It is time to hit the road again. Today’s ride takes me to the border between Kyrgyzstan and China, so that I can arrive in time for the scheduled “tour” for the Chinese part of the route, starting on the 13th October.

I was still a bit under the weather when I woke, but the worst of the cold had passed (happy with my decision to stay in the apartment last few days and recover). It was a leisurely morning, where I slowly packed my things, enjoyed my coffee, and got ready to set off.

I had agreed with Alex and Mauricio, two Colombianos who are travelling across Eurasia in their van, that we would go together (more like I had asked if I could go with them, in case there were issues with snow and ice on the mountain passes), so I met them where they had parked during their stay in Osh, and we set off at 10AM.

Today’s route in blue

The going was at a very leisurely pace; Mauricio is a calm driver, and I followed at their pace for the drive south to Sary Tash along the M41. I had ridden this road a few months ago, on my way to Tajikistan, so I was curious as to what the landscape would look like. The weather was a bit cooler, the foliage along the way had turned from a light green to an autumn yellow, and grass had similarly dried out, but the landscape was not too different (compared to the route along the M41 to Toktogul Reservoir); contrary to my expectations, there was a tiny bit of snow on the mountain peaks, but the way was clear, and the snow did not reach the sides of the road.

M41 pass between Sary Tash and Gulcha

Same location ~2.5 months ago

M41 pass between Sary Tash and Gulcha (pt 2)

Same area ~2.5 months ago

My main concern that there would be ice / snow on the roads did not come to pass, presumably because it was much drier here than further north (as forecasts indicated that it was much colder here than other areas).

After ~3.5 hours of riding (mainly at 50-60 km/h - such restraint!), we reached the town of Sary Tash. A number of other motorcyclists that would also be joining for part of the route through China were staying here as well (as this was supposedly the last stop where there were guesthouses and accommodation), so I had an option to either (i) stay with them, and ride ~100km to the border the following morning, or (ii) continue on to the border myself, and take a risk on accommodation.

This was the main decision for the day for me:

• I was slightly afraid that the morning ride to the border would be MUCH colder (weather reports said that it would be -2 degrees at 8am and we would need to set off early), and I was afraid that my bike would take some time to start
• I also am not a huge fan of riding in groups of motorcycles; (i) it is a less freeing experience as you generally stop when others stop, and you set off when there is consensus to keep going, and (ii) it is sometimes less safe, because riding etiquette varies around the world and people sometimes follow too closely and ride recklessly, and (iii) sometimes egos get into the way and ride in a manner that they wouldn’t usually ride.
• As I found out when I reached Sary Tash, there was no more fuel in the town, and the closest petrol station was back the way I had come ~60KM.

In the end, I asked around town to see where I could find fuel, and apparently there was an informal vendor of fuel close to the border itself; so my decision was made. I figured that this town was at a more amenable altitude (2800 MASL, vs the 3200 MASL of Sary Tash), and thus it was slightly warmer (0 to 9 degrees vs -4 to 5 degrees), so camping as a worst case scenario would still be an okay option.

Since the weather had been very pleasant and sunny, I continued on while Mauricio and Alex had their lunch.

The route was east along the grassy highlands, with the Pamir range to the south, and some hills to the north. The only other traffic along the way was commercial traffic, but mostly in the reverse direction.

Dreamy mist along the Pamirs. I felt like they were calling for me to ride through them once more!

By 4:30PM I had reached the town of Nura. It was much smaller than I had expected; there were no stores, and few people on the road and walking about. It was also pretty dusty and rocky (and didn’t seem that comfortable to camp).

I spent 15 mins riding around the back streets until I came across someone driving their car, stopped them, and then asked if they knew where I could get fuel. Using my GPS’ map, they pointed to a house at the edge of the village.

The location of the informal fuel vendor

This was quite a curious experience; I stopped outside the house, went up and was about to knock on the door, when it opened and a lady emerged. “Benzene?” I asked. “да” she responded. They had a 5L bottle with 92 octane fuel and out of nowhere came her husband (I assume), and a throng of children on their bikes.

5 litres of 92 octane

En route to China

Next was accommodation. “Is there anywhere to sleep here? A guest house?” (via Google translate). The husband pointed at one of the kids, who at this point was very excited, and they leapt onto their bikes to show me the way.

The accommodation was quite basic; a small house with a room filled with rugs and curtains, and a padded mat on the ground. It was a family of three; a mother and two sons. One was 8, and the other 21.

Tonight’s lodging

The 8 year old was quite curious, and followed me around while I did mundane things like doomscrolling and writing the blogpost, whereas I felt an air of responsibility from the older brother, who seemed to take on many of the duties of the household.

Looked up from doomscrolling to realise the kid was observing

A while later, Mauricio and Alex arrived, and parked their car in the yard.

Neighbourhood kids playing with Alex and Mauricio’s dog Shae

The sleepy town of Nura

Dinner was manti (a variant with mainly potatoes, carrots, and animal fat), and Kyrgyz bread.

Dinner at the homestead

After dinner, I asked (via Google translate) for the bathroom. It turns out there was no bathroom! They did not have running water; they would carry water from the well, and then use a series of buckets for handwashing, bathing, etc. And an outhouse / pit for the toilet.

This was the tap and the sink. (very grateful for my hand sanitizer at this point)

Long line of trucks waiting for the border (it was ~9km!)

Tomorrow; Wuqia!

Part 2 route to date

Some stats:

• 9.6L fuel added
• 4 unique interactions
• 38g coffee consumed
• 288 KMs travelled

Route to date