So, what do you know about Turkmenistan? Not all that much, I would guess. I know I sure didn’t before I went there. This is not that strange though, as Turkmenistan generally is considered to be the 2nd most closed up country in the world, after North Korea.
Now this is a weird place, with the most odd rules and regulations you can (or can’t) think of. Photography being illegal in the capital, is an example that can probably give you an idea about the level of things.
Officialy tourism is welcomed, but layer upon layer of bureaucracy effectively discourages most people off from even trying to obtain a visa. And considering the fact that this is a very poor country consisting 90% of desert – I’m not too sure that many people would like one, even if they were handed out like flyers.
Cycling across Turkmenistan has been done before. Too many times to count. This is the center piece that connects the Middle East and Central Asia, and the 500 km stretch through the Karakum Desert is a classic route taken by long distance tourers going between Europe and Asia.
This could be a great ride. One where you’re slowly pedaling through the solitude desert in complete and utter peace. Just you and your bike. Spending long, silent campnights on the sand dunes. Sunsets to die for. Having the world, and the most mesmerizing starry skies you’ve ever laid eyes on, all for yourself – just as long as you want it.
In theory, that is.
In practice – it’s hell on earth.
Why?
These are a few things to take into account:
1) Time. You have a mere 5 day transit visa on which to complete the ride.
2) Heat. It’s summer – expect daytime temperatures around 45-50 degrees.
3) Shade. Now this is a concept that still doesn’t exsist in the desert.
4) Wind. Going West to East? Sorry – the sandstorms will not be working in your favor.
All in all. Cycling through Turkmenistan is not why you took up bicycle touring. This is not about rambling around the countryside, getting to know locals and experiencing new cultures. This is not about letting your mood decide when and where to stop for the day.
This is bootcamp. A race against time.
This is – The Turkmen Desert Dash.
My last day in Iran I found myself some company. A Swiss couple – Iris & Reto – was entering Turkmenistan on the same date as me, so we decided to team up and take on the challenge together.
By this point all three of us were quite happy to leave Iran, and more than ready to take on this new unknown country. Iris and I even a bit more than Reto, as none of us could wait to finally get to take off our hijabs.
‘Can you imagine? Tomorrow, we’ll finally be cycling with the wind in our hair again.’
It really is true though, you should be careful what you wish for. What none of us yet realised, was just how much wind we were actually in for…
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Even starting the desert crossing was easier said than done. First challenge prooved to be crossing the Turkmenistan border.
Officials did everything from measuring our body temperatures to x-raying our equipment before we were finally trusted to step foot into Turkmenistan. A bunch of valuable hours had already passed on our first day, and we quickly jumped onto the saddles in order to start knocking off the kilometers.
Heat, an inhumane headwind and a bunch of nothing was what we had to work with.
Things were a lot easier than we’d all expected though. The road we were working had by others been described as ‘the worst road you’ll ever ride’. But it really wasn’t too bad! And that talk about no shade? Nah. I mean after all we did find this lonely bush/tree thing that (kind of) protected us from the sun as we stopped for lunch.
It wouldn’t last though. Quickly after our break we realised what all those people had actually been referring to.
Both as it came to the no shade…
…as well as to the crappy road
It would take a lot for us to stop smiling though. We had all known what to expect – Turkmenistan is simply not supposed to be easy. We kept cranking and soon enough the heat and the wind calmed down for the day.
Sunset riding – no doubt my favorite part of the day!
With sore legs we pitched our tents after a long first day, and spent a really nice evening together. I’m not sure if we were mostly celebrating our arrival in Turkmenistan or departure from Iran, but it was a pretty fab night.
Soaking and using our old hijabs in an attempt to cool down the evening beer (something none of us had even seen in more than a month) really felt like the ultimate symbol of us all turning the leaf and beginning a whole new chapter of our adventures.
Unfortunately this would be both our first and last camp night together
Despite of putting in hard work – we had only managed to cover 70 km on our first day. We were already behind. After another day of pushing against horrible wind and trying to remain sane despite of the heat, we reached Mary just as the sun started to set. Still behind.
I knew that Iris and Reto since the start had been considering throwing in the towel here. From Mary – a city popping up in the middle of the desert – you have the opportunity to catch a train all the way to Turkmenabat and the Uzbekistan border. I knew that they – like me – were tired. We were behind. The wind was stronger than any of us had been ready for. Of course it was a tempting option. And in many ways, the only reasonable one.
They decided to go for the train.
Damn.
I didn’t have to decide anything. My mind was made up a long time ago. Turkmenistan could hit me with all the heat, wind, sand and horrible roads it wanted. I was gonna cycle this stupid desert, and that was it.
We said our goodbyes, and they headed off for the train station. I headed off to catch up with the ticking time bomb that was my visa. The upcoming days were long. I mean really long. Though the road is completely flat, the winds many times didn’t let me pedal any faster than 9 km/h. Covering distance took time – a lot of it.
The key to making it through the desert are the roadside cafés. Every 70-80 km, there is this very simple café where you can hide away from the sun and stock up on enough water to get you through to the next one (12 or so liters in my case). Without these, doing this ride would be impossible. With them – it’s just seriously difficult.
My days in the desert all looked the same:
Getting up at 4 AM I started cycling just as the sun rose. The mornings I pedaled with only one thing in mind – to make it to the next café before becoming desert BBQ. As I didn’t have much time to rest in the nights, I used these hot hours inside to catch up with some sleeping.
Then, as the most brutal heat and wind let go for the day, I cycled again. Covering just enough distance to be able to make it to the next café in time to not become BBQ the upcoming day either.
And at last: Stop. Set camp. Eat. Make a half-hearted attempt to get rid of the sand you have everywhere (for real – everywhere). And finally set the alarm 4 hours later – only to repeat the whole thing again.
Sounds like fun?
It was! …for a while.
This pretty much sums up my Turkmenistan experience:
Day 1: Setting off feeling like this totally badass hardcore adventurer
Day 2: Realising that OK – this will take some work.
Day 3: Halfway? Are you kidding me? And where the hell are my friends?!
Day 4: (Haha OK. It never really got this bad.)
Day 5: …can someone please just come and deport me?
Overall Turkmenistan was a really cool adventure. In a lot of ways I feel like I didn’t experience the country at all – but I do enjoy the physical part of this too. By the end of day four I rolled into Turkmenabat – the desert finish line. Equally happy and exhausted I pitched my tent for the last time on Turkmenistan grounds.
How I’ll remember Turkmenistan?
Sand. Heat. Wind.
Five days of madness. Complete and utter madness.
Madness in the very best of ways.
Fredrika