...Various ups and downs mark our route until the border. We have to wait until the following morning since the borders are only open on weekdays.  Our final goodbye to Adam and our van, who will return to Osh and leave the van there until Martin picks it up sometime in August.  We pack all our belongings onto our bicycles, which now resemble much more closely the passing Chinese trucks. After numerous controls we clear the Chinese border and meet our Chinese driver and guide, who speaks English....

BLOG ENTRY  KASHGAR MAY 30 DAY 101  KM 5640

Our morning shower using our bike water bottles behind a tree in the back yard of the school we have been hosted at - not completely hidden from the passing pedestrians – was quite refreshing.  We visited the infamouswow cd key  Osh bazaar, one of the largest bazaars in Central Asia.

There we found a lot of cheap products that we needed, bought lots of fruits and food and also met some locals who were glad to practice some English with us, and for us to practice some Russian as well.  Around sunset we went up the hill of Suleyman to enjoy the view of Osh by night.  We lied on a warm rock and sang gazing at the star and the lights below us (day 91).

As we are getting ready to depart we realize that some of our things are missing – pump, helmet, water bottles – somebody must have stolen them while we were at the bazaar the previous day.  They are not expensive items but to us they are essential for our travels.  The road to the Chinese border is 260 km long and mostly gravel.  This means that we will enjoy the dust on our skin mixed with the sunscreen and our sweat.  Actually, it turns out that the oncoming trucks do not just create a bit of a dusty wave but a whole cloud that surrounds you for wow power leveling several minutes after they pass you.

However, the landscape and the beautiful mountainous area rewards even the most demanding souls so that one forgets the 8km/h average speed, the zig zags to avoid the stones and the holes on the road, and the vibration that seems like an endless irritating massage on one’s ass.  We seem to have good timing because we arrived at the pass – 2406 m high – just before a heavy thunderstorm.  We had previously enjoyed cooking lunch among some locals in a small village before the pass.  20 of us took shelter in a cosy yurt – such as those in Mongolia – sleeping almost one of top of the other.

Danae did some horseback riding for a few minutes on the steep slope just before the clouds announced their intent!

This kind of weather reminds you how impractical it is to have a toilet far from your sleeping quarters... (day 92)

The weather in this region is quite unstable.  Very few periods of time when the clouds are not crying...  A very kind man offered us shelter in his house when he found us packed under a covered bus stop. We shared home-made bread, butter and tea.  He is the father of a very silent baby, tied in cloth in a traditionnal wooden crib.  We are wondering how the baby can be sowow powerleveling  quiet, since we were both very agitated and energetic kids..!   The nineteen year old mother takes care of us but never seats.  A lot of men from the village come to meet  and spend some time with us. We travel together with Monica, Carlotta and Gita, three girls from Poland, Italy and Latvia respectively.  We learn a lot about their culture since two of them speak Russian, and we can ask people questions that interest us – such as the woman’s position in society, the people’s daily activities – The same night the five of us sleep at a family house while the group chooses wild camping in the cold and humid night (day 93).

We slowly climb the highest pass on this trip ( 3630 m ) accompanied by loads of trucks arriving from China. Heavy wind and low temperatures and less and less oxygen in the air makes our breathing harder.  Sary Tash, a scenic village on a high plateau at 3200 m surrounded by the gorgeous Pamir and the Tian Shan mountains, hosts us for the night (day 94).

Finding food and shops is very difficult at such remote locations. Fortunately, we were able to purchase some onions, raisins and toilet paper – essential provisions for the two days in the wild ahead of us!  We enjoy the long gravel road situated between twowow leveling  ranges – the red Tian Shan on our left and the snow capped Pamir range on our right. In the evening we have our farewell party for Adam, one of the drivers of our expedition at 3570m.

At this altitude the temperature drops to  below zero at night and the altitude affects some of us.  Thanks to the vodka and our van we manage to stay out till late – most of us jammed into the rear of our minivan (day 95).

Various ups and downs mark our route until the border. We have to wait until the following morning since the borders are only open on weekdays.  Our final goodbye to Adam and our van, who will return to Osh and leave the van there until Martin picks it up sometime in August.  We pack all our belongings onto our bicycles, which now resemble much more closely the passing Chinese trucks. After numerous controls we clear the Chinese border and meet our Chinese driver and guide, who speaks English.  We are so glad to be in China:  great food and shops full ofworld of warcraft leveling  goods, fruits and vegetables at last – no more nightmares of only bread and meat, a paradise of choice.

The landscape has completely changed into a surreal lunar desert full of jaded rocky peaks and sandy hills, stunning folds and cuts, and earthlike colors.  Danae feels a bit intimidated by the mysterious landscape forms that shed an aura of loneliness around. (days 96-97).

More km through the endless Tian Shan range amidst isolated rugged peaks till our descent to the fertile plains of Kashgar, which lies on the border of Taklamakan desert.  For the first time on this trip we feel the Asia that we know:  touk-touks, bicycles, motorcycles.  We have entered the autonomous region of Xinjiang, a vast Chinese province in the northwest inhabited primarily by Uygurs, who are Muslim.  Entering Kashgar is an absolute joy.  Wide streets and ordered city planning, multitudes of silent electric bicycles and scooters, huge Chinese letters everywhere. Finding our way around is much more difficult since Chinese sounds are completely unfamiliar to us.  People seem eager to assist despite this fact (days 98-99).

We have planned two rest days in Kashgar.  We are staying at the old Russian consulate, which has been turned into an inexpensive hotel. We have had the chance to visit the city, its famous bazaar, do some sightseeing and have a farewell party for Brian, Allison (New Zealand), Rolandas and Edvinas (Lithuania), Joachim (Finland), and Gita (Latvia) who will finish their trip in Kashgar.