And so concludes the primary part of the trip; China. Riding the Middle Kingdom has been one of the best experiences in my life so far, and I feel like I have a better understanding of how the common person lives, thinks, and feels. After 7300 KMs and a month on the road, travelling through rural villages, small towns, mountain passes, and major cities, I leave China for Kazakhstan through the port of Horgos, a stop on the caravan route westward on the ancient Silk Road.

My exit from China is bittersweet — I have had a really, really wonderful time here and I feel like I have found a newfound sense of belonging. But as the old saying goes; “送君千里, 终有一别” (Farewell is inevitable, however far we walk together); all good (and bad) things, no matter how long they last, come to an end.

Horgos Border Crossing

I met with my tour guide at the border at 11 AM, which was when the departure documents were due to be couriered. Just a few final pics of my bike at the gate, and I was into Chinese customs and immigration, alone once more.

Final pic in China with my tour guide Maggie. She is an excellent guide! If you are visiting Chengdu, or generally need a tour guide through China (incl for sensitive parts like Tibet/Xinjiang where guides are necessary), highly recommended. Her WeChat is yy11182262

The process for departure was rather strict; my luggage was taken off the bike, I had to walk these through to get X-Rayed, and then back to the bike … then after a physical inspection of the bike it was on to get my documents stamped. Then, a short ride over to the Kazakh side and the same thing happened. This is a lot of work when your luggage weighs 60 kg (I measured)! When on the Kazakh side, a few fellow Chinese tourists offered to help me carry the bags (I was too ashamed to accept; I should bear the burden of my decisions to carry so many things with me).

Welcome to Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan?)

Today’s route in blue

And just like that, I had left China and entered Central Asia.

Friendly police officer telling me to move along after the border

What followed was ~300 km of straight highway at ~37-40 °C, with literally nothing but grass (and the occasional river) the entire way.

Dead straight highway

Ili River

I started to get worried when it was almost 200 km, and I had yet to stop for fuel (there was only one fuel station relatively close to the border when I was still good for fuel).

Grass (on top of sand)

Finally, I passed a town with a few fuel stations, and also took the opportunity to fill up on water and food too (hot-dogs).

Another hour of riding later and I had reached Almaty and checked into my hotel in the nicer part of town. The city of Almaty is on a gentle incline, with mountains as a backdrop (in the direction of the Tian Shan mountains).

Almaty. Tian Shan Mountains in the background

I spent the afternoon walking around town, and had a few thoughts:

• There are so many different ethnic groups here that it feels like a spectrum or gradient along three axes; Caucasian, Asian/Mongolian, and Persian/Middle Eastern. Everywhere you walk people can be seen, in mixed groups, like a truly multicultural society.
• Almaty is quite trendy. The youth dress well, and seem to have taste. Hospitality and retail seem modern/contemporary. Streets are leafy and green and walkable. People are orderly. It is a nice part of the world.
• Everyone is drinking energy drinks … Monster or equivalently branded drinks. Energy drinks are to Kazakhstan what tea is to China.
• Things are a lot more expensive than I had expected. A haircut cost ~30 AUD, accommodation for a small room with a single bed (but nice furnishings) is ~100 AUD, and dinner was ~25 AUD. This is probably a bit cheaper than what things cost in Sydney, but orders of magnitude higher than what it would cost in Tashkent (which is not that far away), or 50-200 % more expensive than in China.

Cafes with art

One of many apple monuments (apparently Almaty was the birthplace of the apple)

Plov for dinner

Overall quite a pleasant place to be.

Tomorrow; Bishkek!

Some stats:

• 347 km travelled
• ~13 L fuel (some uncertainty here as I forgot to look, but had ~100 km range left which usually equates to 8 L in the tank. Filled up to full, which would have been 13 L)
• 0 g coffee consumed (shock horror!)
• 3 unique interactions

Altitude map of today’s ride

Route to date

More photos:

Leafy restaurant (looks nice)

European style architecture

Bostandyk Neighbourhood in Almaty