Fromeward Bound

Taking the long way home from Japan to Frome, UK

Category: recap (Page 2 of 3)

The Pamir

October 25, 2016 / / 2 Comments

The M41, romantically referred to as the Pamir Highway, connects Osh in Kyrgyzstan with Dushanbe in Tajikistan. It’s a road of about 1600km that rises to an elevation of 4655 metres. Much of it is unpaved or rough pot-holed tarmac; not much wider than a single lane and is carved out of the mountain sides. As it runs south from the border with Kyrgyzstan the looming mountains of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan make a dramatic appearance. The Wakhan Valley road makes a detour off the M41 and curves down to run alongside the Panj River. This river, in the valley below, acts as the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and at times the two countries become tantalisingly close.

So you can understand why this particular road has been on the top of Captain’s list for the trip.

The Hindu Kush loom ahead

The Hindu Kush loom ahead

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Border Patrol (Night Two)

October 20, 2016 / / 4 Comments

Setting

Due to the road literally being honed from the mountain side with the river raging below; small picturesque villages have settled where the valley, on occasions, widens and flattens. As occasionally happens, dusk started to fall before we had found somewhere good to camp. And so it was we found ourselves having to stop, before darkness completely fell, just off from the road in a large lay-by. It was far from ideal but at least we managed to tuck ourselves next to a small half built building.

Looking out across the road to the mountains of Afghanistan

Looking out across the road to the mountains of Afghanistan

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Border Patrol (Night One)

October 20, 2016 / / 1 Comment

Setting

At the moment we are driving from Khorugh to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. The road follows the Panj River as it meanders between numerous mountains. On one side of the river is Afghanistan and on the other is Tajikistan. At times the river narrows as it flits through tight canons and you come so tantalisingly close to the people and dwellings of Afghanistan. As this is a porous border there are Tajik soldiers manning several check points along the road but also keeping ‘an eye’ on any unwanted activity from ‘across the river.’

The view of Afghanistan from our camping spot

The view of Afghanistan from our camping spot

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One for the Road

October 9, 2016 / / 0 Comments

We drove over a mountain today! Where the Japanese would have built a tunnel the Kyrgyzs built a road. The said tunnel would have been expensive, over engineered, straight and pretty damn boring. This road, on the other hand, was cheap to build, extremely basic, curvy and absolutely totally exciting.

The road ahead (look carefully!)

The road ahead (look carefully!)

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A Tale from a Drama Queen High on a Mountain Pass

October 8, 2016 / / 1 Comment

On the way from Bishkek to Osh tourists sometimes take a detour to Lake Song Kol; a beautiful lake edged by mountains. There are various roads to this lake but we decided we would take a little used high road and travel over a mountain pass. It would be about 160km from the turn off on the main road to the village near the lake where we could refuel. Captain had found this route on WikiLok, which is an online resource for people who have made a journey (by foot, bike, car….) to share the details of the route with others.

The back road to Kochkor

The back road to Kochkor

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The Mountain Goats

October 2, 2016 / / 4 Comments

We are in the eastern corner of Kyrgyzstan where the country narrows and the mountain ranges  create a natural border with Kazakhstan and China. From entering the border (which took no more than 15 minutes,) we drove straight to Karakol: a large town that sits on the eastern edge of Lake Issik Kol. The town acts as a good base for people wanting to explore the mountains; indeed, the hotels, hostels and restaurants were filled with European hikers.

We spent the next four days driving along a few of the mountain valleys and camping out. We had had plans to join the hikers and get some exercise but wussed out: not least because the nights are getting rather chilly and Totty is just too comfortable (and valuable) to leave behind! The first valley, Jeti Oguz, started off as a gravel dirt road that weaved several times across the river on crude log bridges. It then opened up into a large beautiful green valley scattered with holiday yurts. We continued on as the road got muddier and rockier until we could go no further: which fortuitously coincided with an amazing view of the mountains.

View from our bed

View from our bed

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New Friends in Almaty

September 22, 2016 / / 7 Comments

Driving into the old capital of Almaty after dark was an amazing experience (for me at least) as I got to gaze outside the window at all the sights. The fringes of the city are lined with kebab stalls, fruit markets, small shops and restaurants. Both cars and people mill around in amongst the swirls of smoke coming from the barbecues. In the dark the neon and strip lights also dance in the clouds of smoke creating a scene not dissimilar to a 70’s disco.

The metropolis of Almaty

The metropolis of Almaty

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Visitors from Outer Mongolia

September 6, 2016 / / 4 Comments

Our last camp spot in Mongolia was 10km from the Russian border. We chose a hidden spot behind a small hill off the main road. It was beautiful!

Within half an hour, from yonder, came three figures and a horse. As they neared you could tell that they were all children. They were dressed for winter, complete with woolly hats, even though it was a hot sunny day. Their clothes were old and torn but someone had wrapped them up in multiple layers to keep them warm. The youngest one wore a cool fake fur coat not dissimilar to my Micky Mouse fake fur 😉

We said hello and established where they had come from. I got the Polaroid out to take a photo after miming if that was ok. They quickly assembled into a group pose by the horse and smiled at the camera. Click. Their eyes widened as the print emerged from the camera. We waited a few seconds for the picture to begin to develop and then I took two more, in quick succession, so they all could have a photo each. With each photograph their smiles grew.

IMG_0615

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Lambs to the Slaughter

September 1, 2016 / / 8 Comments

(Veggie and Vegan advisory: contains meat lyrics)

We stopped off at a small town to buy some groceries and something for the barbecue. Even though the Mongolian staple diet is meat, potatoes, milk and flour we’ve found it hard to buy meat in the small countryside shops. What meat they all have though is salami and spam (in tins or rolls) and sometimes frozen chicken. The chicken works fabulously on the barbecue; especially after I’ve spiced it up with some chilli, coriander and olive oil.

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