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The lunch break was next to a cement factory and they let us park in the shade there!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/...b1bcf1ea_b.jpgIran-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Riding along at 39 degrees one driver came up to Dan and offered him a 2 l bottle of water. True desert hospitality. I’m not sure how he expected him to take it while riding a motorcycle, but it was nice all the same. The roads are so straight that when there is any curve there are huge warning signs! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...7969dec3_b.jpgShiraz-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Our only police check of the day…we rode on and left Reza to deal with them! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/...cc6310d2_b.jpgShiraz-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The last stop was for gas 50 km away and the man who works there was an English Translation major pumping the gas. We have met so many educated people not working in their careers. Maria at the hotel desk is an electrical engineer, but she can not get a job here as she is a woman. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4024/...c5e36322_b.jpgIran-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...53a06d6a_b.jpgShiraz-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to the city we again had some crazy drivers, but better than Tehran for sure. The hotel is located on a quiet street with underground parking. We arrived about 4 and retreated to the air con for a few hours.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4266/...854d3c30_b.jpgShiraz-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The plan for this evening is to visit one of the most important pilgrimage shrines here in Shiras, the Shah Cheragh. We took the car over as we did not want it to close. There was a bit of a wait at the entrance as you must be accompanied by a guide. Dan had worn shorts and was not able to get in. We had to put our cameras in “the depository”. The notice says that photos with a guide are ok, but with your phone only. The entry is free, which is unusual in Iran where foreigners are charged 6-8$ for entry. The strange thing is the fee is the same whether for the spectacular UNESCO Persopolis site or a small local mosque. The guide was a women in full chador. The men entered thru the main door and I went with her thru the side door, where i was dressed in a large sheet, checked for appropriate coverage by the “staff”, and then frisked for dangerous items. I walked in to join the men and I thought Trevor was going to fall over when he saw me. He said “I’m surprised you didn’t balk at the get up and refuse to enter”. I said when in Rome. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...a5cc3614_b.jpgShiraz-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The site is spectacular especially in the sunset light. The call to break the fast was being announced on the speakers. The hall of the tombs is covered with small mirrors. There are several significance of these small pieces One was that the mirrors came from far away and were broken on arrival. This is said to symbolize how man should be broken before God. A large mirror allows you to focus on yourself, but the tiny ones break you up and symbolize how you should not be proud. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...dfba6e21_b.jpgShiraz-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...88ed4a6c_b.jpgShiraz-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...c1fddcdf_b.jpgShiraz-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...aac788e4_b.jpgShiraz-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...d2e00d8d_b.jpgShiraz-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...dfcba569_b.jpgShiraz-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr After this we ate at a small local restaurant, but we are not very hungry because of the heat. Walking back the streets were packed. This is because of Ramadan since everyone can break the fast at about 9 pm. Usually there are not crowds like this until late. People were very friendly and asking us if we needed help or directions if we stopped to check the route to the hotel on maps.me |
Happy anniversary it is June 22 and 5 years since we started the trip and it is our 21 wedding anniversary. We have a big day planned and set out at 830 to drive the 60 km back north to visit Persopolis. This was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC).
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4214/...950aa0c6_b.jpgIran-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/...c6030401_b.jpgIran-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr You enter first thru the “Gate of all Nations”. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4282/...ae216492_b.jpgIran-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...e56e599e_b.jpgIran-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4061/...43a612a1_b.jpgIran-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4143/...5627d389_b.jpgIran-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/...909cf3e6_b.jpgIran-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The site is stunning and the reliefs incredibly intact.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4262/...0f270f5e_b.jpgIran-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4082/...7456ef71_b.jpgIran-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/...350c046e_b.jpgIran-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4211/...c5df0f4a_b.jpgIran-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/...d727403f_b.jpgIran-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4262/...c31240ea_b.jpgIran-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4052/...c716a0b7_b.jpgIran-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4140/...f8c5bfc8_b.jpgIran-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4110/...01d9321c_b.jpgIran-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Despite the heat we climbed up to the tomb of the king Artaxerxes II , which also has a panorama of the site.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4081/...cf88e339_b.jpgIran-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4145/...a53b1bbc_b.jpgIran-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4037/...e7bd3ae7_b.jpgIran-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Recovering from the climb with an iced frappe! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4118/...47740629_b.jpgIran-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Next we drove a few km to the Necropolis where the tombs of the kings are located. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...8dc78127_b.jpgIran-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Now it is back to Shiraz and a visit to the Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque and it’s bazaar. We unfortunately are not here at the correct time of day for this time of year, because when you are the light thru the stained glass is spectacular.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4081/...52fb49dc_b.jpgIran by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4035/...3b23165f_b.jpgIran-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4258/...ffb1a6ae_b.jpgIran-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...402501e0_b.jpgIran-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4004/...b8f3bcda_b.jpgIran-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...162a427b_b.jpgIran-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...2f50fc80_b.jpgIran-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4123/...3f56bf96_b.jpgIran-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is after 4 and near 40 so time to retreat to the hotel. Daniel went a few blocks away to the “car part” street and found another fuel pump for 16$. The travel agent Lollie lives here and she brought us a small gift of candy.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4115/...d4019fb3_b.jpgIran-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We finally went out after 9 when it is safe to eat in public and for our wedding anniversary dinner we chose rotisserie chicken. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...c1feca0c_b.jpgIran-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today is the last of the big days and another 450 km to Yadz. This is an almost 250 km back track as the other routes are over an hour longer at least.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4137/...8893dab4_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-22 at 23.09.49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...1f1fbd23_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-22 at 23.10.06 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We left the hotel at 745 and it was 26 degrees. We stopped for tea after an hour. Once we made the turn to Yazd the desert started. We stopped for some fuel, water and a break from the 38 degrees and were surrounded by people at the shady spot in front of the restaurant. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4078/...c0ea9cdb_b.jpgIran-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4149/...9412513f_b.jpgIran-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr On the way we ran across an old mud fortress. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4028/...5da91f57_b.jpgIran-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4114/...6bf016e0_b.jpgIran-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is Swedish mid summer’s eve and so we had to stop in the desert of the traditional frog dance around the may pole!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...2c2f68a7_b.jpgIran-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/...50602330_b.jpgIran-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...d4f5dfae_b.jpgIran-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...2211bedb_b.jpgIran-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/...026aeb1e_b.jpgIran-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped and did a quick and hot tour in this traditional mud village.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/...33217c88_b.jpgIran-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4076/...b37e0fe4_b.jpgIran-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4215/...0656df6e_b.jpgIran-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4051/...678f58e9_b.jpgIran-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...dec8f5ea_b.jpgIran-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a bit of cooler temperatures to 31 in the hills, but it was over 40 for the last 45 minutes into the city.
Our traditional/boutique hotel is near the main square and down one of the very narrow laneways of this adobe city. Step one get into the aircon and have a quick rest. We are all a bit delirious from the heat. The hotel owner drove us a few km away to a restaurant that was serving food in the late afternoon. This is a challenge in ramadan. Now back for a bit longer rest on a very full stomach. In the evening after 8 it was a bit cooler and after 9 you can get something to eat, but as it was still hot we decided on ice-cream for dinner. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4211/...b801ffdd_b.jpgIran-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...7ef82769_b.jpgIran-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4113/...cc0173f0_b.jpgIran-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr These charity boxes are everywhere in Iran. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4253/...63a8652e_b.jpgIran-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we will see a few of the sights of the city, but you have to be done this by 1 when it will be over 40. We started out with a visit to the fire temple which is a place of worship for Zoroastrians.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4034/...1fa6cd3b_b.jpgIran by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4092/...29095a87_b.jpgIran-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4131/...7b5211a7_b.jpgIran-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The towers of silence is a Zoroastrian site that was used for “burial” until 60 years ago. They believe the body must be purified after death (a corpse is considered a host for decay) and this is done by leaving it in the sun to be cleaned to bones by vultures and then the bones dissolved by lye. It is a bit of a hike up, but it is only 30 ish now at 9 am. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4278/...12289ec4_b.jpgIran-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...237d868d_b.jpgIran-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...48bc9cd1_b.jpgIran-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Next stop is a garden complex that has a wind tunnel. This is a natural air-condition unit. It is an inferno out and we retreated to the hotel and after all theses long days we were asleep all afternoon. We ventured out again after 8 for some food and a stroll. |
Today we 366 km thru the desert to Tabas.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...1dca122c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-22 at 23.10.37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We plan to stop for gas and then at the site of operation Eagle claw disaster, which is 125 km from Tabas. The views of the desert change every hour and it is harsh but beautiful. First get out of the old city! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/...d74c3438_o.jpgTabas Iran by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4150/...47f10262_o.jpgTabas Iran-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...232da88d_o.jpgTabas Iran-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There are many signs warning of camels, but we did not see any until 30 km from our destination.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...4d556e5e_o.jpgTabas Iran-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...1de15a0d_o.jpgTabas Iran-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/...9bc0424a_b.jpgIran-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...1efa009f_b.jpgIran-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4282/...27295920_b.jpgIran-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4026/...fa2ea2f2_o.jpgTabas Iran-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4262/...3f57030e_o.jpgTabas Iran-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4062/...30cbe658_o.jpgTabas Iran-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4231/...39366a6b_o.jpgTabas Iran-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There is a marker on the highway and then 400 m away a fenced collection of the remains of the Eagle claw debacle.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...dd6e04cb_b.jpgIran-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4288/...a0007849_b.jpgIran-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was 43 degrees for the last 45 min and this was like riding with a hair dryer blowing on you. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...b9be0052_b.jpgIran-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4035/...9ee23a37_b.jpgIran-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4030/...fd7f773f_o.jpgTabas Iran-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Finally some camels!!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4094/...054f28f7_b.jpgIran-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4282/...7791d3a0_b.jpgIran-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Our hotel is small cabins that are very nice and most importantly has good air con. The rest of the place seems almost abandoned or have finished we can not tell, but someone had big plans. We were all so baked we got into the room showered and passed out for 4 hours. It had cooled off to 39 at 7 and we drove into town to find an open place to eat for of course kebab! Across the street is a huge shrine that takes up a city block. I must wear a chador and of course they are located at the exact opposite entrance to where we were. Long walk with Reza to get the green on. Massive and very beautiful shrine to one of the other brothers of the shrine in Shiraz. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...7114d8fd_b.jpgIran-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...f60d2f95_b.jpgIran-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...7c11f18a_b.jpgIran-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The plan was to get going early after the heat of yesterday, but at least we only have 263 km to go to Gonabad.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...d3528e6e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-22 at 23.11.35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We were served not a bad breakfast of the “hotel”. We fuelled up and then headed out. It was nice to spend the day on a 2 lane secondary road as most of the roads here are 4 lane highways straight thru the desert. We planned to make one stop only if we found shade half way. The desert goes on and on, but it is much cooler today and the worst was 36. It was as cool as 28 in the hills. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4078/...d3578ce2_b.jpgIran-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4054/...100fdaaa_b.jpgIran-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped in Ferdos for a drink and an ice cream and were mobbed with people with all kinds of questions for us, requests for photos, and invitations to their homes for cold drinks. We did press on, but had been told there was a nice oasis about 20 km before Gonabad in Kakhk.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...7217dbd0_o.jpgGonabad Iran by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We turned off the main road and asked directions to the “waterfalls”. We were again stopped by the police who wanted to the the documents that Reza has to make us official. We arrived to the park and it was packed as today is a holiday and Ramadan is over. We pulled thru the gates and parked in the first shaded area. We were completely mobbed with people. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4061/...efa28893_b.jpgIran-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/...9456970b_b.jpgIran-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Mehdi who is actually in charge of the park speaks some English came over to talk with us and to invite us to come up “to a nicer place and to have lunch”. This involved getting the gate unlocked so we could ride up past the falls. Medhi's wife Fatime. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4047/...68580c95_b.jpgIran-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Initially we parked at a spot we thought was the top and again were were totally mobbed with people wanting photos. Now this can be nice, but it can also be very stressful. I'd hate to be famous after this taste of attention!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4013/...46fb18ba_b.jpgIran-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4052/...6d05993e_b.jpgIran-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4067/...05248276_b.jpgIran-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4266/...3b9f69a0_b.jpgIran-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4266/...76f7c22b_b.jpgIran-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/...1be4e285_b.jpgIran-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4152/...70a9d06a_b.jpgIran-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Mehdi caught up to us and said we needed to drive further up to the top as it would be quieter.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/...ce446e24_b.jpgIran-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4232/...b5968461_o.jpgGonabad Iran-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr They moved the carpet for us to park in the shade and sent someone to town for kebabs for us! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...e69b17d7_o.jpgGonabad Iran-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4133/...142e85bd_b.jpgIran-61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4027/...cff0616a_o.jpgGonabad Iran-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...f0decb98_o.jpgGonabad Iran-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We has such fun with the kids taking photos and taking with Reza’s help. The number of people who wanted a photo of me (woman riding a bike) and a usually then crying baby was incredible.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4149/...699a3fdb_b.jpgIran-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...a8e311d6_b.jpgIran-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4288/...1136b53f_b.jpgIran-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4058/...fb8dd6a8_b.jpgIran-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4102/...280552f6_b.jpgIran-54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4058/...283ba287_b.jpgIran-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...4d63dbca_b.jpgIran-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...8181c306_b.jpgIran-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4063/...214f8946_b.jpgIran-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4233/...1136a3fe_b.jpgIran-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4071/...6a8a9e90_b.jpgIran-60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4033/...ef43bc83_b.jpgIran-62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped at the gate to look at the old water mill and Reza had to stay with the bikes to make sure they did not get knocked over in the excitement.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...3894f339_b.jpgIran-63 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4116/...08ccceba_b.jpgIran-64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Then Mehdi invited us to his home for a cold drink. Such a lovely family. They insisted we stay for dinner, offered us showers, the use of the washing machine and even to sleep there. It was 4 pm so we agreed to go to the hotel clean up and rest and then return for dinner and a birthday party. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...ae9b9349_b.jpgIran-65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4025/...cbfdb4c8_b.jpgIran-66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Some wine from Shiraz!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/...ef23ca06_b.jpgIran-67 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4150/...4dbb37b2_b.jpgIran-68 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4106/...97032617_b.jpgIran-69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The hotel is the only one in town and is quite sketchy. The “air con was turned on at check in and was basically a fan blowing hot air still when we left 3 hours later. To be fair it was cooler at 1 am when we arrived back and actually quite cool all night and we slept well. There was a cake shop near by and we got 2 kg of cake to take to the party.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/...0ca61592_b.jpgIran-70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The whole family was invited and as dinner was not ready at 8 we went into the village to tour around. The meal was really amazing and everyone pitched in to help. Then there was cake, sparklers and dancing to end this amazing night. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...9b14e9c3_b.jpgIran-71 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4021/...f103cf5b_b.jpgIran-72 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We saw their sheep farm, pottery shop, and plant shop! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4141/...34fb6f5f_b.jpgIran-73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4029/...a4c7673b_b.jpgIran-74 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/...9aa4445b_b.jpgIran-75 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4090/...a1f782d5_b.jpgIran-77 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/...0c290da4_b.jpgIran-81 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Now it was birthday party time for Pouria who was turning 11!! Both he and Amir Ali (13) speak English very well. These two boys are very intelligent and well educated. I would love to see what they will do with their lives. Amir Ali wants to be a neurosurgeon!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...8e825263_b.jpgIran-82 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...61603b98_b.jpgIran-83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4258/...a7a29c1f_b.jpgIran-84 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4006/...42472c47_b.jpgIran-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4210/...e6813540_b.jpgIran-86 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4111/...f38b0a8b_b.jpgIran-88 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...65195c86_b.jpgIran-91 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4080/...c9c80eab_b.jpgIran-92 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4230/...d7d4bd97_b.jpgIran-96 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4150/...4183073f_b.jpgIran-97 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is a gift that Fatime made and gave to me! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4238/...c69d2f39_b.jpgIran-98 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today is the last real day in Iran we have 289 km to Mashhad.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4111/...08e1b58d_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-22 at 23.11.54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is a city of 3 million and a site for millions of pilgrim’s. The ride was thru the desert and semi desert, but much cooler with the lowest at 26 and the highest at 31. The last part was a curvy canyon road and over the mountains. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4230/...de0da4f3_o.jpgMashad Iran-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...0c386126_o.jpgMashad Iran-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...88f86de5_o.jpgMashad Iran-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Arriving to the city the traffic was very fast and erratic, but once we were on the city streets it was actually not bad. We have taken to leading in the city since following the guide who will not use his GPS, but keeps stopping for directions is very challenging. Iranian drivers in general are best described as oblivious. They will not drive between the lines (truck drivers excepted who in general are very courteous) Drivers go in which ever direction they like and don’t seem to care who else is around them. One driver today was straddling the line while passing us and was close enough Dan’s boot made contact with the passenger door. Except the trucks the drivers NEVER use a turn signal. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...c875c8d5_o.jpgMashad Iran-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...2938cff3_o.jpgMashad Iran by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The hotel here is near to the centre of the city and to the “holy Shrine”. We arrived about 1 and Trevor went out to get oil to service his bike. He hit the jackpot on the moto shop since they had the old he wanted, a rear tube, and a cooling bike seat cover. We took a cab the 2 km to the shrine and arrived at prayer time. It was packed with pilgrims. The shrine is massive and takes up about 2 city blocks. Think of this with thousands of people here for prayer. It was quite a sight. We walked back to the hotel and planned an early exit in the morning. The guide at 10 pm says to us b the way the border you said you wanted to cross at you can not as your LOI specifies a different one. This is much farther east and would mean a 300 km backtrack to our planned destination of Ashgabat. They also did not inform us that the transit visas they arranged also specified the exit border, which is due north of the entry. This makes the trip to Ashgabat and then the Door to hell at Darvasa impossible, Oh well plans change and you have to be flexible. |
So it will be 372 km to Mary. Leaving the city there was some traffic and crazy drivers, but turning north the road was empty for a while. The secondary road to the border is only 2 lane and there are a lot of trucks. There is one section thru the mountain pass that is quite nice. We booked it the 186 km and just stopped for gas in Sarakh.
So it will be 372 km to Mary. Leaving the city there was some traffic and crazy drivers, but turning north the road was empty for a while. The secondary road to the border is only 2 lane and there are a lot of trucks. There is one section thru the mountain pass that is quite nice. We booked it the 186 km and just stopped for gas in Sarakh. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/...b9ef71bb_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr So it will be 372 km to Mary. Leaving the city there was some traffic and crazy drivers, but turning north the road was empty for a while. The secondary road to the border is only 2 lane and there are a lot of trucks. There is one section thru the mountain pass that is quite nice. We booked it the 186 km and just stopped for gas in Sarakh https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/...e4a82fd2_b.jpgTurkmenistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4014/...cc045a51_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-01 at 16.59.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Luckily we had way pointed the actual crossing since there are no signs to the border. This is clearly the truck crossing. We arrived to the check point and parked outside at 1045. There was a shop to get some snacks and water and guys changing Iranian currency to Turkmenistan money. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4253/...c41ea722_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We then were asked to pull the bikes inside the gate. They asked me to remove my helmet camera (first border in 67 countries). Here at the first office they want your Carnet and passport. They seem to be registering the carnet and passport for exit. They give you a paper on which you will collect all your stamps from each step before you can exit. You then exit the office and the agent walk over 10 m to a window where they again want your passport and now registration. I was asked to put my jacket back on as today i was back to my short sleeved riding shirt. From here you ride 400 m and are directed to park. An agent then directs you to the customs office where they again want to see the passports and carnet, but still no exit stamp. They did write in a bunch of details on the forms. Then you walk 200 m to the passport control building. We of course arrived here at what seemed a lunch break. After about 20 minutes of waiting we were asked into the back and seated in an air conditioned office. The big cheese was here and registered the carnets in the ledger and gave us the all important exit stamp. He then came out to inspect the bikes and random items of luggage. He did not even look in the pannier he asked me to open. He even asked to see the photos on Dan’s pocket camera as well. He told us that if we have any medication with codeine we need to get rid of it before we go to Turkmenistan as they are very serious about their ban of this there. Now we needed to go back to the passport control to get an exit stamp this took at least 20 minutes. From here you are supposed to ride back around the building the way you came and then get the carnet checked for exit, but some truck drivers laid out a gate over the ditch from where we were parked so we could by pass the trucks and get to the front of the line. This meant we had a short walk back to the office to have the final checks done. Now we could go to the police booth to get the ok to leave Iran after 2 1/2 hours. The Iranian side of the border was very third world. We were a bit concerned about the next step after all we had read on line…It will take at least 4 hours, Turkmen people are very unfriendly, you must watch you stuff closely when they check the luggage as items go missing. Now this was mostly reports from the large border nearer to Ashgabat. |
We then rode 300 m to the Turkmenistan check point. Here they wanted to see the passports and were very friendly. You must ride over the bridge to the check point on the other side and again they want your passport. Here they insisted Orvar remove the Go Pro.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4079/...954ff254_b.jpgTurkmenistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr From here it is 1.5 km to the border control. This is a huge white building with many trucks in the numerous bays being gone over with a fine tooth comb. We were directed to park at the dorms and then go inside. Step 1 - “sanitary check”- 2 at a time we were ushered into the health room. A man in a white lab coat asked for the passports and said ok? check? I guess we look healthy enough to pass. Funny note everywhere there are photos of the president prominently displayed, but in each room he is dressed in the garb of the area. Here he is dressed up as a doctor with a lab coat. Step 2- You go thru to the customs hall. This is a huge room with several x ray machines and the left side is a long line of guys at desks. There is a line up of locals at the door, but the officers directed us past them to the first desk. Here they confirmed we had transit visas for 5 days. They wanted to know where we planned to go and what hotel we were booked to stay in (we said Mary, but we did not have a hotel booked, which they though was strange). They wanted the bike details make, model, cc, and VIN. They take your fingerprints and facial scan. He directed us to the next window (kasse) to the bank to pay the 20$ fee. The bank guy was very nice and after checking the passports stamped out paper paid without asking for the money! Back to the first desk to have the stamp checked. We now have 2 new papers. Step 3- There is a row of 5 men at the next area who were all smiles and very nice. You give your bike registration to the second guy. Now we have 3 new papers. You then move to the third guy who does something else with the paperwork and more stamps. Then you go down to the last guy. He makes up a paper that documents your EXACT route thru the country. He adds all the fees to this, and he prints off a TVIP for you to sign. Then you go back to the first guy to have all the papers checked. Now we have 5 slips of paper. Then you go 20 m farther down to the military check the wall is so high here only Dan can see over it. All papers checked again. He directs you back to the kasse to pay ouch 73!!! USD for the entry fees and insurance. This also includes an fee for bike decontamination which they did not do. (So far to cross Turkmenistan we have pain 150$ for LOI, 55$ for Visa, 73$ for entry). At each step they also checked the passports. Step 4- Back out to the bikes and we are directed to the “declaration office”, which is 150 m across the lot to a small white building. Here the officer asks for your passport and registration. The form also includes how much money you are carrying and you must sign this. (There are reports on line that if they check you at exit and you have more cash than this they will take it). Step 5- There is a bit of confusion on where we are to go next. The declaration officer told us to go 2 by 2 in the first open rows with the trucks, but the guys outside directed us to park to the far left. Of course once we got there we had to go back to where we were told in the first place. Dan and I pulled into the first row. Here young men in the army and combing the vehicles for contraband. They look like secret service sweeping for a presidential visit. The first young guy was insistent that I stay in row 1 , but Dan must go over to the empty row 4! Check is 1 vehicle at a time. They were very insistent, but a senior official came over and calmed them down. He was super friendly and spoke a little English. They want to search the luggage. They were very professional, asked for 1 item at a time to be opened, did not touch anything unless they asked to see it. I was asked to open a few bags in side the panniers, but it was cursory. When it was taking some time to undo the dry bag with the tent they asked what it was and when i said tent they said don't bother. For the medical kit they wanted to see inside it, but barely looked at it. Orvar said they made sure he was watching the whole time they searched. We were very surprised they did not even look at Dan’s tank bag. We had been a bit worried as the bigger camera is in there. They did not seem concerned with the tripod either. Step 6 - ride to the exit check point with all your papers and stamps. Bottom line very modern border, very friendly efficient staff, but slightly paranoid. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...b4773896_b.jpgTurkmenistan-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is now 430 local time (30 min ahead of Iran) and we have 230 km to go to Mary. We now had only had some water and 1/4 of a seed bar each all day. It is only 36, but very hot and humid.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/...e036d445_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had only gone 10 km when we hit the next check point. It was at least 15 minutes stopped in the sun for the passport check. We finally got off to hide under the shade. Dan said I’m getting so hungry and a few minutes later one of the local ladies that had been ahead of us in line came back form here car with a huge loaf of fresh bread for us. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/...9078d752_b.jpgTurkmenistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The women here have the most fantastic outfits and most are very slim. They wear long form fitting caftan like dresses and elaborate head scarf that look like they are from the Caribbean. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/...0ddde9fe_b.jpgTurkmenistan-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road is paved, but very soft and rutted badly in spots by the trucks. There are no signs of any kind (direction, distance, warning). We saw a single sign in 250 km for Ashgabat or Mary go left or right.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4146/...8d4fffcd_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The GPS wants to route on the old road, but we continued on the M37. This is a divided road, but both directions are on the one side. There are no lines and so it is basically a wide asphalt strip with vehicles going both ways. The drivers are very fast, but they pass safely and signal. Most of the road was pretty good. They have grated a few sections and they are covered with some gravel. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4278/...2f9f00de_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There are a few gas stations and some small shops between the border and the turn north (109 KM), but absolutely nothing between there and the 139 km to Mary. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/...3fdca195_o.jpgMary Turkmenistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to Mary we were a bit shocked it is a very clean beautiful city. The Turkmen people so far have been very friendly. We pulled up to the hotel we all had in the GPS at almost 7 pm and it was a massive palace. We were very hot, tired and sweaty and Trevor and I decided if they take visa we don’t really care the cost at this point. The hotels in the capital Ashgabat are 120 $ US minimum. It looks like a 300$ a night place. Dan and Orvar went in and came out all smiles 90$ for a massive room with a fantastic view. What a treat. These places are government owned and I think there was maybe 10 guests here in a 400 room hotel. The place is luxurious.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...f0a59eb9_b.jpgTurkmenistan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4206/...51e0af66_b.jpgTurkmenistan-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/...6245f6be_b.jpgTurkmenistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/...cdecceed_b.jpgTurkmenistan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The next great thing was that they had BEER here!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4088/...6b9ff729_b.jpgTurkmenistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...6fffbd30_b.jpgTurkmenistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4135/...0d220759_b.jpgTurkmenistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...b964ce2c_b.jpgTurkmenistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We walked out the front door and a family was walking by with take out pizza boxes and we said “is that pizza? and where did you get it?” The dad pointed the way and we found the cafe about 400 m away. The young waiter spoke fairly good English and so we managed to get two pretty good pizzas.
All along the main road there are “positioned” huge and very grand buildings. There is the hotel, the library, several mosques, and a theatre. They are totally over the top on the grandiose side and seem never to be open. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4255/...b1509992_b.jpgTurkmenistan-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...aabe141e_b.jpgTurkmenistan-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/...f6692128_b.jpgTurkmenistan-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/...3caa0975_b.jpgTurkmenistan-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Wedding car. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4131/...a202b46c_b.jpgTurkmenistan-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arranged a driver to take us 40 minutes north to the ancient city of Merv. This was once the largest city in the world. What a treat to ride around in an Air conditioned land cruiser in this heat.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4234/...a8054355_b.jpgTurkmenistan-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4210/...f15c8f25_b.jpgTurkmenistan-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/...e44a3760_b.jpgTurkmenistan-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/...3fa1b6ba_b.jpgTurkmenistan-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4048/...47be34f0_b.jpgTurkmenistan-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4137/...4e0497c4_b.jpgTurkmenistan-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4104/...f9aba51e_b.jpgTurkmenistan-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/...d9d41123_b.jpgTurkmenistan-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
More friendly Turkmen people!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4064/...846dc96c_b.jpgTurkmenistan-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...66f693b3_b.jpgTurkmenistan-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did a bit of off roading to get close to a camel herd! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/...146be43f_b.jpgTurkmenistan-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4042/...9cf3b211_b.jpgTurkmenistan-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4033/...9d550fb0_b.jpgTurkmenistan-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The afternoon we spent at the bazaar making some friends, having lunch, and doing a bit of shopping. The official exchange rate is 3.5 to 1 and we had changed just 4$ at the hotel. Orvar and Trevor needed some cash and interestingly got 7:1 from the money changers. Now one did try to fool Orvar with a bait and switch, but he caught him and recounted the money for the correct amount. In the food part of the bazaar we wanted to buy some fruits for the border tomorrow. There were some very nice, but very small pears and we asked for 4. This women must have thought we were stupid as she told us they were 100 manat a kg. This would make them 5 USD each. The real price in the grocery store is 13 Manat a kg!! We said forget it and went onto the next stall to buy some dried apricots instead.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4108/...f880e0dd_b.jpgTurkmenistan-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/...5303dd02_b.jpgTurkmenistan-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/...b819f88e_b.jpgTurkmenistan-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4039/...7b2b95af_b.jpgTurkmenistan-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
They were setting up for something big across the street with a stage, red carpets, and a big screen TV. Later there was a crown of several hundred lined up to watch the presentation. We found out this was for the celebration of the president’s birthday. Any participants that tried to get out of the blazing sun to the shade or sit down were told to get back in line. This lasted until the TV cameras stopped rolling. There were lip sync singers and some dancers. The big screen had a “propaganda” like stream from the capital. Very 1984 or North Korea.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4022/...126c4af2_b.jpgTurkmenistan-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We wandered over to a local "pub" that did have beer and they served samosa like pockets hot from the fire. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...9cbe7686_b.jpgTurkmenistan-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4044/...c79925d0_b.jpgTurkmenistan-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We will be off line for the next week or so as we head to the Pamir "highway" and along the Afghanistan border.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...fb4d64c1_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.24.45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...38af33e3_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.26.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on FlickrWe will be off line for the next week or so. Headed to the Pamir "highway" along the Afghanistan border!!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...fb4d64c1_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.24.45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...38af33e3_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.26.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, o We will be off line for the next week or so. Headed to the Pamir "highway" along the Afghanistan border!!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...fb4d64c1_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.24.45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...38af33e3_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.26.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on FlickrWe will be off line for the next week or so. Headed to the Pamir "highway" along the Afghanistan border!!! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4286/...fb4d64c1_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.24.45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...38af33e3_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 15.26.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on |
Great report and photos as always, jealous of the heat! Be careful on the Pamir I'm sure it'll be amazing!
Gino & Fiona |
Quote:
Traded heat for altitude!! You two would have loved the Pamir!!! Will get to the RR again as in Osh we checked into a nice hotel with fast wifi!!! (clean rooms, flush toilets.....) Sara |
We set out today for the 391 km to Bukhara Uzbekistan. This is one of the oldest inhabited cities in central Asia.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4023/...de01020b_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-01 at 17.00.17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...0b32a3d3_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was 32 when we left the city at 9 am and we finally arrived to the border at 1. The first stop was to gas up so we would have no issues with fuel and no local cash in Uzbek. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...0308e0d3_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
More camels by the herd!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...65086833_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Lots of KM of NOTHING! Except maybe one tiny town where we could get shade for a break and of course camels. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...4d246fd9_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...e184d5e3_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4022/...c1f8184a_b.jpgTurkmenistan-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...5b83411e_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...7828eb46_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/...1aa20e02_b.jpgTurkmenistan-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The trucks do some serious damage to the roads. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...07e67087_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We did have a few Manat left from the guys score so we stopped in Turkmenabat for some really nice chicken stew. The owner gave us a break on the price or 42 Manat as we only had 32 after buying gas twice today. We offered him USD and he still said no it’s OK.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...162246e5_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr About 5 km from the border we were pulled over for a passport check (1). We arrived to the end of the M37 in Turkmenistan and there is a chain blocking the way. The officer comes out and wants to check all the passports (2) and then he lets us in the gate were there is another officer who checks and records the passports (3). You then drive about 300 meters to another check point where the officer asks for the passports sand then checks your ID with sunglasses off please (4). You then drive another 350 meters and park in the customs area. You have to go to the left or entry side since the right is a disaster and under construction. There are a few trucks here, but its basically deserted otherwise. We are directed into the office on the exit side and an officer asks for the TVIP papers. You then go into the customs room and there are several officers that look about 16 behind the desk. One of them asks for the passports (5) and registration. From here you proceed to passport control for an exit stamp (6) and they check your finger prints and facial scan. Now back out to the bike for customs check. They ask again for the passports (7) and the declaration papers. The kids inside did not do this and so one of the senior officers takes the passports back in (8) and returns with them and new declaration forms. They asked to look into a few of the pieces of luggage and asked if we had any guns, weapons, or drugs. We were finally allowed to leave the customs area. You ride about 200 meters to another check point and they asked for the passports again (9). Nine passport check and this is just to get out of the country. All this took just over an hour. Now you ride another 300 meters up to a gate locked with a chain and pad lock. There seems to be several large trucks parked on the other side. An Officer came out to check the passports (1) and then told us to go in the out gate and park by the first building. Here the “doctor” who said he was an epidemiologist and he wanted to see the passports (2). He then asks if you have any illness and then points a non contact infrared thermometer at your forehead and tells you if it is normal. Both Dan and Trevor were over normal of 37.0, but he said they were ok. I measured only 37 despite wearing all my gear and sweating. He insisted i was hyperthermic and kept repeating it. i took off my jacket and cooled down and then it was 36.6 and he let me go. In the next room an officer records your passport (3). From here you drive 250 meters to park beside the customs office. Here you go in and present the passports (4) and vehicle registration. Another officer came out to give us declarations to fill in in duplicate (one for exit) . We then went into his office to of course have the passport checked (5) and he filled out the TVIP paperwork. This we had to sign. He then asked us to bring in all the luggage for x ray. Orvar went back to clarify and after some discussion he said ok just the big bags. That done he then wanted to see all the medication we had. He specifically wanted to know if we had narcotics or sleeping pills. He also asked if we had weapon or guns. After all this we are then directed to the exit gate and here we got one more passport (6) and ID check. he even made Trevor take off his helmet. Now we are very thirsty and hot and have no money, but as usual there are 6-7 money guys hovering outside. The official rate is 3900 :1 USD. Trevor was given 7000:1. There are 100 km of pretty much nothing to go. The road has stretches of 200-400 m that are good and then it goes to mostly holes. We finally found a small shop after 60 km to get water. |
Arriving to the city Orvar was leading and his GPS said go straight when ours said turn left. We followed him and ended up at the end of a road blocked by a concrete barrier. The local ladies sitting there said to just go thru straight so we did. We could just get by down the steep sides and then found ourselves in the pedestrian zone.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...4125cf4f_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We could also just squeeze by the posts on the otherwise and found ourselves 200 m from our hotel. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...d633a7d0_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...e4b10fd3_b.jpgBukhara Uzbekistan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We hid out inside until after 7, but it was still 32 degrees then. We made our way to the centre, which has a large pond surrounded by restaurants and shops. It is very touristic here but we have not seen that in a while. There are lots of local tourists and their families here on holidays. The hotel rate is 8000:1 and the highest we were offered by the souvenir vendors was 8700:1. Can you say out of control inflation.
This is fairly small city and most of the sites can be seen by walking. We had a map printed at the desk and did a bit of a walking tour. Unlike Iran most of the old buildings are free to access. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/...c44cb884_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4229/...fefbae92_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...b63c1792_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4054/...66908115_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4216/...36a52573_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...fec7f17f_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4138/...c89e78b4_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4207/...c3879e9b_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4027/...50c9a71b_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4059/...cf7f1d32_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
An exception to the entry fee is the museum in the old fortress, but this was only 38000 for 4 of us. They have a nice collection of artifacts, some habitat and agriculture dioramas, and lots of historical photos.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4064/...cee036d7_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr By 2 it was time to sit in the shade by the pond in the spray of the fountains for some lunch. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4092/...f4f258c0_b.jpgBukara Uzbekistan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Now we were again hiding in the air con until after 8 when we ventured out for dinner. The food here is much better that we had in Iran and we even had really amazing Kebab. For 4 people with beer it is about 20$ US. We had filled up with gas before leaving Turkmenistan and so we had plenty of fuel to make it to Samarkand. We had however not seen a benzene station either. We should have guessed there was an issue when the money changers asked us if we wanted benzene. |
Today we have 287 km north east to Samarkand another of the oldest cities in central Asia. The road is pretty good, but some sections are a disaster. The drivers here however and for the most part normal and courteous. We did get a lot of honks and waves. There are plenty of fuel stations, but none sell benzene. 90% of the vehicles here run on methane or propane. If there is any benzene for sale at a station they line up for hours and then drain the tank. Most of it is smuggled from Tajikistan.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/...2744b54b_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-02 at 18.33.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We stopped about half way to buy a cold drink and parked in the shade outside a house. Within 2 minutes the grandmother was out talking to me in Uzbek. She called to her grandson, who spoke a few words of English. Her granddaughter the arrived who spoke English well. They offered us fresh fruits and to visit their hoe for shade. They wanted us to stay so they could prepare the Uzbek national dish for us Pilaff, but that may take hours and its 38 degrees. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4256/...37fe38f7_b.jpgUzbekistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4217/...fb5a354b_b.jpgUzbekistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4211/...672a1669_b.jpgUzbekistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...0afb76a8_b.jpgUzbekistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/...461502e7_b.jpgUzbekistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The only other strange thing was a particular car with 4 shady looking men in it who followed us for at least 150 km. I guess they though they were being covert, but we all saw them. When we took a last minute left at a fork in the road they went right, but obviously turned around and continued to stock us. They followed us an stopped at a distance when we stopped. This included at the hotel. The one we had on our itinerary turned out not to be where we were booked. We were in another hotel of this group 1.5 km away. This was good since it had secure parking and the other did not. They followed us to the second hotel too. Very creepy. After parking i went out front and they were gone for now!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...dfeb55c8_b.jpgSamarkand by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There were as I said a ton of service stations in the 287 km, but we never saw an open one that had benzene. We had enough gas to go all the way, but we gave some to Trevor from the jerry can to top us in the last 6o km. The hotel has as usual poor internet, but great air con. I was totally overheated and a cold shower and a rest fixed that. The guys went down the street and had a kg of bbq chicken, 3 big beers, and 6 vodka shots for 9$! |
This evening we walked 400 m to the Registron complex. This a 600 year old site in the centre of the city. This city has excavations that show human activity that is 40,000 years old. It was sacked by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE and Genghis Khan in 1220.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4258/...f70e2d41_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/...9134728e_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...5bcccb4d_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4230/...a5637dd0_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4129/...a748373f_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we went for a walk to see some of the other main sights of the city, but retreated at 1 because of the heat. We ventured out for another chicken feed at 6 and then did complete the walking circuit. We ran into several English students we had met last night and again had some practice time with them.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4115/...26bb3759_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4230/...a1276c7b_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/...bc2955a6_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/...b0e652f7_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4096/...5da6cebb_b.jpgSamarkand Uzbekistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...2dce7a44_b.jpgUzbekistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...ecb00011_b.jpgUzbekistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...113f7db8_b.jpgUzbekistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr No sign of our stockers all day….Now the issues we need to deal with is we need benzene and to exchange some cash. Luckily the manager of the hotel can call a guy!! 1030 pm he shows up with his trunk full of bottles of benzene and a stack of bills for exchange. That was easy. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...033a30a6_b.jpgUzbekistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It is 34 degrees already at 9 am when we set out north 308 km to Tashkent. It is very humid today as well.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4123/...aa38c513_o.pngScreen Shot 2017-07-05 at 13.35.16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did stop once for drink and once at a methane station to hide in their shade. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...b983f184_b.jpgTashkent by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr About 75 km from the capital Dan spotted the guys in the grey car again. He dropped back to them and made it obvious to them that we knew they were following us and then when they passed me I made it obvious that I was filming their plate and faces. They then sped off. We will see… https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...09dc82d5_b.jpgTashkent-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...8df1c56e_b.jpgTashkent-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This must be the most civilized ride into a capital city every. There was gas for sale on the side of the road on the outskirts. The traffic is not bad and they follow the rules of the road here. We have found disrespect for the planet and other humans goes together. So places covered in garbage have terrible drivers. This country is CLEAN! We arrived to the hotel and it is 42 degrees.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...03c3705f_b.jpgUzbekistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...628548b8_b.jpgUzbekistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We did not venture out until after 7. We walked in to the city centre, but the entire area of the independence square and parliament was blocked off at every entrance by police. You could not get in to the park at all. We made our way down to Amir Square to find some dinner. Today we walked 3 km in the heat to the main Bazaar, which is fruits and veg and a lot of cheap stuff from China. Luckily we could get the metro back. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...692f4e5a_b.jpgUzbekistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...0c4403c4_b.jpgUzbekistan-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...ab153898_b.jpgUzbekistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...b2c2b0cb_b.jpgUzbekistan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...58941960_b.jpgUzbekistan-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...bb557795_b.jpgUzbekistan-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...512cfe92_b.jpgUzbekistan-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...34bbb0d6_b.jpgUzbekistan-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...e9ed5397_b.jpgUzbekistan-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...e0ebf67f_b.jpgUzbekistan-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...a5e1abc1_b.jpgUzbekistan-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...2c0bf451_b.jpgUzbekistan-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...634a8b69_b.jpgUzbekistan-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We chilled out in the hotel until 3 when we were to meet the travel agent Aliya from Carivanistan and to whom we had shipped the speed sensor. She was kind enough to drop it off.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...654d7240_b.jpgUzbekistan-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...99c52389_b.jpgUzbekistan-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr A few days ago we noted what looked like a small nail in the rear of the 650 it was below the tread and we decided not to pull it out until we were in spot for a while. Today was the day and it was actually a huge nail. We tried the mushroom plugs we have, but they did not work at all. I wonder if they are damaged from the high heat? Luckily Orvar has some normal rope plugs and that worked great. First flat in 5 years. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...ce8135fc_b.jpgUzbekistan-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...ccbf217c_b.jpgUzbekistan-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...00f78954_b.jpgUzbekistan-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Tonight we took a taxi to Caravan a traditional Uzbek restaurant for some Pilaf. This country certainly feels like a police state. We had no issues, but we saw locals being flagged over for checks constantly. There are police on the side of the road frequently. There are also police check points on the roadways. We were waved thru at all but one of these the entire time we were here. They were more curious than confrontational. There are police everywhere on the streets in the city. The control of the population here is palpable. The black market here is a huge problem for the people except the few who profit massively from it. |
Folks, I'm loving the story and some of the awesome pics of the buildings and tile work; keep it coming.
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Today it was already 35 degrees at 9 am and we set out of Tashkent on the way to Khujand Tajikistan in 170 km. It was a bit of a round about as the road we were routed on was closed and there was a bit of traffic.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/...8b84d7d6_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 08.35.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We headed the 100 km to the border and stopped once for some cold drinks and made some friends. There was another car a white sedan that was following us for about 20 km, but left as we neared the border. Again strange. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...3f3769f8_b.jpgUzbekistan-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...cbb68a1d_b.jpgUzbekistan-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...5bdb968b_b.jpgUzbekistan-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The border is not really marked and you have to make a u turn to get to the gates. As soon as you do there are money changes who want to buy your Uzbek money and sell you Tajik money. The women all had these incredible gold grills.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...5493804b_b.jpgUzbekistan-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr You pull up to the closed gate and the officers come out to check your passports and then let us thru. You go about 100 m and stop. Here there is a camera and you have to go farther, make a U turn, and then park so the camera can take your plate. There was a bit of an issue as they could not seem to get a reading on my BC plate or it may have been that it is in shadow. They came out with several letter size papers with CANADA written on it can you believe it. This took about 20 minutes for my bike and we stood off to the side in the shade. It is 40 degrees. The guys bikes took only about 5 min each. On line it says that the Uzbek officials here are unfriendly and it can be a hassle. They were more than nice to us and very smily and friendly. There is a large sign posted that there are no fees here and that guards will not accept bribes. We sailed thru besides the camera issue, and they were more embarrassed than anything that they had problems. Next you ride 200 m and park in the shade at customs. Here you go in and fill in an exit declaration card. It is in English and they provide sample ones with the correct data entered. From here you go back out to the booth on the opposite side of the lane. Here they check your passport and want your TVIP and registration. Next you walk 20 m to the passport control for the exit stamp. When you return to customs they asked to look in the luggage, but they really hardly looked at OURS. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...2f4a6cdf_b.jpgUzbekistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Now on to Tajikistan. We were a tad worried as again on line the horror stories of the hassles you get at Tajik borders and the bribes demanded abound. We again sailed thru with no issues what so ever and they did not even ask to look in the luggage.
You ride 400 m to the gate and they asked to see the passports and then let us thru the gate. You ride about 200 m to the document check point. Here the very nice official asked for the passport and Tajik visa. He fingerprinted Trevor and Dan, but not Orvar or me? He did take our shots and even showed me mine as I had a funny face and he laughed and said it was ok. You drive thru the tire decontamination pool and then ride 400 m to the customs building. Here we were parked in the shade and an officer directed us to the customs office. They copy your passport and registration, enter a bunch of data into the computer while you wait in the small office full of smoke. The customs fee is 10$ us and receipts were given. It was super easy. My only issue was my tire plug was not holding air and needed to be redone. We are wondering if the last one did not set as it was siting in the 42 degree heat?? Now we have only 70 km to Khujand. It was an easy ride and the first thing we saw was open gas stations!!!. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...ab335fff_b.jpgKhujand by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The country is clean and orderly and the drivers are mostly courteous.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...7b30e5fd_b.jpgKhujand-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...71b7e8d7_b.jpgKhujand-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was thus very easy to get into the city and find our hotel. It was as usual 42 when we arrived. They have a Georgian chef here and international quality food for a change. We had our usual nap and cool off in the air con. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...a95d96b6_b.jpgKhujand-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...ce90128c_b.jpgKhujand-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
It was still about 38 degrees at 8 when we went out for a bit of a stroll.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...1c12ef43_b.jpgTajikistan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...e29b623d_b.jpgTajikistan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...1ceb7d3d_b.jpgTajikistan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we will ride 305 km south to the capital Dushanbe, which is the staging place for the Pamir “highway”. We will rest here for 2 nights, Orvar will swap out his tire, and we will stock up on some provisions. We were happy to finally find some 95 octane ! Also nice that we did not have to pay at the tolls.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4241/...e6457dc1_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-09 at 11.51.47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...9406ce47_b.jpgDashnube by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...b830a275_b.jpgDashnube-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...e8d219c9_b.jpgDashnube-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving the city it is still desert for the first 70 km and then we finally went up into the mountains where it was 26degrees !!.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...a0f4d90e_b.jpgTajikistan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...b29e9a3f_b.jpgDashnube-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...61e3d509_b.jpgDashnube-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...a1e1eea3_b.jpgDashnube-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Just before one of the tunnels we ran into Tom and Angela from Germany on their bike with a sidecar. This tunnel was only paved a month ago and is known as the tunnel of death. It was previously pitch black and pot holed. They started this trip in Dubai. The tunnels here are not for the faint of heart. There are 2 over 5 km long on the way and they are pitch back, with 2 way traffic, cars passing, and they are filled with exhaust and dust so it is very difficult to see. All of us were actually a bit scared SCARED.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...8efedd04_b.jpgDashnube-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...f7c79e74_b.jpgDashnube-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...8f6b60f8_b.jpgDashnube-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...7064df3a_b.jpgTajikistan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...d5e7c9d0_b.jpgTajikistan-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...09782280_b.jpgTajikistan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...6331d4e3_b.jpgFILE1810 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road on the other side is in bad shape for about 20 km and we heard later was actually closed the day before from 8 am to 6 pm. Wow were we lucky.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...6b5fa682_b.jpgDashnube-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...e9849c55_b.jpgDashnube-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...7046c66d_b.jpgDashnube-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...0fffea93_b.jpgDashnube-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...10273fb6_b.jpgDashnube-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...e48a188b_b.jpgDashnube-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped to buy some fruit from these kids on the side of the road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...97d9bede_b.jpgDashnube-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...04d31ab0_b.jpgTajikistan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...58e6f461_b.jpgDashnube-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...6c20e2c4_b.jpgDashnube-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...8fe4612e_b.jpgTajikistan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...a5e96cd0_b.jpgTajikistan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...65322e6c_b.jpgTajikistan-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...14dbb39b_b.jpgTajikistan-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...ea4ed427_b.jpgTajikistan-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...b0397b43_b.jpgTajikistan-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...af2271a5_b.jpgTajikistan-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...ede4fbb0_b.jpgTajikistan-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...ff0e5136_b.jpgTajikistan-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had to take a break about 30 km from town as we were all overheated and Daniel especially was dehydrated and actually hyperthermic. Luckily the hostel is cool and quiet and we have good air con and a shop next door. Dan was straight to a cold shower 2 litres of cold water and slept until the Morning.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...712e0b45_b.jpgTajikistan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Brilliant as always, looking great, Dan needs to drink more beer to stop the dehydration.
Gino & Fiona |
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Working on this now!!! Will need lots for the 5 days thru Kazakhstan!! SP |
All of us were a bit baked from the heat and all had a bit of GI upset and so we decided to book a third night. You actually can not be outside between 11 am and 7 pm it is searing.
Three "dollar" bills?! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...e6727503_b.jpgIMG_8922 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There are a few bikers here Ken from Germany and Michael from Ireland who just finished the Pamir. Also Jen and Pete are here and headed east in their land cruiser. Darius from Poland bought a bike in Oz and is headed home. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...8b5a45d1_b.jpgDushanbe-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...37f88b6e_b.jpgDushanbe-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Orvar was taking his wheel to swap the tire at the local bike shop and Dan was taking mine since the second plug did not hold. I’m not sure you could expect mush since they were 45 degree mush when we put them in and then had to ride right away from Tashkent and from the Tajik border. The tire shop had un-melted plugs that we hope will work. If not tire off and patch. There are 2 Norwegians here too that are buying scooters to do the Pamir. Now that is adventure. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...4e8bc226_b.jpgIMG_8926 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr On their recommendation we all took taxi’s down to the city centre to the Taj restaurant for very good Indian food. So far and surprisingly Tajikistan has been the culinary highlight of the trip. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...94860256_b.jpgDushanbe by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We woke up Sunday morning to find Kyle from Wales and Dave from Scotland who had come off the Pamir and arrived at the hostel at 8 am. Kyle had come on the top road M41 thru Tavildara (very rough) and Dave on the lower thru Kulob with his bike on a truck due to a blown piston.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...ece57e4d_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-06 at 19.17.47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Our plan was to leave in the morning by the lower road and ride 249 km to the Afghan border and camp at place called can you believe it “Camping with a view of Afghanistan”. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...e1c33615_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-23 at 20.29.47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...72a48f34_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-23 at 20.30.11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...9a623cdb_b.jpgIMG_0743 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had a bit of a late start and finally after air in tires, gas, minor adjustments…photo session. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...37b3cce4_b.jpgDushanbe-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
July 10 to “THE” landslide and then back to Kulob
We left town at 10 am. It was 38 degrees already. The ride south and east is slow going in the heat. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...21b3c9d3_b.jpgTajikistan kulob by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We have heard from several riders that the police here will hassle you and try to extract bribes. We were pulled over by 2 cops going 50 in a 50. They never had a radar gun out until after they stopped us and then they said we were going 74 (showing us the likely non functional radar gun)! We all laughed and said no way. None spoke any English. They wanted to see our driver’s license and Dan did not hand his over, but only showed it in the wallet (small argument proceeds). We got off took off our helmets and jackets and prepared to wait them out. Mean while a car sped by going over 80 and they did nothing. Orvar and Trevor were behind us with the second cop who had their licenses and kept saying Euro Euro. We just ignored them and actually they gave up fairly easily after 6-7 minutes. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...88ff4864_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...e04eb5f8_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The road goes thru a few bigger towns and when it hit 43 we stoped of cold drinks, gas, and shade. You turn off to the E008 just after Vahdat at 22 km and head up into the hills where it was a cooler 34. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...4461dc77_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a break at the view point over the lake and then unfortunately the road drops back down onto the plain and the heat was up to 39.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...3e774b96_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...c048f17c_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr After the town of Kulob you again head up hill and the temperature was a more tolerable 34. We stopped by a spring road side to cool off and the man there told us the road was blocked 4 km up. We decided to go check it out at least as it is 4 plus hours back track to get to the M41. They road deteriorates to used to be paved and then to a good gravel road. After 226 km we pulled up to the military check point that Dave said we would see and the Captain who spoke English came out to talk to us. There was a “catastrophe” at the river yesterday afternoon and 3 separate land slides removed 700 m of the road. They expect a fix in 3-4 weeks! We were lucky as this occurred exactly 24 hours ago and several cars were washed away. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...e651da95_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.16.35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...b49ff166_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.16.55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...864cd2bb_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 16.56.50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...0813a5bd_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...433aee8a_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...96d76c1c_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...659986d5_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Hmmm now we need to decide what to do. There are no other passable roads to the M41. There is one route, but the local guys we met there in a land rover said they would not do it. On the way back we ran into UK Jen and Pete and we were all retreating 30 km back to Kulob.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...4bc7bb6d_b.jpgTajikistan kulob-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We are very hot and tired and very thirsty. The first hotel we picked they showed up too. It was a bit sketchy and we moved onto a second that was actually very clean, comfortable, and chic. (200/room=22USD). So Orvar went over to tell the UK team and they moved here too. To eat there was a buffet/ al la carte spot across the street, which was as far as we could go in 43 degrees. Next we all cowered in the air con and were all asleep by 9. |
July 11 back to Vahdat and then to Tavildara 356 km
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...5f2ebc71_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.18.05 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We planned a much earlier day today and we were on the road by 7. This was so we could at least be back to Vahdat near Dushanbe to make the turn onto the 41. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...ebddc1d8_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 16.51.48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The ride back was much more pleasant at 28-32 than the 43 of yesterday. We also made much better time with only one stop midway. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...ca189ed2_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...08f50bf0_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...c8364a2b_b.jpgTajik Pamir-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
In Vahdat we gassed up with 95 and this makes a difference. The 41 out of the city is busy with traffic.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...5735e1d7_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 16.52.07 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...2d8a40b9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just after leaving town we had our first of three police wave overs. We were going 52 in a 50, but the cop said we were all (he did not even have the gun out when we rode up) going 78! We said no way and after about 5 minutes he let us go. Dan meanwhile made friends with a local. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...540180a3_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Not more than 2 km later we were pulled over because we did not break at the Stop sign on the side of the road. We did not break, because the cop was flagging us over even before we got TO the stop sign. We argued with him in English and he with us in Russian. We pointed out all the cars going by that did not stop and again after 5 minutes he let us go. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...a3ca17f2_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...b826d187_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...61976026_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road surface goes from paved to it was paved, to prepared to pave, to looks like a wash out.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...38deb819_b.jpgTajik Pamir-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...606300cf_b.jpgTajik Pamir-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...937c88e5_b.jpgTajik Pamir-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...e4f30d4a_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...cda660fd_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...5bc2af1e_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
At times it is very narrow and with 2 way traffic it can be a bit hairy on tight corners and hills. There are a few minor water crossings and several washed out area. A lot of the surface is very rough.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...794edb73_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...e238bf0e_b.jpgTajik Pamir-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Then suddenly it will be paved for a stretch! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...261f90a4_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...5f594e55_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...88438327_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...6f0d0ed9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The surface is mostly hard packed, but bumpy at times.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...9716136a_b.jpgTajik Pamir-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...6b530d6e_b.jpgTajik Pamir-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...0b59933f_b.jpgTajik Pamir-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...c574001b_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr One section the entire road had fallen into the river and the road was diverted into a farmers field. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...3fe73caf_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...9b263d8e_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...9b4520f3_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Thanks
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Thank you so much for sharing. :wave: |
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Quite a sketchy bridge over a wash out. Its tilted and the metal plates are buckled.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...47b7cde1_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There was a passport control where the M 41 turns off the main road and goes south at Chumdon after 128 km from Vahdat. We had to show our passport and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) permit. Our data was entered into a large ledger. It was interesting to see that 75 % of the local came in and Shook the Policeman’s hand with a wad of cash. They did not have their info in the lager then it seems. It was incredible how much cash was changing hands in the 15 minutes we were there. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...c9ec42d2_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-26 at 10.46.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The road from here is dirt and gravel thru Childara to Tavildara. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...db1d909c_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-26 at 10.45.38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...0ec7be31_b.jpgTajik Pamir-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...0651eb61_b.jpgTajik Pamir-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...9b37b851_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...01b9f637_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...087e593b_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...a6c1106f_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...996b812f_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...5e8c8ff8_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/...ea878e24_b.jpgTajik Pamir-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...3aec1923_b.jpgTajik Pamir-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...1cd4a9a6_b.jpgTajik Pamir-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...24b4fdb9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We drew a crowd of kids at the gas station
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...ae1e2187_b.jpgTajik Pamir-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...ecce9878_b.jpgTajik Pamir-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...f7aa7749_b.jpgTajik Pamir-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The wind really picked up with a thermal just as we we're arriving to Tivaldara at 430 and it was whipping the dust. It was difficult to hold the bike up when we parked at the second military check point. Here again you register your passport, but we did not see any payoffs here. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...8b27f3ac_b.jpgTajikistan Tavildara Pamir-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We crossed over the bridge to the town. It is clearly a government local (district capital) as most of the buildings have official plaques and signage.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...1f1fb325_b.jpgTajik Pamir-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We followed the GPS to the supposed guest house listed, but no luck. There is “can you believe it in this tiny town” a traffic signal on the single paved road. Here a boy came up and mimicked sleep and said he would take us to the guest house. This was in a communist era building and they family was very nice. Getting the bikes into the yard was all ADV. It was over the ditch on a wobbly cement slab, up the stairs, over the metal pipe, and thru the gate. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...b4e9a303_b.jpgTajik Pamir-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...60ce75cb_b.jpgTajik Pamir-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...433702b9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is simple rooms with 2 single beds and sketch bedclothes so we opted for our sleeping bags. The shower and toilet were clean, but old school. There was cold water only and bare wires to avoid. That said they made us a dinner of very good soup, fires and weiners! We were all asleep before 10. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...af725cd3_b.jpgTajik Pamir-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...30c96c7c_b.jpgTajik Pamir-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...01f1198b_b.jpgTajik Pamir-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...88f81d72_b.jpgTajik Pamir-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
July 12 Tavildara to “2 spots” past Dekh
At 6 am canned music and what sound like propaganda started playing over the loudspeakers of the town. We planned to set out early anyway as we had a very long day. Orvar had it in hid mind we would make it 321 km to Kurog, but there is no way. I though we might make it to “camping with a beach and shade” just south of Ruson in 254 km. It is 80 KM to Kalaikhum and that took 4 hours. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...88f72693_z.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-23 at 21.40.09 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...72142e7c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 22.20.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...21cb9b60_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.19.03 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...d6a5b168_b.jpgTajik Pamir-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...30110ce635.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-17 at 17.09.39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving town over the bridge again we say the raging river that we would see most of the day. The road surface is firm and pretty good initially and some sections have remnants of pavement and some have remnants of road.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...f39a619b_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...265d7318_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...eaeb29f1_b.jpgTajik Pamir-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The 41 does a right hand turn over another bridge, but the road beyond is washed out and the bridge here gone. This was a smaller water crossing then up a steep hill to the first military check point of the day. The guy here was a bit of a jerk and most seem on a bit of a power trip. He insisted we park on the right side of the road where the slope made it very difficult to park. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...8fc939d4_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...0f150bd8_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/...d6c90557_b.jpgTajik Pamir-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...ef9e1490_b.jpgTajik Pamir-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...2b83551d_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road goes along the river and there are a few wet sections. As we headed up into the hills the road was more surfaced at times. The cars coming at you are driving mock speed and never slow to pass you and never give was on the “good” track on the road, but always push you into the deeper gravel.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...908f37ec_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...12c1ecee_b.jpgTajik Pamir-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4301/...c22746a4_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...8d79ed23_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...379687bf_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...0f92da44_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...9001412b_b.jpgTajik Pamir-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Woo Hoo, looking good as always, jealous (I think)
G&F |
Quote:
Yes great except the accommodations and the sandy bits!!! Better than work!! SP |
We arrived to a sign that pointed right, but the 41 went left. Cars came from both directions.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...aece8543_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...8f0c2886_b.jpgTajik Pamir-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/...14c25f91_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We went left and after about 5 km of pretty rough road we arrived to a huge land slide. There was a rough rock “path” and Dan rode up over it and to the bridge 1 km further. Meanwhile several guys on the opposite hillside and up about 300 m started yelling wildly. They got louder and louder and more urgent until it became obvious we would turn back. A local came walking buy to basically say (in Russian and with hand signals) the road was closed and we needed to go back to the turnoff and take the detour around. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...74239835_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...0361a784_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...bdeb00d5_b.jpgTajik Pamir-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...28fa0784_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
So its back on the road to the turn off. This road climbs and winds up thru a village and then up thru meadows of wild flowers. It eventually meets the 41 again farther south about 15 km.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...2891d305_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...279c1365_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...bfcb8e90_b.jpgScreen Shot 2017-07-18 at 10.51.48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...e904abbc_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...ac898ef9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...6cb2a13d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...cbb056bc_b.jpgTajik Pamir-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...aaf0ccd6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...8953b6f4_b.jpgTajik Pamir-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road here is wide and firm. It climbs steadily up to the summit of the pass at 3258 m where it was 12 degrees.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...5749f2b1_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...7a810a27_b.jpgTajik Pamir-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...6148427d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...6fd239a3_b.jpgTajik Pamir-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/...aaff93c7_b.jpgTajik Pamir-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...09ff249d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There was one black ominous looking cloud in our path. On the downward side it is a bit narrower and windy. It then started to rain the most enormous drops, but there were not actually that many of them. There was much heavier 2mm hail pelting us. The cloud was moving in the opposite direction to us and we managed to ride thru the worst of it in less than 10 minutes. These roads are mostly easy going, but in the rain it would quickly turn into a nightmare.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...5aecab4f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...4730c6f3_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just after this we ran into a Romanian rider and let him know about the unmarked detour. He was asking about the quality of the road ahead. I feel bad for him as he looked worried and his way it gets worse where as in ours it gets better we found. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...6c419502_b.jpgTajik Pamir-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...8be39e26_b.jpgTajik Pamir-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...db42daac_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/...9cc4f78f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...55bdd7c2_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road hangs on the cliff side at times. Then it is down down down to the river again and to 32 degrees. On the way we met 2 Swiss who also noted the road deteriorating….There are more sections with intact pavement here and we are getting close to the town of Kalaikhum.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...c38c95cb_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...606426c0_b.jpgTajik Pamir-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...6808b22d_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/...9df07a99_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...d96bb937_b.jpgTajik Pamir-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...9da1d067_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...18bc9bec_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...f9f0a46b_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...6ca94b7f_b.jpgTajik Pamir-59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/...e2109209_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Kalaikhum is where we would have arrived from the lower road it was open on Monday. We stopped here for some lunch at 1230 and met 4 Polish on 2 bikes. They may have a challenge 2 up on the next leg.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/...90883ce6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/...25aed092_b.jpgTajik Pamir-60 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/...579d3b95_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving we had 180 km to go to Rushan. Kalaikhum is also where the border with Afghanistan can be seen across the river. We will follow this for the next few days.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...92796076_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/...51363b7e_b.jpgTajik Pamir-62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/...1db6664f_b.jpgTajik Pamir-63 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...05f66fb9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Just before we left town we found a station with 92 and topped up. There are short section with pavement here. In every village the kids come running out screaming “hello” and waving or wanting a high 5. We know Michael had been pelted with rocks and hit in the head, but we have only seen waving kids. They all want to high 5 and I could strangle the rider who stared this trend. Even toddlers in diapers run out into the road right into your path with arm raised to you. This is so dangerous. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...931bc9c2_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/...42e33dc5_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...75d2fef0_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Views of Afghanistan!!!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...aab7771c_b.jpgTajik Pamir-64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...8bf52955_b.jpgTajik Pamir-65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...ccce2096_b.jpgTajik Pamir-66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...cae7f826_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/...0f5cfb75_b.jpgTajik Pamir-67 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...11d7d8f9_b.jpgTajik Pamir-68 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...81d4af04_b.jpgTajik Pamir-69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...24c63862_b.jpgTajik Pamir-72 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road hangs along the cliff side and there are a few water crossings where there have been wash outs.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...b62a7963_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...eff06b6a_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...0dd9a5a0_b.jpgTajik Pamir-73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...b60d3e1b_b.jpgTajik Pamir-76 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...e07c1155_b.jpgTajik Pamir-77 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/...3a217487_b.jpgTajik Pamir-79 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...c4da5759_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/...194e79a3_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...51132647_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...55f3ab3f_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...e1f08110_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...5efbabc7_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...394996f0_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/...e737d837_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/...76b736c6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/...1aee4a47_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The next military check point was just before the road was surfaced more than not and we could finally get some speed up for 500 m once in a while. It was now after 430 and we still have 100 km to go to Rushon, but we pressed on. We were all getting very tired after 530 and 8 1/2 hours of rough at times riding.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/...d9c3dd0b_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/...53d19b94_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/...436b4d37_b.jpgTajik Pamir-78 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4307/...c7dc26d6_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...77938825_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/...96ab3cd1_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/...2161acf4_b.jpgTajik Pamir-80 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/...1bcc669c_b.jpgTajikistan Pamir Dekh-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
With 56 km left to go to Ruson we decide to give up at just after 6 and found a “guest house” in the GPS, which is actually at the truck stop just past Dekh.
There are no real rooms, but you can sleep on a raised platform outside where it is so loud from the raging river and the waterfalls you would never sleep. There is one large room with a platform that seems to be where they sleep. We got out the camping gear and made due. There is also no shower, but you can wash at the communal spot that has glacial water flowing from a drain spout. There is also not bathroom and only the communal outhouse across the road. Trevor checked it out and said not to go within 50 meters ( actually he said “i would rather take a dump in the middle of the road than go in there again”). They also made us dinner which was edible at best. We said no to breakfast. We were all tired and in bed by 930. It was disconcerting at 1 am when Trevor got up to pee that all the doors were locked from the outside. The owner was sleeping outside and eventually roused with the banging to open the door. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/...a7859d7d_b.jpgTajik Pamir-81 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/...988bac91_b.jpgTajik Pamir-84 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...5fee01dc_b.jpgTajik Pamir-85 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...b8deece5_b.jpgTajik Pamir-82 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/...74262e9a_b.jpgTajik Pamir-83 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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