 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Blog Entries
13 JULY
2005 It had been raining for about 30 hours in Leh days ago. Many rocks were falling and some roads were closed as bridges were being washed away. The travellers stuck in Leh, like me and Robert and the Swiss whom i had biked the manali-leh highway with spent our time, a lot of them in the restaurants drinking teas and coffees. Some travellers had said to me
that rain in Leh was a rare thing. After the heavy rains, i decided
to call it a day for my cycling and make Leh the final stop. I
was not going to risk being hit by falling rocks/ land slides.
I was thinking to myself that the more i cycle, the more timid
i have As the Leh-manali highway was closed as many bridges were being washed away, i took a total of 4 jeeps/buses over 4 painfully long days to be here. The Leh-kargil-Srinagar-Jammu detour runs near the pakistan border. Along the way, i witnessed with my own eyes the longest military convoy i had ever seen. One of the very first sights(not the famous house boats) to greet me when i entered Srinagar was that of a policeman/soldier slapping/hitting a young man. Not so long ago, i had seen on Pakistan TV this familiar scene and thought of that as propaganda by the Paks. But then, i now have that scene with my own eyes. BUT then, i did not know what the young man had done to warrant such physical aggression in public. Along the detour to get here and especially in Kargil, i felt like i was in Pakistan. The atmosphere was just Pakistan! Even on the house boat in Srinagar where i stayed for 75Rupee(1USD=43)the living quarters displayed the poster of the Pakistan cricket team. Jammu was a town that i added to my 'don't want to be there again'list together with Lahore pakistan. It was a town filled with flies, dungs(from cows), filthy potholes and rubbish lying everywhere. i saw men openly peeing and pooing beside the road. i really did not like the town. but then i was only there for few hours! thank goodness! A fellow traveller said to me that Pittsburg USA was worse than jammu. i dont think i am going to pittsburg. When i was in Leh, in a tiny little guesthouse talking to my swiss friends, blaise and sylvie whom i had cycled a few days with, Lucas and Marjorie walked in. I met the french about a year ago when i was biking in indonesia. the encounter,again, after 12 months was more than the word coincidental can express. It was like the most famous line from "casablance". AND i am not saying what the most famous line is, i am sure if u have been following my writings u should know by now. But the 2nd most famous line from
that classic should probably describe our encounter/relationship;
and that is "this could be the start of a beautiful friendship"
today was a "real" rest
day for me after the tiring Manali-leh highway...oh, by the way,
make a guess what the following have in common...
i arrived here with Blaise, Sylvie and Robert after going through the entire Manali-Leh highway, all 500km of it on our bikes. Blasie and Sylvie are from Switzerland and Robert is a Canadian. One of the very first things we did was to have some lemon cake and cheese cake in one of the many bakeries. Blaise, Sylvie , Robert and i,
the 4 of us had taken a rest day together in Pang. Pang is similar
to Sarchu except that it is more pleasant and has less dust. The
swiss are also biking to Leh. Robert and i left Sarchu on 29june, did the 21 Gata Loops, Nakeela Pass(5000m) and Lachlungla(5050m) all in one day. The Gata loops are actually the road that bends like hairpin through a seris of 21. We reached the top of the TangLang
La(5300m) on 2july and had a long descend to Rumtse. from Rumtse
to Upshi was a 30km downhill through a valley that had a river
running just beside. The walls of the valley were purple in color.
it was a very beautiful road for me. There were also many gompas
along the way. i enjoyed the road very much. I actually felt sinful
to have done the 30km downhill so fast. It was an injustice to
the beautiful road! 28JUNE2005
Robert and i had rested here for 1 day to better acclimatise to the altitude. Sarchu is a collection of tents set up on a barren landscape that would become all dusty when the wind blew. The tents are here for 4 months a year and packed up for the rest when it is too cold. here, robert and i sat in a tent and had tea all day. i think i had about 13teas. Just couple of Km before here, there was a stretch of road where the melted snow had overran it. i tried pushing the bike across but was almost washed away. In the end, robert helped me. And later i too helped him.
27JUNE2005 What a strange place to say good bye! At 1238hrs, at the top of the pass, Andreas and I had to say good bye. Andreas went south in the direction of Keylong while i went north to Leh with Robert. Andreas and I had met Robert(a canadian) while camping at Zing Zing Bar which lies not too far from the pass. Robert is also cycling to Leh. Andreas had to turn back to Keylong as Marcel was not feeling well and had been resting there since 23june. i told andreas that this end is the start of a new beginning. andreas was a little sad and i too felt a pity that the 3 of us cannot cycle to leh together. And so, the German-singapore team was separated on Baralacha La. 23JUNE2005 Keylong(3200m), Manali-Leh Highway INDIA Marcel, Andreas and i arrived here together after doing about 120km since Manali. The 52km climb from Manali to the Rohtang Pass(3900m) was an almost pure uphill task! But, it was not too steep. Those few km before the pass
was a nightmare and the road was jammed with cars and trucks.
We had to weave ourselves through the maze while trying hard not
to inhale too much fumes.. 21 June 2005
i had rotten toes with strange liquid oozing out so i rested almost 7 days in Dhramsala and Mcleod Ganj while the Germans cycled here. My toes were so swollen that it was difficult to bend them. But now i am ok and i can cycle again!!! i paid great attention to my toes while recuperating. everyday i would wash and clean them twice and applied medication religiously. And then, sit in the cafe, drink my teas while reading paulo coelo. many cafes and restaurants in mcleod ganj only serve vegetarian food. Here in Manali we met up again. I had taken a 9-hr bus from Mcleod Ganj to be here.I am sure you know that His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama lives there after leaving Tibet when it was invaded, conquered and horribly ruled by China since the 1950s. The overnight bus was a little scary, sometimes the bus had to stop, reverse before it could negotiate some of the bends that bended exactly like hairpins. The cold mountain wind rushed into the bus, filtering away the familiar smell of marijuana as some travellers had lighted up in the bus. Not that this was all un common in the Indian Himalayas. In Mcleod Ganj, i bought a pair of "not so original" teva sandals for 650Rupees(usd1=43).It should help me sweaty feet to breath better. from here, it is about 500km of mountain road to Leh. we have to cross 2 big passes,one is 5328m and the other is 5060m. Hopefully there is no snow or glacier. My highest pass so far was the
5220m Gyatsola in Tibet.
The last 2 days since being here, marcel and i have been taking turns to pay regular visits to the toilet. let's hope our diarrhoea will be alright soon. Frontier Pakistan(the Northwest Frontier Province) which we cycled through seemed to have changed a little since 2 years ago. A few instances, kids would come up to me and ask questions like "are u muslim" or "are u christian". i did not have this 2 years before. Getting out of Lahore Pakistan fast was something that i did not regret. i only wished that it was done faster. The traffic rules there seemed to very loosely apply to automobiles with 4 wheels or more. 3-wheeler auto rickshaws, yes, those fume - spittting QingQi from China, horse and donkey drawn carriages, tractors, bicycles, motorcycles and whatever that moved seemed to be excluded from the rules. cycling in lahore was not fun. every breath that i took, i felt that my life was being shortened by a few seconds. the air was that bad. we had taken a bus from besham earlier to be here, arriving at 10pm, to be alighted at the side of a poorly lit road lined with filth. It was hot in Lahore. People were sleeping outdoors to escape the heat. Watermelons were aplenty there, and almost everywhere in Pak. When the melons are in season(just like when i was in turkey, iran, thailand) i think that the weather is HOT HOT HOT!!! At the Wagah border, we again
encountered some rude immigration officers. they stamped our passports
and threw them back across the counter. 2 years ago when we were
here, my passport dropped on the floor. When the immigration officer
was checking our passport details, a few officers came out and
asked if we wanted to change money. they gave me the impression
that they had been forgotten by everyone else and left alone in
this corner of pakistan. we also saw the world famous
pakistan-india border closing ceremony. the pak. side had rangers
that must be at least 6'4''. the india side too had tall and fierce
looking soldiers. the indian side was a sea of
rainbow colors while the pak side had spectators mostly dressed
in pale blue, white and black. the pak soldiers, i have to admit
wore really impressive uniforms. the loud speakers played some indian songs and everyone started clapping and shouting "hindu stan". it was a very very fine display of nationalism. Then, the soldiers started the flag lowering ceremony. the soldiers' marching was definitely highly exagerrated. legs straightened were raised to eye level! both countries certainly tried to out-march and out-shout each other. Here, at Amritsar has the most
holy Golden Temple. The temple most revered by the Sikhs. In this
temple, it is possible to eat, drink and sleep for free. Everyone
is welcome. from here, we will go into kashmir
to challenge some of the high passes and the mountains. there
are few areas that may be dangerous to cycle, we will assess the
situation as the day goes by as today has enough worries of its
own. 12.05.2005-20.05.2005 Nachdem wir nunmehr erfolgreich und ohne Probleme nach China eingereist waren, genossen wir erstmal ein echtes chinesisches Essen in einem der chinesischen Restaurants. Hoert sich komish an, aber Xinjiang heisst soviel wie "Neues Terretorium" und bei dieser Provinz handelt es sich um ein (aehnlich wie z.B. Tibet) annektiertes Gebiet. Hier leben ueberwiegend Ughuren. (Leute: Chinesen Weiterhin leben in diesem Gebiet
einige Tadjiken und Kirgisen. Am naechsten Tag ueberquerten wir auf weiterhin hervo! rragender Strasse 2 Paesse (der hoechste 2990 m, aber Anstiege nicht z u hart). Und wiederum Rueckenwind. Teilweise sehr schoene Strecke durch weitere und engere Taeler und Hochebenen. Immer wieder fuhren wir an Doerfern mit einfachen Lehmbauten (aber zum Teil mit Sonnenkollektoren ausgestattet!) vorbei. Die Leute betreiben vor allem Viehzucht und ueberhaupt Landwirtschaft. Hauptverkehrsmittel sind hier vor allem Esel -mit und ohne Karren- und Kamele, z.T. Pferde. Mitten im beinahe-nichts tauchten dann Fabriken mit qualmenden Schornsteinen auf. Mit bunten Faehnchen und einem beschrifteten Portal waren die Zufahrten zu den Fabriken geschmueckt, sie trugen Aufschriften so aehnlich wie "Gemeinsam geben wir unser bestes fuer ein besseres China" und so...na, manche werden Losungen dieser Art kennen. Zwischen den Buden und einfachen Haeusern der Einheimischen stehen voellig unvermittelt oeffentliche Betonbauten chinesischen Stiles...diese Orte vermitteln einen seltsamen Eindruck. Ab ca. 110 km vor Kashgar geht es fast nur noch leicht bergab, w! ir kamen sehr schnell voran. In WuQia, einer kleineren Stadt mit breiter Prachtstrasse und Propagandaplakaten (Fuehrerbilder, Hammer und Sichel) und den typischen schon erwaehnten bunten Faehnchen, uebernachtete wir fuer 100 Yen in einem sehr ordentlichen Hotel mit warmem Wasser, Badewanne, vorbereitetem Teewasser und TV. Keine halbe Stunde nach unserer Ankunft stand bereits ein freundlicher Mitarbeiter der oertlichen Polizei in unserem Zimmer und bat uns mit unseren Paessen mitzukommen. Offizielle Registrierung auf der Polizeistation. Die dort auszufuellenden Zettel (muss in China fuer den gesamten Aufenthalt gemacht werden, bei Ortswechsel oder Aenderung des voraussichtlichen Aufenthaltes) waren auf der Rueckseite in Englisch und wir waren auch schnell fertig. Trotzdem und trotz Beschleunigung der Bearbeitung durch Alex' Chinesisch (sonst waeren wir da nie fertig geworden) dauerte die Registrierung anderthalb Stunden. Der Officer entschuldigte sich dafuer, uns so lange au! fgehalten zu haben (wir hatten so einen Hunger), "aber schliesslich so ll doch alles nach Recht und Gesetz geschehen", wir haben draussen herzlich gelacht. Die Strecke von Wu Qia nach Kashgar geht weiter bergab (Kashgar liegt auf 1.400m) und fuehrt an langgezogenen Orten vorbei, in denen vor allem Holzverarbeitung betrieben wird. Lange Alleen mit pappelahlichen Baeumen. Die letzten Kilometer fuehren ueber eine richtige Autobahn. In Kashgar verbrachten wir einige Tage. Wir schliefen im "Seman Hotel, 3-Mann-Zimmer mit Badewanne, immer Warmwasser, TV, sauber fuer 160 Yen pro Nacht. Geldwechseln -auch Euro- am Hotelschalter und zu den ueblichen Kursen moeglich. Essen nach eigenem Geschmack alles um die Ecke. Hinweis: Das ebenfalls guenstige staatliche "Overseas-Hotel" schrag gegenueber gibt es nicht mehr, es steht zum Vrkauf. Fuer alle, die darauf spekulieren, in Kashgar ihre Outdoor- oder Fahrradausruestung vervollstaendigen zu koennen, haben wir wohl eher schlechte Nachrichten. Andreas hat sich bei "John" von "Johns Cafe" hinte! r dem Seman-Hotel eine sicherlich funktionstuechtige Regenjacke ("very original" North Face aus Ostchina) kaufen koennen und in der Stadt gibt es einen Miniladen, der 3 GORETEX-Jacken, 2 Regenhosen und 5 Bergsteigerschuhe hatte, aber das war es im wesentlichen schon. Sportlaeden mit Turnschuhen und Freizeitbekleidung sowie mindestens einen grossen Fahrradladen gibt es, jedoch sind speziellere Artikel (z.B. Ersatzteile und Zubehoer fuer teure europaeische Fahrraeder) nach unseren Erfahrungen dort nicht erhaeltlich. Den typischen Sonntagsmarkt von Kashgar haben wir leider nicht gesehen. Wir waren zwar am Sonntag auf dem Markt, er war auch gross und unheimlich belebt, aber leider sind wir wohl in der falschen Ecke ausgestiegen... Die Viehverkaeufer und die anderen, wohl ueber 50.000 Haendler aus den umliegenden Gebieten, haben wir nicht gesehen... Wir entschieden uns, von Kashgar
die ersten Kilometer Richtung Khunjerab Pass mit dem Pick Up zu
fahren, da die Streck! e eine einzige Baustelle und recht langweilig
ist. Alex sprach in eine m Angelgeschaeft dazu einen Besitzer
eines geeigneten Fahrzeuges an -Herrn Wang- und dieser erklaerte
sich bereit, uns zu fahren. Letztlich gelangten wir fuer 580 Yen
bis nach Taxakorgan (rd. 260 km). Bei schlechtem Wetter war nicht
einmal der sonst sicher herrliche "Karakul Lake" interessant...leider.
In den hoeher gelegenen Taelern sammelt sich der Staub, der bis
hier hoch getragen wird, an den Haengen und glaettet die felsigen
Oberflaechen. Staub wirbelt hier ueberall und abgesehen von der
Strecke vor und nach Gehz ist die Strasse maessig schlecht bis
sehr schlecht (vor allem nach dem 4000er Pass bis Taxakorgan.
Und sehr staubig. In Taxakorgan hatten wir einen Tag Aufenthalt. Wir verbrachten die erste Nacht im teureren, dafuer recht ordentlichen "PAMIR Hotel", die zweite im billigen (nur 10 Yen p.P. fuer Dor! mitory) "Traffic Hotel" direkt neben dem Busbahnhof. Da der Bus aus Kashgar, der eigentlich weiter nach Sost faehrt, nicht ankam (hatte eine Panne auf dem Weg), mussten wir uns eine andere Moeglichkeit ueberlegen, Richtung Pakistan zu gelangen. Wir hatten Glueck. Yueh Tong, ein Chinese, der ebenfalls mit dem Rad unterwegs war (er macht eine ziemlich extreme China-Rundfahrt, er will u.a. direkt nach Tibet queren -Mann-o-Mann), half uns, einen Jeep fuer 480 Yen zu organisieren, der uns zum Khunjerab Pass brachte. Yueh Tong begleitete uns mit hinauf auf den Pass und fuhr wieder zurueck nach Taxakorgan. Die Grenzabfertigung in Taxacorgan durch die Chinesischen Grenzer verlief problemlos und zuegig. Hinweis: Man darf nicht mit dem Rad zur Grenze fahren. Normalerweise nimmt man den Bus nach Sost (dort Grenzabfertigung Pakistan). Der Bus kostet rund 25 U$ p.P. und geht einmal taeglich von Taxakorgan. Allerdings kann der Bus auch einige Tage ausbleiben, z.B. wenn er wie jetzt! eine Panne hat oder aber die Strasse von Kashgar nicht befahrbar ist. Dies soll gelegentlich, insbesondere nach Regenfaellen der Fall sein. Wie gesagt, grundsaetzlich ist es moeglich, eine andere Transportmoeglichkeit zu finden, allerdings ist Voraussetzung, dass mindestens eine Person ausser dem Fahrer wieder mit zurueck nach Taxakorgan faehrt. Beides duerfte wohl nicht so einfach sein. Auf dem Khunjerab-Pass (ueber
4.600m) blies der uebliche stark Wind, es lag Schnee. Abgesehen
von einigen Schlittereinlagen und Alex' Ministuerzen kamen wir
aber gut hinunter. Die Yaks liessen uns auch in Ruhe. Wir fuhren
durch bis Sost, wobei sich Gefaelle und Gegenwind ungefaehr ausgleichten.
Alex zerschredderte auf den scharfen Gesteinsbrocken, die auf
der Strasse und an den zahlreichen Erdrutschen liegen) noch seinen
(ohnehin nicht mehr taufrischen) Hinterreifen und musste noch
den Ersatzreifen aufziehen. Kurz nach Eintritt der Dunkelheit
erreichten wir Sost, die Einreise nach Pakistan verlief problemlos.
Allerdings wird das Abfertigungsgebaeude ger! ade erneuert, sodass
wir erstmal nachfragen mussten. Die Zollabfertigung wurde uns
erlassen, ich glaube, um die Uhrzeit hatten die Zoellner keine
Lust mehr. Wir uebernachteten in einem der zahlreichen billigen
Hotels in Sost, nachdem wir noch einige Rupis in einem der Laeden
getauscht hatten (Kurs recht normal, offiziell derzeit ca. 1 U$:58
Rupi). 3 June 2005 Dasu was about as far north I got on the Karakoram Highway(KKH), today I arrived here from the north, so, I can proudly say that I have completed the highway!!! I spent many lonely days(well, almost 3 weeks) in this hotel not so long ago to attend to a sick friend and subsequently waited many days for Andreas and Marcel after my friend went home to Singapore to sort out his illness. I will talk about those days in this dispatch… 9-27 Nov 2003 Hotel Arafat, Dasu
Kohistan, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan I was already into the 7th day of staring into the mountains alone at the Hotel Arafat, Dasu Kohistan. It was about 1800hours, the last lights had already disappeared behind the mountains to my right as I ate my noodles outside my USD2 room. The familiar sound of roller shutters coming down and the hurried images of locals going home before the last of the twilights failed them repeated themselves. Just like yesterday. The town at this moment looks like a wretched ship with a broken mast, and torn sails AND drifting alone in the high seas. This is Dasu Kohistan after dark, I was probably the only tourist there and the only one who had not retreated into my room. 7 days ago, I had gone some 400-500km
south to send my Singaporean partner home to sort out his malaria
and at the same time sent an email to Andreas and Marcel, whom
we had already been biking with for about 2months, to tell them
that I would be waiting for them at the hotel. Very much later did i learn that Andreas had replied to my mail sent earlier using a 600rupees/hr connection. 1USD=58rupees.EXORBITANT!!! At about 1900hours, 27Nov2003,
a Coaster (Toyota) stopped outside my hotel, many waterproof bags
were thrown onto the floor and 2 bikes were being unloaded from
the mini-bus. Some 2 weeks ago, Andreas and Marcel had gone up north to challenge the Khunjerab Pass, the 4733m mountain pass at the China/Pak border, which was once the highest paved road in the world. News of the 2 Singaporeans in trouble had spreaded fast and fierce among fellow travelers and they knew that I was holed up in Dasu. It was the Ramadan month and coasters were few and rare, so, they took the first Coaster available from Gilgit and rushed to Dasu to witness a lone Singaporean eating his noodles alone and staring into the mountains and the raging river beside the hotel. From Dasu, the 2 Germans accompanied the Singaporean for 2000km through India to Nepal. The 3 cyclists will remember the East-West highway in Nepal. The Maoists were having fights were the authorities so the highway was closed to all motorists, except bicycles. So the 3 of them had the entire highway to themselves. In Nepal, Alex managed to beat
Marcel in Backgammon over 3 consecutive nights. The winner of
the 3-set challenge got a bottle of beer. Alex liked to tell Marcel
that the best beer did not come from Germany; it’s a free
beer!! 28May2005 It is a very strange but nice feeling to be here again, Karakorum Highway, Pakistan. Possibly one of the most beautiful highway in the world. A mountain road that cuts through the mighty Karakorum mountain. A road that took many lives on both the Chinese and Pakistani and many years to build. Sheer vertical rock walls, fast
rivers, road side glaciers, land slides and rock falls. These
are all so dangerous. The phrase "in beauty lies danger"
makes good sense here. We are taking our time slowly here to be
swallowed by the immense beauty of the mountains and sights here. It brings back memories. When my S'porean team mate from my previous trip was sick, Andreas and Marcel were also with us in these mountains...... On the border between Pak and China, the snow was about halfway up my knee and i fell 2-3 times as it was really slippery. That was some 1 week ago.. We also became some of the few lucky ones to be able to cycle from the border into pakistan as we had a chinese friend with us on our compulsory jeep(we had to hire one)who wanted to see the border and then go back into china again. So, we could get off at the border and cycle south into Pak. A few fellow cyclists we met were rather jealous that we were so lucky to be able to cycle down from the world famous kHUNJERAB PASS, that was once the highest paved road in the world. We are resting here and will go south into india then into kashmir india to challenge part of the himalaya range. In china, some of the places
we were in, we had difficulty locating a toilet. even if we found
1, it was almost always without water or paper. Here in pakistan,
finding a toilet is easy and there is always water for cleaning.
I was wondering what was the cleaning agent in China. alex koh from Gilgit PAKISTAN 1.5.2005 bis 11.5.2005 Wir hielten uns einige Tage in Osh auf, Osh ist die zweitgroesste Stadt Kirgistans. Es gibt unter anderem einen grossen Basar entlang und in der Naehe des Flusses, einen Flughafen (Fluege wohl nur von/nach Bishkek?), einen Fernbusbahnhof (u.a. Bus nach Kashgar, 50 U$) und etliche Moeglichkeiten, guenstig zu uebernachten. Allerdings existiert das guenstige "Osh Guesthouse" (Lohnlieplaennett) nicht mehr. Dafuer erfuhren wir von einem Japaner, dass es ein billiges Hotel mit warmer Dusche direkt am Markt gibt. In der Demir Kyrgiz Bank (unweit des staedtischen Krankenhauses) kann man sogar mit ec- oder Kreditkarte Geld abheben. Geld tauschen kann man aber auch am Basar (mehrere Wechselstuben und eine Bank), wobei die Kurse etwas differieren. Internetcafes gibts auch viele CDs brennen usw. moeg! lich. Wir nahmen das "Sarah-Hotel", das recht guenstig gelegen (An der Strasse von der Grenze, Naehe Kara Alma Cafe) und sauber und relativ preiswert war. Grundsaetzlich (schmunzel..) gibts auch warme Dusche. Der Sohn der Chefin spricht uebrigens gut englisch, er arbeitet fuer eine internationale Gesundheitsorganisation und hilft in allen Angelegenheiten weiter, wenn er kann. Typischer Moslem halt. Die Kirgisen sind wie ihre usbekischen Nachbarn mehrheitlich Moslems. Hatten allerdings den Eindruck, dass die Kirgisen im Unterschied nicht so viel Alkohol tranken...vermutlich nehmen sie ihre Religion ernster...reine Spekulation. Auf jeden FallFall sind die Leute auch nett und wie in Usbekistan sind Russischkenntnisse extrem hilfreich. (Medizinische Versorgung: Essen kann man ueberall billig, wir haben meistens im "Kara Alma"-Cafe gegessen, und zwar am liebsten "Biefschtek ss Jaizam und Kartoschka Pjureh" = gut gewuerzte Bulette mit Ei, dazu Kartoffelbrei. (Essen in Kirgistan: Wir haben in der ersten Nacht bei freundlichen Bauern, kurz vor einem 2.400 m-Pass in einem verlassenen Haus geschlafen. Auf den gruenen, hohen Haengen konnte man Pferdeherden grasen sehen, Waschen und Wasser gabs an einer Quelle unten am Bergbach... hmmm. Die weitere Strecke fuehrte in Taelern, an Fluessen entlang, ab und zu gabs einige Anstiege. Die zweite ! Nacht verbrachten wir in einem Zimmer eines Restaurants vor dem Dorf K oelduek, war auch nicht teuer. Einen Restaurant- und Einkaufsstopp
gab es nochmal in Guelchoe, einem groesseren Dorf neben der Strasse.
Konnten also nochmal die Nudelsuppen-, Wasser- und Klopapiervorraete
auffuellen. Das gute Wetter und die gute Strasse
endeten, bevor wir den 3.600-m-Pass Die Nacht verbrachten wir an einer Roadrepairstation bei einem freundlichen Strassenarbeiter namens Micha und seiner Frau, die recht gluecklicherweis (zunaechst eher zoegernd...dann sahen si! e Alex) aufnahmen. Draussen immer dichteres Schneetreiben. Hatten uns schon lange nicht mehr so ueber einen warmen Ofen, warmen Tee und 3 Plaetzchen fuer unsere Schlafsaecke gefreut... Am naechsten Morgen bei gleichen Bedingungen ging es dann nach Sarih Tash, einem 2.700-Seelen Dorf an der Kreuzung der Strasse von Osh nach Tadjikistan und der Piste zum Irkesham-Pass nach China. Die spitzgehoernten Yaks liessen uns bei ruhiger Fahrweise auch durch. Ach, die Besitzer breiter 2.35er Hinterreifen (aetsch, Alex!) waren mal wieder stolz auf ihre Wahl, vor allem bei Glipschie-schnee-mistpisten-Abfahrten. In Sarih Tash verbrachten wir den Rest des Tages und am naechsten Morgen hoerten Schnee, Regen und dann sogar die Wolken auf und wir erhielten erstmalig einen Blick auf die grossartige Landschaft, in der wir angekommen waren. In Sarih Tash wuerde man uebrigens ohne einheimische Hilfe nicht mal den Ladden, geschweige denn die (tatsaechlich vorhandene) Apotheke finden. Alles ist bei irgendwem im Haus. Unregelmaessig verkehren KAMAS LKWs mit Persone! naufbau nach Nura (Abfahrten wohl so, wie der Fahrer Zeit und Lust hat). Im Dorf gibt es 2 Taxis (GAS Jeep), von denen mindestens eines immer gerade in Osh, Nura oder sonstwo ist... Fuer ein Vorwaerstkommen sollte man also besser einen Tag mehr einplanen, allerdings war wie gesagt die chinesische Grenze zu und evtl. ist sonst etwas mehr los. Von Sarih Tash bogen wir dann
von der Asphaltstrasse (geht weiter nach Tadjikistan) auf die
Piste Richtung Nura (68 km entfernt) ab. Nachdem der erste Grenzposten
nach der Passkontrolle endlich aufhoerte, Andreas wegen einer
Rolle Film ("Dai mnje Plunbka!"} anzuschnorren (was
er damit wollte, keine Ahnung), fuhren wir gemaechlich durch das
weite Tal mit herrlichem Blick auf die Hoehenzuege des Pamirgebirges.
Die Piste war wegen der vorherigen Regenfaelle aufgeweicht und
es gab die ersten echten Schlammstrecken. Der Modder war schwer,
voller Steine und nach einer Radumdrehung hat sich nichts mehr
bewegt...tragen. Aber wie gesagt, h! errliche Landschaft, kuehles
aber freundliches Wetter, klare Fluessche n, Berge... Die Nacht
verbrachten wir 21 km hinter Sarih Tash in Kargindik - 2 alte
Bauwagen, 1 Haeuschen, ein paar Kuhstaelle aber leckeres Essen
(Kartoffeln mit Rindfleisch, Kohlsuppe und warmen Tee...was will
man mehr). Die Kinder vertrieben sich die Zeit mit Einkaufspferd-reiten
und Fussball. Andreas und Marcel haben dann noch geholfen, einen
Jungbullen zurueck in den Stall zu bringen. Am naechsten Tag ueberquerten wir ohne Probleme die Grenze. Zollkontrolle usw. kein Problem, man braucht als Deutscher und als Singaporian kein Permit fuer die 6 km lange Strecke hin zur chinesischen Grenzstation (Touristinformationen und Reisebueros behaupten zwar manchmal was anderes, stimmt aber nicht). Man muss auch nicht mit einem Fahrzeug mi! tfahren, sondern kann Radfahren. Achtung aber:
We crossed the Irkeshtam Pass
from Kyrgyzstan and entered China few days ago. Soon after the sun came out,after 2 days of snow, the snow ,melted and mixed with the mud. So, we were stuck in mud. It was impossible to cycle. We had to push our bikes! The mud got stuck everywhere in our chains, brakes and almost every single hole or nut that it could find itself to. I have to say that pushing my bike in mud was more difficult than cycling up a pass in snow, physical wise, definitely. At the Kyrgyzstan border, we
stayed at a hotel metres from the customs. After that unforgettable
stay, i now know where is "the darkest hole" in the
whole of central Asia. Once into China, we were greeted by excellent roads and our daily mileages increased tremendously. The landscape also changed to that of an arid and sunbaked desert populated by camels that seemed to have tiny or no humps. At Wuqia, a town 100km from here, me, andreas and marcel had to sit for almost 2 hours with the local police as the town is near the border. So, we filled out a few "temporary residence" forms and signed a few oral statements. I was the translated for the 2 germans and i also translated their names into chinese for the convenience of the police officer. At Wuqia, the 3 of us had our 1st proper shower in 8days. Later, the police officer briefed us on the emergency procedure; that in the event of a real one, we should dial "110". before being let off at near 2200hours, the officer told us to obey the law in china and bade us farewll with "welcome to china". he also apologised for taking up so much of our time. We were very hungry and left hurriedly to have our late dinner. from here, we will start the
karakorum highway and cross the khunjerab pass,4733m, into Pakistan.
hopefully there is not too much snow on the pass.the pass was
once the highest paved road in the world, but i think a few higher
passes and now also paved. 18. April bis 1.Mai, Nachdem Marcel und Andreas in Istanbul auf dem Flughafen Alex getroffen hatten, landeten wir drei gemeinsam in Tashkent (dortige Zeit 1.20 Uhr, bei uns 22.20). Nach dem Raeder-zusammenbasteln (Alex hatte sein Rad nur als Bausatz dabei...) wurde es dann schon das erste mal lustig. Ein leicht angetrunkener netter Flughafenarbeiter namens Wolodja begutachtete eingehend unsere Raeder, erzaehlte uns die verschiedensten Dinge, z.B. kannten wir vorfristig die aktuellen Wodkapreise, und er bastelte aus eines Zigarettenschachtel eine ziemlich gute MiG (sogar mit beiden Seitenleitwerken). Wir holten uns Bier und warteten,
bis es hell genug war, um sich auf die Hotelsuche zu begeben (so
5.00 Uhr Ortszeit). Laut Lohnlieplaennett war das guenstigste
in Zentrumnaehe das "Chadra-Hotel" (6 U$, o! hne Konkurrenz)
und das Buch nannte es "The darkest hole in whole Central
Asia". OK, zugegeben, es hatte mal wieder 5 Sterne und wenn
man unten davor steht, glaubt man nicht unbedingt, dass das Haus
bewohnt ist, aber im Grunde genommen - wir hatten einen halbwegs
sauberen Raum, konnten sogar duschen und uns ging niemand auf
den Keks. (Verkehr: Wir verliessen Tshkent am 21.04. frueh um 9.30 Uhr weg. Den Tag davor hatte es geregnet, aber puenktlich zur Abreise 40 Grad und strahlende Sonne. Wir fuhren uebr die Autobahn M 39. Um es vorwegzunehmen, die ganze Strecke zwischen Tashkent und Samarkand ist langweilig. Wir haben auf dem Weg abends immer an "Little Teahouses" (=Alex), kleinenStrassenrestaurants, geschlafen. (Leute: Zum Verdienst: Ein Kellner in Usbekistan verdient ca. 40 U$, ein Polizist mit 1 Streifen auf der Schulter ca. 60 U$, ein Lehrer ca. 50 U$. Studiengebuehr (man beachte Vorstehendes!) 500 U$ pro Monat!! ) Haben auf dem Weg den Fluss Syrdahia ueberquert. Man muss sich diese ganze Gegend, dass alles, also so ziemlich wirklich alles, bewaessertes landwirtschaftliches Gebiet ist. Und das bei den hiesigen Temperaturen. Kein Wunder, dass der Aralsee kein Wasser mehr abbekommt und sich seine Ufer dutzende Kilometer zurueckgezogen haben.Ueberall stehen verstreute, sehr einfache Betonhaeuserchenchen, keine richtigen Bauernhoefe und ab und zu z.T. riesige Kornspeicher und grosse, wahrscheinlich ehemalige Kolchos-Anlagen. (Essen: In Samarkand verbrachten wir 2 Tage, an denen wir uns vor allem das Registon-Gebiet mit seinen alten Bauten, teils aus der Amir Timur Zeit (15. Jh.) angesehen haben. Im Guesthaus "Bahodir B&B" trafen wir Barbara und Pete aus Belgien, die mit dem Rad von Belgien gereist und gerade auf dem Weg nach Tadjikistan waren. Samarkand insgesamt macht jedoch einen etwas merkwuerdigen Eindruck, denn direkt neben den altehrwuerdigen Moschee- und Marktbauten stehen die massiven russischen Betonbauten. ! Von Samarkand nach Tashkent gings mit dem Zug (rd. 3 U$ pro Nase), dort erhielten Marcel und Andreas nach einigem hin und her ihre Indien-Visa und erteilten dem Visabearbeiter umfangreich Rat zum Kauf eines gebirgsgeeigneten Fahrrades. Weil wir keine Lust auf noch
mehr langweilige Radstrecke hatten, entschlossen wir uns, von
Tashkent nach Qoqand ebenfalls mit dem Zug zu fahren und so 250
km zu sparen. Der Zug passiert hierbei das Gebiet von Tadschikistan,
sodass wir uns auf dem Bahnhof beim Immigrattions-Buero fuer satte
7 U$ pro Nase eine besondere Registrierung geben lassen mussten.
Das hielt aber die usbekischen Grenzer nicht davon ab, bei der
Einreise nach Tadschikistan ungluecklicher- (und faelschlicher-)
weise unsere One-Entry-Visa abzustempeln und damit zu schliessen
(=ungueltig). Somit hatten wir also den ganzen Freitag vormittag
Programm: Zunaechst durften wir dann um 5.30 Uhr morgens im ersten
Grenzdorf auf usbekischem Gebiet den Zug verlassen. Dem Chef der
! oertlichen Grenztruppe, dem sehr netten "Leutnant Alex",
der in einem geborgten Auto (die ganze Grenztruppe hat dort kein
Fahrzeug) vorausfuhr, mussten wir dann bis zur naechsten Kleinstadt
folgen, wo wir dann noch 3 Stunden rumsassen, bis wir gehen durften.
Mit einem abgelaufenen Usbekistan-Visum. Gegen nachmittag erreichten
wir dann Qoqand, eine uninteressante, etwas groessere Stadt. Das
dortige Hotel haette uebrigens wirklich fast das Praedikat "Darkest
Hole in Central Asia" verdient gehabt... Am Sonntag, 1.5., Kampftag der Arbeiterklasse, ! ueberquerten wir dann die Grenze nach Kisgistan bei Osh (2.-groesste Stadt Kirgistans). Natuerlich nicht ganz ohne Schwierigkeiten, unsere ungueltigen One-Entry-Visa sorgetn doch noch ein wenig fuer Verwirrung. Wir versicherten aber, innerhalb der naechsten Zeit uns hier nicht wieder sehen zu lassen, so wurde der Pass irgenwo abgestempelt und wir wurden ziemlich eilig zu den Kirgiesen geschickt. Andreas I know that you may have difficulty pronouncing the name.me too had problem initially.we are now not far from China, probably about 300-500km west of western china. it was good to put Uzbekistan behind. the roads had been boring and even the old silk road city of Samarkand was just all right. we had spent almost 2hours yesterday clearing customs as our visas were already expired. though we did have some really good encounters with the locals including a woman who refused to charge us for tea BUT we did have a fair share of bad encounters. the officer at the tashkent railway station was perhaps the most successful at cheating us! As we were concerned about the border area, we took a train from tashkent to Kokand. As Central Asia is geographically very messed up and interlocking, our train was going to go through Tajikistan. The train officer at tashkent then demanded USD20 for registration and said that it would sort out all transit and re-entry problems. But it never did. On the UZ. side of the UZ-TaJik
border, few really big soldiers who looked very much capable of
giving mike tyson a KO came to us and started to question us.
one of them used a laptop and started to key in our particulars
as we slumped against our sleeper-beds. then after some time,
the exit chop was put on our visas. and so our visas expired.
the transit though tajik was smooth, however, the moment we crossed
into Uz. again, we were ordered off the train, that was some 50km
from our original destination and it was 5am in the morn. som-sa is just like our local "bao" but has some onions in it. alex koh.
Andreas and Marcel use a lot of Russian so Uzbekistan was rather convenient to travel. Here,many people too speak Russian. we hope to enter China soon in about a week's time. alex koh.
19 APRIL 2005
me, andreas and marcel arrived here together on early monday morning. put our bikes together at the airport and cycled to the town. we were lucky not to be swallowed by the numerous potholes on the way out. GOOD NEWS for smokers though, you can smoke at the Tashkent airport and ash trays are really aplenty. we are now staying at a USD6/day/person hotel which our guide book describes as "the darkest hole in the whole of central asia". other than falling paint and a toilet that no one would want to spend any extra time in, this is not a bad deal. the hotel is opposite a circus,
but we are not clowns yet. ha ha. Alex koh.
24 Oct 2004 On the 24Oct 2004 at 1945hours NZ time or 1445hours Singapore time, the 2 cyclists reached Bluff, touched the sign that reads "London 18958km" and decided to call this the end point. DON'T BLUFF BLUFF Really meh, don't bluff me lar. Got such a name call Bluff meh. You dun be-lip, you can take a map and check. Where got? Cannot see lar. You bluff me. Ne-ber bl-ab you lar, but Bluff is a bery bery small town, very very small on the southern tip of South Island New Zealand, maybe that why you cannot see. ORR, like that Ar. I be-lip you. (ask the cyclists if you don't understand Singlish) My trip down the Tibet-Nepal Highway with Isobel in Sep/Oct2000, we deliberately kept the last stretch into Kathmandu slow going as it was hard to believe that after climbing so many passes and putting so many Kms behind us, the mountain road was coming to an end. When I was cycling solo in Laos and Vietnam, I also on purpose kept the last strectchs slow going. I did the same, the last few Kms into Bluff. Simon(from Melbourne) asked me to describe how I felt after having come so far some time ago. Have not found the most appropriate word yet, but something close enough would be a quote from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, that "the end of my journey is to arrive at where I first left off and know the place for the first time. Fiennes lead the first pole-to-pole circumnavigation of the globe more than 20 years ago. It was a 3-year, 52000mile expedition. My plane will land at 2245hrs
at Changi Airport on 30oct2004 and I am going to switch on my
mobile to be welcomed back to where I belong, the moment the wheels
touch the runway. Just want to be like the rest of the It was hard to imagine that my
ambitious dream has now come to an end. It would be impossible
but for my many kind and generous sponsors, friends and realtives
who came forward to believe in me. To them, I say a big thank
2008 will be the year to live very excitingly and dangerously.Till then. As we go about our daily chores, may we all tarry a little and think about those less fortunate around us. Alex Koh
14 Oct 2004
Alex, the Greek lady sitting
behind the Pacific Blue counter at the Melbourne Airport refused
to let Mr Alex check in as he did not have a ticket out of NZ.
Waw, big mistake, shouldn't have bought a one-way ticket!
1 Mar 2004 I PLEAD GUILTY, SIR The Public Security Bureau(visa
office) in Lhasa Tibet, had Alex write 3 statements before they
would issue him an extension. The 1st statement was to detail
his medical condition. The 2nd was to describe his route and places
he visited for the last 3 weeks.The 3rd was to say why his tour
guide left him alone after bringing him to Lhasa. After learning
of Alex's route(with the piece of paper in hand) the officer wanted
to charge Alex and fine him for "a few thousand Yuan"
for his illegal activity in Tibet as some of the towns Alex cycled
through required Alex to possess a permit and be on a group tour.
Alex took out his Singapore Identity Card, pointed to his race,
which is "Chinese" and also showed the officer his Chinese
name AND pleaded guilty as a half Chinese. The officer, a stern
looking man who looked he would not entertain any nonsense then
went to consult his superior. Minutes later, he returned and said
that they would forgive the illegal travelling matter on the basis
of "humanitarian" reason. He was refering to Alex's
dog bite. Alex then told him he would like to continue his rabies
treatment in KunMing and showed him his air ticket, the officer
then extended Alex's visa(expiring 28Feb) to 14 March 2004 on So, Alex only did 30percent what
what he intended to do in Tibet before his encounter with the
dog at 4000m. The dog will not make Alex give up. It just ruined
a little of his plan. Now Tibet becomes the imperfection. But 2 days ago, Alex got his 4th Rabies
jab in Lhasa, Tibet for 34Yuan. The 3 jabs that he took in Singapore
were SGD161 each. He will need a 5th jab in 2 weeks time to complete
the whole course, as advised. In Singapore, you In Kathmandu, a very well travelled Thai-Filipino reminded Alex that Singaporeans must be very kia-su and that our society needs to be well controlled. Alex was very curious to hear that from a foreigner and so asked him why. The T-F later said that for us to fail as a society would be disastrous as we have no farms to fall back on whereas he who lives in Nepal could always go back to farming. It was very enlightening to hear that from a foreigner. Alex will sort out his 5th Rabies jab and the Laos visa here in Kunming. He wants to be kia-su with the jab thing though many days have past without any bad signs. He will know that he is completely safe when the incubation period passes. Alex arrived here yesterday after transitting through ChengDu ShuangLiu Int'l Airport. The GongGa Int'l Airport in Tibet and the ShuangLiu Airports were very amazing compared to what they were in Oct2000. They almost look like our Changi Airport, on however a smaller version. Ambience, architecture, cleanliness and polite staff; it was scary to see China progressing at such a frightening fast pace. A cup of coffee is anything from USD4 to USD 6 at ShuangLiu. At ShuangLiu, the staff wanted
to charge Alex for excess baggage for his bike and checked in
baggages were 40kg. Alex went to see the duty manager. The DM
was curious about Alex's bike journey and so Alex told her.
i am not special i just live
differently
27 Feb 2004 A dog can ruin you! Alex left Bayi on 25th Feb to cross the SekYa Pass(4520m). At about 1800hours, Alex decided to rest for the day at the 113 Road Repair Station, which lies 5km below the Pass. A dog belonging to the RRS stole quietly from the rear and bite Alex on his right hamstring. The skin was slightly broken but there was no blood. Alex cleaned himself.That night he slept in an unused hut next to the RRS. It was cold, Alex had to wear his fleece inside his 700gram down sleeping bag.It was minus 6 deg. celsius, all his water bottles that were left on the floor were ice in the morning. Back in Singapore before he left for this expedition, Alex jabbed himself against Rabies and Tetanus. The 3-course Rabies was more than SGD500, now the insurance has paid off. Though he has the jab, Alex decided to be kia-su when it comes to safety and health issues. So, yesterday morning he hitched a truck back here for 200Yuan(aboutUSD25) to see a doctor. Sitting in the recess of the truck's cockpit(where the driver rests)was nice. It reminded Alex of his childhood where he would do the same in his father's lorry. It was homely. Just minutes into the drive, a Han Chinese passenger asked Alex about Lee Kuan Yew. Amazing. After talking to a Singaporean doctor friend, and the very helpful and organised Tan Tock Seng Hospital (the travellers's clinic) today, Alex knows that his life is not in danger. He will however take more jabs tomorrow (28feb) when the doctors here are back from the Tibetan New Year holiday. Alex will fly to Kunming China via Chengdu on 29 Feb. From Kunming, he will observe himself further. In the unlikely event that the dog gets the better of him, there are at least more flights out of Kunming than Lhasa. It is sad that he has to fly. The expedition is no longer entirely overland. In some mythlogy, if some mishap should happen to a bird in the jungle, God is responsible. Now, who should be accountable for Alex's? Alex blames himself as he was mentally and physically tired after the long and hard day toiling up the switchbacks. alex koh i am not special i just live differently
28 Feb 2002- Thu yesterday i told myself that my cycling would end. and it ended at 414pm local time. the last few Kms were emotional hard going, just like the little struggle we/I had at the restaurant in nepal where we had soft drinks before going into thamel..... i was also kinda tired of the deafening honking from the buses..trucks..lorries..It is a WHOEVER HONKS LOUDER WINS.. kinda situation in Viet. Though it was useful at times of approaching vehicles BUT it was real tiring too. 1125km, and i saw 7 motor accidents on the highway....i told myself i would stop yesterday. my gloves and cyclo-meter will later go into the deep end of my day pack. My R&R will start soon. will take a 17hr bus to saigon later. alex
25 Feb 2002 - Mon Greetings from National Highway 1 My friends, Anyway, I am tired of NATIONAL
HIGHWAY 1 already. It is only normal for a bus/truck to blast
its horns while zig-zagging on this ECP-PIE. This 4lane highway
was closed down to 2 lane today because of maintenance. And ao-dais(traditional
dress) clad school girls would close down 1 more lane today as
they liked to cycle side by side…chit chatting…holding
hands….. I screeched to a sudden stop today as a motorbike cut in suddenly. Guess what, another motorbike rammed into me. Me and bike are perfectly ok. However, the motorbike that had a pig riding pillion had its wind shield smashed….. I also helped a school girl cut away her torn ao-dai that was caught in her bike’s spokes with my leatherman as the passer-bys did not have a proper tool… I also saw 2 accidents today.
The total score is 7 now. I am planning to call it a day soon.
I see myself doing 2-3 day trips more at the max.
22 Feb 2002 - Fri Silver Giant Down Today my silver color Giant bike
was down…… alex in Hoi An, Vietnam
20 Feb 2002 - Wed today was 4.5hrs of cycling in the rain over 71km of potholes and mud. just had a hot shower at a USD10/nite hotel in the ancient city of Hue. on sunday, i did 151km in the drizzle but the road was excellent though i had a small pass to clear. that fateful day was my longest in vietnam. Guess what, 5 punctures in 1 hour!!!!...the fifth time i removed my panaracer trailblaster(hmm..kevlar though...at USD40/pair)i noticed a chip of glass that pierced through it..i removed it, stuck some tape and i solved the real upsetting mystery of how on earth i would keep bursting....... alex
17 Feb 2002 - Sun Today was my longest day in Vietnam
|