Irkeshtam Pass
3 cyclists are nearly killed by a blizzard at the summit of the Irkeshtam pass in Kyrgyzstan.
15 minutes before the storm, and 15 minutes after I was nearly pinned against a 2 meter ice wall by a cargo truck.
I’ll post the entire story later and photos.
Team Windbraker Carrots
The brothers of North East South West and I have joined up for a tour of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. There will be a few days solo on my part, as my Visa expires a few days before their’s.
After being diagnosed with “Desert Syndrome” by Matt and Lucas, it will be great to have some company for a few weeks.
Not only will it be an entertaining tour, I’m also learning French and Belgium culture…the goal to learn at least one French song. If you don’t know, I’ll also be studying Russian in Bishkek for 2 weeks, a wonderful gift from my mother.
I will breakaway in Uzbekistan and cross into Kazakhstan and head to Almaty.
They informed me upon their arrival, that I, was their carrot at the end of the stick through the Taklamakan. The boys of The Cycle Diaries had alerted them of the solo girl up ahead and they were attempting to catch me. If I hadn’t gotten so sick, I would of missed them. Ahhh, fate!
We start our mini tour tomorrow.
Matt during our matching stache hunt.
Lucas motivating me for…well, “it’s kind of a secret”.
Lunch
2rmb for a bowl of pickled shredded potatoes, chick peas/garbanzo beans, chunks of potato, something else, hot sauce, and a whole bunch of awesome.
Orchard Camp
Two nights before arriving to Kashgar, my first orchard camp. This is my proof to Matt and Lucas, of North East South West by Bike that I don’t sleep under roads and bridges…and train tracks EVERY NIGHT.
The three of us will be leaving Kashgar on Saturday morning and riding to Osh, Kyrgyzstan together. The border crossing is closed on weekends so we should arrive Monday morning.
We are a little worried of the weather, as it was snowing and raining here this morning.
Arrival to Kashgar
Last 50km into Kashgar was fantastic, hundreds of donkey carts, horses, and of course, the few camels. You can see these majestic beasts a half a kilometer away, their hair swaying back and forth.
Paper Airplane
Honestly, I feel as if I haven’t been taking enough photos. Today I went to the market and didn’t even make it across the street before chatting with a 32 Uyghur man in English. Our conversation was about politics and religion and lasted for about an hour. We are meeting for lunch tomorrow.
While we were talking, a Uyghur woman approached who could speak Chinese. She’s a modern woman with no head scarf and I even noticed a small tattoo on her hand. She took me eat somsas (spelling?) and then we walked around teaching each other language. She must be in her 50’s or so, but it was lovely. She bought me a little bag of popcorn.
Not successful with photos today, or too many in the past 5 days. I’m reminding myself that without fixers, I need to dedicate time to making my local contacts. It’s part of the work that HAS to be done. My phone book now has 3 local numbers, along with a friend in Xi’An that is helping arrange his friends to meet with me.
Last night, I was walking around, and I saw a side of young and hip Kashgar. Young boys with slick hair riding on scooters and young ladies squeezed into skinny jeans, face made up, and no head scarves. The night life here must be interesting…I need to make some modern friends.
Speaking of “modern”. Alim’s mother wants to show me how to “cover” and pray. Wow…how deep do I want to go down this road. He asked me how I could believe in Evolution? I even noticed him getting a smidge angry about it. Between the language barrier and the religion, this really is a topic that should not be discussed. I believe what I do and religion will never sway me from scientific facts. Sorry Alim, I can’t change my convictions, as you can’t yours…but I will respect them.
Spending time with the family I’m beginning to see deeper in. There is a wealthy uncle, that married into the family, and I’ve seen him twice. Every time he slugs Alim in the chest…and hard! There is no warning. I hear the thud, and turn away, only to peek at Alim’s face and he struggles to hold back the face of pain. I can hear him make noises while holding it back.
I believe Alim’s brother is autistic. Watching him fumble around on my computer and watching interactions, that’s my opinion. Uncle will do it to him too, but not so hard.
Macho macho macho…Alim’s father is not like this at all.
When Uncle arrived to the house, I watched Older Sister whisper to a woman that had come to visit. As a woman, and someone that has to rely on body language, I understood that she isn’t too fond of him. If it were American women, there would of probably been eye rolling.
Uncle speaks very loudly, he’s the only man there, and I can tell it’s expected to listen. Before he arrived, I also noticed Alim can at times, be a bit aggressive and bossy towards women.
Uyghur Henna Stain
Like the fingerless riding glove tan?
And yes, I’m married in Muslim country.
Cultural Chameleon, thanks Danny P. for that!