Today was border crossing day from Kashgar through the Torugart pass into Kyrgyzstan. The day started as per normal since there was no point in setting off early due to border post only opens at 10am mainly due to the time difference between Kyrgyzstan and China.
First stop was petrol and a little delay was due to me trying to siphon out petrol from Bragge for Chye to his backup jerry bottle.
After siphoning the petrol, we were last to leave the petrol station but I still need to refill the bike however Nick & Heidi had already left so we had to beg a few locals to borrow the ID card for pumping petrol.
Eventually the petrol attendant went to get his ID card and I was good with a new full tank reloaded. I was last out the gate again and this time I thought I was a little lost and late.
Arriving at the first border customs checkpoint just off the G3013 highway, I met up with the whole gang but Tom & Barb was missing and so was Sten & Bow. Everyone seam to somehow got split up and Heidi was having trouble trying to find the lost sheep.
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| Queuing up for Vehicle X-Ray |
Eventually we gathered proper but lost valuable time. Custom clearance was a mess of miss communications and a few were quite annoyed with the disorganization. I think it was a childish behavior and things happens sometime which a little understanding would go a long way.
First off was small luggage unloaded and scanned through the passenger terminal then all driver/riders had to take the vehicle to the big X-ray machine and queue up for scanning.
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| Waiting for the Bike to be X-Rayed |
Immediately after, it was back to the custom weighing scale with more unknown paper documentation clearance which our local Xinjiang guide Heidi was busy running around.
Soon we were cleared to proceed the 100km journey to the actual border with Kyrgyzstan. The roads were tolerable compared to the expectation that it would be horrendous.
In hindsight, the G318 and G109 change a lot of our expectation of bad roads. The weather changed quickly as we climb elevation fast but the roads were gradual so I did not realized it till the border.
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| Riding from Customs Checkpoint to Torugart Border Checkpoint |
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| Riding from Customs Checkpoint to Torugart Border Checkpoint |
From hot Kashgar weather to freezing cold weather and I had to stop to layer up before going into the immigration office. More document and time was burned to exit China and more disgruntled mumble was heard within the group as patience wore thin.
I was happy. It was a border crossing where only time was involve and an exit/entry was ensured. Immigration stamped out completed, we left the building to see snow starting to fall. The final mountain pass 3752m did not seam to be too high after traveling through Tibet but this time it was a quick climb.
We reach the last gate checkpoint before leaving China around 5pm which means after crossing the imaginary line, a two hours rewind would occur hence it would be actually 3pm in Kyrgyzstan.
It was good time but I did not know at that point how much I would suffer later that day to the point of survival where I thought I almost died.
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At the last China Border Post. Next stop Kyrgyzstan
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Kyrgyzstan.
New country new adventure and I was really smiling from ear to ear despite everyone rushing to get Immigration and vehicle import permit.
Judith could speak Russian and helped out a lot with the translation with the border officers smothering a lot of inquiries and speeding up the process. Immigration was fairly fast and within an hour all 19 participants was already stamped in.
Vehicle temporary import papers however would be our downfall. While queuing up to wait for the officer to return from the weird lunch hour till 4pm, there was nothing we could do.
I was somehow ended up first at the window not really sure how it happen and as the officer open the window I passed my papers with Judith beside giving support. After a few minutes the officer returned my papers and said, car vehicles first and motorbikes was to be last.
Back to the sitting area while we wait for all the cars to process the TIP. Snow started to fall outside and the customs officer proceeded to process one vehicle per hour.
We had six cars and six bikes so some of us bikers though yea, maybe we have to overnight here as the border closes. Fortunately as the time passes, the process got more smoother.
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| Snowfall at Kyrgyzstan Torugart Border |
I got nudge to the front by Richard and Lobo so I would not be last and once the papers were issued it was time to hit the road for the nearest overnight yurt camp.
100Km to Tash Rabat.
Time was 8pm and sunlight was maybe another 20 minutes left before full darkness. Behind me was Vick, Lobo and Richard. Bless Judith for staying till the end making sure everyone of us got the Temporary Vehicle Import permit.
It was snowing heavy now, very heavy. The sun set and darkness came but I was happy for once since I had just installed brand new spotlights in Kashgar.
For once riding in the night would not be a nerve wrecking blinding experience for me. Lobo soon overtook me followed by Vick and just as Richard over took me my spotlight decided to flicker and shut off.
I was definitely dead last in the pack now and with only a puny high-beam white-light in pitch blackness while freezing in the snowfall.
80Km to Tash Rabat.
I traveled so slow due to visibility. There was a point where all I saw was rainbows as the snowflakes would reflect back my high-beam making it look like rainbows flowing along my way.
Somewhere at 40km, I think I would not make the journey with the heavy snow forcing me to stop every 5 to 10km just to off-mount and scrape off snow icing from my glasses.
Visor was fogging up, pin lock was useless, snow would stick and become an ice-sheet on the visor that I gave up and just ride with chattering teeth just so I could see and even with that the spectacles would get ice-sheets every so often.
Maybe I could just pitch tent at the side of the road and try to survive the snow. Nope that would have been a death sentence so I soldiered on thinking of only one mantra. Keep Moving or Die.
Keep Moving or Die.
Still I was fairly lucid in my thinking, so even with the extreme cold biting into my bones, I did not speed up and kept the riding to second gear going ever more slowly as the heavy snow pick up.
I could not risk a fall in this remote and isolated area. There was almost no vehicle at 10pm and I would be really in trouble with the heavy snow if I were to fall.
40km to Tash Rabat
There was a guard-post and a gate. I got down and saw the soldiers inside their little hut with heating and light. Somehow even without a word of Ruski or Kyrgyz we could understand each other.
The boys made gestures of it must be cold ya … how can you ride in this crazy weather. I made gestures of please let me stay here for tonight. I would sleep on the floor right there by the heater. I cant feel my hands anymore and I cant see anything.
One of the guys gestured for my glasses and I was too cold to think of anything and just chucked my glasses over the counter while still begging the rest to let me stay for the night at the military outpost.
He then proceeded to wash off the ice-sheet in hot water, dry it and clean the spectacle before returning it to me. The gesture said, you can see better now. Thumbs up.
Begging for sanctuary failed, I headed back to the bike to push on but the boys shouted for passport. All these while I was just begging for shelter and never thought that this was a checkpoint for passport.
Another precious 2 minutes lost and shivering like mad now it was time to push on. I really could not see anything beyond a few white line on the road or some road post painted white.
10km to Tash Rabat
I was seriously wondering if I could even find the off-shoot road to the yurt camp since everything was still pitch black. I may have to push on all the way to Naryn where civilization was assured but that was another 100km.
I overshoot the side road to Tash Rabat without realizing and the first lights I saw was a hotel & cafe named Kara-Bulak. An unmarked trucker hotel which thank the stars was open. Mentally I broke down knowing that there was no way I would continue the journey tonight.
It was nearly midnight when I saw the hotel and I turn in and park behind two bikes. My mind was on base survivor mode so I did not realized the bikes were actually Bows & Sten.
I asked for food at the cafe and they gave me soup and bread. I was figuring out how I was going to pay for the night at the hotel and the food since I had no Kygryz som yet.
I had some USD emergency money but apparently the locals was not accustom to exchanging USD. In the end a passing truck driver heading for China was willing to change some of my USD to Som which set me up for the night and meals.
I was alive and I crawl into bed thinking this must be one of the hardest border crossing I had ever done.
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| The Morning View from Kara-Bulak Lodge |
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| Hotel Kara-Bulak - Kyrgyzstan |
Traveled on : Jun 2024
