Seman
Hotel Internet Cafe, Kashgar, 09-07-07
A mighty change of scenery
Kilometre 62 on A371 - Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar - China
(4 cycle days; 259km; 1956m)
kilometre 62 on A371 to Irkeshtam border crossing (11km; 158m)
Irkeshtam - Kyrgyzstan to Ulugqat - China (55km; 494m)
Ulugqat to Wuqia (96km; 985m)
Wuqia to Kashgar (97km; 319m)
Another border process
The plan is to camp close to the border town of Irkeshtam (11km; 158m),
but the village emerges out of nowhere before we find a suitable spot. It is a strange and eerie location
reflecting a transient, makeshift life. Rusted,
beaten-up trailers systematically fill the dusty patch
captured in place by a river to the north, border boom gates
to the east and barbed wire running the entire southern
length. The small farming village of Nura lies immediately west.
It is not a pretty sight, but behind this facade, the place is
full of truck drivers and their families and they all seem friendly
enough...
Tip of the month: A primus
cleaning tip
Trouble with a badly burning fuel stove
and you have done everything to try and
rectify it?
And, no matter how many
times you prick the fuel hole, it just keeps
on clogging up again?
It is probably due to built up residue
in the lines and places that you can't really
get into to clean.
This remedy worked for us, though stove companies would strongly recommend that you do not use this method. But what stove manufacturers don't realise is, when you are on the road and your cooker doesn't work, you'll try anything to get it operational again. So, here it is:
Dismantle the whole stove and immerse
everything in Coca Cola - overnight preferably and one without normal sugar if possible.
Before putting everything back together, make sure all parts have been rinsed thoroughly, wiped clean with a rag and that everything is bone
dry. It is probably a good idea, at this
stage, to renew your fuel source as well, since the problem is often caused by dirty or
old petrol. If that is impossible, then run
the fuel through a coffee filter or piece of cloth to remove
any unwanted bits.
Note: Coffee filters are also quite
useful for putting on the end of your water
filter's inlet hose in high sediment areas.
So, it is handy to carry a few with you
and they take up hardly any space in your
bags at all.
Irkeshtam (Kyrgyzstan) - Karimabad (Pakistan)
Kilometres: 642 kilometers and 100 meters
Riding days: 10 only this month. (bit slack!)
Alti meters: 6384 meters
Weather: a lot of sun and high temperatures
Best accommodation: Hotel in Wuqia (the one on the
right side of the road just after the roundabout
with the Kyrgyz hats in the city centre)
Special thoughts for a
fellow cyclist:
Didier was molested and mugged of all his valuables
close to Karakol in Kyrgyzstan and had to abandon
his tour to Beijing. He received help from Euro
Support and returned to France for a successful
operation on his jaw and where he is now recuperating.
He is determined to continue his journey and our
strength and best wishes go out to him.
Special thanks to:
Bettina at Schwalbe for her understanding and allowing us to collect
our replacement tyres at a later date in India.
Reliable customer service is so important and
we appreciate it very much and will continue to
support those who support us! • Trish & Paddy for the fun laughs, travel anecdotes
and Grandma Mouth [only they know what that is]. Hope to see you both again
somewhere in this big wide world • Urs & Jonas for the frolicking times at John's
Cafe • Sandra for the use of some of her photos
in our slide show.
Breakdowns:
04: flat tyre (Son)
08: three new tyres fitted (Son 1, Ali
2)
09: flat tyre (Ali)
13: broken spoke (2x)(Ali)
25: flat tyre (Ali)
