In the Cambodian beach resort of Sihanoukville, we put together our latest podcast. This time we talk more about Central Asia - the amazing Lake Song Kol in Kyrgyzstan, our favourite and not-so-favourite parts of the region and what to bring. Plus we have an interview with Greg, a Hungarian cycling the Silk Road who made us a great vegetarian breakfast. And we tell you why it’s important to know how to say ‘I am a carrot’ in Russian. Or you could read the blog of Hirsch, the cyclist who introduced us to this important phrase!

 

 Standard Podcast [37:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s a whole new world. Just a few hours in a plane have zipped us away from remote Central Asia to lively Bangkok, where we’re feasting on spicy Thai curries, power that stays on, water that’s always running and truly high speed internet for the first time in months. At first we felt strange boarding the plane but, now that we’re here, we’ve no doubt that it was a good choice. After so long fighting red tape we were feeling a little worn down and Southeast Asia seems the perfect antidote.

Our good mood has been helped to no end by a flight that went smoother than we dared hope. Full marks to Air Astana, who only charged a modest fee for our 35kg of extra luggage. On the other side, we were astonished to see all our bags and both bikes in perfect condition as we emerged from immigration. When we lived in London it seemed every trip ended with an interminable delay before our bags appeared. We’d forgotten airports could be so efficient.

A quick ride into the city centre by taxi (no point trying to brave public transport when you’re as loaded down as we are) and we arrived at the home of Michael, a welcoming American we’d met in Tashkent just a few weeks earlier. We’re going to stay in his flat for a week or so, trading cat-sitting duties for a pad in Bangkok while we get our bikes fixed up and buy a few things for the next leg of the journey.

We’ve done very little research on this part of the world but our inclinations are to head north from here, along the Burmese border, through at least two of Thailand’s national parks and past some stunning waterfalls. It should be a good introduction to our first cycle trip in the tropics.

While you’re waiting for us to start pedalling again, why not listen to our latest podcast. We put it together just a few days before leaving Bishkek and it features an interview with David Berghof, the owner of the Stantours travel agency. We’ve used them a few times and always had great service. David has a wealth of information about Central Asia so his thoughts are a good starting point if you’re considering a trip to the region.

 

 Central Asia [28:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re packing our bags, we’re not quite ready to go but hopefully we’ll get it all together before we have to board a flight on Sunday. Destination, Bangkok. It was never our plan to fly out of Central Asia but visa muddles have left us with little choice and after fighting bureaucracy for far too long we’re looking forward to the change. Just imagine: high speed internet (maybe we can finally upload one of the four or five podcasts we’ve got waiting plus several videos) and a chance to get our bikes renewed for the next leg of our journey. We know we’ve left you, dear reader, with little to peruse lately but give us a few days to settle into Thailand and that should change. Happy trails and we’ll say hello next time from Southeast Asia.

796km Karakol-Bishkek

We’d travelled all the way from Karakol, some 300km, with the plan to turn right at the end of the lake Issyk-Kul. We were going to Bishkek. That’s what we’d been planning to do for over a week. It’s what we told Tamara, who runs a peaceful guesthouse in Tamga where we spent two days, reading in her garden and meandering down to the water for an early summer swim. That’s also what we said when a troop of twenty German cyclists passed us on their way to Beijing. But when we were nearly at the end of the road two French cyclists came along and changed our minds. “We’re going to Lake Song-Kol,” they said. “You can come with us.”

The decision to make the left-bearing detour into the Tian-Shan mountain range with Mathieu and Sandrine to a lake frequented by nomads and shepherds was a quick one. From Bishkek we want to fly somewhere (destination so far undecided) and we feared that if we got to the Kyrgyz capital we might not gather up the energy to do a loop around the country before leaving.

Our choice was an excellent one. The following nine days took us through some of the most stunning scenery we’ve seen yet on our trip. From the end of Lake Issyk-Kul we travelled first on asphalt to the bustling town of Kochkor, the last stop before the next stage of our journey that took us a day and a half up a dirt track. Up, up, up we climbed. Around several switchbacks, past a huge bag of potatoes that had fallen off a truck (we picked up a few extra kilograms – who can resist free potatoes?) and through the thunderstorms that seem to gather almost every afternoon.

Late on the second day after leaving Kochkor we arrived at the snowbanks marking the top. We later learned the peak was at 3,600 meters, our highest yet.

With dark clouds gathering behind us we sped downhill towards the lake, fording a small river in our bare feet to reach its north shore. We arrived without much time to appreciate the clear water and pebbled beach. The storm that had been chasing us was quickly approaching. A fierce bout of wind and rain followed, finishing an hour or so later with a rainbow and a fresh dusting of snow on the nearby mountains. (more…)

672km Taldykorgan-Karakol

Where to start on a journey that’s taken us across some of Kazakhstan’s more remote and beautiful places over the past eight days and through the back door into Kyrgyzstan, where we sit now on the edge of one of the world’s largest alpine lakes. How about with the sound of two hundred hoofs thundering on the ground around us as a troop of at least fifty horses, their glossy coats gleaming in the afternoon sunshine, raced past us in a high mountain pasture?

Or maybe we should begin with thunder of another kind; thunder and lightening that chased us over bumpy dirt roads into Kyrgyzstan where we dashed for shelter under the eaves of a farmhouse. As the rain poured down from the heavens, over the edge of the roof and into our shoes, we found a local teenager standing next to us, eyeing us up with surprise and a smile. Apparently they don’t get many tourists in his tiny village.

Then there was the lady who insisted we come in for tea when we arrived in her shop to buy some food. “Chai, chai,” she said, beckoning us over with a wave. Out came two cups of tea accompanied by bread, sausage, cookies and candies on the small and rickety table in her crowded kitchen, which served doubly as her bedroom. (more…)