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Start: Passau/ Germany
Finish: Varanasi/ India
Duration: 3 months
Kilometers: app. 15 000
Best season: summer - fall, from August till November
On a motorcycle to the Ganges in India
The final destination of this altogether 15,000 km tour is the river of the Gods. That is what the Ganges in India is called. This mystic and gigantic river plays a central role in the lives of most Indians and Hindus - altogether more than one billion people. The tour, which was traveled in 2004 by the television journalist Thomas Junker, starts in Passau’s harbor at the Danube.
The Bavarian town has never been a part of the legendary Silk Road, but its harbor became a starting point of an ambitious attempt of the European Union: to reanimate this ancient trading route. Therefore the start of this tour to Asia is this town located at the Danube. The voyage on the river takes five days downstream and one additional day upstream. The transport by ship between Bulgaria and Germany was introduced in 1982. It prospered well and is therefore now a part of the ambitious project called New Silk Road.
The voyage along the Danube is pleasant and attracts the traveler to explore the scenery next to the river along the way. Further rider and motorcycle can enjoy some relaxed days before their performance. After arriving in the north Bulgarian town of Vidin near the border to Romania, the travelers disembark the ship and ride towards Sofia, the capitol of the country. From here one continues on towards Istanbul in Turkey. In this town Orient and Occident meet; Europe and Asia are now only separated by the Bosporus.
The tour leads on towards the east for 2000 km and runs through Turkey towards the destination Georgia. Anyone with a firm grasp of the bible will want to take a “short” detour of about 600 km to Ararat, the biblical mountain, before leaving the country. Just like Thomas Junker. At the foot of this mountain Noah is said to have been stranded with his ark. From Turkey’s east one than enters Georgia almost through the backdoor. One leaves EU candidate Turkey and enters the world of the CIS and the southern part of the Caucasus. It is certainly worth to make a quick trip to the cave town which once offered housing for about 5,000 people. Since the beginning of the 1990th, seven monks live here again.
The labyrinth of caves stretches across 12 floors. Once upon a time these caves were within the mountain, but an earthquake in the 14th century led to a massive rock landslide, which exposed the cave system. Via Tiflis the tour continues along the southern edge of the High Caucasus to Sheki in Azerbaijan. Here one actually enters the true world of the Ancient Silk Road for the first time. In Sheki one finds an old Caravanserai. It used to be an important place for travelers to stay save and protected against robberies, to get some rest before setting out on the last stages and a possibility to exchange goods and news. The building has been renovated and is now an accommodation for travelers of the 21st century.
It is a pleasant place to spend the night and to get ready for the next day to continue the tour on the motorcycle. From Sheki and its Caravanserai the route leads to Baku, the capitol of Azerbaijan. In 1823 the first petroleum factory was founded here and in 1848 this place was the first one in the world to drill for oil. At the beginning of the 20th century the oilfields of Baku were the largest ones worldwide. In Baku one boards another ship and for several hours crosses the Caspian Sea until it reaches Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan. From here the pilot on its motorcycle rides along proper roads for about 600 km to Ashgabat.
In Turkmenistan everyone and everything serves mainly one man, whose image can be found anywhere - Sapurmurat Nijasow or “Turkmenbashi”, Turkmenistan’s president. Its name also means “Ruler of the Turkmen”. He gave back identity and self-confidence to his people and made Turkmenistan a proud country. And: Here in Turkmenistan a tank full of gasoline costs only about one Euro! But you will also find policemen at every corner and on national roads security personal will register every move.
Having refueled the motorcycles for only one Euro - thanks to Turkmenbashi - the tour continues on to Bukhara and Samarqand in Uzbekistan. Both towns are probably the most precious ones along the Ancient Silk Road and certainly worth a visit. These oases are more than 2500 years old and fascinate with their glittering buildings. For many centuries Samarqand was considered the golden face of the earth. Bukhara has an equally fascinating old quarter of town. Both towns also offer a further side aspect. Here life is rather quiet and the otherwise famous pestering of foreigners is rather unknown. Anyone not completely engulfed in the magic of Samarqand, as an unknown poet described it, gets back on the motorcycle and rides on. Via Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capitol, then Shymkent and Taras (both Kazakhstan) the route leads to the long river of the Gods in Central Asia’s core, in Kyrgyz.
In Kyrgyz the motorcyclist rides through Bishkek, “Red Front” (which is considered the German center of the country) and finally further along the Silk Road through the mountains Tianshan crossing into China. This part of the tour takes several days to complete and runs through breathtaking scenery which will certainly leave a long lasting impression on the traveler. At the border one has to take along a guide which will always keep close until the border crossing to Nepal. It is mandatory to take a guide along.
It is not allowed to travel through China without one. That is the rule and has to be obeyed. After having passed all formalities at the border the tour continues through China via Kashgar, Hotan and Golmud to the uplands of Tibet. The route runs sometimes along the southern edge of the Taklamakan desert, sometimes crossing right through it. It is a grand mixture of perfect tarred roads and gravel tracks. Probably the most attractive section for rider and motorcycle is riding from Ruoqiang up to Huotugou. For a long time the track runs right beside a vessel through a narrow canyon until later when it climbs via serpentines on an altitude of 3884 m. From here one has to challenge about 300 km through desert landscape all on an altitude of about 3000 m.
The route across the Tibetan uplands runs towards Lhasa, Tibet’s capitol. Beyond Lhasa the tour leads through Shigatse, passing by the largest mountains in the world - Mount Everest, Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Schisapanga, which all reach above the magical border of an altitude of 8000 m. The traveler rides in a southwestern direction towards India. The country of the river of Gods is reached and the larger part of the tour is finally completed. From now on, one starts to follow the Hindus on their route to the mystic river.
Via the mountain town of Mussorie (a so called Hill Station which was founded by the English), Rishikesh (town of the wise), Pushka, Deshnoke, Delhi (the capitol) and Jaipur one finally reaches Varanasi located at the banks of the holy river of the Gods. Varanasi presents for the Hindus the same as what Mecca presents for the Moslems and Jerusalem for the Jewish - the most holy of all towns. And: this is the final destination of the 15,000 km motorcycle tour which had started in Germany.
All important details about the tour, which Thomas Junker and his partner Steffen Mueller completed in 2004 on their two KTM 950 Adventure motorcycles, can be inquired directly with the globetrotter and film maker via e-mail at KTM. Thomas Junker will answer any inquiries about tour formalities and routes, accommodations, sights and how the local authorities might be charmed. |
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