Results for "escalade+|+128"

Salut,

je serai sur GR20 à partir du Dimanche 11/07 ou du Lundi 12/07, et je prévois de le faire dans le sens Nord-Sud en 12-13 jours maxi. Mon coéquipier habituel m'a annoncé il y a quelques jours qu'il ne pourrait pas venir. Je me retrouve donc en solo.

Il y a-t-il parmi vous des personnes qui font le GR20 à la même période?

A+

Eric

Ce qui m'interresse en Australie, ce ne sont pas les grandes villes, mais les parcs nationaux. J'aimerais prochainement faire un voyage près d'Alice springs afin de pouvoir aller voir l'Ayers Rock. Si quelqu'un connaît cette ville, pouriez vous m'en dire deux mots ? Et si quelqu'un a déjà vu l'Uluru, puis-je savoir les activités proposées sur ce site ?

Merci d'avance.😉

bonsoir

aux personnes ayant dans l'un de ces 3 pays, avez vous eu echo de racket, vol ou d'agression sur touriste ?

le fait d'avoir des lunettes de soleil colorees ou un appareil photo en bandouillere est il tenter le diable ?

merci

bonjour

je souhaite passer Noel ou le jour de l'an (2004/2005) au canada (région de quebec ou montréal, séjour d'une petite dizaine de jours)

qui peux me conseiller (location de chalet ou hotel, location de voiture ou pas) je voyage avec mes 3 enfants 16 et 17 ans, nous vivons en martinique depuis 8 ans nous recherchons un peu de frais 😛

merci de vos réponses éventuelles et bonne journée à tous

ps je peux donner quelques renseignements sur la martinique si quelqu'un le souhaite

Santé à tous !

J'ai découvert ce site grace à abm.fr (très bien fait un peu la waï des infos, complet)

Je suis en grande reflexion pour partir. Une reflexion à double sens : j'ai l'argent j'ai le temps je peux partir ou je veux comme je veux avec qui je veux et quand je veux...mais la décision est difficile à prendre. Je suis graphiste de formation j'ai bossé pendant 4 ans sur paris, marseille, st raphael et à présent j'ai quitté ma boite de "king of the king of the world" pour changer. Changer est un bien grand mot plutôt dire évoluer. Le train train boulot dodo ça me va pas, le JT et ses beaux sujets de mélodrame tourné pour créér des peurs chez chaque personne ça me va pas et la pub, pour y avoir plonger les 2 bras est un milieu de fous comme un proverbe qui m'a bien fait rire : "c'est un fou qui escalade le mur de l'asile et qui demande a un quidam qui passe, vous êtes nombreux la dedans ?" ça résume assez bien.

Donc mon projet c'est de remonter l'europe, jusqu'a la russie, transib jusqu'à l'asie, puis japon, chine...australie...amerique du sud, remonter tout ça...un petit arret en passant chez ma cousine à tahiti, et puis canada...et retour france / ou si encore la force, tant qu'on y est direction Afrique.

La seule chose qui me manque c'est le déclic. Pourquoi je l'ai pas ou / pourquoi un jour je l'ai, un jour non...ça, mystère. Je crois qu'il ya un peu de peur la dedans, j'ai rencontré et discuté avec nombre de personnes, j'ai lu des bouquins, j'ai étudié les proverbes du genre : il ya ceux qui vivent leur rêves et ceux qui rêvent leur vie...enfin bref et je suis toujours là le cul sur cette chaise, ou plutot la chaise entre 2 culs comme dirait gad elmaleh

Alors qu'est ce qu'on fait ?

Peace, JM

Bonjour à tous,

J'envisage de faire un trek au Népal courant avril, dans le cadre d'un voyage + long en Asie (entre 6 et 7 mois). Je commence à regarder les questions d'assurance pour l'ensemble du voyage, mais apparemment les trek et autres activités dites à risques sont exclues des contrats. Qqn a-t-il un tuyau à me donner ? Comment faites-vous pour être assuré pendant un trek (notamment rapatriement hélico en cas de problème) ?

Merci d'avance pour vos réponses !!

Salut tout l'monde

Je pars 1 mois à Madagascar pour la 1° fois fin Avril 2004. Je n'ai encore aucune idée de mon itinéraire à vélo. Nord, Sud, ... ? A priori, j'aurais envie de visiter l'Andringitra et l'Isalo. J'aimerai bien pouvoir grimper aussi. C'est pourquoi je pensais à une descente le long du canal des Pangalanes, l'Andrigintra, Tulear, puis remontée par la côte Ouest. Est ce que les routes seront praticables sur la côte Est à cette période ? Je me suis laissé dire que certaines sont encore innondées en Avril, surtout à l'Est.

Et si certains y ont grimpé, au Nord également, je suis preneur de toute info(quel niveau minimum, ...) Merci beaucoup. A plouch

hola, voilà je pars dans 10 jours au Guaté puis Salvador. Il est assez difficile de trouver des infos sur le Salvador, surtout kan le temps presse. Alors si kelk1 veut bien me donner kelkes plan, genre ce kil faut vraiment voir, ce kil ne faut pas manker, hotels, le guide ?

merci beaucoup !!!

PS: nous partons dans l'objectif de rencontrer et de visiter differentes associations humanitaires ou en lien avec l'ecotourismes, pour aider, alors si vous avez des adresses aussi elles seront bien venues.

Hasta Luego ...

Bonjour à tous les voyageurs du monde! :-)

J'ai une suggestion de livre très intéressant à vous faire: "Aux voyageurs du monde" écrit par Geneviève Clastres

Vous pouvez trouvez ce livre à Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Toulouse, Fougères et Saint-Malo aux adresses suivantes: La cité des voyageurs

55, rue Sainte Anne 75002 Paris tél: 01.42.86.16.00.

5, quai Jules Courmont 69002 Lyon tél: 04.72.56.94.56.

2, rue Jules Simon BP 10206 35102 Rennes Cedex tél: 02.99.79.16.16.

26, rue des Marchands 31000 Toulouse tél: 05.34.31.72.72.

19, rue Châteaubriand 35300 Fougères tél: 02.99.94.21.91.

17, avenue Jean Jaurès BP 206 35409 Saint Malo Cedex tél: 02.99.40.27.27.

P.S.: Ce livre m'a coûté a l'époque 60F

Bonne lecture à tous!

Salut à toutes et à tous,

je prevoit un voyage de 15/20 jours en thailande en mai 2003

auriez vous des infos utile?

connaissez vous des endroit peu touristique (meme si je sait que rare) des endroits à voir absoluement?

je pense faire le sud est ou ouest, que me conseillez vous le mieux?

quel le mieux pour l'hébergement? petit hotel ou chez l'habitant?

merci de vos réponses

bonne soirée

Hi there, I have a question... Has anyone managed to get a refund from Oman Air?

After a delayed flight, we missed our connecting flight to get home!! At midnight, the flight attendant booked us on a flight to Nice via Munich, even though we were in Munich and wanted to get back to Nice... Too tired from the trip, we didn’t notice the mistake!! The next day, of course, the booking wasn’t valid!! We had to pay again for the flight back to Nice... I’m really struggling!! I think they’re giving me the runaround!! I’ve sent several emails, tried Messenger and WhatsApp, but the only responses I get are: "We need to investigate!! We’ll get back to you in 15 days!!" It’s been over a month!!

I just sent a registered letter (LRAR) to their office at Paris Charles de Gaulle, which is still open!!

Do you have any other suggestions for me?

Thanks in advance for your help! Virginie

Hi there, I’d like to cycle around Guadeloupe during the Christmas holidays. I was wondering if it’s dangerous, if it’s easy to rent a bike, and to find accommodation along the way? Thanks!

Hi everyone.

I’ve been doing brisk walking every day for years (an hour every morning at dawn) through forests, along rivers, on trails, tracks, and pavement. I wanted to try Nordic walking, so I bought the poles (apparently, they work your abs extra). I lasted 5 days 😄 And I’m stopping because, for me, it’s incompatible with how I combine sport and wildlife. I tried all the tips (rubber and steel), and they all make a racket that scares off every animal 😅

I get that some athletes go from point A to point B without paying attention to what’s in between, but that’s not me. I love intense exercise, but whenever something’s beautiful, I stop to enjoy it for a few moments (same when I spot an animal). With the poles, it’s impossible—they’re too noisy, even if you don’t press hard.

Oh well, I wasted 20 € on this purchase (though they might come in handy for scrambling, for example).

Anyway, for the brisk walking I do, the poles I totally mastered by the second day (syncing the movement) actually slow me down. Plus, it’s annoying to hear that constant noise in a dreamy landscape when my shoes barely make a sound. And on roads (pavement), they make all the dogs in their houses bark 😅

As for working the abs, brisk walking without poles lets you engage your core if you want, so it works those muscles too.

Into the bin go my poles and their tips, already dead after 5 days (long live wildlife and nature!) 🤘

It’s vacation time Vacation and silence Silence and absence Absence and latency Latency and silence Silence and vacation Vacation and absence It’s vacation time

I wrote these few words on July 12, 2010, and I can post them again today—nothing’s changed...🙂

Hi, We're planning to visit Mauritius in April. We'd like to do some beginner-level hikes but we're also wondering if we'll be able to enjoy the beach or if the water will be too cold. Thanks for your replies

For our first post-COVID trip outside Europe, we’ve chosen a North African destination: Morocco.

I’ve already visited this country four times, but my partner has never set foot there.

Since we both prefer wide-open spaces over even imperial cities, our itinerary will focus on nature and villages.

Starting point: Casablanca, easily accessible with a direct flight from Lyon.

Our ride: a Dacia Logan, perfect for navigating roads turned into Swiss cheese by corruption and the weather.

Stops: Demnate, Aït Ben Haddou, the Dadès Gorges, N'Kob, Zagora, the Todhra Gorges, the Merzouga dunes, Tinejdad, Agoudal, Lake Bin El Ouidane, the Vallée Heureuse, the Ouzoud waterfalls, and finally El Jadida.

Season: November, when there’s no tourist pressure. Sure, it can be chilly, but what peace and quiet!

You can find the details of our journey beyond the Rif here.

Happy reading!

And if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate!

just one question for February—should I pick Phuket or Krabi?

Bonjour Je souhaite séjourner une semaine mi Octobre autour du Bassin mais ne sais pas exactement quelle ville choisir Nous serons en famille avec nos deux adolescents , nous aimerions être dans la nature sans trop être isolés de tout Je m'explique pas loin de centres d'Intérêts comme : Dune du Pyla, l'Île aux oiseaux , pret de commodités : restaurants, petits commerces, marchés, et surtout prêt la mer. Nous aimerions faire à un moment donné du vélo et une randonnée. Nous souhaitons éviter une trop grande agglomération. Merci pour vos idées.

Bonjour,

Grand dilemme, nous sommes deux femmes, nous avons 4 jours pour faire des randos. Nous voudrions trouver un village et sillonner autour, sereinement sans avoir peur de se retrouver seule dans la nature ou se perdre.. Envie de montagnes.. de grands espaces.. de verdure..

Nous hésitons entre : - l'Ariège, vers St-Girons ou Ax les Thermes - Le parc des écrins (mais quel point de chute pour faire des randos d'une journée?) - Le Vercors (idem quel point de chute?)

De là où nous sommes actuellement le trajet pour le parc des écrins ou le vercors serait de 2h30 alors que pour aller dans l'Ariège ce serait plutôt 4h... Et d'un autre coté les routes provençales nous paraissent plus tortueuses que celle en Ariège, donc moins facile de conduire pour des citadines..

Merci par avance de vos conseils. Sibylle

Bonjour, j'aimerais bien avoir l'avis de randonneurs qui connaissent le coin : Je cherche à identifier un chemin pour relier Salau (en amont sud de Couflens) au Mont Valier, pour envisager son ascension.

j'ai identifié un chemin sur un site mais il n'est pas tracé sur la carte IGN : Il y aurait un sentier qui relierait la cabane d'Aula, au pied sud- est du Mont Valier (en remontant le ruisseau de l'Artigue, en amont de Couflens de Betmajou) au col de Peyre Blanc (situé au sud du col de Faustin (au pied sud du Mont Valier) : le connaissez-vous ? est-il difficile techniquement (j'imagine que physiquement, il doit être corsé vu le dénivelé et le relief).

Aussi, connaissez-vous le sentier qui relie à flanc de montagne le col de la Pale de la Clauère (chemin de la liberté) au Port d'Aula, en passant par l'Espagne ?

En vous remerciant

Bonjour fin septembre j'envisage avec un camarade de faire Fontainebleau-les Vosges jusqu'à Remiremont à vélo, je suis preneur de tous les conseils d'itinéraires. La veille, des Vosges j'irai à Paris gare de l'est en train et, de là j'envisage de rejoindre Fontainebleau à vélo. Là aussi, je suis preneur de tous les conseils sur un itinéraire au plus près de la Seine. Quelle circulation y-at-il? Parfois l'itinéraire suit-il un chemin le long de la rive? Serai-je obligé parfois de me trouver sur des routes à forte circulation? L'itinéraire est-il difficile à suivre? Voilà un certain nombre de questions que je me pose. Merci par avance de vos suggestions et conseils Luc

From Beijing to Khiva: China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Chronicle of anecdotes, highlights, and other adventures that marked this eight-week journey in 2018.



The Chinese Far West More than 30 years after my first trip to eastern China, I finally fulfilled an old dream: traveling solo from Beijing to the far west, discovering Xinjiang, the Uyghur people and the oppression they endure, the oases of Turpan and Kashgar, the Taklamakan Desert, the end of the Great Wall... The route was covered by train.

MENU PART 1: CHINA

1- Beijing (Jiankou) : the authentic Great Wall, without tourists 2- Cycling in Beijing, the best way to get around 3- Beijing : departure for the far west 4- Jiayuguan : getting by without English 5- Jiayuguan : scams and heritage 6- Dunhuang : abundance in the middle of the desert 7- Turpan : the Uyghurs under heavy surveillance 8- Kashgar : love at first sight for the old city 9- Kashgar : China’s recipe for controlling the populace 10- Tashkurgan : what on earth was I thinking going there! Kyrgyz border: a surreal epic Photo album from the 80s, contributions from other travelers (page 2)

1- JIANKOU Finding the authentic Great Wall, without tourists or a guide Friday, August 24, 2018 Thirty years later, I didn’t feel like revisiting the Great Wall at Badaling or any other overcrowded site. I chose to explore it at Jiankou, in its wildest, most authentic, and unrestored section, starting from a lost village deep in a valley—though it wasn’t *that* lost, since it had everything for communication.



No need to pay for a taxi to get there—by timing it right, you can take the bus for just a few yuan. You have to get off at Xizhazi, the bus terminus. Be careful, there are only two buses a day in each direction. At the Xizhazi bus stop, I met a young couple who’d arrived with zero information about what to expect. We hiked the three of us toward the restored section of Mutianyu.

Still, be cautious With GPS and a topographic map (OpenTopoMap), you can set off without a problem or guide. The trail up to Jiankou is easy and well-marked. The trails down are too. But be careful—once you’re on the Wall, it’s real mountain hiking, with easy but dangerous climbing sections (over sheer drops). Not for amateurs or those afraid of heights! But what a reward. The Wall all to yourself, where it’s at its most daring. Truly mesmerizing.

More photos...

2- BEIJING The best way to get around the capital Sunday, August 26 The best way to explore the city is still by bike. Most are in a bike-share system, but you need to use an app—WeChat, the app that does everything, like monitoring your every move. No way I was installing that.



I found one at a rental shop near the hostel. The key is to quickly learn local traffic customs to minimize risks. Bike lanes are wide along the avenues.

But you still have to: - Watch out for anything parked on the bike paths—the most annoying are people napping or talking on the phone in their cars - Keep an eye on everything coming the wrong way—the list is long - The worst is right turns on red, which in Chinese traffic rules seem to have priority Once you get the hang of it, it’s fine. The city is huge but flat, so you can just wing it.

3- BEIJING By train to the far west Sunday, August 26 Beijing West Station is the size and operates like an airport. With your e-ticket from the agency, you first have to pick up your ticket at the special "English" counter, after passing through security. With your ticket in hand, you have to exit and enter through the boarding waiting area—not the platform—after a second security check.

Then you find the right hall and wait for the sign to finally access the platform. In the end, it works pretty well given the incredible number of passengers to manage. Everywhere in Beijing, I saw that the Chinese have mastered crowd flow management.

Nice surprise: second-class carriages are clean, air-conditioned, and bright. Perfect, since I was in for 20 hours. One uniformed attendant per carriage, mobile meal service—luxury! Small downside: no luggage space. Hauling your suitcase up to the top bunk is quite a workout. I was in the middle, so it wasn’t too bad. The landscape, though, whether rural or urban, is pretty bleak. That should change once we leave the eastern plains.

Of course, I got my first police visit, with a thorough passport check and bag search. I was warned—going to the Chinese far west exposes you to this kind of hassle. But they were polite and respectful.

The Chinese Far West

4- JIAYUGUAN Getting by without English Monday, August 27 At the gates of two deserts (Gobi and Taklamakan) and at the foot of the Tibetan highlands, the Great Wall ends at Jiayuguan. Here, I found the deeper China I’d somewhat rediscovered during my bike ride, even if now everyone gets around on electric bikes and I’m no longer stared at like an alien.



Prices are nothing like Beijing: you can find a full meal for 2 €, and my bike cost 7 € for two days. Plus, few people speak English—neither the owner of the HI hostel where I stayed, nor the ticket sellers at the sites, let alone the servers at the small eateries where I ate. Everything is written in Chinese. So I had to use the little Chinese I know to communicate about essentials. It makes the locals laugh to see a European trying to speak their language, but it earns respect. With Google Translate’s help, I managed.

Rant: With their avenues blocked for construction for kilometers without warning, and new roads not yet on maps, I must’ve taken 15 km of detours. More photos...

5- JIAYUGUAN Scams and heritage Tuesday, August 28 The Great Wall doesn’t exactly end at the fort I visited yesterday but 10 km further, at the entrance to a river gorge at the foot of the mountains. All that’s left is a badly damaged tower (more like a mound of earth) and a section of clay wall, similar to the one I biked yesterday.



This morning, I hopped on my bike, determined to venture into the desert to see this highly symbolic site. First, you access it via a wide, brand-new road with not a soul in sight. Just before the site, I came across a grand welcome gate, very period-style, but it’s actually the inevitable toll booth.

Behind the gate, the road continues straight to the site, which you can see in the distance—at least 2 km away—the remains of the tower and wall. I had to leave my bike here. Fine. I went to the ticket counter and asked the price: 120 yuan! I couldn’t believe it—over 15 € for a simple mound of earth.

I showed my displeasure to the attendant, who couldn’t care less, and immediately turned back. 120 yuan—that’s the price for a new road, a fancy gate planted 2 km before the site just to force you to take a shuttle, and employees with nothing to do all day... Now I understand why I didn’t meet anyone!

Heritage China is a bit pricey Generally, sites are expensive for the country’s standard of living, but travelers are supposed to have money, so why hold back? I even gave up on the Forbidden City—reservations required days in advance (or on the black market at an impossible price). I prefer to keep the memory of my first visit, when entry must’ve cost a few dozen cents, and there were only a handful of visitors.

This morning, I took a taxi to see remarkable tombs of common people from the 3rd to 6th centuries. They’re small vaulted caves made of painted bricks, depicting scenes of daily life. Very pretty and moving. But even here, though the price was more reasonable, I was left wanting—only one of the 16 tombs is open to visitors, and it’s apparently not the most beautiful.

The authentic China—at least what’s left of it... Wandering the impersonal avenues of the city, you stumble upon a market. There, you still find traditional China—small shops with questionable hygiene, Go players, musicians, and even a dental prosthetist. The last refuge for those untouched by modernity. More photos...

6- DUNHUANG Abundance in the middle of the desert Wednesday, August 29 Well, I thought the landscape would be less bleak as I headed west. Nope. The only distraction in this expanse of dark, clayey sand is the forests of pylons and wind turbines, plus wild camels racing each other.

However, Dunhuang, the gateway to the Taklamakan, is by far the most pleasant Chinese city I know. There’s a real city center you can explore on foot. It’s hot but not unbearable, with a light, dry breeze. Much nicer than Beijing. The Han Chinese are still the majority, but the Muslim Uyghurs are more numerous, and the muezzin’s call to prayer echoes around the mosque.

The most surprising thing is the abundance and diversity of fruits and vegetables. You wonder how it all grows here. Well-irrigated, the desert sands are very fertile. Here, raisins have subtle, mysterious flavors, and the lamb really tastes like lamb.

Today, I visited the must-see Mingshashan, a dune complex next to which Pila is a molehill. The Basque Country, but covered in sand... More photos...

7- TURPAN The Uyghurs under heavy surveillance Friday, August 31 Surveillance cameras everywhere in the city, armed police stationed at intersections, in front of public buildings, at the entrance and inside tourist sites, police stations on every corner, patrols on foot or by car, khaki uniforms even for middle schoolers... here, the Han Chinese are in the minority, and you can feel it. Turpan feels like a city under siege.



To enter the youth hostel where I stayed, there’s even a security gate, and the receptionist (a Han, like everyone in tourism) wears a bulletproof vest! Reassuring. Still, you don’t feel particularly threatened here, especially as a European. The troublemakers are the Chinese, not the Uyghurs. Generally, China is a very safe country for visitors.

Smile, you’re on camera! I was biking on an avenue when the car in front of me got flashed for driving slowly. I quickly understood why when I got flashed too.

Here, the official time is Beijing time, but it gets dark two hours later. It’ll be even worse in Kashgar. Trickier to manage: everything is displayed in Chinese and Arabic. Nothing in English. Choosing a menu is a shot in the dark. Apart from a few young Chinese, no one here speaks English, and my Chinese doesn’t seem very understandable...

Mogao, the end of the road for the Han Yesterday, near Dunhuang, I went to Mogao, a complex of decorated caves with Buddha sculptures and paintings. Stunning, but so crowded! Luckily, here in Turpan, Chinese tourists barely venture out. So I visited a Silk Road ghost town with only a handful of other visitors and under a howling wind.

The modern Chinese city is swallowing up the old Uyghur neighborhoods—only a museum-like district remains in the center, and pockets of resistance on the outskirts are doomed to disappear soon. More photos...

8- KASHGAR A (relative) love at first sight for the old city Sunday, September 2 After three overnight trains, here I am in the far west of China, nearly 4,000 km from the capital. Despite the omnipresent police and an old city preserved UNESCO-style, Kashgar is my Chinese love at first sight.



Finally, Chinese... well, sort of, because we’re in Uyghur territory here—a Turkic people with nothing culturally in common with the Han, the eastern Chinese. It started badly yesterday at Turfan station, where after three security gate passes, at least five passport checks, and a bag search, three adorable policewomen confiscated my antibacterial lotion because it had a flammable logo...

Then came the welcoming committee of armed cops at Kashgar station. Once all that was over, they left me alone—except you still have to go through security checks like everyone else to enter the old city, the bazaar, the livestock market... The further west you go, the more the siege mentality is evident. Luckily, the border isn’t far...

Despite the inevitable destruction-reconstruction, the city center has been well preserved. Thankfully, because it’s a very original style, a mix of local and colonial. I love it, even if it’s a bit too artificial, sanitized, and watered-down, and rather empty of residents. On the Silk Road, the city was famous for its great food. And it still is—rarely have I seen such richness and abundance of food! And not just scorpions or snakes. More photos...

9- KASHGAR China’s recipe for controlling the populace Saturday, September 1 Xinjiang, along with Tibet, is a "sensitive" area of rebellion in the eyes of Chinese authorities. As a result, the state has these regions and their populations under total control. Tourists also feel the consequences, even if they’re not at risk of re-education camps.

- Putting barbed wire and anti-ramming barriers around sensitive sites (schools, big hotels, government buildings...) - Installing traffic surveillance gates with cameras and photo flashes (for all vehicles passing, including bikes) throughout the city and even in the countryside - Posting uniformed guards with tasers, batons, or huge baseball bats every 100 meters - Training the Han population (ethnic Chinese) in self-defense with sticks, preferably in the morning on the street. Men and women of all ages - Starting school with the national anthem, doing military exercises, and receiving political indoctrination, all neatly lined up in the courtyard. (The dream school for any teacher) - Placing a snitch in uniform (a pseudo-guard) in public gathering places, like youth hostels. Mine spends the day loafing around the courtyard - Putting Chinese flags everywhere on the streets to remind everyone who’s in charge - Installing security gates at every entrance to areas frequented by tourists (thanks for that) but not just there - Never photographing cops, or else! I tried, but it’s not easy...

With all that, you can stroll around safely Not much crime! As for the amount the Chinese state spends to maintain such a system, it’s staggering! A third of the Han living in Xinjiang work in security. Today, I wandered freely around old Kashgar, which is quite large after all. More photos...

10- TASHKURGAN What on earth was I thinking going there! Wednesday, September 5 First, there’s the taxi—pretty crappy, with a driver who doesn’t speak a word of English and won’t stop smoking. Over six hours in that... shared with a completely out-of-it American.



Then there are all the checkpoints along the way. I won’t go on—you know the drill by now.

After that, there’s Tashkurgan—a town with nothing to see, nothing to do. Deserted as soon as night falls. There’s this huge youth hostel and a few lost Chinese tapping away on their smartphones, chain-smoking. This lost American-European crowd, swapping tips on how to enter Pakistan or Tajikistan.

Luckily, there’s the Chinese Pamir Highway, lined with peaks over 7,000m. There’s the feeling of no longer being in China, with a population whose features are Middle Eastern. And these Tajik women with their stunning hairstyles and vibrant costumes. There’s the fact of having reached the westernmost Chinese city, far from crowds and tourist sites. A sort of end of the world. More photos...

11- KYRGYZ BORDER A surreal epic Thursday, September 6 The road from Kashgar to the Kyrgyzstan border is a little over 200 km and passes through beautiful landscapes of colorful, desert-like mountains with acrobatic folds. That’s the bucolic part of the trip.

Yesterday, I managed to gather four people to rent a minibus to reach the border more easily: a Spaniard and an Argentine I’d already met in Turpan, and two New Zealanders who responded to the ad left at the hostel.

Absurdity and paranoia of Chinese authorities The highlight was crossing the town of Wuqia, 50 km past Kashgar. After tallying up with my fellow sufferers, we must’ve passed about ten checkpoints with: - Passport checks: 14 times, sometimes by two cops side by side - Bag checks: 4 times - Smartphone checks: 2 times, with deletion of "non-compliant" photos, and registration of your IMEI in the exit log!... Absurd and surreal at the same time, since my camera stayed in my bag, my apps are in French, and my photos have been online for ages...

With all that, we arrived just as the last checkpoint before the no man’s land marking the border between the two countries was on lunch break. And bam! Another 1.5-hour wait, alongside truckers who were much more used to this than we were.

What to think? The cops themselves aren’t fooled. They play the role they’re asked to, but sometimes you can coax a smile out of them—they realize how ridiculous the situation is.

What’s the point? That’s the big question my companions and I were tempted to answer with "to piss people off." To show you your place isn’t here, but with the other tourists, over there in the east, in Shanghai, Xi’an, or Guangzhou.

As for you, a traveler from a democratic country, you really experience this as aggression, humiliation, a violation of your private space. And yet, I’m respected, they speak to me properly. Today, I better understand what a Palestinian or a citizen of an occupied country might feel daily. A unique experience! Thanks, China.

And to top it off, the cherry on the cake! It’s still this glowing button you press to rate your passage after clearing the last obstacle before the exit stamp. I was so surprised it turned off before I could react. The Spaniard, with great humor and irony, had time to vote "excellent." In the end, he wasn’t wrong—you can hardly do better!

PS: I ditched my buddies at the border. They didn’t want to pay for a taxi to continue. So I took a direct taxi to Osh. The first 100 km are fabulous. I couldn’t take many photos, but I’ll be back on Monday to go to Tajikistan.

More photos...

The rest of the Silk Road, Part 2, in these travel journals: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Bonjour à tous, J'envisage de passer 15 jours cet été sur l'île de Madère (plutôt en juillet). Nous sommes un couple avec un enfant de 5 ans et je m'interroge sur la possibilité de randonner avec un enfant de cet âge? Alors je sais que nombreuses sont les possibilités de randonnée avec des niveaux de difficulté différents, en revanche ma demande concerne évidemment le fameux Pico Ruivo. L'idéal serait que l'on puisse la faire en famille mais pas à n'importe quel prix et évidemment sans prendre de risque inconsidéré. Je souhaiterai avoir vos témoignages, je sais que le Pico Ruivo est long et exigeant sans être insurmontable non plus.Les sentiers sont balisés et sécurisés, mais pour avoir vu des vidéos, certains passages me paraissent vertigineux et potentiellement dangereux pour un enfant de 5 ans. Merci pour vos retours d'expériences!

Bonjour à tous et toutes, je suis très motivé pour aller en Ethiopie. Je suis conscient des difficultés de logistique dans ce pays. Je ne suis pas vraiment un randonneur car une prothèse de genou ratée limite mes marches à 2 heures maximum. Le réseau routier est-il suffisant pour des balades assez confortables en 4X4 d'agences ? Où aller, le Nord, le Sud, ou autres ? Ne fait-il pas trop froid dans les hauts plateaux en octobre ? merci d'avance pour vos idées.

Bonjour, Je souhaiterais des avis sur ce bateau ( spectacles, services, +, -) ainsi que les expériences sur cet itinéraire. Nous avons déjà fait une croisière de 15 j ( Nassau, Iles Cayman, Cozumel, ....) et j'ai peur d'être déçu sur les escales. ( Miami-Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, Ile cocacay) Que pouvez vous me dire sur ces destinations? J'aimerais bien emmener mes enfants de 10.15 et 20 ans faire des choses inoubliables ( nager avec des tortues, lieux surprenants ou autres.merci.

Bonjour,

Avec un ami nous avons comme projet de faire un voyage en camion, France - Sri Lanka. Pour ça nous devions passer par l’Iran pour ensuite prendre un ferry au sud de l’Iran jusqu’à Oman, afin de se rendre en Inde. Seulement, aujourd'hui il est vivement déconseillé de passer par l’Iran...

Ma question est : Existe t-il encore des ferry pour la liaison Turquie - Égypte ?

Merci.

Paulo

Bonsoir, On aimerai aller a Madagascar la dernière semaine de Février et la première de Mars. On pensait faire la RN7 (par exemple LE PARC NATIONAL DE L'ISALO, VILLAGE D’AMBOSITRA, Tulear, IFATY...) et Nosy be. On sera sur place 12 13j. Que conseillez vous svp comme circuit (ou s arreter , que faire vu le nombre de jours) vu la période? On aime la nature, les animaux et on aimerai aussi faire du snorkeling dans des magnifiques plages. Est ce qu il risque de pleuvoir tous les jours et qu on ne puisse rien faire? Conseillez vous d autres villes svp vu la periode? Merci d avance pour vos precieux conseils