I finally left Khorog after some good rest and lots of Indian food. There’s not much in this stunningly positioned town of 30,000. There are huge mountains on each side, a lovely modern mosque, a very fast flowing river (the Gunt River which joins the Panj river here) and not too much else except a great Indian restaurant and a nice coffee shop, Luni.
Yesterday, at the coffee shop, I met three young Belgian students who have also ridden from Bangkok to here, leaving a month earlier than I did. We’ve done so many similar things along the way that it’s amazing that we hadn’t met until today. They’re great guys. We talked for a while over coffee then decided to get some food around the corner. As we walked up the stairs to the restaurant, Marion came down. She and Ralf had spotted me walking down the street. Amazing. Upstairs the belgians ran into another group of cyclists, so half the restaurant was cycling.
I had dinner that night with Ralf and Marion and bid them farewell, as they are looping back to Murghab and then to Kashgar. Riding with them for a few days was wonderful.
Not far out of Khorog, I met two more Belgians going south. One of them was riding a cargo bike and had his dog in the front. We must have talked for 30 minutes until I realised that I still had the days ride in front of me and had to get going.
After that, it was a nice warm day, the first since Kyrgyzstan. Initially, the road was fine, but I’d been warned about it. It gradually got worse until at 30kms, it was a bumpy, worn out, rocky old road. Again, the trucks were struggling. One took 30 minutes to get past me. I stopped and took pictures along the way and it was still behind, such was the state of the road.
Today’s route followed the river that forms the boundary between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. You’re probably sick of me talking about amazing views but this narrow gorge was stunning for three days out of Khorog.
The ride consisted of me gawking at scenery and dodging potholes. That was about it.
On bad roads my mentality changes, especially here in Tajikistan. There’s no alternative, so you simply have to keep going and get the ride done, all the while enjoying where you are as much as possible. There’s also no point complaining, especially when you’re experiencing everything about this country. It’s a journey of acceptance, of where you are and what you’re doing – and it’s wonderful. It may not be relaxing and easy, but it’s an experience and I can see why many see this area as the pinnacle of cycling challenges.
I made it to Rushon which is quite a nice small town and got a cold drink. There were some other travellers around who warned me that the guesthouse is almost full, so I headed off to find it, stupidly placing my trust in google maps. Google plotted the location in the middle of the cemetery, so I backtracked and found it much closer to town.
I got a room in a six bed dorm with the old lady telling me that the single rooms are too expensive and that I should stay in the dorm.
Well, the place would have only 5 occupants tonight and the rooms aren’t too expensive but very nice. I have no idea why she suggested this. She gave exactly the same story to two Italians – brothers cycling in the opposite direction to me.
It actually rained that evening, so they drove us to a restaurant full of locals with many drinking beer – first time I’ve seen that in Tajikistan. The beer machine was great. To provide pressure to the tap, the lady running the show would use the attached bicycle pump. Hilarious and ingenious.
Dinner was nice, as was the beer and the friendly atmosphere. Also there, were a Dutch couple staying at the guesthouse – Kees and Nicole.
The dynamic between the Italians was really interesting. Little brother wasn’t feeling great and big brother, Giovanni (he’s a GP) tried to help but little brother was having none of it.
Nice people and actually a very nice guesthouse.