Week 14 (Nepal, a bit like coming home)

9/21

Woke up at 8, hung over, no breakfast, standing in line to cross the border. Wehad to cross by foot and the truck was checked in later. The waiting took 2 hours, the crossing another hour and then waiting for the truck for 3 more hours. Meanwhile we ate some at a little, cheap nepalese restaurant. I did remember the taste of the food from 12 yaers ago, when in was in Nepal too.
Now on the narrow mountain road to the first Nepalese bush camp. Laterz.

The bush camp is actually a camping lot. So, luxury. We stay here for 2 nights. The others go Bungy jumping and so on. Not me though. Brr. The drive up here was stunning again.

And now, we're in the tropical heath again. No more cold nights for a long while, if all goes according to plan.
And then.... it started to rain, and rain, and rain..... Laterz.

Marians and Greg's diner was delicious. An expensive beer (4 US$) and 10 hours of sleep later.... it was


9/22

Half the trip is done (not taken into consideration, that i have 4 more months after Bali/Sydney).
Breakfast was an omelet. The bravest of us are going to bungyjump (the sensible of us aren't ;-) ). Waiting for that now.

We viewed hte bumgyjumpers from a nice balcony of a near restaurant over cokes. Brave people. Took about 200 pictures of all my jumping collegues with Matts camera. Big distance though, so... quality is not that good.

After the jumping Dave and I crossed the bridge to have a beer with the jumpers. Tempting to have another i went back to the truck. then i remebered that i forgot to get my raincoat, so... went back and... had another beer.
The walk back was fantastic: the bridge, the view from the bridge...

<Davids pic of me on the bridge>

.. the scenery , but took a lot longer than the way up.
Arrived here at the camping lot, took a great (open air) shower, napped for 30 mins, dinner and drinks and a long night sleep again.


9/23

Rose at 7.40, breakfast, and... waiting for a jeep to arrive,  to guide us to Katmandu. I wonder if we are going to make it today. We'll see.  Laterz.
(Oh yeah, two times bitten by leeches, saw giant praying mantras, huge slugs, no snakes though... so far, brrr.)

PS. We stay here (at the camping lot) in bungalow sized tents. This summer some landslides took place here. A piece of rock came down and hit tent nr. 2. To get an impression of the size of the rocks, sliding down.... here's the rock, that now covers tent nr. 2. Tents are bungalow sized!

Then the waiting for Will, his investigation of the road and the jeep started, and went on and on and on...

And that turned out to be only the beginning of the problem.

Here's the story:
13.00 or so will returned. We went to the emergency  road, to find out that we had to wait until it was our turn to pass by. Only one direction at the time. The road seemed hard, but with digging and the help of a bulldozer we might be able to make it. Waiting for our turn...
18.30. After having inspected the most difficult parts of the road we got the sign: GO!. So we did... for a few 100 meters. Then there were still trucks coming from the other direction and so... we slept on the truck just a few 100 meters on the emergency road to Katmandu.


9/24

Woke up at 5.30 (first daylight). Greg and I inspected the upcoming road and indeed, no trucks from the other side... because this direction got stuck. Damn!
Well, we had to pass a sherp and steep bending first, so the was the first problem. Everybody digged, put sand mats under the wheels, pushed and slowly... no, impossible. After having tried for 2 hours (with help of some locals), we managed to do the bending, with the help of a bulldozer, that pulled us upwards.

9:00 Waiting till we could go further. Big parts of the raod had to be repaired, due to heavy rainfall last night. Afer about 6 hours we reached the other end...

All ends well you may think. NOT.

First of all: truck drivers can (and do) park their vehicles along the emergency road (so you can use only half the road. That is ridiculous and incredibly stupid, but no police regulations are applicable apperently. Police themselves? To afraid to get their uniforms dirty, so they (literally) do nothing. No authority at all.
Consequence: trucks had to  beremoved, before our side could pass and that took ages. Then finally when we arrived at the other end... a bus driver just refused to go back and let us pass. I went up to a policeman, hoping to convince him that he should explain to the busdriver to get his ass out of there, but... "Yes, sir, no problem" and do nothing again. In the end (that's after an hour) Alli, Greg and I shouted at the busdriver to go back. He finally got the idea, that it was the only sensible thing to do.

Now, 14.00 we finally are moving on the right way towards Katmandu. I thank God.

And i hereby officially declare all Nepalese truck- and bus drivers, as wel as all Nepalese policemen complete idiots. Period. I want a hot shower, a comfortable bed and a cold beer at Sams bar tonight.

18.30 Arrived in Katmandu, Tired to the bone, but... still did a good steak and a nice "Brain Crusher" In Sams bar. Slept like a log, as u can imagine.


9/25

Woke up at 7 (i think). Got a bit of a cold/caugh. Lots of polution here.
Anyhow, did a "good old" breakfast in the garden of Delima Cafe (as i did with my fellow travellers in 2003, every day). Brought back good memories. Then, updating, money transfers (that didn't work out), hair cut, chat with friends abroad, and now... another cafe garden and finally update my blog (over a chicken burger, a coffee and a large beer).

Did so, napped for half an hour, shopped, went to Sam's bar, had a beer with Will, episode of start trek to finish the day.


9/26

Slept, snoozed, internetted until almost 10! Bought a new shirt, ATM, breakfast. Internet cafe to do some financial transactions (tried anyway, Western Union sucks!). The to the Durban square (one big memory flash). Like the place a lot. Think i could live in Katmandu.

Bought a new pair of very comfy pants and new slippers. Updated blog again (week 12 and 13) in chill cafe (Electric Pagoda).
Gonna nap again and repeat last night. Laterz.

Had a very bad pizza and a beer at Sam's.

Will, James and Alli were there too, but the music was too loud for a good conversation.
Sleep... zzzz.



9/27

Rose at 8, but interneted till 10. 3rd breakfast in a row in Delima Garden, just like 12 years ago with Eric Baxter and Arnoud Schutte. Coffee with Corine, slow stroll to Durban square, napped, got my laundry and thought of an excuse to go to the chill garden again and zip a beer.... That's it!, week 14 is almost over, so i can update my blog there. Anything that happens between now and 12 PM i will add later....

So here i am.... Yeah, guess where.

And this is what happened:

Got home, napped, ate with Dave, Corine, Dennis and Marianne, beers at Sams and 1 more here at the hotel. Bad, short sighted discussion about poverty and what caused it, sleep. Still did a star trek episode...

Week 13 (Tibet (No, that's not China. Not! You hear me?))

9/14

Congrats Moop, Eric, Henk and of course Mariya. 4 friends have their birthday on the 14th.
Rose at 6.45. Had to make breakfast with Tim (and Carlos, Matt and Jean from the other cookgroup) in the freezing cold. Hell! My hands almost froze off. OK, wanted to go to Tibet, there you are then. On the road again now.

Drove all day long. One police check after another. Arrived in Lhasa at 20.00h. Checked in the Tibet Grand Hotel. The name is more than the content. The lobby is impressive, the rooms smell. Anyway, better than the icecold bush camps for a while. Laterz. Want to get a glimpse of the city, before i go to sleep.
And check my mail on this unprotected wifi thing.

City is nice, but totally chinesed. Still need to find the original Tibet-like part of town. Well, got 2 days for that.


9/15

What a good night sleep in a luxury bed. Slept 8 hours solid. Woke up at 8, breakfast in the hotel was good. Tried to do some stuff on the net, but wifi is far too slow. Found a "they have it all" supermarket. Will go there again for some more necessities. Funny how happy you can be with little things when you're traveling. Laterz.

Yep, found the right razor blades. And a (too feminine) after shave. And good finally access my e-mail. Taking a nap now. Laterz.

Had diner and Went shopping once more in the evening and came back at 10(ish). Star trek episode finalized the day.


9/16

Woke up at 7.30, breakfast and visited a Tibetan monistary, together with Tim and Nam (our local tourguide here). Well, you know Tim and religion... poor Nam. It was interesting though, but... everything costs money. A bit contradictional to the buddhist principle of not being attached to materials, isn't it.

Getting some lunch now.

Afternoon: shopping, internetting, long strolls, Evening:: long stroll, shower, shave, long chat with Lenie (who?), star trek episode and a beer now. Tomorrow on the road again. The (hopefully) last series of cold bush camps.


9/17

Rose at 8.00, breakfast, packed and on the road again. It's raining, it's cold, Tim and I do cookgroup (probably in the dark). To go short: not the most enjoyable part of the trip. Want to go to the tropics again! Laterz.

The trip over the three passes (up to over 5K again) was stunning. One picture is not enough:

Arrived at bush camp lot too late (as to be expected), so (partly cooked in the dark. All went well though. Slept on the truck, which was a lucky choice, since it poored with rain. Poor Ozzie Alley and Greg flooded out of their tents and so they went sleeping on the truck as well. I had a good night sleep, despite the little moving space.


9/18

Rose at 6.30 (spontaneously), did breakfast with (a grumpy (and that IS grumpy)) Tim. Went well again. On the road again. Lots of things to do today. Gonna be a long day (if all goes according to plan (which never is the case...;-) )).

9:00 visted a monistary, that's to say, some did. Most of us seized the opportunity to dry their tents:

The people in the street were so friendly. They brought us coffee, while we used (unasked!) their territory to dry our tents. Now there's a way to treat foreigners, isn't it. Wilders eat your f*cking heart out.

14.00 Shopped in nice little Tibetian town. Heavy rain about to start...

Drove on till 19.30 or so. Late bushcamp. Slept at 9, coz have to rise early tomorrow (5 AM). Did sleep good though.


9/19

Rose at 5.15. No breakfast, coz... on the road, so the EBC (Everest Base Camp) people good be delivered at the agreed spot.
We arrived there at 10.30. Ik don't go to EBC, since the main road to there is blocked, due to construction. So u have to take a 4WD car, to get there, by a mud track and that costs... US$ 380,-. Im not crazy Henkie. Just for your face in a picture with Mount Everest in the back ground. So the rest of us have the afternoon to relax at the next bush camp spot. On our way to theree now.

Lovely, warm, sunny afternoon at the bush camp spot. Dried all the tents, little laundry, got sunburned, played guitar, had two beers, untill ... it got really chilly and it's probably going to rain heavily now. Updating blog in my tent now. Laterz.

The rain didn't come. The sun came back. At 18.30 the Everest group returned. Had diner, the sun disappeared, so it became cold. 5 of us (Brenda, James, Will, Matt and me) sat down in the front of the truck, passing the i-pod around, do everybody picked a favourite song of him/her and explained why. Meanwhile the sun set over the Himalaya's in the distance. A memorable moment.

Went to my tent at 10.30 or so, watched a star trek episode and slept like a log. Nice and warm, until 7.40.


9/20

Rose at 7.40, Ozzie breakfast (fried eggs, beaked beans on toast), packed and about to go on the road again. Towards the Nepalese border.
China, in all, wasn't that fantastic to me as i had hoped. The environment is great, but it's a totaliry system, a police state and that is noticable (check after check). Besides that... hygiene... you will not believe the toilets ... i mean.. India is bad, but not the worse... and sometimes people are so rude and filthy... i mean.. burbing, picking your nose, farting, spitting on the floor, every body does it every now and then... but NOT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT. Tank you very dutch!. Well, back to today, If all goes according to plan we will be in Nepal in 2 days. Laterz.

Nice scenery along the friendship highway between Tibet and Nepal (sworn enemies untill the 1800's).

Then.. trucks, parked along the 5meter wide mountain road. So, Dennis, Carlos and I guided the truck along the edges of the road. It was terrifying, how close to the edges we came. It ook us hours before we got to the border, where we slept in the truck, so we could cross early the next morning.

You know, rain, snow, cold, arriving too late, being exhausted, I can handle it, but... there is a point, when i snap, I break. Too much to handle. It came when, in the middle of a long row of trucks that slowed us down tremendously, i saw this:

I cried for hours...


And what do you do when you have to wait... exactly, you drink beer. A lot, So i started the next day with a hangover, that still bothers me. But it was great fun. (Almost) everybody  joined in, Playing guitar was hardly doable (due to alcohol abuse), but good fun it was.

And Greg... he made a new friend....

Week 12 (West China)

7/9

Rose at 8, after a good sleep. Breakfast and see the old  sandstone city <find out name>. Walked there for an hour with Marianne. Then on the road again, to the next cave-like, underground city. Not for me though. Preferred to use the time to  update my blog. Laterz.

A lake, another sand stone minaret, the grape valley, i all let them pass. Too expensive and not that interesting. Group rumours: find a nice lake/river and relax for 3 days, since we have to pass time here in China, before we know if we can go into Tibet (and so: Nepal, India and Birma) or not. Ok, we'll see how this ends.

Now, did a small shoppping (only needed water) and wait for the rest to come back, so we can find a bush camp place.

Bush camped at a river on sandstone. Quite ok actually. Arrived early (18.00), so we could do everything in daylight, what made it all a lot easier and more pleasant. Slept a long night (9 hours or so).


8/9

Rose at 7.30. Normal morning routine. 9.00 on the road again.

Long day driving again. Still chinese desert. Pausing at petrol stations for pee's and shopping.
Cold night, but slept well. Even saw an episode of Star Trek in my tent before i went to sleep. Anyhow, tonight there is a hotel. Yeee!


9/9

Woke up at 7.40. Breakfast was a huge pile of pancakes (burps; won't have lunch). On the road to Dunhuang, where we'll stay in a hotel.
Arrived in Dunhuang round 13.30. Strolled around town. Nice and cosy place. Did laundry and stuff.
Went for a bite at 7, but.... found my travelmates, drinking heavily. What else could i do than join them. It became very late, even went to the disco. Dennis and I dragged eachother home, but.. good fun it was.


9/10

Woke up at 8 with a huge hangover, which lasted the whole day. Tried to get some extra sleep after breakfast, but couldn't. Then the good news. Permit for Tibet is approved. So, Tibet, Nepal, India and Birma... here we come. Yes!

At noon we left for the caves of Dunhuang. Nice but not spectecular and certainly not worth 220 juan. Very sleepy now. Get myself an extra hour of sleep now i think.

Ate at 20.00h on the central square of the night market.  Nice food, rude service. Saw an episode of star trek in the hotel over a beer with Carlos. Slept well.


9/11

Woke at 7.30, crappy breakfast in the hotel. Chatted with Rosalyn (friend in Manilla). Packed. Now on our way to... Tibet. Itinerary for SE asia and Australia is to be discussed again. We'll see. Don't want to pay an extra 400 pound sterling though.... hmmm...

Long drive on high altitude again (3000-4000m). Lunch stop at petrolstaion, lots of attention for the truck again by some chinese students. Nice people.Had a good chat with two of them. And the road now again.

Drove on through the afternoon, had a cold bush camp at high altitude. Did not sleep very well.


9/12

Woke up at 7. Hardly slept. Moody now. Have to do cookgroup too tomorrow (shopping today). I hate cookgroup. Well, u can tell... I'm not in a good mood. Grrr.

10.45 Did the shopping with Tim. Together with the other cookgroup, who cook tonight. Couldn't find a blanket, nor extra oxygene. Well, we'll see.

Also met the new Tibetian guide. His name is Nam. Nice guy.

15.30. We now have 2 policemen on board and two guides and it snows heavily. Not comfortable at all. And i need to pee. That too.

Then a truckaccident blocked the road...

The way around then was also blocked by a sliding truck...

So delay of more than 3 hours, which made us drive on untill 2.30am. No cookgroups, slept on the truck (lousy as to be expcted, though... got some sleep).
So, we rolled into...


9/13

Breakfast at 8.30. Still cold. Feel ok though. No alcohol is the advice and so, we don't. Altitude was about 4 K, but don't feel too bad (knock on wood). On the road now again. 1 cold bush camp to go and then 3 nights in a 4 star hotel in Lhasa (capital of Tibet). After that ... 3 ice cold bush camps. Finally have to buy a blanket.

14.00 Passing the highest point on the way to Tibet (Tangula pass, about 5 KM from the border).

Icecold, but nice view. Everybody is panting due to the low oxygene concentration in the atmosphere here.

Had lunch at 16.00h and of course the british came back way too late. Consequence: very late diner and so on. Waiting for the next police escorte makes the delay even bigger. Oh, yeah... i bought a huge thick blanket for just 100 juan. No more cold nights for this guy (i hope).

Dinner was nice, despite the rain (had to put up the tarp) and a warm night followed (new thick blanket ... remember).

Week 11 (Kyrgyzstan and China)

31/8

Woke up at 7, breakfast and a thorough clean up of the truck, that took 2 hours. Carlos and I did the inventory of the emergency stock. If we have emergencies for the rest of the trip, we wil still have more food then we can eat. I think Will is too careful about us, not having enough food. Far too much food, but ok.... we did it. On the road again now.

Long, bumpy drive. Arrived in Kochkor (again) at 3 for shopping and belated lunch (that i already had on the truck). So, small blog update. Laterz.

Bush camped 200 KM before the brder to China. Arrived late there (7.30 PM). Set up camp and ate in the dark. Slept at 10.It was cold, but it didn't bother me.


1/9

Rose at 4.40. Breakfast and packed in the dark. 5 AM on the road to the Chinese border. Have to get rid of bread, cheese, etc. Laterz.
It took all day to cross the border and the 80 KM's (!!!) of nomans land. Lugage check, pasport check, another paasport check, another lugage check and finally... (after 8 herds of sheep (see picture)) arrived in Kashgar, in the west of China, at 9.30 local time (7.30).

Tired, but satisfied. The hotel is very modern and very luxurious. Nice after all those bush camps.
Then bad news: we probably will not be able to enter Tibet, which means that we can't go further to Nepal, India and Myanmar either. So, crisis. Don't know how this will end.
Anyway, Kashgar is a very western, neon lighted city, but Tony and I found a nice little local original chinese food place, where we ate deliciously for almost nothing. A little stroll to the local carnival and now... a long, long sleep (after a 20h day). Laterz.


2/9

Slept untill 8.30 or so. Great breakfast at the hotels food room. Long chats with friends on the hotels wifi. Strolled through Kashgar.

Lots and lots of clothing shops and food shops. Supermarkets, the size of 4 football fields. But actually... not that spectacular. The old part of town (the "Islam part") had a lot more history and the bread is cheaper and better.
Anyway, went back to the hotel, to finish off some administration. 2nd stroll, diner with Matt (AUS) and Tony. Drank a beer with Matt in the lobby of the hotel and now... shower, shave and sleep.


3/9

Long night sleep. Woke up 8.30 (Probably still in Kyrgyzstan time mode). About to have one of the big breakfasts of this hotel.
Took an hour to check out of the hotel (Carlos and I were accused of stealing a flaslight (at the cost of 15 Juan)); we didn't agree (obviously) and got the 15 back, lol), said goodbye to Tony (he does come with us, since we had to change the route) and so... on the way to Hetian (another hotel, so still no cooking for Tim and me). The group is only 15 persons now.

Long drive, with a very nice lunchbreak in a small city (Yeching) (lovely and very cheap food, icecream and softdrinks and a lot of very curious people around the truck). Arrived in Hetian late (21.00h). Took a quick stroll to the family square (every city in China has one) where there was music, dancing, enlightened parks, etc. Very nice, but.... lots of police (actually they're heavily armed soldiers) everywhere. Mellinda (our chinese tourguide (it's mandatory to have one)) told me that in a city about 100KM from here lots of tormoil had taken place beginning of Juli, so... lots of army presence. Anyhow, gonna drink a beer now and watch a star trek episode (TNG). Tomorrow Tim and I have to cook, so.. 10.30 (that late!) shopping and leave at 12.00. Laterz.


4/9

9.15 Rose, breakfast (only chinese food), cookgroup shopping with Tim (couldn't find a supermarket, but Tim's scene at the normal market (we finally found) was priceless). Came back, just in time for the truck to leave. Bush camping again tonight. As said, Tim and i cook. Laterz.

16.30 The chinese desert highway is incredibly ... boring!

Almost glad we got the so manieth police check. Store your passport; get your passport; store it; get it... aaarrgghhh. China is a police state!

Arrived at bush camp location (after a long search) at 20.00h (luckily the sun sets late here, since we use Bejing time) so no cooking in the dark. Eating and doing dishes in the dark though.
Cooking went really fast since (almost) everybody gave a hand.
Had a beer, a wodka and a good conversation with Greg as a nightcap. Slept wonderfully.


5/9

7.45 prepared breakfast for the group. 9.30 on the road again. Long drive through the chinese desert ahead. Luckily it's clouded and a bit rainy.
Tibet still worries me. Don't know what to do if we can't go in. Catch a flight to either Lhasa or Katmandu and continue from there on my own (and join the group again in Lao later)? Ok, fingers crossed that we are allowed to enter Tibet. Laterz.

12.15 And the desert goes on and on and on and on....

After lunch we heard some hopefull news. The application for Tibet has passed 2 of the 4 offices. so.... very hopefull and bit of optimistic, what's strange for me.

Rest of the afternoon we drove on, got some beers for the 5 men (Dave, Dennis, Greg, Matt & me), finally found a bush camp lot in a quarry. Geez, hard to put up your tent in there. Spoiled half of my pegs. Dinner was late (also dus to malfunctioning of the gas system). Played guitar with James. Went to bed late (almost 12).


6/9

Slept in again till 8. Normal morning routine (get dressed, packed daily backpack, breakfast, find a "toilet", pack tent, brush teeth and on the road).
Long drive again, through the chinese desert up north (to pass the time  we need to get our permit for Tibet (fingers crossed)). Found a great supermarket when we had to get gas. Spend an hour there, getting lots of necessities i wanted for a long time (after shave for example.. have been using Dennis' for far too long already, though he doesn't mind). The girls on the men's hygiene department wanted to get a pictures with me. Felt like a rock star. So.. good lunch, with lots of fresh fruits and local spicey stuff as well. Everybody seemed happy.
On we went, ending up (very (too) late again) at a plce where we got see an very old cave-like city (next day). The bush camp there was nice. It's incredibly hot, since we went down to below sea level. Allison and Dave made a great meal and i did my thing on my guitar. The sleep was great. Perhaps the beers helped as well... ;-) . I also found out that my porn-name would be: "Blackfoot Little Bank". Well now you know (it's a silly british game (combination of your first pets name and the street you were born in)).

Week 10 (Kyrgyzstan)

24/8

The morning started off with bad news: Marianne wants to go home. We tried to talk her out of it, but she seems to have made up her mind. It's too heavy and she feels too exhausted, so... as soon as we arrive in the capital she will book a ticket back to London. It saddens me deeply, coz she's such a fine person. On it went: rose at 6.15, after breakfast a drive to Kochkor, where we shopped. Further to a lake Songkol (3000 meters) where we will chill out for 2 days. BBQ, campfires, beers, guitars.. need i say more.

It was nice and noisy. One horse scared the hell out of me, when i took a pee and it Neied (How do you write that) 2 meters away from me (hadn't seen it).
Cold night followed, which kept me awake for an hour or so. Got a strange pain on my chest as well. Hope it's the smoke and/or the high altitude.


25/8

Slept in till 8. Relaxed breakfast. Updating blog. Feel all right. See what the day brings. Going for a long walk along the lake.
The walk was great. Met 3 other dutch who were trekking here. Going to the lake again this afternoon for a swim. Enerybody is relaxing now... chilling out for a day is so ok. Laterz.

And then there was storm and rain and a dramatic temperature drop. Went in my tent and slept for 1,5 hour.

It stayed cold. BBQ-ed in a coat, sat close to the campfire to stay a bit warm, Went to my sleepingbag at 9.30 and was cold all night long... brrr.


26/8

Rose at 6.45, breakfast, packed and on the way for 3 nights of hostel in Bishkek (capital of Kyrgystan), wher hopefully i can publish 3 weeks of blogupdates and say goodbye to a few of my fellow travelers.

On the way to Bishkek Will decided to visit the lake (where we will stay in about 4 days) almost 2 hours extra drive for dipping a toe in a lake... not a wise decision according to me, but ok... keep smiling.

Now lunch... what most of us already had... keep smiling. I just want a shower and a shave!!! Get me there!
Arrived in Bishkek round 18.00. Showered and had dinner in a (far too expensive) restaurant. It was a farewell dinner for the ones who will leave us (Marian, the family (Neal, Karen and Victoria) and Kate). As usual, we were ripped off and nobody (except me) cared about it. Oh well...


27/8

Slept well, but did not come to a blogupdate. Feel a bit grumpy. Don't know why. Strolled through Bishkek, but found not much of interest. Grrr, what's the matter with me?

Did another stroll later that afternoon. Feel better now. Had nice diner with Tony. Update my blog, shared a beer with the british and slept for more then 9 hours. yes.


28/8

Last blog update (week 9 is available now). Get something to eat now and then of to find the bazar of Bishkek. Laterz.

The bazar was bizarre. I think it's like 5 or 6 square KM's. Spend more than 3 hours there and I loved it. Really felt to be among the Kyrgystani. Had a burger and a coke there and then walked back,to spend some time at the central square (a bit like Istanbul's Ayasofia; a family place). Very cosy and relaxed place. May go there again tonight to make a few pictures. On ther way back I also managed to do my shoppings for the next few bush camps. Still have to get new after shave and deodorant. Will get that at the little shops under the street (where u cross the street that is). Laterz.

Had diner with Tony, ran into Will and Ally, so... more beers and no aftershave and stuff. Will be smelly for the rest of the trip...;-)

In the Hostel: said goodbye to Marianne, with guitar songs. Played guitar a little more with Will, went to bed late.


29/8

Rose 8.15. Bit of a hangover, no showers available (shit). Bought a quick breakfast (chicken triangles), Coffee, Now we are waiting till the truck is repaired (new wind screen).

11.30 we left. After 2 hours paused at the "FoodZone", where we are now. They have wifi, so... everybody is staring at their screens, as am I.

18.00 Arrived at lake Issyk where we bush camped. Muzzies left us alone after sunset. It became too cold.
Slept for almost 10 hours straight (except for the midnight pee).


30/8

Woke up at 7.15, great breakfast with pancakes and rasberry sauce. Delicious. On our way now for a short drive and a relaxing day near a river.
Did our shoppings (finally got my deodorant) in Karakol. Had a coffee there too.

On the way to the river, at the broken heart mountain,  we met 2 guys who were training eagles for hunting. Here is Dennis, holding one on his arm.

14.00 Arrived at the river and had a great afternoon of relaxing, napping, reading, playing guitar, eating, beers and camp fire. Slept well despite the cold. I kept my tent far away from the rest, to make sure i got a good rest. It worked out.