We arrived back in Dushanbe and the Pamir adventure had taken its toll on me. I was very tired. Whilst physically I would recover, I had lost 7kg in one month. Emotionally, I was not present. I had receded into the depths of my mind. Not a place anyone would want to be.
Your doubts surface, you second-guess everything and depression creeps in. I noticed this most when in the Hostel talking to other travellers, none of it was going in and I never really engaged in conversation. Maybe I am exaggerating, but I guess listening to Adele while writing this paragraph would change the way I felt about the situation!
First I had to fix the Rohloff after I damaged it. They are meant to be bulletproof, but I guess that doesn’t mean Nathan-proof! To achieve this task I would have to rescue a refurbished unit from Tajik customs. After conversations between DHL, the hostel and I the conclusion was I had to go to the customs office at the airport and discuss it with them.
I guess there is either tax or I would need to bribe the official! After arriving they noticed my bike and started discussing bikes and my journey. The conversation turned to what bike would be the best for him to purchase. That’s all it took to get my parts released and delivered the next day!
Installing it was another pain. The guide from Rohloff was useless and they had also over-tightened one of the screws making it next to impossible without potential further damage to get it out. Thank you to Nik, an engineer from SJS Cycles in the UK, who produced a video and also provided further answers to questions.
Next stop Kyrgyzstan
Home to some decent bike shops, outdoor shops, amazing scenery, mountains and the Silk Road Mountain Race. But I had to get there first and the borders between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan were closed. However, one had just opened but I didn’t fancy going all the way through the Pamir Mountains again just to get to it. So, the scenic route through Uzbekistan to Osh in Southern Kyrgyzstan was applied.
I also managed to get a quick stop in Tashkent so I could unload some items back to the UK and reduce my weight carried. I realised I had been carrying items from the UK and never used them. Plus all the gifts you get given in this region. I had a few days in Osh to orientate myself and sort out my mobile phone etc.
Despite being tired, I planned an ambitious route to Karakol on the other side of Kyrgyzstan. Heading first to Song-Kul and then onto the Tien Sian traverse, around the mountains to the South and finally onto Karakol. Looking back I knew Kyrgyzstan was beautiful and I wanted to do it justice.
Knowing when to quit
I set off full of hope and wonder of what Kyrgyzstan had in store for me. It would be 3 days before I started the first of many big climbs, Kaldamo Pass. The first two days were easy riding but hot, with some nice campsites overlooking lakes or rivers. Although the lake campsite was covered in grasshoppers, luckily they didn’t make it into the sleeping bag!
On the day of the climb, I expected it to be tough. But when I hit the steep part I fell apart and didn’t fancy it. I still managed the majority of it before hitchhiking the remaining. The views were lovely. On the way down the other side, every flat bit of land had been taken over by a yurt, a family and a herd. People still practice the nomadic way of life here and move between towns in winter and the mountains in summer.
Over the next few days, I eventually reached the town of Chaek. I was grateful for a new road built between Kazarman and Chaek. It made the going easy. Chaek wasn’t much of a town, more of a drop-off point between Song-Kul, the main attraction in the area, and the rest of the country. But it did have a friendly guesthouse and they were willing to let me leave my bike for a week.
I decided to head to a festival and catch up with some friends also attending. Then on to Karakol and see if I can arrange a Workaway volunteering opportunity, if not there I will arrange one in Bishkek.
The festival, Kolfest, was advertised as an arts and crafts festival. This is not necessarily how I would describe it! Whilst there were some local crafts and a little of local arts, it is mainly a dance festival with an abandoned building converted into a rave scene. However, they did have some good bands taking the traditional instruments of Kyrgyzstan to new lengths by combining them with modern instruments and beats.
Karakol
I had a couple of days in Karakol to sort out a volunteering opportunity at Duet hostel and meet two friends I met in Serbia, Harri and Sofia, who were travelling through Central Asia. It was nice to catch up and have a couple of beers with them. We also discussed meeting again at a horse and birds of prey festival in Tamchy in a week.
I also visited the Durgan mosque, which is unique in its design and colouring. Forsaking the symmetric tiles of other mosques, they are built of wood and colourfully painted. The first Dungan people started as slaves in Central Asia, having been Hui Muslims from China captured by Turkic raiders originating from Kokand. This was strictly against Muslim law, but the raiders didn’t distinguish between the Han Chinese and the Hui Muslims.
Volunteering opportunity sorted, I could head off and collect my bike from Chaek. Then head back to Karakol, but first Tamchy for a horse festival.