Entering China - What could possibly go wrong…..?
When we planned this part of the trip we had read that it is only possible to enter China with a foreign vehicle and travel through the country with a tour company guide. We had been given Drive China's name as a company that many overlanders use, and at the time not being keen to take the transit from Kazakhstan through Russia to reach Mongolia, we found this company offered a 5 day transit across the north west corner of China into Western Mongolia. This region of China (X
18 hours ago7 min read
Kazakhstan - Escape from Almaty
On the Monday morning, Kamaz were removing the 4 injectors, but after two hours said that two of them were totally seized up and they didn't want to carry on forcing them in case they broke something. Colin discussed it with Michael, and the consensus was that we didn't have any other choice as there was no point just testing two of the injectors. Kamaz applied some easing fluid which worked for one of the injectors, but on the final injector what they had feared happened.
Aug 1810 min read
Kazakhstan - Plans Goes Pear-Shaped in Almaty - Part Two
Michael the mechanic was happy to see us again. He and Colin have a nice bromance going on. He arranged to have another auto electrician test Lolly and once again we were told that the error codes were cleared. We booked another night in the weird hotel, but when we went to check in they said they had no record of our booking. The receptionists just kept talking at us in Russian, then on a translation app said they had no spare rooms which we found a bit hard to believe. W
Aug 813 min read
Kazakhstan - Plans Goes Pear-Shaped in Almaty - Part One
We had a smooth quick border crossing, purchased motor insurance, then we were on our way towards the Charyn Canyon which is a highlight in the Almaty region. We had wondered if the scenery in East Kazakhstan would be totally different to what we had experienced in the West, but we were straight into wide open landscapes with the road stretching out into the distance. We pulled in at a viewpoint and were immediately reminded how friendly Kazakh people are. A young guy came
Aug 610 min read
Kyrgyzstan - From Issyk-Kul to Karakol
Issyk-Kul is a another spectacular high-altitude lake in eastern Kyrgyzstan, nestled in the Tian Shan mountains. Its name means “Warm Lake”, because despite sitting about 1,607 metres above sea level and being surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it rarely freezes due to its slight salinity. Some highlights: It is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and one of the deepest lakes in the world, reaching a maximum depth of about 668 metres. The lake is approximately 182 km (113 miles) lon
Aug 15 min read
