Back on track (hopefully)

Kyrgyz man, Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan
Originally uploaded by rtw2007.

The VW garage in Bishkek tells us with great confidence that they have fixed our van. We are a little less confident than them, but it is moving again at least. Cue much celebration from us, including a slap-up celebratory meal at a really good Italian restaurant in Bishkek (which came as a bit of a surprise in this part of the world).

A suitable spare part for the van could not be located anywhere in Central Asia, so in the end they have cut open our van, taken out the offending filter (it had turned into a black crumbling mass of charcoal which looked suitable only for a barbeque), and welded the filter holder back together again. Not easly defeated, these Central Asian folk .

So, tomorrow we will set off (minus our filter), heading up to the Kyrgyz lake of Issyk Kol and then onto the Torugart Pass, which is supposed to be one of the most challenging border crossings in the world (it isn't in theory open to foreigners, but we are hoping that our contact in China will get us through).

Fingers crossed our van will make it over the pass and into China. Watch this space.....