Entering Kyrgyzstan, heading to Osh
Days 76, 76, 77-79, 13765 km
Day 75 - cont. After a brief stop in Karakul village for some coffee, we decide to continue our journey and cross the border into Kyrgyzstan. We keep riding alongside the border fence with China, which is just a few kilometers away. We exit at the Tajik border post of Kyzyl Art, at an altitude of 4,206 meters. The procedure is simple, it takes us only 30 minutes without any issues. At this moment, we find ourselves not in Kyrgyzstan, but in the no-man's land between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The term "no-man's land" describes the area situated between the border checkpoints of the two countries, a 20 km stretch of land where neither authorities hold jurisdiction. It serves as a security buffer zone, similar to the one that exists between Tajikistan and China.
Day 75 - cont. After leaving the Tajik border post, the Pamir Highway descends sharply along a muddy dirt path. Fortunately, the weather is dry; it would be quite challenging to navigate this area in the rain. Half an hour later, having descended a thousand meters, we arrive at the Kyrgyz border post. The gates swing open, and we find ourselves in the Switzerland of Central Asia. The scenery and atmosphere shift instantly, with the earthy browns, greys and reds of the rugged mountains and rock of Tadjikistan giving way to lush green pastures. Looks like Grindelwald here thinks me. In the plains, we spot the first yurt’s and pass by herds of yaks. Really the only difference to Switzerland thinks me again. Along with Sal and Ethan, who have traveled the same route today, we decide to set up camp in a breathtaking location on the wide open plain, with views of the Pamir mountains and Peak Lenin, this time from the Kyrgyz side. The panorama is incredible; it’s easy to see why the Pamir Mountains are called the "Roof of the World." We pitch our camp without any mosquitoes and prepare ourselves some well-deserved ramen.
Day 76 - We rise to a clear sky and a breathtaking view of the Pamir mountain range. It’s truly magical; it’s hard to put into words the feeling of opening the tent door and being welcomed by such a sight. The earth is an incredible place to inhabit. I am more convinced than ever that we reside on the most beautiful planet in the solar system, just trust me on this. We brew some coffee to toast to this realization. Nescafé that is. As I put on my endure knee braces sitting on my lightweight camping chair, I take one last look at Peak Lenin before we all set off towards Osh, Kyrgyzstan. On our journey, we come across the first herds of horses, and they certainly won’t be the last we encounter. They create a stunning scene against the backdrop of the white peaks. Indeed, I pause every five minutes to snap another photo and express officially my gratitude to Gion for his patience with such photographic behaviour all along the trip. After two hours and a few food breaks along the way, we arrive at Park Hostel in Osh, where Gion and I venture out for beers and burgers to celebrate the successful completion of our third leg, the Pamir Highway from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I dreamed to ride Pamir Highway since every I ride adv motorcycles and it’s a strange feeling suddenly being in Osh and ticking this one off the list.
Days 77-79. After all the beers yesterday, we ended up waking up late at 10 am. We made our way into Osh, where we found a neo-soviet building housing a trendy coffee shop for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent writing our blog and editing photos. Osh will be our service stop for the next two or three days, giving us time to prepare for the final leg of our journey from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Gion also needed a new battery for his bike, and I required a new one for my phone. Easy done here in the Bazar at $25 within 60 minutes. Love the efficiency. Osh turned out to be a fun city to stay in; the Central Asian equivalent of Uber here is Yandex, affordable, easy and quick to get around. And after our time in Iran and Afghanistan, we appreciated the simple pleasures of life, like withdrawing cash from an ATM or paying with a bank card. Although it’s less cool than exchanging our dollars at gold shops and walking away with a paper bag full of cash like we did in Iran, or rolling down the back window of our taxi to hand over dollars for cash in a street exchange in Kabul, being back to using plastic money suits us just fine at this point. And local beer as well.
