From Gobi desert to Russia through the highlands of Altay

After meeting John Hare who works for the protection of wild camels (see previous article), we finally go back to the north.

The first step between the Gobi Desert and Tsogt where we can refuel is challenging enough for the vehicle. This is a canyon where we drive on pebbles before crossing the pass. But Totoy has already crossed the Gobi Desert where the tracks were difficult in many crossing areas.

Arriving on the set of the Altay to about 2500 meters above sea level and 200 km north of the village of Bayantooroy in the Gobi desert, the snow falls. Initially, there is no particular concern for navigation. Except that an hour later, riding at altitude, we do not see the track. So, we proceed with the compass. Then, after passing a small village (very small since there is a farm and a large deserted administrative building), a fresh track of a motorcycle allows us follow the way. We quickly find that bike, there are two Mongolian, carrying more than 100kg of goods, mainly meat. They have trouble moving, the passenger of the bike is drunk, with vodka ... it's only 11am.
We help them by carrying all their goods and by driving first so they can ride in our tracks and makes it easier to move within 10 to 15 cm of fresh snow. This does not prevent them from falling twice on the track, on our side, we drive very carefully, especially difficult banking roads, where Totoy slides. Arrived in Altay, we separate, then head towards the west. The weather and the scenery change completely, as we descend from this high plateau and drive hundreds of kilometers in large valleys in the middle of the chain of Altay. The weather is more bearable, the sky is blue, but the nights are very cold, about 0°C. We wake up with ice on the windows inside the vehicle. We highly appreciate the bedding the company LESTRA gave us, especially the sleeping bag in Merinol wool allowing us to get some more degrees.
The fabulous scenery make us forget the cold wind of this month of october. There are approximately 45km between Mongolia and Kazakhstan as the crow flies, but no common border. We must therefore return to Russia and make a detour of 1,100 km to the Kazakh border, bypassing the mountains. We reach the Russian border where customs control the vehicle with some relaxation. Indeed, seeing the box guitar, they ask us what it is. We tell them it is a small travel guitar and start singing their famous Russian song "Kalinka". They laugh and retort with a small glass of vodka it is even better.
We are happy to see this beautiful country, this time with the autumn colors. We descend the valley, and earn degrees down in altitude, which allows us to spend better nights. We find the taiga and happiness to bivouac near the water with a good fire to warm us. We enjoy a watercourse for the big cleaning of Totoy with our sprayer.
Continuing the route, we cross very small villages. At one point, we see hives in a garden and decided to stop to buy honey from the owners. There is no one, but the neighbors indicate us another house where we could buy some honey. We meet Tatiana and Sergey selling us a jar of honey, a real delight. They make us enjoy their “homemade” tea, with cupcakes. We tell them it's time we back on the road, they visit Totoy but Sergei proposes before leaving a small glass of homemade alcohol (about 8 ° C) based on berries. He suggested that we sleep in their warm home, but refuse, because the road is still long and our transit visa only lasts 7 days. Just as we were on the point of leaving, Tatiana gives us a bag full of vegetables from her garden. We find Russia that we love so much, rich in events. Their generosity reminds us the one of our parents and of our friends, we feel like at home ...
In the next village, we stop on the side of the road to check the map and we see a motorcycle stops next to us ... a French! Then a car and another motorbike stop. There are two Swiss and two French riders traveling together throughout Central Asia. We spend a good time to share our experiences. They give us valuable advices on the rest of our trip, especially on the administrative part of the country they come from.
We stop at Routbovsk, the last major town before the Kazakh border. Looking for a place to sleep, we pass near the local swimming pool, which makes us want to go to have a shower before a swim. Upon entering, the guard calls out to us but we do not understand because he speaks very quickly. After a few minutes, we finally understand him and he gives us the opening hours. This place is a games hall: basketball, badminton, tennis, volleyball, karate, gym and swimming pool of course. When we come back at 8pm for the night opening, the guard asks us to follow him. We are a bit surprised and follow him without really understanding what he wants from us. We go through different corridors and arrive at the offices of the Director. We still do not understand what we are doing here. The director asks us if we want a coffee, accompanied by chocolates. We discuss and explain to him our travel plans. By talking about bears, he went into another room and returned with a jar of honey that he gives us as a present. Then he gives us swimming caps and flip flops to go swimming. He tells his staff that they must turn on the sauna and asks us if we want to sleep indoors, what we refuse. One of her colleagues is already with us to accompany us to the pool and we end the evening in the sauna, a real joy before going to sleep in Totoy where the temperature is near 0°C.
The next morning we wake up with 5 centimeters of snow, the manager comes to us and invites us to drink coffee in his office. He explains that this is the first day of snow of the year. The deputy director spends the morning to show us the facilities and to take care of us, before accompanying us in a laundry where he even pays the bill. We are always pleasantly surprised by the kindness and generosity of the Russians.
We travel 1100km in Russia to join the two borders. The adventure continues now in Kazakhstan.