World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Tajikistan
38° | sunny | km 73
Where is the packet?
on 2016-06-08 in Tajikistan
After a lot of exhausting border controls, Tajikistan had a very nice surprise in stock for us! After we gave our passports and documents to some officer another came up to us and asked us if we wanted to drink some coffee. We followed him into a air conditioned room where he brought us some great local food and drinks. We enjoyed almost an hour of his company and food. Afterwards we went to the customs officer, got back our papers and without checking our bags he sent us on our way. What a great surprise!
We were instantly pleased to be in Tajikistan! The streets were well maintained with big good looking gas stations and one instantly noticed that Tajikistan had more wealth than the countries before. In contrast to the other countries we were not the center of everyones attention anymore. No selfies, no videos from cars that passed by. It actually felt nice for a change.
Shortly after we arrived in Dushanbe we were approached by Boris and invited to his local Motorcycle Club. He mentioned that they have a workshop. This was perfect because we had to do some repairs on the bikes before we went on to the Pamir region. When we got to the bike house he arranged a short transport to the Greenhouse Hostel. It is another meeting point for many travelers and turned out to be the perfect place for us for the next couple of days. We also made plans to meet with Boris and his friends the next day to get some of the minor issues on the bikes fixed. Both Africa Twins needed their fork seals changed since they were leaking, Bastis luggage system and Denis windscreen/GPS holder had to be welded. The seals for the Twins were set to arrive from Germany on that day so we hoped to get everything up and running and head out on Saturday.
Because of some bad coincidences and a lot of human error the package with the parts was delivered to Tashkent/Uzbekistan... After a lot of calls with Germany and DHL we were able to get the package sent to the right destination. We were told the package would arrive on Monday. So we utilized the new found time to give the bikes a good cleaning and repaired all other issues. At the end of the day we were done with all except the leaking forks.
The rest of the weekend we spent watching the European soccer games and updating our blog and videos. We especially enjoyed the German match and are looking forward to see more over the course of the next month. On Monday we found out that the package will arrive on Tuesday so we relaxed a bit more. But we are slowly starting to get anxious to get back on the road again. We have met many folks that told us about the terrible road conditions and beautiful scenery in Pamir, which is why we were really looking forward to head back out.
On Tuesday we had to find out that our package was destroyed in the Uzbekistan customs office due to dangerous materials (Oil). A bit disappointed we packed up our things, filled some car oil for automatic gearboxes in the forks of the ATs and decided to head out the following day.
We were instantly pleased to be in Tajikistan! The streets were well maintained with big good looking gas stations and one instantly noticed that Tajikistan had more wealth than the countries before. In contrast to the other countries we were not the center of everyones attention anymore. No selfies, no videos from cars that passed by. It actually felt nice for a change.
Shortly after we arrived in Dushanbe we were approached by Boris and invited to his local Motorcycle Club. He mentioned that they have a workshop. This was perfect because we had to do some repairs on the bikes before we went on to the Pamir region. When we got to the bike house he arranged a short transport to the Greenhouse Hostel. It is another meeting point for many travelers and turned out to be the perfect place for us for the next couple of days. We also made plans to meet with Boris and his friends the next day to get some of the minor issues on the bikes fixed. Both Africa Twins needed their fork seals changed since they were leaking, Bastis luggage system and Denis windscreen/GPS holder had to be welded. The seals for the Twins were set to arrive from Germany on that day so we hoped to get everything up and running and head out on Saturday.
Because of some bad coincidences and a lot of human error the package with the parts was delivered to Tashkent/Uzbekistan... After a lot of calls with Germany and DHL we were able to get the package sent to the right destination. We were told the package would arrive on Monday. So we utilized the new found time to give the bikes a good cleaning and repaired all other issues. At the end of the day we were done with all except the leaking forks.
The rest of the weekend we spent watching the European soccer games and updating our blog and videos. We especially enjoyed the German match and are looking forward to see more over the course of the next month. On Monday we found out that the package will arrive on Tuesday so we relaxed a bit more. But we are slowly starting to get anxious to get back on the road again. We have met many folks that told us about the terrible road conditions and beautiful scenery in Pamir, which is why we were really looking forward to head back out.
On Tuesday we had to find out that our package was destroyed in the Uzbekistan customs office due to dangerous materials (Oil). A bit disappointed we packed up our things, filled some car oil for automatic gearboxes in the forks of the ATs and decided to head out the following day.
36° | sunny | km 371
The gates of Pamir
on 2016-06-16 in Tajikistan
Our trip to Kalaikhum was great. We had decided to take the more scenic northern route even though it was supposed to be more challenging. Denis and Basti had put automatic transmission oil into their forks because they were not able to get the right oil in Dushanbe. Shortly after we hit the gravel they noticed that they had a lot less suspension travel than before. They decided to try and adjust the suspension to try to compensate the difference. It was better but they still had to ride more carefully. It was the first time we rode above 3400 meters. We did not experience any troubles with the height and the countryside was beautiful.
At night we decided to set up our tents at a local hostel. We met some bikers also on their way to Pamir and had a nice evening with them. We went to bed early to be ready for the road to Khorog. The next day started great we had gotten good fuel at a gas station behind Kalaikhum. The road was very bad but also very beautiful. It lead right along the Pyandzh river that separates Tajikistan from Afghanistan. As Denis lost one screw of his luggage system the first car we stopped immediately provided him with a new one. We managed to capture some great pictures and videos right before disaster struck…
On a dirt section along the river Fabi told Denis to slow down a bit so he could pass both of them to get a shot with the Sena camera. The way the dust was kicked up by their back tires along the mighty river looked great. Fabi speed up a bit to pass them and right after he passed through the dust he hit some big rocks. He did not see them so he could not evade them as usual. The rocks where so big that Fabi immediately knew that he screwed up. His front tire was flat and when he pulled over he saw a big dent in his front rim. After inspecting the bike a bit more we also noticed that the front fork tube was loose and loosing oil. We spent almost 4 hours directly in the sun trying to fix the front rim with our axe and reattached the front fork. We managed to get the front tire fixed with a tube and so we decided to try if we could manage the rest of the journey to Khorog. After 5 kilometers the right fork tube came loose and we knew there was no way of fixing it. Luckily we managed to stop a big truck that was empty and willing to take Fabi and his bike back to Dushanbe. After we stopped 2 more trucks and with the help of 7 people we were able to lift his BMW 1.70 meters up onto the back of the lorry. Uncertain what lay ahead Fabi jumped onto the truck and headed back.
We had agreed that we would talk as soon as he is back in Dushanbe and so we decided to head on to find a proper spot to set up camp for the night.
At night we decided to set up our tents at a local hostel. We met some bikers also on their way to Pamir and had a nice evening with them. We went to bed early to be ready for the road to Khorog. The next day started great we had gotten good fuel at a gas station behind Kalaikhum. The road was very bad but also very beautiful. It lead right along the Pyandzh river that separates Tajikistan from Afghanistan. As Denis lost one screw of his luggage system the first car we stopped immediately provided him with a new one. We managed to capture some great pictures and videos right before disaster struck…
On a dirt section along the river Fabi told Denis to slow down a bit so he could pass both of them to get a shot with the Sena camera. The way the dust was kicked up by their back tires along the mighty river looked great. Fabi speed up a bit to pass them and right after he passed through the dust he hit some big rocks. He did not see them so he could not evade them as usual. The rocks where so big that Fabi immediately knew that he screwed up. His front tire was flat and when he pulled over he saw a big dent in his front rim. After inspecting the bike a bit more we also noticed that the front fork tube was loose and loosing oil. We spent almost 4 hours directly in the sun trying to fix the front rim with our axe and reattached the front fork. We managed to get the front tire fixed with a tube and so we decided to try if we could manage the rest of the journey to Khorog. After 5 kilometers the right fork tube came loose and we knew there was no way of fixing it. Luckily we managed to stop a big truck that was empty and willing to take Fabi and his bike back to Dushanbe. After we stopped 2 more trucks and with the help of 7 people we were able to lift his BMW 1.70 meters up onto the back of the lorry. Uncertain what lay ahead Fabi jumped onto the truck and headed back.
We had agreed that we would talk as soon as he is back in Dushanbe and so we decided to head on to find a proper spot to set up camp for the night.
21° | sunny | km 513
The Separation!
on 2016-06-17 in Tajikistan
Fabi: The ride back to Dushanbe turned out to be a big challenge. The road was bad on motorcycles but with a 10 meter long lorry it was another experience completely. The potholes and dirt sections where so severe that all straps ripped more than once. The bike was in serious danger to break even further or even drop out of the carriage. Fabi had to check and readjust the bikes position almost every 30 minutes. To make things worse the lorry driver managed to run out of fuel twice. Also one battery broke down which in turn led to the other one exploding after some time. It was one hell of a journey and with the risk of the bike having even more serious troubles one Fabi would not risk to take anymore. Thanks to Tommy, Wolfgang, their team and his dad he was able to get the two forks in just 5 days. During his stay he met some nice people in the Greenhouse Hostel in Dushanbe. One of the most memorable one was Mirijam from Netherlands. She is riding on a heavily modified BMW 650 Xchallange and she had much of here past experiences to share. She helped Fabi to get his spirits back up and they made plans to meet along the journey again. On Thursday Fabi managed to repair everything, just in time to give Pamir another try. Friday morning, he set off to meet up with Basti and Denis in Khorugh. He had two days of riding solo in front of him but he was glad to get going again.
Basti & Denis: Fabi was gone! Basti und Denis tried a bit depressed to find a camping spot just a few meters after the spot of the accident. The sun had already set and the darkness was slowly creeping in. Except for breakfast we had not eaten and so they were looking forward to the noodles they were about to cook. The sauce was finished and the pot with water was on the stove. But after a short while the stove suddenly gave up and stopped working. Since it was dark already they decided to poor some olives into the sauce and eat it cold. They still had some canned fish that they also ate, sadly without any bread. Since they had at least a week time until they would meet up with Fabi again they decided to take the southern route through Ishkashim along the Afghan border up to Murgab. From there they would ride the northern route back to Khorugh if Fabi was able to fix his bike in time. Aside from the great countryside, several hot springs, the beautiful views and the incredible peaks, one of the biggest highlights was getting to know a Swiss couple: Liliana and Emil Schmid. They have been on a journey around the world for 32 years!!! By now they are 74 years old and very sympathetic. If you want to know more about these two you can find them in the Guinness Book of Records ;) or on their website.
After an eventful week they stayed in the same hotel in Khorugh waiting for Fabi to meet up with us the next day.
Basti & Denis: Fabi was gone! Basti und Denis tried a bit depressed to find a camping spot just a few meters after the spot of the accident. The sun had already set and the darkness was slowly creeping in. Except for breakfast we had not eaten and so they were looking forward to the noodles they were about to cook. The sauce was finished and the pot with water was on the stove. But after a short while the stove suddenly gave up and stopped working. Since it was dark already they decided to poor some olives into the sauce and eat it cold. They still had some canned fish that they also ate, sadly without any bread. Since they had at least a week time until they would meet up with Fabi again they decided to take the southern route through Ishkashim along the Afghan border up to Murgab. From there they would ride the northern route back to Khorugh if Fabi was able to fix his bike in time. Aside from the great countryside, several hot springs, the beautiful views and the incredible peaks, one of the biggest highlights was getting to know a Swiss couple: Liliana and Emil Schmid. They have been on a journey around the world for 32 years!!! By now they are 74 years old and very sympathetic. If you want to know more about these two you can find them in the Guinness Book of Records ;) or on their website.
After an eventful week they stayed in the same hotel in Khorugh waiting for Fabi to meet up with us the next day.
26° | sunny | km 0
Happy Reunion
on 2016-06-25 in Tajikistan
After being on the road for two days, Fabi managed to arrive in Khorugh around 12. Basti and Denis had already stayed the night and waited for him in a nice hotel near the river. Fabi had planned to try to convince the both of them to take the southern route through the valley again. But Denis and Basti had different plans. Both of them wanted to stay the day in Khorugh and continue to Murghab via the northern route the next day. They both feared too much damage to the bikes if they would go the southern route again. A bit sad Fabi gave in and sat down to listen to their stories about the past week.
Denis and Basti told him about the adventures they had and what they had experienced the past week.
Later that day we met with Mirijam and some other friends in the Pamir Lodge. A friend of Mirijam with an F800GS had problems with his fuel pump and we gave our best trying to help the poor guy out. We met many fellow travelers that we knew from the Greenhouse Hostel there. Some were camping others were using the rooms there. At night we had some Vodka with the owner of our Hotel and got ready for the journey ahead.
Denis and Basti told him about the adventures they had and what they had experienced the past week.
Later that day we met with Mirijam and some other friends in the Pamir Lodge. A friend of Mirijam with an F800GS had problems with his fuel pump and we gave our best trying to help the poor guy out. We met many fellow travelers that we knew from the Greenhouse Hostel there. Some were camping others were using the rooms there. At night we had some Vodka with the owner of our Hotel and got ready for the journey ahead.
23° | sunny | km 141
Drone Adé
on 2016-06-26 in Tajikistan
We got up early the next morning, to try to get as much time for our journey to Murghab. We planned to get some video footage and also lots of pictures so we set off around 9 o´clock. Just to find out that the entire city was in lock down because the Tajik president was visiting the town. We tried several routes out of the city but the way north was blocked by a lot of police. So we gave in and decided to make the best of it. We tried to capture some pictures of the president driving by. Sadly we managed to only capture a very dedicated cop and see possibly the hand of the president. We left as soon as the road blocks were dismissed, but our plan to start early already had failed.
We stoppend at a small cable bridge that was only held together by some sticks and decided to take a video of it. Basti had remembered a certain spot where he wanted to take out our drone and capture some footage of us riding through a small canyon. In the morning we had set a flight plan for the drone and our first test flight went great. So we decided to give it another shot and let the drone fly the given course. We had to come from the opposite direction so it was quite a challenge to be at the right spot at the right time. But when we saw the drone passing by we were convinced to have gotten a good shot of us. We headed back to the remote and started to wait for the drone to return to the given point. Fabi started walking towards the drone to try to get back the WiFi connection as soon as possible. For some reason he did not get the connection even when he went back up to the corner. A bit worried he started walking along the road trying to get back the connection. After some time we knew that the drone must have crashed, we were just not sure on where exactly it could have happened. We decided to try everything and walk alongside the entire given flight path. The problem was that the river was blocking some of the way and so Fabi and Basti set off to swim across it. It had quite a strong current but they managed to swim across and continue their search in the woods. After about 4 hours of searching we all had to come to the conclusion that finding the lost drone was impossible.
Very sad over the loss of our Drone we headed on to the next hot spring to make the best of the rest of this day. We wanted to try to watch the soccer game between Germany and Slovakia and asked the receptionist if the soccer game would be on in the evening. She told us yes and after dinner we sat down on our camping chairs in front of the TV eager to see the game. Punctual at 9 o’clock the receptionist switched to a soccer game but we had to find out it was some local teams playing against each other. We tried our best to convince them to put on the European Championship game but it was no use. Quite dissapointed we went to bed early in order to bring this sad day behind us.
We stoppend at a small cable bridge that was only held together by some sticks and decided to take a video of it. Basti had remembered a certain spot where he wanted to take out our drone and capture some footage of us riding through a small canyon. In the morning we had set a flight plan for the drone and our first test flight went great. So we decided to give it another shot and let the drone fly the given course. We had to come from the opposite direction so it was quite a challenge to be at the right spot at the right time. But when we saw the drone passing by we were convinced to have gotten a good shot of us. We headed back to the remote and started to wait for the drone to return to the given point. Fabi started walking towards the drone to try to get back the WiFi connection as soon as possible. For some reason he did not get the connection even when he went back up to the corner. A bit worried he started walking along the road trying to get back the connection. After some time we knew that the drone must have crashed, we were just not sure on where exactly it could have happened. We decided to try everything and walk alongside the entire given flight path. The problem was that the river was blocking some of the way and so Fabi and Basti set off to swim across it. It had quite a strong current but they managed to swim across and continue their search in the woods. After about 4 hours of searching we all had to come to the conclusion that finding the lost drone was impossible.
Very sad over the loss of our Drone we headed on to the next hot spring to make the best of the rest of this day. We wanted to try to watch the soccer game between Germany and Slovakia and asked the receptionist if the soccer game would be on in the evening. She told us yes and after dinner we sat down on our camping chairs in front of the TV eager to see the game. Punctual at 9 o’clock the receptionist switched to a soccer game but we had to find out it was some local teams playing against each other. We tried our best to convince them to put on the European Championship game but it was no use. Quite dissapointed we went to bed early in order to bring this sad day behind us.
8° | sunny | km 243
Over the highest peaks
on 2016-06-27 in Tajikistan
The main road was ok. You had to stay alert because the tarmac could always suddenly turn bad or even into gravel. We rode through some of the most wavy asphalt we had ever seen. With differences of up to 2 meters at some points. We had to take our time and keep our eyes on the road. Even though the scenery around us was simply put - out of this world.
We had met Mirijam at Alichur during lunch time. She had been invited by some locals to enjoy their home cooked meals and soon we were invited as well. We had fried fish and a very tasty noodle dish which gave us strength for the journey that lay ahead. We decided to stick together with Mirijam at least until Murgab. So the group of four took off for the next mountain to climb. All our bikes where handling the height fine. Mirijam just had some problems with bad gasoline but it was not too bad. We came up to a canyon that looked worth taking a closer look. The countryside at the top of Pamir is something else. There are almost no trees and a lot of brown rocks. Sometimes there are large river beds that are completely dried out or only have a little stream let keeping them alive. It is a harsh environment to ride through which amazed us even more how people could live here. We rode past a couple of shepherds with large herds of goats or what we soon started calling Bisons. They ware long haired cows with large horns and a funny face.
We got to Murgab and filled up our gas tanks with the best fuel we could find. Some 92 Octan mixed with 80 Octan :). We wanted to cross over the next peak but Mirijam felt a bit tired since she had been riding further that day. So we decided to split up, soon after Murgab we realized that it was quite late already and we had to go over the highest peak of 4655 meters. Since we wanted to take pictures and only ride with day light we decided together to set up camp and not climb over the mountain pass anymore. We actually managed to cook diner and make a camp fire all before the sun had set. The stars were incredible and we had a nice talk around the campfire. It quickly turned very cold though which is why we decided to go to bed quite early.
The next morning we took the road over the 4655 peak. It is supposed to be one of the highest paved road in the world. Just like we expected it was still a lot of gravel and also some of the heaviest wash boards we had ever ridden on. We passed a beautiful lake just before we decided to get some lunch. To our surprise Mirijam drove up and joined us. We were glad to see that she had also managed to pass the mountain and she looked excited to see us again. We decided to spend the rest of the day together and cross the border into Kyrgyzstan in each others company. On the Tajik border they wanted to see some papers none of us had ever gotten but with a little money that problem was quickly solved and quite a bit relieved we headed out of Tajikistan and towards Kyrgyzstan.
We had met Mirijam at Alichur during lunch time. She had been invited by some locals to enjoy their home cooked meals and soon we were invited as well. We had fried fish and a very tasty noodle dish which gave us strength for the journey that lay ahead. We decided to stick together with Mirijam at least until Murgab. So the group of four took off for the next mountain to climb. All our bikes where handling the height fine. Mirijam just had some problems with bad gasoline but it was not too bad. We came up to a canyon that looked worth taking a closer look. The countryside at the top of Pamir is something else. There are almost no trees and a lot of brown rocks. Sometimes there are large river beds that are completely dried out or only have a little stream let keeping them alive. It is a harsh environment to ride through which amazed us even more how people could live here. We rode past a couple of shepherds with large herds of goats or what we soon started calling Bisons. They ware long haired cows with large horns and a funny face.
We got to Murgab and filled up our gas tanks with the best fuel we could find. Some 92 Octan mixed with 80 Octan :). We wanted to cross over the next peak but Mirijam felt a bit tired since she had been riding further that day. So we decided to split up, soon after Murgab we realized that it was quite late already and we had to go over the highest peak of 4655 meters. Since we wanted to take pictures and only ride with day light we decided together to set up camp and not climb over the mountain pass anymore. We actually managed to cook diner and make a camp fire all before the sun had set. The stars were incredible and we had a nice talk around the campfire. It quickly turned very cold though which is why we decided to go to bed quite early.
The next morning we took the road over the 4655 peak. It is supposed to be one of the highest paved road in the world. Just like we expected it was still a lot of gravel and also some of the heaviest wash boards we had ever ridden on. We passed a beautiful lake just before we decided to get some lunch. To our surprise Mirijam drove up and joined us. We were glad to see that she had also managed to pass the mountain and she looked excited to see us again. We decided to spend the rest of the day together and cross the border into Kyrgyzstan in each others company. On the Tajik border they wanted to see some papers none of us had ever gotten but with a little money that problem was quickly solved and quite a bit relieved we headed out of Tajikistan and towards Kyrgyzstan.