It all started when my good friend, Sofri wanted to do a short mountain biking clip and I started to look for inspiration and ideas on how about to do this clip and came across 'Flashes of the Altai'. Then few weeks later, Farhan initiated that he wanted to go Kyrgyzstan to cycle with Asyraf and so that's kinda how this trip happen,
Few weeks before the trip, we sat down, open up google map and started plotting our own route and this what we came up with. Following are some of my fav images from this epic bike packing trip.
Flight Route : Singapore - KL (Airasia) . KL - Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan (Air Astana)
Bishkek - Our journey began in Bishkek where we stayed one nigh with Tunduk Hostel and got our first experience on Kyrgyz hospitality. Tunduk Hostel is a few metres away from where we rented our ride. (http://freebike.kg/en_stores.htm)
1st stop - Kochkor
No language barrier here. We're communicating just fine
Cheeky kids of Kochkor
Asyraf pushing through the harsh incline terrain leading up to Song Kul.
Where we sleep is where we dream.
Greet the morning sun, pack our bicycle, take a deep breath and off we go.
On route to Song Kul - Still no where to be found
Finally home in Song Kul
Roof work on the yurts which is also the design on the country's flag
Useful tools for the trip. Solar panel + Garmin vivoactive hr. The Garmin vivo active comes with a navigation mode to accurately locate your exact location via gps so we could cross reference with our map coordinates to find our way.
Perks of unguided bike trip : anytime = lunch time!
Pedalling amongst giant to Suusamyr
Homestay in Suusamyr
Potrait of our host in traditional Kyrgyz hat ( "Ak Kalpak" )
Kyrgyz Boys
Kyrgyz Girls
Ala Archa National Park
So this sums up my bike packing adventure in Kyrgyzstan.
The idea of three non-cyclist going on a unguided bike packing trip in Kyrgyzstan may seem crazy but not entirely impossible.
All thanks to 'Flashes of the Altai' that I knew I had to experience bike packing in central Asia and to my good friends Farhan and Asyraf for making it happen.
Photos are mostly from Asyraf's A6500 or my Panasonic GH4
Critical shopping list for the trip:
4) Vaseline