Unfortunately the Pamir Highway was still very much closed and heavily guarded so, having travelled right up to the road block, we were turned away.  But as disappointed as we all were we were quickly ‘all over it’ as we were then allowed to travel travelling a different route to Osh , that is normally closed to foreigners,  so we were still privy to some spectator mountain views and we all enjoyed our time in Tajikistan .  Moving on to Kyrgyzstan we spent a few days camping at Lake Song-Kol where some choose to stay in the local yurts and, for those who fancied it, horse riding and walking was on the agenda and for those who didn’t fancy doing much, it was quite nice having nothing to do for a change as no electricity, internet or even a phone signal was to be had – it was simple living at its best.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan

We then headed for the beautiful lake Issyk-Kol, the world’s second largest alpine lake and worked our way around the lake to spend a couple of days at Jeti Orghuz where most took to the mountains for a day walking.

Kyrgyzstan - Lake Song Kol



Kyrgyzstan - Local kids who live at Lake Song Kol

Local horseman - Kyrgyzstan - Lake Song Kol

Mustering their horses - Kyrgyzstan - Lake Song Kol

Jenny and the local girls. Kyrgyzstan - Lake Song Kol

Getting their water from the well. Kyrgyzstan - Lake Song Kol


 

Spending a couple of days relaxing in Bishkek (even if we were in a hostel with 30 people and one bathroom and toilet – this is where our camp shower came in into its own as we put it up in the yard)! We took in the sights and sounds, stocked up on some excellent restaurant meals and then headed for Kazakhstan, bush camping on the outskirts of Almaty at a nearby National Park, where a few choose to go into the Tian Shan mountains on a (rather difficult) overnight trek while the rest of us hit the shops and sights of the city.

Travelling through the rest of the country we stocked up for the next big leg of our journey as nearly a month of bush camping in the wilds of Russia and Mongolia was on the cards!

Siberia, Russia was a real treat, back to cold weather  and all wrapped up we were treated to spectacular scenery and fantastic bush camps, night after night, the landscape was lush and it was a wonderful experience to travel though this vast country (well just a fraction of it really).  With lots of stogy meals of meat stews and potatoes, the (not quite so smiley it has to be said) locals treated us well and we were allowed to camp freely and pretty much do what we want which was rather unexpected.

Lake Baikal - Russia

Camping at Lake Baikal  - Russia

Reluctant to leave Russia but looking forward to experiencing Mongolia we pitch up at the Mongolian border and experience our first (surprisingly)  problem with immigration as the lovely border official refuse to accept the visas in our passports and force us to purchase new ones (it was only a fiver but still… rather annoying).  So after many hours of mucking around and waiting we were finally allowed in!  We make our way to Ulaanbaatar we find it a fantastic city, filled with temples, monasteries and monks walking the streets.  It certainly is an exotic destination but also very modern with stunning women, dressed in the latest fashion and excellent restaurants and a great night life. 

Genghis Khan - Mongolia

Gobi Desert - Mongolia

It was so good we had to spend an extra day here before leaving and entering the Gobi desert, bound for China!