Note: The wifi in western Tibet was barely existent, probably because there weren’t ant people to use it. We are now in Bishkek and, although th wifi is good, the pics are uploading very slowly. I can’t uplosd a blog without at least one picture. And as people are sending e-mails asking if we are still alive, I am putting stuff up with one picture per day. The rest of the dozens of pics of dramatic scenery will be uploaded when possible.
ALSO, bing out of China I can now access google maps to show where we are.
Getting out of China was simpler than getting in. Our guide, Adir, was a character, barking out orders like a sergeant major but he got us through the endless series of passport inspections with cool efficiency. When the China Gate was closed and we were expected to wait for three hours, he spoke to the top man, telling him that we elderly Westerners needed food and water and were going to be ill, so the gate was opened and we got out of China.
Getting into Kyrgyzstan took some time when an extremely polite policeman who spoke excellent English told us that the customs declaration had to be manually typed out because it couldn’t be done electronically., Eventually we were away, and noticed that the snow level on the spectacularly beautiful road from Sarytash to Irkeshtam was much lower than when we came in September, and there were patches of snow on the road. The temperature dropped to minus four. The Taldyk Pass was clear of snow and we drove on to Gulcha where we spent the night at the side of the road.
