The Russian Altai Region
In case you missed the last blog post...this sums it up:
Day 120 - Semey, Kazakhstan to Barnaul, Russia – 5.75 hours, 282 miles
Woke up in Semey, still upset from the day prior. I stripped the hard drive from the laptop and tossed the rest in the trash. Bandaged up my spider bite, and stepped into the boiling heat. It was just an hour to the border of Russia. I remember being so anxious to enter Russia just four weeks ago. Now I was just excited to get back out of Kazakhstan. Of course, the Russian border agents were quite intrigued. An American on a motorcycle at a remote border crossing, carrying a business visa. It took three supervisors and some young fellow in plain clothes to closely examine my passport and documents. The stamp from Morocco threw them for a loop, and they asked me if I had ties to radical Islam. After 30 minutes of thorough inspections of the bike and questions about where I’d been in the last six months, they let me go.
A few miles down the road, I saw a sign to pay a toll in this little grocery store. There were so few people out here that before I dismounted the bike, the attendance rushed out to me, wanting to take a photo. Apparently only cargo trucks paid the toll, but they still charged me a photo op. The little female Russian attendant lady looked at me like I was Batman or something. Well…Christian Bale and I look a lot alike at this point.
Green and I beat feet north to Barnaul.
Day 121 - Barnaul to Kupchegen’ – 6.5 hours, 300 miles
I need to quit being so cheap on hotels. Between the mosquitoes, lack of AC, and paper-thin walls between me and the medically-challenged, morbidly obese couple banging in the room next too me, I only managed to get 90 minutes of sleep. I rather like Russia, but the quality of human interaction can be incredibly binary. In fact, the night prior, I’d felt so unwelcome after paying for a hotel room that I literally pulled Green around to the backside of the building, parked him right outside my room, and chained him to the bars covering my window. Then I covered him with his PJs and hoped no one would steal him. It was nice to be back in a large town, but these locations also came with heightened apprehension.
But…the days of devoid landscape in Kazakhstan were a thing of the past. The path to the nearest border crossing into Mongolia swung southeast, deep into one of the most beautiful places of the trip—the Altai Region. Gravel Roads through dry deserts yesterday, perfect pavement through meandering valleys today. While pausing at a cafeteria for some local fare, I even picked up the only physical memento of the round-the-world journey. Oh, yeah…and I have cell service. While stopping for groceries in Kupchegen’, I met an Australian couple riding a Honda Africa Twin around Asia and the Middle East. They were 72. Never…stop…exploring.
Rarely a hit, and nearly always a miss with Russian hostels. The riverside cabin was relaxing for an evening and Green and I enjoyed a torrential downpour and chest-shaking thunderstorm from the porch. But the owner would aggressively try to charge me twice the online price after the listing had been in offerings. I’ll forgive you rural Russia.
Day 122 – Kupchegan’ to Kosh-Agach – 3 hours, 135 miles
I LOVE THE ALTAI! Absolutely gorgeous landscapes and top-notch tarmac. Roadside snacks and side trails tripled the duration of this day’s ride. Would have to chalk this up as one of the top 10 days of motorcycling in my life.
Late afternoon, I rolled into a cozy hotel just 10 miles from the border of Mongolia. The town of Kosh-Agach spread across a floodplain, and communal livestock roamed freely throughout bright green pastures and bogs. I grabbed a 2-liter bottle of beer at the grocery store for 75-cents and sat in the grass with the horses for a few hours. Locals didn’t look Russian anymore. Darker skin, fuller faces, but still as friendly as you’d like.
Just before sundown, a group of eight dirt bikes and two massive black SUVs rolled into the hotel. I watched from my second floor window as they all circled Green, pointed at stickers, and comments on the Texas plates. We’d all become friends that evening over a huge BBQ and too many beers. The Kazakhstan Overland company was guiding a few clients through Mongolia and producing a promotional video. Cool guys. We struggled to converse due to language barriers, but a mutual appreciate was evident. It was fun and fitting to celebrate the end of Russia and the beginning of Mongolia with fellow riders.
