You can read here about:
China – Xinjiang province (Xinjiang)
W Urumczi, the capital of Xinjiang Province - the westernmost province of China, located on the border of Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan - nothing was like in the south, in Yunnan or Sichuan, where I traveled in 2014 year. Winter with temperatures reaching -20°C, cuisine based on dumplings, skewers and naan pancakes, and also the language - there are two languages in this province: Chinese and Uyghur, written in Chinese characters and Arabic script respectively - both equally incomprehensible to me.



What surprised me most was the ubiquitous inspections - at the entrances to stores, parks, housing estates or bus stops. To get to work, you had to come at least 20 minutes earlier, to pass all the checkpoints on the ground floor of the skyscraper. You could not bring liquids or other items subject to airport restrictions. Here we all had a constant "airport high" - every day, everywhere and endlessly.





At work, and sometimes even on the street, I felt like committing seppuku - although it's not Chinese, and Japanese tradition. Chaos, typical chinese, he attacked me from everywhere: a kaleidoscopically variable work schedule, noise, jostling in the streets – and two propaganda songs, that echoed non-stop from every alley, shop and elevator. I can hum them, woken up in the middle of the night, even now - and this, it seems, that was what it was all about. After a mad sprint to find an apartment, I managed to move in 20. floor, leaving all that cattail at the bottom. I could rarely admire the Tianshan Mountains on the horizon, although they usually drowned in a suspension of smog.
Fortunately, my co-workers were great - they all helped a lot and thanks to them I was able to cope. Nevertheless, z różnych powodów, po ośmiu miesiącach zrezygnowałam z pracy, but fortunately, I bounced back financially.


I had already decided, that I would go towards Europe by bike, who, of course, came with me. Because it's the beginning of August, I assume, that after two months of pedaling in Central Asia, winter will come, którą przeczekam w Kirgistanie – popularnym kierunku stacjonowania dla wielu podróżników jadących Jedwabnym Szlakiem. Planuję przejazd przez chińską część gór Tianszan i częściowo mi się to udaje. As it turns out, travelers going in the opposite direction are no longer allowed there. To efekt wprowadzenia obostrzeń spowodowanych konfliktem ujgursko-chińskim i, jak się potem dowiedziałam, budowanymi tam “re-education camps”. Można wyszukać w necie, What's the matter.

view of ..Kazakhstan
From the first glance at the homely border terminal, przypominający czasy lat 80-tych, wszystko wydało mi się znajome. In the first village and shop I encountered, I looked at well-known products: bread, including wholemeal, dairy products, sweet bread rolls, orangeade, refrigerators full of beer and shelves brimming with vodka, which were hard to find in China. Wreszcie też mogłam się dogadać – po rosyjsku. However, there are advantages to education obtained during communism.

Kazakhstan is for me only a transit. I cut across the corner of this huge country and head towards Kyrgyzstan, nad jezioro Issyk-kul, while the summer weather is still there. Road is flat as a table, where nothing happens for many kilometers, gives you a foretaste of traveling through the Kazakh steppes. Luckily here, in the south, it's a bit better - there are mountains on the horizon. Sometimes.

Kirgistan
You certainly don't feel sorry for horses in Kyrgyzstan - they have it, what I value most in life: freedom. Everywhere you look, Cattle and sheep graze on the slopes of the hills, cows, horses. long 170 km lake Issyk-kul, several kilometers wide, it stretches to the horizon and gives the impression of a sea. Mountain ranges surrounding them, reaching 3-4 thousand meters, are reflected in the water surface, and the sunsets are pure magic in shades of purple. An absolute blast.





That's where I meet the Polish-Uzbek group, who came for a retreat to a guest house built by Polish priests. This meeting largely defines my fate for the following weeks. The weather is still good, so I postpone my plan, to settle in Bishkek for the winter - October is the perfect time to visit desert Uzbekistan, when the heat subsides. However, to get a visa - although by the way it is already abolished - I must first go to Kazakhstan. By the way, I am also applying for a new passport at the embassy in Almaty - mine no longer has room for stamps..

Kirgistan to wysokie góry, and the Kyrgyz are largely a pastoral nation. It's already mid-September - the yurts are being rolled up, and the sheep were brought to the lower parts. I hitchhike and cycle through the mountains to Osh, which is completely different from Bishkek, remaining under strong Russian influence.

Uzbekistan

Leaving China, somehow I didn't think about visiting Uzbekistan this year. Słyszałam też coś o trudnościach z uzyskaniem wizy, chorych kontrolach bagażu na granicy i przeklętym obowiązku meldunkowym, który z grubsza polega na – podobnie jak wcześniej w Birmie – spaniu w miejscach dedykowanych i zbieraniu faktur, kwitków, by je pokazać w następnym miejscu i zbiorczo podczas wyjazdu. This last one is really bothering me anyway, sometimes shelters don't accept me without proof, gdzie spałam poprzedniego dnia, i tak, it was checked at the border too.




I also have other free adventures. Near Tashkent, on empty, A car hits me on a wide road. I end up on the street and luckily I'm fine, but my bike suffered serious damage. My reliable circle on 40 the spokes had no chance in the clash, a ja nie mam szans znaleźć coś podobnego w Uzbekistanie. The whole accident story, Police, doctors, embassy intervention, repairing a bicycle and generally dealing with matters in Uzbekistan is a topic for a separate book, although it took a week. But it will be described in detail in my book about traveling along the Silk Road.
In the fields, as far as the eye can see, The harvest of the country's greatest wealth - cotton - is underway. This plant, whose cultivation was introduced by Moscow in the 1960s, drained the Aral Sea of water. causing an ecological disaster on a huge scale.

I admire it though, co w Uzbekistanie najpiękniejsze – miasta-oazy Jedwabnego Szlaku. Samarkand has been my dream for years. There is something about this name – blue, emerald, something, co przenosi mnie w wyobraźni do baśni z Tysiąca i jednej nocy. W Samarkandzie zostawiam rower i jadę dalej pociągiem, by zrobić pętlę – na perypetie z naprawą roweru straciłam już zbyt wiele czasu. Odwiedzam Bucharę, Urgencz i Chiwę – w każdym z tych miejsc goszczą mnie osoby, które poznałam nad jeziorem Issyk-Kul w Kirgistanie, dzięki czemu mogę zobaczyć tamtejsze życie z tej bardziej autentycznej strony. Potem wracam do Taszkentu i wjeżdżam po raz trzeci do Kazachstanu – tym razem na jego zachodnią część.

Kazakhstan again
Due to the time of year - November - I give up entering the Pamir route, as well as from driving west, where it's already winter, Moreover, obtaining a visa to Turkmenistan is not certain. So I settled for three weeks in the city of Shymkent in the south of Kazakhstan, thinking, what to do with this journey from China to Europe that has started so nicely and has been going on for about four months. As a result of these thoughts, I land in Dubai.

United Arab Emirates

At the end of November, I evacuate from Kazakhstan and, together with my bicycle, I land in a completely different dimension - this dimension is Dubai. A large glass formation grows in the middle of the desert, shines like a diamond over the Persian Gulf. Interesting place, although extremely anti-cycling. Yes, there is a seaside promenade and the Al Qudra track somewhere outside the city, after which someone is there, but apart from that – forget it. Locals glide around in their SUVs and even order food through the open windows of their air-conditioned vehicles.




However, Dubai turns out to be a great stop for regeneration. A little luxury and washing never hurt anyone, and I'm lucky, that I find shelter with two wonderful hosts from Warmshowers. After a few days, saturated with the sight of shiny skyscrapers and luxury cars, With a preliminary plan, I pack up and move on - through the desert towards Oman.
Oman
Let us put aside stereotypes. The Persian Gulf is not only sand - Oman is also mountains. The Al Hajar Range occupies the north of the country, a najwyższy szczyt Jabal Shams, ma ponad 3000 meters. No, I won't go there - the lower hills overcome me, because there are legends about the steep roads in mountainous Oman. Once I even shed tears from helplessness.

Fortunately, I start with a few days of acclimatization with Hamed in the coastal town of Shinas. This makes me even happier, that in Oman, a traditionally Muslim country, it is not easy for women without male company to receive hospitality, Fortunately, foreign women have a reduced fare here. In addition, it is the home of Omanis and I can observe local customs, and these are largely based on religion and tradition. Hamed's sisters are educated girls - one is studying medicine, druga marketing, and one even had an internship in Poland. When I take a photo of one of them with her hair uncovered, He stiffens and asks to delete the photo. I'm ashamed and I will never do that again.







Desert areas, hot springs – wadi springs, oases, the sea, beaches, ease of camping, delicious, cheap (Hindu, Nepali, Iranian) food – that's what makes it all happen, that I'm falling in love with Oman, I extend my visa and spend almost two months here. Here too, just like in South Korea, ani razu nie wynajmuję sobie noclegu. Then I go back to Dubai and take a ferry to Iran. I want to spend there 2 months to start the journey around the Caucasus with the beginning of spring.
Iran
Wbrew powszechnej opinii i zachwytom Iran wita mnie chłodno, and officials detain us at the border for no reason. I cover my hair and myself, as much as I can, bo takie są tam wymogi wobec wyglądu kobiet i na początek płynę na wyspę Keszm. Keshm is full of otherworldly lunar landscapes and wastelands.

Unfortunately, a sexual assault occurs on one of the empty stretches of road, to put it more figuratively – I have a guy lying on top of me, pants pulled down and his hand feeling there, but my scream scares him away. Together with the locals, Police, with the support of the Polish embassy in Tehran, we are looking for the perpetrator and after catching him, I take the case to court, where I must wear a black chador. A few days after resuming the journey, another attack occurs in the toilet at the gas station and then I get fed up with riding my bike solo through Iran. I take buses and keep every man at a distance, even, jeśli się uśmiecha. I have a feeling, that teasing women is allowed in Iran, Even young boys try to attack me, even though I'm well into my 40s then.




Hosts, who welcome me on their couch in other cities, which I reach by bus, they do everything, to rehabilitate the image of their country, but there's not much of a chance. But! Some of it works. Nomen omen, w Kom, które jest religijnym “zagłębiem”, świętym miastem i miejscem kształcenia duchownych szyickich, I meet young people, którzy biorą mnie pod swoje skrzydła. We're going to the mountains and the sea, and I spend Nowruz with one of them, które obchodzi się tam jak nasze Boże Narodzenie do kwadratu.

The north of Iran is different, I get the impression, that I am less conservative and there I get on my bike again. Iran is a rollercoaster for me - it was like that for me and many of my female friends traveling there by bike.
Azerbaijan
During the first kilometers in Azerbaijan, I was amazed by the silence - the lack of the rattle of motorbikes, no one follows me and waits by the road pretending, that something broke in the engine, to see me.
Stolica kraju – Baku, miasto, które wyrosło na ropie i gazie, robi duże wrażenie. But as it happens in... “cities of contrasts”, behind the shiny center the homely ones begin, post-Soviet districts, and in front of the meat shop, tied rams testify to the highest freshness of the meat sold there.




To diversify my monotonous traveling and cycling life, I end up in hospital with a boil on my knee., because the infection has taken over part of my leg and I've been resting there for a while 6 days. (Someone has some doubts about the usefulness of travel insurance? Nie płacę ani grosza). “Enjoy, that this happened to you in Baku," my doctor says as I leave.

I am happy. I'm dating Asia, Shelf, who works in Baku as an English teacher and tells me many interesting things about life in the country. After the meeting, I say goodbye to Baku. I'm taking the northern route along the mountains towards Georgia. It's getting more and more beautiful, and at the end of April, spring arrived for good, robi się prawie lato.
Georgia
I got the impression, that with entering Georgia it lost its journey in the broadly understood exoticism, she rewarded her with a sense of security and security, how desirable, ease of use. This ease is due to the post-communist atmosphere so familiar from the old Polish reality, ability to communicate in Russian, and yet the religion is a Christian country. It's a nice change and something familiar did me good.






Tak wyszło, że jadę „szlakiem polskim” – coraz więcej rodaków osiedla się tam i zakłada biznesy. A to pan Jerzy z Zosią w Lagodekhi, and this is Cecilia and Piotr in Signaghi, Poles in Udabno. I trudge through the Alazani Valley, famous for its vineyards, I'll wander around the steppe, still green in May, before I check in to Tbilisi, where I will spend a few days thanks to the hospitality of the local Warmshower, Defender. From there, the long-awaited entry into Armenia.
Armenia
If you love endless climbs and descents, Armenia will be a perfect country for you for a bicycle trip. If you go there like me – in June, it will be green, colorful with flowers, and the views can make, that you will be picking your jaw up from the gravel every now and then.

It's a small one, a mountainous country in the central part of the Caucasus. Centuries-old monasteries on the mountain slopes, in the center of everything, the high-mountain Lake Sevan, which I christened my place on earth. Wracam tam trzy razy. Błękitna tafla, around a chain of snow-capped peaks on the horizon. It is here that I meet displaced people from Azerbaijan and generally come across the topic of the Nagorno-Karabakh war - after all, I am right in front of its border.. Limit, which doesn't exist. I didn't plan to enter Nagorno-Karabakh, but I was persuaded by an indigenous inhabitant of the region I met. Beautiful mountains, on the one hand, partially ruined cities, like Shushi, z drugiej zaś normalne życie, jakie toczy się na ulicach stolicy, Stepanakertu. It was quite an abstract experience. Now this maneuver would be impossible.





Although I would prefer not to go to the seaside because of the heat and go from Armenia straight to Turkey, Due to the old conflict, the borders between these countries have been closed for years, so you have to go through Georgia again.
Georgia again
I drive "not for speed", i.e. slowly and I orient myself, that I had "only" left until my planned return to Poland in mid-September 2,5 month. I give up on traveling to the north of the country and looping around Svaneti (clip, clip) and I'm going straight to the Black Sea. Pokonanie przełęczy Goderdzi dostarcza mi niezapomnianych wertepowych wrażeń – On the way there, cars stop several times, trying to warn me against this idea and in a sense they succeed - I do use a ride and overnight stay with family before the pass. I'm going down from above 2 thousand. meters above the Black Sea to Batumi, where there are no tea fields, but kiwi grows - it is very hot and humid. I already feel like I have one foot in Europe, although I still have to cross huge Türkiye.



Turkey
Most roads in Turkey are excellent, but driving along the Black Sea is not an attraction for me - it's a noisy passage, where it is difficult to find accommodation in the wild, and hotels are full - mid-July is high season. But the Turks always find a way, to help me, smuggle it under the reception desk or invite you home. I came here with a head full of stereotypes, bristling after her experiences in Iran, but everywhere I meet cordiality, care and liters of tea, which, unlike Caucasian vodka, I can safely accept and drink as a woman traveling solo.

After a few days of driving, I decide to take a bus to Samsun, and then I turn inland and climb the Anatolian plateau, (more than 1500 m above sea level) and I'm stuck there until the end of the route, to avoid the heat. Sun-scorched steppe, yellowed grass, sparse trees and the whistle of the wind – this is my everyday life for the next weeks. But not only that – I visit unique cities and archaeological attractions, of which there are many. In Cappadocia, a region that is an absolute wonder of nature, I spend two weeks, there's so much to see. Türkiye is huge and fascinating, but I consciously avoid the south coast - I wouldn't be able to survive there in August. Wracam tam cztery miesiące później, by spędzić rowerowo-stacjonarną zimę.



I reach Istanbul in mid-September, ending a 13.5-month journey along the Silk Road. I'm going back to Lviv by plane, I'm pedaling towards Tomaszów Lubelski, and before I get to Warsaw, I'm still wandering around Roztocze, taking advantage of the beautiful September weather. It's hard to shake off the impressions after this trip, ale „show must go on”.

And what will happen next??.. cdn..
A little summary
Traveling along the Silk Road was so important and interesting to me, that I decided to collect my stories into a book. However, its future fate remains uncertain, because, as it turns out, travel books are no longer interested in publishers. Nevertheless, I will continue this topic, although I don't hide it, It's starting to get a bit overwhelming for me. Would anyone be interested?
Knock, knock!
If the stories written here are of interest to you and you would like to read more about them listen live text me, enter the place – club, library, community center, festival – who I can contact, We will set a date.
If you want too (who knows why? ) mnie wesprzeć w mojej podróży przez życie, którą czasem dzielę się tutaj, możesz to zrobić przez Buycoffee lub Paypal (prowizja jest niższa 🙂 – nie zdefrauduję!
O moich losach w latach 2012-2016 przeczytać w pierwszej części podsumowania.
2 comments
W Twoim przypadku niezbędny jest edytor. Robisz bardzo dużo błędów. “Jedwabny” piszemy z dużej litery, gdy opisujemy Jedwabny Szlak. Cudzysłów stawiamy nie przed 1001, ale przed Baśnie, bo to jest nazwa. Nazwy miast w Twoim tekście nie są ujednolicone – w jednym polska pisownia, w kolejnych nie. To wszystko sprawia wrażenie, że nie wiesz o czym piszesz, a Twoja wiedza jest oparta na pobieżnym przeczytaniu tekstu z Wikipedii. Do tego dochodzą błędy wynikające braku znajomości gramatyki języka polskiego (jeden z przykładów, których jest sporo: niekończące piszemy razem). Internet daje możliwość publikacji tekstów każdemu kto ma na to ochotę, but I think, że warto zadbać o estetykę. Especially, gdy myśli się o książce. Przed publikacją powinnaś poprosić kogoś, kto lepiej zna język polski, reguły gramatyczne o sprawdzenie. Regards!
Welcome. No zmartwiłeś mnie. Dobrze jednak, że zwracasz na to uwagę – yes, zdaję sobie sprawę chociażby z tego, że mam tendencję do mieszania zapisu nazw miejsc, choć większość nazw własnych sprawdzałam. Puściłam tekst, kiedy byłam bardzo zmęczona, co nigdy nie wychodzi na dobre. I tylko częściowo go sprawdziłam. Trochę to dziwne, bo pamiętam, że ujednolicałam nazwy, ale hmmm.. może nie nacisnęłam “zapisz”? No nic. Mam też chyba inną definicję co oznacza “bardzo dużo błędów”, nie uważam, by było ich dużo, ale może być tak, że albo się zupełnie nie znam, albo mi one nie przeszkadzają, albo i to i to.
Natomiast zastanawiam się, na ile to akurat sprawia, że twierdzisz, że nie wiem o czym piszę i wiedzę opieram na Wikipedii? Yes, bywam na Wikipedii, ale tutaj piszę o swoich przeżyciach.
Co do książki, jeśli będzie, to bez obaw – tu musi być redakcja i korekta.
Co do bloga, postaram się poprawić co można i być uważniejsza na przyszłość, no i bardziej korzystać z dostępnych narzędzi online. Tu zresztą też korzystałam.
Thank you, ze nie piszesz tego jako anonim i za poświęcony czas. No i szkoda, że to jedyna refleksja po tym wpisie.