Bishkek is a very busy rest day for us. We had to get some of the Bentley problems sorted out. At the top of the list was the charging system but before I can work on this I need a battery charger and some bits and pieces for the days ahead. The Morgan and Porsche had arrived overnight and were parked in their lorries at the hotel
But what of my tyres, sent from the UK by UPS and bound, from past experience, to be tied up in customs. Well, they are at the hotel ! Thanks to Charles Wunderle at Ecoflow and Amrit Gurung at the Hyatt they have managed to expedite the tyres and tubes and got them to the hotel where they are waiting for me in a storeroom. I can honestly say this is the first time I can remember anyone getting a spares package into an Asia country without massive problems usually leading to the parts being lost. Well done and thank you Charles and Amrit.
First thing in the morning we, along with two translators from the hotel set off to a Mercedes garage to have the broken cars looked at. David and I follow on but then deviate to a car shop to buy the charger etc. This was remarkably easy in Bishkek and we got most of the things we need all in the first shop we stop at. I tried to get a new regulator in case the one on the Bentley is kaput but this was not possible.
Returning to the Hyatt, I got to work on the charging system with Bernard and Jim. It takes most of the day and finally in desperation I phone Chris Simons in the UK who contacts an auto electrician from Bovey Tracey. Over 4 calls Nick gives me directions and eventually we isolate the problem to the regulator. However, we are out of time, I need to get the tyres sorted out and new inner tubes fitted before we leave town. Conrad, Bernard and I head off to a Vulcaniser who is really good at identifying our problem and trying to overcome it by making an addition strip of rubber for to cover the spokes. We do this to one wheel as an experiment and in the days ahead will assess whether this improves our inner tube problems.
I have not had time to do an oil change but as the dark settles in I check the oil levels and top up. Two new brackets for my sump guard have appeared from the Mercedes garage and I hope to fit these the following day. In the dark we load the Landrover with spare tyres and tubes before heading inside for a huge steak and chips. Exhausted I head for bed, I have lost 6 pounds on this trip already and this may be the positive spin off from the bad road and car problem !
Departing Bishkek at dawn we head for Narin, a really bad experience in 2000 repeated again this time as the road slowly deteriorates as we go into the hills. The car holds out using the rally booster battery as a power source. We arrive in Narin in good time whilst there are still 4 hours of daylight left.
I decide to leave the regulator until last and concentrate on getting the sump guard brackets on and the bumpers tightened up. Then it is time to clear the air filter again and check the mixture. I am then ready to have another go at the charging system and remove the regulator from the car so I can see what is wrong. Finding a number of loose things which I tighten, I can see why we may not be charging. Following reassembly I run the car and ‘Hey presto’ we are charging, at least for a short time. We are getting closer to the issue but I am out of time so need to leave it for Kashgar.
I am determined to wash the car it is covered in dust and looks dreadful, so this becomes the final priority before dinner and bed. It will get filthy again the next day but at least it felt better with the grime off.
We depart Narin for the Chinese border at daybreak, we know this will be a difficult road getting worse as we cross the mountains to the south and finally reach the Tologut Pass, the 12,000 foot entry point into China. The charging circuits comes on and off so we are still reliant on an outside source of power but we have no further problems with tubes or rattles. The road is so bad for the last 20 miles that we are doing no more that 16 mph over the bumps.
Finally reaching the border we start the endless exit checks for Kyrgyzstan, they seem to have got worse in the last few years rather than better. Finally we are through, past the 3 miles of queuing lorries and into no mans land bound for China. On the Chinese side we are held up whilst our guide appears from the bottom of the mountain. Once he is on board we hare down the hill to the passport and customs some 100 Kms from the border proper.
The regulator is working on this stretch but the problem is still intermittently breaking the circuit. Once through customs and immigration and having purchased a bottle of Armagnac in Duty Free we head on to the hotel in Kashgar. The time zone here is the same as Beijing which is ridiculous as it means daylight from 0830 to 2100. This is made worse by the fact that the locals use their own time two hours behind Beijing. As such who knows what time anything opens or closes.
Our Hotel is miles from the town centre and we are all really disappointed about this, not a restaurant in sight and we have to settle for a very mediocre meal in the Hotel. Four Star but water still runs out of the shower and across the floor to a drain ! Better than some we have stayed at in the past but hardly a Hyatt.
Hopefully, China is the start of better roads and an easier drive at least until we approach Tibet…
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