By land to China

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By land to China
Brandl

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By land to China

By land to China
The trail of the caravans

You need courage, trust and zest for action if you travel alone on a motorcycle on the Silk Road. Angela Brandl has dared to follow the legendary caravan route, which has been used for trade between Europe and China since ancient times. Whether she would make the route and enter China was a long time in the stars.

05/09/2008

One day, I had sworn to myself, I would travel it, the Silk Road, that legendary connection between the Mediterranean and East Asia. Would let my Honda roll on the old caravan routes, the historically significant paths that merchants, scholars, and armies once wandered. In the Middle Ages, not only silk, glass and spices were transported here, but ideas, religions and entire cultures were also exchanged. Today the Silk Road attracts adventurers and romantics like me, although many regions are still no man’s land for tourists. After years my dream will come true. The Dominator takes me to the northeast of Turkey without any particular incident, where I get lost on the snow-covered passes, which are over 3000 meters high, and a friendly truck driver takes hours to get me on the right course.

At the border I wait between Georgians and Azerbaijanis who want to import large numbers of Mercedes bodies and of course have legal papers … I breathe a sigh of relief when I have the barrier behind me. The relief doesn’t last long, because the roads in Georgia are among the worst I’ve ever experienced. Despite the long Soviet occupation, the people do not seem to have lost their faith, as testified by the simple orthodox stone churches on the old military road through the Caucasus with its snow-washed mountains. In Tbilisi I stay with a former German teacher. She rents out rooms because her pension is insufficient. She considers the garden as a parking space for my motorcycle to be unsafe, and the security guards there rate even a parking space as critical. They swarm out, find a narrow, winding basement. With pushing, squeezing and a bit of spit they stow the bike.

Azerbaijan is different. Islam determines people’s lives, its strict rules provide orientation and support. Muezzins regularly call to prayer, but despite all their beliefs, people are curious about everything Western. At a roadside check, the police want to look into my wallet. I am not enthusiastic, but I show my money and in amazement they examine every single coin, pass every note around and – put everything back in my pocket. Fascination with the euro. Like their country neighbors, the Azerbaijanis also lovingly look after the Honda, we are both allowed to sleep in the same hotel. On the first floor, mind you.

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By land to China


Brandl

You need courage, trust and drive to travel alone on a motorcycle on the Silk Road.

I wait three hours at the Turkmen border, only to get a hefty 130 US dollars poorer and five receipts richer. Because the time is too long for the officials, they leaf through my travel guide. They don’t like the comparison of their president with Hitler at all: the book is to be confiscated – no way! They argue violently, want my passport, but I don’t hand it out. Instead, I just tear the entire chapter Turkmenistan out of the book, the customs officers are amazed. But only the okay from a translator ordered by phone from the city on the remaining content relaxes the situation. After a total of eleven hours it finally says succinctly: “No problem, you can go now.”

The money exchange is a pleasure, but 50 euros with exchanged 1250000 Turkmen manats mean millionaire status and a two-inch thick wad of money. Only a few kilometers later I spread my sleeping bag at a “rest stop” in the middle of the desert. The warm friendliness of the women and the delicious dinner they serve more than make up for the stresses and strains of the day.

Because Central Asia is as good as not developed for tourism, travelers are marveled at, but also welcomed with joy. Moving encounters with ordinary people, who are grateful for every kind of attention, are among the most beautiful experiences of the trip.

Before I continue via the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, I am allowed to spend the night in a truck stop at the Uzbek border. The boss swaps his bed for a night outside to guard the motorcycle. And that’s no exception: truck drivers feel a special affection for the comparatively vulnerable motorcyclists. Help? Just ask a Turkish truck driver.

Beautiful mosques, minarets and colorful bazaars line the route. You feel as if you have been transported to the Middle Ages, the historical buildings have been restored so well. Bahodir’s Guesthouse is the main meeting point for all individual tourists in Central Asia. Almost everyone stops here to exchange ideas with like-minded people. How good that feels after all this loneliness.

Motorcycle trip From Munich to the roof of the world with the MOTORRAD action team


By land to China


Brandl

This path on the Pamir brings you high up. Soon the highest point of the journey in the Tianshan Mountains is reached at 4655 meters.

The road from the Uzbek border to Dushanbe in Tajikistan is in a disastrous state. At the Anzob Pass I swallow so much dust that I can almost do without dinner. And the Honda? Gasoline is sold in five-liter canning jars, the octane number fluctuates widely. The infamous Pamir Highway, which the Russian occupation had built to promote the exchange of goods, runs through Tajikistan. The passes are between 2500 and 4600 meters high, and although the highway itself is quite well developed, the accesses are extremely difficult to drive on. From Kalaikhum to Khorog, the road runs directly on the Panj River, the border river between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Wedged between four and five thousand meter peaks, it winds its way through the Panj Valley for over 250 kilometers.

Tajikistan is extremely poor and people almost never see visitors. They are as happy as children when I stop, exchange a few words with them and thank them for inviting them to tea with a few onions or tomatoes. The shepherds’ animals are their insurance for survival. Dry yak dung is burned, wool and animal skins are used for clothing and to insulate the tents. Often the meat and milk of the animals are the only things that save them from starvation. In winter, when the cold rattles with a merciless minus 50 degrees, wolves take care of the cattle without harm. They cannot scare away even the bravest herding dogs.

Shortly before the border with Kyrgyzstan, a long stretch of road is missing: a river has torn the tar cover away. So pack up the Honda and laboriously drag the motorcycle and luggage individually through the current. Fortunately, a new motorcycle traveler helps actively. After the action, I’m so exhausted that I set up camp right next to the street, lay out my pants and boots to dry and crawl exhausted into the sleeping bag.

At the end of August, the approaching autumn turns the leaves colorful and the nights are getting cold. From an altitude of 3500 meters there is snow. At the idyllic Song Kul Lake, I camp next to the yurts of the nomads who accompany their herds to the high pastures in summer. Before the frost presses humans and animals too much, the tents are pulled down. Traditional festivals frame this event with banquets, music and falconry. The highlight is the buzkashi: In a wild scramble, two teams fight to lift the rump of a freshly slaughtered sheep from horseback and bring it to the designated place.

It’s only 700 kilometers to the Chinese border, the temptation is too great and I want to try my luck. At the Chinese checkpoint, customs officers are buzzing around the Honda, inspecting my luggage and trying to find out where I’m from from my passport. When I point to the characters for Germany in my dictionary, I get stunned faces: A woman, all alone, on a motorcycle? They don’t know what to do with me, marvel at my stickers from Asia, Australia and Africa. One of the customs officers speaks English and explains that I am not allowed to enter. I need an escort vehicle from Beijing, a Chinese driver’s license and a travel agency to vouch for me. So turn back? He hesitates, looks again at the stickers from all over the world … After all, they guarantee me. Because national pride has awakened in the civil servants. You now wish for yourself that I can continue my journey to Beijing. After lunch together, they decide to issue me with a special customs paper. With this special permit and lots of good advice, I’ll be fired.

Now the time has come: The huge country with its megacities teeming with people and the often unkempt streets lies in front of me like a threatening monster. Beijing, I’m coming.

Motorcycle trip From Munich to the roof of the world with the MOTORRAD action team

Info

It takes time, money and perseverance to travel the old caravan route. But dreamy landscapes and meeting warm people are the reward.


By land to China


Brandl

It takes time, money and perseverance to travel the old caravan route. But dreamy landscapes are the reward.

getting there
The journey through the Balkans is varied in many ways. Between March and October a car train runs from Villach in Austria to Edirne in Turkey. One variant is the ferry between Ancona / Italy and Çesme / Turkey.

Travel time
The extreme mountain heights are only accessible in summer. In the deserts, the temperature climbs to over 45 degrees Celsius at this time, and in winter it often drops below minus 30 degrees. A total of five to six months should be taken.

formalities
Germans do not need a visa for Turkey and Georgia, but they do for the other countries. Fees: around 1000 euros. Particularly important: a multiple-entry visa for Kazakhstan so that if you are rejected at the Chinese border, you don’t get stuck in the no man’s land between two countries. The Pamir Highway requires a GBAO permit, best available in Du-schanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Cost: about 20 US dollars (about 13 euros).

Eating / sleeping
In the big cities you can find hotels and guesthouses (from 70 euros) and guesthouses (from 10 to 30 euros) everywhere. In the countryside, camping in the wild is not a problem and is often the only alternative. What is sizzling in the street food stalls is enjoyable and affordable (2 to 3 euros), otherwise cooking yourself is the order of the day. Sufficient supplies should be packed, especially for the Pamir Mountains. In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan there is an office of the CBT (Community Based Tourism) in many places, which arranges private rooms (around 8 to 10 euros).


By land to China


Map: Maucher

Duration of the trip: six months; Distance covered: 24,000 kilometers.

literature
The Turkey Handbook (Know-How) for 22.50 euros and the two Travel Guides from Lonely Planet for Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asia for 24.95 and 27.95 euros have proven to be effective travel guides. In the volume on Central Asia, pay attention to the Turkmenistan chapter. The very good Central Asia map in 1: 1.75 million, 7.90 euros comes from Nelles Maps; from RV-Verlag the Turkey map in 1: 800000 for 9.95 euros. Also recommended is the tear-resistant Caucasus map on a scale of 1: 650,000 from Reise Know-How for 8.90 euros. The maps for East and West China in 1: 2.7 million are only used as a rough guide. In China it is best to buy tickets locally, not least because of the characters.

security
You can feel safe in rural areas. In addition, the people are usually very friendly and helpful. In cities, however, the usual rule applies: Park and lock the motorcycle in a garage or on a guarded parking lot. A little knowledge of Russian makes traveling a lot easier.

Motorcycle trip From Munich to the roof of the world with the MOTORRAD action team

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