Bye Bye Tourist!

• Sunday, October 16, 2011

• Silkroad

Actually, we wanted to stay in Osh Osh Guesthouse. After half a day's fruitless search, we decided to try again at Tes Guesthouse. These provided us with a whole room.

Around the corner we also discovered a supermarket, as they are rare in Central Asia. I got my fifth diarrhea in two months and ate only from Schoggi, Kellog's and Haribos in the three days. This helps!
Due to our laziness, we did not notice much of the city and for once just made Dolce Vita.

On 10 June 2010 broke out here after a dispute between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in a casino riots that ultimately led to the overthrow of the Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. 37 people lost their lives. Since then, the country has been run by transitional president Rosa Otunbayeva. At the end of October 2011, new elections are scheduled. The escalation of violence further destabilized the former Soviet republic. Bakiyev has been living in exile in Belarus since the overthrow.
We have seen very little of the riots at that time. Well recovered, the bike was back to Sary Tash. On the first day we coped easily with the 2389 meter high Kyiyrchick Pass.

The next morning it starts to rain slightly. Therefore, we packed the tents and found in Gülchö a shop with canopy for Sunday brunch.

With fully consumed bellies we cycled further into the mountains.

The next two days we drove over the pass. We found a beautiful campground and swallowed a lot of dust during the unpaved drive over the pass. The Chinese are also building a completely new path network here. Your truck drivers probably completed the vehicle test at the Kamikaze unit. Incredible that we did not experience any accidents. Talon tried to control one of the dredgers. What looked more like Superman in action.

Exactly one week after our first visit to Sary Tash, we arrived at winter temperatures in the late afternoon. In the guesthouse we met from Chamonix. She started from Beijing and travels back to the Mont Blanc area. In the Pamir she is accompanied by Ben and his girlfriend from France.

She also works in the winter in the ski and rescue service. So of course there was a longer professional conversation into the night.
The drive to the Irkestham Pass the next day gave us a pretty strong headwind. However, with the backdrop of the Pamirs, the effort was only half as wild.

The drive to the border was almost like cycling in Appenzell. A constant up and down. The children kept calling us "Bye Bye Tourist". In part, they drove with their single-speed bikes behind us. Already five kilometers before the border, the first trucks were waiting in line and dromedaries welcomed us.

Actually, we expected a huge run on the border for the next day. All formalities on the Kyrgyz side went pretty fast on the stage. In Nomansland tore my chain. The waiting truck drivers were pretty impressed with our Veloflickset.

What we experienced afterwards at the Chinese border was very fascinating for me. The soldiers were so disciplined and speedy that you almost became queasy while watching. We were treated very friendly and were already after an hour on mainland China. Unfortunately today was definitely not my day. At the baggage check, a screw tore out of the Ortlieb bag and then again the chain. In addition, I lost one more of my water bottles. Howl! At least there was a delicious lunch and a lot to see in the new country.

The road was often not paved but still relatively easy to drive. After the sand tracks in the Pamir, our demands have dropped quite low. The first two days we hardly met people. Only trucks and motorcyclists. Which was pretty pleasant. The weather also showed off the good side and gave us a few pleasant, warm nights in the tent.

The road signs are mostly written only on Farsi and Chinese. Which does not exactly facilitate the orientation on the map. All Chinese seem very fit. There is a work for everyone. In part you can see entire armies of street workers, who among other things paint trees, weeding weeds or removing dirt from the road.

The dromedaries are no longer black but white. I'm not sure Yoga was invented by the Chinese. Anyway, I've already started as a compensation option. This calms the nerves and looks almost good. Maybe I have to improve my breathing a bit.

The arrival in Kashgar was like the journey to a new world. After Central Asia, this modern city is simply completely different. Only a little reminiscent of the old town. Already on the first evening we filled our hungry bellies at the night market. Here in the autonomous province of Xinjiang live mainly Uighurs.

Kashgar is a governmental district in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of ​​139,077 km². Its economic, cultural and political center is the capital of the same name, the independent city of Kashgar. Historically, the term refers to a slightly larger area, and Kashgar was also the capital of the short-lived Turkestan Republic.

Already in the late Bronze Age, the oasis of Kashgar was populated. During this time, the Aketala culture was widespread here, which showed in particular relations to the common in the Fergana Tschust culture.
In the first century AD, Kashgar was the center of a powerful empire that dominated much of the western Tarim Basin, as well as areas west of the Pamir Mountains.
In July 2009, it was announced that the Chinese authorities wanted to demolish large parts of the old town of Kashgar city. Officially, this measure is justified by the protection against earthquakes. Exiles and worldwide human rights organizations condemned this move as an attack on Uyghur culture and history and as a further step towards the sinification of the Uyghur population. The oasis city of Kashgar is still considered the "secret capital" of the Uighurs.

What I see here is just incredible. I almost feel like Alice in Wonderland. There are many electric scooters and vehicles in all shapes and variations. In addition, delicious food is offered everywhere and advertised in large posters. The supermarkets are huge and have just everything you can imagine. Here are a few impressions from my forays through the city.

In the pharmacies they even sell dried snakes and lizards and especially in the old town one can still watch the craftsmen at work.

Here in the youth hostel I met Tim and Andi again. They invited me to ride the southern route of the Takla Makhan Desert with them. Now, as a Swiss caravan, we are traveling through the desert with a lot of chocolate in our luggage. That can be funny.
Talon now continues on the Karakorum Highway to Pakistan and India.

Thanks a lot Talon for the great and funny time with you! Good luck and Bon Voyage.