Monday, June 23, 2014
Today is our last day in China. After our breakfast at the hotel, we stowed our luggage on our private bus for 18 persons. We have our driver, local Uygur guide, Sundowner escort guide, and the five of us travelers.
Today's Itinerary:
Tash Rabat Caravanserai - Departing Kashgar we steadily climb through the Tien Shan Range to the Torugart Pass (3752m) en route to Tash Rabat, one of the few remaining caravanserai of the Silk Road is a large impressive stone shelter in a beautiful valley setting and dates from the 10th century. Later in the day we continue onto Naryn.
The border we are told opens at 9;00 local time or 11:00 Beijing time. We leave the hotel for the one and a half hour drive to the border so that we reach the border just as it opens. The city falls behind us an barren eroded mountains are on either side of the very modern freeway to the border town. We have made good time and arrive half an hour before the border opens, but are turned around and sent to a parking area. Apparently, there is a Chinese inspection going on at the border and the opening today will be delayed for 1 hour. I don't know what this will mean for us when we reach the border. We have heard that the border out of China is fairly relaxed, but if there has just been an inspection, we might encounter some increased vigilance. Consequently, we now have a 1.5 hour wait. We get off the bus and walk around. The mountain air is fresh and sweet. It is warm enough to be in short sleeves. Some of the local men are wearing jackets.
Another tour bus with an Intrepid Travel Group is also in the parking lot with us. We recognize them as they traveled by train with us from Turpan to Kashgar. Most of the travelers have gone off to find a toilet and to look around the town. Russ went. I stayed back on the bus to watch our stuff and to start this post. Less than fifteen minutes pass, most of our group has walked into town, but we now have word that we should proceed to the back gate of the checkpoint.
The busses start up and roll through town honking their horns to attract attention of the wandering travelers. We collect our group and proceed to the checkpoint. We back the busses in so that we are ready to head out when we are cleared. We unload all of our luggage, traipse through the courtyard to the front of the inspection hall, pass our luggage and bags through the Xray machine, and submit our exit ticket with passport to the immigration inspector. My passport photo is seven years old when I still had long blond hair. The officials always scrutinize me carefully as my appearance has changed since this photo. They must mentally cut the hair, sprinkle it with grey, add some glasses and wrinkles. I pass. Phew!
Our local guide Nur is being very cautious and meticulous not to break any rules. He collects all of our passports and now heads into another office while we re-board the bus with our luggage. He returns in ten minutes accompanied by a Chinese soldier in camo fatigues. Uh OH, is something wrong? No. Apparently he soldier takes the front seat and will accompany us through the no man's land approximately 1 hour on a a two way road between China and Kyrgyhstan. We stop and pickup another soldier, then we drive through a narrow river valley. Small streams of brown runoff etch their way down the wide gravel wash between the mountains. We have been admonished to not take in photos in this area, so we don't. We wonder if the soldiers are here to enforce the no photo rule, make sure no one boards or gets off the bus in no man's land, or simply need a ride to the other side. I suspect the second soldier is just along for the ride as he is sound asleep.
We are told that when we arrive at the end of no man's land (which is really Chinese controlled restricted area between the borders) we will say good-bye to our driver and local guide, walk with our luggage across the border where we will be met by a Kyrgyhy driver and guide. Before then, however, there is another checkpoint about 20 minutes into the ride where we show our passports again, and continue on. We see some housing, a few village type people, and Chinese flags at a large police facility.
Once again the scenery is stark as we continue on. There are some power lines and cables on poles running through the valley. We spot a few cattle, three goat herders and large flock of goats and perhaps some sheep grazing on greenery near the river. Old and newer looking mud walled compounds presumably for shepherd families are scattered about on the higher side of the river wash. The windows of the bus are open and the cool mountain air whips around us. I drape Russ's jacket over my shoulders. I think the soldier in the front seat is now also asleep as his head is wobbly and to the side. We must not be a big or even a little threat. The valley narrows and would be quite a choke point for invaders or refugees. The mountains are now quite red and I would like to take some photos as they are very interesting, but I refrain.
We stop at a little store and our guide buys some bread. The front seat soldier wakes to makes sure we are all on the bus with no stowaways and lights up a cigarette. Both soldiers are awake now. The road becomes narrower and unpaved due to water damage. Snow clad mountains begin to appear behind the red ones. We ask if we can please take pictures. The scenery is spectacular. The guides say to go ahead. The soldiers are sleeping or don't seem to care.
Another 20 minutes pass, and we reach another checkpoint. The soldiers get off the bus and another one gets on to make sure we have appropriate exit stamps in our passports. We are leave this area for another 7 kilometers of dirt road to the top of the pass where there are some gates and a pull out in front of the gate. We unload the luggage, say goodbye to the driver and guide and show our passports once again to the Chinese soldiers who check passport numbers against their list. We walk across the border at the top of the Torugart Pass, carrying our luggage as the road is wet and muddy. We are at 3,742 and meters (10-11,000 feet high). The air is crisp and cold. Glad we have been packing the jackets all through the desert for a reason.
We are met by a new guide, Lilya and a fair skinned, blue eyed driver. From start to finish what we thought would take two hours has taken us 4 and a half hours to clear the Chinese border.
It is now 2:30 Beijing time and 12:30 Kyrgyzstan time. We still have another 7 kilometers in truly no man's land before we reach the Kyrgyzstan checkpoint. But it is lunch time and the border may be closed. Over one hundred Chinese trucks have been held overnight in no man's land in protest of Kyrgyzstan official being held in China. We are sandwiched behind and between many of these trucks, going nowhere. We all need a toilet stop, so we hike into a small valley and a hidden depression and take turns to relieve ourselves while we wait.
Just as we decide to eat lunch ourselves in the bus, we hear a rumble of motors starting up. It's difficult to breathe at this altitude and now we are contending with exhaust fumes. We pack away the lunch and are on the move, then we are stopped. It is now 1:20, but our stomachs are saying 3:20. The left hand lane of trucks only is moving as we descend to the checkpoint. We can see the a lake on our right which is the third largest lake in Kyrgyzstan at 3,500 meters. Chytyr Kul (lake) freshwater lake that has freshwater shrimp, but no fish.
It is now 1:35 and we are finally at the Kyrgyz checkpoint. We enter an old dingy building where our passports are scanned and stamped. With pens in hand we are prepared to complete our custom declaration forms, but are told they will not be collecting forms today due to the backlog of trucks and travelers. It is 2:00 pm Kyrgyz time, 4;00 pm stomach time and we still have not eaten lunch. The road is incredibly bumpy as we bounce along through s few snow flurries.We descend to the lake level and eat a picnic lunch at 2:30. Lilya has brought some whole wheat bread, cheese, salami, pickles, ad dried fruit. Against the backdrop of the lake and snow covered peaks, we enjoyed a wonderful Kyrgyz lunch with hot tea.
By 3:00 we are on the road again. The Chinese government is improving Kyrgyz roads on this side of the border all the way to the capitol of Bishkek. It is "not costing" the Kyrgyz anything. Really??!! There is a catch somewhere. The Chinese will only allow Chinese workers 15,000 of them, constructing the road in exchange for their Kyrgyzstan citizenship. The Chinese trucks use this road all the way to Russia is the Chinese reason for road improvement. With rich fields of iron, ores, and gold in the Kyrgyz mountains and valleys just beyond the Chinese borders, we are skeptical that their road improvement and placement of 15,000 Chinese workers inside the border is not as benign as it appears.
We arrive at Tash Rabat Caravanserai on the Silk Road. It is said to be the largest stone building for accommodating Silk Road travelers. It is thought that the building, nestled in a protected valley was originally built by the Nioscene (sp) Christians in the 7th century, and later used by Muslims.
The building has a basilica dome and round gathering area with hallway chambers and rooms. After our exploration of the Tash Rabat, we travel 7 kilometers back on the road from which we had come and watch with great interest,the Kyrgyz horsemen herding their livestock to shelters for the evening. There are wolves and jackals here that would appreciate an easy night meal.
At the end of the back tracking we arrive at our yurt camp, nestled in a a steep mountain valley with a gurgling running behind the camp. This is the part of the journey to which I have been most looking forward. There is only limited electricity produced by a generator and two outdoor privies. We share a yurt with Ben. They yurt is quite large, and very colorful inside with one double bed and four singles lined up around the walls.. There is a stove in the middle. Russ and I pull on our long underwear before going outside. It is cold and breezy.
Dinner will be served at 7:00 in the cook tent. It is clouding over, and by the time we enter the cook tent it thundering, lightening is cracking, and the rain comes down.
We are cozy warm. On the table are some baked eggplant ovals with tomato and cheese. Zoya our camp hostess/cook brings in a hot broth with vegetables and potatoes, followed by a chicken and spiral pasta dish. We have assorted cookies, candies, dried fruits, and tea to finish our meal.
By the time we are finished with dinner, the storm has passed and the clouds dissipate as the sun peaks through and produces a magnificent sunset.
It is magical, magnificent, and a spectacular ending to our day. We retire to our yurt and crawl into our feather beds for a cozy night's sleep.
Day 14
Today's Itinerary
Continuing north we cross the Dolon Pass (3030m) en route to Lake Issyk Kul, the largest lake in Central Asia. There is little traffic and apart from a few other small settlements in the river valleys the country is strangely alluring with its barren and rugged landscape. Surrounded by the snow capped peaks of the Tien Shan, Lake Issyk Kul (warm lake) is one of the world's largest bodies of fresh water, and despite an altitude of 1,600 metres never freezes.
I awake around 5:30. Russ is already up and out of the yurt. My water bottle has not frozen so it cannot be that cold. Still I stay snuggled in my feather bed not wanting to answer the call of nature.
A wood stove keeps the yurt warm during the night.
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| Sunrise |
Eventually the call becomes too great. I slip my pants on over my long johns and head out across the pasture to the outhouse. It is a crystal clear beautiful morning. The cool mountain air is exhilarating.
Breakfast consists of oatmeal, salami, cheese, fried bread, homemade apricot jam, dried fruits, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate..goof old Nestle quick. Before we leave our host Igor and his Wife Zoya set up their little handcraft store. We buy several items and they are thrilled. It is a hard life here. Winter is from September to May. Their yurt camp operates only June, July, and August. It is the only time that our guide Lilya is also employed. The rest of the year she has no job. Jobs and opportunity here are not as plentiful as they were under USSR.
Kyrgyzstan is 70% mountains, and 30% high altitude valleys. Only 7% of the land is good for growing crops. Most of the people are nomadic shepherds. During the time that Kyrgyzstan was a part of the Soviet Union and with government support and consigned collective herding jobs, the Kyrgyz produced 30% of Russia's meat.
With the collapse of the USSR, the Kyrgyz economy has been badly hit and the herders are not as productive separately as they were in a collectives. The people we are meeting here are happy to be a parliamentary republic, but are wistful of their past that seemed to offer more job and educational opportunities.
We are on the bumpy, dirt road again by 8:00 am. We pass a Chinese asphalt plant and road worker dormitory. Completion of the road is estimated 2016. Hopefully, the Kyrgyz will benefit economically from a better trans-national road. It is a long day of driving as we descend down the mountain and head to Lake Issyk-Kul.
We stop in Kochkar around 2;00 for lunch. In the back of a non-descript house, there are three yurts for guest meals. We are served a delightful lunch of Chinese noodle salad, beef broth soup, dumplings, mixed pastries and breads, and three different homemade jams, raspberry, strawberry and apricot. Our elevation in Kochkar is about 1200 meters. This little town in the Nayarn region was once a potato collective under the USSR. Today, it is a market village.
We are finishing our day in the Lake Issyk-Kul area. It is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and one of the deepest. The water is brilliant blue and crystal clear, surrounded by high snow covered mountain ranges.
During Soviet times, the Soviet Navy built ships here and tested their submarines in the depths of the lake. The lake like Tahoe never freezes. Many people from Central Asia and Russia come here to sun bathe, swim and lay on the beach. Despite being a place our guid refers to as Hawaii of Central Asia, it is very rural and not built up or commercialized as one would expect if this same beauty were accessible to westerners.
On the south shore of the lake, there is a huge moraine field from an ancient glacier. Tribes between 800 BC-500 BCE, the Bronze Age, etched some wonderful petroglyphics in the giant boulders. Today with assistance from UNESCO World Heritage project, the area is an outdoor museum and protected with some fencing.
Tonight, we spend the evening in a guesthouse near the lake and will leave for the capitol city of Bishkek in the morning. All of us are road weary from the bumpy ride and looking forward to hot showers.
Update: No hot showers. Oh well, tomorrow
All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs at Lake Issyk-Kul
