Winter in September

Total distance: 4268 km
Almaty - Shilik - Kökpek - Shonzy - Köktal - Korgas

After a relaxing week in Almaty it was time again to get back on the saddles. We were ready to tackle our last stretch in Kazakhstan, from Almaty to the Chinese border in Korgas. We set off very early on a cold September morning. The temperature dropped to 12°C. We wore our all-weather gloves that we had not worn since Sweden in June. It took us 20 km with heavy traffic to reach Almaty's suburbs. After 50 km we could say that the city traffic was gone. We were back in the countryside.

When we left Almaty we had only 4300 Tenge left (22 EUR or 29 USD). Our concern was that it wouldn't be enough for approximately 5 days to the Chinese border. However, we reached China with 1700 Tenge still in our pockets. You don't need much in the countryside, especially when sleeping all nights in the tent. Our last Tenge were only spent on bread, vegetables and chocolate.

The 5 days that we cycled in southeast Kazakhstan and the Tian Shan mountain range were a big surprise with regards to the weather. When we left Almaty it was cold but it was getting even colder. The temperature dropped to only 5°C. It was raining too so that we wore our rain gear again. The last time we touched our rain gear was in Sweden. During these cold days we pitched our tent very early every day to look for shelter from the cold wind. Soup, spiced up with noodles and vegetable, was our daily dinner. Hot soup is the ideal food when it is cold. Cold and rain did also change our mood and plans to cycle further into the Tian Shan mountains at an altitude of 2000 m. At a junction we took the hard decision to ditch the Charyn Canyon and probably more spectacular mountains. Clouds were hanging low, it was raining and it was too cold. Our cloths were good enough for 5°C, but it shouldn't have got any colder. So we took the direct road to China. When we had Taz on the phone, he told us that the weather was unusually cold for this season. Bad luck!

Chocolate and tea season again

Despite the bad weather we were able to see parts of the beauty of southeast Kazakhstan. The Tian Shan mountain range accompanied us all the way. We very much enjoyed the loneliness and the view till the horizon.

---