As wannabe explorers who wished we inhabited a world where maps still bore blank spaces, we had set out to deliberately lose ourselves along the infamous yet geographically intangible Silk Road. We wanted to experience a hint of how Marco must have felt confronting an unknown world, with its high passes and harsh deserts, its ancient villages and strange cities.
The route:
Iran: Fly to Teheran, take the famous night train to holy Mashhad, and
drive North into Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan: See market and exotics in Ashkabat, drive
across the Karakum Desert via ancient Merv and beyond river Oxus.
Uzbekistan: Experience famous Silk Road cities Bukhara and
Samarkand, traveling on by train to modern Tashkent.
Kyrgystan: After travels through the Fergana Valley, enter Osh and
via Sary-Tash crossing famed Irkeshtam Pass.
China: Enter Kashgar's exuberant Sunday market, continue by train
north of Taklamakan Desert to Turpan and Dunhuang to see Magao
Caves and Crescent Lake Oasis. Fly to ancient capital Xian guarded
by the terracotta army and end in Beijing.For a more detailed description of the route, please consult the map and route page.
For an outline of the calender for planing, please consult the calender page.
The team:
Troels C. Petersen
Insatiable adventurer, particle physicist, photographer, and
(wannabe) poet. Loves studying possible exotic travels from an
armchair. For further (sailing) details, see the
Skardu crew listing.Mikkel Sigurd
Keen explorer and sailor, an accomplished map reader, and in for
any new travel experiences. Known to handle complicated situation in
simple manners!Lars Erik Petersen
Long time explorer (though mostly at sea), with much experience on map
reading, keen bridge player, and in for most new travels, as long as
they don't includes high altitudes.Christian B. Andersen
The medicine man of the trip, with a kean eye for adventurous travels.
Accomplished photographer on several trips, Christian's only fear is
long train rides.Christian Hededal
Our man in the busy banking business, however with a heart for travels
and hanging out with friends. Joining the adventure in Kashgar for the
Chinese leg.The photos:
A few pictures of what we are to expect are shown below (click for large photo). Needless to say, they only give a vague representation of the immaculate beauty of the regions we will traverse.
Tallest, smallest, largest, fastest, and drunkest:
Highest: 4017m (local top near Muztagh Ata),
3730m (Sary-Tash to Irkeshtam),
3560m (Toldyk Pass)(on maps, Toldyk should be 3613m and Sary-Tash to Irkeshtam 3536m)
Lowest: -111m (Turpan depression north of Taklamakan desert)
First rain:Ashgabat (and the only other time, on the
Lijyuan-Dunhuang drive)(both times were in the desert, and we got less than 1-2mm)
: The logbook (if possible):
Though we doubt that it will be even remotely possible, here is never the less the attemt at reporting back our latest position and experiences. We hope that these are enjoyable, as they will surely cost us considerable technical pains, the last battery power, and part of our nights sleep.
19th of April (Cph and Teheran)
20th of April (Teheran)
21st of April (Teheran and train to Mashhad)
22nd of April (Mashhad)
23rd of April (Mashhad)More to come, but we have now entered Turkmenistan, and do NOT have much connection to the outside world!!!
Last updated: 25th of April 2011. Mail me: petersen@nbi.dk