Chongqing to Urumqi

[futianshenzhen]

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The barbecue stalls around the square in Guazhou


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I had donkey for dinner!

5th

Left 8.30 and immediately fucked up by not getting back on the gaosu, I wasted 40 minutes on a shitty dirt road then did a Uy. I did 400 very dull kilometres and came off at Kumel to follow some advice from Craig and Milton. The first kilometre of the dirt road they recommended was completetly mental and I thought they may have been messing around with me. It did improve however and the scenery was fantastic. There were a few small water obstacles which I enjoyed and then I bumped into a goatherder who was also riding a yingang. We had a chat and took some photos before I continued up to the top of the mountain where I came face to face with snow for the first time of this trip. There was a weird brand new looking temple at the top and an amazing view over the endless grasslands below. Then I dropped the bike while messing around in a snow drift, and this time I got it on video! I quickly completed the 70 kms to Barkol, found a hotel and was surprised by the quick check in. After a shower I wanted to go out for dinner and beer as it was my birthday (33rd) but the hotel boss had returned and said I couldn’t stay there after all. Apparently they’d had trouble with some motorcyclists before! I managed to sweet talking them into letting me stay if I only used the backdoor and left early in the morning. Deal.
The first couple of restaurants I found were muslim and didn’t serve beer. I did a walk away and was called back, this time I managed to negotiate bringing in 2 bottles of Tsingtao form the shop next door. After some distinctly average mutton chops I went off to find a good old han restaurant. I was about to give up when I found the barbecue street with beer being sold everywhere, all was well.

545 today, 3000 total

[futianshenzhen]

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The yingang my goat herding pal was riding


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My pal and my bike, he looked like he wanted to swap!


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He's a goatherder and ace photographer! Note the excellent HD waterproof video camera i'm sporting

[futianshenzhen]

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Near the top of the dirt road

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Weird new looking ancient temple


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more odd temple

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view from the temple


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[futianshenzhen]

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Barbecue street in Barkol


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Proper size barbecues


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View from the hotel roof at 6 am

[Zorge]

[futianshenzhen]

6th

7.30 departure and a beautiful mountain road for the whole morning. There were lots of camel and sheep herders using the road, all decked out in traditional clothing and riding ass. Great. I stopped for lunch and after chatting to some locals it became clear that I’d missed the road to Turpan that Craig and Milton had recommended. I checked the maps and decided to continue on and try to get to the northernmost point in Xinjiang.

There was a new road under construction and I found myself off the blue line again, in my attempts to get back on it I ended up having some off road fun and games and getting blocked from rejoining the road by a very fast flowing drainage ditch. The roads then became very straight and boring but the occasional pothole meant that you had to be on your toes. A rather portly young officer mustve heard me coming on the deserted road so he pulled me over as I came round a corner. I flipped up my helmet and saw his face fall. Russki? He asked. No, English. I replied. He thought for a moment then gestured me to move along. Result! I got to the most northeastern point in Xinjiang and had to decide whether or not to stay in Qinggil or Fuyun for the night. Both required 40 plus kms round trip detours but Fuyun was further northwest so I decided to head there. I was getting very low on fuel and just made it to the windiest petrol station in the world, the anquan di yi teapots were and absolute joy, spraying the petrol all over the assembled group of motorcyclists!
I arrived in Fuyun at 6.30 and job number 1 was find a new side stand spring. It took ages but I finally found a bustling bike shop then finally found a hotel after being turned away from a few guest houses. Is it because I is white? The hotel was seriously plush and I tentatively asked how much…it was only 120, with breakfast! They tried to tell me to move my bike after I’d double checked that I was parking it in the correct place. Why do hotel staff always wait until your bike is locked away before saying – ‘oh, you can’t park there’. Of course I was very polite but the look in my eyes told her it was best not to persue this one!

700 kms today, 3700 total.

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I rode up a mountain west of Barkol to get a view of the lake

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Big country

[futianshenzhen]

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The nice couple who own the restaurant where I realised i'd missed the turning to Turpan


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Outside the restaurant....location, location, location

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And if you are stuck with a shite location at least build one sick ass toilet!


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I don't know they could stack shit that high boy!

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a camel

[futianshenzhen]

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This could be somewhere in the US

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Maybe i'll jack it all in and start a camel farm


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7th

The breakfast didn’t start until 9.30 which was way too late for me. I was usually getting up at around 6 and leaving as I did today at7.30. Because I was still on Beijing time it meant that effectively I was waking at 4am which suited me fine as you could then ride until 10 pm in daylight if you so wished. The roads were pretty dull and there were a few camels wandering about, the first I’ve seen without shephards. I stopped for lunch in Burqin and made friends with the boss who couldn’t believe I’d ridden from Chongqing. His wife cooked up some awesome spicy beef dish and I was on my way North to Kanasi Lake which is only 15 kilometres as the crow flies from Kazakhstan. With Borat catchphrases making me smile I rode on to Chonghu’erxiang where the friendly restaurant owner had told me there was a petrol station. Unfortunately there was a power cut in the village so they told me to continue up another 70 kms and there’d be another one. The roads and scenery on that 70 kms were probably the best ive seen in China, even better than the Tibetan plateau IMO, albeit far too short! I arrived at the petrol station to find the circuit board in bits and a couple of electricians scratching their heads. The boss was very apologetic and said it should be repaired in an hour. It was 30 more kilometres to the lake, so a 60 km round trip without fuel, it was touch and go if I’d make it so I waited for an hour, then another hour, then another hour….
By this time there was a every larger group of people waiting for fuel and getting more impatient. I went off for a walk and found some lovely countryside very nearby, but the sun was getting low in the sky and I wanted to get a photo of the lake before it got too dark. I’d got chatting to a couple of Kazakh riders who had invited me to stay with them near the lake. I thought maybe but really was just thinking about fuel and sunlight. In the end after 4 hours I decided I had to leave if I wanted any chance of getting an ok photo. I coasted down the hills and took it very steady and just caught the light before it totally went, though if I’d been a couple of hours earlier the photo would’ve been awesome. I was riding back to the village I’d seen on the way when there was a horrible sound of scraping metal, my chain fell off and the bike came to a slow stop. The master link had come loose, slid out slightly and destroyed itself on the engine casing. I found a couple of pieces of it but they were useless, I had bought spare links but stupidly left them in my jialing tool kit, doh! A Kazakh guy stopped to help and tried to link it with wire, of course it didn’t work but full marks for effort. Just then my mate from the gas station called and said he’d be over soon to pick me up. We towed the bike a few kilometres to his family’s log cabin where we had a fantastic meal of beef and potatoes. They also made cottage cheese which they whisked up and mixed with milk to make a delicious yogurt like drink. We ate in his brother/cousin’s cabin kitted out with all modcons then slept in a smaller one across the way. Inside both cabins was one large communal bed, the bedding was stacked around the outside and it served as a bench/sofa during the day. At night the bedding was unrolled and everyone just lied down and went to sleep. Under any other circumstances I’d’ve thought that was pretty weird but it just felt like camping out with your mates as a kid.

In the morning we fixed the chain using an old rusty nail as a punch. Luckily we were able to shorten the chain by one link and put the front wheel right forward. If we hadn’t had that room for adjustment I don’t know what I’d have done.

475 today, 4175 total.

[futianshenzhen]

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On the way to Kanasi Lake


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The electricians at work


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The first few arrivals at the gas station


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My Kazakh friends killing time...