For our last night in Ulaangom we decided to let our hair down and hit the town (ie. the disco on the ground floor of our hotel) Sipping on the local brew and enjoying the vibe, we were approached by a group of travelers also looking for a place to chill. Among them was Makiko - a Japanese girl, who’s 5 year solo around-the-world motorcycle trip we’d heard about before. This time she was back in Mongolia… but on horseback!!

After short introductions, we joined her friends (2 french guys and their Polish born Mongolian guide) for a night of Chingis vodka drinking. It ended with a karaoke session and very big headaches the next morning. Hungover and very weak, we set-off in the searing heat for Olgiy. We were now approaching the Altay mountaains, so the scenery became more dramatic and our overnight stop saw us camping on the shores of the spectacular mountain lake - Ureg Nuur. This was probably the most scenic lake we have visited in Mongola.

Another day and half of riding over more mountain passes and we were finally in Olgiy. Here we found a local gusthouse for only US$4 per night, who’s owners were good enough to put a sink outside our front door to make up for the lack of running water…

In Olgiy we met many travelers on motorbikes, jeeps and even a 10-wheeler truck planning to see the solar eclipse on 01 August. We had also planned to see the eclipse deep in the Mongolian Altay’s, but the number of tourists and permits required just got too much. Instead we decided to head straight for the Russian border and see the eclipse on the ‘other side of the fence’.

So far Mongolia ranks as the best country we’ve visited. The people were fantastic and the scenery breathtaking. Overall we covered around 3,500km in just under 3 weeks.

The bike held up better than we expected. The only noteable damage was the failed odometer, a hair-line crack in the engine casing and two missing rear indicator lights, which we think fell off during the last strech of corrugated road

Crossing the Mongolian border took only a few minutes, the Russian customs clearance was another story. In Singapore there is no longer such a thing as a registration/log card for the bike (the Singapore government not counting on the fact that bikers from their country may want to ride further away from home than Thailand). When you purchase a bike, all you get is a computer printout specifying vehicle and owner details. This is what we have and try to use during each border crossing. It all looks very unofficial and the Russian customs officers were not convinced that the bike actually belonged to us. It took a lot of negotiation (even pleading) before they accepted our story and the Carnet de Passage (CDP) in place of a registration card.

Riding back into Russia from Mongolia was like taking a trip in a time machine. The roads were asphalt and we could buy more than just canned fish or carrot salad at the local shops. The scenery however, remained incredible…

We spent our first night on a hilltop overlooking a group of snow capped Altay peaks…

The further north we rode the more European the setting became. Small mountain villages and deserted riverbanks gave way to overstocked souvenir stands and camp sites full of holidaying Russians. It felt like we were on a summer vacation in Europe.

It was now 01 August and the solar eclipse was due to occur at 6pm. The town of Gorno-Altaysk was one option, but when we heard that the ex-president - Putin - was in town, we decided to high-tail it to a more secluded area. Turning off the main road (that leads to Barnaul), we found an open field and waited for the eclipse (more in curiosity than anticipation to be honest). It turned out better than we expected. The lead up to the full eclipse (which felt like an accelerated sunset) and the subsequent image of ’sun-behind-moon’ was pretty impressive. Here are some pics we took during the different phases…

Back in full daylight, we looked for a village in which to overnight. Our ‘village of choice’ was Ogni (meaning fire in Russian). Our tactic, was to approach a kind looking elderly local and ask whether there was any accomodation in town, hoping they would invite us to stay with them. We weren’t ‘that’ lucky, but we did manage to find Nadia. She was our host for the night in Ogni, showing us a good camping spot, bringing us eggs, vegetables and fresh milk from her cow…

We also rode through Russia’s version of the Polish capital - Warszawa (Bapwaba)…

Crossing the border into Kazakhstan was a breeze. The Kazakh border guards and customs officials, were the friendliest we’ve met so far. No bribes, no protracted paperwork and each official was eager to help.

We’re now in Semey, just over the border. Our destination is Almaty, about 3 days away.

The petrol (96 octane) in Kazakhstan is US$1 per liter. The cheapest we’ve seen since Malaysia.