Olgii is a nice town with a lot of Kazakhs roaming around in their traditional hats and outfits. After a huge breakfast we searched around the market for a lift across the border (you can't ride through no-man's land) but didn't have any luck. Eventually we found a guy in a travel agency who directed us to some Russians headed that way. After some negotiation, we got a ride with a "Russian policeman" who didn't know much about counting calories or general hygiene, but at least he could get us across the border that day. We went to the bank to change the last of our Tögrög, which turned into a 40 minute process even with a calculator. After getting picked up at the hotel we made our way out of town only to run out of petrol a couple of minutes into the trip. We were soon to understand the depths of the driver's laziness after he got a friend to deliver some petrol so he could start the car to get to the station around the corner, walking was simply not an option. The first 30km of the trip were bitumen but after that it turned into the typical hellish roads and driving we had become accustomed to. We were hitting every bump at serious pace, bikes were getting smashed into each other and into us, and our heads were hitting the roof of the jeep just as hard. Personally, it was the closest I'd come to losing my composure during this odyssey on Mongol transport. The border crossing was hassle free, a simple "no" in response to a question from two stereotypical Soviet-era guards regarding the carriage of contraband was enough for them to not proceed searching any further through our bags. We reassembled our bikes at the Russian border town of Tashanta and hit the road for the 50km of (bitumen!) road to Kosh-Agach. Being 4:30pm we had to make good time, the first 5km were ideal, slight downhill, gentle breeze behind and amazing mountain scenery. A vehicle coming from the other direction stopped and out stumbled a guy liquored to the eyeballs, we thought he was going to pull a gun, but he was simply trying to get his hand out of his pocket to shake our hand and say hello. We decided to leave that situation in a hurry. The wind slowly began to get stronger and turned to begin blowing straight into us. About 20km into the trip it became fierce, we were battling to go forwards downhill. We stopped at a small village, but there was no way we could stay there or get a lift onwards so we had to press on because we were screwed otherwise. Eventually the wind began to die down and we rode flat strap for the last 20km in the dark, most drivers were courteous and gave us plenty of room. Arriving on the outskirts of town one guy told us the hotel was destroyed but we found the shop and we asked a guy who immediately rang a friend who let us stay in his hotel which hadn't finished being built, but it had a roof, beds and was next door to the shop so were happy. They were awesome and immediately dispelled any preconceptions we had about Russian people. We got some food and beer and cooked up a decent dinner (still only two meals for the day though) and relaxed.
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| Travelling in comfort |
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| Reassembly in Tashanta |
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| Return of the bitumen |
