BACK IN THE USSR- GERMANY TO VLADIVOSTOK ON 2 X DAKARS

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We are in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan and the  replacement engine for the one Dakar has finally arrived.

We meet Viktor, a man of few words

His parents are Russian Siberians. They come to Bishkek when he is 3. VIKTOR loves URALS. He is a champion of URALS; he is the runner-up in the Soviet Off-road Championships of 1979 (a guy from Turkestan wins by a foot).

Together Viktor and I fit the new engine and repair cracked frames with few tools and two words: “Da” (yes) and “Nyet” (no).

The rest as a result of some good old Russian "make a plan" ingenuity

To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=1826

Best regards
Harry and linda
www.pikipiki2.co.za





 

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We leave  Kyrgyzstan with heavy hearts

Here are a last few photos from Krygystan at the link below:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=1869


Due to a limited internet connection we cannot post all the pictures here but they can be seen on the link above
 

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The Republic of  Tuva is at  the very center of the Asian continent. Situated at the southern edge of Siberia, just north of Mongolia it is one of three autonomous regions within the Russian Federation.

To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=2029

Best regards

Harry and Linda
 

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Whaaauw ............... I dont have words ................  :thumleft: :thumleft:
 
Linda has made a posting on the pikipiki2 site:

Siberia conjures up an image.

a Land of Banishment ! a Prison of a Country ! a Hell on Earth !

Here Exiles and Troublemakers and Inmates fall off the face of the Earth. Here in Labour Colonies and Concentration Camps and Psychiatric Hospitals they expire. Here in the World’s Worst Weather they chop wood, lay railway tracks, work in mines and build factories.

To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=2093

Best regards

Harry and Linda
 

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Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake, curves like a crooked finger for nearly 600km through south-eastern Siberia, north of the Mongolian border.

What really hits you is the sense of isolation. More than 3000 km  west of the Pacific, over 5300 km east of Moscow and south of nowhere, stranded in Russia’s great empty quarter it is more a sea than a lake. With few inhabitants and even fewer roads.

All the great lakes of North America could fit into it with ease
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With 1,500 species of flora and fauna found nowhere else, including the mysterious nerpa, the only freshwater-lake seal, it has been dubbed the “Galapagos of Russia”.

To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=2175

Best regards

Harry and Linda
 

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What an amazing experience it must be. Been following your blog too. This trip does remind one of the Sibirsky Extreme tours on that other famous forum. Mongolia and Russia seem to be the ultimate adv destinations. Safe riding!
 
The Secret Object?

Linda stops to take  some pictures of  chimneys belching out smoke.  All we wanted were some pictures of these ‘soviet cathedrals’ and their pollution.

From nowhere a group of  guards appear. For me they resemble Ninja turtles, all dressed in black, bullet proof vests and heavily armed. We are bundled into a panel van which has a remotely controlled side door. One can only imagine this is to prevent escapees while on the move. Why would we want to jump out anyway?

We plead them to delete the 2 pictures and allow us to go. ‘Nyet’ (no) is their monosyllabic reply.

How often do you get tourists on motorcycles, white and from Africa? Probably never.  Now is the time to flex muscle for the whole town to see.


To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=2347

Best regards

Harry and Linda

 

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Wow wow wow....I can only imagine! What a fascinating place....what fascinating cultures!
 
Rather late than never!

Linda has made a posting on the pikipiki2 site:

A tale of 4 cities

We keep piki-piki-ing along the Silk Road. Behind us; we have trade routes through wide deserts and high mountains. Before us; we have a trade route of Siberian furs and Chinese tea. And we sense an end.

There is a fork in our road. We need to make a call; east to Vladivostok or south to Mongolia. And just like the Silk roaders before us … we let Politics, Economics, and Weather decide......

To read more:

https://pikipiki2.co.za/?p=2245

Best regards

Harry and Linda

 

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