PART 17: RUSSIA

RUSSIA (1 – 28TH AUG 2016)

I checked out in the morning and made my way to the Russian border via A322. As soon as I exited Semey, the road passed through pine forest reserve area. The road was so-so, bumpy at times but with very few traffic. The quietness around me made my mind wandered as I rode. I have heard quite a number of not so nice stories about Russia. It was seen as a difficult country, corrupt police, cold people, and no English was spoken. Honestly I do feel worried, but I want to see and experience this country for real. How would my experience be? I have no idea.

I reached the border after riding for 130kms. First, I stopped at a military checkpoint. The officer gave me a slip. Then I rode to the customs building for the customs to check my bike. The officer was very friendly, perhaps he felt funny to hear me speaking Russian. He only took 5 seconds look in my top box. Then I went to the immigration to stamp my passport. The immigration officer spoke good English.

Then I continued few hundred meters on no-mans-land to the Russian side. I was nervous yet excited. Finally, I saw the sign post. Yuuuhuuu…I’m about to enter the world’s biggest country on day 324 of my GDR. Welcome to Russia.

At the Russian side, everything was being done at the same counter (for passport and bike registration). The lady officer couldnt speak English. I cant help laughing as she took 15 minutes to check my passport very thoroughly. Not that she's amazed by all the stampings and visa stickers in my passport, but she's checking for any hidden objects in the passport pages, and in the middle part of the passport. She used a magnifying glass with lights to check every single page. Thank god she's not the one inspecting GD, or else she's going to take forever to finish checking everything. Luckily for me, the customs checking was fast and simple. Before leaving the border, I purchased Russian insurance at a small shop for RUB751 (for one month). I also met a trio who rode all the way from UK, heading to Ulan Batar, Mongolia. They amazed me with their old classic rusty bikes. Who said that only BMWs and KTMs can do long rides? Its not the bike, brother…it’s the rider :)

Surprisingly, the main road in Russia was good. A lot better than in Kazakhstan. However, theres no more roman alphabet signboards to be seen. All the signboards were in Cyrillic alphabet. I had prepared myself for this situation, so I faced no problem to navigate my way even though for the umpteenth time, my GPS didn’t give me proper driving instructions. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn somewhere in Rubtsovsk town and ended up riding about 10kms on a secondary road which was pretty bad. I managed to get back to A322. As for the view, I had to agree with former travellers who had passed this road. It was sooooo boring. Only some sunflower, wheat and white wildflower fields cheered me a bit. I reached Barnaul after riding 460kms in 10 hours. I was pretty tired.

The M52 road to Novosibirsk, my next destination, was not as good as yesterdays. There were lots of road works and the wind was quite strong even though I could see the presence of Taiga forest by the roadside. The view on the long straight road was boring as yesterday, except for some lakes and locals selling mushrooms and potatoes by the roadside. I reached Novosibirsk after riding 260kms. 

Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia. I spent 30 minutes to enter the city as traffic were pretty bad and went straight to Panavto, a Yamaha dealer here. It was already 6000+kms after the last thorough checking on GD at Tehran and the last oil change in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I met Mr Kiriu who spoke reasonable English. I was linked to him via Mr Lee from Hong Leong Yamaha Motor who monitored my ride. GD was serviced (the odometer read 57k km), new battery replaced, new air filter installed and all the checking done to make sure that this final part of GDR will be smooth. I wished to thank Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (especially Mr Lee CW for taking all the troubles to courier everything that I need), YMC Japan, Yamaha Russia and Panavto manager (Mr Kiriu) for all the help and support. 

I would like to suggest to other advriders to try to get support from your motorbike brand’s company during your ride, especially when the bike you are using for the ride is not commonly used for long rides such as RTW. Not only this will help you to save some money, but also a win-win situation for yourself and the bike's brand.

My next destination is Kemerovo which was 280kms from Novosibirsk. It got cooler as I rode further north on M53 in the Siberia region. Sometimes I shivered when the wind was strong. All along my way, Taiga forest dominated the view. I used to teach Geography in school and natural plants of the world were among the topics that I taught. Now I'm seeing this Siberian natural trees for real. The trees were not as tall as Malaysian Tropical Rain Forest but it was so compact and dark inside it. Euwww...I wonder whats inside it?

Its interesting to recall soo many things which I used to teach my students, now I'm seeing them during my GDR. Steppes, savannah, pampas...not to mention the natural rock face caused by water, salt, heat or wind erosion. I saw lots n lots of them, especially in the South America.

The next day, I rode to Krasnoyarsk via M53. The distance was 576kms and I met some bikers along the way. They were heading to Baikal Lake Bike Festival. We managed some conversation and they asked me to go to the festival which I’m not so keen on going. There were lots of road works going on so only one lane was opened for vehicles. There were lots of lorries plying this route too. There were some beautiful golden wheat field views which saved my boredom.

It took me eight hours to reach Krasnoyarsk which was quite a big city with more than 1 million population. I rode on the Kommunalnyi Bridge over Yenisey River to enter the city and went straight to my AirBnB host’s apartment. Unfortunately, she was not at home and I had no idea when she will be back. I was lucky to meet Vladimir, a nice guy who helped me even though he didn’t speak a word of English. With my limited Russian, and later another girl, Paulina who could speak little English, we managed to call my host. Yuria, my host, arrived 45 minutes later.

Coincidently, Yuria’s husband was a biker and he was excited to meet me. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak English at all. He posted in his FB bike group about me and asked if theres any biker who could speak English. A lady biker responded and she came to the apartment to meet us. Her name is Darya and she just picked up riding this year. She rode a BMW CS650. Darya told me to park my bike at a paid parking nearby as the apartment area was unsafe. The next morning, Darya came again with Misha, who rode ZZR1000, and they took me to a Givi dealer in Krasnoyarsk.

Since my top box rack was bent due to the bad road in Turkmenistan, I couldnt ride fast on the uneven road anymore. I always had to go slow because I'm worried about the rack. I only had a temporary solution with help from Swiss advriders Michael and Sarah whom I met in Bukhara. Theres no Givi branch or dealer at all in the Central Asia countries. Finally here in Krasnoyarsk, I managed to get help from a Givi dealer, Konstantin, to solve the problem. Konstantin was linked to me by Givi’s overseas operational director, Mr Joseph Perucca. He repaired the rack and customized two metal pieces on both sides of the rack to raise the base plate. Now my top box was back to the actual level. Konstantin assured me that even if I fly with my bike and land roughly on the ground, the rack wont bend again. HAHAHA…..

Many thanks to Konstantin for the help, Givi Italy and Givi Asia for the awesome network and support.

While waiting for my top box rack to be repaired, Darya and Misha brought me for a little sightseeing. We went for a ride for about 30kms outside Krasnoyarsk to a view point over Yenisey River. This viewpoint is very famous with picnickers and weddings and the river is the natural habitat for sturgeon fish.

After that, I was taken to Karaulnaya Gora (the watch hill) which is famous with Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel which lies on top of the hill. The picture of this chapel is a symbol of the city depicted on the RUB10 bank note.

I rode approx 1200kms in two days to reach Irkutsk. I was quite tired as its a loonggg ride. There were lots of road works which delayed me as only one lane opened for vehicles. There were quite some stretches of off road too. Ever since I entered Russia a week ago, the view along Moskovskyy Traktt (Moscow Way) had been the same. Taiga forests, golden wheat fields, long straight or slightly winding road and some rolling hills. Only today I saw beautiful pink wildflowers. But all in all, everything is okey. 

Irkutsk is the 6th largest city in Siberia, due to its proximity to Lake Baikal. Angara River flows into the city and towards the famous lake. Irkutsk was founded in 1661 as a settlement for trading gold and furs. It was nicknamed the "Paris of Siberia" due to its wide streets and ornate, and continental architecture, but travellers today will find a little resemblance with Paris. I spend two nights here and managed to do a little city tour. I liked to see the architecture of the cathedrals and churches, but the one that I loved most was the fountain and gardens at Kirov Square. It was so beautiful. I also had a nice stroll by the river and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

I continued my journey east towards Ulan Ude via M53 and M55. The road was 90% good. I rode 500kms on nice twisties and soon the view of Lake Baikal emerged into view. Taiga forests soon disappeared and were replaced by steppes view again. I saw people selling blueberries in pails and I also saw smoked omlu fish by the roadside. I was told to try this fish as you can only find it in Lake Baikal. However the price was expensive for my wallet, so I had to miss it. I noticed that the further east I go, the pricier the fuel get, but the performance of the fuel dropped and full tank of GD could take me 350kms only. I reached Ulan Ude and didn’t face any difficulty to find the guest house which I had booked earlier. I normally booked my accommodation in Russia via Booking.com. I'm now only about 300kms from Russian - Mongolian border.

After resting 2 days in Ulan Ude, I continued my journey. However, I must say that today is another most challenging day for me in GDR. It had been raining continously since yesterday and also today. So when I exited Ulan Ude in the morning, it was flooding everywhere. The temp was 10'C. My destination was Chita, 700kms away. Theres no town in between these two towns, only a few small villages, thats why I had to ride the huge distance. By right, the road was not so bad (I had seen worse), with certain parts similar to Kazakhstan, but the continous rain (since yesterday) really made the difference. There were lots of road works on and off for the first 500kms and I had to play with mud (due to the rain). The first 150kms took me 4.5hrs!! It was very hard and stressful. I only stopped for 20 minutes rest once because GD needed gas, and that was after riding 7.5 hours straight. Then only I realized how tired, thirsty and hungry I was. My bad habit, whenever the ride became stressful, I didnt wanna stop. I'll keep on pushing myself to the max, as my mind always said, "God knows whats awaiting in front."

Hour by hour passed, I get more and more exhausted. I motivated myself by saying, “Hey, cmon, you can do this. You had experienced far worse than this. This is peanut only.” 

But I cant lie to my mind. My mind knew this is not peanut.

The pics below (the only pics I took for today) were taken in the beginning of my ride when exiting Ulan Ude. The worst condition, sorry, no pic. The mud was thick and I was freezing colddd. How my teeth rattled!! Thank god I didnt drop the bike even though many times it was out of control already, and many times too I almost fell when I couldnt escape the pot holes which were filled with rain water and I had no idea that the holes were deep. 

Finally, I reached Chita after almost 13 hours on the road riding 700kms. Fortunately, after all the challenges, I checked in to a nice hostel and Dima, the receptionist happened to be a biker, so he put me in an unoccupied room so that I could rest without disturbance. How kind of him. We chatted over dinner and Dima linked me with another biker in Mogocha, my destination for tomorrow. I felt a bit relief as accommodation for my onwards journey is tough.

It was raining again when I checked out the next day. As early as in the morning, my patience was tested when my GPS directed me to a secondary road which was not only muddy but steep incline. I know that I will surely drop my bike if I were to take that road so I turned and tried to find the primary way. I asked locals but communication breakdown found me going in circles for 1 hour and 30kms wasted until I finally managed to exit the town. The rain poured for 2.5 hours but this time I was prepared with my Givi rain coat so I stayed dry. 

The road from Chita to Khabarovsk (Amur Oblast Federal Road), is known for its remoteness. This stretch of 2100kms is tough for me. Why? Because the distance between small towns which provides accommodation are huge. You need to ride approx 800kms per day if you want to stay in motels. With my small bike, this is not possible. Wild camping is not recommended as this stretch is famed for its tigers and bears. Amur (in Russian) means tiger. Theres no accommodation which you can pre-book in the internet except for Khabarovsk. So, where am I supposed to stay when riding along this stretch? This somehow worries me, but for today I already have a place in Mogocha. Many thanks to Dima. As for tomorrow’s and day after’s accommodation, worry about it later. Today’s ride is not as stressful as the previous day and I enjoyed the rolling hills, green mountain view, steppes and pink flowers. There were some green and yellowish taigas which looked familiar like the trees I saw in Tierra Del Fuego. It was a very scenic ride.

Unlike yesterday, the road for today is in a much better shape. There are three construction sites that I need to ride on but it was not muddy, only gravels. After riding for 660kms on P297, I arrived Mogocha and took the left turning to the village. Then I texted Alexei who owned a bike post here. Alexei is the founder of Iron Angels Motorcycle Club. He couldn’t speak English at all so we had to communicate using hand signals and a lil Russian that I knew. Alexei brought me to the bike post. It is actually a double storey house made of wood. The ground floor is a workshop to work on your bike and the upper floor is the living room @ sleeping place. Theres no indoor toilet so you need to walk about 50 meters to use the public toilet outside. So, this is the place I’m going to sleep for tonight, which is way better than having to camp in the cold and the fear of tiger or bear threats.

My journey for the next four days was tensed. It rained every single day. All my things were wet. I didn’t have any more dry socks to wear. Imagine having to start the chilly morning with wet socks, wet boots, wet gloves, wet, wet, all wet. It really turned one’s mood down. Not only everything was wet, I had to brave the cold, strong wind and some road works which delayed me. Some parts of the road were ok and some with lots of pot holes. To find a decent place to put the night was tough too. I had to stay at a workers hostel for one night where I am the only female in a crowd of males who eyed me as if they wanna eat me alive. I was so scared. Another night I had to wild camp as theres no place to stay. Only for one night, I was ‘lucky’ to sleep at a highway motel but the cheapest room meant a very tiny room with barely enough space to move and theres no door latch from inside. Twice, drunken men opened my door in the middle of the night and I had to shout to prevent them from entering my room. I had a very poor sleep due to this. Sigh…

Fuel was scarce and pricier as well. There were few times that GD almost ran out of fuel and I had to go really slow. The view was nothing special, perhaps some autumn colours here and there. However, the thing which really depressed me was the lack of internet connection. It had been days since I’m last connected to the outside world. My family and close friends must be as worried as hell because they didn’t hear from me for days. 

To be honest, I don’t have the heart to do this last part to Vladivostok because I knew that its going to be tough and I already knew that I couldn’t fly my bike to Bangkok as Vladivostok airport is small and only small air crafts fly in and out from here. When I was in Ulan Ude, I was doubting whether or not I should ride all the way for 3500kms to Vladivostok, and later turned back another 3500kms the same way back to Ulan Ude before going to Ulan Bataar, the place where I will finally fly GD to Bangkok. Ulan Ude to Ulan Bataar is only 600kms. But if I don’t touch Vladivostok, my RTW ride will be questioned and argued. So I had to force myself to just finish what I had plan from the beginning. However, by doing that, I had to face all these challenges when by right, I can choose to ride straight to Ulan Bataar (from Ulan Ude) and save myself from all this unpleasantness, time and money wasted. 

There were times when riding along this road that I felt so scared as it was toooo quiet. I hardly met anyone for hours. The trees and tall bushes by the road side made the ride even more tensed as my mind tried to imagine whats going to happen if all of a sudden, a tiger or bear jump out in front of me. What am I going to do then? Theres no house or village in sight at all. I cant even see the locals selling their agricultural products anymore. This is to show how dangerous this stretch of road that even the locals are scared to hang around here.

Do u notice the tiger pic on the sign board?

Finally I arrived Khabarovsk, feeling so exhausted after the long continuous ride without a break. The first thing I did after checking in at the hostel was to contact Alexander, a biker from Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club to help me with GD’s loosening chain. Alexander sent Vladimir who was a member of the same club (Khabarovsk chapter) to help me. While waiting for Vlad to arrive, I read messages from concern family and friends who had been worried for my days of silence. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to reply to their messages, nor to update my FB status when the electricity suddenly went out. I thought it will recover after a while, but it didn’t for the whole of my two days stay in this city. Can you imagine my frustration?

The following day, I rode 375kms via M60 to Dalnerechensk and camped at a village. Actually theres a hotel here but its too pricey for me. I camped near a stream and accidentally dropped my phone in the water. The phone died instantly. Damn!!! How I curse myself for my carelessness. The phone can be switched on but I couldnt see anything on the screen. I tried to dry it but the lack of sunshine didnt help much. I am now even more tensed and all I want is to reach Vladivostok ASAP. Oh my godddd, this ride is surely driving me CRAZYYYY!!!

As I exited Dalnerechensk the next morning, I met a local biker. His name is Gosha and he could speak English. He’s a very nice guy and happened to be a member of Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club too. This club is the most famous motorcycle club in Russia. Gosha wanted to talk to me and offered to buy me breakfast. I told him about my phone problem and how I had not updated my whereabouts for already 7 days. Gosha let me use his phone to get connected. I was so thrilled to read concern messages from my family, close friends and my silent reader followers...but the most touching was from Wissam Al-Jayoussi, an advrider from Dubai whom I had met only twice when he reached Malaysia during his RTW ride. To read his concern about getting a wide search done for me put me into tears.

I spend about 1.5 hours with Gosha and later moved on to Vladivostok via M60. The road was so-so and it rained a bit, so I cant go fast. After riding for 400kms, I reached the bridge across Amur Bay which is also the gateway to Vladivostok. How I screamed with joy upon seeing this bridge as in a short while, I am going to reach the eastern most point of my GDR. I just cant believe myself. I cried my heart out and screamed my loudest voice while riding on the 4kms long bridge until I reached the signpost which read VLADIVOSTOK. Only tears of joy can justify.

I made it. I made it. I MADE ITTTTTT!!! 

Finally, on day #342 of GDR, Friday 19th August 2016, 4.32pm local time, I created HISTORY. From Seattle (USA) to Alaska to Ushuaia to BsAs to London to Lisbon to Italy to Balkans to Central Asia to Russia... 

After 60000kms, I now reached the easternmost point for GDR, Vladivostok. Meaning to say that I had successfully circumnavigated the globe from west to east. It had been a looonggg ride. A looonggg, looonggg ride. What had I been through? Only me and Allah knew. The pain, the struggle, the fight, the survival...

I'm not an olympian. I didnt win any olympic medal. I didnt win any race. I didnt win any game...

But I won a BATTLE which only few men in this world dare to fight...

Let alone women...

"FIRST MUSLIM WOMAN TO RIDE SOLO AROUND THE WORLD ON A MOTORBIKE"

I still had so much of adrenaline when I left the sign post and continued riding to the city center to my host’s house. To my horror, Vladivostok is just like Ankara, very hilly with narrow road and sharp inclines. I had to ride very carefully. Once in a while, I took a quick glance at the sea down below while riding along Golden Horn Bay. It was beautiful. To find my host’s house was quite a challenge. I had to go in circles few times before I managed to find the apartment building, but I was very lucky that Milana my host, was already waiting for me downstairs. Milana couldn’t speak English at all but this petite beautiful lady is so friendly. It was funny how she tried to explain to me that I couldn’t park GD at the apartment as its unsafe, but I must park the bike at a paid parking nearby. 

Milana and her husband, Sergei were both bikers and they were also from Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club. They were linked to me by Darya, the lady biker whom I met in Krasnoyarsk. I stayed 4 days at their house to rest and recharge before returning via the same road back to Ulan Ude. This couple not only hosted me but a few more people as they had spare rooms at their house. I also managed to meet Svetlana, a very tall Russian girl (1.98m) at the house. Svetlana spoke good English and we talked about Islam. She had lots of curiosity and I tried my very best to explain to her and to correct her wrong perspective. I was glad that at the end of the day, she now had a better understanding of my religion.

While in Vladivostok, Milana and Sergei brought me and Svetlana for sightseeing at the attractions. We went to the view point to view Golden Horn Bridge which is the famous landmark of Vladivostok.

Then we took a funicular down and went for a stroll at the waterfront while watching people passing by.

Beratur mengikut ketinggian. LOL...

We also went to Spotivnaya Harbour to view the ships from all over the world which docked here.

And a visit to Vladivostok is not complete without visiting the Central Square. This is a good place to relax and watch the locals at leisure. A pair of massive statues served as the Memorial to the Fighters for the Soviet Power in the Far East, in honour of those who brought this remote corner of Russia under Bolshevik control.

On the way to the bus stop to take a bus back home, we stopped by at Vladivostok Train Station which was old but beautiful.

I said goodbye to my wonderful friends, and took the same way back to Ulan Ude. For 5 days and 3500kms and without an internet connection, it was as boring as hell. Fortunately the weather improved by lots and theres no rain at all. I arrived Ulan Ude without any issue. I checked in at the same guest house in Ulan Ude. I was shocked to find out that my FB post of reaching Vladivostok few days ago had gone viral. Some congratulated me but some don’t. In fact, ugly words were thrown at me by keyboard warriors. To be honest, even though sad, I pity them actually. I understand that they were bored because they lead a very dull and boring life, hence they couldn’t hide their jealousy when seeing people who dared to step out of the comfort zone and live life to the fullest. Well, as the saying goes, “what didn’t kill you makes you stronger”, which is very true in my case.....

I took some time to see Ulan Ude city which was quite nice also. The biggest Lenin’s head statue can be found here.

PART 16: KYRGYZSTAN - TAJIKISTAN - KAZAKHSTAN

KYRGYZSTAN (11th – 28th JULY 2016)

I was already tired by the time I’m done with the border crossing. The sun was setting and I need to reach my host’s house ASAP. However, my GPS decided to play games with me and took me for a ride inside Osh Bazaar!!! I was sooo angry with my GPS. Imagine I had to ride inside the narrow alleys with people walking in and out. I was stopped by 2 policemen. Well, not surprising to me since its forbidden for motorbikes to enter the bazaar. As usual, the police asked for my documents and tried to find my fault. I was getting tired and restless and the sun was getting down, but I had to keep my charm and smile and asked them to let me go. I only managed to reach my host’s house at 9.00pm after riding 455kms. I was sooo exhausted. 

My host, Firuza couldn’t speak English. She was linked to me by her daughter, Nura, who was linked to me by Madam Nurliza who hosted me in Almaty. Nura’s son, Iskander stayed with her grandmother and he could speak reasonable English. I was served plenty of food for dinner which consisted of fruits, variety of nuts, dates, soup and plov (traditional rice). The plov was very tasty. 

The next day was quite taxing for me too. I intend to ride into Tajikistan, but I didn’t have a Tajik visa. In my mind, I will just try my luck. I had rode in Tajikistan before, all along the Pamir Highway of M41 until Dushanbe. This time, with the lack of visa, if I manage to repeat the road and ride until Ak Baital Pass, that’s very good for me already. I started early and rode on M41 Pamir Highway via Gulcha. The road was 70% okey and 30% so-so. Despite that, the view was sooooo beautiful and took my breath away. Ohhh….I am sooo loving Kyrgyzstan. I had been to more than 80 countries, had seen the beauty of Patagonia, Argentina, had breathed in the spectacular New Zealand scenery, had viewed Turkish landscape, but I still say that Kyrgyzstan is the most beautiful country in the world.

It got cloudy as I climbed up two mountain passes, Cigircik Pass (2389m) and Taldyk Pass (3615m). The road climbing up the passes which was built in 2013 had started to deteriorate and was broken at many parts due to landslides. I had to ride with extra care until I reached the small town of Sary Tash.

To reach the border, I need to ride on badly broken asphalt + some off road for approx 23kms. The view of the green grassland, snow cap Pamir mountain, horses, goats and yurts gave me joy even though its getting colder.

Reaching the border, I had to wait for approximately an hour before I managed to exit Kyrgyz. This would be the second time for me to ride on the road heading to Tajikistan. Not many people get the chance to ride on this road, whats more to ride twice on it. I was veryyyyy excited. However, the 20kms crazy road via Kyzyl Art Pass (4280m) to Tajikistan was more difficult now compared to 2013. There were three water crossings and the wind was super strong. The ride was tough as I didn’t have off road tires on my GD. I nearly dropped my bike few times, but thank God I didn’t fall. Too bad I couldnt have any pics of mine on the bike as I didnt hv a riding buddy to capture my act. The view of the mountains changed to orangish brown, which meant that I am nearing the border. It was sooo beautiful.

I couldn’t hide my joy when I saw the Marco Polo sheep structure which marked the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. I was soooo happy. Heyyy, I had been here twice lah :) 

I didn’t spend much time here as the clouds didn’t look promising. After few pics, I hurriedly rode another 5kms more to the immigration and customs office. The post still looked the same as three years back. I greeted the officers and as usual, played my charm. But to my frustration, this time I failed due to the lack of visa and permit. I begged, I pleaded, I did everything I could to charm them. It always worked in the past, but it didn’t this time. I was denied entry by the guards even though I had sweet talked them and even tried to give some bribes. It felt weird why they didn’t want to take my money when money is king at this part of the world. I suspect something might had happened recently thus security seemed to be very tight. After wasting my time for half an hour without any luck, I had to turn back. I only managed to ride 10kms (return) on Tajik’s land this time. My target to repeat Ak Baital Pass failed. I was a bit sad, but its ok. I had already prepared my mind mentally and psychologically for the consequences and denial. 

Turning back was more challenging as it started to drizzle and the dirt road turned to slight mud in a very short time. As I’m going downhill, many times GD’s tires skid and I almost fell to the ground. Fortunately I managed to get back to Bor Dobo safely. Then only the rain got really heavy and I had to take shelter at the border post for a while. 

When the rain lessened, I continued riding and decided to push to Osh. I was surprised to see the paved road which I just did in the morning was broken at four parts due to overflow of the fast current Gulcha River (due to the heavy rain). It was very muddy and big gravels scattered on the road. I didn’t take any pic as I was very tired. Again, it was only at 9pm when I reached Osh feeling sooo drained out after 13 hours on the road covering almost 500kms. 

Before leaving Osh, my host Firuza and her friend Lilia brought me to Sulaiman-Too sacred mountain. A visit to Osh is not complete without visiting this UNESCO heritage site. I should have visited this place in 2013 but I didnt have the time then. It was quite a hike up and pretty exhausting as it was 42'C. Osh city can be viewed from up here. There were some ancient worship sites and I also visited a very interesting cave museum which displayed exhibitions about Zoroastrians which was practised here before Islam’s presence. Previously, I thought only the ancient Iranians practised Zoroastrians. 

As it was getting late I hurriedly left Osh to Arslanbob which was 150kms away. Arslanbob was famed for its walnut forest nature reserve. I rode on M41 under the heat of summer and a very boring view, until I turned to an unnumbered road which was paved on and off for approx 50kms to my destination. The view was quite interesting but I had to ride on an off road at certain stretches along Karaunkur River. The last part to reach the village was a bit steep.

The next morning, I hiked few kilometres to see the walnut forest. It was interesting in the beginning but boring after a while, so I turned back.

Then I make a move to Karakol via M41. It was 275kms ride on a bumpy road but the view was sooo awesome. It was very green and there were lots of gorges and grey coloured mountains. The fast current Naryn River flowed alongside the road. I also saw countless waterfalls along the way.

In the beginning I planned to wild camp near Toktogul Lake @ Reservoir. However, most of the time, the road was higher above the lake. I found an off road trek leading to the shore but the trek got more and more challenging for my off road skills and GD's non off road tires. Besides, the lake might seem near from the road, but it wasnt so. Theres also another off road trek which I found, but it went straight to the local's front gate, so I had to turn back and forgo the camping idea. I found a cheap motel facing the lake and opted to stay here. How lucky I was as 1 hour after settling down, heavy rain and storm hit the area, and the rain continued through out the night. I cant imagine how stressful it would be if I choose to camp.

On my way to Bishkek the next day, I rode on two mountain passes, Ala Bell (3184m) and Too Ashu Pass (3180m). The view along the way was soooo beautiful. I stopped too many time for pics. The climb on Ala Bell Pass was easy as the road was good and the incline was gradual. However, it rained when I climbed up this pass and it was soooo cold. The temp was -5'C. I stopped the bike to capture some pics and took video of the beautiful surroundings. Suddenly, I felt droplets of 'sands' fallen from above. Goshh, it was iced rain!! 

The moment I finished doing my stuff, cold burn already burnt my fingers and I couldnt even curl them anymore. My fingers were frozen. It was sooo painful when I had to force them on the throttle. I hurriedly descend the pass to beautiful Suusamyr Valley which was a bit warmer.

On the other hand, the climb on Too Ashu Pass, literally a "camel pass" was more challenging. This pass was a part of the Kyrgyz Alatau range of the Tien Shan mountains. It was about to rain when I was riding on this pass. There were many broken parts and pot holes. The worst was at the hairpin bends where there were lots of dried mud, rocks and debris which were carried away by the running water as a result from yesterdays continous rain. Here in Kyrgyzstan, heavy rain would cause landslides and overflow of rivers and closing of road were not uncommon. I was lucky that it didnt rain when I did this pass as there were times that the lorries stopped completely at the bends when only one lane was decent enough to drive on. I had to ride very carefully. 

In Bishkek, I was hosted by Nura. She's the daughter to Firuza, my host in Osh. Nura asked me about my plan in Kyrgyzstan, and surprisingly she offered herself to come along as she had not seen some of the places I intend to see @ trek @ climb. The first place we went to was Ala Archa National Park which was about 30kms to the south of Bishkek. This park was popular with locals and the view of wild flowers and the pine trees were very pretty.

I also managed to go to Karkara Valley, which I had wanted to see since 2013. At that time, the plan was to ride from Almaty and enter Kyrgyzstan via this valley. However, the border was still closed then (this border only opened few months in a year), so I had to forgo the idea. I’m glad that I managed to see it this time. Yes, its beautiful and very green. Its off road with bee houses and people selling pure honey along the way.

I had planned to do some trekking to see Ala-Kul, a rock-dammed lake in the Terskey Alatau mountain range. I fall in love with this lake after seeing a pic of it posted by my idol, Zahariz. This lake lies at an altitude of approximately 3560 meters. To get there, I must first get to Ak-Suu village, and after that to Altyn Arashan. The distance from Ak Suu village to Altyn Arashan is 14kms. One can take a jeep (a very rough ride) or horse or walk the whole distance. 

Nura and me chose to walk. We passed amazingly beautiful river and some pine forest. The walk was easy in the beginning with some rolling hills, but later the dirt track changed to rocky. We did a good time of 2.5hrs covering almost 9kms. Then it started to rain heavily. 

The already muddy track (due to continous rain for few days earlier) made it very difficult to walk. Our shoes were coated with mud, and its not easy to walk while carrying our backpacks in this condition. We were lucky (or may be not so for me), that a couple with horses passed by and they offered one of their horse to us for a small fee. Unfortunately, Nura and I had to share one horse and I had to ride on the back of the stallion without a saddle. It was very torturing and painful because not only I’m not used riding a horse, I had to sit right on the horse’s back bone without any padding or cushion!!! And it was a very bumpy and steep climb. I almost cried due to the pain on my thigh and butt. How I wished the ride will end soon, but we only reached Altyn Arashan 1 hour later. I fell from the horse while trying to get down as my legs were so sore and I’m unable to even stand up.

It was veryyyyy cold in Altyn Arashan but we had to start early as today we are going to trek to see the lake. Weather forecast said that its going to rain again in the afternoon and I had no idea if we will be able to see the lake or not. Being on the bike for too long (approx. 10 months now), I didnt do any fitness training and as a matter of fact, I didnt even jog since I started GDR. The longest walk I did was 10kms from Station Hidroelectrica to Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu town), last January. Apparently, the lack of fitness, age factor and pain which caused from previous day horse riding made the climb a very hard one for me.

It was a beautiful day when we started walking. The track to Ala Kol Lake was not so nice though. It was very muddy at certain parts and steep loose gravels on the other parts. But there were also nice rolling hills grassland too. The view was soo beautiful with pine trees, horses, sheeps and cows. The track here was not marked at all and many times it disappeared just like that. Its very easy to get lost in this area. We were lucky to meet a couple who had a guide with them so we just trailed behind. 

The guide led us via a short cut which we need to cross one particular river for 3 times. Two crossings were done via a fallen tree trunk (definitely not for gephyrophobics), and one time we had to cross the freezing fast current river on foot which the water reached up to our knees. The moment I dipped my feet in the water, I felt numbness as it was very very cold. It was very challenging. Not long after the third river crossing, the fine weather turned bad. Thick clouds covered the sky and we had iced rain thru out our climb.

After a very hard 6.30 hours constant climbing in iced rain, we reached the altitude of 3700m. Theres only 100m more very steep track to climb up which will take about 1 hour, and we'll reach the iced mountain pass to enable us to view the gem hidden below the mountain pass, the Ala-Kol Lake. Unfortunately the weather turned from bad to worse with not just iced rain but very thick fog and blizzard. Within few seconds, I couldnt feel my fingers anymore. It was freezing cold. Dont ask for shelter, theres nothing up there except mountains, rocks and ice. A fast decision had to be made as we were not equipped with proper gears for such harsh weather condition. We had to get back down ASAP before we get frost bite. We had come this far...but what to do...

Indeed everything happened for a reason. The couple and the guide which we had been following from the beginning were no longer in sight. Both Nura and I had to survive on our own now. We followed the same track that we had taken earlier. The moment we reached the lower level, the sun came out again. Its always like that, isn’t it? When blood started to flow back into my fingers, the tips felt so painful and ballooning as if its going to burst any moment. I was dead tired but I had no choice but walked back to Arashan. 

We tried to find the short cut which the guide had led us previously but we couldnt find it. We walked and walked and walked, and the next thing we knew, we were lost!! All around us were pine forest and everything looked the same everywhere now. We knew that theres river crossings to do but where were the tree bridges? We spent too long time walking by the river bank, to find the safest way to cross. The fallen tree bridges that we found (not the same which we took earlier) were too risky and dangerous and its scary to think of whats going to happen if we fell into the river. We had walked too far and we were tired. Theres no inhabitants nearby. After following the river for quite some time, we met a boy and he showed us a 'safe' bridge to cross. I was a bit shaky when crossing it but thank god, both of us made it safely to the other side. 

Then it were few kms more to walk on the disgusting muddier track (due to more rain) to the yurta. God knows how I had to drag my painful legs and tired body. I had to motivate myself and said, “just walk, eventually you’ll be there.” We managed to get back to the yurta just before sundown. In total, we walked 20kms in 12hours today (and its a steep climb). In our case, the quote ‘no pain no gain’ is insignificant because it is a ‘lots of pain and no gain’ (except for the beautiful view) for us today.

Below is the pic of Ala-Kul Lake that we didn’t manage to see. (Pic from Zahariz’s collection).

Its frustrating for not being able to see the lake after all our efforts, but there is a blessing in disguise. Imagine if we managed to see the lake, we will spend longer time than we should, and definitely we wont be able to reach Arashan when we were lost in the forest. I'm scared to think how we're going to survive a night in the cold mountain without tent and proper clothing if we couldnt manage to reach the yurta before it get dark. We might die of hypothermia. 

I woke up the next morning with lots of pain and muscle soreness. Nura and I made our way back down to Ak-Suu where her cousin, Damir picked us up with his car. We drove along the southern road of Issyk Kul Lake and camped by the lake shore for the night. There was a storm that night and the tent was almost toppled by the strong wind.

The next day, we continued our way to Kyzyl Oi, a remote village far in the Suusamyr-Too Range. The reason why I want to go to this remote village is because I was told that there is going to be a traditional festival here. We drove via A367, passing Kyz-Art Pass (2664m). The road was partly bad asphalt and partly off road. The view along the way was sooo breath taking. The fast current green Kyz-Art river really amazed me. 

Kyzyl Oi village was indeed very calm and serene. It was surrounded by orangish rolling mountains and coated with green velvet like grasses. It was so peaceful to be here.

The festival consists of few traditional routines and games. But the one that I really want to see is Ulak Tartysh game, a nomad goat polo game where a dead goat weighing about 25kgs were passed from one to another till it reached the opponent’s goal to score a point. It was very exciting to be able to watch this game live, right in front of my eyes.

After watching the game, we made our way to Song Kul Lake, an alpine lake in northern Naryn Province which lies at an altitude of 3016m. The road to this lake is very rough but very beautiful. We arrived after sundown and put the night at a yurta. Its too cold to camp up here. The night sky was filled with millions of stars. What a sight to see.

The following day was spent at Tash Rabat, a well-preserved 15th century stone caravanserai in At Bashy district. The distance was 275kms and we had to drive on Dolon Pass (3035m). In 2013, the road from Sary Bulak to Kochkor was still under construction, but now its already paved. The view was sooo beautiful. Tash Rabat had more visitors this time compared to my first time here, and the view was a bit spoilt due to the rubbish thrown by irresponsible people. We camped by the small stream and enjoyed another night of milky way.

Before leaving for Bishkek the next morning, I took some time to find Elizet, my yurta stay host here in 2013. She still remembers me. It was nice to meet her again. 

Even though this is my 2nd visit, this country still sits on the top rank as the most beautiful that I had seen. I’m glad that this time, I managed to venture more into the remote areas, explored new places and I also repeated some places which I had been before. It was nice to recall places which I had seen and I screamed with joy whenever I saw landmarks which I had posed with my DREAM in 2013. 

In terms of landscape, nothing much had changed since 2013. Its still very green, pure and beautiful. In terms of road, there are lots of differences. The paved road which I rode on in 2013, now had broken. The one under constructions in 2013, now already completed, but there are some parts which are still unfinished. Some parts which were totally off road last time, are now under progress to be paved. Still there were some parts which had not changed at all, still off road. 

The best time to visit this country is from end May to mid Sept. Weather plays a big role. If you are lucky with the sunshine and less clouds, you'll get to see blue lakes, green rivers, and milky way (at night). If you are not so lucky, you will get torrential rain which will cause road destruction due to landslide and flood. Believe me, I had witnessed all that, how in a very short duration, heavy rain caused mountain river to flow mud and stones on to the road. Too bad the government didnt have enough money to build landslide barriers nor to monitor the steep slopes to prevent landslides as Kyrgyzstan is a very mountainous country.

After being back in Bishkek, I managed to meet Zahariz, the person who was to be blamed for inspiring me to become an advrider. Five years ago, he was the one giving me the idea to travel on a motorbike, and the rest of my life after that is history. Zahariz was married to Merim, a Kyrgyz woman. He managed to do some filming on me for a short video clip.

KAZAKHSTAN (28th JULY – 1st AUG 2016)

On the morning of 28th July, I said goodbye to Nura. Similar to my farewell bid with my previous hosts, it was hard to leave her too after spending unforgettable memories and adventure for two weeks together. Thank you Nura for the hospitality and for being my sister. I’m leaving you for now, but our family tie binds forever. I left Bishkek and crossed into Kazakhstan at Korday border via M39. Border crossing was very easy and smooth (five minutes on the Kyrgyz side and 25 minutes on Kazakh side). Theres nothing to pay on both sides. The road to Almaty was good. I was happy to see the same landmarks which I posed with DREAM in 2013.

Since now is the middle of summer season, the steppes were not as green as last time, and theres no wildflowers carpeting the grassland as I had seen before. The view was replaced with lots of locals selling apricots and strawberries by the roadside. I didn’t buy any because I had enough of fruit tasting in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The road after Almaty was good too, but there were some constructions nearing Taldykorgan. I reached the town after riding for 532kms. I rode slowly in search for a place to stay and I bumped into a biker who coincidently just came back after a month students exchange program in Malaysia. He helped me to find a cheap apartment, but I had to park GD at a paid parking about 200m away.

The next day I rode to Ayagoz via A3. The distance was 552kms. It was a very bumpy ride with lots of pot holes. There were off road too and the rain worsened its condition. The road to enter Ayagoz was very muddy. This time, I wasn’t so lucky. GD kissed the muddy road, for the 8th time since GDR. 

The road to Qalbatau was as bad as yesterday. However, the view improved by lots. The steppes and the wheat fields here were golden in colour. The wind was sometimes strong as I crossed the vast steppes. 

I finally reached Semey after riding for 380kms the next day. It had been three days of looongg rides, and I am very exhausted. Semey is a city approx 100kms to the Russian border. Its easy to find Semey Hotel which I want to stay and I decided to stay here for two nights.

While in Semey, I managed to visit Nuclear Victims Monument which was built to commemorate victims of the nuclear tests. The tests were conducted nearby this area by the Soviet government to see the effects of it on humans. It was reported that 456 tests had been done around Semey from 1949 – 1989. Few years later, cases of leukemia, cancer, and deformed babies rocketed significantly. It was estimated that 6000 Kazakhs died because of the tests. 

War or anything related to it never do good for ordinary people. Only very few shall benefit from it. It was sad for me to think of the victims and the torture they had to live with until they let go their final breath…

We cant change history, but we can prevent it from happening again

We cant change people’s attitude, but we can change our own for the better

Every cruelty in this world started from sickness in the mind

We can treat this sickness if we truly want to become a better person in life

Believe me, we are able to change it if we really want to…..