Latest / The Overland Journal Podcast / Desk To Glory on Traveling the Silk Road

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Desk To Glory on Traveling the Silk Road · The Overland Journal Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Oval Enginal Podcast. I am
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: your host, Scott Brady, and I am so lucky to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: be here with my co host, Ashley Giordano. And Ashley
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: is somewhere in Parts unknown in Central Asia right now
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: on her way across the Silk Road. And I think
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: it's going to be so fun Ashley to have a
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: conversation about where you are, where you and Richard are
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: on your journey across the Silk Road. Some stories of
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: your experiences, the things that you've learned, kind of make
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: this a little bit of a mini dialogue around how
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: to do it, also incorporating your own experiences and your
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: own learnings, and then we can incorporate, where appropriate, some
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: of my experiences when I did the same trip but
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: fifteen years prior, so I'm sure a lot has changed
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: between when I crossed that same basic route in twenty
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: ten versus you doing it in So thanks Ashley for
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: being on the podcast with me today.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: to be back.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: A special thanks to Hancook Dina pro Tires for supporting
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: this week podcast. Visit expedition portal dot com to see
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: our content series in partnership with Hankook, where you learn
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: about this year's Jeep Beach event in Daytona, Florida, get
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: tips on exploring the O'calla National Forest, and take a
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: tour of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: the Daytona International Speedway. We also take a close look
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: at how to choose a mudterrain, all terrain or a
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: hybrid rugged terrain tire using the Honkook Dina Pro tire
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: lineup as examples.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Exactly. So let's start off by what led you to
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: decide to do the Silk Road. I know you guys
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: were already traveling around Europe and you were trying to
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: decide do we go south to Africa or do we
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: go east across the Silk Road? Or maybe that was
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: just misdirection that you had to plan the whole time.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: So like, let us know, like where how did you
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: get to this idea of doing the Silk Road.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: So Richard and I were living in Canimore, Alberta, and
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: this was gosh pre covid and I had this book
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: called Hit the Road. And this book Hit the Road,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: it featured a whole bunch of different overland travelers, including
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: us for our Pan American trip. But I was flipping
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: through this book, and the great thing about it was
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: that it had not only people's journeys laid out as
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: a map, but it had photos, and it had some dialogue,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: you know, all these things. So I saw I flipped
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: at the page of featuring a Kaila World, who we've
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: had in the magazine quite a few times for beautiful
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: photography and amazing stories, and I saw the map of
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: the route that they had taken from Austria across the world,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: and I was like, that's our next trip. So I
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: knew quite at a while ago this was the route
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: that we were going to take, and this is the
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: whole reason why we went to Europe in the first place.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: And yeah, Morocco was a bit of a little side trip,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: little detour on our way east, but yeah, I studied
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: their whole route and I knew I wanted to do it,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: but a couple of things got in our way. Obviously
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: locked down was one of them, COVID, and then we
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: actually were going to take our a nineteen ninety pickup
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: on this route at that time, and so because of
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: the delay, we we actually decided not to do that
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: and we decided on the Tundra twenty and eight tender
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: that we already had, so that was a big decision.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: So it was like route chain, sort of deciding on
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: the route and then COVID happening, and then not going
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: and then using a different vehicle, and then eventually I
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: think we're into two years ago we finally were able
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: to leave. So yeah, and now we're in Kazakhstan.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Ah, I love that well. And we almost had an
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: opportunity to do a podcast together in Italy, but we
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: literally were separated by a flood and landslide and you
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: were evacuated by a helicopter. So yeah, as I was
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: traveling across Europe, you guys were traveling across Europe. We
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: nearly had a chance to sit down then, but it didn't.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: It didn't work out. So that was a pretty funny moment, like.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Two ships passing in the night.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: I think we weren't even that far like if you
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: were to draw a line, we were not that far
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: away from each other. It was just impossible to get
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: there a sort of a me taking a helicopter. That
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: would have been an expensive podcast. Awesome. So okay, so
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: you guys decide that you're going to do the Silk Road.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Where did you kind of go through eastern Europe? Did
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: you have any highlights as you started moving your way
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: towards Turkey.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, So we were in Greece. We go home periodically,
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: so we had the truck stored there. So we came
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: back in the January and then from Greece went right
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: into Turkey and then into.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Joy got so you skipped yeah, you skipped some of
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: those other countries there. Yeah, Greece. Greece is interesting, there's more.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: There's a lot more outdoor activity and even camping and
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: overlanding than a lot of people realize in Greece.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very busy, but fortunately when we were there
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: in January, it was quite quiet and the weather was
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: still relatively good. I think there was quite a bit
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: of rain. But it is getting it is getting busy
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: in the summer and spring months, and so there have
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: been some restrictions on camping. But usually if you're kind
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: of going to areas where you have four wheel drive
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: and you can get down this really bad rocky road
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: down to the beach, it's a little less regulated. But
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: we had a good, very good time in Greece. And
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: it was there was like f few percent off of
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: entry to some of the sites because it was low
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: season and it wasn't very busy in some areas. So yeah,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: we had a great time. And then Turkey of course
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: was wonderful as well. And I loved the eastern part
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: of Turkey. It was a really interesting history and architecture
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: and different change in culture, and we had a really
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: good time there earlier this year too, So yeah.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: I was impressed by how open and friendly and helpful
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: the people in eastern Turkey are. Like in this little
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: town called traps On, like I had trouble with our
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: jimney and like this ful drive club, but just like
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: we're all rallied behind us and they got us to
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: the shop and they got the ac fixed and they
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: got this. I mean, they were just and it was
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: this off road club and they were just stoked to
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: have these silly American overlanders coming through their town. So like,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: really Turkey's very special.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Very special, and I think in the east there's a
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: big Kurdish population and they're known for their hospitality. And
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: we were invited over a lot, and not even just
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: invited over, but like to spend time with people so
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: we would. We met a shepherd at a camp spot
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: one time and we just spent a few hours with him,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: walking around and sharing tea, and he was showing us
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: things and I think like just the the time spent
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: together is something that's really special to them. So we've
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: been taking a lot of polaroids with people and then
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: giving them to them a kind of as a memory.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: And it seems very fun. But yeah, very good time. Yeah,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: good time.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And the Black Sea is kind of fun when
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: you're going. I mean, I'm not sure how busy it
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: is now. I mean that was again a long time
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: ago when I was there. But did you guys get
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: to camp on the Black Sea and that not really No.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: No, we were too far south and then too far east,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: so we missed it, and then in Georgia. In Georgia,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: we didn't get that far west. But it's definitely a
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: place to come back to in the future.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt. And well we'll have to talk about
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: that at the end of the podcast. I'm very curious
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: about what your plan is, like, are you gonna ship it,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: are you gonna drive it back, or how are you
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: gonna do that? That'll be really fun to talk about,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: so you went into Turkey and then did you do
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: kind of the more traditional Georgia Azerbaijan or did you
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: go through I mean, I know you didn't go through Iran,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: but did you consider going through Iran?
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: We didn't. It was kind of like the third option
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: that wasn't really an option for us, and the reason
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: why was just basically safety concerns for us as Canadians.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you've seen the movie Argo. I
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: know that that Argo is not the basis of our
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: safety concerns, but there some geopolitical sort of events and
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: reasons and why we decided not to. But I would
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: love love to and I know that there are a
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: lot of Europeans that have gone through and they've had
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: no problem at all, But I think it's usually Australians.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: British and New Zealanders can sometimes have some issues there,
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: and there have been some pretty serious sort of incidences
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: where Overlanders have been put in jail and have had
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: to negotiate for their release, and so we thought let's
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: go a different way. But I would absolutely this has
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: nothing to do with not wanting to travel there. I've
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: heard amazing things and just yeah, the timing was just
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: not right for us this time.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: Oh and I've heard so many wonderful things about the
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: people in Iran. It's just it's too much of a
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: gamble on if the government is going to create an
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: issue for you. I think there was a there was
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: a pretty popular overland I think they were in a
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: g and they were trying to get around the world
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: and they got to Iran and were arrested and you know,
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: lost their vehicle and like the trip was over.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: So yeah, there was another recent incident with two motorcyclists.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: I think they were from the UK as well. And
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: of course we don't know all the information surrounding these things.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: For us, it wasn't a risk that we wanted to
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: take at this point in the trip.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: So so you did you go through Georgia and entered Azerbaijan.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Then we actually didn't, so we that was our second option.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: So for Azerbaijan, you can't actually drive into the country
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: as a tourist with your own vehicle at the moment.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: The border has been closed. Yeah, the border's been closed
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: since COVID and the only way that you can get
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: through is to put your vehicle on a transport truck.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: And I know that many Overlanders have been very successful
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: with that. So you can put it on a transport
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: truck in Georgia and then give the power of attorney
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: to the driver and then they will drive it across
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: into Azard by John for you and you pick it
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: up on the other side. So we had two concerns
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: with that option. One is that the Tundra isn't a
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: small vehicle, and I think Richard was kind of concerned,
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: as was I that it would be damaged going on
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: or off of the transport truck where something would happen
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: on the way. And the other reason was that it
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: was it's still pretty expensive. I think we calculated it
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: out and it was going to be about three thousand,
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: a few thousand dollars to do that route. So yeah,
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: we actually chose to go through uh Russia and do
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: a transit. So what that means is that you get
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: a visa and the sole purpose of your travel through
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: is to transit. It's not to it's not a tourist visa.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: You get a specific amount of days to go through,
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: as you know. But anybody who's listening who doesn't know
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: about the transit visa, that is what it's for.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: And then so then you came into a port and
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: shipped across the Caspine. See, so we actually thrived to Kazakhstan.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: So we drove from Georgia through Russia into Kazakhstan.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: It looks like about maybe three hundred miles or so
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: from Georgia to Kazakhstan through Russia.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: Ah.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was like how many kilometers was that route
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: from Georgia to Kazakhstan. Seven hundred, seven hundred kilometers?
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah? Cool? And then you're in Kazakhstan. So where did
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: you go from there? What was your your decision from
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: that point?
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So Kazakhstan, we went down to the Manga style area,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: which is pretty well known with overlaners. Very cool, like
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: other worldly desert. It reminded us a lot of Utah actually,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: just a little bit like the rocks and stuff. Just
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: rock formations are paler, but it's almost like Arizona Utah.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: You know, it's big funnels and structures and desert. That
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: was amazing. Yeah. Our timing we were there in I
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: think August. This is quite hot. It was like forty
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: degrees celsius plus. But we thought we may never be
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: here again, so we've just went for it, and yeah,
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: it was a great area to go into. Lots of
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: off pavement tracks there. And then from there we went
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: up to Octobe in Kazakhstan on a sort of pavements
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: track up and around because the border into Uzbekistan from
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: the Mangastau area is closed right now, so overlanders have
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: to do a duty tour all the way up and
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: down or across to the rollc off road. So it depends.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Those are the two routes that you can do at
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: the moment.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: Make it? Did you make it it?
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah? So we went across.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: I was so impressed by that place.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, we just did a small portion. So we
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: went in from Turkistan and Kazakhstan down towards the border
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: and then drove from the border into Samarkand, which was amazing,
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: but our time schedule didn't really allow for us to
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: go further at this point. So I'd love to go
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: back again.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that that country looks like it's changed so much.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: I mean when I going through that area, like into
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: San Markan was fine. I came in from Turkmenistan and
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: then across Uzbekistan, but there was no there was no
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: fuel available until you got to sam Markan, So we
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: had to have a bunch of Jerry cans in the
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: back of the chymney and filled them all up in
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Turkmenistan and then had to like hyper mile the car,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: you know, to get as Oh my god. There was
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: so little traffic actually that there were dunes being formed
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: on the road because there just wasn't enough traffic to
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: keep the road clear, so like you would just like
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: go into low range and like get over the sand
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: dune and keep going as crazy wow, oh my gosh.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's obviously changed a lot because fuel wasn't an issue,
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: but I will say it was busy, like really really busy,
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: and all of the little white vans. I don't know
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: if this is what it was like when you were there,
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: but uz Bekistan makes most of the vehicles themselves in
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: country rather than importing them in so there are all
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: these white vands identical on the road, like thousands and
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: thousands and thousands. Everybody's driving the same little white vans.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: And the driving experience there was wild, like I would
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: say Georgia and it was. Bekistan are probably the most
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: nerve wracking places we've driven so far, just in terms
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: of of it being hectic and drivers are aggressive and unpredictable.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: But the right hand lane like we're in the slow
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: lane right because we're slower than everybody. But the right
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: hand lane was like very wavy. It's almost like pavement waves,
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: and so we can't actually like make any progress because
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: the road is so bad on the right, so we
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: have to go in the left and then everybody gets
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: mad because we're slower. It's like logging. And then we
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: go back on the right and it was just like
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: totally hectic. But yeah, the mark end was what a
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: what a fascinating experience and just walking around seeing all
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: the sites there. I would recommend it, and I've heard
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: train a lot of people take the train. They'll park
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: their overland rig in one of the big cities and
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: then take the train around to see a bunch of
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: different all those like Bukara, yeah, and Kiva and places.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: So yeah, great memories.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I really I really liked it there for sure.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: And then so there you went from samarkank can then
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: you went into yeah yeah, and then if I recall,
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: you made the decision to go through the walk on corder.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So we spent a few days in the fan
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: mountains first doing some hiking, and then we decided to
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: start the premiere, so we went from uh Duschan Bey
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: to Ash through the walk On as you said, so,
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: uh yeah, I loved that direction. I think, yeah, you
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: can really go. We were seeing more people coming from
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: Ash towards Douchan Bay, but that wasn't in our schedule.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: We were already there, so we were going the other way,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: and I really loved it. I loved the transition from
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: the valley of the walk On and the rip being
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: beside the river the whole time in Afghanistan is just
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: a stone throwaway, and it's village to village to village
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: to village, so there are always people and school children
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: running around and waving and hello, and that kind of
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: population density and the culture that you get from that
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: was really wonderful. Before sort of coming out of the
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: valley up into this super desolate section of the Premier
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: Highway where it looks like Bolivia, looks like there's nothing.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: The people drop off and it gets quite quiet and
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: salt lakes and all of that. So it was high
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: elevation that was fascinating.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: The highest I ever drove, I think, was on that road. Yeah,
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: that walk That walk on corridor feels like a time capsule.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: I don't know if it was hopefully hopefully it's still
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: that way, but so many people dressed more traditionally. The
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: homes and all of that were more traditional, you know,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: construction and you know that a lot of shepherds and
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: like hopefully the road was still a little challenging. I
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: don't know if it's all that's changed now, but.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say the road wasn't It wasn't great.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Like coming into like Kali kum Tu Kora was pretty bad.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: And I would say mostly because the road's under construction
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: and it's on sort of like a cliff side, so
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: you're dealing with really crap road plus a million cars
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: and transport trucks and a drop off. So that part
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: wasn't good. But then I think it mellowed out from
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: what I can remember along the walk on and then
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: after you we went up in elevation, it was like,
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: I think, this is the thing about the Pabier that
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: I love and hate so much, as like everything changes
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: all the time, So if you are in a section
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: of really crap corrugation, don't worry about it because it
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: will end and the crap pavement with the huge potholes
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: will start to keep you interested, you know.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: And then I always loved the like massive bridges that
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: were blown out and then you got to do a
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: water crossing because you can't take the bridge the bridge
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: is destroyed.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, we have a hot tip on that front,
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: and that's like do the crossing in the morning because
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: by the afternoon the water is just too high or
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: they'll have like a bulldozer out. But I'm curious, like
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: your experiences with that section, because that was a like
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: you said, more than ten years ago, and they were
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: using scythes and weed whackers in the fields and it
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: was harvest time, so they're harvesting wheat, and just like, yeah,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: I'm just curious. I'm like what your experience was in
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: that area, because I'm sure it's Yeah, it.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: Was so definitely at the very beginning stages of transitioning
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: from what would have been very traditional you know, occupation
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: and living conditions. Like I think it was MRGOB that
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: I came into, and like the market was all in
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: con x boxes containers, so like you could start to
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: see that those changes were happening. That's when I bought
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: one of those really cool hats. I should have I
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: should have done. I don't know where the hat ended up.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I should have started the podcast. They did. They have
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: the white hats, you know, they were like the big
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: cone hats. Still, yes, okay, So I bought one of
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: those because I felt like I needed it.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Where have you worn it.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: On that trip? Like, I have a funny maybe I'll
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Paula to add this to the podcast. I have a
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: funny shot of me, like standing in front of the
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: gymney with the hat. What was so? This was okay,
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: this is a funny side story. So we're in Murgob
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: and my buddy Charlie and I we both bought the hats.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: So we're wearing the hats inside the truck and now
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: we come up to this local and we need to
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: ask for directions. But he was so confused because like
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I look like I could probably be, you know, Kazakh
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: or something like, and I have the hat on and
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: I'm speaking in some totally unintelligible tongue to him. So
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: he's like, seeing, I'm wearing the hat, and I looked
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: like I could be from around there. I'm driving this
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: little jimney and he's like so confused, confused. It was
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: so funny. It was so funny, and I realized it
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: was because I have the hat on. He like doesn't
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: realize that I'm a tourist, right, Why are you talking
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: like that?
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: My gosh.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: But it was awesome. It was so it was so
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: interesting and that area was really war torn still. I
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: mean we were stuck at the border going into Kyrgyzstan
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: for a long time. I'm like, they wouldn't even let
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: us approach the border FETs.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: So oh wow, yeah, I know, a couple of years
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: ago that border was closed. So we were really grateful
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: that it's it was open because otherwise you have to
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: turn around and go a different way.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, a war zone. Ash was a war zone.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: So when I went through there, Wow, we went for
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: coffee and breakfast and dinner there and did groceries.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: I love it. I love it. I love that. That's
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: I love that. That's the way that it's going. I
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: mean it's yeah, we had to drive around it because
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the there was like a huge it wasn't it was
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: ethnic fighting at the end of that Fargana Valley, like
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: there was they were fighting for like some of the
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: people there because of the way that borders are drawn, right,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: it separates cultures from each other. So there was a
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: lot of fighting to try to get themselves like reconnected
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: with their their culture. So like, I didn't feel like
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: I was being targeted, but it was just a relatively
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: unsafe spot to be.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: So you know what's interesting too is that we saw
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: a lot of cyclists. I don't know if this was
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: the case for you, but we were shocked how many
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: cyclists saw yeah, wow, respect right, that.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: Is Oh my gosh, it's it's so humbling it Yeah, and.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: A lot of of rental Land cruisers MHM with self driving.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: So if you if you don't have your own vehicle
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: and too Jikistan, you can rent a sick Land Cruiser
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: from Kyrgyzstan, drive it across the premiere and you know
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: there are options to fly in for sure.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: This content is brought to you by Overland Journal, our
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: premium quality print publication. The magazine was founded in two
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: thousand and six with the goal of providing independent equipment
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: and vehicle reviews, along with the most stunning adventures and photography.
• 25:13
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• 25:17
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• 25:53
  Speaker 1: It was beautiful. I mean, the mountains are stunning, the
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Hindu kush the like, it's just it's just score, just
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: it's breathtaking scenery.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: It really reminded me why I love overlining so much,
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: actually the whole experience, which I feel all the time,
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: but especially during this time period. And I think some
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: of that had to do with, like it's just challenging
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: enough but not too challenging. And there are a few
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: hoops that you have to go through, like a GBA
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: out the Gibau permit, just because of the economous region
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: you're going through. There was military active patrolling and so
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: we had to do checkpoints and just like getting into
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: the country, getting out, and then finding camp spots because
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: the military doesn't want overliners to be seen from the road,
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: and so when you're camping you have to be pretty
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: picky about where you camp, or the military on the
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: Tijig side will move you for your safety. To that point,
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: we never felt unsafe, and we always we weren't moved
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: because I guess we did our research thoroughly enough. And
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: then there's the challenge of elevation, so making sure sure
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: you're not going too high and getting altitude sickness. So
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: we're like making a spreadsheet trying to figure out like
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: where do we need to stop and for how long?
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: And you know, getting water was no problem. Fuel for
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: some people can be a little more difficult, like diesel vehicles.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: So there are all these things that we had to
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: kind of line up that we don't necessarily always have
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: to line up on our regular like on our overland
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: travels generally. And I love that challenge so much, combined
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: with the scenery, combined with not knowing what the roads
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: will be like, combined with all these things, and I
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: just went away from it like Wow, I could turn
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: around and go back and do it again. So I yeah,
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: it's just love.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: It's so next it's so next level. I think it's
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: I think it's one of the last like very pure
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: overland travel experiences that we have, at least of that magnitude.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: I mean, there certainly are others in the world, but
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: like that in Africa, like they're the ones that really
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: allow you to connect with cultures that are so unique
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: from our own, which is a lot of the appeal
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: for me. I have a funny story about water along
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: the route. So I was going through the walk on
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Corridor and I was because you and I don't know
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: if you experienced this, but everywhere else I've traveled in
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: the world, you can buy water at a gas station,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: or you can buy water at a little shop, and
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: or they'll be selling coke, you know, bottles of coke,
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: but then they'll also be selling water and jugs. And
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: I'm like, why is there no water? And so like
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: I finally found this attendant of this little shop, and
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: I'm like, why don't any of the shops sell water?
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: And he kind of gets this sweet little smile to
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: his face, and he like walks me outside and he
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: just like points his hands at the mountains and there's
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: like there's like waterfalls cascading and like like rivers and streams.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: He's like there's water everywhere. And I did have a
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: filter and it like it helped me like frame like
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: for their experience, like why would they why would somebody
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: buy water when there's water everywhere, this beautiful clear, cold
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: water coming down from the mountains from from snow melt,
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: and uh, it doesn't mean you can't get sick from it.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: So I did filter it. But true, it was water
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: was everywhere. Water was everywhere.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: True.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a fun, fun lesson for me of
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: like I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh gosh, yeah, water water everywhere.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: Yes, water water everywhere, and there was it turned out
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: there was water to drinks. Cool. So so you guys
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: make it into Kyrgyzstan, which like it's such a popular
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: place now for trekking and like, what what were some
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: of your highlights of Kyrgyzstan.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So Kyrgyzstan. We went to the base camp at
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: London Peak and there's a fame miss overland spot just
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: above base camp one called the Onion Fields because there
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: are these wild onions that grow there. So yeah, we
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: camped there and it was just stunning, you know, the
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: whole mountain range and I was shocked at how far
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: down the snow the snow pack was still at this point,
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: but you could see the glacier and just it was.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: It was amazing. Yeah, it was truly incredible. So that
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: was wonderful. We also went to a market, so you're
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: talking about the container market in Murgog which we went to,
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: which was also very fun and Serry Mogul I think
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: on the way up to the track to London Peak
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: base camp. They had a market every Thursday there and
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: that was just wonderful as well to see all of
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: the abundance after being in the middle of the high
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: altitude plateau for so long. And we bought the most amazing,
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: amazing peaches there I haven't had We hadn't had fresh
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: fruit for a while, and so we just stoked up it.
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: It was the apples. Kyrgyzstan's now well known for their apples, so.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: That was I didn't know.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: It's a highlight.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah uh.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: And then so we I think we spent about a
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: week in Kyrgyzstan before coming to Kazakhstan yesterday and we'll
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: come back next year. We just don't. We have to
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: be out of here in just less than a about
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: a week or so where Richard has to be gone
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: for for another trip. So yeah, our timeline's a bit tight,
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: but we're going to come back next year and really
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: give Kyrgyzstan more the time it deserves.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: And do you plan on storing the vehicle?
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, we found a good place to park it
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: and so we'll park it over the winter.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: That's awesome. That's awesome. So you don't even have to
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: drive it back, you can just keep going.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've done that.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: Are you guys looking at the maybe are you guys
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: looking in the maybe doing the Road of Bones, or
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: are you thinking about maybe trying to get into other
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: parts of Asia? What are your thoughts trying to get
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: into China?
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've been talking about this actually in the recent days.
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: So it depends on what our next step is. So
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: we're going to be looking for a port, and that
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: means that we will either be going I think, spend
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: some time in Kyrgyz Dan the other then we could
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: do the Altai region of Russia if we can get
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: another transit visa, and then head into Mongolia, which is
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: a very popular route right now, and then from Mongolia
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: we could potentially go to China. And I think they've
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: eased up a little bit on the having to have
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: a mandatory guide. So I've heard rumors about yeah, independent
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: travel through China. So we're considering that we could go
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: go through Russia and go take the ferry that's operational
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: again to South Korea and then Japan and ship out
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: of Japan. Or we've also been considering going through China
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: and to Vietnam and then transport truck across Thailand. I
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: think their transport trucks are bigger or something I've heard,
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: because you can't drive through at the moment into Malaysia
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: and then ship out of Malaysia to our next destination.
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: So those are the kind of options right now. I
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: think if anybody has any other ideas, let you know.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Mongolia is a highlight, is I know. Mongolia
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: has changed a lot too. I mean when I was there,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: the only paved roads were in Ulumbatar, but they were
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: just starting to pave a route that was going from
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Ulambatar to the west, and there's been a lot of
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: development in that country. They found a lot of natural
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: resources that they're extracting and that's giving the country the
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: opportunity to expand their infrastructure, So I'm sure Mongolia has
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: changed a lot since when I was there last.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: I've heard that in Ulam Batar. We were chatting with
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: another couple that had just been there and they were
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: saying that there were a ton of electric vehicles in
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: the city center in Ula and Batar now, so they
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: have a pretty good EV structure there which we noticed,
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: and it was sort of by the thin mountain region
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: of Tajikistan. They also all of the taxis were EV's
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: as well, so there were charging stations and that sort
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: of infrastructure was being developed.
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: So maybe we have enough hydro electric electricity to support that.
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, when were you in most that's.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: Very same trip that was where I ended. I ended
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: in Ulambatar, so Spain to Ulambatar, through Central Asia, then
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: into Russia like you're talking about doing, and then I
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: took the northern route across Mongolia because at the time
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: that was more remote and difficult. I don't know if
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: that's still the case, but the Mongolian deserts are very
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: appealing to me. The Gobi and those those deserts are
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: very appealing to me, and I like the idea of
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: coming into China from there because it's it's actually not
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: that far. You're to the coast of China, so like
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: you could pretty easily like finish off. So I've I've
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: looked into that, Like how do I like maybe even
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: just buy like a thousand dollars motorcycle and ulambatar and
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: just ride it to Beijing or something like that.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, wonderful.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's well, it's just an incredible part of the
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: world for those that are listening. It's it's become safer
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: than in years past. The infrastructure continues to improve, but
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: it still has that strong sense of adventure and culture
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: and history like the like the some of the structures
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: and like the like the some of the beginnings of
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: math we're done in the like in science and and
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: like these are like rich histories of of science and
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: math and literature and were developed in these areas of
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: the world.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Richard and I were talking the other day about
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: this last section from Georgia all the way around Kazakhstanzbekistan
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: to Chikistan, Kazakhstan, and it's I think it's been our
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: favorite section of the entire trip that we've done so far.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: It's just been I think it's been a pretty fast
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: pace for us, like we did that in two months,
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: which is which is rippen for us. But it's been
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: it's been so wonderful just on all fronts, and I
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: think it's been a highlight for us. So yeah, well.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: You're going to be writing about it, no doubt for
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: overland journals. So we look forward. We look forward to
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: reading more about your adventures and remind our listeners where
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: they can follow your journeys with Richard around the world.
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: How do they follow you? How do they follow your travels?
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm on Instagram at desk to Glory underscore
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: ash and sometimes Richard posts as well, and his account
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: is at desk to Glory. We have a blog that's
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: desk toglory dot com that's not really updated, but I'm
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: really hoping to share some stories on there and then
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: also articles on Expedition Portal dot com and an overland journal.
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: So I have an article coming up on the Premiere Highway.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Probably it won't be out till next year, well into
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: next year potentially, but it will go over some of
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: the more detailed nuances of you know, checklist and route
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: that you will need to do with the Premiere Premiere
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: Highway with the walk on corridor because I don't. We
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: kind of went into the bar Tang a little bit
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: and did the hike there, but we didn't do the
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: full Bartang Valley, which I've heard great things about. But
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: you can't do it all in once anyway. Yeah, that'll
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: be a really fun piece to have out.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, So looking back on this journey, because you guys
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: are close to the end of this section of it,
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: what were some things that you guys learned? Are there
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: a couple takeaways? It can even be in general, or
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: it could be about the area, but what were some
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: of the some of the learnings that you had from
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: this last section where you're like, oh, that changed your
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: perspective or you tried something new.
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say two things. The first thing with
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: the Premiere Highway, I think that I had been seeing
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: some certain things on social media that make it look
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: like the entire thing is extremely difficult, just specific clips
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: of specific section, and I think it made me a
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: little bit nervous. And I had no reason to be nervous,
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: to be honest, like, that is one tiny portion of
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: an extremely long section of road, and so yeah, just
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: going into it a little bit less sort of nervous
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: and freaked out because there was no reason to be.
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: To be fair, though, we it is went end of
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: August beginning of September, and that we had an entire
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: month of sun or six weeks of sun. So there
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: was no rain when we were there. It's not the
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: rainy you know, it's not the time of year where
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: there's snow melt happening aggressively, and so our experience was
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: very different probably than somebody that's going in the spring
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: or the early summer. And I totally acknowledged that, but
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: I can highly recommend September. The second thing that I
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: learned is on the Russian transit. I think that there,
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: I was obviously nervous about it, and a lot of
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: different factors come into play when you're choosing where you're
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: going to go as a traveler in an Overlander, and
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: this happened to be the choice for us that made
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: the most sense. But what I did learn when we
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: were doing that transit was that the checkpoints, so there
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: are military checkpoints along the way there as well, And
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: every involvement that I had with any human or military
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: personnel in Russia was extremely positive, very professional. If anybody
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: spoke English. They went out of their way to help
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: us and make sure we understood what the procedure was
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: at the border at a checkpoint. So we understood, and
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: they were very curious about our travels, and one officer
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: wanted to see like Richard's passports. He never seen a
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: Canadian passport before. And we were also camping by a
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: river and a local man like gave me his deep
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: spray because he's like, you're gonna be sleeping here overtight,
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: you need this this bug spray. And I was like, oh,
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: it's thank you, like I could use some and give
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: it back, and he wasn't hearing any of it. So
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: even after we've done all this travel, I there are still,
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: as you know, like lessons that we can be learning
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: every single day. And that wasn't necessarily what I had
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: anticipated that experience to be like. And it was overall
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: like extremely positive. So, yeah, just learning every day.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, isn't that such a Isn't that's such an important reminder,
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Ashley that the people of a place are different from
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: the bureaucracy of a place. Absolutely, my experience, my experiences
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: in Russia were so similar to yours that they were
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: they were so curious about Americans, or if they hadn't
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: had a chance to try their English on someone, they
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: would go out of their way to try it again.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: Other than the driving is dangerous Russia, but like it's
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: not a date rious people, and it's not I never
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: felt threatened or you know, in my two trips to Russia.
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: So yeah, And I think the other thing too, Like
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: with driving along the Tajikistan Afghanistan border and doing that
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: transit through Russia, things are going along as usual. People
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: are living their lives as usual in a lot of
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: these places. And I'm not speaking for everywhere. Those are
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: just my experiences in those specific areas at that specific time.
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: But people are going to school, people are going to work,
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: people need to eat, people need to work. Like most
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: of what we've seen is just viewing places in a
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: certain way from our perspective, but then getting there and
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: being like everybody is doing the same thing.
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: Yea.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: In most places, you know, they're surviving and loving and
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: thriving and raising a family and you know all that stuff.
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: So it's kind of sounds cliche, but.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: I agree, I agree, And we're in the We're in
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: the constant twenty four to seven News speed, and if
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: you if you, if that's your lens to the world,
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: the world would feel like a very scary and unsafe place.
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: But if we shut all of that off, because of course,
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: their their goal is to have us glued to the screen,
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: so they're like, it's they're gonna it's what they call
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: it doom scrolling. They get you suck in this loop
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: of uncertainty and drama. And it doesn't mean that bad
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: things aren't happening in the world. I'm not trying to
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: dismiss that, but we do have a choice. We do
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: have a choice to to not participate at that level.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: Be informed, of course, do good research when you travel,
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: but let the place show you for itself. Yeah, go
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: check it out, go see it for yourself, come to
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: your own conclusions.
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and my extras may not be the same as
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: somebody just coming right after us too, write like it's
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: always I think that's another thing I loved about the
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: Premier experience too, is that everybody's experienced there is different
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: and some things like the road conditions stay the same
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: and some things change over time. So it's always just
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: like trying to figure it out before you go.
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: But yeah, and you are you are Canadian, so that's
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: not necessarily reflective of the rest of the population.
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: Oh like, oh, big surprise that the Canadians had a
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: very pleasant experience. I'm just shocker. I love it. I
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: love it. That's so good. Okay, So what's what's next
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: for you, Ashley? Like, let's give the audience some tidbits
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: of like, what's what's next for Ashley? Richard's got a
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: big adventure. I'm gonna be on it with them. I'm
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: so stoked to spend time with them and the rest
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: of the guys as we go down Western Africa. But
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: what's next for you? Oh?
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, So I'm staying in Kazakhstan for a little while
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: just to feel it out, and then I'll be heading
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: to the US to check out the Rebel rally. I'm
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: not competing, but I'll be there, so that'll be wonderful. Yeah.
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: And then after that, my brother and I are going
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: to go to Japan. I know, I know he went
• 45:34
  Speaker 2: for the first time last year, and so he decided
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: he would love to go back this year. And I
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: have really nothing in my schedule, so I was like,
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: let's go. If you don't mind, I'll come with you.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to backpack for a bit and then
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: I actually don't have any plans after that, So I'm
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: going to see what happens, like what leave it open
• 45:56
  Speaker 2: and see if something comes up, and just make the
• 45:58
  Speaker 2: decision later and then will hibernate.
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: For a wnket maybe a book, a book.
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: Maybe, I don't know.
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: I think you got a book in you. I think
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: you gotta I think you got a couple of books
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: in you. Ashley.
• 46:11
  Speaker 2: Oh, I don't know. I have to get the self
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: confidence up before I could even think about that.
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I can worry about you can worry.
• 46:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: For sure. But yeah, Richard and I are question. Thank you,
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: thank you, thank you so much having me.
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: For being on the show with me and reconnecting with
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: our audience. We can't wait to hear more of the
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: podcast interviews that you're going to do in the months
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: to come. And it's always such a joy to learn
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: where Richard and you are in the world. I have
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: to say, from a personal perspective, I just I have
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: such respect for Richard and you in the way that
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: you live your life and you know the life that
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: you want to experience, and you put boundaries around the
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: things that you say yes to and the things that
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: you say no to that help further your goal to
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: see the world and to share your stories with others.
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: And so many people miss that opportunity because they're chasing
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: after a bunch of different things. You guys stay very
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: focused on the experiences that you want to share as
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: a couple together and as individual adventurers. And I think
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: it's it's just an awesome example for others to be
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: able to follow.
• 47:29
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you, I appreciate that.
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: Well. Thank ting Ashley, and thank you Ashley, and we
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: thank you all for listening, and we'll talk to you
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: next time.