We left Kyrgyzstan via the south of the country through Turogate Pass and into China's XinJiang province. We camped as closed to the Chinese border as possible. Tim and Cheryl had warned us that the border crossing would be the toughest. All paperwork must be complete and exact. Any fever, sniffs or coughs could mean delays. So, we were advised to take all precautions: take plenty of vitamin C, pain-killers, etc.
We camped off the main road and had a rough night. Apart from the trucks going pass on the ruggety road, we had a storm and a wind gust over night. Tim had to go around in pouring rain to re-peg the fly sheets, while we got tugged in in our tents.As mentioned before, Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country and en route to Turogate pass is no difference. Travelling south, Al-Bashy range was on the left hand side and was prominent until closer to the Pass, then the Fergana range appearing from the right hand side. Attached pictures are just some samples the terrain we passed on the way to Turogate Pass and onward into Chinese territory. There was one regret though, for over 200 km from the first Chinese check point (at the Pass itself) to within 20km from Kashgar (about the distance between the first and the last Chinese checkposts, we were advised not to take photos. It was one of the most amazing terrians one would see in high mountain passes. (I felt cheated as other tourists were allowed to take photos not at checkposts, but between checkposts.)
The childhood ambition of going through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan some day has become less of a wish now that I have been through the Turogate Pass.
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