Russian Altai

The Altai Republic is situated within the Russian part of the Altai Mountains system, which covers a large part of the Republic and continues into neighbouring Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.More than 20,000 tributaries sprawl throughout the mountainous Republic, making for a total of more than 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi) worth of waterways. The republic’s largest rivers are the Katun and the Biya, both of which originate in the mountains and flow northwards. The junction of the two rivers eventually forms the Ob River, one of the longest rivers in Siberia, which flows northward to the Arctic Ocean.The Katun River, in particular, holds a religious significance for native Altaians, as well as for many Russians who live in the area, as Mount Belukha is known in Altai folklore to be the gateway to the mystical kingdom of Shambhala.The mountain lakes of Altai contain enormous freshwater reserves of a very pure quality as a result of their distance from civilization. (Source Wiki)

Russian Multi Entry Visa

My Russian visa, obtained all those months ago in London is examined closely by the Mongolian immigration official, we are allowed two entries in a 90 day period and this is the second of these.

He bends the passport back and forth, picking at the visa with his finger nail….I want to say “Hey sunshine, its not a forgery stop messing with it” but actually just stand there trying to look respectable with a Wallace and Grommet smile on my face….Inspection over my passport is returned           

We need this short access into Russia because whilst Kazakhstan is only 37km from Mongolia there are a few rather large mountains in the way. 

No-Mans Land

Most borders we have passed through have both administrations  colocated, but this one is different, there is a sizable no-mans land of rough but easy gravel road in-between……I get a short distance from the Mongolian border, then look back, this would be the view someone coming from Russia would get, somewhat basic for an International border!

A few kilometres later then we are at the Russian frontier, a quick passport check, the border guard opens the gates and we are off!

A paved roads starts just metres from the frontier, its almost like Russia is showing off….….there are road signs and yellow edge markings, we go for almost 15Km and I start to think was that it, are we through into Russia, of course not, moments later we arrive at Russian customs, ahead of us a cluster of more modern buildings.

They let batches of say 5 vehicles in past the gates at a time, when those are through another batch is allowed in. 

There is hardly any queue today, so we are in almost straight away, I am asked the usual questions, any drugs, any weapons (stop it) and how much cash are you carrying. I have little cash and answer no to the other questions. “OK” says the customs guy, “open up your luggage”  bags are opened one at a time and after a while my man has seen enough…” you can go” he points to an administration office.

At this office we are issued with a bar coded form that will cover us for the whole Eurasian customs union.

We get the final stamp the customs lady says “You are free to go, welcome to Russia” …..for me its exciting for to be back in Russia, I have missed the people, the hospitality and those fabulous road side cafes.

We leave Russian customs a little while before dark, so call it a day just the other side of the border.

Heading for Almaty

Next morning Its a bit of a shock when we calculate the distance to Almaty in Kazakhstan, some 1900 km away from us, we have five days to get there after our extended time in Mongolia, so it all depends on the roads on how long those days are going to be! 

We look at our route and set an ambitious 800km target for the day, to get us to Barnaul the biggest city in the region. 

There are two usual priorities we try to sort out when entering a new country, some cash (cards are not king here) and a sim card for the phone.

The sim card is already sorted, a kind gift from a Spanish couple we met going in the other direction the day before…..…..they have travelled from Spain to Mongolia 2 up on a Honda 125 sport!

So now for the cash, we stop at the next town for an ATM, its easy, all in English, the hardest part guys is to get your head around a new exchange rate, Mongolia was 3000/1 GBP, Russia is 90….. nuts……we climb away from the town and with altitude comes the biting cold, its a blue sky day but there are reminders all around that autumn is coming, snow caps on some of the higher mountains, the trees are changing colour, leaves a golden brown…the year and our journey entering a new phase. 

The Altai region is so beautiful, I know I over use this word but seriously this is a bikers paradise, I am almost certain a motorcyclist designed this road, its like a roller coaster ride, we have a perfect road surface, carving through the mountains, up, down, long sweeping bends to the left then right, switch-backs as you cross over mountain ranges……….I get into a nice rhythm in the rising temperature, pushing on, with a bit of cheeky counter steering going on, powering out of the corners, the rear enduro tyre on the edge of its grip, the riding is superb, in fact I would say this section is of the P258 is the best motorcycle road I have been on…ever! 

Imagine the Wye Valley on steroids but lasting for 250km, similar to the Sunrise Parkway in the USA with much less traffic and certainly no Harleys….The day in the mountain continues, slightly less extreme,  there is definitely a feeling of wealth about this place, pine trees, smart looking log cabins for hire down by the river…even european cars…….we pass some with boats and other leisure toys on the back, tourism is here and its making a difference for sure.

…the river really is that stunning aqua blueWe stop for a coffee and enter our first Russian cafe for over a month, my spirits are lifted even further, the smell of hot food as you enter, the smiling Russian lady taking our order, trying to help us in English…As we are about to leave a Russian guy asks us about our journey, he is delighted we are here, he shakes my hand and says “good luck” such a contrast to Mongolia in that respect, Russia feels more sophisticated to my tourist eyes, the people are interested in us, Mongolia was one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever been, however I think the cultures in the two countries are very different.

We make it to Barnaul at around 20:00 just as it gets dark, the Maps.Me navigation working perfectly offline and taking us straight to the hotel, lots of empty hotels in this big city so the price on booking.com is just 15 GBP each including breakfast.…..Wow, OK this is a little grand, I stop outside rather than enter, Gary says “why are we not going in” “well I want to check its 30 pounds a night not 300” I say, still not sure about the exchange rate..

The deal is done, we hand over our 3000 Rubles and have a good evening with locals…

Heading south

We were heading for the Kazakhstan border today, just 300 km south west of us, the roads flatter now….….less dramatic but the surface perfect and our pace fast.

We stop at another roadside cafe, no faceless franchise stuff here, good home made food (Polish style) and hot coffee for just a few pounds….….we fuel up…..…..one of the most odd things about this part of the world in the little hatches where you pre pay for fuel, we come from a land where you can fill up and do your weekly food shop at the fuel station, here if you are lucky you can just about see a person behind the small hatch, at this station a sinister little drawer opens for you to place your money in, before it is snatched back….….we head out of town on the suggested route by MapsMe, as we branch off the road deteriorates and the storm we have been avoiding all day hits us hard, the road is a shocker, like its melted in the sun and then gone hard again, with deep waves of tarmac bouncing our bikes around.

We stop the other side of the storm…this cant be right surely..we check the SAT NAV, then flag a driver down I say “is this the way to Kazakhstan?” we are assured it is. More cross referencing with the paper map….really!!

Another car comes along “go on” I say to Gary “your turn”, again we are assured yes this is the route to Kazakhstan.

Off we go then, after about 30 minutes the road turns to gravel just 20Km from the border, then there it is….this is a really low key afair, like something you might expect in Africa, a hut on both sides of the road and a white car park style barrier, the Kazakhstan flag clearly visible on the other side.

We approach and introduce ourselves, a young border guard speaks a little English….”there is a problem, this crossing is for Russians and Kazakhstan nationals only” Noooooooo

He shows us the correct crossing, this means back tracking 130km and its now getting dark.

There is lots of conversations between the guards and at one point I think….maybe, just maybe they will just let us through….but no, the English speaking guard is professional and polite “I am really sorry you must go back” 

It takes 2 hours to get back where we started, as we approach town Gary hears some nasty mechanical noises from his transmission, its dark but the chain looks very loose.

We stop at a little hotel, 30km from the Kazakhstan border, we will take look at his bike in the morning…….but for now its beer oclock, we look at the maps, it is clear now what happened, the SAT NAV chose the shortest route…not wrong but for locals only! #schoolboyerror

Chain reaction

Next morning the problem is clear, the chain/rear sprocket are shot, we have a spare worn chain but need to either cut the chain or its a much bigger job as we dont have a chain splitter any more.…..and we need to get to the border before our visa runs out…

We also need a 19mm socket and a long lever bar. People are arriving at the hotel and soon are offering tools and advice. Honestly in the hotel car park a 19mm socket and wrench appear. We then discover that the chain guide is a sealed unit, even with the chain off we need to cut it to recover this key component. Using Google translate we ask where a local garage might be to borrow some cutting equipment, the caretaker says “one moment” I am not kidding you he returns a few minutes later with a small disk grinder…perfect for the job, we give him the thumbs up and with that an extension lead is being passed through the window of one of the hotel bedrooms. 

The chain is cut, orange sparks flying across the car park….hotel staff and guests dont seem bothered at all, can you imagine this happening in the front of your local Holiday Inn.…we thank our band of helpers and we are off.

Blues and twos

We are on the edge of town, so close to the border now, I am sure I correctly navigate through a busy junction, but 300 meters later I am being flagged down by the Police, the full blues and twos. A policeman gets out of the car, adjusts his cap and walks towards me….oh crap what have I done.
He speaks a little English, I get the usual where are you from and it soon is apparent they are mainly interested in our unusual number plates, oh and it turns out we may have gone through a red light, luckily this man is a keen off road motorcyclist and shows me a picture of his Suzuki DRZ, he has a picture taken with me and we are wished a “safe road” before they wave us goodbye.

Back on track

This is more like it, the road south is perfect again and soon we are at a smart international border, we are welcomed and processed quickly and efficiently.

We enter into the Kazakhstan border control, manned by army officials and the process starts all over again.

Country number 7 is within touching distance…later we will regret not spending longer in the Russian Altai, but hindsight is a wonderful thing eh?