The group comes together.

Still in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan which is a small town near the Chinese border.  The town is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains.  Over hundreds if not thousands of years it has been one of the main branches of the Silk Road and the main western route to and from China.  The town is located at an elevation of just over two thousand metres.

 

Yesterday morning I woke to fresh snow falls.  The snow covered mountains were quite spectacular but I was also worried about those of my group who were yet to arrive.  They had to cross the Dolon Pass which is located at over three thousand metres.  Much of the road through the pass is unsealed and snow cover would add make the crossing even more difficult.

 

The first to arrive was Vaughan and Kimberley in their Iveco truck.  Vaughan is an Englishman and his partner is a Canadian.  They are both engineers.  They tried the Dolon Pass crossing the night before but had to turn back because of the adverse conditions.

 

 

 

The second vehicle was a motorcycle ridden by a weary Jim Jones who is an Englishman.  Jim is a mechanic and has been involved in professional motor sport for years.  The motorcycle and rider were both covered in slush upon arrival.  It was a huge effort from Jim in those conditions.

 

 

 

The third vehicle was another motorcycle ridden by Jens Hussmann.  Jens is German and works in the financial industry as well as IT project management.  Jens I met in  Istanbul, Turkey and then later in Van, Turkey before he crossed into Iran.  He rode solo through Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.  I lost contact with Jens for a while and I was concerned for his welfare but everything turned out well for him.

 

 

 

The fourth vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, was driven by a New Zealander living in England.  Jon Beardmore is quite a character who also drove into Afghanistan.  Yet to find out much about him but he is also a project manager.  He works for companies involved in the British privatised railway industry.  Interesting man who had equally interesting video footage of him playing an impromptu cricket match with Afghan children.  He will be the central character of the Chinese crossing for sure.

 

 

 

The fifth and last person to arrive was Clive Emery who was riding a motorcycle.  He is an Englishman who works in the finance industry.  I spent a couple of days riding with Clive in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.  He prefers to be independent but will be part of our group for thirty five days while we cross China.

 

 



The group has many strong personalities but we are getting on well.  

 

Of course we have Artur and Jim.

 

 

 

The group cross into China over the Torugat Pass which is located at just over three thousand metres.  A man from Switzerland had to turn back yesterday because of the conditions - hope the conditions improve and we don't have any delays.