Up&Down Central Asia Adventure - Russia, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

[Music] [Music] a few years ago someone told me that the real Russia started beyond the Urals this echoed in my thoughts as I tried to plan my next expedition Russia Baikal they sounded interesting to me while exploring the map of Asia an idea popped into my head from Baikal it's only a short distance to Mongolia I absolutely had to experience it and on my way back I would ride through the wilds of Kyrgyzstan and on the Pamir mountain in Tajikistan the more I thought about it and looked at the map the more I believed it was going to be a great adventure [Music] to prepare my motorbike for a fifteen thousand mile long trip could take a lot of time especially when I had to do it all by myself it has been said that if you want a thing done well do it yourself the choice of equipment needs to be carefully considered every kilogram counts the day before the trip I packed all my stuff and loaded it onto the motorbike the next morning I was ready to set off on my new adventure [Music] after writing for 500 miles I left the Schengen area and entered Ukraine from now on the necessary paperwork would be a challenge waiting for me at every border I kept going on the flat roads with an occasional stop for coffee for refueling or for blueberry refreshment an invisible hand the desire for adventure pulls me to the east as I approach the Russian border and doesn't allow me to stop for longer than necessary after tackling all the bureaucratic obstacles which i think is one of the big travel drawbacks I'm finally on Russian soil and feeling a great relief but the toughest border crossing to another country is still waiting for me the largest country in the world where a hundred miles is just like going around the corner for the locals and where the mosquitoes suck gallons of blood I'm very curious about Russia but before I begin to discover this huge country I am heading from Moscow I'm very fortunate that my work colleague Denis lives near the metropolis he will provide shelter and show me the city [Music] [Applause] [Music] Moscow is definitely an interesting City but now I'm rather looking forward to visiting the Russia Today TV studio Denis arranged a tour for me which turned out to be an unforgettable experience [Music] after that we took the Moscow Metro Moscow has one of the world's largest underground rail systems which transports 8 million passengers every day and today I became one of them [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the call of the distant lands brought me back to the saddle I'm heading east to Lake Baikal through three and a half thousand miles of the wild nature of Siberia which begins geographically beyond their rural mountains the road is straight and flat until I get into the mountains after three days of riding the landscape becomes more crumbled slowly rising as I approach the Highlands finally the Earl's the eight hundred miles that the mountain range stretches for from north to south is not high for this part of Russia but it is a pleasant change after several hundreds of miles of straight roads as suddenly as the orals appeared they quickly vanished again and I was swallowed by a rough and wild Siberia [Music] now the road was straight again cutting through swamps sometimes changing to birch groves it became a kind of monotony in its raw form occasionally interrupted by the need for refueling or refreshment and the evening came the attacks by squadrons from the mosquito army dozens of buzzing monsters just waiting for their opportunity to suck a drop of my blood of course I'll not give him anything for free and will defend myself but the best way as I quickly found out was to retreat into the tent day after day I moved ahead getting even closer to by calm there's only one way to get to the east from time to time I passed villages where it looks as if time has stopped still old wooden buildings and abandoned agricultural machines are reminiscent of the time when the Soviet Union was at the height of its power great siberian cities separated by hundreds of miles of wild nature our oasis of civilization in the middle of a green infinity I'm gonna stay a little bit longer in one of the cities to discover its secrets um Skiz approximately halfway between Moscow and Baikal it's the second largest city east of the Urals with a population of over 1 million it's a typical rush in the city it has busy streets old houses with long pasts it has traditional transportation lovely art ancient monuments and mainly it has Lenin the locals find their opportunities to escape from the rush of the city and enjoy relaxing on the sandy banks of the ear Tisch River they can fish enjoy some sports or dance or they can just walk and even say [Applause] [Music] let's carry on now 1,700 miles divide me from my destination by call along enough distance to experience my first issue in the form of a puncture a tire defect is nothing bad but only if it's not repeated three times poor patch gave out and I ended up stopped on the side of the road again to take the tube out of the tire doesn't take longer than a few minutes practice makes perfect and it is worth mentioning that every time I was repairing the puncture some other motorcycle riders stopped and offered me help it's great to see that the motorcycle community holds together all over the world and help each other when in trouble I had better luck when the tyre deflated again I was right in front of the tyre service a reliable patch repair is finally made and I can continue on my ride the trans-siberian railway is now my companion for a while it's a two wire electrified connecting line between Moscow and Vladivostok with the length of five thousand seven hundred seventy-two miles it's the longest railway in the world no wonder the line is very busy it's the main business link between east and west the trains are hundreds of meters in length and up to six thousand tonnes in weight I was simply amazed when I once put up my tent near the rail line I found out just how loud and noisy the trains could be saved by earplugs before I move to Baikal I'm gonna stay for a few days in Irkutsk where I have arranged accommodation with a young family I contacted them via the couchsurfing community which is a great website service for travelers wishing to experience the life of local people it's free and the only thing you are expected to do is make good company for your host as a thank you for a pleasant stay I cooked some pancakes and opened a bottle of wine which we drank as a dessert while we enjoyed the evening I was given some good tips on what to visit in the city so I was prepared for the next day's tour [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] for now that was enough of civilization time to go into nature Baikal is waiting for me I plan to spend the night on the island of olkhon 150 miles away from the city to visit the fourth largest lake island in the world was one of the goals I set out at the beginning of the trip I headed north until a one-mile wide expanse of water stopped me a local ferry helped me cross over in a few minutes now I'm ready to discover the beauty of the island I really enjoy the solitude that the island had to offer if you want to you can stay alone and not meet anyone [Music] I found a great beach and made camp my meditation was interrupted by the sound of an approaching motorbike okay it is my Russian colleague named Dmitri who is on his way to Magadan and will be my company for the evening an excellent opportunity to practice Russian Nebraska Resnick mother Grozny Luigi carotid arteries Ashutosh knowledge in Polish I was in Managua she was Nebraska with this was not what diced Rania widgets rezones catapult or whichever Jaeger and restitch number Sharia twist the Sunday morning calls for a bathe in the lake but the water is too cold to swim baikal holds several world records it is the largest reservoir of drinking water with 1642 meters of depth it is the deepest lake and with its estimated age of about 30 million years it is considered to be the oldest lake in the world after saying goodbye to Dimitri I'm going to definitely leave the island but before that I wanted to see a little bit of the surroundings [Music] [Music] visiting this place was an amazing experience but now I have to go on by ferry back to the mainland and then south along the coast of Baikal to Ljubljana the last big city before the Mongolian border however I must not leave without tasting a freshly caught and smoked fish I strongly recommend this delicious food on the only possible road it is 600 miles to the border crossing and it takes me three days to get there I'm not bored at all the landscape of Baikal gives me a lot of things to look at [Music] before I realized it I found myself an oolong tea the landscape in people's faces have changed an unmistakable sign that I'm going the right way I spend the last night in Russia near the city in the next morning I set out to Mongolia to open a new chapter of this expedition [Music] after I spent two hours being squeezed by a Mongolian group at the border office I was eventually released and welcomed by a custom officer on the other side the wild and beautiful landscape of nomads and horses opened in front of me I experienced the feeling of absolute freedom I can go and camp where ever I want it is a dream for every adventurer and I'm enjoying this dream as much as I can I do the evening ritual I cook some food and with the feeling of a true nomad i watch the sunset tomorrow it's going to change again the capital city is expecting me [Music] almost half of all Mongolians live in Ilan Betar with others still coming here with the vision of a better life the modern metropolis offers all the amenities of the Western world I can see a huge difference between the city and the rest of the country modern shops and high-rise buildings are side by side with original houses and monuments my interest however is in the buddhist monestary right in the city center and my opinion Buddhism is more like philosophy than a religion for this reason I really like it the mysterious atmosphere of this place makes me think about life the smell of incense the chants of praying monks and the sound of rotating prayer wheels creates an unforgettable experience I'm trying to get into the rush of the city and just walk through the streets unnoticed I discovered the real life of blond bottom [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] before I disappear into the vast Mongolian plains I'm gonna visit the Chinggis Khaan complex which has a 40 meter high statue of the most famous Mongolian of all time [Music] after my visit to the complex a jump on my bike and ride west to discover the beauty of one of the least human affected countries in the world the first goal is the oricon Valley 250 miles west of Lomond Betar I don't want it too easy so I ride through the cogno Tarna National Park and it's sand dunes Nineveh [Music] the road is much more challenging than I expected and the 60-mile stretch took me almost all day deep sand is a rough test for the motorbike and me as well and that moment I have no idea what the upcoming days will bring to me [Music] [Applause] I finally reached the blacktop and carried on to the Buddhist monastery called a den zoo it is a temple complex surrounded by a massive brick wall and it was built in the 16th century by Abbot icon from the ruins of Karakoram the entire monastery is very impressive and has a long history and faded glory [Music] a single path leads into the oricon Valley so I will have to return the same way it's definitely well worth it to ride the 50 miles and see the splendor that local Nature has to offer [Music] the entire valley is a national park where the government try to maintain the traditional way of life and at the same time leave the visitors a certain freedom there is no problem here camping directly by the river next to the yurt surrounded by a herd of horses and yaks [Music] I get up early in the morning and try to escape the blue wet clouds coming from the West even though I ride out the same way I came I'm surprised how different it is I noticed things I didn't see yesterday after several miles I turn the south and go on through the wide grassy plains to the desert of Gobi where I intend to spend a night in one of the harshest places in the world as I approach the desert the landscape is changing rapidly greenery and water are rare while sand and stones are becoming more abundant I use every opportunity to wash away the dust from my body and to fill the water bottles water supply is an important part of traveling in remote parts of Mongolia and it shouldn't be underestimated I can survive without food for a few days I can walk somewhere without gasoline but without water I have a huge problem my free ride through the steeps is interrupted by a front tire puncture an attack machine esto hace para south governmental sparking the pressure seems alright but the tire doesn't want to go back on the rim luckily a passerby took me to the nearest workshop where we solved the issue and I bought some more patches I hope I'm not gonna need them [Music] a dry and desolate wasteland welcomes me finally I am here I have arrived in the real Mongolian desert my plan is to get water and fuel in the very last village the map shows and to carry on into the sandy wilderness but this perfect plan has a flaw in the desert there are several parallel ways and I took the wrong one the way turned off course and when I realized my mistake it was too late I decided to go further west sooner or later I have to hit the main road the Sun is falling over the horizon and in the distance I can see a storm coming I quickly pitch my tent and disappear inside before the sandstorm engulfs me my reward for this tough day is one of the most amazing evenings of the expedition in the morning I set out to look for the main road which I eventually found [Music] since yesterday I have been out of water a river in the middle of the desert has come to meet me it is more than convenient I'm obviously not the only one who appreciates the opportunity to refresh [Music] I'm going west another 200 miles with only road bumps and sand to accompany me it's the most demanding test of technique and mind [Music] [Music] I would never have expected to be as happy to see asphalt as I was now I'm slowly approaching the Mongolian part of the Altai mountains and passing through town surrounded by yurt settlements the life of locals is tough here yet people seem to be happy maybe there is something else behind their happiness anyhow every meeting is always very friendly [Music] Hey all right [Music] the altai area is beautiful wild and untouched it's easy to get lost here in search of the right path I ran into a Belarusian biker I had met in Russia the world is not as big as it may seem the next two days we continued riding together even though the weather is really bad I enjoy being in the mountains [Music] the Mongolian Russian border crossing is probably the most challenging of this adventure I took seven hours to get into Russia I'm exhausted from filling out absurd forms and in the rain I begin looking for a place to pitch the tent while Andrei goes to a hotel and it paid off surrounded by spectacular nature the sunny morning welcomes me the Russian side of the Altai is totally different from the Mongolian let's have a look [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] the mountain slowly turned into a classic flat Russian landscape after nine days of camping I discover a warm shower and a comfortable bed I have some rest before the long and boring journey through Kazakhstan the temperature is high and the road is unattractive I'm really looking forward to Kyrgyzstan near the border lies Bishkek I spent a few days here to enjoy the city and to prepare my motorbike for the rest of the journey Bishkek is the main gateway to the country and it's magnificent mountain landscapes which begin just beyond the city limits it is possible to meet many travelers trying to experience the local culture and way of life where are you going I'm also going to explore life in the streets [Music] [Applause] [Music] I don't want to leave the comfort a Bishkek but I will have to eventually I ended up on the motorbike heading out to the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan which is the second-largest mountain lake in the world is it cool is situated at an altitude of 1,600 metres and as an impressive depth of nearly 700 meters it's a very famous tourist destination I arranged to meet two guys from the Czech Republic here who are on their journey to Magadan the guys have a little delay so I'm wandering around to explore to meet the locals and enjoy their friendliness [Music] okay sonic off a child the guys and I are going to camp by the lake the evening was close to being ruined fortunately nothing happened and we could enjoy the night in our camp the beautiful morning pulls us from our tents we are having breakfast before we all ride to meet our new adventures what defines volatile quezada produce just eat - no shita stare - oh shut up over there I'm going to another Lake up at 3,000 meters and the map indicates that I have something to look forward to [Music] Lakes song cool is surrounded by peaks of ice-covered mountains and wide plains with grazing herds of cows and horses local people live here in yurts and some of them offer accommodation the only stone building is a memorial to a national hero the weather is fickle and changes often but eventually clears up and lets me enjoy the spectacular sunset and views [Music] [Applause] there are only two paths that lead from here the first is for tourists and the second one is for the locals and the true adventurers I stick to my experience the more difficult it is the more beautiful and it pays off the landscape is simply incredible [Music] [Music] the gravel road leads through a beautiful but barren Valley I don't meet anybody and soon I'm going to find out why after 20 miles the road ends the river has taken a part of the bridge and I cannot go on there is no other option than to turn back and take a 150 mile diversion there is only a dusty road but the mountain views are overwhelming and it's really worth bearing the inconvenience [Music] aash is the second largest city of kyrgyzstan I arranged to stay with Manuel via the couchsurfing website before I meet Manuel I'm heading to muzz to the only off-road motorbike rental in the country come to Kyrgyzstan guys yeah straight up the hill and endless riding it's pretty hard to get around [Music] we start our ecosystem oshel chassis a particular motor co taki example i tried a light em for me highway perfect so first a man while a German guy studying anthropology and working on his research project here in Kyrgyzstan as it happens there is a woman involved eventually he admitted his girlfriend is occur Keys Manuel is a nice guy and we have a lot in common he is talking about the way of life here while showing me the city come on [Music] [Music] like that [Music] nice thing to do in the morning getting up [Music] my last morning gear we got up early and went to watch the sunrise best way to start the morning it's time to go on and the Pamir mountains are awaiting me I start to climb up and don't know where to look first the straight lane has changed to a curvy mountain road rising up to 3600 meters when I look ahead after a while the view overwhelms me the 7000 meter high summit of Pamir stands right in front of me [Music] the feeling of being tiny suddenly becomes very intense and looking at the walls of the mountains makes me feel a great respect for nature something tells me that this is a part of the journey that will stay forever in my memories I'm crossing the border to Tajikistan and heading to Lake our cool it surface lies 4000 metres above sea level even 100 metres higher than the famous Lake Titicaca in Bolivia I feel differently about this place I'm very happy to be here but on the other hand living in such an inhospitable environment must be really tough [Music] there are a lot of mosquitoes but this doesn't stop me from having a bath in the lake the night is unbelievably calm and the sky is full of stars the next day's our most demanding and amazing at the same time the legendary road m41 the Pamir highway [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] sometimes there are obstacles in my way however military maneuvers or the odd fallen bridge can't stop me [Music] yesterday Barada Tsunade Akiko [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] then comes the first major issue the sprocket broke and damaged the teeth of the bike's driveshaft I'll try to fix it by getting it welded and hope that it will last the only thing that can match the beauty of the mountains is the hospitality of the local people the Pamir 'is wherever i stop i am welcomed and often invited for tea in one village i spend a whole afternoon with a nice family they introduced me to the rest of the village and show me the way of life here [Music] [Applause] during my trip to Dashami i have many similar encounters it's nice to watch the children running to the road as soon as they hear the sound of my bike [Music] the temporary repair didn't last him I had to resolve this problem again after a few hours I'm back on the road hoping that the rest of the teeth would endure the 4000 mile journey home I'm applying for an Uzbek visa in Dushanbe and waiting three long days before I received the permit to transit the country [Music] I'm leaving to Jiki Stan which I literally fell in love with and Entering who's Becca Stan the country is flatter and drier but the people aren't equally friendly I stopped for a while in Samarkand once one of the most important cities on the Silk Road where I run into a Czech expedition of yellow cars it's nice to talk in my own language again I [Music] continue to the West and there is less greenery and fewer cities as I ride further the west of Uzbekistan is desolate and arid and all that magnifies the view of where lake are all used to be the only reason people come here is for the minerals sometimes I meet interesting people one of them caught my attention more than the others writing the Pamir highway on a cruiser that's a challenge eventually get to Kazakhstan or I have to work another problem out this time the rear wheel bearing has broken I've fixed it with the help of a local guy and a group of motorcycle travelers the motorbike and I are already tired that is no wonder after the roads we went through I read hundreds of miles every day with only food and gas breaks before the broken bracket stops me in Saratov the Russian mechanic nosov it very quickly Thank You Omar man now the last 1500 miles are pretty good I have time to absorb the experience of the past weeks [Laughter] [Laughter] I've seen a lot of beautiful places and met countless great people what did the journey give me for sure a new view on the world around me there's a lot of kindness and beauty the only thing you have to do is open your eyes [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Visual Moto Travel

Views: 868,665

Keywords: Russia, Mongolia, baikal, Ulaanbaatar, adventure, motorcycle, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, documentary, travel, pamir highway, gobi

Id: fmmXvoKGNGk

Length: 48min 4sec (2884 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 29 2018