down on hidden valleys, it was like
we trotted back in time. Yurts were
surrounded by livestock, children
washed in streams and young boys
and girls raced around on horses.
There was no electricity and no
connection to the outside world - just
nomads living off the land.
But while ancient traders had as
much time as they needed to traverse
the 8000-kilometre Silk Road, we had
visas to think about. So, we made
our farewells to our nomadic friends
and left (on two wheels) to explore
the rest of Kyrgyzstan’s many twists,
turns and epic landscapes. It’s a raw,
rugged land and feels more remote
than Tajikistan. It’s dubbed the ‘Least
known about country in Central
Asia’, and for good reason. Kyrgyz-
stan doesn’t rely on tourism; a huge
proportion of its people still live an
ancient nomadic lifestyle and you can
ride for hours without seeing another
soul.
The greenery dried up as we
moved through Kazakhstan. It was
slowly replaced by long stretches of
yellow and flat lands, canyons and
a great vastness. As we approached
Mongolia - a country we dreamed
about for the last 10 years - did the
grass return. More excited than four-
year-olds at Christmas, we crossed
the border and started our journey to
Ulaanbaatar over the great Mongo-
lian plains.
It’s like an undiscovered frontier.
We crossed hundreds of kilometres of
grassland peppered with wild camels,
eagles and horses, along thousands
of dusty trails running through the
country like beating veins. The tracks
switched between thick mud, gravel
and rivers that swallowed the road
whole. As we reached the glistening
Gobi Desert the trails turned to deep
sand. Mesmerised by the dunes we
stopped, set up our tent and gaped at
the desert as it spread into China and
marked the start of the Silk Road.
The Silk Road flourished under
the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan
TRAVERSE 74