Jimbosidecar's travel blogs:
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Trans-Eurasia 2005 Part 10
Entry 9 of 14 | show all | print this entry |
Greetings from Hotv, Mongolia
Last time I had access to a computer
I was in Novosibirsk, Russia I think. I didn't know at the time but the
best part of Russia was just coming up. I took the hiway south and once
I passed Barnul the place was transformed. I was now in the mountains
(Show me round your snow capped mountains way down south...The Beatles)
I stayed in the small town of Manma for the night. Got a decent meal at
a nearby cafe. This road runs along side a river and it is a smooth
road and just as picturesque as any place I've ridden on this trip.
The "Hotel" is a converted barn with a common bath and shower on the
2nd floor but the price is right at about US$ 18.00 per night. I get an
early start the next morning and continue south. There is an outdoor
market on the right in a village and the main item for sale is honey.
Every stall has jars of different colored honey. Here I meet someone
who speaks English, an Englishman with his Russian girlfriend (who may
actually speak better English than he!). They are touring with her
family in a Toyota Landcruiser. I buy something that looks like a fried
bread roll filled with honey and head off southward. So far I'm missing
rain although it is VERY close. I'm going to try and make the Mongolian
border tonight, but I just can't help myself. I'm stopping for pictures
every half hour or so. Problem is all 3 of my memory flash cards are
now full, so I have to delete things to take in these new sights. It is
pretty chily up here in the mountains and there is snow on all the
peaks. But I'm making pretty good time between 80-90 KPH (about 40-50
MPH) which is about as fast as I've been able to ride this entire trip
in Russia.
I stop at a cafe (this is easy, it's spelled almost the same in
Russian) and a Kazak woman who speaks English helps me order meat and
potatos.
After lunch I continue through the most beautiful scenery I've seen to
date. But I finally leave the mountains and ride out on a flat plain
that looks like a desert. I finally get to Tasanta, the Russian border
and it's 7:15 PM. Problem is they close at 7:00 PM. There is already a
long line of Kazak plated cars waiting for the border to re-open in the
morning. The closest hotel I'm told is about 75 kms back the way I
came, so I head off backtracking. I remembered seeing a gas station
back there so not all is lost. I didn't bring my map with me to this
internet cafe so I'm already forgetting the name of these towns. I end
up finding a hotel in this one-horse town but it is full! Lucky enough
for me, there is a Russian father and son who know the owner very well,
and she opens the room of a sleeping guest, takes one of the beds out
of her room (she never woke up) and moved it into her office. This is
my room for the night. There also is no restaurant, but the Russians
invite me to their room for Chinese instant noodles. They are from
Barnaul, down here surveying for the "squatters" so they will receive a
legal deed for the land they occupy. I suppose squatters is too harsh a
word, but I can't think of another word for them. They live in homes
they built on former Soviet land. Now the land is in the process of
being transferred to the people who occupy it and this father and son
are sent down here by the government to procure for them a legal deed.
Pretty noble work. The son speaks English very well.
That night the huge thunder clouds that have been stalking me all day
open up. Once again somebody upstairs is looking out for me. The rain
is coming down in biblical proportions and because this land is so dry,
it immedietely causes flooding. But I'm high and dry in my office/room
for the night although there is no water!
The next morning I head off early so I can be at the border crossing at
9:00 AM when they open. I arrive and get in line behind about 6 busses
and 6 cars. Around 9:30 I decide to mosey up to the front of the line
to see what's going on. By now I am the talk of the line as there is
only one American and one motorcycle. The customs officer motions me to
bring my bike up to the front of the line and soon waves me to the
immigration post about 100 meters up the road. There I get "processed"
and moved ahead of everyone and within an hour I'm through with Russia
and headed for Mongolia. But another 5 kms up the road there is another
border post also in Russia who checks my receipt for clearing customs
and I'm finally waved on my way. The road is smooth surprisingly and
about 20 kms further on up I finally arrive at Mongolian customs point.
Only it is under construction so I get motioned to ride onto the grass
and come around the construction zone. Only there is a small river
running across the grass. I make it across and again get motioned up to
the front of the line where there is just 1 jeep and one van.
Unbelievably, these 2 fellows collide into each other jockying to get
in front. While they're arguing, I move in front of both of them. As
usual, on a bike I'm the focus of their attention and one customs lady
speaks Chinese (which I understand). So I'm ale to communicate with
her, but they aren't letting anybody into Mongolia until they process
the people who are exiting Mongolia first. This takes about 1 hour, and
then all the customs people leave for lunch. So we're sitting around at
the gate for 2 hours when they come back from lunch. I'm the 1st person
through and within an hour I'm cleared through. It looks like
Tsagaannuur is just 30 kms up the road so I stop at one of the Yurts at
the border for lunch, water, and to change money. The host is very
accomodating and refuses to accept payment for lunch. He was
recommended to me by the customs lady who speaks Chinese. The exchange
rate I get for Russian Roubles is half of what it should be, but I
figure it's still worth it for the free lunch and getting passed
through customs. They asked me for my visa, and when I explained to
them that Americans don't need a visa for Mongolia, they stare at me in
disbelief. So it is worth the loss in exchange.
After lunch (about 4:00 PM now) I head off for Tsagaannuur. The road is
gravel but not too bad. When I arrive at Tsagaannuur, it looks like 5
buildings that were hit by a bomb. There is no life here. So, the next
town on my map is Hotv and it is 250 kms away I think. Riding along the
scenery is even more beautiful that southern Russia, but there are no
people. Once in a while I find a yurt to ask directions because there
are only paths, no roads. There are mountains now and lakes but no
roads. I'm getting a little nervous as the sun is setting, rain clouds
are threatening and I haven't a clue when I'll hit Hotv.
I ask directions at every Yurt I see and they all just point eastward.
There are a few small rivers I have to cross, so I have to find some
large roacks to pile in the water that I can ride across. The water is
too deep for my 36 year old bike. After the 3rd one, I think I'm
getting pretty good at bridge-building! Now it is almost dark and I
still haven't a clue where I'm going or when I'll get there. Not the
way I wanted to ride across Mongolia. I can barely see a big river to
the left of me which is bordered by sheer cliffs on the far side. I
wish it was daylight so I could see it! I'm about to give it up and try
and camp out when I see a single light on maybe a few kilometers in the
distance. I think it must be Hotv so I head towards the light. It's
like a lighthouse as far as I'm concerned. When I arrive, it turns out
it is a quarry and the light is on the one machine. But there are a
group of about 6 men who all point me towards a town called Ugi
(pronounced). It's 50 kms they say and now it is completely dark, I
decide to head onwards. Riding on a road at night is bad enough for me,
but riding on a path is much worse.
But I finally see a cluster of lights and a radio tower so I head down
the mountain I'm on into town. As I get into town, a taxi stops to drop
off some passengers, and I hail this cab to lead me to a hotel. I'm
still using sign language since Russia to make a sign like I'm sleeping
and it serves me well. He leads me to a hotel, again no water, but it's
a bed and I need one bad.
They even manage to find me some bottled water before I pass out.
The next morning I find my starter switch which was working
intermittantly is now permanently not working. I hail some passerbys to
give me a push start (in the morning is the worst for starting my bike,
I swear it doesn't want to wake up before 10:00) and I get the bike to
start up. First stop a gas station where they only have 80 gas. I don't
know what 80 gas is, but I hope it will run in my bike. In Russia, I
saw 80 gas but I was always using 95 or 96 with the once in a while
treat of 98. Anyway it works and my next stop is to find something to
eat. I find a small shop with bread, cheese, bottled water and cookies
so that takes care of me for breakfast and lunch.
On my way out of town I run into a Landcruiser with an American aboard.
he tells me to follow the main road (which is a wider path than the
non-main roads) and I should be in Hotv in 4-5 hours. He must drive
faster than me!
The scenery leaving Ugi is once again just spectacular. There is a huge
lake with mountains coming right down to the waters edge and not a soul
to be seen. I'm tempted to go for a swim just to wash up, but the water
is near freezing. The ride is long and tough. The path I'm following is
taken mostly in 1st and sometimes 2nd gear. I'm trying to calculate my
gas mileage at these speeds and hope between my full gas tank and my 2
1/2 gallon spare can if I have enough to make the 200 kms to Hotv. The
answer is just. I stop along the way to give a ride to an old lady and
her son who need to cross a mountain. I then stop to help another biker
(Mongolian) but he waves me off. I cross 2 more rivers by building my
stone bridges and the thunder clouds are hovering just in front of me.
Lightining is striking the ground well in front of me, but I realize
I'm the highest object for maybe a hundred miles in every direction.
And it is snowing just off to the south! Here all the peaks are
copvered in snow and again the scenery is stunning. I come across a
swift flowing river that I don't think I can cross. And now there are
no large rocks I can throw into the water to reduce it's depth. So I
ride about a kilometer down stream not finding any better place to
cross so I come back to the main path and give it a try. I almost made
it too!!! The front tire is across and up on the far side bank. But my
rear tire has dug in in the water and the frame is resting on the
riverbank's edge. The exhaust is bubbling under the water and I'm
looking around for someone, anyone. Suddenly, so fast it startled me, a
horseman rides over to me. Now I haven't seen a soul in about 3 or 4
hours and here is someone who comes across my path just in time.
Between the 2 of us standing in knee deep water we manage to push the
bike up on the banking. Did I mention someone must be looking out for
me. So I ride off, giving thanks to the horseman and to God. I make all
kinds of promises to God if I get across Mongolia with my bike in 1
piece. So when I get back to Beijing I may have to become a preacher.
Riding along, I come across a cafe, and when I stop to take a look, a
foreigner comes out to greet me. He's a Frenchman hitchhiking across
Russia and Mongolia. He's in this small village for their Nadam
festival. Nadam is the once a year festival where the 3 sports of horse
racing, archery, and wrestling are performed. I bid my goodbyes (and
good luck!) and head off. I'm now well past my 4-5 hours ride and Hotv
is still nowhere in sight. And the path is only getting rougher and
rougher, and the dark thunder clouds are getting closer and closer as
well. Time for more prayers!!!
Riding along I come across a Mercedes 190E broken down. I stop to help
and fortunately for them I have exactly the bolt they need to re-attach
their driveshaft yoke. While I'm helping them, I'm thinking is there a
more un-appropriate car for this land? The owner asks me if I have a
gun. I say no, and he then asks me if I'm riding alone. I think I
should lie and say there is a posse just coming up behind me, but
before I think of this I tell him yes, I'm alone. He nexts wants to
take my bike for a ride. I say no. So as quickly as I can pack up my
tools I'm outa there. Makes me want to think twice about stopping to
help anybody but if I don't stop who knows how long they will just sit
there. I've now been riding over 8 hours and I think I'v seen maybe 4
vehicles all day and 2 of them were broken down. But off I ride and I'm
told I'm just 35 kms from Hotv. My rear tire is completely bald, I have
no more water, little food and almost no gas. Could I be more
un-prepared? So now instead of praying, I'm badgering myself over how
stupid I am.
I now come across a path crossing (an intersection if there were
roads). the path to the left looks bigger and it is heading for another
big lake so I think Hotv must be situated on the lake. Abouth 10
kilometers later I find out this is not Hotv and it is not a city
either. There are a few yurts and some more buildings that look like
someone dropped bombs on them. They have terrorists in Mongolia???
So I turn around and head back to the path intersection and take a left
which leads to yet another moutain peak crossing. By now I hate
mountains.
Bu thankfully on the other side of this mountain is a city, it must be Hotv.
As I'm now speeding down the path towards Hotv I run out of gas. Geez-
I'm just 8 kms from town and I run out. If I didn't make that wrong
turn back there, I'd be in a hotel already. But I do have a little left
in my plastic container so the rest of it goes into my tank and as I
push start it, my rear tire goes flat. I can almost see a hotel and I'm
in the road, with about a million mosquitoes having a bancquet on my
skin changing a tire. Or attempting to change a tire. It turns out I
don't have a 23 m/m socket for the axle nut. I have every size but the
one I need!
A family in a Ural stops to help, but Ural axle nuts are 19 m/m so he
has no help. I do have one can of fix-a-flat in my sidecar so I give it
a go. Fortunately it fills up the tire and I push onward towards town.
Once I get to town I stop as my tire is back completely flat but soon a
van stops and they are all over my bike taking the spare off, changing
it for the flat tire and just being great people. They even point me
towards a hotel once I get back on the bike. I check into a hotel
(again no water! Doesn't anyone take a bath in Mongolia?) and an
English speaking guy offers to be my guide while I'm here.
I need plenty of help now as my headlight ears are both broken off, I
have them taped together holding up my headlight bucket which on a BMW
holds all the electricals for the bike, the rear fender bracket is also
broken, and the windsheild mount is also broken. These paths are rough
on a bike (and me).
So today my guide meets me at 10:00 and takes me to a welder where for
about US$ 5.00 I get my headlight ears welded, my rear fender bracket
welded, my windshield mount welded, and another shop fixes the floor my
my sidecar which is also broken through the fiberglass.
Next stop, look for an ATM. Guess what- they never heard of an ATM
here. But at least the bank is able to give me some cash against my
credit card, or else I may end up having to live here!
Now I'm at an internet cafe sending this waiting for my guide to come
back with some fresh oil so I can change the oil and filter, adjust the
carbs, and plan for tomorrows ride towards Altay. I'm told it's just
300 kms away but if that's true that means at least 12 hours and maybe
more on some of the roughest terrain I've ever come across.
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