The journey must continue on, and today my destination is Pakistan.

After another slow start (I had the foresight to push back things by an hour yesterday evening), I was packed with caffeine consumed and ready to go by 11AM.

Not starting! Trying to warm the battery with sunlight

I pressed the starter on my motorcycle, and…nothing. After another cold evening, my bike was not starting yet again. I am not sure why this is the case; I thought it could be the battery, but thinking this through a bit more, the voltmeter on my bike indicates that it sits in a healthy range (not to mention, I also supplement with a powerbank). Could it be related to the engine itself being physically cold (it might impact initial ignition)?

The morning sun was relatively weak today, so I supplemented instead with boiling water (which the hotel thankfully had on tap). My guide helped fill up large metal bowls with boiling water, and then I would carefully pour them over the engine at a slow stream. After three attempts, warming up the engine on both sides, the engine coughed to life.

The first stop was to complete immigration and customs in Tashkorgen, before a secondary check at the border itself. This involved:

1. Driving to the customs/immigration station in town
2. Taking all luggage off the bike and putting it in the customs/immigration hall
3. Exiting the facility with the bike, and then driving around to the back to reenter
4. Driving into the “986” machine (a huge X-ray machine for vehicles)
5. Exiting the vehicle before they turn on the machine
6. Once properly checked, getting the equivalent of an ankle monitor for the motorcycle (to ensure that you drive it to the border and your movements are logged)
7. Driving the motorcycle back to the immigration hall
8. Taking your luggage through the screening process at the immigration hall
9. Completing immigration
10. Remounting luggage back onto the bike, and setting off for the border.

Tracking device by Chinese customs

Once this process was done I’d officially “exited China”, and was therefore supposed to head for the border with Pakistan without stopping.

Today’s destination: Pakistan! (note not too far from the Wakhan valley ride I did earlier)

I felt like this wasn’t to be taken literally, so I stopped to take photos along the way, for a bit of lunch and some other snacks.

One last meal

As I rode towards the border, I realised that most of my anxieties relating to the trip were somewhat related to Pakistan; (i) that the roads at the border would be frozen / snowed over, and (ii) that my carnet (which had a stamping issue in Thailand) would not be accepted at Pakistan. Today I’d find out if they would come to bear!

Today’s route in blue. Note how close it cuts to the Pamir Highway/Wakhan Corridor in Tajikistan

The road to the border extends along a wide valley. There is a mix of what I assume to be military facilities (nondescript buildings, with the entrypoints guarded by police), and farmland by the road, with the odd collection of animals by the road (I passed groups of camels, yaks and goats along the way). Most of the other traffic on the road were tourist vehicles/busses, who were going to visit the border itself.

Exiting China was quite simple; I just needed to approach the guards and tell them that I was actually exiting China (as opposed to being a tourist that was not exiting, which is what they all assumed). After a certain point they unlocked and removed the vehicle tracker, and told me to ride safely. The altitude at this border was quite high; at ~4650 MASL (it is the highest road border in the world), so just small amounts of exertion would make me breathless (e.g. walking from my bike to take photos). It felt a bit surreal, because while the border itself was filled with tourists, I was the only person actually crossing.

Farewell to China

The Pakistani side of the border was much more basic. There was a simple barrier, and it seemed like one person (who was not even in uniform) manning it. A smattering of tourists were also waiting on the other side, and formed a line to take photos with my bike and I. I ended up speaking with a few New Zealanders who were travelling Pakistan for a while, telling them about my trip, and sharing some information on riding in China (and my view that it is probably much simpler to buy/rent a motorcycle to ride in China, rather than bringing your own vehicle in).

Hello Pakistan!

The Pakistani side had a similar process to that of China; customs and immigration would be processed ~80KM away from the border itself in the town of Sost.

Karakorum Highway

The roads to Sost, while asphalt, were much poorer in quality; having been damaged by rockfalls and just the wear of time (e.g. the edges collapsing in certain parts). That being said, the natural beauty on the Pakistani side was much more impressive than the Chinese side. Everything just seemed more “raw”; sharper valleys, sheer drops, and jagged rockfaces.

The road to Sost

Thankfully along the pass, while there was snow on the roadside, there was minimal ice present (only a tiny bit at the Chinese border gate, which I was able to avoid), and the temperatures did not drop below zero.

National park fees (I feel like they could use the money to fix the roads!)

I reached Sost at ~6PM Beijing time / 3PM Pakistan Time, and went through the motions for immigration and customs. While there was a fair bit of waiting (a large bus from China had arrived before me), everything was quite smooth and the officials were very hospitable.

Of all the things to buy from China…

The views outside the immigration building were spectacular. Soon enough, the officials came back with my completed carnet, and after cross checking the VIN number to my vehicle, I was free to go.

View from the immigration customs hall in Sost

I was running a bit lower on fuel by this stage with ~100KM to go until “Hunza” (I think everyone refers to Karimabad as Hunza, which is the name of the region/area), but with only 1-2 hours of daylight left, so while I was keen to get fuel, I did not want to spend time getting local currency to pay for the fuel (so I was left looking for a station that would accept card or dollars). Alas, the two I visited in Sost accepted neither, so I continued on.

Passu Views

Passu Views pt 2

Hunza River

Hunza River pt 2 (around Shishkat)

The road to Karimabad is again spectacular. At this time of year, there are beautiful yellow orange trees, which contrast against jagged rocks and the turquoise river. Mountain peaks are snowcapped, and when they catch the sunlight, they reflect with an orange pinkish glow.

Turquoise, green, yellow and white

Orange peaks

I reached the Hunza valley at 6PM PKT, and was taken aback by the beauty of the place. It is a bit like Rivendell, with the valley itself covered in greenery, and circled by tall mountains. I saw a beautiful hotel high up from the valley floor and decided that was where I wanted to stay for the evening.

Tonight’s lodgings

View from the hotel

Tomorrow; Gilgit?

Some stats:

• 301 KMs travelled
• 30g coffee consumed
• 6 unique interactions
• 15.2L fuel added

Altitude map for today’s ride

Part 2 route to date

Complete route to date