Tashkent, Uzbekistan – Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

There are two ways from Tashkent to Bishkek; the main road passes through Kazakhstan and it’s shorter and easier but I need visa(I’ve got it finally in Bishkek to pass to China however, so I’d have needed to get a double entry visa in Tashkent if I had taken this way) . The other one goes to Fergana valley and connects with Osh-Bishkek way which is the hardest part of my journey. We took this one.

Kamchik pass(2267m), the entrance to Fergana is the only one difficult pass in Uzbekistan which occupies flat part of Central Asia(see Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan).

The road was the worst ever, full of hole and gravel, and completely wet because of melted snow. We had a shower of dirty water each time the tracks passed.

Bazaar in the mountain.

We went down the mountain, got to the small town after dark and found a restaurant with typical Soviet atmosphere, where many drunk men were talking loudly and only women were working for them. Men tried to let us drink vodka and women protected us from their persistent attacks. Though some men told us to come their house, we rejected(we could easily imagine that shots of vodka were waiting for us) and asked women for the place to sleep. Please keep it mind that only women are sane and reliable there.  With a big mama, in her house.

The next day in the cafe.

Osh, the first city in Kyrgyzstan. We were supposed to stay there for 3 days just to take a small rest but stuck for 5 days because of heavy snow. The weather is quite unstable and tricky like typical continental climate.

 

In spite of unexpected long stay,we had great days  staying with Karen and Louis who are working there and also planning to cycle around the world.

Nice bikes and maps, bon voyage!

I met one girl, Aiko(it sounds like Japanese name but she is actually  Kyrgyz) in the library and showed me around the city.　Now she is like my sister, hehe.

People are kind and friendly of course. When we were looking for the cafe to sleep, one man took us to his house and let us stay there.

It was new year for old tradition. We celebrated together with special dishes.

There house is pretty nice with a big main building, separated kitchen and tea terrace, cattle shed(each room for cow, chicken and sheep) and a huge garden to grow vegetables behind the house. They have a rich life without money.

After following back to the West along the border to Uzbekistan, the road goes into the deep valley mostly along the long dam lake aside.

The road is a bit hilly but not steep. Landscape is perfect. The problem was it was so windy that sometimes we couldn’t even cycle because the wind came irregularly from every direction(except from the back!).

Brushing teeth had to be done like this.

Many wild(or half-wild) dogs chased us, so we had to stop fight with stones every time. Running away is much more dangerous. The picture is Ben trying to throw something. (Cookie for this time. He is nice one)

Cows on the way home.

and children who are practiced very well.

This Toktogul Lake(879m) is on the middle of way to Bishkek. All the people we met there told us “закрыто! закрыто!”(means “closed” in Russian) when we said we were going to Bishkek. The road was actually closed because of avalanche(I knew later that it killed some people). It was caused by nice weather that had continued for a week. The road opened on the next day after we arrived there but it was still scarey.

This is it. There were big walls of snow left on both side of the road and the highest point was more or less 10m. Even for tracks it must be impossible to survive….we just wished our good luck.

We finally got to the top of Ala Bel Pass(3184m) which is the highest on my trip. It was getting dark when we passed the peak, suddenly started snowing almost like blizzard and the road got frozen with thick ice quickly. Cars couldn’t climb and made a long line for putting chain on tires, going down was also super risky and I was nealy about to hit against the track who tried to pass the line. It was neither possible to stop nor cycle, even impossible to see anything but we somehow found the cafe after all and stayed there(2500m) in -15℃.

It was fine weather on the next day, no snow, no wind anymore. It was really like a nightmare.

First of all, we had to melt and remove ice from the bikes. Everything was frozen and even wheels didn’t move. haha.

We began to cycle but became incapable of cycling again because the splashed ice on the blades got frozen and became thick blocks of ice. The chain was just spinning around the iced blade. When we stopped and tried to remove ice with the stick, someone talked to us.

They are dutch couple, Sinsia and Joris, traveling from Holland to Mongolia by trailer and we met by chance several times in Uzbekistan. They happened to pass by in our pinch for this time. Really nice to meet you again. We decided to move for a bit by their car.

I and Ben got off and started cycling again from the second peak Tuz-Ashu Pass(3170m but the climbing from that side was only 1000m or something. There is the longest tunnel in Central Asia). Dank u wel!

Long long down hill. We kept going down more than for 2 hours, which means it’s quite difficult to climb up from the other side…

It was really difficult but as beautiful as worth to doing it.

It was like early summer, skipping spring, after the mountain(still 1000m, however) and we camped together for the first time(and the last in fact). The best morning ever.

The last day to cycle with Ben. We are still going on the same way, but he is going to China soon and I’ll stay in Bishkek longer, so…it’s time to separate. I’m really happy to cycle with you and wish all the best on your way and to meet you again somewhere in this small world! Dank u wel!

Well,we had traveled for more than 1 month together though it feels like only 1 week or something. How fast the time passes. Now China is almost there and Japan is just beyond this huge country. What a small world, incredible.

The next way: Bishkek – Almaty – Urumqi

Tashkent – Bishkek

7749 – 8791 / 1042km