A motorbike trip "Across the Caspian Sea — to the Pamir Mountains!" Part 4. The Pamir Mountains → Kyrgyzstan → Kazakhstan

The journey to the Pamir Mountains.
I thought there was nothing left in the world that might surprise me, but I was wrong again! 170 km out of a 300 km distance from Dushanbe to Kalai-Khumba turned out to be such a charge of drive!!! The path… wasn't actually a path but just a mountain serpentine of stones, rubble, dust and sand!

We saw the stunning views of the bottomless gorges, towering cliffs and a narrow ribbon of the road winding right along them. And on the other side there was an abyss! That was an unrealistically cool experience!!!

And this was only the first day of our trip across the Pamir Mountains!

The Pamir Mountains.
It seems that you can meet all the nationalities here! The crazy travelers from all over the world come here on foot, by bicycles, motorbikes and even by... I actually have no idea what it's called like! ;)

I met two Frenchmen, who had been traveling for several months on two wheels without a motor. After crossing the Pamirs they were going to Kyrgyzstan and then to Kazakhstan.

At the pass 3000 m high we met quite a remarkable guy from Taiwan. He introduced himself as Tom. He had left home a year before and since then, apparently, he had not shaved or cut his hair. He said that he had traveled around Southeast Asia, China, and then got to the Pamir Mountains. In summary, he had covered about 20.000 km. He had a dog with him. Together they looked like two tramps. He had come across the dog on his way and it had followed him. Tom said that since then it had become his friend. I asked him if he had any food to eat. The thing is, our talk took place somewhere high at the pass and there was less than an hour left before sunset. On my question he shrugged his shoulders. I gave him two pears that I had bought on my way. He immediately ate one up, like swallowing it without chewing. He must be very hungry.
I asked him where he slept and he answered that he had the tent. Actually, I noticed that he didn't have a lot of luggage with him. Nevertheless, he looked quite cheerful and optimistic.

From Kalai-Khumba a winding broken road led us along the right bank of the Panj river. And the opposite bank belongs to the territory of Afghanistan. The river is quite stormy and rapid. In some places it is so narrow that you can manage to throw a stone over it to the opposite bank.

From time to time we could see people on the other side walking along the road laid between the rocks or heading for their dwellings made of clay.

There were a lot of checkpoints, so we had to frequently stop in order to show our documents and register. We kept going at an altitude of about 2000 m, across the huge cliffs and mountain peaks (which reached the point of 4000 m high), covered with snow. That was so fascinating!

Let's consider some probability theory task:
Two people from the same European country, who travel by motorbikes, once met by chance two Russian motorbike travelers somewhere in the steppes of Mongolia, while heading in the opposite directions. After having a 15-minute conversation and taking a picture together, they parted with each other, not having shared any contacts to keep in touch.
The question is: What is the probability of their meeting again in the Pamir Mountains one year later?
Valentin Juncu and Marius Travels are the two crazy bikers from Romania, whom we had met at the end of August the year before. Since then they had crossed Mongolia, reached Vladivostok, visited Japan and had been traveling around Southeast Asia, India and other countries (which I haven't memorized) for the rest of the year.

The moment we met they were on their way back home across the Pamirs, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. During our one-month-long journey we didn't meet too many travelers: I think, no more than 10 or 15 people on the whole. And, of course, when we happened to face such, we made an attempt to stop, greet each other and ask, from where and where to they were going, how long the journey lasted, etc. Sometimes we shared our phone numbers to follow each other later on Facebook.
And that time everything happened so unexpectedly that at first I didn't even react to stop, while racing past two oncoming motorbikers. But when I looked in the rear-view mirror, I noticed that they slowed down, so I turned around and rode up to them. I took off my helmet and realized that I must have seen these faces somewhere before.
"Hi, where are you from?" I asked as usual. And in response I saw their surprised eyes and the guys spread out in a smile.
"Remember Mongolia! The road to Altai! Last year, you and your tall friend going by a white BMW! He took a picture of us, remember?" Instantly that scene popped up in my head. I recalled a dusty Mongolian steppe, two motorcyclists from Romania riding towards us, our short talk and a photo together… Dima Yaskin, and do you remember them? I really wonder how things like these could happen in our world!

Life in the Pamir Mountains is not easy. Almost in every family one of the men works in Russia, mainly in Moscow and its suburbs.

This is probably the only way to earn some money. Because of the harsh environment, lack of fertile land and unemployment people have to live away from their homeland and family for years. But at the same time the hospitality and kindness of the Pamir Tajiks has no limits. According to tradition, if they have a guest, it is necessary to prepare a lamb, serve the table, provide him a bed, and in the morning collect some lunch to go. And all this is done with a pure heart and love.

Longar is the last village on our way. The height is 2870m. And after it there is not a single living soul for more than 100 km.Then the road serpentine leads to the altitude of 3500 m. There are stones, large rubble, dust… At the steep climb I suddenly met a bicycle traveler from France, who was pushing his "horse" uphill.

It must be very hard for him! I offered to help by taking his bike on a trailer, but he politely refused with a smile. On the left a ridge of snow-capped peaks above 5000 m high, as it seems to me, stretched across the territory of Afghanistan. The temperature dropped to +11°C. But it's sunny and nice! I'm going further to a pass 3900 m high ahead. The views are awesome!

Now I'm at the height of 4050 m . The temperature is +6°C. It became cold, so I turned on the heating of the handles. Then I got to a checkpoint. I gave the officers the condensed milk that I had bought in Khorog. The height is 4300m and the snow on the road turned into a liquid sandy-clay slush. My motorbike is floating. What an adventure!

The Pamir Mountains.
This is the Langar-Murghab way. Lake Sasykkol.

In the morning we left Murghab and headed for the border with Kyrgyzstan. It seems that the Pamir Mountains don't let us go away. The figures on the dashboard that show the altitude started gradually increasing, and the temperature kept decreasing. 3900... 4000… 4300 m high… Suddenly we found ourselves in a snowstorm. We reduced the speed, as visibility worsened and the snow stuck to the visor. The temperature dropped below zero.

And this is the climax of our journey! The highest point of the Pamir tract, which is called the Ak-Baytal pass. The height is 4655 m. As a tradition, we have left a sticker on the sign, taken a picture and proceeded our way, admiring the snow-capped peaks of the mountain range 5000 and 6000 m high, which stretched along the border.

Yurts began to appear at high-altitude pastures. These are the places where the local Kyrgyz shepherds graze their herds of sheep.

And for another 100 km distance further the way did not decrease below 4000 m high. And finally we reached the border. There was only one jeep with a Kyrgyz family at the checkpoint and no one else. All in all, that checkpoint consisted of two cabins, in one of which they put stamps in our passports and that was it. Goodbye Tajikistan!

Kyrgyzstan.
Soon after we crossed the border with Tajikistan, an excellent asphalt road began. As we went down, it became noticeably warmer. The landscape was changing and the mountains then looked different: they became lower, velvet and more colourful.

Shepherds lead the herds of sheep right along the highway. Kyrgyzstan cannot be described as a rich country, however, in comparison with Tajikistan it seems much more prosperous. There appear to be a lot of expensive foreign cars and the roads are fine. Osh city, which is populated by half a million people, looks quite similar to an average Russian regional centre in the late 90s. There are many small shops, eateries, slot machine halls and so on along the central street. Every building is covered with lots of signmarks and excessive advertisement. But the majority of hoardings and posters are devoted to the upcoming elections. There are banners of all sizes everywhere, which contain some uncomplicated slogans, such as "With… *candidate's last name* your future will be bright!" The civilians of Kyrgyzstan are choosing a president soon. It seemed to me that the only landmark in Osh city was our cozy private hotel and its hospitable owner, whose name was Stas Zhukov. He had built the hotel by himself!

Kyrgyzstan.
Osh city → Kazarman → Lake Son-Kul.
You can get from Osh to Karakol along an excellently paved highway with a stop in Bishkek. But we are not the ones who look for easy ways! :) So we took the shortest way across Kazarman village and Lake Son-Kul. We went along the ground roads, crushed stones, overcame several beautiful passes and experienced the breathtaking views. These are the things that make a motorbike traveler happy.

On our way we met two travelers. One of them was from the Netherlands and he was riding a BMW motorbike dated back to 1990. That model had huge trunks. The man had been traveling for 5 months already, therefore he was completely covered with dust and his jacket was ripped. He was heading for the Pamirs. We talked a bit and I gave him the Tajikistan currency I had left.

Seems to be a homeless motorbiker. ;)
Another traveler that we met at the pass 3000 m high was going by bicycle. This one was a real daredevil! He was German and started his journey in May, then went across Mongolia, China, India... His T-shirt nearly turned to ashes. His hands got dirty and his hair had been braided into dreadlocks, probably in order not to require washing.
Now a homeless bicyclist! ;)

Nevertheless, both of them looked quite happy. They were smiling and sharing their emotions about their journeys. Very positive guys!

Lake Son-Kul, which is located at an altitude of 3000 m in Kyrgyzstan, is a pearl faceted by a mountain range.

It is an amazing place of beauty and tranquility. This year I have been here for the second time. A view of yurts, horses, a fascinating starry sky, the mountains reflected in the water surface as in a mirror and the gracious hosts make up a wonderful time!

In the evening I had a conversation with a young guy from France, who was hitchhiking across Central Asia.

He had turned up in this part of the world for the first time and had already visited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. He liked everything around very much, but the only thing that surprised him was the fact that people don't understand English. They speak one global language, which is Russian. He said that he would learn it because he wanted to return one more time. And there are actually a lot of foreign travelers! They go by cars, by motorbikes, by bicycles and on foot. They come here to enjoy the beauty of nature, breathe in some fresh mountain air and drink the purest water from a mountain stream. And their number rises every year!
"And do the Russians come here?" I asked some of the owners of private hotels.
They come, but very few. And that's a pity! There is nothing to talk about with these travelers (foreigners)."
So, my friends, stop warming your tummies on the beaches in Turkey and Egypt! All you need is to take a backpack and you're welcome to Central Asia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia! These countries are so great and you'll feel home here! Or even better! :)
For example, did you know that Kyrgyzstan has its own "Dead Sea"? Yeah, it's quite small, the size of two football fields, but its water is just as much salty; you can lie on the surface or even stand, it's impossible to drown!

Come to visit the Pamir Mountains! You won't regret it! :)

From the unpublished notes…
"Across the Caspian Sea — to the Pamir Mountains!" 2017
Tajik children are very curious and simple. When we were passing by the village, they ran out onto the road and rushed towards us with cheerful laughter and shouts, having one hand stretched out.

This is the game they play: who will manage to greet a motorcyclist on the move by slapping him at the outstretched palm. If the speed is high enough, the slap turns out to be very strong and burns your palm even through a glove. After such a fun you would turn around and see the kid, who has just got a "greeting", jumping on one leg and shaking his hand, since it hurts a lot! But the joy that he had done it and the pride he had then among his friends, apparently, was worth it. :)
We constantly saw children going to school or returning home after the classes. Everyone looks so nice, especially the girls!

Just as it used to be in the USSR before, everyone wears a school uniform, consisting of a brown dress and a white apron; the hair is done in pigtails with huge bows. Guys wear black trousers and white shirts; and there are backpacks on their backs. In school children are taught three languages: their native, Russian and English.

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