From the nomadic steppes of Kazakhstan to the frenetic streets of Hanoi, Asia is a continent so full of intrigue, adventure, solace, and spirituality that it has fixated and confounded travelers for centuries.
Waiting in Tashkent for the Turkmenistan visa brought me unexpected emotional lows. Without having the day-to-day activity of riding and looking for food, fuel and camping spots, my mind was free to dwell on the things that I left behind: home, cat, family, and friends. Some psychological bills came due and there were a few blue days to slog through. I went back to...
Waiting to enter Uzbekistan was made more pleasant by watching a drug-sniffing Springer Spaniel joyfully scour a truck’s chassis, egged on and directed by his handler. Between searches there was time for fetch with a tennis ball or tug-of-war; I think the dog was the happiest person at the border. Within two hours I was through, and the Uzbek guard gave me the go...
Edit Post Heading west on the M39 out of Almaty, the snow-capped peaks of the towering Zailyisky Alatau range were quickly out of sight, replaced with gently rolling cultivated fields covered with brown stubble. Between the fields and the highway is a continuous tract of trees about a dozen meters wide – on evenings when I mistimed the sunset this made a convenient...
The entry to Kazakhstan was the easiest border yet; after stamping my passport they only wanted to glance at my Russian customs declaration form. A uniformed official smiled and said, “Welcome to Kazakhstan – our military is not interested in your vehicle.” Next I was cruising across the tan, griddle-flat landscape on paved but humpy roads. The first surprise was the...