Border crossing

OK so time to leave China for Kyrgyzstan.

Apparently a border crossing can take all day if the border police choose to be tardy. We got to the Chinese Customs about 10am and left 2hours later. Got held up by 100 new buses which were being driven to Kyrgy as a part gift from the Chinese government. The customs guys even check some of the pictures on our cameras so luckily we hadn't taken too many pictures of the army . I put my card on the very first photo so they say pictures of our house Monty and Cass then lots of Beijing till they got bored looking. Others changed the cards in their cameras just in case. Any way we eventually got through and loaded Gisele up again had to pass two more check points where our passports and visas were checked and double checked - eventually got to the border and it was almost snowing I caught one flake. We were traversing the Torugart Pass and went to 3752m . Some of the group were quite excited well really only Ant who wanted to run up the mountain in his shorts and tshirt and make a snow angel.

Finally got to the border and John got off to get final check of our passports and left us there as he wasn't allowed past the barbed wire fence. Interesting seeing all of the army guys with their AK???'scound'nt get too many smiles from them we did try. 60kms of travel here took 3hours rocky peaks red muddy streams in the valleys and not too many people.

finally got to the Kyrgy customs and what a difference a cement block no furniture very bleak and absolutely freezing inside warmer outside even tho there was ice on the steps. We'd picked up our new guide a very attractive 21 y o girl from Bishkek and Ant decided to bring a snowball on board to throw at one of the girls who'd got him earlier he threw she ducked and he got the new girls - Olga - fair and square on the back of the head! Spent the nest few minutes abjectly apologising/

Apparent;y it had snowed in this region only a week ago for a week so the snow was still on the hillsides.

Very picturesque landscape - no market gardens no rice paddys no Chinese.

Saw my first live marmot - have seen a few pelts in the markets. They are quite large and burrow from a distance like a wombat with a tail.

Foud a camp site in off the road between rolling hills and a river/creek running through it horses grazing and the odd Kyrgy man on horseback - a couple of yurts and cows and goats. Can you imagine anything bette? I guess that some of you can I think its call 5* hotel.

got up the next morning and the river had frozen so it was pretty cold overnight I wasn't to bad couldn't get my feet warm but the rest was OK the night time visit tothe loo was a bit icy.

In the morning ws up early and went for a walk with a coupleof other around the hillside and got invited into a yurt for Fermented Mares Milk, goats cheese and bread - really hospitable people and the inside of the yert was fantastic just like you see in the movies with lots of rugs and the old Babuska making cheese by hand/

We opened up the roof of the truck for the next bitof the trip and I chose to sit up there - just a tad cold after the firts 2 minutes had to stay for 1.5 hours till our next stop by then I was almost frozen.

Time for bed so will try to update again in two weeks

love to all

Di

26 Aug 2009