Day 23

After a well earned 7.5 hours sleep the team emerged from their slumber to a breakfast of either Omelette or Blini's filled with meat. Team spirits were up once again as a proper nights sleep was long overdue and everyone was eager to get on with the business of the day, which was mainly concerned with crossing the border into Kyrgyzstan.

Several of the team ventured up to the local market to buy supplies for lunch and as expected the market was the colourful cultural experience we thought it would be, with fresh bread smells wafting in the breeze and brightly coloured vegetables on every turn, sold by equally colourful characters. We bought supplies and wandered back to the vehicles to load up, leaving the goats heads in the market to the locals.

After radio checking vehicles 1 thru 5 (which worked properly for the first time), a quick stop for fuel near another superb statue of Ghengis Khan we were on our way towards Taraz. For the first time in what seemed like months the road was green , through fertile valleys with local road side stalls selling honey and walnuts and snow topped mountains coming into view in the distance.

Another brief stop to fuel the vehicles in Taraz before venturing into the unknown (for us) Kyrgyzstan and the temperature had dropped to a more pleasant 21C, from previous highs of 38C. However, we could no longer use the heat as an excuse for getting lost and we ended up amusing the border guards as we had turned up at the local crossing point, not the international border we should have arrived at. Handshakes, smiles and after letting the guards sit in the vehicles we went on our way to the international border.

Arriving at the border we were now a dab hand at the smile and laugh routine and after a swift 2 hours we were through.

Tired and hungry once more we stopped about 5kms into Kyrgyzstan at the foot of the mountains and next to a blue, glacial fast running stream. Efficiency personified, cookers were on, sandwiches made , comms links set up , water purified, vehicles washed and spirits calmed after the "smileathon" at the border; Even I can now talk about Manchester United !!!!

The road into the mountains was change enough after the plains of Kazakhstan but within minutes the car radio links erupted with superlatives about the sight meeting us around a tight bend. A large hydro electric dam was in full flow right in front of us, the water jetting high into the air in white, powerful, cyclical waves before crashing into the alpine like river below and to top it off Lenin was carved into the rock face in a similar fashion to mount Rushmore USA.

Stopping at the dam to take pictures we were greeted by the now very familiar and friendly local police and some military chap with a rather large weapon who was keen to tell us in a rather friendly way that we had stopped in the wrong place – a bag of LandRover sweets had him smiling all the way to the dam.

Back on the road and the radio was again filled with "Awesome", "Amazing", "Beautiful" as we gained height and the landscape spread out before us.

Driving into the first town we were slowed by a herd of cows wandering along the road and groups of exceedingly sweet children who smiled and waved us along.

Getting dark now we passed through several villages (one with a man praying in middle of the left hand lane) and then "got pulled" by the local police (an occurrence that probably is not mentioned much in this blog as it is now routine) . Smiles and document checks saw us on our way and we arrived in our destination town of TALAS shortly afterwards.

We had arranged with the local CBT (Community Based Tourism) office to stay in a local's house, the only challenge now was to find it. Stopping in the road we asked a few young men selling petrol and diesel in small plastic bottles for help. As virtually everyone we have met along the route, they were happy to help and gave us an escort through the town and into the back streets where we met our host, not bad for a $2 fee.

Our hosts house was a large family bungalow type affair with a traditional Yurt in the back garden. The inside of the house was totally unexpected with colourful rugs covering the floors and even more hung along the walls. Some of the group opted to stay in the garden yurt, others for the traditional type beds you will probably have in your house and some of us opted for the "Kyrgyzstan guest bed" experience which is thick quilt like blankets used as a mattress on the floor, which I can honestly say was heaven sent.

Our host and wife prepared a small meal of rice and meat, with fresh tea and biscuits, just the sort of quick easy , simple wholesome food we needed after a terrific day out on the road. We were all fed, watered and relaxed, amazed at how easily we had found homely refuge a long way from home.

Every day seems to reveal amazing things and we all wonder how tomorrow can possibly compare but day after day, Central Asia never fails to deliver.

308 kms Covered today : Roll on tomorrow…….