Day 59
Day 59
Our goal today is reach Tashkurgan, the last town before the border with Pakistan! It is situated at 3094 m, and we will visit the Kara Kul lake on the way. This lake is a must see, not just for the incredible views … Because of my nephews, they find the name so funny (in Catalan it means something like “ass face”) that they knew it even before we were planning the travel.
We try to refill the canister in Kashgar, but it is impossible. The morning is boring and slow, the road is limited at 60 km/h and we have to stop a lot due to the checkpoints to show our passports and all the procedure … This is not normal in all China, we are crossing a very sensitive area. It is controlled by military and the police due to separatists movements in the past. I’m not going to enter into politics, and I really don’t have all the information, but I know what we have seen. Walled villages like in Middle ages with checkpoints and barriers at the entrance, a crazy number of checkpoints on the road with facial recognition systems, and cameras EVERYWHERE. I can say that the people living here it’s not really free, and that’s just what we are allowed to see.
Some pics from “the gang” on the road:
After having some noodles in a restaurant, the road starts being more and more interesting… We are in the mountains again!!! Loooots of photos comiiiiing!
I can do a lots of photos because I’m on the car with Gerry and Tony!
My “soloforawhile” rider!
A lake with no name… and yess you see in the same image a lake and a sand desert at more than 3000 m.
Happy face!
Yaks near Kara Kul lake… Am I dreaming???
The Kara Kul lake!
We keep going through this amazing landscapes until the last checkpoint of the day; there we stop to wait for the others to come. At the no name lake Tià and Marc said that they needed gas, because they don’t have enough to reach Tashkurgan. So they are going to search for some. Lukas arrives, but no clue about where the others are… then we wait more, and more, and more… we start getting nervous when Samuel, Eloi and Lucy arrive. Of course something peculiar happened. Tià said repeatedly to the guide, that he was not going to make it because he had any gas on the canisters. Getting gas was mandatory, not optional. Well, when they arrive to the gas station, it is impossible to refill the tank due to the selling politics in the area. Just 5 l for a local (ad the guide is from another region, so it doesn’t count as a local); After trying unsuccessfully that some guys buy for them gas, Eloi shows up and he offers 5 l from his tank to Tià (that’s a life saver!!). That’s the first time sucking benzine for Tià, it took around half an hour to fill the canister! Meanwhile, Marc and our beloved guide bribed the guy in charge and got 8 extra liters, those were shared between Marc and Tià.
Finally we are all together again, and we arrive to Tashkurgan safe and tired. We go to sleep soon, tomorrow it will be a long great day! We’ll say bye bye China and hello Pakistan!