanted attention. It’s getting even colder very soon, and feeling lazy to cook; I just had a simple dinner and straight away go to sleep.

I woke up some time during midnight because of the chill. The temperature was 10 degrees, and dropped to 5 degrees soon after. I hardly can sleep due to the chill which gets into the bones, and the sound of howling which scares me to the max. I was shivering inside my sleeping bag and my whole body was in pain. I don’t know when I finally managed to doze off.

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

 

DAY 6, ALMATY (REST DAY) (30KM)

27^th May 2013

Even though today is my rest day, I woke up early, at 7.30am. At 9.30am, I rode DREAM to the OVIR office. OVIR means immigration, and every visitor to Kazakhstan is compulsory to register with OVIR within 5 days stay in Kazakh. It’s not very difficult to find the office and the friendly officer attended to my form immediately. Through my research, I found out that registration took all day, but in my case, it was done in 20 minutes. Then, I headed to Tajikistan Embassy in Almaty. They were closed for lunch, so I have to wait. In the beginning, the officer refused to stamp the Gorno Badakshan permit on my passport. He asked me why the Tajikistan Embassy in Tashkent (the place where I got my Tajik visa) didn’t stamp the permit for me? I said that I have no idea. He told me to go back to Tashkent. I appealed, and showed him the support letter from Malaysian Embassy in Tashkent. Once he read the letter, without a word, he stamped the permit on my passport. I felt so relieved. Without this permit, I am not allowed to enter ¾ of my scheduled route in Tajikistan which will definitely affect my itinerary.

The GBAO permit...notice the round shape logo?



OVIR form..failure to register shall result in a fine of USD150

My two major tasks in Almaty were done, so now it’s time for some sightseeing. I took a bus to the Green Bazaar and walked my way to Panfilov Park. There were many people at the park even though it was Monday. The park was filled with beautiful roses and there were lots of pigeons in its square. There was a beautiful yellow cathedral with colourful domes.
 

Panfilov Park

 

Zenkov Cathedral





After seeing enough, I walked back to the bazaar to buy some small souvenirs and then proceeded to the Central Mosque. The mosque was beautifully marbled and the Imam was reciting Quran the moment I peeped inside. He has a beautiful voice.

Green Market

Central Mosque

 

Then, I walked to the metro station and took a metro back to the hostel. However, a local whom I asked, directed me wrongly, resulting in I missed the correct station. However, its not hard to return and I reached the hostel before sunset. That night was filled with chatting with the other guests.

 



The metro station

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

DAY 5, CHALDYBAR – MERKE – KORDAY – ALMATY (780KM)

26^th May 2013

 

 

I didn’t get a very good sleep due to the chill so I ended up waking up a bit late, and that is because I heard the sound of foot steps outside my tent. I unzipped my tent and poked outside to see a local with a binocular hanging on his neck looking at me as if he had seen an alien. He talked to me in his local language which I couldn’t understand.  I talked to him using the basic Russian words that I have learnt. Then, with hand signals, I asked him if he can get me some water? He nodded, took my bottles and walked fast to a direction. Within minutes, he was out of sight. I had a light breakfast of sweet bun and after that started to pack my tent. The man came back 15 minutes later (meaning that his house was not very near) with the refilled bottle. I thanked him and continued with my packing. The man insisted to help until I am done strapping everything on the bike.

I said good bye to him and rode back the same way to Merke. I stopped in front of the same supermarket, and was hesitating if I should go to the internet cafe or not. Within seconds, local people started to surround me and asked all sorts of questions. I answered the one which I could understand. They even asked if I were Muslim, and upon saying “yes”, they were so happy and asked me if I am hungry. Since I just had my breakfast and I have a long way to cover today, I have to politely refuse the offer. Again, to my surprise, they started to give me money and asked me to buy food. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, but I thanked them for their kindness. I forgo the idea of checking the internet cafe and headed to A359, before turning left to M39 again. I saw lots of sheep, yellow flower beds and some yurts along the way.

Notice the guy with the red sweater is holding a bill under the memento calendar

Rush hour...

According to my map, the M39 highway will take me into Kyrgyzstan and back into Kazakhstan, and I am worried because I only have a single entry Kazakh visa. However, during my ride, Kazakh government had actually built a new highway, which at parts were still under construction (which I am riding on) and this new highway does not exist in my GPS at all. I have no idea of my where about then, but I keep on riding. Out of a sudden, I reached Korday (another Kazakh – Kyrgyz border), meaning that the new highway did not enter Kyrgyzstan at all. Thank god.

It says..."Kazakhstan - 2050"

I then turned left to Almaty. The road was nicely paved (at last) and cut through a very beautiful mountain. The wind suddenly blew stronger and the strong head wind didn’t allow me to speed more than 60kmh even though I have pressed the throttle to the maximum. From a distance, I saw windmills, and I decided to check it out. The wind was so strong here that DREAM was unstable after I had settled him on its stand. It felt as  the wind almost blown both of us away.

Finally....nice paved road...

 

I didn’t stay long as I felt very cold due to the wind chill. I braved the wind and continued riding, enjoying the superb scenic view of the mountain, valleys and pink flower beds.

Its only 18'C, but felt sooo cold due to the wind chill...

The road to Almaty deteriorated with lots of pot holes and bad patches. There were also lots of police patrol cars by the road side, waiting to catch anyone speeding over limit. There was one time that I was stopped. I knew that I have sped over limit (the speed limit was ridiculous...it was 70 on a nice paved road, but 90 on a bad road), but seeing that I’m a female and riding alone, once I gave Salam and spoke a little Russian, the admiration make the policeman waved me off without issuing me a fine. LOL...



It says...."Almaty Province"

Once I arrived Kaskelen, I searched for an internet cafe because I need to check the location of Apple Hostel in Almaty. I was very lucky that the owner and his son could speak a little English. After checking the location in Google map, the son helped me to locate Apple Hostel in my GPS which had all the street names written in Cyrillic alphabet. After that, I continued with my ride heading to Almaty. It was peak hour and there were lots of traffic on the road. I was upset with my GPS because it kept directing me to slip road and a one way street, which ended up at a dead end and a big pond in front of me. I turned back and try to find another way. After going round and round for 30 minutes, I finally found the building, but where is the hostel? I asked a local to help me calling the hostel, and after 5 minutes, the hostel’s owner came to meet me. Her name is Alicia and she spoke good English. She was very nice and friendly. The hostel was very comfortable and has a nice lobby and kitchen. It also has a free wifi, and I ended up sleeping at 3am. I am an internet maniac....haihhh...

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