More photos - 2

From the Goosers relaxing in a jacuzzi some photos from days 20 to 24.

Day 34 Kashgar to Urumqi

After a sleepless night we went down to the trucking agent to see whether he could ship to Lhasa. After a while he came up with the suggestion of a private truck & it would take at least 5 days & cost about $5,000. He also said that 1 October was a holiday for National Day & there is a week’s holiday.

Morgan crated & ready to be trucked to Shanghai

We have a flight to Urumqi at 3pm so had to make some decisions quickly. Our guide, who had been interpreting and looking after us in Kashgar, a damn good job he did too, phoned a friend who worked in Customs who also repeated the advice that the declaration and paperwork was quite easy and not the almost impossible task as presented by the rally travel agent whose office was in Urumqi.

We had a telephone conversation with our rally director and agreed to go straight to Customs when we arrived in Urumqi to have another go at sorting paperwork. He would organise for the travel agent to have a guide to meet us & take us there.

Children in old Kashgar

Fat tail sheep ready for sale at the open air butcher

School's out: this primary school had an impressive running track

We put the trucking to Lhasa on hold to see what we could do at Customs in Urumqi.

We were also informed that the permits for Tibet were only requested on Monday & may not be ready for any of us to enter Tibet on the planned dates.

We flew China Southern Airlines to Urumqi (one & half hours) and passed over snow covered mountains. Interesting to see the mountains from this angle as we had driven over some very high passes.

Mountains seen on the flight from Kashgar to Urumqi

On arrival at Urumqi….no guide. After an hour she finally turned up & we were taken to Customs. Fortunately we were taken to see a very senior woman (only 6 legislative books, a phone & computer on her desk, nothing in the in & out trays!) and she called upon an English speaking man from another area.

She was very efficient, spoke with Kashgar Customs & the travel agent & we were told that the cars did not have to depart together but we needed the amended permit to ship out of Shanghai. They again scoffed at the idea that the paperwork was difficult, claiming it was very easy and that our travel agent had twice been informed of the correct procedures.  The problem was the trucking agent we were using in Kashgar was not an authorised Customs driver & this needed to be changed by the travel agent.

The Customs people then again rang our agent and demanded that he fix the issues, and appoint a person in Kashgar to sort out our transport in an approved manner. It seems that they have given him an “official “instruction which he must now follow

It seems to us that the travel agent was eager to get us to Lhasa & leave with the others so that he could get his bond back quickly, without regard to the consequences to us.  He has caused a huge amount of worry and angst by his actions over the last week.

This was the best news we had in days & we went to an airport hotel so that we could catch our early flight to Chengdu tomorrow morning.

Still no news on whether our Tibet permit will arrive on time for our Friday morning flight.

(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - Noel)

Day 33 Still in Kashgar

Following on from yesterday’s events we had come to the conclusion that we would ship the car to Shanghai as planned.

Late tonight we received an email from ROARR & the travel agent (any foreigner to this part of China has to have permits & a guide) demanding that our car be trucked to Lhasa. Agent suggested that if we got it to Golmud, he could arrange to get it to Lhasa. The problem remains though that we then have to organise to transport it to the Nepal border then on to Calcutta.

The travel agent had informed ROARR that all cars must leave China together as he had put up a $47,000 bond & the other 4 cars would not be allowed to leave & would be fined $400 per car per day if all did not leave together.

He also informed us that the lady we spoke to at Customs yesterday was not a Customs officer but someone he had employed to prepare the documentation to get the cars into China & she was afraid of Customs & was not prepared to amend the permit.

A very upsetting and sleepless night during which, we pondered our options.


(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - Noel)

Day 32 Kashgar

Today was spent sending emails to get something done about the car permit.

Late in the afternoon we went to the Customs Authority. After speaking to the Customs officer who had our actual file, he understood and advised that we could have a declaration made that our car would be shipped to Shanghai & taken out of the country from there whilst the other 4 cars would proceed to the Nepal border from Lhasa.  This according to him was very easy.

He then telephoned the woman who prepared the documentation to get the cars into Kashgar. At this stage we believed she was a Customs officer. She was in fact an agent for our main travel agent although we did not find this out until the next day. She was dismissive and refused to assist, continually berating us for being in China with a broken car and saying it would take 3 months to amend the paperwork.  We were then ushered out of Customs and prevented us from going back up to the third floor where the co operative Customs officer was located.

Dinner was at the rooftop restaurant adjacent the main mosque--- No beer.

(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - Noel)

Day 31 Sunday 25th September 2011 Kashgar

After an ordinary breakfast we took a taxi to the Animal Market on the outskirts of town.

This is where the farmers bring their sheep & cattle to sell. Lots of fat-tail sheep & well fed cattle, a few horses & donkeys. There were also a few stalls selling harnesses & other bits & pieces. There were no yaks or camels as it apparently isn’t the season to be selling them.

The sellers brought their animals in all kinds of transport, from motor bikes, trucks, carts, to walking them along the road.

We then took another taxi back into town to the Sunday Market. This was really a larger version of Vic Market, selling fruit, nuts, rows & rows of shoes, business shirts, carpets, hardware & tacky souvenirs & everything else.

Nearby is the partially demolished historical site of the old city. Not much left but you can imagine this place being the crossroads for the Silk Road.

The usual mode of transport here is electric motor bikes. Apparently fully charged they will do 60-80 kilometres. They are very silent and you don’t hear them coming up behind you. This is the only type of motor bike allowed in the city.

It is frightening to see mothers riding the bikes, often with a young child standing in the front & another seated behind & hanging on. I saw one such with a child no more than 18 months with his back to his mother & holding on to the rear. No harnesses or helmets in sight. Use of mobile phones whilst driving is also very common. There are lots of pedestrian crossings across the very wide streets but they don’t mean a thing to the drivers.

Whilst we were walking around today I commented that I hadn’t seen a hair salon since we arrived here. Then, here was one. After a bit of hesitation, I decided to get a haircut. After the dirt & dust of the past few weeks, we were both looking a bit shabby. I was wrapped in a Toni & Guy coverall! First the dry wash which went on forever. Then head, neck & shoulder massage. This part was spine tingling & gave me goose bumps but the attendant knew what she was doing. Then the cut. A bit of pointing here & there & I can now face the mirror!

Since we’ve been here in Kashgar, there seem to be many wedding processions each evening. A utility has a drum band in the back (about 4 players) & I was told it is the procession taking the bride to the groom’s house. Flower decorated cars follow with family members.

Late in the afternoon we went along to the shipping place to see how the crate was progressing. Not much had happened & the cross frame at the front was measured incorrectly so the front tyres weren’t held in place.   The $480 they were charging for the crating was looking like a bit of a disaster at this point, even the measuring was wrong.

It’s a very frustrating place to be…you have to be persistent to get anything done. Although the buildings are not that old, everything seems to be falling apart. The first room we were given had a leaking toilet & the proprietor wanted to know whether I wanted fresh slippers to walk over the leak!. The shower bracket came off in my hand, we had to ask to have the room made up & cleaned,. It seems everyone works to a higher authority & no initiative is shown by any of the workers.

It is indeed a frustrating place, how can this country be a world power with people who show no initiative or desire to get things done, well I suppose they do get things done, but in their own way and time frame.

Sheep waiting to be sold

Bringing the cow to market on a trailer

Sunday Market: carpets for sale

Side of lamb, anyone?

Tethered sheep for sale

Weigh-in prior to sale

(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - Noel)

More photos

Photos for days 15 to 19 have been added.
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New photos

Some photos have been added to days 13 & 14.
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Day 30 Saturday 24 September 2011 Kashgar

Morgan being crated up for 7000 km truck trip to Shanghai where our local shipper also has an office.

About all we could face from the buffet breakfast was cold tomatoes & bread. The locals all piled up their plates but it was disgusting to see the wastage.

We met the guide at 9.30 am as arranged to be told that our hotel did not have room for us tonight so he had to move down the street to the next hotel.

We sent many emails to try & organise trucking the car to Shanghai where our usual Melbourne

shipping agent has a branch. Prompt response from Wongy at Tomax.

Windscreen view of Morgan being trucked to shipping company

In the meantime the guide had found a place that would truck the car to Shangai.

When we arrived there we found that the car would be put, not in a shipping container, but a wooden crate.

At trucking company for transport to Shanghai

We were to come back tomorrow to inspect the crate & on Monday had to organise a Customs inspection to get the car out of China.

Next we saw a travel agent in the hotel & organised flights to Llasa. These will not be direct but go to Urumqi (overnight), Chengdu (overnight) & then on to Llasa on Friday.

Very difficult to do any business here as credit cards are unheard of & everything, no matter the amount, has to be paid in cash…several trips to ATM’s.

As there wasn’t much else we could do today (4.30pm by now) we walked around what was left of the old Kashgar. Most had been demolished in the name of progress but some old parts still remain, down back alleys etc.

We also walked via a lively street with bread sellers, open air butchers, “antique” sellers & the like.

Bread stall in street: lots of these stalls but this type of bread doesn't seem to get to restaurants

Advertisement for a dentist: whole row of dentists next to the main mosque

Old Kashgar

Typical street scene: the cooking smoke adds to the industrial smog & fumes

Without the Puce Goose, The Great Game continues for us. The earlier participants in the 1800s and early 1900s often had their plans thwarted and had to adapt and make do. We will do the same.  The Puce Goose has done some amazing segments on unbelievably bad roads, and we will forge on by whatever means possible to Calcutta.

Day 29 Friday 23 September 2011 Chinese border to Kashgar

In the morning we went outside & saw that it had snowed during the night & Puce Goose had a white covering.

We went down to the Customs Post at 9.30 which was padlocked. Eventually a guard came out & motioned that they were still sleeping.

The time zone here is rather strange as officialdom operates on Beijing time which is 2 hours ahead.

We slunk back to our filthy hotel room & sleepy until our guide arrived at 2.30pm. I had already texted him to see whether he could assist Sawut to get into China.

At some stage the hotel guard came in and wanted $18 for the room & $50 for the water & beer. We said no & that we would sort it out when the agent arrived.

This was eventually resolved after some argument & payment to him of $28. Still far to much in the circumstances but we had to get moving.

What a suitable place for the “end of the earth”. Cold, miserable people, lack of any facilities, obviously a hardship posting.  You can read what you can into this.

The guide had arrived with a tilt tray truck (only some vehicles with special permits to come to this area are allowed). At this point Customs wanted to inspect our luggage on steel trays out in the snow. Suspicious items were our data backup storage, our Tibet guide book & the historical book on the Great Game but eventually passed.

Morgan on tray truck coming from Chinese border to Kashgar

Phil went with Sawut in the tray truck & the agent & I got a lift in a passing mini bus with 7 Brazilian tourists.

After 130 kms, we reached the actual frontier post where further formalities took place. Luggage was x-rayed (no-one was watching the x-ray), passports stamped, vehicle inspection & we were through.

The tray truck had a flat tyre, the inner tube of which was unable to be fixed. The driver purchased a new inner tube which was then fitted inside a bald tyre & off they went. Meanwhile the mini bus was held up as it was required that we take 2 soldiers on board to get them to Kashgar.

Typical roadside tyre repair place: for the tray truck

The passing scenery was muddy, mud brick villages, drab grey & smoggy. A lot of maize was grown in this area & lots of corn stalks were drying up against the walls. It seems that these may be used for floor matting.

Arrived at hotel after dark, Puce Goose unloaded in hotel forecourt. We were dirty & dusty & glad of a hot shower & filling Chinese dinner. And good beer or two.

Day 28 Thursday 22 September 2011 Naryn to Kyrgzstan border

Left not long after sunrise as we’d been told this stretch was pretty horrendous but would be OK if we drove slowly. Petrol stations are few & far so we filled up in town (after eventually finding the petrol station), we had no GPS so we stopped a few times in town to ensure we were on the right road. There are very few road signs in this country & practically non existent in towns.

At a town called At Bishy we decided to use the balance of our Kyrgz som on petrol as we only had about 160 klm to travel & there didn’t appear to be any more towns along the way.

Changing fuel filters on dusty roadside: interest from young boy & his horse

I gave the attendant 700 Som, counted it out, pointed to the price section of the pump and then checked on the suspension.  Then discovered that the idiot had been yacking and carrying on with his mates and had filled the tank and now wanted 1035 Som.

Huge argument involving him, his boss and spectators, closest I have come to violence on this trip, shouting, screaming, grabbing hold of me etc. Managed to jump in and drive off with hands holding onto me.  Drove for half an hour to ensure we were not being pursued.

Then………………….More problems, fuel starvation and surging !!!!

Changed all fuel filters and improved but eventually ground to a halt in the middle of absolute nowhere.

Road was bone shaking, car and soul destroying  Now ignition problem wire fallen of ignition switch. I hot wired and still could not get spark, checked inside distributor and forum thin wire on points to condenser had parted company. Not having any more spare points, I tried to mend it but in the end, not able to fix.  I noticed that our elec fan ( cooling ) was about to fall to pieces so we decided to get trucked / towed to Kashgar to then ship the poor old Puce Goose home, just too much damage to continue.

This dirty rough road, with snow next to it had almost no traffic heading in the direction of the border, by now about 30km away. Plenty of huge Chinese trucks heading to Naryn & Bishkek etc, just stared and drove by.  Stopped one truck who was headed to border, I thought he would tow but he got back in and drove off.  Now situation looking rather grim.

Road leading to China

Then……..a local car comes along containing passenger Sawut, a Swedish national who was born in Kyrgyzstan and spoke local languages and some reasonable English.

He was trying to get to Kashgar and had been turned back as he had no Agent / Guide waiting on Chinese side.  He was interested that we had one waiting and agreed with his driver to tow us to the border, $50 for the local driver.

Stranded 20kms from Chinese border: not much traffic going our way but plenty of Chinese trucks heading into Kyrgyzstan

A slow tow through the cold & snow we eventually got to the border. After much amusement & corruption by the Kyrgyz authorities (had to bribe them to get Sawut through) we got to the first Chinese post.  The road here was so bad that we had to get out push the tow car thru slippery mud to keep going. A disgrace of a road in name only. There was a lot of to-ing & fro-ing about whether the local driver could tow us to the next checkpoint, about 4.5 klms away.

After much discussion, a soldier jumped into the tow car & we were towed through.

Rolled truck close to Chinese border

The next checkpoint was a Customs Post. What a dirty, cold disgusting place. As we arrived so late, our waiting guide had returned to Kashgar so we had to spend the night here. We were taken to a shabby place which purported to be a hotel. When I asked where the toilet was, the guard took me outside & pointed to a mound of dirt…filthy. No shower but they lit a small wood & coal burning pot belly stove. Very hard beds but plenty of quilts & pillows which had never seen a wash! This room was shared by us & Sawut & half the Customs population came in through the night to chat & sit by the fire.

We were able to boil water with our immersion heater to make up some packet soup.

One of the guards brought in 2 bread rolls which were as hard as rocks. We purchased 3 small bottles of water & a bottle of beer.  Should have had a dozen beers, maybe it would not have seemed like such a nightmare.

A dirty & dusty woman in the "0" star hotel at the Chinese Customs post

Day 27 Wednesday 21 September 2011 Bishkek to Naryn

Up very early & discovered that it had rained heavily during the night & was still raining.  Departed around 7am.

Repaired Puce Goose at the hotel & ready to leave the next morning for Naryn

We still have a few overheating issues but manageable. Car running well.

Reasonable to ordinary road through spectacular snow tipped mountain ranges.

Rutted road on which we got stuck & had to reverse, scraping all the way

We passed the biosphere reserve of Lake Issyk Kul & then over the rough Dolon Pass (3,050 metres).

We arrived at the Celestial Mountains Guest House at 2.30pm to discover that the only room available was in a yurt out in the garden.

The graveyards in Kyrgyzstan were like little villages. Certainly from a distance you thought there was a village coming up

Looking at the car we discovered that the bottom driver’s side cross tube had broken, the rubber radiator support purchased & installed at Bishkek had sheared, & a bolt in the rear suspension had come loose & was partially out.

The Guest House caretaker, Manas, when I asked about welding, produced an arc welder which he used along with amazing ingenuity to solve our front suspension issue. He also assisted with the radiator realignment and the partly fallen out back bolt.

His wife works at the guest house as cook, and after we gave him some USD for his efforts, we got a very good dinner indeed.  Again, another example of people helping without real expectation of reward, Morgans seem to bring out the best in everyone.

A good nights sleep in our yurt, quite comfy and warm

We stayed in this urt in Naryn: view of the Morgan parked outside

Day 26 Tuesday 20 September 2011 Bishkek

Last night one of the garage staff members dropped us off outside our hotel, indicating that he would pick us up at 7.30 the next morning. This is bearing in mind that we had to take all our tools back to the hotel, about 2 klms away.

Standing on the roadside near the hotel this morning, Johne & his wife Natasha drove by, stopped & picked us up following a call from the other fellow who had been delayed.

Down the garage finally got the engine sorted (with help from Estocada mechanics working on the points), the new Ling Longs fitted & put the car back together.

Finished around 1pm by which time the establishment had called in the professional photographer. The Puce Goose was parked in front of the Estocada premises & photographed with us standing next to it.

Whilst getting engine sorted we drained the tank of 30 litres of Tajikistan 80 octane petrol & put 95 into the tank.

Drove back to the hotel, cleaned up & had a catch up sleep.

Back to Fatboys for dinner.

Day 25 Monday 19th September 2011 Bishkek

The rest of the rally cars left yesterday morning after organising their own repairs (not as extensive as ours, of course)

We went to the garage early & then Merlin from the hotel arrived & he & Phil went off in a taxi in search of a radiator repair shop. We forget to mention that on Saturday the radiator was sent away by the garage with a taxi driver so that we would not be charged foreigners rates. The moral of this story is taxi drivers are the same the world over. On Saturday afternoon the taxi driver returned with a very shoddy repair job. Top bracket ready to fall off & the bottom tubular outlet still 70% crushed. Huge argument ensued with lots of shouting & yelling. Eventually paid him some money & everyone angry.

Merlin & Phil drove all over Bishkek before being directed to a market place where they travelled through the front door of a plumber’s supply premises & out the back gate to an open  wasteland of several acres with a row of sheds. One of these sheds had a man with a blowtorch, water testing tank & radiators on the floor. Joy of joy after 3 hours of searching.

After one & a half hours the radiator was as good as it was ever going to be. They then went off to get 2 new front tyres which were purchased from a ground floor apartment in an apartment block on the outskirts of Bishkek. We now had 2 new Ling Long tyres which were fitted later at Estocada.

While Phil & Merlin were away I kept the curiosity seekers at bay & watched our gear while Estocada mechanics got the brakes going. No brake bleeding for me, thank goodness! During this time I was well looked after & invited into the staff canteen for a sit down lunch whilst the boss ordered the security man to keep watch on our stuff.

Merlin went off to sleep for his night shift at the hotel & we continued work on the car.

Today was panel bashing & radiator fitting. Had some problems getting the engine running & fitted new battery, coil & condenser.

At this stage I had to return to the hotel as the agent was bringing back our passports complete with Chinese visas. Our appointment was 5pm & I waited until after that time before ringing the contact. She eventually rang back & said the Chinese people were late & would be delivering her the visas at 6pm & she would then bring them over. It was 6.45 before she eventually came. It was a frustrating time just sitting & waiting whilst I could be of use down at the garage.

About 7.30pm when it got dark we finished up & went to Fatboys (no reflection on Phil’s current physique which is getting thinner by the day through exhaustion, heat, stress & hard physical work!) Restaurant for dinner & beer.

I have to say how great it is to have Laurette by my side during this, she is constantly helping, searching for the right spanner or socket or holding onto a spanner whilst I am under the car, even put her feet against the front guards whilst I panel bashed the Puce Goose back into some sort of shape.  Laurette also keeps us supplied with water, coffee and snacks during these long, long days.

Estocoda

Sunday repairs

Day 24 Sunday 18 September Bishkek Sunday

We went down to the garage again to work on the car.

The place was also a tyre repair service so we were asked many questions by other curious customers.

About 9am we went by taxi with Arthur to the enormous car parts market. Found a good many things & went back to the garage to continue working. Container after container of parts and accessories for all sorts of cars.  Tried to buy a radiator similar to Morgan one but nothing close

Huge car parts market on the outskirts of Bishkek...every car enthusiast's dream.

Included in the market is a wreckers yard where you can purchase bits from the wrecked cars.

In the afternoon Johne turned up on his day off & wanted to know whether we needed a hand. He opened the boot of his car and there was a mig welder !!  !Later on his brother also came & he did some welding on the front suspension cross bar and radiator bracket ( again ).  This really gave me a lift in spirit as Johne was a mechanic for 5 years before being promoted to office job at Estocada. He removed drivers side rear spring, disassembled it and reassembled with the spare top leaf which we were carrying, then refitted same to car.  He also lent me a brake line flaring kit which I used to reform the rear line which had been demolished when the drivers side spring eye broke off

Well done to Johne, a person of real empathy and commitment who saw our predicament and decided to help out.  Thank you Johne.

Worked until dark then went to Fatboys Restaurant for some soup & bread. ( and a burger for me )

Day 23 Saturday 17th Sept Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

I had just got into bed at 4.30am and suddenly there was loud knocking at the door. Phil had arrived in the truck & was anxious to get the car to a suitable garage to get repairs underway.

The Porsche had broken a clutch plate & was also trucked to Bishkek.

On reception at the hotel were 2 young lads who spoke good English . With their help we got the Morgan & Porsche to Estocada, a Mercedes, BMW dealership & workshop.

Unloading Morgan onto hoist at Estocada

With a lot of help from Merlin & Arthur we rounded up spare parts we thought we would need.

At this stage we had:

Broken spring on passenger side,

Exhaust was still off,

Radiator was a problem, particularly after ramming Land Rover

Front upper cross tube had broken at welded connection

Rear brake line broken

Front brakes not working

Tie rod had 5 inch bend

Front tyres scrubbed out due to tie rod

Panel damage following accident

Broken rear spring support bolt passenger side

Chassis flexing

Wiring at front shredded by cross bar moving back to fan pulley

One number plate missing along with lower rear valence in Tajikistan

Drivers headlight smashed

Passengers headlight loose and pointing upwards

Sundry other items

We got going on the repairs & worked until it was dark.

Sweeping out the dried mud & dust with borrowed broom.

Day 22 Friday 16 September 2011 Unknown village to Bishkek via Osh

Up at 7am to find some villagers taking measurements of the Morgan.  Laurette wakes me up and says that there appears to be measuring going on with bits of rope. The truck disappears and comes back later, with the load of hay that was in it earlier, but now with a 9 inch angle grinder & they proceed to take out the dividing wall between the back of the truck & the cabin so that the Puce Goose would fit in with the nose just behind the front seats.  Obviously a good financial deal for them to chop up the truck !!!!!!!  The grinder was powered by a man getting a ladder and twisting bare

ends of cable around the incoming mains under the eaves.

Modifying the van to remove the wall dividing cabin from rear so that Morgan would fit.

Local kids sitting in the Morgan. The loading was an event for the whole village.

Next problem was how to get the Morgan up into the truck. The locals found a deep culvert & backed the truck up to it. We then pushed the Morgan close to it. Next some timber had to be found to push the Morgan up into the truck. It was a close fit but eventually it was in.

Steering Morgan across the ditch into the truck.

Morgan loaded into truck.

Front of Morgan reaching into front cabin of truck.

In daylight it was interesting to see just how small & isolated this village was. Many families lived in yurts. All were curious & friendly & the women & children loved to have their photographs taken & to see then on the playback.

Two children of the truck owner at the doorway of their house

I rode in the Landrover as the senior man & his son were both taking the truck to Bishkek. Phil rode with them.

A very long & tiring day on the road, 18 hours in all, arriving at Bishkek at 3.30am.

What surprised me was the amount of traffic in Bishkek at this time of night. Bishkek was ablaze with flashing & neon lights, including many casinos.

More about our respective trips that day later. I was in the truck for 22 hours.

Day 21 Thursday 15 September 2011 Murgab to unknown village

Left the Homestay after doing some running repairs to the front upper suspension cross tube. Many of the seven have altitude headaches & finding it difficult to do anything strenuous.  I nearly passed out after doing some work on the car, altitude somewhere around 13,000 ft.

The place where we stayed with the local family who put us up for the night

Found an Esso pump in town but it had no petrol. We were then directed further down the village.

Found 80 octane only and it was poured out in buckets. Wherever we go a crowd appears. Many of the older men in this village wear the traditional cone hats.

Filling the car with benzine...from a bucket. We paid for 70 litres but the tank only holds 60!

Worst 80 RON benzine that money could buy. It could be used for putting out fires.

These hats were common in Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan, mostly by older men. I bought Phil one for his birthday.

We drove about 72 kilometers, came over a bridge, hit a large pothole & all power to the ignition went. Tried to repair for an hour or so, couldn’t fix it so the Landrover put us under tow.

We had 3 large mountain passes to get over today & we had to make the border as our visas expire today.

The third mountain pass was full of hairpin bends and it was snowing. Dangerous at the best of times but in the dark, in snow & on tow it was extremely so. We made the Tajikistan border crossing Delayed whilst an official extracted money for not having the right car paper. The on to Customs & Passport Control. It was freezing and each of these posts entered the same data into their books.

Once through we discovered that No Man’s Land between Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan was 20 kilometers. Eyes on the clock in case the next border closed at 5pm, we found the road was shocking. In one place the road had completely washed away & we had to find an alternative route including across a stream. What a nightmare!

At one point under tow, I lost control of the car and pulled alongside the landrover, whilst still connected, I was not sure whether we were going to stay on the road at that point, apparently they in the landrover also had the same thought, and that if we went, they would go too.  It didn’t help that 2 days earlier, we lost rear brakes when the bolt securing the front of the drivers side rear spring sheared again, this time the spring taking the brake line with it.

There is a 20km no man's land between Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan which neither country upkeeps.

A few rocks on the road alerted drivers to the fact that a large part had been washed away.

The border of Kyrgyzstan was closed but they agreed to let us through in 30 minutes which they did.

The next part of the night drive was where the real nightmare began. Up & down hairpin bends in the snow, at altitude of around 13,500 ft. I realised that our front brakes had also now failed, and since there was only now continual down hill for some time, decided to signal a stop, naturally we ran into the rear of the land rover and the front of Puce Goose was badly damaged. We decided to return to the last village & see if we could find a Homestay. Jim knocked on the door with the most lights, was bitten by the family dog but more importantly was shown a large room full of blankets where we could spend the night.

The family had 4 children, parents & several brothers & sisters all living in the house.

They kindly fed us bread & tea & we asked whether there was a truck which could take us to Bishkek. The senior man of the house said he would take us there for $1500. Exhorbitant price but we had no choice. Again the squatting toilet was out in the back yard but fortunately the dog had accepted us.

Day 20 Wednesday 14 September Khorog to Murgab

Left Khorog & travelled as far as the tunnels & thought as we were still overheating we’d better return & look for a tray truck to take us to Bishkek.

Leaving Khorog: typical ex Soviet monument found in most towns in the Stans.

We came back to the police control. One asked what Game we were playing as we came through their control 3 times. After much discussion between 6 police & several onlookers, they wanted $2,000 to take us to Bishkek. We refused their offer & continued on. Again the roads were shocking. Passed through magnificent mountain ranges but distracted by the eye on the water gauge.

Scenery in Tajikistan

At one stop, it was quite cold so I went looking for some hot tea. Their were 3 shops on this pass and one lady took me under her wing, found a kettle, sold me some tea bags & made us some hot tea. Whilst the kettle was boiling, she brought out an exercise book showing me she was learning English. We had a great chat, I took her photo & we were on our way again.

This lady was in a group of 3 shops high up in the mountains. It was so cold I went looking for hot tea. She found a kettle, boiled water, sold me some tea bags & then produced her English homework.

We made it to Murgab under our own steam with the gauge running between normal & hot for most of the way. We arrived about 10.30 with only the Porsche there. We were extremely low on petrol as stations are few & far in these parts.

Boy on bike: he lead us on a wild goose chase through the village (& yurts) looking for benzine..unsuccessfully

The accommodation was another Homestay, fairly basic with bathroom facilities & toilet way out in the backyard.

The interesting thing about staying with a local family is that they all seem to have a spare room full of folded blankets. Probably because of the distances when family/friends arrive they stay awhile.

We have to look for petrol in the morning.

Some disturbing grinding noises after dark, will investigate tomorrow.

This shepherd was interested in a bit of Morgan bonnet lifting...meanwhile his sheep wandered off & he had to chase them.

Landrover & Puce Goose on the road after he discovered we had no rear brakes

Chinese rabbit proof fence...unsure whether to keep the Chinese and/or Tajiks out.