Langmusi was geared towards tourists, but clearly not receiving any at this time of year. There were a whole bunch of hostels in the village but every single one was closed. I haggled an open hotel room for less than a quarter of their ‘rack rate’ but it still wasn’t as a cheap as a … More China Part 4: Most Wanted in Chengdu (Langmusi to Chengdu 19/12/15-02/01/16)
This blog begins by closing the cliffhanger I left the last one on. I returned to the PSB office in Jiayuguan to find my visa extension ready to go. I was annoyed I’d lost another day waiting for it but thrilled to find it was indeed 30 days commencing from collection date. Before giving it … More China Part 3: Tasting Tibet (Jiayuguan to Langmusi 04/12/15-18/12/15)
China is a world of opposites. The culture, the landscapes, the people… everything. Even while I’m cycling through the desert, snow-capped mountains loom over me. The friendliest people are right next to the most unhelpful in the world. The Han-Chinese natter on their new smartphones while the local Uighur people drive rusty old carts past … More China Part 2: Escaping the Gobi desert at The Great Wall (Turpan to Jiayuguan 18/11/15-04/12/15)
I was finally given my Kazakhstan exit stamp and I cycled over to China along with Bertrand the Frenchman and the Aussies Sarah & Scott (who I’d cycled across Kazakhstan with). The no-man’s-land was a pointless 7km that snaked around in a strange loop before dropping us back just a stone’s throw from where we’d started. On … More China Part 1: Welcome to the Middle Kingdom (Kazakh border to Turpan 06/11/15-17/11/15)
From Kyrgyztan’s capital Bishkek it was only a 25km ride to the border. I met up with the Frenchman Bertrand (who I’d cycled with in Tajikistan) and we headed over to Kazakhstan together. The border was a total shambles. I’ve come to expect nothing less from Central Asia’s border crossings, but the last couple I’ve … More Kazakhstan: Searching for Borat (26/10/15-05/11/15)
Between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan there’s a long 20km of no-man’s-land. Unsuprisingly there’s not much going on in there but one family, it turned out, had a tea house right in the middle. It was getting late in the day when I exited Tajikistan and I was over the moon to find some civilisation. After struggling … More Kyrgyzstan: Meeting the willy snatcher and wearing strange hats (02/10/15-26/10/15)
During the hour long search at the Uzbek border the guard felt the need to make a little small talk with me. ‘Did you hear about the killings in Dushanbe a few days ago’. ‘Err, no?’. ‘Yes – many terrorists in Tajikistan’. I thought she was just gloating about how much better Uzbekistan is (those … More Tajikistan Part 1: Cycling the Afghan border (08/09/15-21/09/15 Uzbekistan to Khorog)
I got off the night train and walked straight to the Tajikistan consulate. I was there an hour before ‘opening time’ (not that that means anything to them) and already there was a huge crowd outside – they’d been closed Monday & Tuesday due to the Uzbek Independence Day so it was no surprise that … More Uzbekistan Part 2: Bukhara to the Tajikistan Border (03/09/15-08/09/15)
I normally start these blogs with a screenshot of my cycling route for the relevant dates. Not much point in that on this occasion – I’ve cycled about 100km during my first fortnight in this country thanks to Tajikistan pissing me about as much as possible. So, if you’re only interested in bicycle blogging – … More Uzbekistan Part 1: The Silk Road by Train (18/08/15-01/09/15)
After my thorough questioning by the Iranian border staff, I cycled over to Turkmenistan. They didn’t seem to care that (having now switched back to my UK passport), it looked like I’d just magically arrived at the border with not a single other stamp in my passport. They had many more important things to do… Like … More Turkmenistan: The Desert Dash (14/08/15-18/08/15)
JKB's Bike Ride 