Sary Tash – Murghab (Tajikistan)

2nd August 2014        2-19’C         236km
Sary Tash – Murghab (Tajikistan)

After a quick breakfast prepared by the owner of the homestay, I was out on the road early.  It was a very cold night, and it was still a chilly 5’C when I set out.

The border to Tajikistan was only 40km south, and the road, while potholed was generally ok.  On reaching the border, there was a locked gate and no-one in sight.  After a few minutes a soldier appeared with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder.  He asked me for my passport, and opened the gate, directing me to the customs building.  He told me to knock on the door, but he stood some distance away.  A guy came to the door in his underwear, looked out at me and the bike, and waved me on.  I guess I had woken him up, and he wasn’t interested in doing paperwork.   Ok with me!
The soldier walked with my passport to the next building, but told me to wait outside.  After about 5 minutes another soldier appeared with my passport, edit stamp inside, he handed it to me and said “good luck!”
And with that, I was free to exit Kyrgyzstan, waving goodbye to the soldiers as I headed up the mountain.
The next 20km of no-mans-land was a dirt track, with two river crossings and some very rough trails, eventually leading to the Tajikistan border post.

There I was lead to the first building where both my immigration and customs were completed swiftly and was told I could continue on, although just a few metres down the road, I was stopped again, this time at a shack that had a sign stating “veterinary disinfection”. I was told to come in and sit down.  I smelt a rat.   A few forms were placed in front of me, and I was told I needed to pay $15 for these forms.  The two guys took 10 minutes to fill everything in, then went outside and sprayed my tyres with some liquid that smelt like brake fluid.  With that done, I was told I could go.   Then 20M further on, I was stopped again, this time the guy in the office said he was actually customs, and I needed his forms and he needed $15 from me.  Again, about 10 minutes filling in the forms, and I was told I must hand this form back in to customs when I leave Tajikistan.  With that last set of documents, I was free to go and rode out and into the mountains.

Riding along the border with China was a reminder just how large Chinese territory is. Three months ago I was on the southern Chinese border with Laos, now riding along the razor-wire fence of the western Chinese border with Tajikistan.

The trail ascended to the highest pass, peaking at 4658M, where it was only 2’C. Ice covered the rocks and crunched under my tyres. Fortunately I wasn’t cold at all, the gear and heated grips keeping me comfortable.
The altitude was having a small effect on me, realised with a slight headache.  But the headache was worth it, for the magnificent view, massive mountains covered in snow, alpine lakes and, when I turned off the bike, absolute silence. I stopped so often to take photographs, sometimes every three minutes, the beauty of the landscape was outstanding.

The sky was so clear and deep blue, contrasting starkly with the red rocks and green grassy valleys.
Some sections of the road were tarred, and it was tempting to increase speed, although there were occasional large dips, I hit one of these at about 80kmh and found myself and the bike airborne for much longer than I would have liked.  I managed to land it ok, with my heart pumping madly.

As I approached Murghab, I was starting to doze off, the undulating road putting me to sleep.  I located a basic hotel in the centre of town, and had a good feed and walk around town. Murghab is a dusty high altitude town, very quite, but the people are curious, friendly and warm.  Strangely a few locals mistook me for being French, but I’m sure to correct them.

Looking up at the sky tonight, it is jam packed with stars shining against an ink black background, the cold, clear air making each star appear within arms reach.