Adventure on the Silk Roads

Malaysia

2009-04-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

Our last effort

These efforts were tougher than we hoped for. In this case more mentally than physically. After leaving the Thai paradise we have around 600km between us and Kuala Lumpur in just a few days. On a main road. Daily we stare at the concrete while we balance on the narrow left shoulder. The heat and humidity get worse every hour and we are not enjoying our selves. After four days we wonder for the first time of our trip what we are doing; this is no fun! Planner Maarten studies the map that evening and comes with the solution.

The next morning we charter a truck to take us up to the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia’s greenery. It is pretty, high indeed, and therefore cool and green. We relax for two days, hike in the jungle and across tea plantations and eat delicious strawberries.

Our very last stage is a (not so deserved) downhill, and a long one with fantastic views of the misty jungle and the large tea plantations. This detour to Cameron Highlands makes that we cannot cycle into Kuala Lumpur. The last 150km to the capital we sleep in the bus.

In Kuala Lumpur we celebrate the end of “the adventure of our life”. It has had everything: sweat, tears, suffering but much more happiness, astonishment, and ecstasy. We are very proud and very lucky that we could experience all of this.

No it’s over, we are heading home! On February 14^th we land on Dutch ground and will cycle the very last kilometres from the airport to our home.

Wie dot mij wat, wie dot mij wat, wie dot mij wat vandage.
'k Hen de banden vol met wind, nee ik heb ja niks te klagen.
Wie dot mij wat, wie dot mij wat, wie dot mij wat vandage.
'k Soll wel zeggen ja het mag wel zo.

Skik – Op Fietse

Maarten and Janneke

Thailand

2009-04-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

Our Reward

Thailand is a great country for a holiday, specially for worn-out cyclists like us. The last months we have dragged ourselves through difficult moments with visions of Thai beaches, beach resorts and great food with English menus. Thailand more than lived up to the expectations, it was fantastic.

Nevertheless we cycle more than 1200km in 13 days on the bike, mostly on good roads, without mountainous obstacles and always with the dry north-easterly monsoon in our backs. Rice fields, forests, palm- and rubber plantations colour the country green. The people are as always very kind and helpful and in the south we recognise the hospitality we met in other countries with a Muslim population. The weather is great, but on our bikes we sweat in the humid heat on mid-day.

We have learned to use Google Maps to calculate our route with the option “walk” which leads us often over unpaved roads directly to our destination. We come across remarkable habits and customs. In the yard in front of many houses people show off their beautiful, big bulls. These bulls do not work on the land, people hardly eat meat and these bulls look very healthy and strong. After a few days we discover that these bulls are the men’s hobby; they hope to raise a good fighting bull to gain a lot of money. Those who cannot afford a bull raise singing birds. They gather on their scooters with their cages while a jury decides which bird has the best and longest song. People bet and the owner of the winning bird shows off while his friends encourage us to take a picture.

The other 24 days in Thailand we are in for other activities: celebrate New Years Eve in Bangkok, visiting our friends Robert and Monique in Pattaya, a kite surfing course, Thai massages, diving on Koh Tao and relaxing in a resort on Koh Lanta, snorkelling, exploring caves and natural parks and finally sea kayaking in Tarutao National Park. This truly is a reward after so much hardship!

After four days kayaking in calm, tropical water we raise an idea to our guide Tom. In these waters lives a fluorescent plankton that lights up in the waves when you paddle through in the darkness. We want to kayak at night! Our guide thinks it’s OK. Under the starry sky the plankton lights up beautifully at our paddles. At the other side we notice that the wind has gotten stronger and we decide to return quickly. The waves and the wind make things difficult for us and we try hard to stay together in the darkness. We do not have a lot of time to watch the plankton this time as we focus on the lights on the island where we need to go. At the end we reach our paradise island safely!

From here it’s ten days in Malaysia and we will be back home again!

Luckily we still have our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/maartenhovers/Thailand#

Cambodia

2009-02-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

One more trick

After cycling for two weeks on a flat road with the wind in our backs we start finding things boring at last. Upon arrival in Stung Treng, Cambodia, another 650km of boring road lie between us and the temples of Angkor. A prospect we do not fancy. There should be a short-cut, straight through the country-side and jungle, but this is a road less traveled and not well documented. We take a day off to collect as much information as possible: internet, travel guides, maps but most of all advice from the local people. Their advice varies from “absolutely impossible” to “difficult but possible”. So there is some hope and we decide to go for it. We buy supplies for three days and buy the best map we can find from the wall of an internet cafe. Our adrenaline level rises and when the alarm clock wakes us we nearly jump out of bed. Will it be possible after all?

In the early morning we cross the Mekong by ferry and we land with our bikes on a dusty unpaved road. With a little luck we find the right “exit” to our route, a real hiking trail through the jungle. It is bumpy everywhere as we cycle over treeroots, cross water ways, duck for overhanging branches and walk tricky tree trunk bridges. Once in a while a scooter comes our way or we see an ox cart resting at the little bamboo huts. We feel strong and fit and the sand of the road is solid so we go faster than expected. In this area are still a lot of landmines which makes camping in the forest not a real option. We are happy to reach a village where we a family allows a home-stay.

The second day however is a lot tougher with long stretches of soft sand forcing us to push our bikes and get dusty. We reach the town of Preaher Vehear affter all and we feel another moment of triumph: we will make it! The next morning as we start cycling we spot a grass field where people are playing football and we decide to take a look. Within a minute Maarten is invited to join a game at the local Christmas footbal tournament. Many team members play bare foot and the line referees wave a leafy twig as a flag, but they play fanatically and a crowd is watching. People laugh as Maarten touches the ball for the first time and call “Van Nistelrooy!”.

The Cambodians are well humoured and laugh easily and the whole day. As we pass a man on his bicycle he can hardly control his bike while he is laughing loudly for minutes. Whether they are making fun of us or not does not really matter, we laugh with them and feel good. A team member of Maarten asks in his best French where we are heading. As he hears about the Angkor temples he askes seriously: “what do all foreigners find so interesting about these old temples?”.

The third day we reach the first temple, Koh Ker, remotely in the jungle. The guards allow us to camp next to it and the neighbours show us where we can wash ourselves. I get a sarong and Maarten a kind of skirt, like that we scoop the water from a container and poor it over our heads with the family watching us. In the twilight we walk around and in the impressive temple. It is Christmas Eve and we enjoy a great camping meal in front of our tent at this wonderful place.

Also the next day we pitch our tent next to another old temple, Beng Mealea, on the veranda of the guard. In the evening we crawl behind a tiny lady though the temple complex in search of the beautiful spots. After five days of hard work, covered in red dust, but with a broad smile we reach Siem Reap and the amazing temples of Angkor. We've made it! This short-cut adventure we wouldn't want to have missed.

In the short time we were in Cambodia we got very enthusiastic about the inhabitants of this country. People are always cheerful and interested and able to show us their most beautiful smiles. From here it is two days to the Thai border, straight ahead but it is not boring. The road is in a terrible state and we even have to buy dust masks to breath. Those we do not need on the Thai side as we hurry to Bangkok for New Year's Eve.

Our pictures you can find here: http://picasaweb.google.com/maartenhovers

Laos

2009-02-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

Jewel of the Mekong

What a transition! We thought Yunnan was a transition phase but as we pass the Lao border we know where transition is complete: exactly there! At the Chinese side people are industrious and modernising, in Laos people sleep in hammocks and simple bamboo huts. While China enforces a one-child policy, the Laotians seem to be in some kind of competition.

After non-stop cycling for 18 days we take a break at the River Ou, in a village only excessible by boat. We have a bungalow with hammocks next to the river and we enjoy fantastic views and three tourist meals a day. The evenings start with moonlight, bird- and frog sounds and end with fog and roosters yelling from all directions.

We bring our clothes to the laundry service, which we will enormously regret. The next morning the laundry lady thinks to see me hurrying to the boat and she wants to hand me the clean clothes quickly, afraid I would forget them. The tourist, who looks like me (!), thinks that someone who has left for the same boat has forgotten his clothes at the guesthouse and takes the bag. And off they go, all cycling shirts and pants...to find them never after. This seems to be a real disaster as finding these outfits in Laos is a near impossible mission.

We travel by boat on the River Ou and the Mekong to Luang Prabang, the complete city a World Heritage Site for obvious reasons. As we follow the mighty Mekong down from China to Cambodja we see the river broadening and increasingly powerful.

In Luang Prabang we find new T-shirts and we decide to try and cycle in somewhat tight referee shorts so at least our skin is less exposed. On our way south we tell the story of the lost clothes to three Austrian bikers. One of them offers me his old cycling pants...I hesitate. The other two assure me it shouldn't be a problem if I wash it two or three times and I take the offer.

The shortening days make us cycle the last kilometers in a dark forest on a few days. The forest lives as we cruise in the moonlight while the fire flies lighten our path and the frogs and birds encourage or warn us. Cycling in the dark is not something we would do on purpose but it is a remarkable experience.

On our way to Vientiane we break our climbing record that was still holding from day 1: an ascend of 2050meters. There is a good atmosphere in Vientiane, we enjoy Mekong BBQ-fish while watching a beautiful sunset. Here we find Janneke a fantastic Lao-style cycling outfit. After a day rest we go further south to the Cambodian border. We take a small detour to the caves of Kong Lo, which is more than worth the extra kilometers. It is a beautiful, few inhabited area with limestone mountains and thick forests. Somewhere down this road the bolt of my saddle breaks and I decide to cover the last 30km standing on the paddles to the next village. There we find a motorbike repair shop with a replacement.

In Southern Laos in the Mekong river are the Four Thousand Islands. On one of those islands we take a two day rest, refilling our energy reserves with good food and drinks and we relax in the hammocks under the palm trees. It has to be said that starting up the cycling after days like these is quite difficult.

After 600 flat kilometers we have almost arrived in Cambodia. In fact we are looking forward to entering a new country. Laos has a beautiful landscape and the life at the river is often very laid back. We find it a bit too lazy from time to time. Men are invisible on the land, they decide taking a shower anytime of the day, they play with their fighting roosters and relax in the hammocks in front of their houses. The women sit virtually jobless in their shops with a dozen products, they chat with the neighbors and take care of their many children, that is if they are not feeding them. But if anything can be called the Jewel of the Mekong, it is the children of Laos. They are always happily playing with the simplest toys, they do not seem to be bothered by poverty and are not in need of a PlayStation 3. If we pass by bike a wave of children's greetings travels through the village: sabaidee!!!!!!

We have altered our planned route slightly in order to visit the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. Also our final destination and returning date lie further ahead. On the 13th of February we will return to Amsterdam from Kuala Lumpur. Doing so will give us time to enjoy Southern Thailand like most travellers do.

Yunnan

2008-12-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

The transition

Right on time we are out of the mountains: we have snow in the morning in Shangri-La. The narrow streets, lantarns and wooden houses give us a Christmas feeling. But it does not matter, from here we expect things to get warmer and easier, well?

In the cold rain we cycle south to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, an enourmous gorge in which the Yangtse river thunders. In two days we complete the hiking track on a high path above the gorge with a fantastic panorama. Then again we cross the gorge by bike on our way to the "Old Ferry".

After pushing and carrying our bikes on a small trail down we get to this smallest ferry to cross the Yangtse. Luckily, there's a horse on the other side to carry our bags up the bank.

The next day, when we have already been climbing on this steep muddy road for three hours, we discover to be in the wrong valley..It had to happen once! We are anxious to get to the right road, that one must be better. With a 40 km ascend on cobbles stones it is a bit better, but our progress remains slow. Exhausted we end up at a Naxi family's house. They have a spare room for us if we promise not to sleep in the same bed (we still look that energetic?)

On the way to Lijiang we leave the last snow capped mountains behind us. Lijiang is an old Naxi village with beautiful sites: small alleys, wooden houses, clear canals with goldfish swimming in it and old ladies selling corn on every streetcorner. In the morning the local ladies dance at the main square and at night we can see the (very) old man playing in an orchestra.

The cute little town is also ran down by rich Chinese tourists who party at night and vomit while standing on those beautiful small bridges. Poor goldfishes. Further south we can wear our shorts again as temperatures keep on rising. On the road to Dali we can see the first rice terrases. All of a sudden it changes fast: Instead of walnuts we eat coconuts, yaks change to waterbuffalos and we do not get to drink yakbutter tea anymore, now it is green tea.

To make the Chinese experience more intense we arrange Tai Chi lessons. At 7 in the morning we wait for our teacher in the dark, in his silk outfit he comes running with to Chinese students and calls: follow me! At a good pace we run up through the old town to the ancient city walls, where the sun is just rising above the mountains. Fully concentrated we try and copy the slow, graceful movements of Tai Chi. It is great to start the day like that and to stretch our legs differently.

In the middle of the forest we cheer as we pass 10.000 km's by bike! It appears to be a critical distance for some of our equipment since we experience the first real breakdowns. Both our cranks have a problem that needs fixing what makes us go 400km up and down to the next big city to get it repaired. One of our mattresses gets punched and a gearing outer cable gets broken. That part we did not take with us but we find an alternative solution: we put a splint on the cable with a used chopstick.

In the meantime our progress is still quite slow. We thought to have chosen a reasonable road south, but it changes suddenly to a cobble stone road to remain like that for three days. There is hardly other traffic (we understand why) and it is just us in the bush bush. Even Chinese tourists do not seem th get here and it is just us enjoying the views of the rice terraces. With incredible effort people work on the land, ploughing with their buffalos and planting the rice. It is not for nothing as we find the food here incredibly delicious.

Once we arrive to a bigger town (with asphalt) we are told that the road will get worse from here... There is not much we can do with this warning, it is the only way through. We still believe we have had the worst on the cobble stones. But mud, sand and stones do mean a worse road, while there is a lot of road construction going on. We proceed slowly and get very dirty but we are enjoying it. It seems like mountainbiking in the jungle and people passing on the motorbikes cheer at us.

Finally we go down through banana- and tea plantantions to the palm trees of Jinghong. The transition to South East Asia is almost complete. We will leave China in about a week and enter into Laos. What will that country have in mind for us?

Sichuan, China

2008-11-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

Of the mighty mountain passes of Western Sichuan

Our route takes us in a southwesterly direction across the eastern Tibet plateau in the direction of Yunnan Province. Our travel guide has the following to say about this route:

"The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is one of the world's highest, roughest, most dangerous and most beautiful roads. As yet there isn't much in the way of tourist facilities."
"If possible, the disrepair of roads of the northern route exceeds those on the southern route and offers a real test of the mettle of any mortal who dares set upon them. The highlights are many, however."
Just what we are looking for...

The result of this choice is a simple list:
- 12 mountain passes above 4200meters
- 1200km at altitudes between 3000m and 4700m
- 17600 meters ascending
- 19 days of cycling

We can call ourselves lucky that we do not only enjoy the tour in hindsight. The valleys in autumn colours with their wild streams, the high mountain ridges, the downhills, the many Tibetan monestaries and the fantastic panoramas have pushed us to complete the route as long as we possibly could. Above all we met the nicest people at the moments we needed them most. The locals have received us in their houses and tents, where we were always welcome at their stove for a decent but simple meal. The other touristsm, mainly Chinese, have cheered at us from their jeeps at the highest parts of the passes while shooting videos and photos.

At the highest point of our journey at 4738mts at a scenic spot we see two tourist buses. It is already around three in the afternoon, our water supplies finished and the cold and icy wind made that we had not been able to find a good place for lunch. We know what will happen and we take this opportunity with both hands. We halt and I ask whether we can get some water while Janneke desperately asks the driver if the road will finally descend from here. While we drink the water we got and open a package of cookies the Chinese cannot hide their compassion anf start searching their cars. We get two bars of Toblerone (!), rolls, an apple and more water and better cookies. Apparently we make a good opportunity for a photo shoot: hundreds they take.

The local Tibetan population has also received us very warmly. Living in a windy tent at 4200mts their camp lies at the right place for us. Tired we descend a bit into the grassland and arrive at the families. All of them want to help pitching the tent, have a try on our bikes and all together we collect the yaks for the night. We make fun with photo and video camera and around the stove we enjoy a wonderful evening. As we have just lied ourselves in our tent we hear the family singing and praying for the night.

For conquering the high passes we have found our own routine: in the last village we buy food for a couple of days: oatmeal with milk and apple for breakfast, instant noodles for lunch and rice with a can of fish and some vegetables for dinner. The higher passes we cannot take in one day as our energy is depleted after climbing for 1200 to 1400 meters. A fewe hundred meters under the pass we find a good place for our tent, preferably close to clean running water. After a smooth routine to prepare the tent for the night, we shift quickly to preparing our meal. I cook on the stove and Janneke cuts the vegetables. In about half an hour we hide for the cold in the tent and eat. After that we quickly cook water to wash, make tea and most importantly to prepare a hot bottle for Janneke's sleeping bag. At night it freezes, but luckily our sleeping bags are fantastic. In the morning we prepare breakfast, remove the ice from the tent and wait until the sun reaches us before we can start packng our bags. Beginning the day with gloves and wearing all clothers we are ready for a new day of cycling.

Despite all our efforts we get into a time squeeze. Our visa expires nearly and Shangri La in Yunnan Province is the nearest town where we can extend. The detour from the beginning in Sichuan and the tougher than expected journey have costed too much time. Above that Janneke cannot see any mountain pass anymore, although she has focussed fantastically and motivated herself to reach Litang by all means. After a day of rest she agrees even to three more days of cycling and climbing to the border of Yunnan, what a power of will she has! In Xiangcheng we finally have to surrender and we take a bus for the last 200km.

Now we have arrived to Shangri La. It is a beautiful, but cold town at 3300mts with wooden houses. We have found a luxureus lodge with heating, western toilets and an electric blanket in a wonderful bed with clean white linen. This finally makes Shangri La a true paradise on earth!

Gansu & Sichuan, China

2008-11-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

A Taste of Tibet

On our way heading south we cycle around the Tibetan plateau for the most part. In the provinces of Gansu and Sichuan a large part of the inhabitants are Tibetan. Soon after crossing the Yellow River we enter a world largely Tibetan. In ever greener surroundings little villages lie on our way decorated with prayer flags, stupas and monestaries. On the first pass we follow the locals in their habit of throwing paper money in the air for good fortune. This act we will not regret.

High in the mystic Ganjie Grass landslands we ride. In a little village we charter two Tibetan motor bikers to take us to a remote monestary. Behind the monestary lies a buddhist cave in which we descend together with some pelgrims. Everywhere white flags and holy stones. We do as the pelgrims and touch stones, circle others and drink holy water. Down in the cave one of the pelgrims sings some Tibetan prayer as loud as he can and we shiver.

We come closer to the most important buddhist city in the Tibetan world after Lhase: Xiahe. In the last weeks we had already heard that it might be closed for foreigners but we assume it is just rumours (and play stupid). Cold after the downhill into town we arrive late in the afternoon at the checkpoint. It's closed indeed, but the english speaking official (who has lived in Holland for 3 months) feels sorry for us. After a lot of phone calls we are put in a gouvernement hotel. "and' the official says, 'maybe you feel sick tomorrow, you can spend one more night'. The following day we feel sick and we visit the famous Labrang monastry. We walk our round of prayer wheels and watch the astrology class of the monks. The monks are very surprised to see us. We really are the only foreigners who visited Xiahe in 6 months. As yet we had not realised how lucky we really are.

Further south we see a lot more (armed) checkpoints. At the 3th point they will not let us trough after a lot of talking, we have to go back north. Maarten: "maybe this would be the right time to start crying Janneke". Full of tears I leave the checkpoint and indeed: within 5 minutes a police car comes to tell us that we can spend the night at their post. Surprisingly they let us travel south, but only by bus. In the next town we are picked up at the bus stop by the police and put in a truck. At the end of the prefecture they let us out, right on a high and deserted pass. It's already getting late and still 60 km to a town. We are kind of flabbergasted by al the events taking place in the last 24 hours, whats going on?! The reasons they gave us: bad road, bad weather, landslides even the earthquake do not make sense at all. We suspect it's all about problems with the Tibetan people living in this area. Luckly we can put our tent between 350 yaks on the grass. In the tent of the Tibetan family we're having some yak butter tea like in Tadjikistan.

In the town everybody is really surprised again to see us . How did you get here? That area has been closed since march! You must be very special. Suddenly we feel very proud and we do realise how lucky we are (again!).

To avoid the earthquake area we have to make a big detour, completely off the beaten track. For days we cycle through big forests with only rare villages. For the two strangers they open the doors to an old temple to show us the beautiful paintings inside. Afterwards we make a round of prayer wheels behind the monks, for a bit more luck.

In the next valley where there are houses like castles, we try to find a place to sleep. How sad to find out all the inhabitants do not dare to live in their houses anymore after the quake. There are tents behind the small village where they live. We feel sorry to bother them but they will not let us go. We can put our tent next to theirs and they almost fight about in who's place we can have dinner. They bring us an extra matress and warm blanket to put in our tent. Eventhough it rains the morning we leave, all the peolple wave goodbeye until we're completely out of site. How did we get this lucky?

Gansu, Qinghai

2008-10-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

About deserts, the great wall, Sleeping Buddha's and high mountains

These last weeks were the last that we cycled on the silk road. The variety of landscapes and weather conditions we've seen in the last four months, were all coming back in just these few weeks. The biggest part of the route was through the Gansu-corridor, the only way through for all the caravans on their trading route. From Dunhuang we entered the corridor through the Gobi-desert and we left it by crossing the high Qilian-mountains.

Dunguang is an oasis, famous for its Buddhist Mogao caves and the sand dunes with the Crescent Moon lake at the edge of town. After many months of moslim art and architecture we now gaze at ancient murals en 36 meters high Buddha statues. These caves were ordered to be made by wealthy merchants, to pray for a safe journey on the silk road or to thank for a safe return and good trade.

From Dunguang to Jiayuguan we cycle through the Gobi desert. There are many oasis and the weather is okay, making it bearible. The tougher the circumstances, the more compasionate people are. On a hot and dry day, we get bottles of water and big melons besides the many 'thumbs up' from car windows. We do worry when all of a sudden the skies turn black/ yellow and the wind strengthens. Everything looks like a sandstorm is coming our way! We've read that sometimes they can last for three days.. It's another 15 km to a village and with the strong wind in our back we paddle as fast as we can. Just a few minutes before we reach safety, the storm catches us.

There are two more silk road cities on our way; Jiayuguan and Zangye. The caravans used to long for Jiayuguan. This point marked the beginning of the civilised (chinese) world and all the big dangers were left behind. This is where the Great Wall starts with an impressive fort wich used to control the whole corridor. In Zangye we find the biggest sleeping Buddha of China in a beautiful temple. We also discover that Marco Polo used to live in Zangye for one year when we find his statue in the centre of town.

From Zhangye we change our direction since months; we're heading south! We have to cross the Qilian mountains. It looks like a big farm up here, everybody's working on the feelds using only hands, yaks or cows. They do stop their work to look at the passing bikers. The harvest lies neatly packed on the fields, on the trucks or on the back of donkeys. Not a piece of land is unused and even on the steep hills they build terraces with simple but genieus irrigation systems.

We pass Mati Si, a secred buddhist place where we stay for a day to soak up the autumn. Ahead of us lie the big mountains. We do not know how many passes we have to cross or how high they are. It turns out there are three very high and very cold passes (around 3700 mtr). The road is very good, ascending slowly so we can climb without any problems. In the morning weather is clear and the vieuw is breathtaking; snow on the high peaks but the sheep and yaks are still grazing at the grasslands. Most people are Tibetan or Hui (muslim) and they cheer us very warmly.

We are now in Xining, having a rest and visiting a tibetan monastry, Ta Er Si. About 700 monks live in this beautiful place with its special atmosphere.
After five months we will leave the silk roads, heading south in the direction of Sichuan and Yunnan provence. Many high mountains on the way and autumn chasing us....Our adventure continues!

P.S. For those of you who haven't discovered our photo's yet: in the right collum on our website you'll find the links to all our pictures (and statistics). You can also click on this one: http://picasaweb.google.com/maartenhovers (photo's) http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pz5aK4ejq4Ozr_N3gIfyGMQ (statistics)

Xinjiang

2008-10-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

Travelling as a lazy tourist

Once in China we celebrate our accomplishment of the last 4 months. In Kashgar everything is available what makes us enjoy the food, sweets and chocolates the first couple of days. Zapping the television channels we enjoy our luxurious hotel and freshly washed clothes.

The next couple of weeks we won't cycle much as we will leave our bikes in Urumqi from where we will fly to Beijing to see the Olympics. Very shortly we will return the Netherlands for Jorrit and Nienke's wedding and the retirement party of Maarten's parents. After these festivities we return to Urumqi and part two of our adventure will start.

The province of Xinjing is unlike many parts of China. This is Uighur land and it resembles Central-Asia. Many farmlands but also deserts and mountains and very few big, modern cities. These days we travel as lazy tourists, taking taxis to and from nice places. We visit Kashgar's livestock market where there is more action than in a zoo. In the morning carts arrive with small animals ready to be sold (and eaten). Open trucks with giant bulls arrive and Uighurs chase escaping goats. Men make trail runs with a donkey cart and all sheep are ordered colourwise. Just around the corner we enjoy the freshest kebab ever.

We also make a sidetrip to Karakol, a deep blue lake at the foot of the mighty Mustag Ata (7700mts). We drive for a few hours on the Karakorum Highway in the direction of Pakistan. The road is very scenic, but the sight is hindered by a sandy mist. A storm in the Taklimakan desert has swept too much sand into the air. We still enjoy the scene and make a long ride on a small horse around the lake. In the evening we stay in a yurt and eat watermelon with the Kyrgyz family, all of us sucking in the juice with great noises. Just before heading back to Kashgar the yurt owner brings a sheep for the driver which is unwillingly put into the trunk. At least the poor animal has made one ride in his life along the Karakorum highway.

We cross the Taklimakan desert by train and arrive in the hottest city of China, Turpan. The combination of heat and melting water made the region famous for its huge and delicious grapes. Many streets in the city are covered with grapes and make a good shelter against the soaring heat. In grape valley we chill out with fresh grapes, raisins and a bottle of red wine!

Upon our arrival in Urumqi we start longing for some cycling again and a plan is made by Maarten. From Urumqi we take a taxi for 120km to Heavenly Lake from where we will cycle back. But first we make our way up for 20km to the lake where we swim in the turquoise glacier lake. During the ride back the climate changes gradually but quickly and we end up in a desert with camels while we can still see the snow-capped mountains. The Chinese roads are very good with a good speed we end up in the modern city of Urumqi.

We fly to Bejing for one week of Olympics and we did not expect to experience the biggest culture shock in that city, more precisely in the Holland Heineken House. It takes some time to get used to the drinking and singing Dutch all dressed up in orange, but in the end we easily blend in. We are lucky to witness the golden and silver rowing medals and we join the party with our crown prince when the Dutch field hockey ladies make their way to the final. In the Birdsnest we enjoy two evenings of athletics. It was great to see so much sport-emotion during the games.

Part one of our adventure ends like it started, a Philips colleague of Maarten gives us a good treat. Ernst and Kim receive us in their house and we enjoy Dutch goodies like bread, peanut butter and hagelslag. Great!

Tadjikistan, Pamir Highway

2008-09-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

The Pamir Highway...here we go!

The Pamir is a plateau at 4000 mtrs surrounded with snow capped mountains. It's a very high desert in fact, in summer there's only water from the melting glaciers. Near these streams you can find grasslands and the possibillity of life. The Kyrgyz people of Tadjikistan live up there with their yurt-tents and herding their yaks. They live a traditional but simple life. We cycle through this land and are completely taken away by it.

Cycling at this height ain't simple and right at the most difficult parts the surface of the road turns bad. There are no alternatives for this bad road and we cycle up the first pass of 4275 mtrs, gasping for air. After a long day we reach the exit to Bulunkul, a small detour to a beatiful lake. We love to go there and camp next to the lake, even though we are already tired. We go down the steep sandy road and I love it! When I stop to wait for Janneke, I see she's really unhappy about the choice we made. But there's no way back now, we're trapped because back up is to steep. The weather also changes quickly; strong head wind, a black sky and a little sand tornado next to us. We've finished our watersupply already an hour ago.....what are we doing in this place?! We keep on going without speeking for two hours and very slowely we're getting closer to Bulungkul village. We should forget about camping. The welcome in the small villages is so warm that within 15 minutes we've completely forgotten about our suffering. There's hot tea, cookies, good food and very friendly people in a warm house.

After a good night the weather is great and everything looks totally different. The ugly black lake from yesterday turned out to be magical. Even the road is not so bad when the wind is in the right direction. This is the most beautiful day of our trip! We cycle for 45 km in complete deserted area. It's unbelievably quiet and the Pamir is magnificent. When we reach the mainroad again we read the "yurt-stay" sign. We ride into the field and after a few miles we reach the camp. The yurt is nice and comfortable and the people treat us o so well. We have learned by now that sleeping in a yurt is better than in any other place.

In Murghab we have a two day "rest". We book a trip by jeep south where we are hopefully able to spot the Marco Polo sheep for it's almost extinct. We sleep in another yurt camp, they own big herds of yak, goat and sheep. We leave early in the morning to look for the famous sheep at a high pass. We don't see anything at all at first, but through the binoculars we can spot two groups of Marco Polo sheep.

In three days cycling we enter the Kyrgys border and we leave the Pamir behind us, descending to the valley of Sari-Tash. It's crowded with yurts here in the green grass, full of cows, horses and yaks. From here it is only one day cycling to the Chinese border, but we are put to the test once more: The road is the worse road so far. Going up and down on a surface of rocks and unexpecting parts of climbing, we can't go faster than 12 km/hr. In bad weather we find a great camping spot near a creek only 10 km from the border, our last obstacle to beat.

Have they closed the border? Do they even refuse travellers with visa? Do they sent cyclist straight back to Kyrgystan? We don't know anymore what stories to believe, but we are not feeling relaxed about it. In the end the Chinese officials turn out to be the most friendly of all. They even have this electronic questionaire about their service! After 6090 km by bike we have entered China!

To get the visa for China we did everything we could and booked transport to a hotel in Kashgar, just to be sure. Happy and proud as can be we drive the 250 km to our well deserved luxurious hotel!

Tadjikstan 2

2008-09-15T04:59:00.000-07:00

Time travelling

Have you ever had the wish to go back in time, just for once? I think we stepped into a timetravel machine when we crossed the border to Tadjikistan. There are more mountains here than people. Only in the little spots between the mountains where there's water, there are houses. You can already see it from far away marked by a big explosion of green grass and big fruit trees. Everybody is farmer and is growing his own food and is baking his own bread. In one of those villages we see a four year old boy, riding his donkey while he wistles at us. When we look at him, he sticks his thump up high in the air. An old man carrying wood on his back is making small talk with us. He isn't bothered at all that we can only speek five words in his language. With his hand crossing his heart and a big smile he waves us goodbye.

Unfortunately we have to leave Marco Polo's path for about two weeks; he travelled through Afghanistan, we don't. We do cycle for about three days next to the Afgan border, only separated by a big river, the Panj. We are waving hello to a lot of Afgan people walking with their donkeys, dressed in their 'Osama' suit .Their road is spectacularly built with rocks and trees against the cliff. We would not dare to cross it, but it is a magnificent sight for three days.

The road looks like it is from the old days most of the time. Sometimes it looks more like mountainbiking when we ride trough rocks, sand and holes. Our helmets are very useful against falling rocks between the big cliffs on both sides of us. We often experience a 'low battery' riding those mountains. To charge our battery again we ask for food at the nearest house, it's never a problem (for a little money). We are gestured to sit next to grandma in the garden with fresh yoghurt and warm bread. Meanwhile a few kids are sent to get some treats from the field (peaches, cherries etc). With full stomachs we can climb for another few hours. The water we drink straight from the streams, it tastes even better than the water at home.

All Tadjik people we meet are very friendly, laid back and they just let us be. It's no problem when we want to pitch our tent in their orchid or between their cows. Therefor we wake up at the most beautiful places, between cows, apricots or even at a beautiful blue lake. So far Tadjikistan is the most physically demanding part of our trip but also the most beautiful. And we even haven't started with the Pamir Highway yet. Can it even be more beautiful.....?!

Tadjikistan 1

2008-09-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

See Dutch Version for pictures or the link to the photoalbums on this page

Tadjikistan
1.400km
17.500 meters ascending
4.635 highest pass
26 days

We have been in the land of the Pamir Highway since six days now. We expect this to be the most beautiful part of our trip concidering the scenery. The first five days of cycling from Samarkand to Dushanbe were already fantastic; After Panjikent we are cycling in magical surroundings. We cycle between high mountains on each side, hardly any traffic and through small farmer villages with friendly people.

The road is very bad and is ascending most of the time, therefore we have to change our daily distance planning.There aren't any hotels but camping somewhere quiet or in an orchard is easy. The hospitality of the Tadjieks is very impressive and before we know it we are stuffed with all kinds of foods and drinks.

To get to Dushnabe we have to cross the 3373 mtr Anzob pass. The road is getting smaller and worse and is really getting steep. The surroundings are splendid and we really enjoy the long climb. At night we're camping at the creek waving good night to some donkey drivers.On top of the pass we can see this amazing world of mountains with a few small villages. From here we descend for 2500 mtr over 85 km to Dushanbe. It feels like riding a rollercoaster. Almost without peddling we reach Dushanbe in the evening.

In Dushanbe we are preparing for the Pamir Highway. We are stuffing ourselfs and the bags full of food, while the bikes are in for an oil-treatment. We will be on this road for three weeks untill Saritash (Kyrgyzstan). The first 600 km we have to cross some high passes before we are truly on the Pamir. The road should be okay over there, but the altitude will definitely have it's affects. For two weeks will be cycling around 4000 mtrs. We'll see when there is an opportunity to use interenet again and give you an update!

Uzbekistan

2008-08-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells
When shadow pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly through the silence beat the bells,
Along the golden road to Samarkand
(James Elroy Fletcher op the silk road)

We actually need 5 days to recover in bukhara. We visit the old town, which looks like nothing has changed since the old silk road time. there's no traffic, everywhere we find buildings with beautiful turquoise domes and minarettes from which the prisoners used to be thrown off in order of the emir.

We take 3 days to cycle to Samarkand. there's plenty of shade due to the trees along the road. Great after the heat of turkmenistan. there are white farms on the side of the road with blue doors leading to the patio's. Grandpa is sitting in front of the house where the cows are tight-up at the trees. We take over a lot of donkeys and their loads. On the other hand we are taken over by a lot of colorful Lada's. The road really looks golden every now and then because of the wheetfields on both sides. Also peoples' teeth are gold plated.

In contrast to Iran we see plenty of beautiful, proud women, dressed in colourful dresses (and with a golden smile). We enjoy cycling without time pressure and we take lots of breaks. We easily quaff 1.5 liters of cola or eat a whole watermelon in no-time.

In Samarkand we find a wonderful guesthouse where we meet more travellers. Seven bikes are parked in the courtyard, together with to motor bikes. We exchange stories and have great fun
about all bizar adventures, even our own suffering in Turkmenistan generates laughter after a few beers.

This city is remarkable as well, with many beautiful Madrassahs (Islamic Schools), Mausolea and Mosques. We start getting used to these enormous ancient buildings and we find it hard to understand why all this is so unknown at home.

the only drawback we discover in Uzbekistan is the food. Finding a meal without fatty meat is hardly possible and all available vegetables at the market are ignored in restaurants. It makes us long back for our mother's food.

We are preparing ourselves for the most longed for stretch of our journey: Tadjikistan and the Pamir Highway.

Turkmenistan

2008-08-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

Turkmenistan (see photolink or Dutch version for pictures)

From Masshad we had to go back to Teheran by train for some heavy visa days. Whether we can continue our trip or not, totally depends on obtaining our China visa. We had to do everything we could in Teheran to get it. When we we're already cheering in the taxi with the China visa, we discovered that the entry date was wrong. We turned around and right before closure I convinced the consul to change the date.

Back in Masshad we had some incredible experiences with the Turkmen consul, but finally we we're back on the bikes with both visas. We knew a Swiss couple had left Masshad just a day before us and we really wanted to catch up with them so we could team-up against the strong wind in Turkmenistan. After a long ride we found their tent against the wall of a 900 year old caravanserai. It's a beautifull building and with little imagination you can picture life in the old days. From the Iranian bordertown the four of us head for Turkmenistan. We are expecting a tough adventure; 500 km in a maximum of 5 days (because of visa), temperatures like you would expect in the desert, strong headwind and very little facilities. With good teamwork and working in shifts at the front we hope to have a change in achieving our goal.

At the beginning the desert is not so bad because of the huge irrigation channels, dug out by the Russians. All our other expectations are reality so we are making slow progress en make long days. But with four we are having a good time and we really work well together for 10 to 13 hours a day. We get up as early as possible, hoping we will have maybe 1 or 2 hours without the horrible headwind. The rest of the day we are only able to cycle with some 12 km/hr.

To camp in the desert is great. We put the tent in a little piece of shadow, take a shower with half a liter of water and we sleep like babies. But we do not close our eyes before we've taken a look at the beautiful sky, with the milkyway like a big cloud above us.

We make a precise scedule for our supplies, especially concerning the water of which we need about 10 liters a day. We now realise what a big plus it is to just drink from the tap in Holland. Despite all our precautions I get sick on the last day. I'm not able to eat and I loose liquids very quickly. Unfortunately there's no other option than to keep on cycling to the border. When we reach the Uzbek border half an hour before closing time I'm completely finished. Janneke is taking care of all formalities while I'm unable to stand on my feet.

After the border crossing we can sleep in the little house of a few young sheppards. I can not thank them enough. We are now in Bukhara, the heart of the silk roads. The first 2 days we used for rehabilitaion. We took a really luxurious hotel, which we've enjoyed very much. The town itself has a lot to offer. It's great to see nice hang out places with cold beer! Tomorrow we're heading of to Samarkand and taste a little bit more of Uzbekistan.

Iran 3

2008-06-13T03:12:00.000-07:00

(see Dutch version and/or photolinks for pictures)

We are getting stronger! We're noticing that when we cross the mountains north of Teheran on our way to the Caspian see. We enter the Damavand area (mt Damavand 5671 mtr). There's fresh air, snow capped mountains en beautiful green nature. We treat ourselves for a stay in a small mountain village with hotsprings. In our appartment we bath in this hot water. When we go for a walk in the afternoon we meet an Iranian family, they gesture us to come with them. I mount a horse, get a young child sitting in front of me and we follow the cows. We walk between the roses while the women sing and laugh. We've just entered a true movie scene.

In one day we trade the snow capped mountains for rice fields when we descend to the Caspian see. This part of Iran is almost tropical, it's hot and humid but it's also flat and the wind is on our side. On the side of the road there's a family waving to us. The head of the family is part of the Iranian Cyclist Foundation and we have to promise to come and have lunch at his house. So we do. The house is full of family and when we agree to stay for the night, everybody is screaming of joy. At night we eat at granny's, with fourthy other relatives. She has just returned from her pilgrimage to Iraq.

We continue our long journey to the holy city 'Mashhad' en run into another cycling couple. The landscape is very desolate so it's great we can camp with four instead of two. We find a great place in the middle of Kholestan national park between the many trees, next to river. The next night we sleep in the hills of a desertlike landscape under the starts and moonlight. Heading for the city, we cycle again with two, or actually with four again. We get a full day of police escorte (because if the traffic). We haven't seen such a relaxed road on our complete journey to Iran, so it's not really neccesary. We look like celeberties when we enter the city, especially when the traffic is being stopped so we can pass. We learn a new meaning of a 'drive by shoot' : a car slowely passes us and shoots a picture or video shot.

Before some enthusiastic readers decide to book a cycle holiday in Iran, I have to let you know that it's not only as bright as it seems.

Often the traffic is horror. There are no rules (so it seems) and we are happy if there's a 40 cm lane on witch we can cycle.
Iran has a beautiful nature, but there's rubbish everywhere. Especially the dried out rivers look disgusting.
For a woman, cycling in a full covering outfit in the heat, is hard. Maarten is the only person everybody talks to, because he is male and I'm a woman. After four weeks I'm looking forward to step into my old and familiar role again.
Getting sick in a desolate place in Iran (in the hills where we camped) is no fun. For the sick Maarten there's no other option than to cycle anther 40 km in the heat to the nearest hotel. We have to stop every 5 km for some misery.... He fully recovered after 2 days.

After cycling non stop for twelve days, we've finally reached Mashhad where we can rest. Tonight we are probably going to watch the dutch footballmatch with other cyclist. We've go TV in our appartement!

Iran 2

2008-06-13T03:07:00.000-07:00

(see dutch version or photolinks for pictures)

Zanjan owns a beautiful restored Caravanserai where we spent a full evening, having dinner and talking with students. We cycle about 350 km to Teheran through a big wide valley, which is boring from time to time. We have to make big distances and really have to be careful for the crazy traffic next to us, but there is always something to take your mind of the job; an historical site, a beautiful landscape or someone reaching out to help us. Like the man who was determined to give us some money. After refusing several times, I take the money and we're both happy. At some picknicks on the side of the road many cars stop to give us something. When we leave our supplies have grown instead of shrunken.

The closer we get to Teheran, the crazier the traffic. In Karaj (45 km from Teheran) we decide to take a taxi to Teheran for Janneke is totally fed up with the traffic.
Our mission in Teheran is to arrange some visa, but we'er up for some dissapointements. China is due to the Olympic games very difficult to organize. You have to able to show a detailled schedule of your booked hotels, quite some work! Tadjikistan does need a letter of invitation after all and Kyrgystan can only give visa after a week, time we don't have....We only manage to get the transitvisum for Turkmenistan, we can pick it up in Mashhad.

We quickly leave Teheran for a two-day trip to Esfahan, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The bikes stay in the hotel, we take the nighttrain. The city fully matches our expectations. It's beautifully green with great parks, though it's located in the middle of the dessert. There are many palaces, romantic bridges en impressive mosques for it was the Shah's capital 400 years ago. Esfahan also has the second biggest square in the world (after Beijing).

Around this big square there's a big bazaar full of art. We cannot keep our wallets closed and we sent a big packet of souvenirs home.
We are most impressed by the bridges at night with their magical lights. There are families everywhere to picknick or to relax, entjoying this scenery. You can have a pretty good night with only thee and sweets!

We're now back in Teheran and tomorrow we're heading for the holy city Mashhad. First we have to cross the mountains in the north to the Caspian see en than cycling to the east. In two weeks we are in Masshad, near the Turkmen boarder.

Iran 1

2008-05-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

(see dutch version and/or photo links for pictures)

Mister, please come to my house!

Crossing the border is done in just a few minutes. Janneke quickly changes clothes (fully covering shirt and headscarf) and before we know it, we are in Iran. Apparently the colourful clothes of Janneke draw a lot of (laughing) attention, so in the first city we buy headscarf number 2.

Many times we are begged to come and drink tea (only one sir, please!) or to stay for dinner or the night. Sometimes difficult after a long day of cycling and you just want to be left alone.

The Iranian people really love to talk to foreigners and they are very interested in what we think about the country. To only answer 'we like it' is not enough, because they'll ask the next question: can you please give a few examples to justify your answer? Here they are:

A car pulls over to give us two cool cans of orange juice which he has just bought. The man says 'for you' and takes off again.
When we stop to make a picture, we are given two pieces of bread by a man pointing to the sky.
A couple helps us to find a hotel and to carry our luggage. The next morning we hear a knock on our door; its the couple to ask if we've enjoyed the hotel.
At dinner we have a conversation with a couple. When the man hears we come from Holland he says ' your governemt enemy of Iran'. For a moment we don't know what to say, but 5 minutes later we are invited in their house and Janneke gets a new headscarf (number 3).

The best times we have in Tabriz where we visit family of an Iranian living in Holland. For 2,5 days they spoil us, show us all the best places and sites of Tabriz and around. Like the little mountain houses in Khandovan, the huge bazaar with a lot of carpets and gold, and we hang out in the beautiful Elgoli park. We visit al family members and after the magnificent dinners we dance on the perzian carpet.

On our way to Teherean the landscape gets drier. We pass many fields where the working men wave their thermoscan "cai!" (tea). The parked donkeys normally think we are one of them (they are almost right!). We pass the Virgin Bridge in the surroundings of Miyaneh, an important bridge of the ancient silkroad. Next to the river we see beautiful flowers and orchards.

In the cities other "sisters" sometimes aplaud for Janneke and the man yell "mister, welcome to my city" or even "merci". As you can read, we really like Iran. The justification for our answer is set out in this text!

Turkey 2

2008-05-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

(see dutch version for pictures)

Our last week in Turkey is slightly different than the previous weeks. We started climbing the mountains and now we know why we carried our warm clothes uphill in the desert of Syria. We had snow! But of course we ran again into these kind people who invite us into their houses, like the ones on the picture. One of them is the local imam and all the others were making sure the heater was on and our glasses filled with tea.

Not everything is going as smoothly as you might think, like the ferry in Tatvan. First, the whole village told us various departure times, so we just had to guess. When we were ready for departure, the boat was broken so we had to stay in Tatvan an extra night. The next morning after waiting for four hours, we were finally on our way to Van by boat. An excellent trip I must say, for we were the only ones on board and the scenery was magnificent. So we learnt to just go with the flow!
After two more days of cycling and climbing a 2640 mtr pass, we arrive at the border of Iran, at Dogubayazit. We meet four very nice Turkish teachers who hang out with us in Dogubayzit and help Janneke to shop for an outfit for Iran.
We have a full day of site seeing and relaxing. The Ishakpaşa Palace is our favourite site (see picture). We finish our day in a hot spring of vulcanic water. We are ready for Iran!

Turkey thank you for all your hospitality and tea!

Turkey

2008-05-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Temperatures are far more friendly here and the landscape is less rough (in the beginning), so it is easier to make some kilometers. Everybody is just as friendly here as in Lebanon en Syria. The 20 cups of tea are a the daily proof of that. Sometimes a car stops to offer us a sweet treat and sometimes we get a complete meal at a petrol station. If we would stop for every offer, we would still be cycling near the Syrian- Turkish border after two weeks! We travel from Gaziantep -> Sanliurfa -> Siverek -> Diyarbakir -> Tatvan -> Van -> Dogubayazit.

Unofficially we enter Kurdistan when we cross the Eufraat, so we meet a lot of Kurds. Of course they are just as kind as everybody we have met so far. Interesting fact is that during our trip we always get warned for the next country. In Lebanon we get warnings for Syria, in Syria warnıngs for Turkey and the Turks warn us for the Kurds. And of course now we get warnings for Iran. The only conclusion we can draw is that all the people we have met so far are unbelievably kind....

We crossed the Eufraat and the Tigris, see old castles, bridges and Khans (places where the caravans used to spent the night). We see big herds of cattle and really a lot of sheep in the big planes we cross.

We spent our first night in the tent, for the hotel in Silvan did not exist. A beautiful spot at the secured schoolground is organised by the police.

So far we haven`t had any problem with the big wild dogs in Turkey. We are able to spot them in time, than jump of our bikes and wait. Most times somebody helps us with a stone or the dog lost its interest when we stop cycling.

In Tatvan we cross the Van lake (at 1770 mtrs) after a day of waiting for the ferry boat. Unfortunately now we can not say we have cycled every mile to China, but then again: Marco Polo was sitting on a camel half the time!

Syria `Welcome`

2008-04-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

In Syrië we start in Damscus, where all the sites are a real treat for our eyes (like the cave of Ali Baba). Parfume, gold, silk and everywhere the smell of spices. Small streets, hidden courtyards with fountains en beautiful restaurants. We feel like we're part of the Arabic faiytales (1000 and 1 night). People are at least as kind as in Libanon and everywhere we come we are greeted with a nice 'welcome!'. Whenever we stop people are gesturing to come insıde to drink tea. Sometimes we feel like a royal couple when people are running to the streets to wave to us en to shout 'welcome!'.The image we had about a man dressed in green and wearing a red and white scarf on top of his head, is completely different than what we see in reality: a friendly farmer waving to come and drink tea in his house... We travel north to Homs. The scenery here looks more like a desert. When we climb for hours and hours on end I (Janneke) sometimes dispare, but Maarten is able to cheer me up everytime (a true Marco Polo). In the direction of Craq de chevalier (a huge crusader castle) the scenery turns green and cycling next to the highway is finally finished. In Apamea we visit the old Roman street and together with some sheep we are the only ones. Due to the many tea offers we get, we visit peoples houses quite often, which we think is very special. In Aleppo we have a day of rest. We visit the old citadel and relax. Temperatures are pretty high for a few days in Syrıë. After 12:00 we cycle ın 40C, that's pretty demanding. We leave Syrië though ın rain, when we depart from Azzes in the morning. Turkey here we come!

Lebanon

2008-04-28T03:24:00.001-07:00

At fırst we feel a little bit uncomfortable for it is impossible not to look like a tourist with our bike-clothes (It's almost written on our foreheads). But soon Beirut seems a friendly city where tourists are very welcome. We see a lot of new luxurious buildings on one site, but on the other hand you can still see a lot of buildings with bullitholes. Unfortunately there is not really a view of the city because the huge amount of smog. A colleague of Maarten gave us a brilliant evening in Beirut by taking us out for dinner at a great place. We learnt to smoke the Hubbly-Bubbly (argileh), had plenty of terrific food, great laughs and some good advise for our trip. Our bikes have arrived well from the plane and are ready for take off. My stomach hurts when I take a look at the highway we have to ride.....It's going to be a terrible fırst etappe: 35C, 35 km of climbing between trucks and inhaling smog. We expected about 800 altitude meters, but it turns out to be over 1600 mtrs. Some men put there heads out of the window to scream 'Why?!' At this point we're unable to answer that question. But even more men scream 'Bravo!' and give us an applause. The long descent to Zahle (almost) makes us forget about the demandıng climb. From Zahle we bike up and down to Baalbek to see the famous temple. It's certainly worth the effort. We have to go through the Beekaa-valley and everywhere we meet friendly and helpfull people. If we stop for a drink, immediately people pull over to ask if we need any help or to give us a cheer. After Baalbek already our last etappe in Libanon; Zahle to Damascus (80 km).

Funniest questionst so far:

- How many wives do you normally have in Holland?

- Like to buy a Hezbollah shirt? No...? How about the flag?

- To maarten: is that your wife? yes, is she already pregnant?

The Route

2008-04-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Route

These are the last couple of days before we start our trip along the Silk Road in the footsteps of Marco Polo.

On Sunday the 13th of April we will fly to Beirut from where our trip will begin. On average we will make 60km a day, rest days and other tourism included.

Our trip will take us through Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Passing these countries will take about two months.

After the Middle-east we will cycle into Central-Asia to the former Soviet Republics of Turmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Kyrgyzstan. This will take us roughly two months as well. Probably with lower daily averages because of deserts and high mountain passes. Here we will also visit the famous Silk Cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.

In the beginning of August we hope to arrive in Kashgar, Western China. The Taklimakan desert we will not cross entirely by bike. Probably we will take trains for some stretches. From Urumqi we will fly to Beijing to see the Olympics. So far we have tickets for two nights of Athletics and Rowing. We are still hoping for more tickets but if we cannot get them, we will celebrate in the Holland Heineken House ;-). A good warming up for the wedding party of Jorrit and Nienke!

We will be back home for a week to attend two important celebrations: the wedding and my father's 65th birthday. After this is all over we will retrace to Urumqi to find our bikes and to continue our journey.

First further East, still around the Taklimakan desert. Then south to the cities of Chengdu and later Kunming. This must be a fantastic part with beautiful mountains and nature, also rich in culture with plenty of interesting sites and monastaries.

The last part will take us through Laos and Thailand. Along the Mekong river for a part and through the jungle. In Thailand we will relax and enjoy our experiences. At least one week of kayaking, snorkling and camping is our reward.

Haute Route

2008-04-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Before starting our cycling trip we planned the most famous Tourski trip in Europe, the Haute Route. This trip would take us from Argentière to Saas Fee over the Walliser moutains. My brother Dirk joined us on this trip. Janneke's brother Jorrit could not because he was scheduled to become father in this week.

Due to a lot of fresh snow in the days before, avalanche danger was too high to complete the Haute Route. Instead we had to make day-trips to the mountains surrounding Zermatt en Saas Fee: Fluchthorn, Allalinhorn and Breithorn. Normally easy 4000m peaks, but the cold and the strong wind made these mountains hard to climb.

We had a great week!

Visa

2008-04-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

We succeeded in getting all the necessary visa for the first part of our trip. We will get the visa for Libanon at the airport upon arrival, Syria is arranged, Turkey can be obtained at the border and also the visa for Iran are ours.

After Iran we will cycle into Turkmenistan and for that country you can get a transit visum if you have a visum for Uzbekistan. The visa for Uzbekistan is in our passports! Therefor we will have to arrange three visa in Teheran: Tadjikistan, Kyrgistan and China. How long will that take? We'll see.

Visa

2008-02-23T00:13:00.001-08:00

Arranging all visa requires a detailed planning since most of them are only valid for three months. Too short to travel all countries on our way... While travelling we will have to arrange some visa, most of those we will try to get in Teheran.

On beforehand we need at least the following visa: Syria, Iran and Oezbekistan and hopefully also China (6 months, double entry). For Libanon and Turkey a visa is required but can be arranged at the airport or at the border.

At the moment the visa for Syria are in, and our passports are now at the Embassy of Iran in The Hague. With three weeks this will last a bit longer than expected, making the planning for Uzbekistan's and Chinese visa a bit tight but not impossible.

In Teheran we will hopefully be able to arrange a 7 day transit visa for Turkmenistan and also visa for Tadjikistan (including Khorog and Murgab) and Kyrgyzstan.

For the time being things are under control.

Gear

2008-02-22T23:54:00.001-08:00

I thought it was a good idea to publish a short list of the gear that we are planning to take with us. It is not complete but it will give you an idea of what is needed for a trip like this.

Bikes (custom build by Snel Tweewielers in Utrecht)

Frame: Savanna
Edition: LXT 40 special
Tires: Schwalbe Marathon XR
Led lights: front & rear
Saddle: Terry Viago
Pedals: Shimano combi
Brakes: Magura hydraulisch

Luggagebag: Ortlieb Packsack
Front bags: Ortlieb Plus Rollerserie
Rear bags: Ortlieb Plus Rollerserie

Clothes for cycling in hot and cold weather

Clothes for tourism

Clothers for hiking

Two pairs of shoes (one for cycling with SPD)

Cooking gear (burner, pans, etc.)

Waterfilter

Drinking bottles, themos flask

Camping gear

Tent, Mattrass, Warm sleeping bag

Klamboe

Toiletteries

Tools

First aid-kit

Medicine

Formalities (passport, visa, maps)

Gadgets (iPod, binoculars, camera, camcorder)

The plan

2008-02-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Half a year has passed since we took the decision to travel the silk roads by bike in the footsteps of Marco Polo. After some years of dreaming, some months of thinking and some weeks of planning we came to the conclusion that the plan is feasible.

Janneke and I will travel unknown countries with different cultures, passing ancient cities, through deserts and rough mountains on our way to China. We will start our journey in Beirut, Libanon on April 13th. From there the route goes through Syria, Turkey, to Iran. Then onwards to the Central Asian region with Turmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Kyrgyzstan until we reach the country of the middle: China. We will cross China from East to West: Kashgar, Urumqi, Chengdu to Kunming and from there to Laos and Thailand. The final destiny of our trip is Bangkok where we will be around Christmas 2008.

In August we will visit the Olympics in Beijing. We are not able to get there in time by bike, therefor we will fly from West-China to Beijing. We make a short break of one week when we fly from Beijing to Amsterdam to attend to important parties. First the wedding of Janneke's brother and my friend Jorrit with Nienke, and second my father's 65th birthday and my parents 35th wedding anniversary.

After this time-out we will return to our bikes and pick up the journey from there.